September 1st 2009 Ban List Analysis

Now we know it for sure (well, 99,9 % sure) :

New Forbidden cards :

Card of Safe Return (from limited) : It was obvious with Mezuki's semi-limitation, and as there aren't other reasons behind its ban, there's nothing else to say.

Crush Card Virus (from limited) : One of the restricted cards that surprises me the most... Look, Konami is re-releasing it in Turbo Pack, and bans it the day it gets out. At least, it's a big "owned" to people who paid 200+ $ in order to get one. And this makes me laugh. A lot.

Dark Strike Fighter (from unlimited) : It was obvious due to the massive OTK that this card has spawned (mainly Rescue Synchro OTK ones). I talked a lot about it earlier, and it seems Konami share the same opinions as me about this card.

Monster Reborn (from limited) : Another obvious ban, but this one is due to Call of the Haunted's limitation. Nothing else to say about it, except it's the end of opponent's Graveyard's pilfering.

New Limited cards :

Black Rose Dragon (from unlimited) : For those not understanding it, this card is limited to counter the "Debris-Hime" deck that was over-popular in the OCG. It's also the reason behind Lonefire's semi-limitation, by the way.

Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind (from unlimited) : An easily Special Summoned Tuner whose effect was overpowered. Now, Blackwings players will have to think twice before using it... Or to use more Blizzards.

Call of the Haunted (from forbidden) : An obvious limitation due to Monster Reborn's ban, and the desire from Konami to leave us at least one generic monster revival.

Cold Wave (from unlimited) : This powerful card, that helped spawn many OTKs for Rescue Synchro, Blackwings and Lightsworn decks, is now limited, in order to prevent its abuse. This + Heavy Storm + Giant Trunade is still that powerful, though.

Demise, King of Armageddon (from unlimited) : An obvious limitation, due to the incoming release in Stardust Overdrive of new support cards for Ritual Monsters, that would let Demise become way more overpowered. Even at one, it's still a threat, though.

Mind Control (from unlimited) : Another obvious limitation, due to all those Synchro abuses that came with the use of this card. Now it's limited, we'll see less "I steal your monster and use it for Synchros", although this and Brain Control can still be put together in one deck.

Mind Master (from unlimited) : See "One for One".

One for One (from unlimited) : This was limited in order to prevent the abuses that will come with incoming level 1 cards, as well as Mind Master abuse for Synchros.

Rescue Cat (from semi-limited) : One of the three obvious counters to the Rescue Synchro OTK decks, like what has been done with TeleDAD on the last banlist. Gladiator Beast players will still play it, even if there's only one of it.

Solemn Judgment (from unlimited) : This is the card everyone is surprised to see there, myself included. And while I can understand the usual statement behind it not being banned ("That's a card that needed skill to be played"), we now have many replacement cards, and there are going to be more of them in the incoming extensions. We'll just have to do whatever we can with those cards and to leave our once precious Solemns.

Summon Priest (from semi-limited) : See "Rescue Cat".

New Semi-limited cards :

Bottomless Trap Hole (from unlimited) : This was the main counter to nearly every "boss" card in the ending banlist, as only Heraklinos was able to counter it. Now, its semi-limitation forces us to play it more conservatively.

Chaos Sorcerer (from limited) : As this card wasn't that threatening in the last banlist, Konami allows us to add a second one in our decks. Spellcaster decks now have their Malicious, with an added removal effect, while other decks now have a more accessible answer to overpowered cards like Stardust Dragon, Judgment Dragon or Gladiator Beast Heraklinos.

Lonefire Blossom (from unlimited) : See "Black Rose Dragon".

Mezuki (from limited) : See "Card of Safe Return".

New Unlimited cards :

Breaker the Magical Warrior (from limited) : This is a good thing for Spellcounter decks, as well as for Oppression Gadgets, as both will now have a more constant S/T removal that's able to hold its own in battle. Remember, though, it'll easily be countered by that now semi-limited card that is Bottomless Trap Hole.

D.D. Warrior Lady (from limited) : Another good thing for Oppression Gadgets, as well as for decks that needed a good way to counter opponent threats. It can easily counter boss monsters as long as it battles.

Destiny Draw (from semi-limited) : A good thing for Perfect Circle Monarchs, a deck that's about to be brought back with this and Raiza's unlimitation. This, alongside with Plasma and Malicious, will be the boost that the Monarchs needed to gain a Tier.

Fissure (from limited) : Free monster destruction at no cost ? Very good against big monsters like Judgment, although Stardust and Heraklinos will easily counter it.

Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest (from semi-limited) : Obvious unlimitation, due to how much they nerfed its effect. It should have been unlimited on the last banlist, though.

Raiza the Storm Monarch (from semi-limited) : See "Destiny Draw".

I didn't include the semi-limited Dulauren, Tiger King of the Ice Boundary as it hasn't been released on the TCG.

My opinion about what's coming in the metagame :

Old Tier 1 :

Lightsworns : With no new limitations, Lightsworns will stay what they are, a quick and powerful deck who relies a bit too much on luck. The semi-limitation of Chaos Sorcerer and the unlimitation of Fissure and D.D.Warrior Lady will be great to counter their main card, Judgment Dragon.

Blackwings : Hurt by the ban of Dark Strike Fighter and the limitation of Gale, Blackwings will have to play more frequently their own Synchro monsters, as well as the newly-released Vayu in order to stay the Tier 1 deck they were. New options may open up with the unlimitation of Destiny Draw and the addition of Malicious and lower level Destiny Heroes in the deck, though.

Rescue Synchro : They are officially dead. With the limitation of two of their main monsters (Summon Priest and Rescue Cat) and the ban of their most powerful Synchro monster, Dark Strike Fighter, they can now do very little things, and aren't a threat anymore.

Gladiator Beasts : The limitation of Rescue Cat afflicted them too, but they are more hurt by the limitation of Solemn Judgment. New variants of the deck will have to rely more on cards like Dark Bribe or My Body as a Shield if they want to control as much as before, although they gained new options in compensation with the unlimitation of D.D.Warrior Lady and Breaker.

Other decks :

Spellcounter : The unlimitation of Breaker gave them more ways to control the field, while the semi-limitation of Chaos Sorcerer appeared as a Malicious-like with a removal effect. Spellcounter decks are more deadly than ever, so keep an eye on them.

Perfect Circle Monarchs : The unlimitation of Destiny Draw and Raiza allows the return of this annoying Monarch variant, which consisted in using cards like Raiza and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast in order to freeze opponent's draws, while making its field grow before locking it with things like Destiny Hero - Plasma and Jinzo.

Zombies : The semi-limitation of Mezuki allows Zombies to have a new chance, although, with the ban of Card of Safe Return, they'll need another draw power in order to be as effective as they were.

New decks :

X-Sabers : You knew Airbellum, now prepare yourself to an onslaught of equally powerful monsters ! They'll start to appear in Ancient Prophecy, so that's the best option for those wanting a quick replacement for Rescue Synchro decks (even though it's not really the same kind of play)

Fortune Ladies : Played by Dark Signer Carly in the 5D's anime, this archetype is known for quick plays and a particular gaming approach. Try it if you want to have something different and powerful at the same time.

Geminis : Yeah, I know, they are not THAT new. But the new monsters and support cards added in the incoming Structure Deck and in Stardust Overdrive will make our good old Geminis a force to reckon with.

-Izual (Nickname on UniMetagame Forums)
UniMetagame Syndicated Writer