Bolt SpiderThe Forbidden & Limited list finally arrived this past Sunday, and it was met with a mix of responses from the players. From it being too short to it being good enough to fixing some of the issues. It hasn’t affected the market much, as there were plenty of cards we knew were going to become Forbidden, Limited, or even Unlimited. Going into the Beyond the Brave format, it seems to be that Elfnote Ars Magna and Light and Darkness Ritual Pile are the two top contenders in the format, with other Decks like Sky Striker, Branded, Blitzclique, Invoked, and Mitsurugi being straight behind.
Along with this, the TCG has finally announced that Immortal Phoenix will be released at the end of January in 2027, and plenty of players are excited for that. We also had the set introduction and box openings for Beyond the Brave, showing off plenty of the new cards that we can obtain from the set yesterday, and that is amping the market a bit more. But enough talk of the future; let's dive into this week’s Market Watch and see what is going down.The Rise of Darkness
Elfnote received a handful of hits on the new list, with Elfnote Tinia and Prohibited Power Patron Portal - Terminus receiving limitations. This didn’t do much to the Deck with the looming fear of the new Ars Magna engine releasing in Beyond the Brave soon. Elfnote Lucina is still the star of the Deck, as she can add any Elfnote monster from your Deck to your hand, and she can also switch herself to the Center Main Monster Zone with another monster in order to return a Level 6 or lower monster your opponent controls to the hand. Being a starter and a piece of interruption is great for any Deck, and could land a target on its back after it’s been reprinted to the masses.
Elfnote Regina is the other star within the Elfnote Deck as she sends 1 other Elfnote card from your hand/face-up field to GY to Special Summon herself from your hand, and if she is Normal or Special Summoned to the Center Main Monster Zone, you can Special Summon any other Elfnote monster from your Deck. It is the only Level 6 Elfnote monster without a switch effect, but if it’s sent to the GY as Synchro Material, she can add herself back to the hand. Being a great source of recursion and extension makes this card one of the main pieces of the Deck itself.
A card that players were hoping to see Forbidden on the new list was Charmer Quartet in Bloom, but it is here to stay. By requiring 2+ monsters as Link Material, this Link-4 monster has become one of the main end board pieces for plenty of Link Pile Decks, and while it's on the field, it gains 300 ATK for every different Attribute on the field. This card can target 2 monsters in your GY with the same Attribute, but different Types, or vice versa, and Special Summon them to your field, but this card and the Summoned monsters cannot be used for a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Summon until the end of the next turn. Players have been Special Summoning a copy of Ame no Mitsurugi no Murakumo and S:P Little Knight to gain their advantage back for what they Linked away to Summon this card, but players are still hoping to see a ban to this legendary Charmer Link-4.
Pot of Sloth has become a mainstay staple in many current Main and Side Decks as you get to draw cards equal to the number of cards your opponent controls, but if you drew 2 or more cards, you place cards from your hand to the bottom of your Deck -1. This card lets you dig for board breakers and combo pieces for any situation if you’re going second. It is a very well-rounded card that can help fix up your hands and make sure you have the means to deal with the opponent’s board. If you open 2 copies of this card, and the first one's activation was negated, you can activate a second one since its restriction only applies after the activation resolves.
This new format is going to be interesting leading up to Beyond the Brave and the future with Magnificent Maestros. But one thing is for sure, and that is that some cards that remain in the format could see a hit on a future list.
The Retribution of the Restricted
A few retro and classic cards finally came off the Forbidden and Limited List, and the first up to bat is Elder Entity Norden. By requiring a Synchro and Xyz Monster, two Synchro Monsters, or two Xyz Monsters as Fusion Material, this card has returned to the metagame once again as a Super Polymerization option against Elfnote, DoomZ, and other Synchro and Xyz strategies. On this card’s Special Summon from the Extra Deck, you can target 1 Level 4 or lower monster in your GY and Special Summon it, but its effects are negated and that monster is banished when it leaves the field. If you’re planning to use it for an Xyz Summon, the monster will go to the GY like normal afterward.
THE PARTY IS BACK ON! Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, also known as the Party Boat, has finally been released off the TCG Forbidden & Limited list after 13.5 years of being Forbidden, and it went straight to 3, with the cost of Wind-Up Hunter now being Forbidden. This card requires any 2 Level 3s for its Xyz Materials, and it can detach 1 material to Special Summon any Wind-Up monster from your hand or Deck. Along with this, when a face-up Wind-Up monster is destroyed and sent to your GY outside of the Damage Step, you can detach 1 material to target that monster and add it back to your hand. As the one card holding Wind-Ups back while it was Forbidden, since it has finally returned, we could potentially see Wind-Ups see some play into the future for the TCG.
A card plenty of players were curious about was Mirage of Nightmare, going straight to 3, and brought back a ton of unpleasant memories to many players who played in the earliest days of the game. During the opponent’s Standby Phase, you draw until you have 4 cards in your hand, but during your next Standby Phase, you randomly discard cards equal to the number you drew, even if you don’t have enough cards. This card has me a little worried about what players will use it in. From Destiny HERO, being able to use Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer to destroy it, while Radiant Typhoon can just use Mystical Space Typhoon to remove it from the field in your Draw Phase before you randomly discard.
Finally, another card players have been yelling at Konami to bring back is M-X-Saber Invoker for any Beast-Warrior and Warrior Decks who have Level 4 EARTH monsters to their name like Madolche, Argostar, and even X-Sabers. By requiring 2 Level 3s as Xyz Material, this card can detach 1 material to Special Summon any Level 4 EARTH Warrior or Beast-Warrior monster from your Deck, and it has taken longer for this card to come off the Forbidden & Limited List than it took to be put onto the list years ago.
It’s great to see so many cards finally come off the Forbidden List, but there is still a long way ahead of us to solve many issues that the current game has shown us that everything cannot be hit under one umbrella. Hopefully, the format starts becoming less of a headache, and players find new ways to innovate the game once again.
Edited and co-written by Angryjon