History GameBreaker / YuGiOhCardGameBannedAndNerfedCards

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Fiber_Jar Fiber Jar]] Got a bad hand? Close to losing? Your key monsters are in graveyard and you can't recover them? Fear not! Just flip up Fiber Jar and it effectively resets the game, barring banished cards. Its effect has been compared to ''Shahrazad'' from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', in that it forcibly extended the duration of a duel by a fair amount, which was something you didn't want in a tournament enviroment.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Elf Spright Elf]] is an incredible extender, only needing a Level 2 monster as one of its materials. The monsters it points to can't be targeted, and as a Quick Effect it can revive a Level 2 monster (extending to Rank/Link 2 if the opponent controls a monster). Unlike the other Spright extender [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Gigantic_Spright Gigantic Spright]], Elf imposes no restrictions on what you can Summon after using its effects. In pure Spright, Elf is known to defend the negators [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Red Spright Red]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Carrot Spright Carrot]] and recur Tribute fodder for them, but it also can synergize with a lot of other archetypes. With Frogs, it recycles [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Toadally_Awesome Toadally Awesome]] for a total of two S/T negates, even after the Spright-Frog deck lost Ronintoadin (see above). With Live Twins, you can recur [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Evil%E2%98%85Twin_Ki-sikil Ki-sikil]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Evil%E2%98%85Twin_Lil-la Lil-la]] to make the duo even harder to take down. Tearlaments also used this card by milking more mills off [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Merrli Merrli]]. It can even recycle [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ipiria Ipiria]] for extra draws during the opponent's turn, garnering hand advantage while working in the hard-once-per-turn restriction on its ability. The number of ways Elf gives extra advantage in different Decks led to its ban in the TCG in February 2023, with the OCG following suit in April that year.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Guardragon_Agarpain Guardragon Agarpain]]. Its effect, while requiring a bit of setup, it's extremely easy to accomplish on dedicated decks. So basically you could use Agarpain to summon any Dragon-type Galaxy-Eyes Xyz monster, summon Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon and dump 3 Dragon-type monsters, allowing for either more combos... or summoning powerful beatsticks like [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Hot_Red_Dragon_Archfiend_Abyss Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss]] to provide more negations to your field. Agarpain would get banned in the Oct 2019 lists.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Union_Carrier Union Carrier]] was intended to be a tool aiding Union-based decks into equipping their hard-to-reach materials from deck, while also having a restriction to prevent potential abuse. However, it happens that some cards are not meant to be readily equipable, and have devastating consequences when they are. The most potent of these is [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Buster_Destruction_Sword Dragon Buster Destruction Sword]], which locks your opponent out of the Extra deck when equipped, and can be equipped to any DARK or Dragon-Type monster you control (which happen to be among the most popular Attributes and Types respectively) thanks to Union Carrier, not helped by its piss-easy summoning condition. This specific interaction led to Dragon Buster Destruction Sword being banned in the TCG on the December 2020 banlist update. Union Carrier also assisted in the Dragon Link FTK by allowing [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Earthbound_Immortal_Aslla_piscu Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu]] to be equipped. Due to the sheer amount of shenanigans it enabled, Union Carrier was banned in the TCG in March 2021; in return, Dragon Buster Destruction Sword was allowed to leave the banlist. It would take the October 2022 banlist for the OCG to also ban Union Carrier as well.
** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Guardragon_Elpy Guardragon Elpy]] was the cornerstone of the Dragon Link strategy ever since its release in Savage Strike. While Elpy's sole Link Arrow pointing left is awkward for triggering this effect in isolation, it's remarkably easy to set up an appropriate zone simply by summoning a Link 2 monster with arrows pointing bottom left and bottom right (of which there are plenty of fantastic candidates) to the EMZ, and then summoning Elpy and its companion monster [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Guardragon_Pisty Guardragon Pisty]] so they both point below the Link 2. If that wasn't enough, Savage Strike also brought [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/World_Legacy_Guardragon World Legacy Guardragon]], a Monster Reborn for Dragons that also allows you to move a Dragon to a different Main Monster Zone, meaning you could easily trigger Elpy's effect with only 1 other Link Monster on the field. This lets Dragon Link decks easily tutor whatever Dragon they need to further extend their combos or accrue additional resources, and made the strategy remarkably consistent with a very high ceiling to boot. In order to curb the power of Dragon Link, Guardragon Elpy was banned in middle 2021 in both formats.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tempest_Magician Tempest Magician]] has the effect to remove every Spell Counter on the field to inflict 500 burn damage for each one, and give monsters Spell Counters by discarding cards. This card wasn't that useful, due to there being no reliable way to set Spell Counters en masse. Enter the [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Endymion Endymion]], who could place lots of Spell Counters on their cards, and fairly consistently, at that. Suddenly Tempest Magician could easily deal massive amounts of burst damage, or potentially even FTK the opponent! Due to this, the TCG axed the card on its January 2020 banlist, and the OCG banned it on April 2021.

** The [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ruler Dragon Ruler]] series is quite possibly one of the most infamous examples of PowerCreep in the franchise to date. A series of level 7 dragon type monsters with a set of smaller Level 3/4 versions of themselves that can special summon them from the deck. They have a plethora of effects that can enable swarming and rapid summoning of Rank 7 Xyzs, along with a means of getting [[AwesomeButImpractical Light and Darkness Dragon]] onto the field ''on the first turn''. Sure, you can only use one of their effects per turn and even then only once per turn, but the sheer speed and consistency of these effects more than makes up for it with consistency, power, and other effects and the smaller dragons are instrumental in overriding this limitation. The deck also abused Super Rejuvenation and [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Sacred_Sword_of_Seven_Stars Sacred Sword of Seven Stars]] as draw power and as an extra way to trigger their effects. [[HighTierScrappy And it's for this reason that this deck was so widely hated before it even came to the TCG.]] The field spell that could essentially grab Dragon Rulers out of your deck for free, [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ravine Dragon Ravine]], was banned, to the dismay of plenty of ''Dragunity'' players due to it being THE card that keeps the deck competitive. Their draw cards were limited. Their "instant win" cards were banned. The Dragon Rulers themselves were limited. Consider this: Half of the archetype was banned, and the other half was Limited. Countless cards had been hit to weaken the deck. ''And the deck was still a strong contender to the point that the Dragon Rulers themselves became forbidden after the Dark Matter OTK abuse.'' It wouldn't be until July 2019 that they even so much as attempted to loosen them from the list by bringing back [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tempest,_Dragon_Ruler_of_Storms Tempest]] to 1, and Super Rejuvenation on the next banlist.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Chicken_Game Chicken Game]] has three effects, but the effect that allows one card to be drawn at the cost of 1000 LP once per turn is what makes it so good. Such restriction can be bypassed and [[LoopholeAbuse abused]] by having three copies of it as well as three copies of [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Pseudo_Space Pseudo Space]], where ''six'' cards can be drawn by a hefty 6000 LP in total. Draw power will go up to eleven when used with [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Terraforming Terraforming]], [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Royal_Magical_Library Royal Magical Library]], [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Upstart_Goblin Upstart Goblin]] (which is limited in the TCG format) and [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Hope_for_Escape Hope for Escape]], where a total of ''eighteen'' cards is drawn. Such play style makes Exodia an even more TierInducedScrappy solitaire deck. There is also an FTK combo involving the aforementioned cards, the Monarchs, [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Life_Equalizer Life Equalizer]] (which is banned in the OCG format) and [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Magical_Explosion Magical Explosion]].

** The [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ruler Dragon Ruler]] series is quite possibly one of the most infamous examples of PowerCreep in the franchise to date. A series of level 7 dragon type monsters with a set of smaller Level 3/4 versions of themselves that can special summon them from the deck. They have a plethora of effects that can enable swarming and rapid summoning of Rank 7 Xyzs, along with a means of getting [[AwesomeButImpractical Light and Darkness Dragon]] onto the field ''on the first turn''. Sure, you can only use one of their effects per turn and even then only once per turn, but the sheer speed and consistency of these effects more than makes up for it with consistency, power, and other effects and the smaller dragons are instrumental in overriding this limitation. The deck also abused Super Rejuvenation and [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Sacred_Sword_of_Seven_Stars Sacred Sword of Seven Stars]] as draw power and as an extra way to trigger their effects. [[TierInducedScrappy And it's for this reason that this deck was so widely hated before it even came to the TCG.]] The field spell that could essentially grab Dragon Rulers out of your deck for free, [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ravine Dragon Ravine]], was banned, to the dismay of plenty of ''Dragunity'' players due to it being THE card that keeps the deck competitive. Their draw cards were limited. Their "instant win" cards were banned. The Dragon Rulers themselves were limited. Consider this: Half of the archetype was banned, and the other half was Limited. Countless cards had been hit to weaken the deck. ''And the deck was still a strong contender to the point that the Dragon Rulers themselves became forbidden after the Dark Matter OTK abuse.'' It wouldn't be until July 2019 that they even so much as attempted to loosen them from the list by bringing back [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tempest,_Dragon_Ruler_of_Storms Tempest]] to 1, and Super Rejuvenation on the next banlist.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Pot_of_Greed Pot of Greed]] is a classic card with the BoringButPractical effect to make you draw 2 cards. This is a very powerful effect on its own: [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Pot_of_Desires Pot of Desires]], a downgraded version of this card that has the massive cost of making you banish 10 cards from your deck, is still good enough to be Limited. But what makes it truly broken is the fact that there's no cost, condition, or downside associated with it: it's outright a free +1 that can be activated at any time once you draw it. This effectively means that if it were legal, ''literally every single deck'' would want to have this card in it, and there would be very few reasons not to play it as soon as you drew it, so there would be next to no strategy or consideration involved in using the card. Its power is so infamous it's widely considered to be ''Yu-Gi-Oh'''s version of ''Black Lotus''.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Elf Spright Elf]] is an incredible extender, only needing a Level 2 monster as one of its materials. The monsters it points to can't be targeted, and as a Quick Effect it can revive a Level 2 monster (extending to Rank/Link 2 if the opponent controls a monster). Unlike the other Spright extender [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Gigantic_Spright Gigantic Spright]], Elf imposes no restrictions on what you can Summon after using its effects. In pure Spright, Elf is known to defend the negators [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Red Spright Red]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Carrot Spright Carrot]] and recur Tribute fodder for them, but it also can synergize with a lot of other archetypes. With Frogs, it recycles [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Toadally_Awesome Toadally Awesome]] for a total of two S/T negates, even after the Spright-Frog deck lost Ronintoadin (see above). With Live Twins, you can recur [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Evil%E2%98%85Twin_Ki-sikil Ki-sikil]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Evil%E2%98%85Twin_Lil-la Lil-la]] to make the duo even harder to take down. Tearlaments also used this card by milking more mills off [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Merrli Merrli]]. It can even recycle [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ipiria Ipiria]] for extra draws during the opponent's turn, garnering hand advantage while working in the hard-once-per-turn restriction on its ability. The number of ways Elf gives extra advantage in different Decks led to its ban in the TCG in February 2023.

** The [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact Artifact]] archetype had already enjoyed some meta success in 2014, but ended up falling by the wayside after significant powercreep. However, one member ended up becoming increasingly relevant as the years went on; [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Scythe Artifact Scythe]], one of the most potent Extra Deck-lock effects to ever exist. While the card was intermittently used by control-based decks in conjunction with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Sanctum Artifact Sanctum]] (and even enjoyed a brief meta stint in the TCG in early 2017), this was nothing compared to the relevance it reached in the ''Series 11'' era, all thanks to what everyone assumed was a fairly average card on release: [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Dagda Artifact Dagda]]. It doesn't matter that Dagda doesn't set Sanctum upon effect activation, because popping Scythe yourself on the opponent's turn is nothing short of a joke. You have 2 monsters, one of them a tuner? Use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Crystron_Halqifibrax Crystron Halqifibrax]] to summon [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/T.G._Wonder_Magician T.G. Wonder Magician]]. Two level 4s? [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tornado_Dragon Tornado Dragon]]. Hell, you can even forgo Dadga if your deck can synchro for level 10, as you only need to dump Scythe to graveyard and summon it back with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Baronne_de_Fleur Baronne de Fleur]]. However, the combo that ended up breaking Scythe beyond belief was the one with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destiny_HERO_-_Destroyer_Phoenix_Enforcer Destiny Hero - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]] (which can pop Scythe and an opponent's card, or even Scythe and itself when threatened by removal) and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Predaplant_Verte_Anaconda Predaplant Verte Anaconda]] (see VRAINS folder). In the OCG, after Verte's ban, players used [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/I:P_Masquerena I:P Masquerena]] with Dagda to make [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Sky_Striker_Ace_-_Azalea Sky Striker Ace - Azalea]] to pop Dagda on the opponent's turn. Any deck that can place 4 monsters (2 different names for Dagda, and 2 Effect monsters for Verte or Masquerena) on field can make use of this combo, which is '''literally every deck in the game'''. Want to know the worst part? Scythe's effect is a ''lingering'' effect, which means that nothing short of preventing its summon, or negating it on activation will stop the lock. The card was eventually banned in February 2023 in the TCG, eliminating the core of the problem.

** As of Feb 2018, [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Maxx_%22C%22 Maxx "C"]] joins these ranks. At the time of introduction, it was the most balanced anti-special summoning card of its kind, preventing spam decks from dominating the meta, while being a dead draw against a deck that doesn't need to special summon. However, due to PowerCreep, it's increasingly the case that decks that need to do multiple special summons are more common than not, and the introduction of handtraps like [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ash_Blossom_%26_Joyous_Spring Ash Blossom]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Nibiru,_the_Primal_Being Nibiru]] meant that the opponent's next draw could [[SpannerInTheWorks interrupt your plays when you least expect it]]. Now, Maxx "C" can leave an opponent in a [[MortonsFork Catch 22]]: Continue their plays at the risk of getting punished by the cards the opponent is drawing, or awkwardly end the turn with a less-than-ideal board state to deny their hand advantage. This led to its ban.[[labelnote:Trivia]]This marks the major difference between the TCG and OCG banlists, where it is banned in the former and is an '''''all-time staple''''' in the latter. This leads to some major differences between the two metas. There is also a third option to the Catch-22 as well -- Special Summon as many times as possible and force the opponent to deck out to their mandatory draws (the Maxx "C" Challenge). While possible with certain decks, any interruption can thoroughly derail your attempt at this option.[[/labelnote]]

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Kitkallos Tearlaments Kitkallos]] is a powerful member of the Tearlaments archetype, which Fusion Summons putting material from the GY on the bottom of the Deck when they themselves get sent to the GY. She's made with any Tearlaments monster and any Aqua monster (effortless for the Tearlaments Deck), but as a Level 5, she can also be cheated out with Instant Fusion. She's got ''three'' ways to put Tearlaments monsters in the GY -- milling one of your choice on Summon, sending one on the field to the GY for another Tearlaments Special Summon, and milling '''five''' cards if she herself is sent to the GY by card effect (this includes sending herself to the GY for the second effect). She's incredibly versatile in an already powerful archetype, so when the Tearlaments archetype was getting gutted by the early 2023 banlists, Kitkallos was banned by both OCG and TCG. Since she's also a Material for the Tearlaments boss monster [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Rulkallos Rulkallos,]] her ban also indirectly made it hard ([[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/King_of_the_Swamp but not impossible]]) to Summon Rulkallos.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Elf Spright Elf]] is an incredible Spright extender. The monsters it points to can't be targeted, and as a Quick Effect it can revive a Level 2 monster (extending to Rank/Link 2 if the opponent controls a monster). Unlike its other boss monster [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Gigantic_Spright Gigantic Spright]], Elf imposes no restrictions on what you can Summon after using its effects. Spright Elf is a fantastic extender in its home archetype and can recur Tribute fodder for negates from [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Red Spright Red]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Carrot Spright Carrot]], but it also can synergize with a lot of other archetypes. With Frogs, it recycles [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Toadally_Awesome Toadally Awesome]] for a total of two S/T negates, even after the Spright-Frog deck lost Ronintoadin (see above). With Live Twins, you can recur [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Evil%E2%98%85Twin_Ki-sikil Ki-sikil]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Evil%E2%98%85Twin_Lil-la Lil-la]] to make the duo even harder to take down. Tearlaments also used this card by milking more mills off [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Merrli Merrli]]. Tri-Brigade Spright uses Elf to recycle Level 2 monsters like [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tri-Brigade_Kitt Tri-Brigade Kitt]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tri-Brigade_Kerass Kerass]] for easy extensions. The number of ways Elf gives extra advantage led to its ban in the TCG in February 2023.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spright_Elf Spright Elf]] is an incredible Spright extender. It protects the monsters it points to from targeting, and as a Quick Effect it can revive a Level 2 monster (extending to Rank/Link 2 if the opponent controls a monster). Spright Elf is a fantastic extender in its home archetype, but its revival effect is wide enough to synergize with other things. With Frogs, it recycles [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Toadally_Awesome Toadally Awesome]] for a total of two S/T negates, even after the Spright-Frog deck lost Ronintoadin (see above). Tearlaments also used this card by milking more mills off [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Merrli Merrli]]. Tri-Brigade Spright uses Elf to recycle Level 2 monsters like [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tri-Brigade_Kitt Tri-Brigade Kitt]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tri-Brigade_Kerass Kerass]] for easy extensions. The number of ways Elf gives extra advantage led to its ban in the TCG in February 2023.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/True_King_of_All_Calamities True King of All Calamities]]. A ''lingering'' (meaning you have to negate it on the spot) lockdown of any Attribute you declare, with an attack lock for everything on the field on top, both lasting for the entire turn. Even if the monsters that are not within the declared Attribute can still activate their effects in hand or GY, it still proved devastating for the opponent because the majority of monster effects activate while on the field, potentially shutting down their entire turn. It's offset by needing two Level 9 monsters (a sparsely populated Level at the time of its release) but later down the line, Decks like Dinosaurs, Generaiders, and particularly Virtual World could meet the requirements with little effort. It can even be used in Dark spam decks by Ranking up [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dingirsu,_the_Orcust_of_the_Evening_Star Dingirsu, Orcust of the Evening Star]] using [[https://bit.ly/2EEtGhR The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch]]. With the ever-expanding array of good Rank 9 support, Calamities eventually became an omnipresent lockdown card in the meta (earning itself the sarcastic FanNickname of "Very Fun Dragon" in the process), and as such was banned in the TCG lists in March 2021, with the OCG following suit seven months later.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mystic_Mine Mystic Mine]], another Field Spell with an extremely potent floodgate effect, prevented the player who's controlling more monsters than their opponent from attacking or activating any monster effects. The card doesn't specify monsters that they control, which means not only monsters on the field that are sealed, you cannot activate monster effects ''from places like hand and Graveyard too''. It made sense on paper since most decks are so monster-dependent that Mystic Mine would actively hurt anyone in a leading position, and the Field itself would self-destruct once both players reached the same monster count. But decks that are often seen not running ''any'' monsters (like Chain Burn or [[ShapedLikeItself Mystic Mine]] Burn) would use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metaverse Metaverse]] (this card being ''the'' reason Metaverse is limited) to activate the Field Spell the moment the opponent played a monster or even given a monster via the [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Duo Ojama]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Trio Traps]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/D.D._Guide D.D. Guide]] while also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Field_Barrier Field Barrier]] to circumnavigate the cards weak point and also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cauldron_of_the_Old_Man Cauldron of the Old Man]] for the Burn Damage and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Goddess_Skuld%27s_Oracle Goddess Skuld's Oracle]] to prevent the opponent from [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Lightning_Storm drawing]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cosmic_Cyclone the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Twin_Twisters outs]]. It was also an excellent board-breaking card for decks that already played field spells and were able to take care of an entire board with a single monster, such as Sky Striker or Dinosaur while also slowing down the pace of the game considerably. The OCG banned this card in the October 2021 list, while the TCG did not follow suit until it was finally, '''''finally''''' banned in an Emergency December 2022 banlist, much to the delight of the playerbase.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mecha_Phantom_Beast_Auroradon Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon]] was printed in 2020, despite several years of proof that tokens in the Link era are too easily abused. At a glance, it ''seems'' to have enough restrictions to keep it in check: it specifically requires Machine-type monsters to summon, and while it does put out 3 tokens, Auroradon has a clause specifically preventing them from being used as Link Material. The problem? Halqifibrax, a Machine-type Link monster that can summon plenty of Machine-type Tuners, exists. And those Machine-type Tuners, such as Jet Synchron and Deskbot 001, have ways to Special Summon themselves, making for incredibly cheap Synchro plays. Topping it off, Auroradon can then Tribute any of the leftover tokens to activate its own effects, one of which can special summon another Mecha Phantom Beast monster for even further Synchro plays which led to [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mecha_Phantom_Beast_O-Lion O-Lion]] being banned. Auroradon was banned on the May 2022 TCG banlist.

** For being such an unassuming card [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Fairy_Tail_-_Snow Fairy Tail - Snow]] has been an annoyance for many players since its release. Upon being Normal or Special Summoned, it can flip a monster the opponent controls into face-down Defense Position, an easy way of stopping plays dead that gets around destruction protection. It is also able to Special Summon itself from the Graveyard on either player's turn by banishing seven cards from either the hand, field, or Graveyard. The most baffling thing is that, despite being printed in 2016, ''neither effect is once per turn''. Hell, if you have the resources to keep paying her cost, Snow isn't even once per '''Chain''', allowing her to dodge cards that may try to get rid of her. This led to the card being used as cheap play interruptions and free materials for Xyz or Link plays in everything from Lightsworn and 60 card mill decks to Danger! and Thunder Dragons, the latter of whom actually benefited from the banishing cost, until it was banned in January 2019. She would later be returned to limited in the February 2022 banlist after Thunder Dragons fell off the map... that is, until the release of another self-milling strategy in Tearalaments saw Snow being abused once again and promptly got her thrown back back on the banlist in September 2022.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/SPYRAL_Master_Plan SPYRAL Master Plan]] became an integral part of the SPYRAL archetype's explosive resource game after the release of [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/SPYRAL_Double_Helix SPYRAL Double-Helix]] allowed for easy summoning from the deck. Not only could you fetch cards such as [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/SPYRAL_MISSION_-_Rescue SPYRAL Mission - Rescue]] to recycle your SPYRAL monsters, with no once-per-turn clause in sight, but Master Plan floats and pluses like crazy thanks to [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/SPYRAL_Resort SPYRAL Resort]]. It can also be revived to reuse its Mission search effect since it's a soft once-per-turn effect, all but guaranteeing a combo board if uninterrupted. While SPYRAL fell off the competitive map following the limiting of most of their play starters, the release of [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Magicians%27_Souls Magicians' Souls]] made it even easier to summon since [[NotTheIntendedUse the card fulfills the summoning requirements of what was meant to support Dark Magicians]], making SPYRAL a meta deck once again. Proving to be the backbone of SPYRAL's nigh unbreakable boards, the card got banned in the TCG's April 2020 list.
** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Union_Carrier Union Carrier]] was intended to be a tool aiding Union-based decks into equipping their hard-to-reach materials from deck, while also having a restriction to prevent potential abuse. However, it happens that some cards are not meant to be readily equipable, and have devastating consequences when they are. The most potent of these is [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Buster_Destruction_Sword Dragon Buster Destruction Sword]], which locks your opponent out of the Extra deck when equipped, and can be equipped to any DARK or Dragon-Type monster you control (which happen to be among the most popular Attributes and Types respectively) thanks to Union Carrier, not helped by its piss-easy summoning condition. This specific interaction led to Dragon Buster Destruction Sword being banned in the TCG on the December 2020 banlist update. Union Carrier also assisted in the Dragon Link FTK by allowing [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Earthbound_Immortal_Aslla_piscu Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu]] to be equipped. You heard that right; a card was able to make teching '''Earthbound Immortals''' a meta strategy. Due to the sheer amount of shenanigans it enabled, Union Carrier was banned in the TCG in March 2021; in return, Dragon Buster Destruction Sword was allowed to leave the banlist. It would take the October 2022 banlist for the OCG to also ban Union Carrier as well.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Eva Eva]] was initially overlooked for its situational searching conditions making it a niche card. But after the release of [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Drytron Drytrons]], Ritual-based strategies, such as decks combining [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cyber_Angel Cyber Angels]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Herald Heralds]], which both fulfill the graveyard setup for Eva, became far more consistent which allows for the normally AwesomeButImpractical [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Herald_of_Ultimateness Herald of Ultimateness]] all but guaranteed to hit the field on the first turn. What pushed it over the top was that Eva can search up two copies of [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Herald_of_Orange_Light Herald of Orange Light]], and was accessible from the deck by [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Beatrice,_Lady_of_the_Eternal Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal]] which is right at home alongside the Level six Cyber Angels. Dumping Eva with her effect allowed for the instant access of the hand trap Heralds; with the right set-up, this enables over two interruptions alongside Herald of Ultimateness. The card advantage and first turn set-up provided by Eva made it limited in the September 2021 TCG banlist, before being outright banned in February 2022, while the OCG limited the card in the July 2022 banlist.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Crystron_Halqifibrax Crystron Halqifibrax]], when Link Summoned, Special Summons a Level 3 or lower Tuner to a zone it points to. Many of the most common hand traps in the game happen to fall under this category, giving decks that run them even more value. Other common targets include Tuners that can Special Summon themselves from the Graveyard, such as Spore, Glow-Up Bulb, and Jet Synchron. This effectively makes Halqifibrax a free Link 4 unless it gets interrupted. It's rather telling that [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Glow-Up_Bulb the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destrudo_the_Lost_Dragon%27s_Frisson three]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Blackwing_-_Steam_the_Cloak best]] generic tuners (one of which being the aforementioned Glow-Up Bulb) were all banned in one fell swoop the month after its release in the TCG. The fact that it took until '''nearly the end of the VRAINS era (March 2020)''' for this card to be imported to the TCG should tell you just how good of a combo starter it is. The strength of the plays Halqifibrax enabled eventually led to both [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Jet_Synchron Jet Synchron]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mecha_Phantom_Beast_O-Lion Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion]] getting banned in the September 2020 TCG list, with the restriction on Jet Synchron only being lifted in May 2022, once the aforementioned Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon (Halq's main parter in crime and combo enabler) was banned. Halqifibrax itself would be banned in the OCG in July 2022, and the TCG followed suit in October 2022; Blackwing - Steam the Cloak and Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion were both subsequently allowed back at 1 as Halqifibrax (and, in O-Lion's case, Auroradon) was no longer around to facilitate easy toolboxing of those cards.

* In a rare case of a genuine accident that was corrected by errata, for a brief period in the TCG, a number of cards in ''Labyrinth of Nightmare'' had effects that banished monsters mistranslated as banishing ''cards''. In the case of [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Bazoo_the_Soul-Eater Bazoo the Soul-Eater]], this made an already decent card downright ridiculous, turning it into a Level 4 that could tie Summoned Skull and kill Jinzo for minimal investment in an era where Gemini Elf and Goblin Attack Force were still considered the standard in beatdown. Reprints were issued not long after with the correct text, which brought the cards back down to fairly sane levels.
* Another case of a misprint making a card monumentally more powerful is [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ocean_Dragon_Lord_-_Neo-Daedalus Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus]]. Because the original print failed to include its summoning condition, as far as that print was concerned, finding any way to cheat out Neo-Daedalus while you had Umi in play yielded an easy ''field and hand nuke'' in the vein of Chaos Emperor Dragon while also leaving a 2900-ATK beatstick on your field, which would almost assuredly kill the opponent over the next few turns. The deck was quickly reprinted with Neo-Daedalus properly specifying that it had to be Special Summoned from your hand by tributing [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Levia-Dragon_-_Daedalus Levia-Dragon Daedalus]] (another difficult-to-search high-level monster), rendering it a non-issue.

* [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Crush_Card_Virus Crush Card Virus]], which, [[BadExportForYou in the TCG]], was notorious for being one of the most difficult and expensive cards to obtain for yourself, due to being released initially as a Shonen Jump prize card and otherwise only available as a gold rare from the limited release (original) Gold Series until shortly before it was banned outright. Though the card's effect drove the card's price just as much as the difficulty of owning one. Its effect (which destroys all 1500 Attack or higher monsters on the opponent’s field, in their hand, or that they draw for the next 3 turns) effectively rendered so many decks unable to play monsters, that it's easier to list what decks wouldn't be affected by it (even to this day). The card was so strong, that anybody who was lucky enough to have a copy would play cards (most commonly [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Sangan Sangan]] and/or [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/D.D._Crow D.D. Crow]]) just so they could use the card against the opponent. As such, the card was eventually banned and stayed on the list for years until it got an erratum changing the 3 turn duration into the opponent getting to destroy up to 3 1500 or more ATK monsters from the deck and also making the opponent immune to damage until the end of the next turn after its activation.
* [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ring_of_Destruction Ring of Destruction]], one of the most powerful burn cards in the game's history, had the effect to target and destroy any monster on the field and inflict damage to both players equal to the attack of the monster destroyed. Pretty much, just target any monster and you can inflict massive damage to the opponent. Sure, you will take it too, but at worst, it would result in a tie if used well. Also, there was nothing preventing a player from using it on their own monster, which might sound like a -2 on paper, but in practice, was like getting an additional attack against the opponent with a powerful monster, easily and frequently closing out games. The card was only able to come back via erratum, limiting its usage to the opponent's turn against an opponent's monster whose attack is less than or equal to their current life-points, and making the player using it take the damage first, removing most of the card's utility. However, even with these nerfs, it remained on the limited list for years before being put to semi-limited in May 2018, and then in September 2018's banlist, it has become unlimited.
* [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Sinister_Serpent Sinister Serpent]] is an otherwise unassuming monster with the absurd effect of returning itself from the Graveyard to your hand every Standby Phase with no strings attached. Naturally, this made it into infinitely reusable discard fodder, effectively negating the costs of many, ''many'' cards in the game. Most infamously, it was combined with the fellow banned card Tribe-Infecting Virus to ravage your opponent's field every single turn. Sinister Serpent was nerfed by making you banish a Sinister Serpent from your Graveyard on your opponent's next End Phase after using its retrieval effect and making it a hard once per turn, slowing the card down immensely. Tribe-Infecting Virus went straight from Forbidden to Unlimited in 2020.
* [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dark_Magician_of_Chaos Dark Magician of Chaos]], easily the strongest spell recursion card ever made, originally allowed for a spell card to be added to your hand from your graveyard upon its summoning. This allowed for potentially instant recursion of cards that summoned it, most notoriously [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Monster_Reborn Monster Reborn]] and the long banned [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dimension_Fusion Dimension Fusion]], both of which allowed for quick and easy One-Turn Kills and/or loops. Add in its 2800 attack stat and powerful anti-floater effect by banishing monsters it destroys by battle, and you have a fearsome card indeed. Its only downside originally is that it banishes itself upon leaving the field, though this made its combo with Dimension Fusion even more potent, earning it a key role in the notorious Dark Armed Return that became the final nail in both cards' coffins. Furthermore, with the creation of Xyz monsters that would allow for the card to dodge its banishment effect, and cards like [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Soul_Charge Soul Charge]], and it's no wonder that it only came back via an erratum making its recursion a true once per turn that happens only at the end of the turn it's summoned.

* Pre-errata, [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Chaos_Emperor_Dragon_-_Envoy_of_the_End Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End]] was so broken that ''it is explicitly banned in the anime''. [[note]]The ban started from GX; Kaiba used it during his Duel against Ziegfried von Schroeder in DM.[[/note]] CED is Summoned by banishing one LIGHT and one DARK monster from the graveyard, has high ATK, and has an effect which requires its controller to pay 1000 Life Points, but 1) sends every card in both player's hands and on the field to the Graveyard, and 2) did 300 damage to your opponent for each card that gets sent to the Graveyard by this effect. Keep in mind, the card effect doesn't say ''destroy'', it says ''send''. Therefore, cards such as Stardust Dragon can't stop it. This generally ended games. If it didn't, then it would often be followed up by a Sangan or Witch of the Black forest search for Yata-Garasu to finish the job [[DeathOfAThousandCuts 200 points at a time]]. After a decade and a half, it would finally come off with heavy nerfs that limited the card's owner to not activate any other card effects that turn and limited the damage to only count your opponent's cards, heavily reducing the chance of [=OTKs=] and leaving the user with an empty field, giving your opponent a chance to fight back.

* [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_Darkness_Metal_Dragon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon]]. This card can be Special Summoned from your hand simply by banishing a Dragon you control, and can Special Summon a Dragon from your hand or Graveyard for free. Both of those effects are great and led to the card becoming a staple in many different Dragon decks. It was eventually limited to one copy to circumvent the fact that its first effect was not once per turn, but even a combination of that limiting and a soft once per turn did not stop people from figuring out ways to loop the second effect, primarily with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Guardragon_Elpy Guardragon Elpy]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Guardragon_Pisty Pisty]], to make strong fields by reviving as many Dragons as possible. Eventually it got an errata, making both of its effects hard once per turn, and it's still used quite a lot as both effects are still very good.

* [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Pole_Position Pole Position]] is an odd case in that it was never that powerful of a card. However, it caused major headaches as a result of being a literal game breaker. The problematic effect was to make the monster with the highest Attack Points unaffected by Spell effects. Innocuous at first, but consider if both a 1500 ATK and a 2000 ATK monster are on the field, and then Axe of Despair, which grants 1000 ATK, is used on the 1500 ATK monster. The 1500 ATK monster would have the higher attack, and so would be unaffected by Axe of Despair, causing the 2000 ATK monster to have the highest ATK, and be affected by Pole Position, meaning Axe of Despair works again, so the 1500 ATK would have the highest attack again, so it would be unaffected by Axe of Despair... Pole Position was infamous for causing infinite loops such as these, grinding the game to a standstill. Konami ended up clarifying the rules for infinite loops, so that, if one occurred, the card responsible for the loop would be destroyed, which stopped Pole Position from causing infinite loops. There's a reason why this card was never added into any official Video Games (besides ''Decade Duels Plus'' from 2013) including ''Master Duel''.

* [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dewloren%2C_Tiger_King_of_the_Ice_Barrier Dewloren Tiger King of the Ice Barrier]], the other level 6 Ice Barrier Synchro alongside Brionac, can return any number of your own face-up cards aside from itself to your hand, once per turn, to gain 500 ATK per card until the End Phase. While its materials are heavily restricted and the ATK boost is unimpressive, Dewloren's bounce effect made it part of multiple burn and draw loops leading to consistent First Turn Kills throughout the years. While not broken enough to be banned, Dewloren at multiple copies can self-loop. This was what led to its Limited status in the September 2013 banlist, serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence on the list until it was changed to a hard once-per-turn, at which point it was finally allowed to go free. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGSJV_NneEY&t=310s Here are some of the few ways pre-errata Dewloren can be used at anything higher than 1 copy allowed]].

** The [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact Artifact]] archetype had already enjoyed some meta success in 2014, but ended up falling by the wayside after significant powercreep. However, one member ended up becoming increasingly relevant as the years went on; [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Scythe Artifact Scythe]], one of the most potent Extra Deck-lock effects to ever exist. While the card was intermittently used by control-based decks in conjunction with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Sanctum Artifact Sanctum]] (and even enjoyed a brief meta stint in the TCG in early 2017), this was nothing compared to the relevance it reached in the ''Series 11'' era, all thanks to what everyone assumed was a fairly average card on release: [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Dagda Artifact Dagda]]. It doesn't matter that Dagda doesn't set Sanctum upon effect activation, because popping Scythe yourself on the opponent's turn is nothing short of a joke. You have 2 monsters, one of them a tuner? Use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Crystron_Halqifibrax Crystron Halqifibrax]] to summon [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/T.G._Wonder_Magician T.G. Wonder Magician]]. Two level 4s? [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tornado_Dragon Tornado Dragon]]. Hell, you can even forgo Dadga if your deck can synchro for level 10, as you only need to dump Scythe to graveyard and summon it back with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Baronne_de_Fleur Baronne de Fleur]]. However, the combo that ended up breaking Scythe beyond belief was the one with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destiny_HERO_-_Destroyer_Phoenix_Enforcer Destiny Hero - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]] (which can pop Scythe and an opponent's card, or even Scythe and itself when threatened by removal) and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Predaplant_Verte_Anaconda Predaplant Verte Anaconda]] (see VRAINS folder). Any deck that can place 4 monsters (2 different names for Dagda, and 2 Effect monsters for Verte) on field can make use of this combo, which is '''literally every deck in the game'''. Want to know the worst part? Scythe's effect is a ''lingering'' effect, which means that nothing short of preventing its summon, or negating it on activation will stop the lock. The card was eventually banned in February 2023 in the TCG.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Kitkallos Tearlaments Kitkallos]] is one of the best archetype fusion monsters ever printed in the entire game. On summon, you can search for one card from your deck to add to your hand or mill to the GY. On the field, you can target one card on your side to summon a monster from your hand or GY and send the targetted monster to the GY triggering that monster's floating effects and giving you another body to replace it. If sent to the GY by a card effect, its floating effect allows you to mill 5 cards to the GY. It also has a decent body of 2300 ATK and since it's a Level 5 monster, it's also an [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Instant_Fusion Instant Fusion]] target. This fusion monster is one of many factors on how Tearlaments became a ''[[JustForPun Tear]]'' '''Zero''' deck and its inevitable ban in the February 2023 TCG list.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Kitkallos Tearlaments Kitkallos]] is one of the best archetype fusion monsters ever printed in the entire game. On summon, you can search for one card from your deck to add to your hand or mill to the GY. On the field, you can target one card on your side to summon a monster from your hand or GY and send the targetted monster to the GY triggering that monster's floating effects and giving you another body to replace it. When sent to the GY by a card effect, its floating effect allows you to mill 5 cards to the GY. It also has a decent body of 2300 ATK and since it's a Level 5 monster, it's also an [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Instant_Fusion Instant Fusion]] target. This fusion monster is one of many factors on how Tearlaments became a ''[[JustForPun Tear]]'' '''Zero''' deck and its inevitable ban in the February 2023 TCG list.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tearlaments_Kitkallos Tearlaments Kitkallos]] is one of the best archetype fusion monsters ever printed in the entire game. On summon, you can search for one card from your deck to add to your hand or mill to the GY. On the field, you can target one card on your side to summon a monster from your hand or GY and send the targetted monster to the GY triggering that monster's floating effects and giving you another body to replace it. When sent to the GY, its floating effect allows you to mill 5 cards to the GY. It also has a decent body of 2300 ATK and since it's a Level 5 monster, it's also an [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Instant_Fusion Instant Fusion]] target. This fusion monster is one of many factors on how Tearlaments became a ''[[JustForPun Tear]]'' '''Zero''' deck and its inevitable ban in the February 2023 TCG list.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Victory_Dragon Victory Dragon]] has the effect to allow you to win the match if you reduce the opponent's life points to 0 with a direct attack. To be clear, this doesn't mean you win just the duel, you win the ''match'' (meaning no games 2 and/or 3 if used successfully before then). A nasty effect indeed if you can get it off, but given that it can only be summoned by tributing 3 dragon type monsters, it’s [[AwesomeButImpractical debatable]] just how overpowered it truly is. However, there's a very good reason why it was banned and why [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Match_winner all cards like it]] since have been World championship prize cards that have "This card cannot be used in a duel" printed on them by default. The card was responsible for some of the most obnoxious and confusing rulings out there due to unscrupulous players both [[LoopholeAbuse attempting to surrender or find other ways to simply lose a duel]] to avoid its match win effect, or attempt to use it to circumvent the typical match rules (for instance, insisting on a third match after having already lost two of three, because a win by Victory Dragon would undo two losses). This was one of the reasons it was banned. [[note]]OCG rulings around surrendering work differently, as the opponent must accept your surrender, and if they don't you must forfeit the match to still surrender, reducing the ruling hassles brought on by Victory Dragon. There actually was a competitive OCG deck built around Victory Dragon, which is the other part of why it was banned.[[/note]]

* [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ancient_Fairy_Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon]] is an example of a card that just becomes more powerful as the game evolves. It could destroy any Field Spell in play, and then search another Field Spell from your deck. Field Spells were underused and mediocre back in the day, but PowerCreep saw that they would get even stronger over time, and went from being basic ATK and DEF boosts to becoming ''massive'' consistency boosters. As such, AFD became a powerful combo and consistency tool for any deck that can include a few different Field Spells to enable their plays. And just as the cherry on top, AFD lets you Special Summon ''any'' level 4 or lower monster from your hand, making it one of the best extension tools in the game, at cost of the Battle Phase, which is a menial price to pay. Ancient Fairy Dragon subsequently got the axe in the January 2018 OCG lists, with the TCG following suit in May 2018, and would only come back off the OCG list in 2023 after receiving an errata that forced hard once-per-turn restrictions on it and restricted its Field search to one of a different name than the ones you destroyed.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Number_S0:_Utopic_ZEXAL Number S0: Utopic ZEXAL]]. Not only does it have a piss-easy summon condition, (notice you can use ''any'' Utopia monster to summon it, which means [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Number_39:_Utopia_Beyond level 6]] decks also had access to it), but the opponent can do ''nothing'' to prevent or negate its summon. No effects of any kind, including those already on field can be used after it detaches a material, essentially preventing your opponent from even playing the game for the turn. Not only is this insane in its own right, its addition to the game made sure Konami didn't print a consistent RUM searcher for years, and in fact caused the TCG ban of [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Rank-Up-Magic_Argent_Chaos_Force Argent Chaos Force]], a totally innocent card, simply because players could combo it [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Beatrice,_Lady_of_the_Eternal Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Gaia_Dragon,_the_Thunder_Charger Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger]] to access Utopic Zexal with Utopia Beyond. However, the addition of Don Thousand's [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Numeron Numeron]] cards (see the [[GameBreaker/YuGiOhCardGame SEVENS]] folder) provided such an easy way to summon the card, that it became a problem that couldn't be ignored anymore. It got banned in the OCG in October 2020, and sure enough, not long after it was banned, Konami printed an easily-used Rank-Up-Magic search card, [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/ZEXAL_Construction ZEXAL Construction]]. The TCG subsequently gave it the axe in March 2021, also allowing Argent Chaos Force to come back to the game immediately.

* Part of a collection of six similar floodgate monsters, [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Barrier_Statue_of_the_Stormwinds Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds]] rose to prominence in the early 2020s. Not only does its combination of Attribute and Typing make it [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Raidraptor_-_Arsenal_Falcon easy to access by two ]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Simorgh,_Bird_of_Sovereignty semi-generic Extra Deck monsters]], the WIND attribute it locks you into is one of the rarest in competitive ''Yu-Gi-Oh''. Decks that use "Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty" to fetch it add insult to injury by making it immune to targeting negation. Try to take advantage of its pitiful stats by destroying it in battle, to then make plays on Main Phase 2? Think again, because the decks that usually play it will hide it behind multiple layers of protection, such as [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Floowandereeze Floowandereeze]] (see ''Series 11'' folder in the main page), which [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Floowandereeze_%26_Robina on top of searching it easily]], will also actively punish your attempts to out it in battle by starting up plays off your Normal Summon. This combination of factors led to its eventual ban in ''both'' the OCG and the TCG in-between late 2022 and early 2023.
* The [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact Artifact]] archetype had already enjoyed some meta success in 2014, but ended up falling by the wayside after significant powercreep. However, one member ended up becoming increasingly relevant as the years went on; [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Scythe Artifact Scythe]], one of the most potent Extra Deck-lock effects to ever exist. While the card was intermittently used by control-based decks in conjunction with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Sanctum Artifact Sanctum]] (and even enjoyed a brief meta stint in the TCG in early 2017), this was nothing compared to the relevance it reached in the ''Sevens'' era, all thanks to what everyone assumed was a fairly average card on release: [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Artifact_Dagda Artifact Dagda]]. It doesn't matter that Dagda doesn't set Sanctum upon effect activation, because popping Scythe yourself on the opponent's turn is nothing short of a joke. You have 2 monsters, one of them a tuner? Use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Crystron_Halqifibrax Crystron Halqifibrax]] to summon [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/T.G._Wonder_Magician T.G. Wonder Magician]]. Two level 4s? [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tornado_Dragon Tornado Dragon]]. Hell, you can even forgo Dadga if your deck can synchro for level 10, as you only need to dump Scythe to graveyard and summon it back with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Baronne_de_Fleur Baronne de Fleur]]. However, the combo that ended up breaking Scythe beyond belief was the one with [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destiny_HERO_-_Destroyer_Phoenix_Enforcer Destiny Hero - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]] (which can pop Scythe and an opponent's card, or even Scythe and itself when threatened by removal) and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Predaplant_Verte_Anaconda Predaplant Verte Anaconda]] (see VRAINS folder). Any deck that can place 4 monsters (2 different names for Dagda, and 2 Effect monsters for Verte) on field can make use of this combo, which is '''literally every deck in the game'''. Want to know the worst part? Scythe's effect is a ''lingering'' effect, which means that nothing short of preventing its summon, or negating it on activation will stop the lock. The card was eventually banned in February 2023 in the TCG.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Zoodiac_Drident Zoodiac Drident]]: One of two Zoodiac Xyz monsters to be banned, with a straightforward effect; detach 1 to destroy a face-up card on the field. This effect pretty much forces the opponent to answer it, or plan to lose an important combo piece, beater or enabler if they can't. Ending off with one of these was a very standard play in Zoodiacs, and a major part of the reason the archetype was so dominant. And, good luck winning if they break out another one in the following turn. Even if you weren't playing a Zoodiac deck, it's so good that you'd be foolish not to run it if you ran any other Zoodiac Xyz monster, including Broadbull. It was brought off to limited in April 2020, but even then, the fear for Zoodiac's return to dominance with it was enough to send Barrage to limited status as a precaution. As of July 2021, however, Drident has once again returned to being Forbidden, likely because of the archetype's interactions with "Divine Arsenal AA-Zeus - Sky Thunder" (see ''SEVENS'' folder), a field wipe that synergizes ridiculously well with the Zoodiac's stacking effects.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Outer_Entity_Azathot Outer Entity Azathot]]. At first, it doesn't seem too useful; its field wipe effect is very hard to setup, and its monster lockdown effect basically just ensures OTKs, since you can normally only Xyz summon during your turn. However, the Arc-V and Vrains era saw the release of several cards that allow you to get it out on your opponent's turn, with the most common being [[https://bit.ly/2EEtGhR The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch]], allowing you to cripple. Even when Launch was banned, the card still saw some use as an stun card in FTK decks, and as such, the TCG banned Azathot in their January 2020 list, while the OCG quickly followed suit.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Crystron_Halqifibrax Crystron Halqifibrax]], when Link Summoned, Special Summons a Level 3 or lower Tuner to a zone it points to. Many of the most common hand traps in the game happen to fall under this category, giving decks that run them even more value. Other common targets include Tuners that can Special Summon themselves from the Graveyard, such as Spore, Glow-Up Bulb, and Jet Synchron. This effectively makes Halqifibrax a free Link 4 unless it gets interrupted. It's rather telling that [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Glow-Up_Bulb the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destrudo_the_Lost_Dragon%27s_Frisson three]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Blackwing_-_Steam_the_Cloak best]] targets for its effect (one of which being the aforementioned Glow-Up Bulb) were all banned in one fell swoop the month after its release in the TCG. The fact that it took until '''nearly the end of the VRAINS era (March 2020)''' for this card to be imported to the TCG should tell you just how good of a combo starter it is. The strength of the plays Halqifibrax enabled eventually led to both [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Jet_Synchron Jet Synchron]] and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mecha_Phantom_Beast_O-Lion Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion]] getting banned in the September 2020 TCG list, with the restriction on Jet Synchron only being lifted in May 2022, once the aforementioned Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon (Halq's main parter in crime and combo enabler) was banned. Halqifibrax itself would be banned in the OCG in July 2022, and the TCG followed suit in October 2022; Blackwing - Steam the Cloak and Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion were both subsequently allowed back at 1 as Halqifibrax (and, in O-Lion's case, Auroradon) was no longer around to facilitate easy toolboxing of those cards.

* [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Pole_Position Pole Position]] is an odd case in that it was never that powerful of a card. However, it caused major headaches as a result of being a literal game breaker. The problematic effect was to make the monster with the highest Attack Points unaffected by Spell effects. Innocuous at first, but consider if both a 1500 ATK and a 2000 ATK monster are on the field, and then Axe of Despair, which grants 1000 ATK, is used on the 1500 ATK monster. The 1500 ATK monster would have the higher attack, and so would be unaffected by Axe of Despair, causing the 2000 ATK monster to have the highest ATK, and be affected by Pole Position, meaning Axe of Despair works again, so the 1500 ATK would have the highest attack again, so it would be unaffected by Axe of Despair... Pole Position was infamous for causing infinite loops such as these, grinding the game to a standstill. Konami ended up clarifying the rules for infinite loops, so that, if one occurred, the card responsible for the loop would be destroyed, which stopped Pole Position from causing infinite loops.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ancient_Fairy_Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon]] is an example of a card that just becomes more powerful as the game evolves. It can destroy any Field Spell in play, and then search another Field Spell from your deck. Since its release, however, Field Spells saw significant powercreep, and went from being basic ATK and DEF boosts, to becoming ''massive'' consistency boosters. As such, [=AFD] became a powerful combo and consistency tool for any deck that can include a few different Field Spells to enable their plays. And just as the cherry on top, [=AFD=] lets you Special Summon ''any'' level 4 or lower monster from your hand, making it one of the best extension tools in the game. Ancient Fairy Dragon subsequently got the axe in the January 2018 OCG lists, with the TCG following suit in May 2018.

* [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destiny_HERO_-_Disk_Commander Destiny HERO - Disk Commander]] previously let you draw 2 cards ''any time'' it was summoned from the graveyard. Yep, every revival card in the game suddenly became a Pot of Greed with this card (On top of it being prime discard fodder for [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Destiny_Draw Destiny Draw]],allowing you to draw even more cards). It was unbanned in the September 17 2018 list, following an errata that limits the draw effect to once per duel and prevents resurrecting it on the same turn it was sent to the graveyard, giving the opponent a chance to banish it if possible.

** [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Tellarknight_Ptolemaeus Tellarknight Ptolemaeus]]. A generic Rank 4 with low ATK but high DEF, that can ditch 3 Xyz materials to bring out a Rank 5 monster (Provided it isn't a Number). [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Constellar_Pleiades Constellar Pleiades]]? Became a staple. [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Stellarknight_Constellar_Diamond Stellarknight Constellar Diamond]]? There are now ''two'' ways to get it out. [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cyber_Dragon_Infinity Cyber Dragon Infinity]]? The most infamous combo with Ptolemaeus to summon this bad boy out; use its effect to summon [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cyber_Dragon_Nova Nova]] and then summon Infinity immediately. Ptolemaeus was a large component of what made [[=EmEm=]] an extremely powerful deck, and as such, it was banned in both formats - OCG in October 2015, and TCG in April 2016. It eventually came off the list in December 2022, when PowerCreep has created generic boss monsters that could be put out for less card investment but achieve more than what Ptolemaeus could.

** In the earliest days of the game, Fusion Monsters were considered AwesomeButImpractical. While some of their effects were decent, they often required too many resources put into them, which could bite you in the behind if your field got nuked. In an attempt to make fusions more practical, Konami created [[http://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]], one of the most convenient cards in the game. The intent was to give Fusion based archetypes better access to their Fusions, but [[GoneHorriblyRight it worked a bit too well]], as it gave decks that were completely unrelated to the Fusions powerful new options they had no right of ever having, and ended up contributing to the infamous Goat format. While certain ban list cards have gotten weaker over the years thanks to PowerCreep, Metamorphosis has gotten more powerful thanks to more useful Fusion monsters being introduced.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mystic_Mine Mystic Mine]], another Field Spell with an extremely potent floodgate effect, prevented the player who's controlling more monsters than their opponent from attacking or activating any monster effects. The card doesn't specify monsters that they control, which means not only monsters on the field that are sealed, you cannot activate monster effects ''from places like hand and Graveyard too''. It made sense on paper since most decks are so monster-dependent that Mystic Mine would actively hurt anyone in a leading position, and the Field itself would self-destruct once both players reached the same monster count. But decks that are often seen not running ''any'' monsters (like Chain Burn or [[ShapedLikeItself Mystic Mine]] Burn) would use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metaverse Metaverse]] (this card being ''the'' reason Metaverse is limited) to activate the Field Spell the moment the opponent played a monster or even given a monster via the [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Duo Ojama]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Trio Traps]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/D.D._Guide D.D. Guide]] while also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Field_Barrier Field Barrier]] to circumnavigate the cards weak point and also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cauldron_of_the_Old_Man Cauldron of the Old Man]] for the Burn Damage and https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Goddess_Skuld%27s_Oracle Goddess Skuld's Oracle]] to prevent the opponent from [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Lightning_Storm drawing]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cosmic_Cyclone the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Twin_Twisters outs]]. It was also an excellent board-breaking card for decks that already played field spells and were able to take care of an entire board with a single monster, such as Sky Striker or Dinosaur while also slowing down the pace of the game considerably. The OCG banned this card in the October 2021 list, while the TCG did not follow suit until it was finally, '''''finally''''' banned in an Emergency December 2022 banlist, much to the delight of the playerbase.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mystic_Mine Mystic Mine]], another Field Spell with an extremely potent floodgate effect, prevented the player who's controlling more monsters than their opponent from attacking or activating any monster effects. The card doesn't specify monsters that they control, which means not only monsters on the field that are sealed, you cannot activate monster effects ''from places like hand and Graveyard too''. It made sense on paper since most decks are so monster-dependent that Mystic Mine would actively hurt anyone in a leading position, and the Field itself would self-destruct once both players reached the same monster count. But decks that are often seen not running ''any'' monsters (like Chain Burn or [[ShapedLikeItself Mystic Mine]] Burn) would use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metaverse Metaverse]] (this card being ''the'' reason Metaverse is limited) to activate the Field Spell the moment the opponent played a monster or even given a monster via the [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Duo Ojama]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Trio Traps]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/D.D._Guide D.D. Guide]] while also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Field_Barrier Field Barrier]] to circumnavigate the cards weak point and also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cauldron_of_the_Old_Man Cauldron of the Old Man]] for the Burn Damage and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Goddess_Skuld's_Oracle Goddess Skuld's Oracle]] to prevent the opponent from [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Lightning_Storm drawing]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cosmic_Cyclone the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Twin_Twisters outs]]. It was also an excellent board-breaking card for decks that already played field spells and were able to take care of an entire board with a single monster, such as Sky Striker or Dinosaur while also slowing down the pace of the game considerably. The OCG banned this card in the October 2021 list, while the TCG did not follow suit until it was finally, '''''finally''''' banned in an Emergency December 2022 banlist, much to the delight of the playerbase.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mystic_Mine Mystic Mine]], another Field Spell with an extremely potent floodgate effect, prevented the player who's controlling more monsters than their opponent from attacking or activating any monster effects. The card doesn't specify monsters that they control, which means not only monsters on the field that are sealed, you cannot activate monster effects ''from places like hand and Graveyard too''. It made sense on paper since most decks are so monster-dependent that Mystic Mine would actively hurt anyone in a leading position, and the Field itself would self-destruct once both players reached the same monster count. But decks that are often seen not running ''any'' monsters (like Chain Burn or [[ShapedLikeItself Mystic Mine]] Burn) would use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metaverse Metaverse]] (this card being ''the'' reason Metaverse is limited) to activate the Field Spell the moment the opponent played a monster or even given a monster via the [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Duo Ojama]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Trio Traps]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/D.D._Guide D.D. Guide]] while also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Field_Barrier Field Barrier]] to circumnavigate the cards weak point and also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cauldron_Of_The_Old_Man Cauldron of the Old Man]] for the Burn Damage and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Goddess_Skulds_Oracle Goddess Skuld's Oracle]] to prevent the opponent from [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Lightning_Storm drawing]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cosmic_Cyclone the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Twin_Twisters outs]]. It was also an excellent board-breaking card for decks that already played field spells and were able to take care of an entire board with a single monster, such as Sky Striker or Dinosaur while also slowing down the pace of the game considerably. The OCG banned this card in the October 2021 list, while the TCG did not follow suit until it was finally, '''''finally''''' banned in an Emergency December 2022 banlist, much to the delight of the playerbase.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mystic_Mine Mystic Mine]], another Field Spell with an extremely potent floodgate effect, prevented the player who's controlling more monsters than their opponent from attacking or activating any monster effects. The card doesn't specify monsters that they control, which means not only monsters on the field that are sealed, you cannot activate monster effects ''from places like hand and Graveyard too''. It made sense on paper since most decks are so monster-dependent that Mystic Mine would actively hurt anyone in a leading position, and the Field itself would self-destruct once both players reached the same monster count. But decks that are often seen not running ''any'' monsters (like Chain Burn or [[ShapedLikeItself Mystic Mine]] Burn) would use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metaverse Metaverse]] (this card being ''the'' reason Metaverse is limited) to activate the Field Spell the moment the opponent played a monster or even given a monster via the [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Duo Ojama]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ojama_Trio Traps]] or [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/D.D._Guide D.D. Guide]] while also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Field_Barrier Field Barrier]] to circumnavigate the cards weak point and also using [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cauldron_Of_The_Old_Man Cauldron of the Old Man]] for the Burn Damage and [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Goddess_Skulds_Oracle Goddess Skuld's Oracle]] to prevent the opponent from [[[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Lightning_Storm drawing]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Cosmic_Cyclone the]] [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Twin_Twisters outs]]. It was also an excellent board-breaking card for decks that already played field spells and were able to take care of an entire board with a single monster, such as Sky Striker or Dinosaur while also slowing down the pace of the game considerably. The OCG banned this card in the October 2021 list, while the TCG did not follow suit until it was finally, '''''finally''''' banned in an Emergency December 2022 banlist, much to the delight of the playerbase.

** [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mystic_Mine Mystic Mine]], another Field Spell with an extremely potent floodgate effect, prevented the player who's controlling more monsters than their opponent from attacking or activating any monster effects. The card doesn't specify monsters that they control, which means not only monsters on the field that are sealed, you cannot activate monster effects ''from places like hand and Graveyard too''. It made sense on paper since most decks are so monster-dependent that Mystic Mine would actively hurt anyone in a leading position, and the Field itself would self-destruct once both players reached the same monster count. But decks that are often seen not running ''any'' monsters (like Chain Burn) would use [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Metaverse Metaverse]] (this card being ''the'' reason Metaverse is limited) to activate the Field Spell the moment the opponent played a monster. It was also an excellent board-breaking card for decks that already played field spells and were able to take care of an entire board with a single monster, such as Sky Striker or Dinosaur while also slowing down the pace of the game considerably. The OCG banned this card in the October 2021 list, while the TCG did not follow suit until it was finally, '''''finally''''' banned in an Emergency December 2022 banlist, much to the delight of the playerbase.