Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: December 2024 Banlist Review

During YCS Anaheim's final rounds last weekend, KONAMI surprised all of us with the news that, after the event, they would update Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG's Forbidden and Limited list.

Most players expected them to nerf the three main decks in the game: Snake-Eye and its variants, Yubel Fiendsmith, and Tenpai Dragon.

So, the new banlist was released on December 8th, 2024, and has been valid since December 9th, 2024!

Check out below everything that changed in the new Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG format!

Gimmick Puppet Nightmare has finally been banned! Though this is undoubtedly well-deserved, it is also very late, considering Branded has not been in the top cuts of big tournaments for a while now. Still, the less FTKs in the game, the better it is for us players!

Jowgen the Spiritualist is another problematic card that, despite not being an FTK, has been a powerful floodgate, and popular in many Stun strategies. Actually, there is a big possibility that this is a preemptive ban, considering "Jowgen" could replace Gimmick Puppet Nightmare in Branded, and also has synergy with White Forest (as it is a Spellcaster with the Light attribute).

Original Sinful Spoils - Snake-Eye is the most relevant ban in this update, and directly impacts Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG metagame. I believe that, after this ban, Snake-Eye will leave the meta for good. The main reason why is that, besides affecting the pure version of the archetype, this ban will also affect all other decks that use this engine to strengthen their strategy.

Limiting Tenpai Dragon Chundra and Sangen Kaimen will most likely be enough to push Tenpai out of the meta. Now, I believe this deck will simply be another rogue deck, which, despite being able to beat any deck if you get a great hand, is too inconsistent to be a valid option in high-level competitive settings.

Limiting Phantom of Yubel won't completely remove Yubel from the meta, but will make it less resourceful, and also reduce its power-level ceiling, as it removes what was most "unfair" about it.

Zoodiac Barrage becoming limited instead of banned is a very random surprise, and shouldn't impact the current metagame. Nonetheless, this can be a sign that other Zoodiac cards will leave the banlist, which would be interesting.

Cyber Jar, Eva, and Performapal Monkeyboard have returned to the game in past banlists, so this change wasn't that surprising. Many players knew they would be semi-limited soon, considering they haven't caused problems to the game as of late.

Danger!? Jackalope? and Danger!? Tsuchinoko?, however, are a surprise, but, similarly to the cards above, the reason for this is probably because they'll be completely unlimited soon, maybe in the next banlist.

As we had predicted and commented in past banlist reviews, all Dragon Rulers are back in the game - completely unlimited.

Dinowrestler Pankratops is probably the most relevant change in this banlist, considering it is a very efficient staple when you're going second. In fact, because of the game's powercreep, "Pankratops" is no longer an issue, but rather a way to deal with many other cards.

Lunalight Tiger, Thunder Dragon Colossus, and Ib the World Chalice Justiciar are now completely unlimited after they returned from the banlist as semi-limited (first 1 copy, and then 2 copies). They should matter individually for their own archetypes, and these will be undoubtedly better, but not relevant to the meta.

Making Rescue-ACE Air Lifter unlimited is interesting for Yubel, but not relevant enough to really buff it, particularly after Phantom of Yubel was limited.

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG's metagame was full of Snake-Eye variants, besides a good dose of Yubel Fiendsmith and Tenpai Dragon. Most players wanted this banlist to reduce their power level by a lot.

Though there were some late bans and bans that were not relevant to these decks, they were all affected by the banlist, and at least two of them should leave the meta: Snake-Eye and Tenpai Dragon.

As for Yubel Fiendsmith, I believe it will be this format's "third power", and will stand behind the recently released Ryzeol and Maliss. These archetypes will benefit a lot from this banlist.

Now, as for the cards that came back into the game and became unlimited, I believe this won't negatively impact the game overall.

So, I consider this banlist average; despite banning the right cards and making interesting cards unlimited, it felt a bit late.

What did you think of this banlist? Do you think they missed any cards? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

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