Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: April 2025 Banlist Review

The April 2025 banlist was published on April 6th and was effective on the following day. Just like last time, KONAMI announced this banlist at the end of an YCS, namely YCS Houston 2025.

Players had been anxiously waiting for this banlist for nearly a month, and, despite the long wait, it was excellent, as it changed a lot more than we expected.

Check out below everything the latest banlist changed in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.

Unlimited

Many players already somewhat knew KONAMI was going to make Cyber Jar, Eva, and Performapal Monkeyboard unlimited, but none of us expect these cards to be relevant competitively.

Danger!? Jackalope? and Danger!? Tsuchinoko? are also not surprising, but they have potential, even if just a tiny bit. That's because these engines can make decks like Tearlaments stronger, and these, in turn, might become quite powerful in the new format, as it isn't as powerful as the last one.

Semi-Limited

Black Dragon Collapserpent and White Dragon Wyverburster are surprising changes, but they won't impact the meta, at least not straight away. However, they're great extenders that will certainly become relevant again when new support cards that focus on Light/Dark Dragons come out.

Konami making Ext Ryzeal, Ice Ryzeal, and Sword Ryzeal semi-limited all at once is a surprise, but a very pleasant one. By limiting all the main starters in this archetype, the dev team nerfed it considerably, but also kept it alive.

The same logic applies to Maliss P Dormouse, Maliss P White Rabbit, and Maliss In Underground, which became semi-limited. However, these changes will affect this deck slightly more, as it is less consistent than is rival, Ryzeal.

Morphing Jar was such a predictable change that they should have made it completely free instead of making it semi-limited to 2 copies first. That's because it is too slow for current Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, as it is a Flip monster - a quite outdated mechanic.

The Snake-Eye Ash and Snake-Eyes Poplar changes are an attempt to make Snake-Eye playable again, but it will still be far from competitive.

The Unchained Soul of Sharvara change is an interesting "return", considering it might make Unchained more consistent. I don't see much potential in it as a meta deck, but it is certainly a great rogue list for smaller tournaments.

Limited

Many players have wanted KONAMI to limit Bystial Druiswurm for a long time because it has the best interaction effect in this archetype. This change will also nerf Maliss, which will become less resilient now that it has less Bystials to play as extenders.

Dimension Shifter is one of the most hated cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, and, thankfully for us, KONAMI finally limited it. Now that we can only use 1 copy of it, playing it is mathematically impossible because it practically only works on turn 1.

This change will be incredible for the game, as it is essentially restricting a lingering effect that lasts for 2 turns - which is completely unhealthy.

Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King's return will be nostalgic for fans of this archetype, but won't do much more. This monster was once quite oppressive, but the game evolved enough that its return is relatively irrelevant.

Mathmech Circular is the most relevant return in this banlist, and will certainly make Cyberse decks popular again, at least for now. I don't see this deck becoming meta again, but, because of how "powerful" it is, most players will use at least one "Circular engine" to make many combos in various decks a lot stronger.

Limiting Ryzeal Detonator is another great surprise, and I believe it will be crucial to push pure Ryzeal out of the meta. Only being able to play one copy of this boss monster will make this deck's grind game terrible, as the opponents will then simply focus on outs that deal with "Detonator" "definitively".

So, I believe anyone who wants to keep playing this list will be forced to use another engine with it, like Fiendsmith, for instance.

Bonfire was an expected hit, considering KONAMI had to take it away from Ryzeal to force players to get Seventh Tachyon, which has just come out and is quite expensive. Though this will certainly make the best deck in the format a lot less consistent, it was also motivated by commercial reasons.

Brilliant Fusion's return is considered risky by many players, but I particularly believe it won't negatively impact the game. I see this return as a nice gift for fans of this archetype, considering that new support cards for it will also come out soon.

KONAMI has needed to limit Crossout Designator, and, particularly, Triple Tactics Talent for a long time now, as they were popular in the main meta decks ever since the Snake-Eye format. Just like the other restrictions we already mentioned, these hits will be great for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG overall, as now we have less ways to punish handtraps.

Forbidden

Banning Knightmare Gryphon and Link Decoder will directly affect Maliss, but in different ways.

"Gryphon" is considered a "win more" card by many players because you only put it in play when you're quite ahead in the match and would hardly lose. However, one floodgate less in the game is always great. Even more so when it's a card that always returns to the meta as new formats come along.

As for Link Decoder, it will directly make Maliss less resilient because, with it, we could play around a few handtrap interactions, like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring.

Banning Abyss Dweller and Bahamut Shark is supposed to nerf Ryzeal, and will probably do it quite nicely as well.

"Dweller" is another floodgate with a lingering effect that should have been banned a long time ago, and doing so will make the game a lot healthier.

As for Bahamut Shark, banning it will prevent Ryzeal from accessing an omninegate, which is also great for the format. Furthermore, it will also nerf the dangerous Mermail considerably.

Banlist Review

The current Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG meta included the main Ryzeal variants and Maliss, the most dominant lists, then Mermail and Blue-Eyes Primite, as well as Fiendsmith as an engine.

Many players expected KONAMI to restrict Fiendsmith so we don't use it anymore, as it had been popular for months now. Furthermore, many thought they would also restrict cards "around" Ryzeal and Maliss, considering the last weak nerfs to recent lists.

However, KONAMI surprised us all, and, besides changing cards "around" Ryzeal and Maliss, they also semi-limited all starters in the other archetypes. They also restricted floodgates that were harmful to the game, as well as cards that punish you for playing handtraps, which are essential to win matches when you go second.

I believe that, despite these changes, Ryzeal and Maliss will remain the best decks in the format, but Blue-Eyes Primite might become more popular than them, at least at first. Pure Ryzeal should become a lot more unpopular in the meta, and the Fiendsmith variant should become even more popular.

So, for the first time ever, I consider this banlist excellent, as all bans, limitations, and semi-limitations were exceptional.

What did you think of the banlist? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

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