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

The September 2025 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG banlist was announced on September 12th, 2025, and has been out since September 15th. Unlike the last two banlists, KONAMI didn't announce this one after the end of a YCS.

Despite the wait, this update targeted many cards and should change the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG meta quite a bit.

Unlimited

Glow-Up Bulb was one of the many Tuners KONAMI banned because of Crystron Halqifibrax. As Crystron is currently banned too, making Glow-Up Bulb unlimited shouldn't cause any issues to the game.

Morphing Jar is completely irrelevant in the current Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG format because it is a Flip monster, and this mechanic has been obsolete for years.

Phantom Skyblaster was limited because it had the potential to become a problem in the Link era. This is no longer a concern, so letting us use 3 copies of it again is a reasonable idea.

We already expected KONAMI to free Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King and Dragonic Diagram back to 3 copies. Despite being annoying to face, this deck isn't powerful enough for the current meta and should only remain as an annoying rogue strategy.

Snake-Eye Ash and Snake-Eyes Poplar will make their archetype more consistent as well as relatively popular. However, without Original Sinful Spoils - Snake-Eye, it can't face the current meta. Some players who prefer unusual strategies could still use it as a decent rogue list, though.

Releasing Lightning Storm from 2 copies to 3 isn't relevant, so it shouldn't even be in the list. I consider this decision reasonable enough.

Zoodiac Barrage is a starter/extender that could put the Zoodiac engine back in the meta. Not at the very top, but as a popular engine in less impactful decks.

Semi-Limited

Another copy of Branded Fusion in the game will not only make its deck a lot better but also Dracotail. The Dracotail version with this card should even become the most popular version in the format because of how well it will work.

Limited

Ext Ryzeal is extremely powerful because it can be a starter, extender, and board breaker. Limiting it will significantly hurt Ryzeal as a deck, but because it wasn't banned outright, it will remain an engine for decks centered around Rank 4 Xyz lists.

Maliss P Dormouse will make Maliss inconsistent for good. It will remain strong and still execute its combo, but it will give you bad hands a lot more often now.

Limiting Vanquish Soul Razen and Stake Your Soul! will make this deck a lot less consistent, and it already wasn't too consistent. Losing 2 copies of "Razen" will hurt a lot, as it is the best starter and also has the best Attribute for this archetype.

Fiendsmith’s Lacrima was the fastest card to be banned in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, but releasing it like this won't actually be that bad. This card was problematic because it burned the opponent, but, considering the recent rule change, this won't be an issue anymore. Now, "Lacrima" can shine in its archetype as a great extender.

Linkuriboh will be great for any deck that puts level 1 monsters in play easily, particularly Yummy, the best deck in the game right now.

We expected KONAMI to free Summon Sorceress ever since they announced its errata. The updated "text" made it a lot less generic, so it will be strong but not broken.

Limiting these cards will nerf the main deck in the format, Yummy. The Herald of the Arc Light hit will make the deck less powerful overall, while limiting Obedience Schooled will make it less consistent.

Putting Zoodiac Drident back in the game is another way KONAMI is trying to push Zoodiac as a viable engine for many strategies. However, this deck might also become a decent budget list, particularly if you ever played it at its peak. I believe that, at least in the beginning, many will focus on Zoodiac Ryzeal builds.

Limiting Crystron Inclusion will make this deck a lot less consistent. It will still be playable, but now it has even less 1-card combos to play.

I believe no one expected KONAMI to limit Solemn Judgment. I don't consider it a prime target for this banlist, but it should nerf post-side going firsts overall. Looking at it from this side, I consider this decision quite interesting.

Forbidden

Many players wanted KONAMI to ban Moon of the Closed Heaven since the last banlist, considering it made the Fiendsmith engine extremely generic. Despite the delay, this is a good ban.

This Splash Mage ban is supposed to nerf Maliss, which has also become less consistent now that it has lost many copies of its other cards. Now, it will be less resilient as well because it won't have this extender to play anymore.

This King of the Feral Imps ban should make Mitsurugi less generic, as any Rank 4 Xyz deck could access it before. I believe this is a great ban because it will prevent us from using this archetype as a generic engine, but its pure version will remain alive.

Number 67: Pair-A-Dice Smasher was effectively the most toxic card in the format, and its ban is well-deserved. It decides the outcome of the duel by sheer luck alone, so it's completely unfair. Even more considering you can manipulate the result of the die.

Banlist Review

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG meta included Yummy, Vanquish Soul K9, and Dracotail, besides Crystron, Ryzeal, Maliss, and Fiendsmith variants. Most of us expected KONAMI to use this banlist to push decks from the previous meta out of the game and remove any card considered unfair or too powerful in the new meta.

So, Yummy lost a few pieces, but we already know new ones will come soon, so it should remain the best deck in the format. Dracotail went by relatively unscathed and got some support indirectly because of Branded Fusion, so it will remain a stable force in the meta. Vanquish Soul K9, on the other side, became less consistent and should disappear from the competitive scene. As such, Crystron will have enough space to replace it (particularly after we get more K9 support, which actually interacts really well with Crystron).

Out of the old decks, Ryzeal should show up more as an engine in strategies like Zoodiac than as a main deck. As for Maliss, it became a lot less consistent, so it will probably not show up in competitive settings for some time.

The only positive highlight from this banlist is Fiendsmith, which is returning. "Lacrima" will make it a lot more powerful, and it should show up in many tournaments soon. However, it won't be as generic as before: its cards are decent individually, but they won't interact with other strategies as much as before.

So, I believe this banlist was quite decent. It balanced the main decks, opened some space for new strategies, and should give us a dynamic, varied, competitive format.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

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