Ever since the creation of the first true ban list in October 2004, there have been dozens of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards to have found their way onto the Forbidden and Limited list for one reason or another. For the most part, this list is simply used to keep overpowered cards and strategies in check and allow for a faster rotation of decks to be used, but sometimes the reason for their ban is a little crazier.
Sometimes, the card is so overpowered that it’s questionable whether or not they should have been created in the first place, the likes of Spellbook of Judgement being one such card. Other times, it can be a long-forgotten card that couldn’t use its effect to its full potential, only for it to become wildly overpowered following a new mechanic being added to the game.
10 Yata-Garasu
As one of two cards to cause the first real game-breaking loop, modern Yu-Gi-Oh! players have Yata-Garasu and Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End to thank for creating the idea of banning cards in the first place. When played alongside cards like Sangan or Witch of the Black Forest, Yata-Garasu turns Chaos Emperor Dragon’s board clearing effect into an endless loop of chip damage and forcing the opponent to skip their draw phase.
This combo was so popular and well known, that even NPC opponents in Yu-Gi-Oh! video games would immediately concede if players managed to pull this combo off.
9 Breaker The Magical Warrior
These days, Breaker is a pretty mediocre card, but back in its heyday, it was one of the more consistent Spell and Trap removal cards in the game. Although its effect to destroy back row cards is fairly limited, it became a much larger problem when paired with Apprentice Magician, which could give Breaker additional Spell Counters to activate its effect.
It was solely for its interaction with Apprentice Magician, which only ever reached the Semi-Limited status, that Breaker was banned for one format before returning as Limited in the following list.
8 Injection Fairy Lily
Injection Fairy Lily has a long and well-known history with the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh! for its ability to easily rid the field of strong monsters. At the cost of 2000 LP, Injection Fairy Lily’s ATK would increase by a whopping 3000 to 3400, meaning that it could beat just about everything in the game in battle, including the legendary Blue-Eyes, without the aid of Equip Spell Cards.
While the addition of cards like Mage Power and United We Stand would mean she couldn’t always attack over common boss monsters like Summoned Skull, Injection Fairy Lily was good enough at her job that she was banned for a format to allow players to summon their best monsters without worrying they would be attacked over by a tiny fairy on the following turn.
7 Grinder Golem
Cards like Lava Golem and the Kaiju archetype are synonymous with having effects that summon strong monsters to the opponent’s side of the field, but while Grinder Golem fell into this same category, it wouldn’t see play until the release of Link Summons.
The ability to summon powerful Extra Deck monsters with only Tokens was already a strong aspect of Link Summoning, but the fact that players could summon Grinder Golem to the opponent’s side of the field, gain two free tokens, and potentially make a game-winning field with just one Grinder Golem was enough to see it quickly getting banned.
6 Blackwing – Gofu The Vague Shadow
Like Grinder Golem, Gofu the Vague Shadow was fairly weak when it was first released. It had a great effect to summon itself and two Tokens to the field but was let down by the fact it was a Tuner monster that couldn’t be used for a Synchro Summon with the Tokens it summoned to the field.
When Link Summons were released, however, this negative effect was a non-issue, since it could just be used to summon Link monsters instead.
5 Ancient Fairy Dragon
Ancient Fairy Dragon was once seen as the worst Dragon Synchro monster to come out of the 5D’s era, as it had to contend with the likes of Stardust Dragon for many years. While its effects weren’t horrible, it was severely let down by its attack restriction and the low power levels of Field Spell Cards.
This would change in recent years, as Field Spell Cards became some of the best cards in many decks. The ability to search or destroy them easily quickly made players realize just how good Ancient Fairy Dragon really was, especially considering how easily level 7 Synchro monsters can be summoned.
4 Butterfly Dagger – Elma
On paper, Butterfly Dagger – Elma is a pretty mediocre Equip Spell, with it only increasing the equipped monster’s attack by 300. Its only saving grace is that it returns to the player’s hand when it’s destroyed. However, this card is pushed into the overpowered category when combined with two monster cards that allow players to draw an infinite amount of cards.
Its interaction with Gearfried the Iron Knight, Magical Library, and the Exodia pieces meant that Butterfly Dagger – Elma went from being an OK Equip Spell to the single best card in Exodia decks. This quickly resulted in it being banned.
3 Self-Destruct Button
For the most part, cards that are placed on the Forbidden and Limited List are there due to their overpowered effects, their interactions with other cards causing infinite loops, or how quickly they can turn the tide of a duel in the player’s favor when played.
Self-Destruct Button is the only card to be banned that falls into none of these categories, and it is only on the ban list because of its ability to force a tied game when played. Although it didn’t see much play before being banned, it was used in stall decks like Final Countdown or Exodia to ensure that, even if they couldn’t win, their opponent wouldn’t win either.
2 Mass Driver
Being in the same list that held the likes of Pot of Greed, Raigeki, Harpie’s Feather Duster, and Delinquent Duo would make players assume that Mass Driver was incredibly powerful, but its true power only comes into play when used alongside the Frog archetype.
Although Cannon Soldier has a very similar effect and was banned for largely the same reason, Mass Driver has the advantage of being a Spell Card that doesn’t take up a Normal Summon, meaning Frog decks were able to take full advantage of its burn effect the turn it was played. It also helped that Frog decks were able to summon potentially limitless amounts of monsters to pay the cost for dealing 400 damage.
1 Sixth Sense
Sixth Sense is a very old anime card that appeared in name only and wasn’t actually shown being played. During the Dragon Ruler era, it finally came into the game for players to use, but it was far too late for it to be a balanced card.
Despite its high risk, high reward appearance, players would just declare the number six every time. No matter whether they could draw six or mill six, either way, they would gain a huge advantage in Dragon Ruler decks, as all of their summoning effects could activate from the graveyard as well as the hand.
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