The Infinite Forbidden set has released for competitive play on July 18th, 2024 in the TCG! This pack released right before the 2024 North America World Championship Qualifier, shaking up the meta that has largely been stagnant for the past few months. Let's check out the hottest new cards that  excite competitive and casual players alike!

Fiendsmith

Fiendsmith is the most competitive archetype to come out of The Infinite Forbidden, and they are as brutal as their name suggests! This one-man show starts with Fiendsmith Engraver, which nets you a Fiendsmith spell, which is likely to be their searcher and Fusion Spell, Fiendsmith Tractus. The Extra Deck Fiendsmith monsters are Links and Fusions, both of which are easy to get out. This generic archetype provides extension that is easy to search out.

Fiendsmith Requiem is a Link Monster that requires 1 Light Fiend monster. While certain main deck Fiend monsters come to mind such as Fabled Lurrie, another new Monster from The Infinite Forbidden shines down to give greater access to the engine starter: Moon of the Closed Heaven. While Moon of the Closed Heaven has a lackluster effect, it is a generic Light Fiend monster that is Extra Deck accessible. That means that any deck that can spare two monsters has access to Fiendsmith Dies Irae's negation, or the materials necessary to combine Engraver with another Level 6 to XYZ Summon Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal! Fiendsmith Lacrimosa also lets you burn the opponent for 1200 damage, meaning that Fiendsmith decks have access to burn in time in their Main Phase.

Gimmick Puppet

Gimmick Puppet now has access to an in-engine FTK via Mansion of the Dreadful Dolls and its multitude of XYZ monsters with burn effects. While FTK combos are typically inconsistent, weak to hand traps, or both, Gimmick Puppet has no such qualms. In fact, Mansion provides a one-card FTK on its own as well as protection against common hand traps such as Effect Veiler, Infinite Impermanence, and Nibiru, the Primal Being. Combined with the Horus cards, it can push through going second with Rank 8 XYZ monsters - and it doesn't even need a Battle Phase to end the duel once the opponent's board has been broken.

Millennium

The namesake of the set, The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate appears in its complete form with enough power to rival its game-winning Effect Monster version. The Fusion Exodia is summoned via Millennium Ankh, which in turn is searched out by the Millennium monsters, like Shield of the Millennium Dynasty and by proxy, Sengenjin Wakes from a Millennium. The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate itself has a whopping four effects - it cannot be destroyed by card effects, gains ATK equal to your LP every time it battles, it can negate a Spell or Trap once per turn, and it can set an "Exodd" or "Obliterate" Spell or Trap from the Deck during every end phase. 

Once such settable card is Obliterate!!! Blaze! If The Unstoppable Exodia Incarnate survives to the opponent's End Phase, it's almost guaranteed to be lights out. Between the support of Millennium monsters and Exodia's indomnitable presence, this simple but powerful archetype exemplifies the power of Exodia's wrath.

White Forest

White Forest is a Synchro deck that discards Spells to use their effects, not unlike Witchcrafter. However, both their Main Deck monsters and Spells are more powerful, providing recursion and access to negations. Astellar of the White Forest and Elzette of the White Forest provide a cycling gameplan that culminates into Diabell, Queen of the White Forest through the use of its in-archetype Synchro Tuners. Between the two previously mentioned Main Deck monsters, Silvy of the White Forest, and Tales of the White Forest, White Forest excels at consistently dropping big Synchros.

Tenpai

While largely unchanged, Tenpai gets Tenpai Dragon Genroku, their own Special Summonable Lonefire Blossom equivalent. This gives them increased consistency and an extender. And while it's not a Tenpai in name, Dora Dora can search out Genroku for further redundancy!

Madolche

Madolche's initial claim to fame was their timeless boss monster, Madolche Queen Tiaramisu. Its effect to non-targeting spin cards back to the Deck is still impossible to protect against aside from a negation. Now introducing Madolche Queen Tiarafraise, with the same effect as Tiaramisu but as a Quick Effect! Furthermore, Madolche Mini Meowcaroons provides extension and a way to search Madolche Promenade - which was initially just a way to interact, but can now stop opposing board breakers such as Dark Ruler No More from blanking Tiarafraise!

Mimighoul

Flip Effect monsters are usually considered too slow for modern Yugioh. That's when Mimighoul comes in! These tricky monsters Special Summon themselves to the opponent's side of the field - turning off cards that require an open board, like Infinite Impermanence. Then, their surprising Flip Effects have devastating consequences for the opponent. Primarily, Mimighoul Dragon destroys the owner's own monsters. On the opponent's turn, Mimighoul Master can flip an opponent's Monster face-up, meaning the combination is a Raigeki on legs!

Mimighoul Maker can set out-of-archetype Flip monsters to the opponent's side of the field. This is exploitable with Fire Sorcerer, a card that makes its current owner banish two cards from their hand. Paired with Summoning Curse, Mimighoul can remove the opponent's entire hand before they get a turn!

Generic Cards

Silhouhatte Rabbit is a generic Link-2 that sets a Trap Monster from the deck. This is primarily used to grab Angel Statue - Azurune, which in turn gives an interruption similar to Thunder King Rai-Oh. While this could seem underwhelming, Silhouhatte Rabbit represents another interruption for the low cost of two Monsters.

Dominus Purge is an intriguing card design that parallels the effect of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, but with the major downside of preventing the use of Dark, Water, and Fire attribute monsters for the rest of the Duel. This restriction is especially confusing, given that it prevents the use of Ash Blossom, a card that is superior in most ways. Does Dominus Purge suggest a storm is brewing in the Forbidden and Limited List come August...?

Conclusion

The Infinite Forbidden shook up the World Championship Qualifiers 2024 with its boost to the Snake-Eyes and Yubel decks. Gimmick Puppet also took a few slots and presents an interesting design philosophy that suggests that alternate win condition decks may be getting less lax with their design restrictions. Overall, The Infinite Forbidden has had tremendous short-term impact on an important tournament and will continue to do so as long as the Fiendsmith cards run amock.