Banlist Timeline: Sky Striker A look at Sky Striker's uneasy relationship with the banlist.

As we approach the first few months of Master Rule 5, what lessons can we learn from how different Master Rule 4 was? During that time, Sky Striker was introduced. It was the most powerful deck of that era. It was fated to meet the banlist over and over.

Since the deck's initial reveals from "Dark Saviors," Raye has managed to be either the bane or envy of every duelist. With a few YCS tops here and there, hundreds at top regional tables, and even a PPG top, the deck had managed to stay meta relevant with multiple hits.

Sky Striker suffered their most devastating blow, with Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! banned. Here are the circumstances behind why, and a timeline of Sky Striker's uneasy relationship with the banhammer.

The Reveals:

Sky Striker Ace - Raye
What could a schoolgirl possibly do?

The deck had everything that a good deck would need. It has a searcher (Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage!), an arguably better in-archetype mind control (Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor), a monster reborn (Sky Striker Mecha - Shark Cannon), and in-archetype removal Sky Striker Maneuver - Afterburners! and Sky Striker Maneuver - Jamming Waves!.

Upon its initial reveal, the obvious card of interest was Sky Striker Mecha Modules - Multirole. It is comparable to Spellbook of Judgment.

But with all these powerful effects, it came with the requirement of controlling no main monster zone cards. Therefore, a single Kaiju could, in theory, shut down this deck. The deck also “auto-loses” to Anti-Spell Fragrance and Imperial Order! Needless to say, it surpassed what anyone could ever expect.

The Hits:

September 2018 Banlist

Hit already...?

Only four months into its TCG release, Sky Striker Mecha - Hornet Drones was limited to one. This could be attributed to how Drones was a way for decks to make a Link-2 without using their normal summon. Sky Striker Ace - Kagari would recycle the Drones, enabling easy access to link climb. This was only a minor hit to the consistency of Sky Striker, as the deck could still function at near full power. This limit was an indirect hit other decks utilizing the Sky Striker Engine, such as Knightmare Mermaid decks.

April 2019 Banlist

"Why can't I summon your Kagari?" said the new Sky Striker player.

April 2019 saw the next hit of Sky Striker Ace - Kagari to one, effectively hitting one of the central pieces of recursion. This meant that Sky Striker Mecharmory - Hercules Base became a requirement in order to reuse Kagari. Mirror matches boiled down to whoever could resolve Kagari the most. Basically, you would never summon Kagari without using Raye’s tribute effect now, unless you knew what you were doing.

July 2019 Banlist

3 of this was a brick anyways...

July 2019 saw the limiting of Sky Striker Mecha Modules - Multirole, the in-archetype Spellbook of Judgment. Multirole provided a constant ability for the player to reuse the Sky Striker spells they had just activated. Its powerful ability to deny the opponent to respond to spells meant that an opponent had no interaction aside from a handtrap or chaining backrow removal. The limit further stressed the usage of Kagari, another limited card. A Sky Striker player would have to decide if it was worth using Kagari's effect to retrieve Multirole from the GY, over cards like Engage or Widow Anchor.

October 2019 Banlist

I'm starting to sense a pattern here...

October 2019 was yet another hit with Widow Anchor getting limited to 1. Anchor not only negated effects, but its built-in mind control effect was absurd. This decreased the power of the deck, because it enabled easy link climbing to larger monsters, such as Borrelsword Dragon, or other popular Extra Deck Monsters. It could also steal an opponent's monster at the right moment, potentially ending the turn outright. Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage!, had only a few useful targets left to search like Sky Striker Mecha - Eagle Booster or Sky Striker Mecha - Shark Cannon.

January 2020 Banlist

MichaelScottNOOOO.gif

The infamous January 2020 finally the nail in the coffin was confirmed upon months of speculation. Will the TCG follow the OCG and semi-limit Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage!? Or will the TCG banlist leave the deck alone after numerous hits? On that fateful Friday afternoon, the TCG meta was in for a reckoning.

April 2020 Banlist

Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! becomes restricted. Although additional cards such as Sky Striker Ace - Roze and Sky Striker Maneuver - Scissors Cross were on the horizon, the heart and soul of the deck was banned, meaning any level of power and consistency the deck had was neutered. However, on a positive note, Sky Striker Ace - Kagari was unlimited, providing some semblance of recursion.

To the surprise of many, April 2020 found Widow Anchors to 2, giving them back a small power boost.

Future Banlist Predictions:

With the current meta from online tournaments and the global pandemic shutting down all tournament play for the foreseeable future, it is hard to tell if the banlist would change at all. Why bother changing it if no one can play at organized tournaments or locals?

Of course, the most obvious question is whether or not Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! would ever come off the banlist in some capacity.

But, my bold prediction is that Widow Anchor would go to three instead of Engage to one. Widow Anchor would raise the power play of the deck, whilst the consistency of the deck remains unchanged. Many believe that Engage cannot co-exist with Hornet Drones. Engage's release is reliant upon the restriction of Drones to zero.

Of course, all this is speculation. The point of the banlist is to bring some balance to the game and to rotate decks in and out of the meta. Sky Striker has had their time to shine, dominating the metagame ever since their introduction. Maybe it is time for another deck to be in the limelight.            

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