Regarding the October 2021 OCG Limit Regulations As per every article I write about the OCG, it is absolutely amusing to see people bring Maxx “C” into the equation despite zero mentions about the ca

Spring, Summer and Autumn. It is Winter's turn to arrive with the final limit list of the year, and what a treat it is!

As per every article I write about the OCG, it is absolutely amusing to see people bring Maxx "C" into the equation despite zero mentions about the card. Unfortunately, as a spoiler, KONAMI OCG has not sensed any danger from Maxx "C" yet. So on behalf of the OCG, I apologize to all TCG readers for causing you another three months of agony!

This article, is about breaking down the Limit Regulations for the last three months. I will do my best to reason with various choices in the current metagame through my thoughts.

As a final disclaimer, this is about the OCG October 2021 Ban List. Several cards like Maxx “C” and Astrograph Sorcerer are not banned, and some cards that “have not been imported” like Crossout Designator exist in this metagame.

You can read my previous banlist articles here:
January 2021 - April 2021 - July 2021

April 1st, 2021 Limit Regulations


FORBIDDEN

LIMITED

SEMI LIMITED

UNLIMITED

Understanding the Current OCG Metagame

This picture was created with the 4 – 8 September Metagame in mind, so it is not an exact accurate representation of the current OCG Meta.

Swordsoul have the largest cut of the pie, and many other different archetypes like Phantom Knights, Tri-Brigade, Phoenix Brave all wields similar sizes. Although not shown in this specific image, Sky Striker and Eldlich has had massive success this season.

This season introduces the latest main set Burst of Destiny. Swordsoul and Flundereeze has proven themselves to be worthy meta-contenders to stand on front lines. Burst of Destiny has also introduced Destiny HERO Destroy Phoenix Enforcer - a strong flexible engine reminiscent of the currently banned Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon. This engine allows any decks to utilize an alternative win-condition without compromising anything severe. The latest inclusion to the metagame also introduces the Brave Token Engine, a core that allows many decks to develop an additional omni-negate for seemingly no cost.

The addition of many adaptable engines has allowed many different decks to compete with a huge boost. Going first with an inclusion of multiple mallable engines may allow any archetype to set up multiple negates to stop even hyper-combo decks such as Drytron.

So with these updates in mind, I will point out what it means for the rest of the year. Alternatively, you may choose to read up more on the OCG Metagame through this link here.

Forbidden 🚫

True King of All Calamities

True King of All Calamities

Mom! Hang the stockings up, KONAMI is here and they brought gifts!

After 3 whole irritated articles, KONAMI has finally recognized the menace that True King of All Calamities has wrought upon the metagame, to the health of the game itself. Calamities has dominated in every metagame that has allowed it to exist, from the True King Dinosaur era till today. Although I am confident many readers of date are aware of Calamities' crimes, I will briefly review its impact on the metagame.

Calamities' effect is simply to prevent your opponent from activating monster effects of a particular attribute. In summary, as long as you could summon Calamities, you will prevent your opponent from activating monster effects. And if you thought you could cheat out a monster big enough to hit Calamities, the effect also extends to preventing attack declarations. This meant that once Calamities resolved, it was almost impossible to set-up in its presence, let alone clear the opposing board or even push for game, effectively skipping that turn.

The current Virtual World is able to consistently setup Calamities with Virtual World Gate - Chuche under multiple interruptions. This provides a consistent unfair scenario that the opposing player needs to specifically tech against the possibility of facing Virtual World - which can still be neutralized with the Virtual World player including Crossout Designator.

After constantly dominating the metagame for way too long, it is a surprise that KONAMI would actually pay attention and finally hit Calamities. So good riddance, and don't come back ever!

Mystic Mine

Mystic Mine

"So... can I still activate monsters from my hand?"

In response to the outcry 2 years ago concerning the outright ban, KONAMI has finally locked the last copy of Mystic Mine away. This card has caused a lot of drama and destress ever since it was released. In fact, this card was what allowed many old players to return, as they could effectively ignore their opponent's complex $100 cards and just beat them down with good ol' Leghul.

Mystic Mine allows the player to instantly switch the current game state to something else entirely - a game of resources. The opposing player needs to consider if they have any "outs" in their deck, or if they will deck out before the opponent. This creates a different kind of game state where both players will constantly wait on each other.

Many opponents would not have accounted for this, and lose due to unpreparedness. There was even a time when there were decks completely revolving around the existence of this, such as Burn and Final Countdown. Mystic Mine would go on to be played in decks that could manipulate their board size as a back-up plan.

As a player that enjoyed utilizing the singular Mystic Mine for the past 2 years, I cannot say I am sorry to see it go. This spell has created only unhealthy game states and no one has ever enjoyed sitting across it. At long last, we have seen the end of this cave, and it is a jail cell with Mystic Mine's name on it.

If you would like to go into detail about the troubles that this card has single-handedly caused, I have found an old Reddit thread explaining everything.

Limit ☝🏽

If it's at one, why wouldn't it be fun?

PSY-Framegear Gamma

PSY-Framegear Gamma

I previously wrote all my thoughts on Gamma from the last article, and my thoughts are exactly the same regarding this continued limit. Please read that article as my current opinions will be an extension of that.

Gamma continued seeing an extensive usage in all decks despite the semi-limit. The current limit will convince all OCG players to finally abandon Gamma for good, but thankfully its prime target Calamities is no longer around as well. I believe this will not be a long wait, and Gamma will eventually come back in a few more lists. Hold tight in there Gamma, your partner Driver will wait for you!


Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder

Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder

This is quite the interesting hit, as current decks are already only playing a singular copy of AA-ZEUS. A limit on ZEUS is almost pointless, almost like a limit Predaplant Anaconda Verte. There is no denying the power of this card, as it singlehandedly revived Zoodiac, and boosted any deck that could even remotely piece two equal levels together. In fact, I wrote an article about AA-Zeus before, declaring it the strongest card out of Phantom Rage.

I suspect the limit regulation on this card is KONAMI's message about how aware they are of this card's powers. A similar tactic was applied with Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon in the past, and we could easily see a repeat offender. In other news, AA-Zeus will probably be harder to summon in decks utilizing Pot of Extravagance. Otherwise, absolutely nothing is going to change for decks wanting to brandish the Divine Arsenals.

Semi-Limit ✌🏽

Cards cannot cut the queue, so please stay at two! We visit OCG's beloved number, and see if they have finally made up their mind yet.

Crossout Designator

Crossout Designator

What is this card? Why don't we have it yet!!! - A typical TCG player

Crossout Designator is a very unique card in the aspect that it has the potential to negate EVERYTHING that could exist in a main deck. Its current applications are to serve as an additonal Called by the Grave, or a potential disruption in mirror matches. In fact, it is one of the only reliable cards to counter PSY-Framegear Gamma.

The introduction of this card has allowed all Combo decks to play up to 8 direct counters to Maxx "C", and tempo decks to tackle their mirror matches with ease. In fact, I dug up an ancient article detailing the difference between Called by the Grave and Crossout Designator! It is no surprise when I say this card is absolutely a standard staple in almost every deck.

The current hit to Crossout Designator honestly has me puzzled, much like Called by the Grave's hits in both the TCG and OCG. But as a result of this hit, my observations show that TCG is more comfortable with playing 9-12 hand traps in their main decks. Possibly with the expectations that they will be more effective without the fear of losing to counters like these. Of course, this is merely conjecture, but it may seem that KONAMI would like to try and replicate such an environment in the OCG.

This is definitely not a welcome hit to me, as there is one less counter towards Maxx "C" now. I suppose more players will be incentivized to try slower decks due to this.

Pot of Desires

Pot of Desires

The day before the banlist, I gathered a few friends to laugh at my friend's prediction of this card. This is my public apology for being wrong to him, and this is his video predicting the list.

This card is simple yet complex. It says draw 2 cards, but you banish 10 cards!? I would go into depth about this controversial card, but many has done so before me. I will just sum it up as, certain decks can afford to play it. And the current certain decks that do would be Swordsoul, Virtual World and 60-card amalgamations. Which is not really a lot.

Personally, I am very conflicted on this. I have never seen a Pot card go to semi-limit without a polarizing reason. What about the other Pots? What do you readers think about this? Was this hit warranted? Is Gren Maju tier 0 coming soon? Only KONAMI knows.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon

Dragon Link is dead with Elpy, and it does not look like it is coming back any time soon. With an updated errata on Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, it is also pointless to run this card at more then one copy. Bumping this card up to two copies is pointless, but it follows a similar trend of slowly climbing out of the banlist. Due to its HOPT restriction, it is absolutely pointless whether this card is at one, two or three copies.
We will see three of you soon, my old dragon friend.

Souleating Oviraptor

Souleating Oviraptor

The prehistoric age is coming back, and it has brought the second Oviraptor back!

Souleating Oviraptor has held the Limited status for the longest time, and this has actually affected the consistency of Dinosaurs in general. Many Dinosaur combos may only require a single Oviraptor, but having a second Oviraptor can allow Dinosaur Players to extend past the third turn and onwards. This is a huge welcome for many aspiring Dinosaur Duelists here, as it signals a possibility of full power Dinosaurs again.

I personally can envision Dinosaurs returning to the metagame, but without the inclusion of PSY-Framegear Gamma, it may be slightly weaker now. In any case, my Dino DNA is trembling with anticipation.

Unlimited 🖐🏽

It’s no longer silly, they can finally be at three! This section notably consists only of Semi-Limited cards moving out of the list, KONAMI OCG having given full approval of the release.

Pendulum Call, Salamangreat Circle and Danger! Nessie!

All of these are simply cards that will only boost the consistency of their relevant areas. And those areas will not be going near the pie chart any time soon. Interestingly, Danger cards have not been used in a very long time regarding the metagame.

Mind Control

Mind Control

Gaining the largest notoriety during Kouki Kosaka's usage in Worlds 2019, this card easily dominated the Link Format (or TOSS in OCG), as you could cop a big monster from your opponent and link it away. Setting it to two copies helped for a while, before the format shifted away from monster focused formats. Mind Control fell out of favor as decks became faster, and stealing an opposing monster was usually either pointless or would be negated in an established board state. This card is still a strong card to date, but other cards like Three Tactical Talents are simply much better for the current metagame.

What do I think? 👩🏼‍⚖️

Well, complaining always works. Eventually. Most of the surprising limits are actually cards that are central to Virtual World's game plan. In fact all of them has seen play in Virtual World. Even if it is 9 months late, we will be celebrating a limit of something that should have died long ago. However! Now Drytron and Prank-Kids are starting to reign as the Combo Kings. Drytron has the ability to set up over-excessive negations, while Prank-Kid wields ultimate consistency by starting with any singular Kid. We are never truly out of the Combo infested metagame, but maybe that is what keeps it exciting.

Burst of Destiny and Grand Creators combined has brought the breath of fresh air we needed so much since the year started. Although the pie looks equal at first glance, many other decks are poised behind these percentages, waiting to take over at any given notice. The metagame has shifted to a culmination of successful 1 card engines, and whether they succeed enough. Destiny HERO Destroy Phoenix Enforcer, King of the Sky Prison, and Brave Token. These are merely the forerunners of reinvigorate archetypes, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. This is a metagame that is finally fun to play in.

My Thoughts and Conclusion

KONAMI has made some really passive decisions this year, and this might be a recognition of our outcries. Personally, I am satisfied enough, because KONAMI has set the bar too low this year. It is unfortunate that Drytron is allowed to continue peaking, but that's one oppressive deck down!

This is my personal conjecture of the banlist, and I hope you readers will understand the thought process behind KONAMI OCG as well.

Let me know what you readers think of this banlist! Is it enough, should more things get a limit?

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