Introduction

Starstrike Blast was an interesting set in the 5Ds era! It's been almost a decade since its TCG debut, so let's take a look back and analyze it! We'll be covering a few cards that aged quite nicely.

STBL: The Banned 

Glow-Up Bulb

A card that needs no introduction, Glow-Up Bulb has seen competitive play ever since it came out! A good mix of Level, Type, and Attribute for a Tuner made it a great choice for nearly every deck that wanted to use Synchros. Its effect being Once per Duel is not a hindrance as its impact more than makes up for it. From its flagship appearance in Plant Synchro decks (especially Tengu Plant) that caused it to be banned in the first place, it returned with a vengeance and stayed relevant throughout the years seeing play in various decks due to its power and ease of access.

Crystron Halqifibrax's release in DUOV was the last straw and the end of GUB's time in the sun. Bulb can summon Fibrax on its own and the Link-2 is more than welcome to bring it out from the deck by its effect.

All in all, a simple yet powerful card that deserves its spot on the Forbidden and Limited list.

Vanity's Emptiness

Players overlooked Emptiness due to Royal Oppression outclassing it while it was legal. However, as time went on it crept into relevance due to the game becoming faster. Turning off Special Summons is a powerful effect that stops most decks from working in the first place! Players are able to make a big board then flip it up to avoid its negative effects.

The trap saw a ton of success during the Dragon Ruler Era and continued to see play in formats after it, especially during the time of Tellarknights, Shaddolls, and Burning Abyss. The card was limited late in its life and its game warping effects got it banned.

Emptiness is definitely one powerful card that's worthy of being banned.

STBL: A Tale of Two Hand Traps

Droll & Lock Bird

Droll had a slow start when it came out since mass searching wasn't exactly a thing yet.  However, its impact on the formats it did see play in is high. The card halted many decks that relied on draws or searches. It first saw play in the Dragon Ruler / Spellbook Era as a side deck tech to moderate success.

Droll branched out and proved its potency during the Trickstar-Spyral format in MR4's infancy. Not only did it shut down the core plays of those decks, but it also paired well with Trickstar Reincarnation, leaving opponents without a hand. Pendulum-based strategies did not enjoy seeing Droll as it really put them on the back foot.
Before SESL and the banning of Tiger and Master Plan, it dealt with Spyral's return to the metagame aided by Magicians' Souls. Dinosaurs and Lunalight also suffered if their initial play relied on a search (Terraforming, Tenki, Fossil Dig).

While currently dormant yet again, this won't be the last we'll see of this hand trap! When it pops up, it hits hard and cripples decks like no other.                                               

Skull Meister

Meister is odd as it only tackles one specific thing, activated GY effects. However, it has produced some amazing results and good showings when the format is right for its talents.
This card assaulted Dinosaurs by negating their GY effects and it even won worlds in 2017! The winning TK Dino list sided Meister and had an extra edge in the mirror as a result.
Its other big showing was in TOSS format, able to disrupt Striker and Salamangreat from some of their other plays. The biggest victim, however, was Orcust (the best deck at the time)!
Meister's DARK attribute let it play nice with Allure of Darkness
, giving it another selling point.
On handling Orcust, it didn't banish the cards (giving it a slight edge over D.D. Crow) which meant less headaches when dealing with the threat of World Legacy - "World Wand".
All in all, a highly specific card that's bound to show up yet again if GY effects become notable.

STBL: Honorable Mentions

Axe of Fools during Gouki Format was an Isolde equip that doubled as emergency negation.

Heat Wave always had a niche as a powerful Turn 1 play in Normal Monster oriented decks.

Gravity Collapse is a strong counter trap that's unexplored but has a lot of potential if it becomes more accessible. 

Conclusion

STBL introduced some really cool cards and it's nice to see that some of them get better as time goes on! Join us next time as we take a look at some other cards from this set!