Another banlist has come and gone, and as of this past weekend, Yugioh’s looking at a brand-new format, soon to be bolstered by the support in Alliance Insight. In contrast to a lot of recent lists, the reception to this banlist by everyone I know in the game’s community has been positive, and often extremely positive at that. Still, with the touch-ups to a variety of the meta’s top performing decks, and a few strays caught by rogue, what strategies will rise to fill the void? Will there even be a void, given both Ryzeal & Maliss escaped with fairly light hits? I’d like to start the discussion today about where the format might trend following the April 2025 list, starting with what I believe to be its less-than-new kingpin, Kashtira Unicorn. Here’s the banlist in review!
So, Unicorn—what makes the card so much better now than it was before? Short answer: The limiting of Ryzeal Detonator, but the long answer also stems from having an incredible matchup into one of the few unhit top strategies (or engines), Fiendsmith. Not only does Unicorn represent 2 Level 7 bodies, by way of Kashtira Birth, its on-field effect to rip a card of your choice from your opponent’s Extra Deck ruins the gameplan of anyone not running multiples of their relevant ED pieces. Not only that, but because Unicorn is a free Special Summon, you can even use it to threaten this removal if your opponent meets your setup with handtraps, meaning it has a role in both proactive & reactive play. To top it all off, the card’s reasonably sized, so you can comfortably go to combat against problematic pieces sitting on the board, as might be the case with current Maliss.
On that topic, while Ryzeal faces several semi-limits, a limited Detonator, and a sideline ban to Abyss Dweller, Maliss got off…worse. Much worse, in fact, with several consistency hits in Maliss <P> Dormouse and Maliss <P> White Rabbit, and Maliss in Underground, on top of a ban to Link Decoder (effectively meaning every setup has 1 fewer material). The biggest problems with current Maliss though, are its backbreaking non-engine limits. Druiswurm and Dimension Shifter both got limited, meaning Maliss’ extenders continue to dwindle, on top of losing a card which won 99% of rogue matchups.
This all seems like the end for Maliss, and it will be, but only until ALIN drops. Unlike Ryzeal, which is receiving two fine cards that don’t really push the envelope, these hits appear to be preemptive touch-ups to how strong Maliss’ next wave is. Maliss <P> March Hare is a phenomenal extender, basically taking the role of a Bystial, and Maliss in the Mirror is a second spell, meaning you’re more okay with hard opening Underground. The flexibility of Maliss, and its capabilities to play through Artifact Lancea, are entirely diminished here, but we may see it emerge as a solid midrange deck once the next core box drops.
Now to talk about rogue—Mermail has met a grim end. Not only does the strategy have no real way to insulate outside of Deep Sea Minstrel, but losing Abyss Dweller means it falls prey to strategies employing Fiendsmiths now, something its handrips previously negated. While some of the best pilots of the deck are still surely going to play Mermail Atlantean, the deck may find itself pivoting to a stun strategy including cards like Barrier Statue of the Torrent, as its core gameplan is back to being overly fragile. Sharks, on the other hand, are now entirely washed out; the ban to Bahamut Shark skewers any chance of that deck ever being rogue in its own right.
The big winner in all this, however, is Odion. The deck had several YCS performances in the prior format, and nothing it played got hit, especially the Fiendsmiths which went untouched. While some might cry out that we’re in a Fire King format, or a Memento format (the deck which won the tournament this banlist was announced at), I firmly believe that the strongest rogue deck at this very moment is Odion.
In terms of unhits, Mathmech Circular is going to find its way into Maliss, and Unchained Soul of Sharvara means Unchained as a more pure strategy is once again free to run loose. I don’t think beyond these two cards, any of the unhits really mattered, and that includes the newly limited Master Peace. Brilliant Fusion as well being free is admittedly neat to see, and does benefit Gem-Knights when they receive their support in a few months’ time, but I doubt it truly serves as the difference maker in anything. If Tearlament were still around, being able to fuse an Aqua from the deck would be cute, but Gem-Knight Amethyst is going to stay on the shelf for the time being.
More notable, however, is the aggressive stance Konami has taken against non-engine meant to play through handtraps. Both Crossout Designator and Triple Tactics Talent were limited, which is a profound blow to decks that lose to a single handtrap. This is a net good for the game in my eyes, as the disparity between how good going first vs second has only widened over the years, and this is another step in clawing back the win percentage in second’s favor.
So, what would I be playing in the current format? It’s worth dividing that question between pre- and post- Alliance Insight, as we still have a month before its release on May 2nd. For the time being, Mitsurugi Ryzeal is still relatively playable, and with the new Mitsurugi cards debuting in ALIN, it could be a true powerhouse. While I won’t discuss the Mitsurugi leaks in detail for now, we know the deck is receiving a Level 4 monster searcher, which is obscene, on top of a Ritual Spell that is searchable with Pre-Preparation of Rites. These two cards, alongside a 1-of of the new Ritual, which just has meh effects on top of the standard Mitsu tribute clause, are undoubtedly pushing Mitsurugi in some form into the meta; whether that is coupled with Ryzeal remains to be seen, but investing and learning them now is wise.
I wouldn’t touch Maliss until ALIN, though, as good lord that deck is dead on arrival until its new support, and the DARK Cyberse extenders present in the @ignister wave. Anything can do well enough with Fiendsmith though, and we’ve seen Odion, Memento, and likely even Ryzeal perform at top levels with these cards, now likely also including Kashtiras. Some form of the ‘engine soup’ deck, i.e. Horus+Bystial+Kashtira+Fiendsmith+Metalmorph is likely also a mainstay, although with the reduction in non-engine power across the board, lacking a consistent primary gameplan could be to its detriment.
Following ALIN, I’d be looking to pick up Mitsurugi, or perhaps even some form of Drytron, coupled with the EVA unlimit and new LIGHT Fairy tools. Dawn Angel Kambi is a brand-new tool for decks that enjoy Level 1 LIGHT Fairies, which includes both Voiceless Voice & Drytron. Ryzeal doesn’t get too much better, although coupled with the new Mitsurugi that hybrid variant might be stronger than pure, it remains to be seen.
In contrast to Maliss prior to ALIN, this set is going to change a lot in terms of the deck’s power, and it might surpass Ryzeal with its new tools, especially alongside Mathmech Circular. The ebb & flow between those two decks, Ryzeal & Maliss, is the scaffolding upon which every aspect of this format is built, and it’s going to change rapidly in about a month’s time. Ultimately, you’re going to be best served by playing a deck that you know & have practiced with, so long as it’s at least rogue-playable. For me, that’s likely to be Odion, but I could be convinced to play Mitsurugi if it ends up being as good as the hype suggests.
That being said, I’m going to end this review here! How do you feel about the April 2025 list? Did you think it did enough, or should there have been more damage done to the top decks? Which cards were you surprised to see stay banned, Electrumite notwithstanding? Let me know in the comments below!
