Goyo Guardian is also gone, so people have been scrambling to find a replacement. Nothing really stands out, which is probably why Goyo Guardian got banned. Everyone will still use Brionac, but there's another slot for a Level 6 in most people's Extra Decks. The only generic Level 6 Synchros that people would consider are Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth and Flamvell Uruquizas. There is Iron Chain Dragon, but decks that use Debris Dragon would already have it; otherwise, it's inferior to Gaia Knight.
Personally, I think that both are terrible. If your opponent has a Set Monster, you would rather bounce it with Brionac than let it gets its Flip Effect. And, if your opponent has a big Monster, you would most likely bounce it. Brionac can't get over Scrap Archfiend like Goyo Guardian can. I guess that the notable exception is Monarchs, which Gaia Knight is better against. Still, the theme specific Level 6 Synchros like Dewloren or Naturia Barkion are much better than Uruquizas and Gaia Knight. If I had to pick one of the generic ones, though, I guess it would be Gaia Knight, since I already have a piercing Monster in Avenging Knight Parshath.
Kalut got Limited, which is good, because it could win Blackwing players games practically on its own. And now, Blackwing decks don't have enough good Blackwing Monsters to play, so they'll either have to play bad ones or play other Monsters and lose synergy. Icarus Attack getting Semi-Limited also hurts them, but not by much.
Losing another Honest doesn't mean much to the TCG at the moment. Lightsworn decks lose their unstoppable ability to protect Lumina and Aurkus, and they can't OTK as easily. However, gaining a Chaos Sorcerer and a Card Trooper may help Twilight variants.
Dandylion and Debris Dragon getting hit will severely hinder Debris Plants. However, in the OCG, they have turned into Junk Doppel decks. We in the TCG fortunately don't have TG Hyper Librarian, so we don't have to suffer through that.
Gateway of the Six getting Limited and Spirit Reaper being Semi-Limited has hurt Six Samurai quite a bit. Without Gateway to give them back the cards used in their swarms, they run out quite quickly. If you can survive the initial push (if it even occurs), then you have a good chance of winning when they don't have access to Gateway. Spirit Reaper makes surviving much easier, as well as being a good overall card.
Book of Moon getting Limited and Solemn Warning getting Semi-Limited reduces the amount of cards that players can disrupt plays effectively with. That means you will only have to play through a Solemn Warning/Book of Moon once per duel on average. It also makes more decks viable, like Fabled, since they would often lose to those cards.
Gold Sarcophagus going to 3 makes the Cyber Ouroboros draw engine more viable. It also helps Hopeless Dragon or other such decks that rely on getting one specific card to win. Besides that, there's not much else that Gold Sarcophagus does (I'm pretty sure that Dark Desertapir isn't used...).
Skill Drain Unlimited gives Stun decks another trick. It doesn't help all that much, though, since Trap Stun will most likely see a rise in popularity with the loss of Book of Moon. It costs quite a few LP, as well...
All of the rest isn't relevant to the TCG or at all. An "Impact of the Ban List" post will probably be coming by the end of the week or something.
Cold Wave into "X" will just become Trap Stun into "X"... without quick plays to go under Trap Stun, it is the same thing. I tested some GB vs Infernity today, and whoever resolved Trap Stun basically won.
ReplyDeleteI'll stick with Gaia Knight. Uruquizas is nice for trample, but getting over Stardust is sooo much nicer.
@Michael Bonacini
ReplyDeleteAt least with Trap Stun, it's more easily stopped. It has to be Set prior to being used, and it doesn't prevent the opponent from using Spells/Traps on their next turn.
Also, if Trap Stun becomes a huge problem, people will start playing Seven Tools of the Bandit to stop it.