New cards added to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, but no banlist update has hit since launch

For the first time since the game’s launch in mid-January, Konami has added new cards to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. The new additions should, at first glance, freshen up the metagame of Master Duel. However, a closer look at the latest update also reveals there has been no banlist update released along with the new items. And based off of initial reactions, some in the Master Duel community are not happy about the lack of a Forbidden/Limited update.

The latest Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel sees the additions of new cards, including support items for the Speeroid and Majestic archetypes. Despia, Magikey, and Gunkan items have made their way to Master Duel, including Despian Quaeritis. These new archetypes and cards can be found in the two new selection packs added to the Master Duel shop: Ruler’s Mask and Beyond Speed.

Arguably the two biggest additions to the card pool, are Crystal Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Baronne de Fleur. Both are essentially generic Synchro Monsters, with only the former needing a Clear Wing Monster — like Clear Wing Synchro Dragon — in order to bring it out. The latter, in particular, will be a forceful addition into the Master Duel. Baronne de Fleur can destroy cards on the field, and negate the activation of a card once while on the field.

These additions, though, have not sat all that well with Master Duel players on social media. Many have expressed frustration over the lack of a banlist update.

No banlist update for Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has gone live since the launch of the game, and the current list of limited and forbidden cards has already been a point of contention among players. This is due to the discrepancies between the OCG — the version of the game played in Asia — Yu-Gi-Oh! game and the TCG — played across most of the world — version. Master Duel’s banlist shares a high degree of similarities with the OCG banlist, meaning that forbidden TCG cards like Maxx “C” and Block Dragon are not only legal, but unlimited.

The new additions to Master Duel, especially Baronne de Fleur, are set to make the meta game even more complex. Drytrons can easily have access to de Fleur and Artifact Scythe to lock opponents out of playing a turn. Other meta decks can also incorporate de Fleur. Plus, the meta has already been hammered with “meta” decks like D.D. Dynamite and Ignknights, both of which have been suspected to be used by bots.