What cards are on the Yugioh banlist? Konami’s official ban list is updated every few months and includes all banned Yugioh cards in the game right now. These cards are made Forbidden, Limited, or Semi Limited to restrict their use and keep the game fair, fun, and balanced. To help you keep your beloved tournament decks legal, we track the full list and latest updates in this guide.
Once you’ve pored through the Yu Gi Oh banlist, you might also enjoy our guides on the most expensive YuGiOh cards around, or even the best YuGiOh cards, like, ever. Be sure to check out the YuGiOh Master Duel banlist for changes to online play, too.
Yugioh banlist changes – April 7, 2025
The most recent version of the Yugioh banlist came into force on Monday, April 7, 2025. As usual, Konami says the next update after this will be in a few months. This guide will be updated as soon as we know more.
The April 7 Yugioh banlist changes are as follows:
These cards are now Forbidden in Advanced format and Limited in Traditional format
- Knightmare Gryphon
- Link Decoder
- Abyss Dweller
- Bahamut Shark
These cards are now Limited (Limited 1) in all formats:
- Bystial Druiswurm
- Dimension Shifter
- Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King
- Mathmech Circular
- Ryzeal Detonator
- Bonfire
- Brilliant Fusion
- Crossout Designator
- Triple Tactics Talent
These cards are now Semi-Limited (Limited 2) in all formats:
- Black Dragon Collapserpent
- Ext Ryzeal
- Ice Ryzeal
- Maliss P Dormouse
- Maliss <P> White Rabbit
- Morphing Jar
- Snake-Eye Ash
- Snake-Eyes Poplar
- Sword Ryzeal
- Unchained Soul of Sharvara
- White Dragon Wyverbuster
- Maliss in Underground
These cards have been taken off the banlist and are now Unlimited:
- Cyber Jar
- Danger!? Jackalope?
- Danger!? Tsuchinoko?
- Eva
- Performapal Monkeyboard
Full YuGiOh Banlist as of April 2025
If a Yugioh card is on the banlist, that means it is either Forbidden, Limited, or Semi-Limited. You can’t play Forbidden cards, you can only have one copy of a Limited card in your Yugioh decks, and you can only run two copies of a Semi-Limited card.
There are two Yugioh formats, Advanced Format and Traditional Format. The banlists contain all the same cards, but cards that are Forbidden in Advanced Format are instead Limited in Traditional Format.
Forbidden Yugioh cards
Monster/Effect
- Agido The Ancient Sentinel
- Artifact Scythe
- Barrier Statue Of The Stormwinds
- Blackwing – Gofu The Vague Shadow
- Block Dragon
- Cyber-Stein
- Dandylion
- Djinn Releaser Of Rituals
- Eclipse Wyvern
- Fairy Tail – Snow
- Fiber Jar
- Fishborg Blaster
- Gimmick Puppet Nightmare
- Glow-Up Bulb
- Grinder Golem
- Jowgen the Spiritualist
- Kelbek The Ancient Vanguard
- Knightmare Gryphon
- Level Eater
- Link Decoder
- Magical Scientist
- Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin
- Maxx “C”
- Mind Master
- Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis
- Ronintoadin
- Spyral Master Plan
- The Tyrant Neptune
- Victory Dragon
Monster/Fusion
- Elder Entity Norden
- Fiendsmith’s Lacrima
- Supreme King Dragon Starving Venom
- Tearlaments Kitkallos
Monster/Link
- Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess
- Crystron Halqifibrax
- Curious, The Lightsworn Dominion
- Guardragon Agarpain
- Guardragon Elpy
- Heavymetalfoes Electrumite
- Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights
- Knightmare Goblin
- Knightmare Mermaid
- Linkross
- Linkuriboh
- Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon
- Prank-Kids Meow-Meow-Mu
- Predaplant Verte Anaconda
- Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty
- Spright Elf
- Summon Sorceress
- Superheavy Samurai Scarecrow
- Topologic Gumblar Dragon
- Union Carrier
Monster/Synchro
- Baronne de Fleur
- Borreload Savage Dragon
- Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon
- Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity
- Tempest Magician
Monster/Xyz
- Abyss Dweller
- Bahamut Shark
- Beatrice, Lady Of The Eternal
- Kashtira Arise-Heart
- Lavalval Chain
- M-X-Saber Invoker
- Number 16: Shock Master
- Number 42: Galaxy Tomahawk
- Number 86: Heroic Champion – Rhongomyniad
- Number 89: Diablosis The Mind Hacker
- Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon
- Number S0: Utopic Zexal
- Outer Entity Azathot
- True King Of All Calamities
- Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity
- Zoodiac Broadbull
- Zoodiac Drident
Spell
- Butterfly Dagger – Elma
- Card Of Safe Return
- Cold Wave
- Confiscation
- Delinquent Duo
- Dimension Fusion
- Giant Trunade
- Graceful Charity
- Heavy Storm
- Kaiser Colosseum
- Last Will
- Mass Driver
- Metamorphosis
- Mirage Of Nightmare
- Mystic Mine
- Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye
- Painful Choice
- Pot Of Greed
- Premature Burial
- Smoke Grenade Of The Thief
- Soul Charge
- The Forceful Sentry
- Zoodiac Barrage
Trap
- Appointer of the Red Lotus
- Branded Expulsion
- Imperial Order
- Last Turn
- Red Reboot
- Return From The Different Dimension
- Royal Oppression
- Self-Destruct Button
- Sixth Sense
- Summon Limit
- Trap Dustshoot
- Ultimate Offering
- Vanity’s Emptiness
Limited Yugioh cards
Monster
- Left Arm Of The Forbidden One
- Left Leg Of The Forbidden One
- Right Arm Of The Forbidden One
- Right Leg Of The Forbidden One
Monster/Effect
- Archnemeses Protos
- Astrograph Sorcerer
- Bystial Druiswurm
- Bystial Magnamhut
- Dark Grepher
- Dimension Shifter
- Exodia The Forbidden One
- Keldo The Sacred Protector
- Master Peace, The True Dracoslaying King
- Mathmech Circular
- Miscellaneousaurus
- Mudora The Sword Oracle
- Phantom Skyblaster
- Psy-Framegear Gamma
- Substitoad
- Tearlaments Havnis
- Tearlaments Merrli
- Tearlaments Scheiren
- Tenpai Dragon Chundra
- Zoodiac Ratpier
Monster/Fusion
- Gem-Knight Master Diamond
- Phantom of Yubel
Monster/Link
- Striker Dragon
- Sunavalon Dryas
- Sunvine Healer
Monster/Synchro
- Psy-Framelord Omega
- T.G. Hyper Librarian
Monster/Xyz
- Daigusto Emeral
- Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings
- Number C40: Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings
- Ryzeal Detonator
Spell
- Branded Fusion
- Brilliant Fusion
- Bonfire
- Called By The Grave
- Card Destruction
- Card Of Demise
- Chain Strike
- Change of Heart
- Chaos Space
- Chicken Game
- Crossout Designator
- Divine Wind Of Mist Valley
- Dragonic Diagram
- Final Countdown
- Foolish Burial
- Gateway Of The Six
- Gold Sarcophagus
- Harpie’s Feather Duster
- Infernity Launcher
- Instant Fusion
- Into The Void
- Magical Mid-Breaker Field
- Mind Control
- Monster Gate
- Monster Reborn
- One Day Of Peace
- One For One
- Pot of Prosperity
- Reasoning
- Reinforcement Of The Army
- Sangen Kaimen
- Sangen Summoning
- Sekka’s Light
- Set Rotation
- Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones
- Slash Draw
- Snatch Steal
- Terraforming
- Triple Tactics Talent
- That Grass Looks Greener
- Zoodiac Barrage
Trap
- Anti-spell Fragrance
- Gozen Match
- Magical Explosion
- Naturia Sacred Tree
- Rivalry of Warlords
- Skill Drain
- There Can Only Be One
Semi-limited Yugioh cards
Monster/Effect
- Black Dragon Collapserpent
- Ext Ryzeal
- Ice Ryzeal
- Maliss P Dormouse
- Maliss <P> White Rabbit
- Morphing Jar
- Snake-Eye Ash
- Snake-Eyes Poplar
- Sword Ryzeal
- Unchained Soul of Sharvara
- White Dragon Wyverburster
Spell
- Lightning Storm
- Maliss In Underground
- Purrely Delicious Memory
- Purrely Sleep Memory
- Runick Fountain
What is the Yu Gi Oh banlist?
Yu Gi Oh! Trading Card Game’s publisher, Konami, releases an updated version of the Yu Gi Oh banlist on its official website every couple of months. This lists restrictions on the cards you can include in constructed Yu Gi Oh! decks.
The three restricted types in Yugioh banlist are:
- Forbidden – This card cannot be used in your Main Deck, Extra Deck, or Side Deck
- Limited – You can only have one copy of this card in your main Deck, Extra Deck, and Side Deck combined. Sometimes called ‘Limited 1’.
- Semi-limited – You can only have two copies of this card in your Main Deck, Extra Deck, and Side Deck combined. Sometimes called ‘Limited 2’.
There are separate banlists for the game’s ‘Advanced’ format (which is used in Regional, National, and World Championship events) and the much looser ‘Traditional’ format. For example, many cards are Forbidden in Advanced, but only Limited in Traditional format.
Forbidden, Limited, and Semi-limited cards can be cards of any type, and the Yu Gi Oh banlist typically contains numerous Monster, Monster/Effect, Monster/Fusion, Monster/Link, Monster/Synchro, Monster/Xyz, Spell, and Trap type cards.
Why do Yugioh cards get banned?
As with all the best trading card games, the Yugioh TCG regularly releases new sets of cards to keep the game fresh and offer players new strategies, themes, and options for their decks. When players get their hands on the new cards, they quickly discover the most powerful options, especially cards that create strong combo effects with existing or older cards. This is, of course, part of the fun!
However, it can lead to just a handful of the best Yugioh decks becoming dominant, able to beat any other decks they face – and thus the game’s overall scene (often called its ‘meta’) becomes very samey, as everyone is forced to play with similar decks and cards if they want to have a chance of winning games.
Konami, the publisher of the Yugioh TCG, generally tries to maintain competitive balance with the range of new cards it releases – but with a game as complex and high-powered as Yugioh, cards will always emerge that ‘warp the meta’ and generate bad player feedback.
These are the sorts of cards that end up getting banned – either Semi-Limited, Limited or Forbidden – because they:
- Are inherently too powerful (normally in combat power)
- Are part of a combo that is too powerful / too easy to win with
- Are too versatile in cancelling out, or ‘shutting down’ multiple other strategies
- Are likely to cause problems in one of the above ways, after an upcoming release joins the meta
Who decides which Yugioh cards to ban?
New Yugioh card bans are decided and communicated online by Konami. Yugioh’s ban policy is generally thought to be more opaque than some other live, competitive games such as Magic: The Gathering, which tends to publish more detailed designer commentaries and rationales when it changes the MTG banlist.
Disappointed that the prize cards in your collection aren’t viable with the latest banlist? You could look into other TCGs. Here’s all you need to know about rare Pokémon cards, as well as the best MTG Arena decks you can make with the latest MTG sets.
Source: Wargamer
