Keeping up to date with the latest Yugioh banlist is as key to success in this trading card game as it is in Magic: The Gathering or the Pokémon TCG. While it’s more of a wild west than some other TCGs, certain Yugioh cards are still deemed Forbidden, Limited, or Semi Limited on a regular basis to keep the game fair, fun, and balanced – and, if a key card in your beloved, tournament winning deck suddenly becomes illegal, you’re going to want to know about it!
Once you’ve pored through the Yu Gi Oh banlist (and the YuGiOh Master Duel banlist, which we cover in a separate guide), you might also enjoy our guides on how to play Yugioh online and the best Yugioh Master Duel meta decks. Or, if you’re a collector, check out the most expensive rare YuGiOh cards around, or even the best YuGiOh cards, like, ever.
For now, though, we’ll launch right into the latest Yugioh banlist (in force from June 5, 2023), and then explain exactly how the banlist rules work surrounding Forbidden, Limited, and Semi-Limited cards.
Yugioh banlist 2023
The official Yugioh banlist (in Advanced Format) contains the following cards. In Traditional format, the banlist is identical – except that all the Forbidden cards are instead only Limited.
Forbidden Yugioh cards
Monster/Effect
- Archnemeses Protos
- Artifact Scythe
- Barrier Statue Of The Stormwinds
- Blackwing – Gofu The Vague Shadow
- Block Dragon
- Cyber-Stein (Previously Limited)
- Dandylion
- Djinn Releaser Of Rituals
- Eclipse Wyvern
- Eva
- Fairy Tail – Snow
- Fiber Jar
- Fishborg Blaster
- Glow-Up Bulb
- Grinder Golem
- Level Eater
- Magical Scientist
- Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin
- Master Peace, The True Dracoslaying King
- Maxx “C”
- Mind Master
- Orcust Harp Horror
- Performage Plushfire
- Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis
- Redox, Dragon Ruler Of Boulders
- Ronintoadin
- Spyral Master Plan
- The Tyrant Neptune
- Tidal, Dragon Ruler Of Waterfalls
- Victory Dragon
Monster/Fusion
- Elder Entity Norden
- Supreme King Dragon Starving Venom
- Tearlaments Kitkallos
- Thunder Dragon Colossus
Monster/Link
- Crystron Halqifibrax
- Curious, The Lightsworn Dominion
- Guardragon Agarpain
- Guardragon Elpy
- Heavymetalfoes Electrumite
- Knightmare Goblin
- Knightmare Mermaid
- Linkross
- Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon
- Prank-Kids Meow-Meow-Mu
- Predaplant Verte Anaconda
- Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty
- Spright Elf
- Summon Sorceress
- Superheavy Samurai Scarecrow (New)
- Topologic Gumblar Dragon
- Union Carrier
Monster/Synchro
- Ancient Fairy Dragon
- Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon
- Ib The World Chalice Justiciar
- Tempest Magician
Monster/Xyz
- 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 (New)
- 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
- Brilliant Fusion
- Butterfly Dagger – Elma
- Card Of Safe Return
- Chicken Game
- 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
- Painful Choice
- Pot Of Greed
- Premature Burial
- Smoke Grenade Of The Thief
- Snatch Steal
- Soul Charge
- That Grass Looks Greener
- The Forceful Sentry
- Zoodiac Barrage
Trap
- Appointer of the Red Lotus (Previously Limited)
- Branded Expulsion (New)
- Imperial Order
- Last Turn
- Red Reboot
- Return From The Different Dimension
- Royal Oppression
- Self-Destruct Button
- Sixth Sense
- Time Seal
- 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
- Agido The Ancient Sentinel
- Armageddon Knight
- Astrograph Sorcerer
- Black Dragon Collapserpent
- Blaster, Dragon Ruler Of Infernos (Previously Forbidden)
- Cyber Jar
- Danger!? Jackalope?
- Danger!? Tsuchinoko?
- Dark Grepher
- Dinowrestler Pankratops
- Exodia The Forbidden One
- Infernity Archfiend
- Kelbek The Ancient Vanguard
- Keldo The Sacred Protector
- Lunalight Tiger
- Mathmech Circular (New)
- Miscellaneousaurus
- Morphing Jar
- Mudora The Sword Oracle
- Performapal Monkeyboard
- Phantom Skyblaster
- Psy-Framegear Gamma (New)
- Red Rose Dragon
- Salamangreat Gazelle
- Speedroid Terrortop
- Substitoad
- Tearlaments Havnis
- Tearlaments Merrli
- Tearlaments Scheiren
- Tempest, Dragon Ruler Of Storms
- White Dragon Wyverburster
- Zoodiac Ratpier
Monster/Fusion
- Gem-Knight Master Diamond
Monster/Link
- Striker Dragon
Monster/Synchro
- Ancient Fairy Dragon
- Denglong, First Of The Yang Zing (Previously Forbidden)
- Psy-Framelord Omega
- T.G. Hyper Librarian
Monster/Xyz
- Beatrice, Lady Of The Eternal
- Daigusto Emeral
- Kashtira Arise-Heart (New)
Spell
- Called By The Grave
- Card Destruction
- Card Of Demise
- Chain Strike
- Change of Heart
- 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
- Purrely Delicious Memory (New)
- Reasoning
- Reinforcement Of The Army
- Sekka’s Light
- Set Rotation
- Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones
- Slash Draw
- Spellbook Of Judgment
- Terraforming
- Upstart Goblin
Trap
- Magical Explosion
- Naturia Sacred Tree (New)
- Time Seal
Semi-limited Yugioh cards
Monster/Effect
- Destiny Hero – Malicious
- Herald of Orange Light (Previously Limited)
- Kashtira Unicorn (New)
Spell
- Lightning Storm (New)
- Pot of Desires
- Runick Fountain (New)
- Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! (Previously Limited)
- Spright Starter (New)
No longer on list
Monster/Effect
- Blackwing – Steam The Cloak
- Genex Ally Birdman
- Samsara Lotus
- Spyral Quik-Fix
Monster/Xyz
- Lyrilusc – Recital Starling
Spell
- Draco Face-Off
- Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole
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, and – naturally – 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. Many cards, for example, are Forbidden (not allowed at all) in Advanced, but only Limited (restricted to one copy per deck) in Traditional format.
Banned, 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.
The most recent version of the Yugioh banlist was released on May 27, 2023, and comes into force on June 5, 2023. Fans will be happy to see that Konami’s latest banlist update finally hits the controversial card Mystic Mine.
“Mystic Mine had recently become a key card in competitive Dueling, forcing many Duelists to include cards in their Deck that can get it off of the field, or risk losing once Mystic Mine is played” Konami said in a rare blog post from December. “With Mystic Mine now Forbidden, Duelists no longer need to consider the possibility of this controversial Field Spell Card stalling a Duel for several consecutive turns.”
Konami says the banlist will get its next update “in a few months”.
The Yugioh banlist’s rules are simple:
- If a card is ‘Forbidden’, it cannot be used in your Main Deck, Extra Deck, or Side Deck
- If a card is ‘Limited’, you can only have one copy of it in your main Deck, Extra Deck, and Side Deck combined
- If a card is ‘Semi-limited’, you can only have two copies of it in your Main Deck, Extra Deck, and Side Deck combined.
Source: Wargamer