Seto Kaiba let out a low growl.
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" he roared. "My Blue-Eyes White Dragon doesn't have a fusion into such a broken monster! Why do these two clowns' vanilla cards get something like this?! I refuse to accept it!"
Kaiba's voice, combined with the shock in his eyes, proved that after hearing the explanation, he fully understood the power of Red-Dad.
Maximillion Pegasus's eyes flickered intensely, as if he was thinking: What kind of company is this "K-Snake"? Compared to his Industrial Illusions, which one was better at making cards?
GX World
After watching the video, the entire Duel Academy erupted into a frenzy.
"We must support the new Sword Emperor's ascension! Duel Academy will not shrink from its duty!"
"Hiss! Of course we have to support it! It has three effects! Any one of those effects given to another monster would make it an ace!"
"So strong! The fusion of Duel King Yugi Muto and legendary duelist Joey Wheeler's aces! A fusion of friendship, sob!"
"So, what is a 'Kaiju'? What is 'Sky Striker'? What is 'Altergeist'? What is 'K-Snake'? And what is a 'banlist'?"
"Ahem, my dear student, your teacher can answer one of those. A 'banlist' is for forbidding cards! For example, Mr. Kaiba has mentioned a banlist before."
The discussions in Duel Academy continued to rage.
Jaden Yuki and Aster Phoenix (Edo Phoenix) couldn't sit still anymore! This Fusion Monster... even for HEROes, it would be a tough fight!
Jaden and Aster had practically memorized the entire HERO system, from Masked HEROes to Destiny HERO Phoenix Enforcer.
So after hearing Red-Dad's description...
"Aster, what do you think?"
"Jaden, in my opinion, if we go first and manage to set up the strongest HERO board... it might not be impossible..."
Indeed. A board of Dark Law, Phoenix Enforcer, and DPE... (Correction from original: The text says 'Blood Demon', likely referring to Plasma/Destiny HERO - Plasma. A board of Dark Law, DPE, and Plasma would be the intended meaning.)
That board... might just be able to stop a Red-Eyes deck from summoning Red-Dad!
But even so, they couldn't be 100% confident they could win a match against Red-Dad.
HEROes were the face of Fusion?
No. Perhaps it was... [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon].
ZEXAL World
After hearing the explanation of this terrifying Red-Eyes Fusion Monster, Yuma Tsukumo and Astral felt their perception of Xyz Summoning begin to crumble!
No! Not Xyz! Their perception of Fusion!
Since when did Fusion Monsters become this powerful?!
"Astral! What's... what's your assessment of this card?" Yuma stammered. "After hearing that, I don't even know what cards in my Utopia deck could even touch this thing!"
Yuma swallowed hard and let out a sharp breath, feeling as if all his strength and energy had been drained just from listening.
"No, I don't know either," Astral admitted. "But this card is surely not invincible. The video narrator mentioned something about a 'sea turtle,' didn't he? Perhaps that card could offer a solution. I just don't know what kind of system that is."
Astral narrowed his eyes. He was stunned by the power of [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon], but he also knew that no card was truly invincible. There would always be cards that countered each other. That was the beauty and unique meaning of dueling.
ARC-V World
Yuri could no longer contain his emotions! It was bad enough that Anaconda became a generic tool for others to use! But the resulting fusion, [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon], was just absurdly strong!
"My Predaplants... is there no way to break through?" he muttered frantically. "No! I don't believe it! My Predaplants must have a way to deal with Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon! There has to be a way!"
Yuri desperately searched his deck for a miracle.
Nearby, Celina (Serena) just waved her hand in resignation. Her Lunalight deck had no way to deal with Red-Dad. So, Celina had already accepted it. It didn't matter anymore.
VRAINS World
In this latest era, what shocked Yusaku Fujiki, besides Dragoon itself, was [Predaplant Verte Anaconda]!
How could there be a card so powerful it could copy the effects of so many Fusion spells?! And the 2000 LP cost was a drop in the bucket out of 8000!
"Yusaku, I think I get it now," said Skye Zaizen (Zaizen Aoi), pouting. "This 'Higher World' is even more beyond our understanding than we thought. They can just print broken cards like this? That 'banlist' must be what stops this card! So no one can use it!"
She was also feeling down because her Trickstar deck had no terminal boss monster that powerful.
"Skye actually brought up a key point," said the leader of the Knights of Hanoi, Varis (Revolver/Ryoken Kogami). "The banlist. I'm still unclear about that. I wonder if there's a short video that can explain it?"
Besides being shocked by the combos and power levels of these cards, he was interested in something unique. Like Skye, he was wondering: in this Higher World, what exactly was the banlist? And what kind of broken cards were locked away on it?
A similar interest in the banlist was shared by the old-timers in the DM World.
Seto Kaiba: "Mr. Hoshi, what is this 'banlist' you speak of in your world? Could you find a video to educate us?"
Yugi Muto: "Yes, banning such strong cards can certainly balance the dueling environment, but can they ever be released from the list?"
Joey Wheeler: "Hahaha! Awesome! My Red-Eyes deck has its own ace monster now! Don't let me hear anyone calling it a 'Scrub-Eyes' deck again!"
Maximillion Pegasus: "Unbelievable! Such an interesting card! Mr. Hoshi, my boy, my thoughts are the same as theirs. I'd like to learn about that 'K-Snake' company."
The students and teachers of the GX World also had a wave of questions about the banlist.
Chancellor Sheppard: "A video about the banlist would be an interesting piece of education. Please don't be stingy, Mr. Hoshi."
Professor Crowler: "Mamma mia! Exactly! A card this strong! It's a shame to ban it! My Ancient Gear Golem would love to team up with Red-Dad!"
Jaden Yuki: "So what other methods does 'K-Snake' use to restrict strong cards? Is there a video about that?"
Main World
Reading the chat from the DM and GX worlds, Yusei Hoshi realized a crucial point. For these anime characters, the banlist was indeed a novel concept. Even if Seto Kaiba had once mentioned a banlist in relation to his KC Grand Championship, for the other worlds, it was a topic worth explaining.
Yusei Hoshi: "Very well. I'll find a short video for you about K-Snake's methods for restricting powerful cards. I believe that through this explanation, it will help you understand these concepts and the content of future videos."
After speaking, Yusei Hoshi quickly selected the next video and played it. A new voice began to speak.
Sir-Loves-Only-Traptrix: "Hello! Good evening, fellow duelists! Welcome to my explanation of the knowledge surrounding K-Snake's banlist."
Sir-Loves-Only-Traptrix: "First off, as everyone knows, when faced with a powerful card, K-Snake will observe and test the environment. Once they determine a card's power level is off the charts, turning a deck into a meta-defining staple, or even a 'cancer' or Tier 0 presence, then it will earn K-Snake's judgment!"
"And K-Snake's judgment comes in four main forms!"
"Method 1! Simply and brutally lock the card away on the banlist! They will then use the statuses of Forbidden, Limited (1), and Semi-Limited (2) to contain them! For example, the card everyone knows, [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon], is Forbidden! And cards left over from the old-school era, like [Pot of Greed], [Graceful Charity], [Harpie's Feather Duster], etc., are all Forbidden cards."
What the hell?!
Red-Dad being Forbidden was one thing! But what was this?! Even Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity were Forbidden?!
These cards! In their worlds, everyone ran three copies! If these were Forbidden, what generic cards were they supposed to use?
In the DM World, hearing this news, Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine, and Bakura couldn't sit still! These cards were their lifelines in critical moments! Which one of them wasn't a card that could turn the tables in a desperate situation? If all these were banned, what the hell were they supposed to play with?!
In the GX World, they couldn't sit still either! Jaden Yuki, in particular, considered Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity essential parts of his deck! Which of these cards wasn't key to one of Jaden's comeback victories? And now they were banned! Jaden Yuki would be the first to object!
"Damn! This Higher World is crazy! Completely insane!"
"I agree, they must be mad! Banning so many of my core cards!"
"Exactly! What's the point of playing then? Might as well just quit dueling!"
"Well... but if this 'K-Snake' banned them, they must have their reasons, right?"
Within Duel Academy, two factions immediately formed. Some believed the bannings were good. With so many powerful cards running around, and constantly losing to a top-decked Pot of Greed, how could you not ban it? Others, naturally, believed the bannings were terrible. If all these cards were banned, what was the fun in a casual duel? Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity... didn't they add excitement to the game?
Even as they argued, the video continued.
Sir-Loves-Only-Traptrix: "Next is the second method K-Snake uses to suppress strong cards. This involves releasing a whole new archetype specifically to counter the top meta deck. This is more subtle. It looks like they're giving you a new, fun archetype, but in reality, it's only designed to be effective in that specific environment. For example, against a deck that relies heavily on the Graveyard, you could use a Gravekeeper's deck with the Field Spell [Necrovalley] to lock it down. It's a counter-strategy like that. Of course, this method risks creating another top-tier deck, so it's not easy to control. Plus, K-Snake has to design a whole new strong archetype, and they're too lazy for that, so this method isn't used very often."
I see! Hearing this, they could finally confirm the role of this "K-Snake" company. Not only did they restrict cards, but they also had the power to create them! That meant all these powerful decks were created by K-Snake?!
In the DM World, Pegasus got the answer he needed, and his expression turned grim. As a fellow card creator, the "Father of Duel Monsters," he really wanted to compare his card-making skills with this K-Snake!
Sir-Loves-Only-Traptrix: "Next is the third method. This one is to directly change the card's effect! For example, the ancient monster card [Sangan]! Or cards that were put in the 'little black room' (banlist) and then had their effects changed upon release, like [Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier]. Or this card! [Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End]! This method isn't used very often either. But after the change, the card basically loses its original function. This is a point of regret. Many fun effects lose their chance to shine because of this method."
The third method made the duelists of the six worlds look solemn!
They could... do that?!
They could change the effect of a card that's already been printed as a form of nerfing?!
Looking at it this way, this method could definitely suppress a strong card and allow it to be released from the banlist! But... reprinting so many cards that were already in circulation must be a huge undertaking! It wasn't that simple after all!
Sir-Loves-Only-Traptrix: "The three methods above are all relatively common. But there is one last method. The fourth method is much, much harsher! Many duelists might not even know this is a 'secretly changed' ruling! Simply put, it's an adjustment to how certain things are adjudicated!"
"Let me be more direct. Card A has an effect that lets it be treated as Card B! Logically, if Card C has an effect that supports Card B, then shouldn't Card C also work with Card A, since A can be treated as B? But after a 'secret change,' a change in the rules adjudication, your Card C can only work with Card B! It can't be used with Card A, which is just pretending to be Card B!"
Hearing this final nerfing method, the duelists of the six worlds became restless!
No way! There was such a disgusting way to nerf a card?
This kind of secret change to the rules... if you didn't look it up, you might never even know it existed! After all, changing a ruling is completely different from the previous methods, and the impact it has is also different!
In the DM World, having learned about all the nerfing methods, the old-timers finally had a certain understanding of the banlist. They also understood why some cards in the Higher World had different effects from their own. After all, different worlds came with different rules. And because of that, it allowed for more interesting decks and builds to exist...
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