How to use the banlist to make custom cards

[WhiteThunder777]

A lot of times people don't seem to consider the TCG banlist when making their custom cards, even for their archetype.  The banlist is a guide of what NOT to do when making custom cards.

There are 4 levels to consider 

• Banned: These are the cards that are game-breaking and must be avoided when making custom cards, even for their archetype.  Cards get placed on here because these cards for some reason, deny the opponent an aspect of the yugioh game.  
• Limited: Not as bad as the banned cards, but still you want to avoid these.  These cards are problematic because they may run the risk of breaking the game as a whole. 
• Semi-Limited: You can use semi-limited cards in your custom card archetype but you have to carefully make sure that the game is not broken by this.  
• Unlimited: Unlimited cards can be used as idea to make custom cards because they do NOT do anything gamebreaking.  Direct attacking, multiple attackers, they are all part of the game.  Same with destroying a backrow or monster your opponent controls. However, you do want to be careful with negation as that can make the opponent not want to play against you.

The banlist is there so that you don't have to spend too much time balancing your cards, even though balancing your cards is a part of the custom card making progress. And using HOPTs (Hard once per turns on all effects - "You can only use each effect of 'X' once per turn." and "You can only use this effect of 'X' once per turn.") can make balancing easier. 

 

Edited April 3, 2024 by Surge77754

[Raikoh130]

I fully agree, I've seen some custom cards in this section that had strong negation effects + protection, also without a HOPT clause on it that they should be in the Casual Cards section, where the cards are more free to be silly. Thank you for making this guide!

[Jordan Ashwood]

Strongly agreed! Not to mention, a ton of cards default straight to "this card cannot be killed under any circumstances" it's all in good fun though.

[The2kGod Raah]

3 hours ago, Raikoh130 said:

I fully agree, I've seen some custom cards in this section that had strong negation effects + protection, also without a HOPT clause on it that they should be in the Casual Cards section, where the cards are more free to be silly. Thank you for making this guide!

Yes I 100% agree. People that put cards in the Realistic cards section but make the cards super busted defeats what realistic means. It doesn't just mean art is good, and that it isn't like goku on it, it also means making cards that Konami would print out. Cards with 7 effects are not realisttic, boss monsters that are unaffected by card effects, and have omni negates, and they arent once per turn, are not realistic

11 hours ago, Surge77754 said:

A lot of times people don't seem to consider the TCG banlist when making their custom cards, even for their archetype.  The banlist is a guide of what NOT to do when making custom cards.

There are 4 levels to consider 

• Banned: These are the cards that are game-breaking and must be avoided when making custom cards, even for their archetype.  Cards get placed on here because these cards for some reason, deny the opponent an aspect of the yugioh game.  
• Limited: Not as bad as the banned cards, but still you want to avoid these.  These cards are problematic because they may run the risk of breaking the game as a whole. 
• Semi-Limited: You can use semi-limited cards in your custom card archetype but you have to carefully make sure that the game is not broken by this.  
• Unlimited: Unlimited cards can be used as idea to make custom cards because they do NOT do anything gamebreaking.  Direct attacking, multiple attackers, they are all part of the game.  Same with destroying a backrow or monster your opponent controls. However, you do want to be careful with negation as that can make the opponent not want to play against you.

The banlist is there so that you don't have to spend too much time balancing your cards, even though balancing your cards is a part of the custom card making progress. And using HOPTs (Hard once per turns on all effects - "You can only use each effect of 'X' once per turn." and "You can only use this effect of 'X' once per turn.") can make balancing easier. 

 

One thing I will say is that it is also easy to say these things but to put them in practice with a whole archetype is harder to do. If you have any creations of archetypes yourself, or if you have seen good archetypes created you should quote them and put it here if possible. I agree with everything you have said, but if you have any examples, it would proably help out people alot

[WhiteThunder777]

29 minutes ago, The2kGod Raah said:

Yes I 100% agree. People that put cards in the Realistic cards section but make the cards super busted defeats what realistic means. It doesn't just mean art is good, and that it isn't like goku on it, it also means making cards that Konami would print out. Cards with 7 effects are not realisttic, boss monsters that are unaffected by card effects, and have omni negates, and they arent once per turn, are not realistic

One thing I will say is that it is also easy to say these things but to put them in practice with a whole archetype is harder to do. If you have any creations of archetypes yourself, or if you have seen good archetypes created you should quote them and put it here if possible. I agree with everything you have said, but if you have any examples, it would proably help out people alot

Here's an example of my archetype, Flashstrike.  It is based on Pretty Cure, and utilizes Level manipulation to utilize Synchro Union monsters and Link Union monsters.  It's a way to experiment with the Union mechanic.  This deck focuses on putting out a bunch of union monsters that can climb into Synchro Union monsters and Link Union monsters.  I developed these cards and a friend on Discord helped me check the PSCT, plus they're very good with balance.  I make the Flashstrike cards in what I call Expansions, if I want to think of ways to improve Flashstrike and the Union mechanic at the same time!!

https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=12978066 - Original Flashstrike cards 

• Notice that Unlovely is a +0 in card advantage in terms of its summoning condition?  Keep in mind either field means your field or your opponent's field.  You go -2 to to get the Flashstrike monsters out, and then you use the opponent's Extra Deck monster, that is a -1 for the opponent.  You then send those 3 to the GY as materials to summon Unlovely, which is +1 so the net advantage for you is -1.  But card advantage is using BOTH sides of the field, so the card advantage is +0 which is reasonable.  

After that, I experimented with how to make the Union mechanic more accessible and applied that to Flashstrike.

https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=14387169 - New Flashstrike cards I developed for Expansion 1

• The only negation in this is a Counter Trap, and ANY archetype the opponent controls can play through 1 negation which is reasonable. But the negation requires you to discard a card as cost, which makes it require setup. 

https://www.duelingbook.com/deck?id=14522713 - New Flashstrike cards I developed for Expansion 2 

• Here Flashstrike Rogue allows you to equip from the GY or banished cards to a Flashstrike monster you control.  

The cards lock you into Flashstrike monsters for the rest of the turn when Flashstrike Summer and La Mer are Special Summoned, limiting the plays you can do.  
 

[WhiteThunder777]

Keep in mind, the banlist makes you think about the way you should word your yugioh custom cards.  

A banned effect would indicate that the card is OP which warns you to pick a different effect.  

Some custom cards have negation effects, but the problem is that negation can also detract the opponent from playing the game.

[WhiteThunder777]

As of the recent banlist in the TCG in Apr 15,2024, Linkruiboh, Borreload Savage Dragon are banned.  

For Linkuriboh the problem is that Snake Eyes is causing it to be abused. 

For Borreload Savage Dragon, it's 6 negates on one card, preventing your opponent from going 2nd.

For Summon Limit, it's literally a problem as it denies the opponent the game.

When the banlist releases, it's there to make sure that custom card designs do not go out of hand.  

Edited April 14, 2024 by Surge77754

[Raikoh130]

17 hours ago, Surge77754 said:

As of the recent banlist in the TCG in Apr 15,2024, Linkruiboh, Borreload Savage Dragon are banned.  

For Linkuriboh the problem is that Snake Eyes is causing it to be abused. 

For Borreload Savage Dragon, it's 6 negates on one card, preventing your opponent from going 2nd.

For Summon Limit, it's literally a problem as it denies the opponent the game.

When the banlist releases, it's there to make sure that custom card designs do not go out of hand.  

Up to 6 negates, depending on the Link Monster's Link Level you take from your Graveyard from what I read on the card. Still busted but yeah, its not 6 negates in general.

[WhiteThunder777]

On 4/14/2024 at 1:46 PM, Raikoh130 said:

Up to 6 negates, depending on the Link Monster's Link Level you take from your Graveyard from what I read on the card. Still busted but yeah, its not 6 negates in general.

So if we look at Borreload Savage's effect the minimum link rating is 1 and the max link rating is 6.  So Borreload is 1-6 negates on one card, even though the effect has a HOPT.  Thanks for pointing this out!!

[WhiteThunder777]

Here's another example the banlist: Applousa is unlimited.  Applousa, Bow of the Goddess has a ATK that is equal to the number of its materials used x 800. So that is 2-4 negates on 1 card.  Every time Appolusa negates through its once per chain, she loses 800 ATK.  

If you bait her negate once, if you have a monster with more than 2400 ATK you can run over it by battle providing that nothing is stopping you from doing so.  This is when the opponent uses 4 monsters as material to summon her.  Sure Appolusa is 4 negates on one card in this case, but still, it's once per chain.  So you can bait her negate effect and then destroy it in battle with a more powerful monster. 

But if you look at this level of detail, even though Appolusa is unlimited, she's 2-4 negates on 1 card, which is why you should avoid this when making your own custom card.  

 

 

Edited April 21, 2024 by Surge77754

[WhiteThunder777]

It is NEVER a good idea to copy the TCG Meta to make your custom cards.  The TCG Meta is there to promote unhealthy interactions with floodgates (which is why Summon Limit was banned).  Macro Cosmos was limited because every TCG archetype uses the GY to some extent so denying the GY means limiting your opponent's options which is what no one wants to do when making custom cards.  

If a yugioh card is unlimited in the TCG but limited in the OCG, don't use that card to make your custom card.

Edited May 1, 2024 by Surge77754

[Rongaulius]

On 4/13/2024 at 7:09 PM, Surge77754 said:

As of the recent banlist in the TCG in Apr 15,2024, Linkruiboh, Borreload Savage Dragon are banned.  

For Linkuriboh the problem is that Snake Eyes is causing it to be abused. 

For Borreload Savage Dragon, it's 6 negates on one card, preventing your opponent from going 2nd.

For Summon Limit, it's literally a problem as it denies the opponent the game.

When the banlist releases, it's there to make sure that custom card designs do not go out of hand.  

The reason Borreload Savage Dragon finally got banned is because it's a completely generic Synchro monster with 3k base attack that tends to get much bigger on Summon, and it gives any deck that can make it and any Link monster a free negate.  With the exception of Rokkets, most decks that can make Savage Dragon would do so as more or less a bonus to their full combo. They didn't necessarily need Savage for a strong end board, but because it's a generic monster with good stats, a free negate AND it just so happens to be the best Level for a Synchro monster, they'd just make it because they could.  

Rokkets are one of my favorite decks, but Savage Dragon is too generic a boss monster to exist in a balanced game.  If it needed a "Rokket" Tuner and/or needed Dragon monsters as Synchro material, it would be fine.  Savage, Baronne, etc., are cards that are too generic.  And Konami LOVES to print overly generic power cards that make them oodles of money before eventually banning those same cards because they create an imbalanced game.  Look at Dragoon; it's even more powerful than Savage or Baronne on paper, yet because it requires three Garnets in your deck in order to make it and now Anaconda is banned, Dragoon can exist just fine in the TCG and you never even see it...because it isn't generic any more.

[Zamazenta the OS-Tan Fan]

Yes my friend had to deal with Flushstrike Unlovely which she can remove any ED monster you control.

[WhiteThunder777]

21 hours ago, Zamazenta the OS-Tan Fan said:

Yes my friend had to deal with Flushstrike Unlovely which she can remove any ED monster you control.

It's intended to be a board breaker.  Unlovely herself, needs to be put in a Flashstrike Deck because of her summoning requirements.

 

23 hours ago, Rongaulius said:

The reason Borreload Savage Dragon finally got banned is because it's a completely generic Synchro monster with 3k base attack that tends to get much bigger on Summon, and it gives any deck that can make it and any Link monster a free negate.  With the exception of Rokkets, most decks that can make Savage Dragon would do so as more or less a bonus to their full combo. They didn't necessarily need Savage for a strong end board, but because it's a generic monster with good stats, a free negate AND it just so happens to be the best Level for a Synchro monster, they'd just make it because they could.  

Rokkets are one of my favorite decks, but Savage Dragon is too generic a boss monster to exist in a balanced game.  If it needed a "Rokket" Tuner and/or needed Dragon monsters as Synchro material, it would be fine.  Savage, Baronne, etc., are cards that are too generic.  And Konami LOVES to print overly generic power cards that make them oodles of money before eventually banning those same cards because they create an imbalanced game.  Look at Dragoon; it's even more powerful than Savage or Baronne on paper, yet because it requires three Garnets in your deck in order to make it and now Anaconda is banned, Dragoon can exist just fine in the TCG and you never even see it...because it isn't generic any more.

If Borreload savage Dragon said 
1 "Rokket" Tuner + 1 non-tuner "Rokket" monsters that would have been fine.  But this is Konami thinking everything should be generic.

Edited May 3, 2024 by Surge77754

[Rongaulius]

16 hours ago, Surge77754 said:

If Borreload savage Dragon said 
1 "Rokket" Tuner + 1 non-tuner "Rokket" monsters that would have been fine.  But this is Konami thinking everything should be generic.

At this point I'd say it's deliberate.  Which will make more money: a card that works only with its intended archetype and will be purchased only by fans of that archetype? Or a power card with an archetypal name and/or stats and typing that make it look like support for a given deck...but it's so generic as to be playable in any deck?  From a business standpoint, the latter is what they'll tend to do more often than not, as it's the most cost-effective way for them to sell card packs.  Let's not kid ourselves that Yugioh is a game to Konami - it's a business with a business model that demands selling new products.  So in order to maximize their sales, they'll try to make those products appeal to the largest number of consumers.

[WhiteThunder777]

22 hours ago, Rongaulius said:

At this point I'd say it's deliberate.  Which will make more money: a card that works only with its intended archetype and will be purchased only by fans of that archetype? Or a power card with an archetypal name and/or stats and typing that make it look like support for a given deck...but it's so generic as to be playable in any deck?  From a business standpoint, the latter is what they'll tend to do more often than not, as it's the most cost-effective way for them to sell card packs.  Let's not kid ourselves that Yugioh is a game to Konami - it's a business with a business model that demands selling new products.  So in order to maximize their sales, they'll try to make those products appeal to the largest number of consumers.

You are blunt but correct.  The only way to put Booreload Savage Dragon off the banlist is to say.
1 "Rokket" Tuner + 1 non-tuner "Rokket" 

Here's why:

1. This summoning condition requires you to only play rokkets. 

2. The original summoning condition was too generic.

[Rongaulius]

1 hour ago, Surge77754 said:

You are blunt but correct.  The only way to put Booreload Savage Dragon off the banlist is to say.
1 "Rokket" Tuner + 1 non-tuner "Rokket" 

Here's why:

1. This summoning condition requires you to only play rokkets. 

2. The original summoning condition was too generic.

Agreed on all counts.  There are other Synchro monsters with omni-negates, but all of them have some sort of restriction Savage does not.  Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss both require a Synchro monster as Material in order to make them, which by itself makes them much less generic than Savage.  Those two are the most similar to Davage in effect, but generally see much less play due to the necessity of making not one but two Synchros in order to get to them. The decks making those monsters are Synchro climb strategies; it's much harder to splash in a Synchro monster that requires another Synchro as material than it is a generic Level 8.

Erratas are hard to balance and/or justify, but in the case of Savage I think there's a strong case to be made for making it non-generic and letting Rokkets keep it.  It'd be a Goyo Guardian-esque adjustment but done properly; the card would still be very easy to summon in Dragon Link decks but hard to get to in other decks; you'd have to run a Rokket engine, and that's a minimum of four main deck slots just to get to Savage (2 Quick Launch, 1 Tracer, 1 other 4* Rokket).  In my experience, Rokkets don't really mix all that well with non-Dragon engines, except Phantom Knights at times.  But even there, I would usually combo off to end on a board that consisted of Bardiche, Fog Blade, and Savage with 2 counters. That's 2 negates and a big body, and that's really not a whole lot.

[WhiteThunder777]

Verte Anaconda is another example of being generic.  Instead of it being 2 effect monsters, it should just say 2 "Predaplant" monsters.

[WhiteThunder777]

Here's the thing - TCG archetypes now use back and forth interactions.  That being said:

• Kashtira, Vanquish Soul, etc. use this tactic.

In terms of your customs, it is fine to play on your opponent's turn as modern TCG says, but do not resort to effects that stop the opponent from playing the game.

 

Edited May 20, 2024 by Surge77754

[WhiteThunder777]

Okay, so as it is seen, most archetypes in yugioh have a degree of playing on the opponent's turn.  This is inevitable.

That being said, the thing is, the effects you design have to be reasonable.  Like floodgating is going to get the opponent to quit against you.