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Yugioh banlist 2024

For YuGiOh! TCG players, here's all Forbidden, Limited, and Semi-Limited Yugioh cards in 2024, including the September 2 update.

Yugioh banlist guide - Wargamer graphic including Konami card art for three banned cards, including FIendsmith's Lacrima

The official Yugioh banlist lists which Yugioh cards have been made Forbidden, Limited, or Semi Limited to 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 (and the YuGiOh Master Duel banlist, which we cover in a separate guide), you might also enjoy our guides on the most expensive 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 September 2, 2024), and then explain exactly how the banlist rules work surrounding Forbidden, Limited, and Semi-Limited cards.

Here’s what you need to know:

Yugioh banlist 2021 - Konami image showing the Yugioh TCG logo

Yugioh banlist changes September 2024

The most recent version of the Yugioh banlist was released on August 31, 2024, and came into force on September 2, 2024. The September 2 Yugioh banlist changes are as follows:

These cards are now Forbidden in Advanced format and Limited in Traditional format

  • Fiendsmith’s Lacrima
  • Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess
  • Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity
  • Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal

These cards are now Limited in all formats:

  • Eva
  • Snake-Eye Ash
  • Snake-Eyes Poplar
  • Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings
  • Number C40: Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings
  • Branded Fusion
  • Opening of The Spirit Gates
  • Pot of Prosperity
  • Sangen Summoning
  • That Grass Looks Greener
  • Skill Drain

These cards are now Semi-Limited in all formats:

  • Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos
  • Lunalight Tiger
  • Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders
  • Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms
  • Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls
  • Thunder Dragon Colossus
  • Ib The World Chalice Justiciar

These cards have been taken off the banlist:

  • Armageddon Knight
  • Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin
  • Performage Plushfire
  • Red Rose Dragon
  • Ancient Fairy Dragon
  • Denglong, First of the Yang Zing
  • Time Seal

Full YuGiOh Banlist September 2024

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 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

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Archnemeses Protos

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
  • Glow-Up Bulb
  • Grinder Golem
  • Kelbek The Ancient Vanguard
  • Level Eater
  • Magical Scientist
  • Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin
  • Master Peace, The True Dracoslaying King
  • Mathmech Circular
  • Maxx “C”
  • Mind Master
  • Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis
  • Ronintoadin
  • Spyral Master Plan
  • The Tyrant Neptune
  • Victory Dragon

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Elder Entity Norden

Monster/Fusion

  • Elder Entity Norden
  • Fiendsmith’s Lacrima (New)
  • Supreme King Dragon Starving Venom
  • Tearlaments Kitkallos

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Crystron Halqifibrax

Monster/Link

  • Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess (New)
  • 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

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Ancient Fairy Dragon

Monster/Synchro

  • Baronne de Fleur
  • Borreload Savage Dragon
  • Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon
  • Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity
  • Tempest Magician

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Lavalaval Chain

Monster/Xyz

  • Beatrice, Lady Of The Eternal (was Limited)
  • 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

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Brilliant Fusion

Spell

  • Brilliant Fusion
  • 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
  • Painful Choice
  • Pot Of Greed
  • Premature Burial
  • Smoke Grenade Of The Thief
  • Soul Charge
  • The Forceful Sentry
  • Zoodiac Barrage

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Appointer of the Red Lotus

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

Yugioh banlist 2021 - Konami image showing Yugi and friends from the Yugioh anime

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

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Agido the Ancient Sentinel

Monster/Effect

  • Archnemeses Protos
  • Astrograph Sorcerer
  • Black Dragon Collapserpent
  • Bystial Magnamhut
  • Cyber Jar
  • Danger!? Jackalope?
  • Danger!? Tsuchinoko?
  • Dark Grepher
  • Eva (was Forbidden)
  • Exodia The Forbidden One
  • Keldo The Sacred Protector
  • Miscellaneousaurus
  • Morphing Jar
  • Mudora The Sword Oracle
  • Performapal Monkeyboard
  • Phantom Skyblaster
  • Psy-Framegear Gamma
  • Rescue-ACE Air Lifter
  • Snake-Eye Ash (New)
  • Snake-Eye Ash (New)
  • Substitoad
  • Tearlaments Havnis
  • Tearlaments Merrli
  • Tearlaments Scheiren
  • Unchained Soul of Sharvara
  • White Dragon Wyverburster
  • Zoodiac Ratpier

Monster/Fusion

  • Gem-Knight Master Diamond

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Striker Dragon

Monster/Link

  • Striker Dragon
  • Sunavalon Dryas
  • Sunvine Healer

Monster/Synchro

  • Psy-Framelord Omega
  • T.G. Hyper Librarian

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Lady of the Eternal

Monster/Xyz

  • Daigusto Emeral
  • Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings (New)
  • Number C40: Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings (New)

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Called by the Grave

Spell

  • Branded Fusion (New)
  • Called By The Grave
  • Card Destruction
  • Card Of Demise
  • Chain Strike
  • Change of Heart
  • Chaos Space
  • Chicken Game
  • 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
  • Opening of the Spirit Gates (New)
  • Pot of Prosperity (New)
  • Reasoning
  • Reinforcement Of The Army
  • Sangen Summoning (New)
  • Sekka’s Light
  • Set Rotation
  • Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones
  • Slash Draw
  • Snatch Steal
  • Terraforming
  • That Grass Looks Greener (was Forbidden)

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Magical Explosion

Trap

  • Anti-spell Fragrance
  • Gozen Match
  • Magical Explosion
  • Naturia Sacred Tree
  • Rivalry of Warlords
  • Skill Drain (New)
  • There Can Only Be One

Semi-limited Yugioh cards

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Destiny Hero - Malicious

Monster/Effect

  • Blaster, Dragon Ruler Of Infernos (was Limited)
  • Dinowrestler Pankratops
  • Lunalight Tiger (was Limited)
  • Redox, Dragon Ruler Of Boulders (was Limited)
  • Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms (was Limited)
  • Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls (was Limited)

Monster/Fusion

  • Thunder Dragon Colossus (was Limited)

Monster/Synchro

  • Ib The World Chalice Justiciar (was Limited)

Yu Gi Oh banlist card by Konami - Lightning Storm

Spell

  • Lightning Storm
  • Purrely Delicious Memory
  • Purrely Sleep Memory
  • Runick Fountain

YuGiOh banlist - Konami art of the Pot of Greed

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 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.

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.

Yu-Gi-Oh! banlist - Seto Kaiba and Yami Yugi pull Yu-Gi-Oh! cards from their duel discs

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, and 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 ranges 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. The first Disney Lorcana set is much easier to get hold of since it received a much-needed reprint, so now’s a great time to get on board with a new game.