The Yu-Gi-Oh Banlist 2024 Explained
Yu-Gi-Oh is one of the most popular CCGs in the world, and that requires a healthy amount of maintenance to make sure it’s fun for everyone.
Attention duelists! Whether you’re new to Duel Monsters or you’ve been playing since Duelist Kingdom, you know there are a few absolutes in Yu-Gi-Oh: the Heart of the Cards is real, Exodia isn’t all that hard to summon, and some cards make the game less fun. That isn’t to say that cards like that don’t have a place, but in a competitive game like Yu-Gi-Oh, games need to be fair. After all, you wouldn’t want to enter a Formula 1 Race with a Red Rider Wagon!
To make sure the game stays fair and fun for all, the folks at Konami put together a rotating list of cards that aren’t allowed in tournament play – like Pot of Greed. Whether these cards are too powerful, have odd interactions, or just didn’t do what the designers intended, they aren’t fit for the higher levels of play.
Of course, as cards come and go, certain cards end up on or off the list. In order to keep your decks legal, we’ll keep an eye on the shifts and update this guide as the cards are added or removed.
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Can I Still Play With Banned Cards?
Sure, as long as you aren’t playing in tournaments. The ban list is designed for the two most common formats of Standard play, but those are far from the only ways to play. Casual players can build whatever deck their opponent is willing to play against, so long as it follows the actual Yu-Gi-Oh rules.
There’s even a singleton format called Boomers, which has a custom ban list and is popular amongst content creators on TikTok and YouTube. However, don’t expect to take your Casual decks with three copies of Fiber Jar to a local tournament.
What are the Formats?
While there are numerous ways to play Yu-Gi-Oh, a few formats stand above the others, especially in relation to the ban list. The primary tournament-legal format is the Advanced Format, and it is the most commonly played style of game. Every card is included, with a list of cards that are either Forbidden or Limited.
Forbidden cards, as the name suggests, cannot be used in Advanced Format games, and Limited cards can only have a single copy included. Traditional Format is almost identical to Advanced Format, with the exception that there is no ban list, only Limited and Semi-Limited (two copies).
Current Ban List (As of January 1st, 2024)
The current Forbidden and Limited list can be found on Konami’s official site here. The link will be updated as the list is.
