The February 25 banlist came out like a meteorite on the planet’s surface. While it did somewhat solve a lot of the unfair advantages some clans had, it still felt like Bushiroad’s approach towards this problem seemed somewhat misdirected.

For starters, at first glance everybody may seem happy about the errata on our blonde friend from the sea. However, some people still feel that this does not affect the strength of the Riviere deck overall. Looking at the bigger picture, we think that whether or not the deck became powerful, at least you won’t get OTK’d on the Riviere’s first Grade 3 turn that often anymore.

A not so surprising surprise came with the restriction of Doriane. While it is logical to hit the clan by the engine does tame the clan, it has rendered this specific archetype vulnerable to the point that it has become difficult to manage. Surprisingly as well, Pale Moon was only one of two clans to get hit on Premium leaving Neo Nectars and Dark Irregulars open to dominate the meta.

Probably the most ridiculous hit on this banlist was towards Tachikaze’s only actual useful Grade 3 Vanguard unit in the entirety of the V-Series, Angerblader. Hitting the most expensive and most core unit in the deck renders the clan useless and its player extremely salty.

While units like Riviere who are far ahead of this clan only received a skill errata, Angerblader had to face the entirety of Bushiroad’s wrath sending it back to extinction where, by everything they stand for, it does not belong.

No, HYU-GA did not get hit during the restriction list. But that’s exactly the problem. While Bushiroad wasn’t shy to wipe Tachikaze off of the meta entirely, Shirayuki‘s restriction gave only a small amount of repose against this clan.

Murakumo is now open to the option of pairing HYU-GA with other of the overpowered units like Zanbaku or a set of Hyakki Vogues. Given the amount of options still available for Murakumo, it is safe to say that the Dynasty will not end this set.

The remainder of the restriction in standard made sense with Chou-ou kicking the bucket. Liselotte’s freedom also makes sense, however, makes you think why cards like Doctroid Refros still can’t get out.

For Premium, Doriane and Wonder Ezel got hit entirely which significantly downgrades the consistency in both decks. As mentioned before, Dark Irregulars and Neo Nectar were left untouched which brings about an imbalance in the meta. But I guess that’s okay since it’s Premium.

In regards to the choices of what clans had to be restricted and how to approach this, some seemed underwhelming while others were obviously extreme. It makes us question if the team’s approach towards balancing the game seems misdirected or not. One thing is for sure though, we’ll probably still spend money on this game anyway.