Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Announces October 2025 Banlist Update, Affecting 10 Cards

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Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel has revealed the latest updates to its banlist, which will take effect in October 2025. These changes target some of the game’s most dominant decks. The digital card game, created by Konami, has experienced frequent adjustments recently, with new Selection Packs adding strong cards to the mix. The September Selection Pack provided support for established archetypes, including themes like “Ignister,” “Nekroz,” and “Gem-Knight.” Despite these additions, a couple of decks continue to be among the most powerful strategies in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel.

Since they were added to the digital card game, both “Maliss” and “Ryzeal” have been very powerful, just like their popular versions in the physical game. Maliss is known as one of the most difficult decks to defeat, using a lot of Cyberse support cards to overcome disruptions. Ryzeal makes Rank 4 Xyz Monsters incredibly strong, giving players access to a huge number of Xyz Monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. With the start of the newest season, both decks are getting some changes to balance gameplay.

As a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel, I was excited to see the announcement of the next banlist update earlier this week! A lot of cards are being adjusted in the Forbidden & Limited List. It looks like “Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir” is the only card getting fully banned, which is understandable – it’s a really strong Rank 4 Xyz Monster that could often completely shut down games and stop my opponent’s monsters from doing anything. They’re also trying to tone down the Maliss strategy, limiting three cards: “Maliss P Dormouse” and “Maliss in Underground” are core to the archetype, and “Gold Sarcophagus” was a powerful card used to support it. The new Master Duel banlist update will be live on October 8.

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Reveals October 2025 Banlist Update

Forbidden

  • Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir (Previously Unlimited)

Limited

  • Maliss P Dormouse (Previously Unlimited)
  • Gold Sarcophagus (Previously Semi-Limited)
  • Maliss in Underground (Previously Unlimited)

Unlimited

  • Raigeki (Previously Semi-Limited)
  • Nightmare Throne (Previously Semi-Limited)
  • Sage with Eyes of Blue (Previously Semi-Limited)
  • Dark Beckoning Beast (Previously Semi-Limited)
  • Opening of the Spirit Gates (Previously Semi-Limited)
  • Purrely Delicious Memory (Previously Limited)

This banlist update isn’t just about cards being restricted – six cards are now completely unrestricted. The classic Spell card “Raigeki” can now be played up to three times per deck, and popular strategies like “Blue-Eyes” and “Purrely” will benefit from having more copies of “Sage with Eyes of Blue” and “Purrely Delicious Memory” available. The “Yubel” deck is getting a significant boost with this change, as “Nightmare Throne,” “Dark Beckoning Beast,” and “Opening of the Spirit Gates” are all returning to Unlimited status. Find the full list here.

The recent updates are expected to cause big changes, and Ryzeal is positioned to become a top deck in Master Duel‘s new format. Ryzeal will only lose Bagooska, but will still have many ways to create powerful final board states. However, Maliss is expected to struggle significantly in the October season, losing multiple copies of its strongest starting cards and a key card for extending its combos, “Maliss in Underground.” Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is likely to experience substantial changes to its competitive scene throughout October.

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2025-10-05 01:04