March 2012 Forbidden and Limited List

February is coming to a close and you know what that means. The sun is shining here in New England. Woodland creatures are awakening from their hibernation. Shamrocks are hanging from businesses even though St. Patrick's day is a ways away. Car Dealerships are practically giving away vehicles for President's Day. And Konami giveth and taketh away our beloved cards. If you have been on any website involving Yugioh, you may have heard some angst amongst your fellow players. You may even have friends who are claiming to take a Yugioh vacation until September! They say this every year; don't worry, you'll see them in May. As a relatively new player, this is my first list that actually spun my head around. Question is, is it a good head-spin or bad head-spin?

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/

Newly Limited:
Glow-Up Bulb
Spore
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier - was limited
Trap Dustshoot - was limited

Limited:
The Agent of Mystery - Earth
T.G. Striker

Semi-Limited:
Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner - was limited
Marshmallon - was limited
Reborn Tengu
Emergency Teleport - was limited
Level Limit Area B - was limited
Shien's Smoke Signal - was limited
Torrential Tribute - was limited
Ultimate Offering

Newly Unlimited:
Call of the Haunted


So at first glance, you, I and the rest of the internet think of some very specific things:
1) Why weren't Wind-Ups hit?
2) Why weren't Inzecktor hit?
3) Why is the only world premiere card on the list Reborn Tengu?
4) Why kill the plant archetype completely?
5) Why the hit to Tech Genus?
6) Why limit so many cards last year, then semi-limit them this year?

Some people believe that the this list was designed to cripple generic synchro decks (Plants and T.G.) while making Xyz monsters and theme-specific Synchros the focus of the metagame. Some people believe that the current game state, with secret rare prices at an all-time high and the anticipation of reprints drives the  F&L list. Many people actually say that Konami knows more counters to our meta than we do; and with this list, older decks with some unknown technology can actually beat ZeXal decks.  We have a ton of new product being released this year, as well as new technology being uncovered every day. Perhaps the real answer to this list is that, by June, we will have so many potential tier 1 decks and cards to counter Hunter, Tour guide, and Hornet.

Just looking at YCS Atlanta, it is clear that the most popular decks are Wind-ups and Dino Rabbit.  With the new list, a few more decks get a boost in playability:
Six Samurai
Psychic
Lightsworn

Barring Lightsworn, Six Samurai and Psychic are 2 decks that have the benefit of running great tech without losing important card slots. Lightsworn have luck on their side and enough hand traps to stay in the game. No one wants to lose their whole hand or get Raigeki'd on turn 2, but there are sooooooo many cards now that can increases your chances of surviving:

Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror ***
Maxx "C" ****
Effect Veiler ****
Cyber Dragron **
Chaos Hunter **
Royal Prison ***
Skill Drain ****
Lava Golem **
2 Tragoedia ***
Ninjitsu Art of Super Transformation ***
D.D. Crow ****
Gozen Match ***
Rivalry of Warlords ****
Fiendish Chain ****
Compulsory Evacuation Device ***
Prohibition **
Marshmallon ****
Spirit Reaper ****

And that doesn't even include the biggest threat to Dino Rabbits and Wind-ups: Huge and Indestructible  monsters.

As scary as the format looks, I really think the key is in your own tech and side deck. A lot of people forget that, even though Wind-up, Inzektor, and Rabbit all have very consistent, powerful strategies; the sheer number of participates at YCS Atlanta brings the top 32 down to probability. The F&L list doesn't change TOO much about the game except for removing Tengu Plants(and a few Agent decks at your locals) from the equation. I wouldn't get your hopes up about banning Wind-up Hunter and limiting Inzektor Hornet until June, after we get Hidden Arsenal 6, Galactic Overload, Battle-pack epic dawn, a possible TCG Exclusive starter deck, Shooting Quasar Dragon, Slifer(Osiris), and the ton of other products this year.