Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the very few massive card games that runs without a set rotation, instead opting to use a comprehensive and frequently updated Forbidden and Limited card list to keep the game as balanced as possible.
Konami does not update the ban list with every new product release. It spaces them out to give players more time to implement new product releases into their strategies and create new decks.
Once the competitive overseers at Konami think enough time has passed and they have gathered enough data from larger tournaments, a new ban list is released, changing which cards will have limited usage in the Main Deck, Side Deck, or Extra Deck for all players.
Related: Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden and Limited card list
The Forbidden and Limited card list only applies to the TCG Advanced Format, but it almost always impacts the game in meaningful ways, whether it be through banning a highly used card or changing how a powerful deck runs by limiting one of its key combo pieces. Players who use the Traditional Format also use the list as a base for competitive play, but there are no Forbidden cards, only Limited and Semi-Limited.
The most recent ban list is going into effect on March 15, with one card, Firewall Dragon, being the exception as it will move from Forbidden to Unlimited on April 14. This is due to the Link Monster receiving an Errata variant in Ghost from the Past, which releases on that date.
There’s no set date for when the next update will drop, but Konami said it’d be released “no earlier than July 1.”
