Chapter 223. "Cyber-Stein" with Cyber-Style? Full Breakdown of the Second Stint Behind Bars!
A brutal OTK engine!
And that was only the power it gained by fusing into the metagame of that time!
The veterans couldn't even imagine it!
If it kept developing afterward!
Just how far would Cyber-Stein's violent OTK potential go!
In that instant!
The chatter in the group chat quickly shifted to Cyber Dragons!
Seto Kaiba: "If I'm remembering right, Duel Academy's student Kaiser—Zane Truesdale—has a pretty good [Cyber End Dragon], no?"
Syrus Truesdale: "Huh?
You're right!
If it's my brother's Cyber End Dragon, Cyber-Stein can pull it out too!"
Yuma Tsukumo: "Whoa!
No kidding—Cyber Dragon might really be the next big leg to cling to!
That End Dragon does piercing, right?
If I'm not misremembering!"
Yusaku Fujiki: "If that's true, then it gets even more violent."
And when Zane Truesdale saw the group chat's focus shift to his Cyber-style!
He couldn't help but flinch!
No way?
Don't tell me.
Cyber Dragon?
Even Cyber-Stein understands Cyber-style now?
Very soon!
The short clip gave the answer!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Next, let's look at Cyber-Stein's next cheat-code module!"
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "I believe that when we started talking about Fusion—"
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "—all you duelists already had a feeling!"
"Next up!
Naturally, it's our Cyber-style related Fusion Monsters!"
"One copy of [Cyber Twin Dragon]!
One copy of [Cyber End Dragon]!"
"Plus [Power Bond]!"
"This gives Cyber-Stein an excellent pair of wings to help it take off!"
"These cards' release patched up Cyber-Stein's flaw of not being able to pierce."
"They also patched the flaw of Cyber-Stein not being able to OTK even more violently!"
"Why do I say that?"
"Cyber-Stein can very easily bring out [Cyber End Dragon]!"
"After doubling with [Megamorph], we then use [Limiter Removal] to double again!"
"16,000 ATK with piercing!"
"I ask you—what Deck of that era could survive that damage?"
"And there's also a combo involved!"
"Monster Card [Proto-Cyber Dragon], 1,100 ATK!"
"It perfectly pairs with the Quick-Play Spell [Inferno Reckless Summon]!"
"Simply put, with those two cards together!"
"We can quickly pull out three copies of [Proto-Cyber Dragon]!"
"After that, Cyber-Stein's lines of play became fairly clear—four routes!"
"Route 1: Cyber-style kill OTK!"
"Nothing much to add here!"
"[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] gets replaced by [Cyber End Dragon]!"
"Most of the other cards are similar."
"Route 2: Cyber-style Catapult Turtle!"
"Use Catapult Turtle's effect to quickly Tribute off high-ATK monsters!"
"In one go, blast the opponent to zero!"
"Route 3: Future Fusion + Overload OTK!"
"Route 4: 'Self-lockdown' Stein!"
"Run some nasty Traps!"
"Plus the Fusion Monsters I mentioned earlier to apply pressure!"
"Put it together and you get some downright miserable combos!"
"And so!"
"Cyber-Stein" met its first Forbidden hit!
"Because Cyber-Stein kept getting stronger in that environment!"
"Especially with this Cyber Dragon combo!"
"Its inclusion rate just kept climbing!"
"Simply put, back then, whether a Deck was overtuned—"
"—or underpowered, it could still slot in Cyber-Stein!"
"In that meta!
Some Duelists even ran three Kuriboh just to stop Stein!"
"As a result, the card suffered its first ban!"
Finally, it was restricted by justice!
Finally, a stroke of divine fairness!
After listening to the entire story of the first ban!
Duelists across every world felt their brains start to short-circuit!
It's not that Duelists couldn't understand!
It's that they understood too well!
That's why their brains felt overloaded!
How could there be a card!
That could get this disgusting!
Of course it even targeted Cyber Dragons!
It actually managed to hitch a ride on Cyber-style!
Duel Monsters world.
Seto Kaiba, Yugi Muto, and the others all drew a long breath!
Kaiba was the most exasperated!
His Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—
After being used up—
Really did get swapped out for Cyber End Dragon!
Piercing damage—
It's just too good!
GX world.
When Zane Truesdale learned his Cyber-style really had been used by Cyber-Stein!
He felt downright awful!
What broke his mental guard the most was—
This exact combo being described—
Was his own go-to combo!
But the difference is!
He has to work hard to Fusion Summon using Cyber Dragons!
Meanwhile Stein just shows up—
And spits it out with no sweat!
At this moment!
Zane could finally empathize with Seto Kaiba's state of mind!
Cyber-Stein!
Dying to a ban isn't unjust!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "But like I said!
That was only its first time being Forbidden."
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Afterward, Cyber-Stein would be released again!"
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Let's take a look next!"
"Even after Cyber-Stein stirred up such an uproar!"
"How did it get out of jail?"
"Frankly speaking!
The main reason was the changing environment!"
"Stein's OTK edge could no longer stay ahead of the meta!"
"'Rely on [Megamorph] to push damage!'"
"That was already outdated beyond outdated!"
"So when Cyber-Stein was suddenly released—"
"The Duelists of the time were surprised at first, then shrugged!"
"But we all know this!
The stronger the meta gets—"
"The stronger Cyber-Stein becomes!"
"After that, [Naturia Exterio] released ten years later!"
"No 'once per turn' limit on negating Spells/Traps!"
"As long as it hits the field, it shuts down most Spells and Traps!"
"This provided a nice extra reinforcement for Cyber-Stein!"
"And the ways to access Stein also diversified!"
"For example, [Gear Gigant X] could fetch Level 4 Machines to extend into lines that ultimately set up Stein!"
"As a result!
'Gear Stein' became the first top build after its release!"
"Use Fusion options out of the Extra to bring out [Naturia Exterio]!"
"For pressure you can pull [Cyber Twin Dragon]!"
"The core leans on Xyz—respectable power level!"
"Second, a combo involving the Synchro [Road Warrior]!"
"This card could develop lines that pull Cyber-Stein from the Deck!"
"For 'Scrap-style' builds, with Stein as the starter—"
"The final board's strength improves quite a bit!"
"But the most disgusting one—was this combo!"
"Equip Spell [Psychic Amplifier] + Field Spell [Brain Research Lab]!"
"Simply put, together—"
"They let Cyber-Stein activate its effect without paying LP!"
"Thus enabling infinite summons of Extra Deck Fusion Monsters!"
"Add pressure with Exterio locking."
"For offense you can choose Cyber-style cards and so on—no need to belabor it!"
"But you still need [DNA Surgery] to complete this infinite-summon combo!"
"Cyber-Stein is a Level 2 Machine, and you can only Summon Level 2 monsters with the Brain Research Lab combo.
This limits the Fusion Monsters you can Summon, but it was still a neat idea."
Absurd!
Just absurd!
That Fusion—Naturia Exterio!
Really did bump Cyber-Stein's value up another notch!
Even harder to keep a straight face was the next one!
Someone actually thought up that combo!
Making the summons from the Extra cost-free!
What kind of galaxy-brain Duelist comes up with such a bizarre combo route!
Yugi Muto, Yuma Tsukumo, and Yusei Fudo were all so numb they didn't know what to say anymore!
They had already expected that once Cyber-Stein got out, it would trigger vision-blackening combos!
But they didn't expect—
This Psychic combo could actually erase Stein's costs!
Fortunately, the success rate wasn't high!
That let the veteran protagonists quietly breathe a sigh of relief!
Looked at this way!
That wasn't the reason Cyber-Stein got limited!
Low consistency.
Which means lower power.
The real issue was still other Deck synergies!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Next, let's continue with Cyber-Stein's development!"
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Aside from those search lines—"
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "You could also use life-gain shells to get Stein to hand!"
"For example, stall Traps plus LP-gain cards to buy time!"
"Another route uses [Soul Absorption] with [Aegis of Gaia] to combo life gain!"
"Or a dedicated build around [Typhoon] and [The Despair Uranus]!"
"Cyber-Stein still hadn't found a perfectly fitting meta partner!"
"Stein's OTK edge could no longer stay ahead of the meta!"
"Earlier combos—"
"—got suppressed by [Artifact Moralltach] and [Artifact Sanctum]!"
"Simply put—"
"Sanctum summons Moralltach, and Exterio can't stop it!"
"And once Moralltach hits the field, it pops Exterio!"
"There you go!"
"Cyber-Stein got pure, uncut blowback!"
"And Stein sitting on the field is a living target anyway!"
"700 ATK—just free damage for the opponent!"
"Even if the Cyber-style OTK package still had uses—"
"It wasn't worth spending a huge chunk of LP to set it up."
"First, you can't fully guarantee the OTK."
"Second, it's not worth it."
"Simply not worth it."
"Later, it went from Limited to Unlimited!"
"Letting Cyber-Stein fully shake off the banlist's shackles."
"With higher access rates, the Mask Change package added some combo lines!"
"For example, the Quick-Play [Mask Change II] can turn Stein into [Masked HERO Dark Law]!"
"And in the subsequent landscape—"
"A few themes gave Cyber-Stein a little hope!"
"[Infernoid] was one of them."
"Weak Normal Summons, great with [Reasoning]."
"[Monster Gate] also combos!"
"Makes the Deck play nicely with Cyber-Stein!"
"Or the [Nekroz] theme!"
"Because Nekroz relies on Spell Cards, and Stein can make Exterio."
"So it was a match made in heaven."
"Sadly—"
"In 2015, the hand trap [Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit] released!"
"A vicious backstab to Exterio!"
"Exterio might as well be free food!"
"In March, the true king—[Number S39: Utopia the Lightning]—released!"
"Cyber-Stein can be sliced cleanly in half by Lightning!"
"Alright, Cyber-Stein gradually backed out of the meta to lie low."
Huh?
What's this?
What happened?
So the Duelists of every world—
They originally thought Cyber-Stein would keep shining and then get Forbidden again!
But after hearing the later developments!
Why was it nothing like they imagined!
Cyber-Stein, once so dominant!
Later in the meta, it got chopped up like a rookie card?!
And when they heard Lightning could casually take care of Cyber-Stein—
ZEXAL world.
Yuma Tsukumo felt great on the spot!
"Hahahaha!
So good!"
"Just as expected, Utopia the Lightning is unbeatable!"
"Looks like Cyber-Stein isn't all that!"
Yuma Tsukumo crowed with delight.
He finally understood!
Stein is strong!
But the rest of the meta and other themes also got stronger!
It's not just your Extra that leveled up!
That's the environment!
The wondrous ecology of Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "After that, Cyber-Stein stayed middling."
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Until the meta shifted into a new era."
Yu-Gi-Oh! Banlist Commentator: "Plenty of themes let Stein shine again."
"Like Burning Abyss Stein, Darklord Stein."
"But we have to be clear!"
"They still couldn't deliver an overwhelming breakthrough for Stein!"
"Even with later Link Monsters!
[I:P Masquerena]-line pieces like [Union Carrier]/[Copy Puppet Dragon] enabling the Psychic combo mentioned earlier!"
"They still couldn't truly raise Stein's value!"
"Even so—"
"Stein was slapped with a Limit again."
"But not Forbidden."
"Just Limited to 1!"
"In 2021, 'Danger! Dark World Stein' appeared!"
"By churning through the Deck like crazy, you'd find Stein!"
"The end board was Exterio with 'Gryphon' plus recursion in the back row!"
"In 2022, [Spright Elf] brought a ray of hope for Cyber-Stein!"
"Simply put, this involves the Tearlaments engine!"
"Mill Stein to the Graveyard!"
"Then Spright revives to make an Exterio."
"This effectively boosted Tearlaments' power!"
"In 2023, Superheavy also brought hope!"
"[Gear Gigant] plus [Platinum Gadget] could fetch pieces and extend into Stein with ease!"
"[Borreload Savage Dragon] and [Gimmick Puppet - Nightmare] also became Stein combos!"
"Stein pulls Savage Dragon; Savage gifts the opponent Nightmare, locking their Special Summons for the turn!"
"And then, a pack released a card called [Murder Potato]!"
"Its effect: when destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY, Special Summon a DARK monster with 1,500 ATK or less from the Deck!"
"This also offered a way to fetch Cyber-Stein."
"Unfortunately, the time had come."
"In July 2023, Cyber-Stein was Forbidden again!"
"Some said it was because of the Savage combo."
"Some said Superheavy's tutoring was to blame."
"Some said Spright Elf caused it."
"And some said it was pre-emptive because of the unreleased [Murder Potato] effect."
"In any case, opinions varied."
"But undeniably, Cyber-Stein getting Forbidden at any point—"
"I'd say that's never surprising."
"I only wonder: when will it get out again next time?"
Stunned.
Bewildered.
After listening to the final breakdown of its second stint behind bars—
All the Duelists fell silent.
No absolute Graveyard lock.
No combos so absurd they break the game.
And just like that—it got Forbidden?
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Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts