Greetings Summoners!

We have been thrilled to see the enthusiasm for Battle Spirits Saga and to watch players innovate and explore the competitive landscape we strive to offer. We would like to share an important announcement with you about changes to the legal card pool in anticipation for [BSS03] AQUATIC INVADERS.

In an effort to keep a fresh gameplay environment and facilitate a diverse competitive metagame, Battle Spirits Saga will be introducing a Banned and Limited Cards List to the competitive format. Generally, any updates to the Banned and Limited Cards List will be announced prior to the release of a new Booster Pack release and go into effect for premier events at the time of the set release. Cards on the Banned Cards List cannot be played in decks at competitive events, and decks cannot contain more than the specified number of copies for cards on the Limited Cards List. We may consider reintroducing cards on the Banned and Limited Cards list at a later date if their inclusion will provide a richer competitive landscape.

Limited Cards

The following cards have a limit of one copy per deck.

• ・[BSS01-119] Volcanic Break

In Red strategies like Terrasaurs, Volcanic Break has proved to be an extremely effective flash effect for destroying 5 -6 cost spirits in aggressive decks of other colors, limiting the opportunity for counterattacks. Although there are various other aggressive deck archetypes in colors other than red, this card has been a major component in preventing them from being used effectively. By adding this card to the Limited Cards List, we aim to increase diversity in the kinds of aggressive decks that can be played in the upcoming and future metagame.

Banned Cards

We will be implementing 3 cards to the Banned Cards list:

• ・[BSS01-010] Oviraptodon
• ・[BSS01-106] Netherworld Depths
• ・[PR-006] D-08 Axebiter

To manage the power level of Terrasaurs while keeping the archetype viable, we are adding [BSS01-010] Oviraptodon to the Banned Cards list. Many decks can struggle with the early game pressure of Oviraptodon followed by [BSS01-007] Jurassic King Gigano Rex. We have deemed this additional measure necessary to offset other changes that heavily impact control-based strategies.

In the current competitive landscape, this card has become a mainstay in many strategies: Most Purple archetypes, White decks designed to stop many attacks, and Green and Yellow decks that generate cores quickly. We have observed play patterns revolving around the early resolution of Netherworld Depths to be non-interactive and undesirable. Therefore, we have chosen to add it to the Banned Cards List to improve gameplay experience and deck-building diversity.

This card has proven to be an over-centralizing cornerstone of control-heavy White strategies. The viability of many archetypes seems to be determined by their ability to address the card in tandem with spells like [BSS01-130] Suppression and [BSS02-126] Infinity Shield. Besides the strength of this combination limiting card diversity among White strategies, this tactic has also contributed to games taking longer to complete than we had anticipated. We aim to alleviate both issues through adding this card to the Banned Cards list.

While we will generally be updating the Banned and Limited Card List with the release of new Booster Pack products, we will be implementing these changes starting October 6, 2023 to align with the updated release of [L01] ANCIENT HEROES Lore Set in North America. These adjustments will be in effect for the Pro Tour event on October 28-29, 2023. The next time summoners are notified of additional regulations to the card pool is scheduled to be for the release of [BSS04].

Thank you for your continued support of Battle Spirits Saga as we strive to produce a game all fans can enjoy.

Battle Spirits Saga Team