Banlist Predictions [01/08/2026]

We are entering the new year, and with that, we also have the upcoming balance list happening within a week from this post. I know I’ve been repeating this in real life, but this has been probably one of the least turbulent metagames that have existed in years.

Beginning with what is arguably the boogieman of the format at the moment, we have Gakuen Idolm@ster sitting at the top. There were multiple different decks that had been showing up and competing for a spot, but it appears that the biggest standout has been the Re;Iris group featuring Saki, Temari, and Kotone. For those unaware, Re:Iris’ group is all based in putting cards into memory in order to eventually power up and benefit their finisher, Temari, which performs an Icy Tail check based on number of cards in memory minus one.

Arguably, this may be a controversial take, but I don’t think Re;Iris will be touched at all. My rationale for this is because of the way Temari works and the fact that the Re;Iris core has nothing that’s blatantly game-breaking. For those unaware, Temari’s finisher deals a single point of damage followed by an Icy Tail check that will deal a single point of damage if any number of climaxes are revealed. That means that Temari will only ever deal two ping ones followed by her swing at best.

Temari is a very well made card that actually has a scalable ceiling but a pretty low floor. What I mean by this is, at worst, Temari is a ping one that has a relatively low chance to hit on her Icy Tail ability. But with Temari, if you manage to build up your memory enough, you can greatly increase the chance of her latter. Keep in mind that Temari’s damage will always be gated at the two ping limit.

Compared to older Icy Tail profiles, Temari is generally, and as crazy as it sounds, weaker. Both Touya and Aki that appeared in previous banlists had the potentially of netting multiple hits with their Icy Tails. Temari’s limitation at dealing a single point of damage no matter how many climaxes hit prevents her from catching up in damage. Meanwhile, Touya and Aki would mill out your bottom deck, with both having their own effects to increase their variance of check with little to no buildup required (Touya checks six at base while Aki has events that gives him a potential check of eight). Temari lives and dies by the amount of memory that you have which is always a -1 due to her innate text.

The other concern players have voiced to me is that they are annoyed at the vast amount of memory that Re;Iris generates. While it is true that Re;Iris is capable of generating a large amount of memory, we also have to take a look at the speed of the game and the costs of putting cards in memory. It seems people have forgotten the time when Saekano would massively dump up to a fifth or even more of their deck into memory. And it was far more realistic during Saekano’s dominance, mainly due to the lessened amount of damage and slower game pace compared to today. Sure, Re;Iris has access to the Helmet Saki, but even that Saki is restricted in its effect, letting you only salvage members of her own unit. The bottom line is that the memory package, although a nuisance, isn’t anywhere as powerful as players may have you believe.

While talking with a local, I think the best way to describe Re;Iris as the best deck in format is simply due to the fact that previous heavy hitters have been kicked down several tiers, pushing Re;Iris above as a result. It isn’t that Re;Iris is particularly strong, it’s more that other decks and the format itself has become weaker.

Ironically, I think the problematic cards have nothing to do with Re;Iris. It is, in fact, the splashable cards that are causing a stir. It is Begrazia (Sena, Misuzu, and Ume) that is possibly problematic by design. While Re;Iris still maintains dominance to my understanding, Begrazia splashing or Begrazia by itself presents the two annoyances above. 2/1 Sena is akin to a familiar figure in Weiss’ past, dominating the field while filtering your deck and setting you up perfectly for the following turn or grabbing your finishers. Misuzu’s early play profile stops opposing decks in their tracks, especially if deployed multiple times or in multiple lanes. The protection from damage from battle basically nullifies many finishing combos.

Welcome back, Alice. That’s how I would typically describe 2/1 Sena. Of course, what made 2/1 Alice broken was her 1/0 brainstorm, but effectively, the two cards play exactly the same. They stall the game, generate you resource, and make it difficult for your opponent to deal with the board while also compressing your deck overtime. Sena’s freefresh bonus means you can constantly loop and refresh your deck, potentially giving you multiple turns to work with before entering the endgame while you wail on your opponent. Imagine this with even more compression from memory using Re;Iris as an option.

The second pairing I want to bring up that I think will genuinely have some revisions are the Kaiju No. 8. Mina duo with the 0/0 and the weapon. Now, the rationale behind this choice lies in just the principle of this design. The fact that the 1/1 event can snipe any cost one or lower character in your opponent’s front row for free is absurd. And having this card also carry modality as a salvage event that can be salvaged off door triggers is even more insane. Basically, if you are playing any deck that tries to build up board or relies on combat tricks in the front row, you’re quite honestly in danger. Opening a hole in your opponent’s front row also increases the amount of soul dealt since the event is used during main phase. It’s just not a fun pattern that punishes a lot of field profiles such as J.C.s or even Pina-style effects.

The next more predictive card that I think will probably have some limitation is 3/2 Akane shown above. To put it simply, this card is quite unfun to play against. In all fairness, this card is pretty similar to 3/2 Temari, but the key difference is that this card always has the chance to deal an extra point of damage compared to Temari’s two ping limit. What is problematic in this design is that Akane gives you an additional heal as well per ping check, helping you outlast the longer game. While the damage potential is technically worse than Temari since the check is only the bottom of your opponent’s deck three times, Akane gives you a chance of extending the game further. Keep in mind that Akane does also hit on level zeros, but given the fact that you are only revealing one card each check, the overall chance for each hit is akin to a 50/50 flip and securing all three checks even lower.

Onto the more specialized bans, I think Uma needs another revision. Now hear me out, I don’t think Uma is exactly oppressive or as powerful as it was before ever since the last limitations, but the problem with Uma is that the currently most played design is strictly degenerate. While the finishers vary, mainly between Agnes Tachyon and Curren, the core of every deck is essentially the same. If we think of the ban list as not only restricting power but also as a way to create more friendly interactions, we must also look to deny certain patterns of design.

I know this is where my choices will likely become more controversial, but what I want to highlight here is to not necessarily hit cards solely for power reasons but consider the ban list as a way to make the game a more enjoyable experience for all. I will also add that, while the Uma changes suggested may look to limit design space, I think this is necessary in order to increase variance which often leads to better outcomes.

I am not suggesting this out of spite for Uma players, but it’s become very apparent that even with incoming support, people are largely sticking to the same core cards, cards of which have left the Uma series in a precarious position. The problem with these cards above is they limit creativity, but more importantly, especially in the case of the first two, they lead to generally degenerative gameplay loops. Dantsu Flame is a brainstorm that grants far too much hand and can push your deck into a state of incredible compression. The fact that its condition requires markers, something that Uma does relatively with ease as its actual mechanic through Inheritance, further adds to the issue. While Yayoi’s event is on the ban list as is with a choice restriction, this card works hand-in-hand with the Dantsu brainstorm since it lets you easily go overhand since you can just pocket the card in memory for later value.

My main issue with cards like Dantsu and the 2/0 Yayoi event is they can be easily abused. Anytime a player is blessed with extra resources, the only limitations are the payoffs. With that extra hand, players can very readily deploy cards such as Ikuno Dictus above that transform that extra hand into essentially free value. The issue is that while other decks usually have to commit and build towards their endgame, the potential of both Dantsu and Yayoi limit the risks involved in the current Uma metagame deck. Essentially, players can perform poorly or have a middling game and be rewarded with Ikuno Dictus giving them at least a single finisher with or without properly generated stock. I want to reiterate that I am not against decks having failsafes like Ikuno Dictus, and by all means, Ikuno Dictus is a very fair card. It is when certain circumstances make these cards unfair that they need to be reflected upon. To put it in simple words, Dantsu and Yayoi create unfair amounts of value for the Uma player, overwhelming their opponents. While Uma is currently “gated” by its finishers, I would say that, especially with an incoming set with Cinderella Grey, Uma should remain on the radar for ban list considerations.

I mentioned the finisher in quotation tags for a reason. Uma’s finishers, despite not being considered as strong as the current metagame finishers, are still quite absurd. 3/2 Agnes Tachyon is not a bad card. Considering that you can easily force an opponent to level by bypassing standard damage dealt through your combo, Agnes, with that alone, would be absurd. But she also has a secondary option for burn damage with that same combo. Keep in mind that this isn’t even considering the borderline broken support that gives your Agnes the ability to deal damage at both your climax phase’s beginning and start of your encore step at only the cost of clocking yourself from waiting room and resting itself. This card isn’t even limited at one copy in the backrow either.

Arguably, the most questionable choice that I carry here is the limitation of 1/0 Satono Diamond. By all means, this is probably the most tame card out of all considerations shown. But Satono Diamond just dominates as the “only” early combo of choice. With its removal, we can shake up diversity within Uma builds.

As a precautionary change, especially since the newest set has already been announced, I would like the above Noir to be considered. I don’t think it needs to be banned outright, but I do think that this card was poorly designed to begin with. Having this card work with any climax by providing it a shot icon and making it a stack-able effect was always a mistake. The problem with this Noir is that it lets you transform any bar climax into a finisher essentially to some extent by giving every climax shot. If you could only have one on the stage, it’d be more okay in my books.

Overall, I feel rather satisfied with the current state of Weiss. Arguably, it is in a much more balanced state ever since the 2021 powercreep marathon that Bushiroad has been running for almost half a decade. The current ban list reeks of overpowered designs and poor choices all throughout the last few years. This is probably the first ban list where I feel we are actually within a calmer state. Even so, I don’t want to let my guard down. Unfortunately, Bushiroad has shown time and time again where they are completely unpredictable and have pushed the game in directions unforeseen and frankly, unwarranted. The consequences of their previous decisions continue to exist within the game with Bushiroad’s solution to be often just powercreeping problems out of existence without actually addressing the problems at hand.

While we are in a better state comparatively to before, we must remember that balance is a constantly shifting scale. And hopefully, the decisions made in the future will be to benefit us all and create a more fun experience for everyone.