Is Red Eyes Dragoon banned in 2024/2024?
No, Red Eyes Dragoon has managed to avoid the banlist and remains legal for tournament play as of the latest January and April 2023 lists. As a passionate YuGiOh duelist, I constantly have my finger on the pulse of the competitive scene and want to share an in-depth analysis on Dragoon‘s current standing.
When Dragoon first arrived, its disruptive quick effect that negates cards while gaining ATK made it a formidable boss monster. Powered up by Predaplant Verte Anaconda, Dragoon established itself as a Meta threat seeing significant play. Many duelists feared its presence at top tables.
However, Konami limited both Dragoon and its Red-Eyes Fusion enabler to hit consistency rather than ban Dragoon outright. This adjusted policy has proven mostly effective in slowing down Dragoon‘s dominance.
Dragoon‘s Faded Competitive Viability
Reviewing recent major event deck breakdowns, Dragoon has clearly faded from top cut prominence. It is currently seeing only fringe Rogue play rather than Meta impact.
| Event | Top Decks Playing Dragoon | Estimated Showing |
| YCS Hartford 2023 | 2 Guru Control | ~1% |
| YCS Utrecht 2023 | 0 | 0% |
Based on community chatter, many judges and players believe there is little risk of Dragoon re-emerging as a problem card given how far the competitive environment has shifted.
However, as a lover of dramatic dragon bosses, part of me holds out hope for a Dragoon comeback! The flat negation effect remains historically powerful in YuGiOh, even if outclassed right now.
How Does Dragoon Compare to Banned Bosses?
Looking at the Forbidden section of the list, Dragoon‘s disruption fails to match up with the one-sided, recurring negates of bans like VFD and Rhongo.
While no player enjoys getting their cards negated, Dragoon provides more interactive counterplay through destroying it or beating over its 3000 ATK. It also lacks built-in recursion or protection from many removal effects.
Analyzing Dragoon side-by-side shows its balanced enough to stay legal:
| Boss Monster | Negations | Protection | Recursion |
| Dragoon | 1 per card discard | None | None |
| VFD | 1 Continuous per turn | Unaffected by card effects | Revivable from GY |
Where Dragoon loses out is the lack of comeback potential when dealt with. That likely keeps it from regaining a top tournament showing.
Can Dragoon Make Another Comeback?
While Dragoon has faded for now, the right support could elevate it back to competitive playability. As an iconic fan favorite monster, I know many duelists like myself would welcome its return!
Upcoming archetypes like Tearlaments provide indirect support that could theoretically enable more Dragoon explosiveness. If designs slip through creeping too close to its previous best-of-1 power level, Konami may step in with another adjustment.
For that reason, a Dragoon revival likely depends on a future metagame shift rather than new in-theme support. But us dragon fans can keep dreaming and preparing those spicy tech options!
At least for 2023 and the immediate future, Red Eyes Dragoon remains unlimited and out of tier 1 competition. Its sheer nostalgia keeps an ember glowing in many a duelist heart, waiting to ignite a new competitive inferno one day…
