10 Totally Broken Yu-Gi-Oh Cards They Had To Change For Being Too Powerful

Much like Dark Strike Fighter, Catapult Turtle was banned due to its ability to inflict unholy amounts of damage to the opponent, with players clearing out their own Field to take out their rival's Life Points.

It is no surprise, then, that Yugi's iconic Monster has received a similar restriction as its later Synchro cousin, in that its ability can only be used once per turn. However, due to Catapult Turtle's stats (which themselves can be blamed on the card's age), the Aqua Monster has been hit a lot harder than the Machine.

For context, Dark Strike Fighter's ability to self-sacrifice inflicts 1400 damage to the opponent. Catapult Turtle's, which inflicts damage equal to half of the tribute's ATK, would cause a mere 900 points of damage. Even if the Turtle tributed Dark Strike Fighter, it would cause 100 less damage than if Dark Strike Fighter tributed itself.

Moreover, Dark Strike Fighter is a Synchro Monster, making it a relatively flexible addition for any deck that still runs Tuners. While the Extra Deck is limited to 15 cards, often these aren't chock-a-block with repeat copies, as tends to be the case in the main Deck. DSF can therefore fit in an Extra Deck and be used when the situation allows, while a 1000 ATK 2000 DEF Effect Monster that requires one Tribute will be seen by many players as a waste of a draw, and not worth being included in a Deck at all.