The Banlists
Which cards a deck may hold, and how many copies of them, is decided by lists that the Astra experts keep on the Astra lists site, the same site as the Astra Genesys List. The experts can change a list at any time, and your game follows within minutes.
The lists, the BANLISTS page and the marks on cards may change before release.
The three lists
| List | What it decides | Counts in |
|---|---|---|
| GOAT banlist | Forbidden (no copy), Limited (1 copy), Semi-Limited (2 copies) | GOAT Format |
| Domain banlist | Forbidden only | Domain Format |
| Astra Genesys List | 0 to 100 points per card | Genesys Format |
- A card the GOAT banlist doesn't name is Unlimited: up to 3 copies.
- The GOAT banlist started as the classic GOAT list of 2005. The Domain banlist started empty.
- Each list counts only in its own format. A card Forbidden in GOAT can still be played in Domain and Genesys, and a card Forbidden in Domain can still be played in GOAT.
- A card that counts as another card, such as an alternate artwork, takes the stricter status of the two.
It works like the Genesys points: on the lists site, members of the Astra Discord log in with Discord and suggest a status for a card, the experts give their verdict, and the status in force is the one the game uses. Anyone can look up the lists in force on the site, and every card's page there shows its GOAT and Domain status.
Where your game gets the lists
While the Deck Builder or the BANLISTS page is open, the game checks the site every 5 minutes. Wherever a list is shown, the game names where it came from:
| Source | Means |
|---|---|
| LIVE LIST 14:05 | Fresh from the lists site, checked at that time. |
| SAVED LIST | The last list the game got from the site, with its date. |
| BUNDLED LIST | The list that came with the game, used while the game has no saved list. |
| SERVER LIST | Online: the duel server's lists. |
Online, the duel server has the last word. While you are connected, your game uses the server's lists (the Genesys points included), so a deck your game calls legal is one the server accepts. Online, a change reaches you as soon as the server has it. When you go offline, your game's own lists count again.
The BANLISTS page
The BANLISTS page shows every list as the game uses it right now. Open it with:
- LISTS in the Deck Builder's header, between DUPLICATE and BACK TO CITY. It opens on the tab of the deck you are building. CLOSE or Esc takes you back to your deck, with any unsaved changes still there.
- Esc > BANLISTS. It opens on the tab of your active deck's format.
- VIEW on a notice that a list has changed.
It has four tabs:
| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| GOAT BANLIST | The Forbidden, Limited and Semi-Limited cards. |
| DOMAIN BANLIST | The Forbidden cards. |
| GENESYS POINTS | Every card that costs points, most points first. |
| CHANGES | The latest changes to all three lists, newest first, with the old and new status or points, the expert and the date. |
- Every card shows its art with its mark, its status or points and how many copies you own.
- Changes since your last visit are marked NEW, and the CHANGES tab shows how many there are.
- The search field (card name or ID) and OWNED ONLY narrow the tab.
- Click a card to see it in the panel on the right: its status in all three formats, its text, the copies you own and how many of your decks use it.
- The header names the list's source and when the list last changed.
Marks on cards
Cards on a banlist wear a round seal on the top-left corner of their art:
| Seal | Status |
|---|---|
| Red, with a crossed-out ring | Forbidden |
| Orange, with 1 | Limited |
| Yellow, with 2 | Semi-Limited |
Unlimited cards wear no seal. For a Genesys deck, cards show their gold points badge instead (nothing for 0 points).
- In the Deck Builder, the marks follow the format of the deck you are building: on your collection, the deck's cards, the card you drag, the large card view and the Deck Master strip. The card panel adds a chip such as GOAT: LIMITED · 1 COPY, DOMAIN: FORBIDDEN or GENESYS: 40 POINTS, and the header names the list in use, for example GOAT BANLIST: LIVE LIST 14:05.
- Everywhere else (the card shop, pack opening, the Astra Market, trades and drafts), the marks follow your active deck's format.
- In a duel, the card inspector names a card's GOAT status, and Domain: Forbidden for a card the Domain banlist forbids.
Filters
In the Deck Builder's card library:
- The banlist dropdown between CARD LIBRARY and MORE FILTERS picks All cards, On the banlist, Forbidden, Limited, Semi-Limited, Costs Genesys points or Changed recently. "The banlist" is the one of the deck you are building: GOAT's for a GOAT deck, Domain's for a Domain deck, and GOAT's for a Genesys deck (Genesys has points, no banlist).
- MORE FILTERS has the groups GOAT LIMIT (Forbidden, Limited, Semi-Limited, Unlimited), DOMAIN BANLIST (Forbidden, Allowed), GENESYS POINTS and CHANGED RECENTLY.
- CHANGED RECENTLY finds every card whose status or points changed on any of the three lists in the last 30 days (a change to the card it counts as included).
- The sort GOAT limit reads the GOAT banlist in use.
The filters read the lists in use, so they follow a change at once. Like every library filter, they last until you close the game.
When a list changes
- When a list you use changes, you get a notice such as GOAT BANLIST UPDATED · 3 CHANGES (or DOMAIN BANLIST UPDATED), with VIEW to open that tab.
- When the change makes your active deck illegal, a second notice says YOUR ACTIVE DECK IS NOT LEGAL ANY MORE, with the first rule it breaks. Its VIEW opens the Deck Builder.
- Notices wait while you are in a duel.
Decks that become illegal
A deck that a list change makes illegal is marked, never changed. Nothing is taken out of it, whether a card became Forbidden or Limited or a Genesys deck went over 100 points:
- The deck menu in the Deck Builder shows · NOT LEGAL after its name, and the line under the builder names the first rule it breaks.
- You can't duel with it until you change it, or until the list changes back.
New cards follow the list in use: the Deck Builder refuses a copy the list doesn't allow and says why, such as "Forbidden in GOAT" or "Cannot add …: it is Forbidden in Domain.". A Domain deck also won't take a Forbidden card as its Deck Master, in the casual Deck Master picker either.
What keeps its old rules
- Running tournaments keep the banlists from when their sign-up opened, for sign-ups and for siding between games. A later change only reaches the next tournament.
- Drafts (Star Fall and pack passing) don't: even in a running tournament they use the GOAT banlist in use. Its copy limits apply, and Forbidden cards are left out of the draft pools.
- Rivals' decks stay as they are, and so do ghost decks and the decks in the Hall of Fame.