Gundam Card Game Reveals New Banlist

Gundam Card Game has announced a new banned and restricted list, and the goal seems to be to slow down Blue/Purple, the tier 1 deck that has been dominating the game for a few sets already.

The update goes into effect on July 24, 2026, the same day Freedom Ascension releases. The biggest direct change is GD01-020 Anksha being banned. Bandai specifically pointed to the high number of Blue/Purple decks using Anksha alongside Purple damage effects, with the deck’s win rate standing out enough to warrant action.

Card previewAnkshaUNIT / C / Newtype Rising / #GD01-020

There are no new restricted cards, and ST02-016 Corsica Base remains restricted to two copies.

The more interesting part is the new banned pair category. This means two specific cards cannot be played in the same deck together. The first pairs are:

• GD01-008 Guntank + GD05-015 M1 Astray Shrike
• ST01-010 Amuro Ray + ST05-010 Mikazuki Augus

Card previewAmuro RayPILOT / C / Heroic Beginnings / #ST01-010 Card previewMikazuki AugusPILOT / C / Iron Bloom / #ST05-010

The Amuro / Mikazuki pair is another Blue/Purple hit, and Bandai clearly called out how good those decks were at dealing with enemy Units: "Blue-purple decks capable of using these two cards in unison are extremely proficient at dealing with enemy Units...".

The update also targets fast low-cost Unit decks. Cards that are Lv.2, cost 1, 2 AP / 2 HP, and have no effects are now treated as banned pairs with each other. In practical terms, decks cannot stack multiple different versions of that same efficient vanilla body to flood the board. Bandai did note that the unmodified Iron Bloom [ST05] starter deck remains legal, even though it contains two matching cards.

The following images taken from the official Gundam EN Instagram page explains it better:

What stands out most is Bandai’s final note. They said fast Blue/Purple and Blue/Green decks may be benefiting from something deeper in the game rules, and that they are looking at a possible fundamental rule change later. For now, this banlist is meant as a temporary way to rebalance the meta. We'll see how this ages.

Anksha being banned matters immediately, but the bigger story might be that Bandai is already willing to adjust not just cards, but possibly the structure of the game if the early competitive format keeps pushing too hard toward fast damage and low-cost pressure.

Source:

• https://www.gundam-gcg.com/en/news/01_277.html