Giant Trunade was released in 2002 as apart of Spell Rulers but didn’t get banned until the September 2011 list. That brings up the question, “Why is Giant Trunade Banned?”
What does Giant Trunade do?
In the early days of Yugioh, the cards had very simple effects, and it was rare to have a card have an effect over three lines. Giant Trunade is no exception. Giant Trunade returns all spell and trap cards back into the owner’s hands. However, this card has no cost in playing the card. Well, returning cards from your side of the field is a downside, but not a big drawback. The cards are going to the hand, not the graveyard. Thus, the player can replay the cards that were just brought to the hand.
How would you use Giant Trunade?
Giant Trunade is an interesting case because it is extremely versatile. Being able to bounce back face-up spell and trap cards is extremely good. In some cases, re-playing a card can reset the effect which allows you to double up on that cards effect. Continous spell cards that you want to briefly stop being in play can be called back to your hand then replayed later.
Another combo is abusing equip cards in order to gain an advantage. For example, Premature Burial which is also banned could be easily abused. Premature Burial in combo with Giant Trunade could trigger special summon effects from the graveyard. The graveyard gets better as Yugioh ages, and if this combo was in the game that would raise the power of graveyard focus decks immensely.
Giant Trunade is also an amazing stall card. It puts your opponent one turn behind you in most cases. You can immediately replay your board, but your opponent must wait a turn. At the same time it also leaves your opponent open to any kind of OTK or FTK you have planned.
Will Giant Trunade remain banned?
It could potentially become limited. Konami did briefly unban Snatch Steal which is also extremely strong. Another fact is that Harpie’s Feather Duster is currently limited to one which has a similar effect to this. Both players would have the same advantage if this card is at one. I think Konami worries about how this is a buff to decks that don’t use set spells or traps, and also could improve OTK decks.
If you are interested in more cards from Yugioh’s early days that are extremely powerful may I suggest an article on Dimension Fusion?