Tier 1

TPC Comments

Luke Tyler

Jumping straight from severely unplayed to Tier 1, from the new box Valhalla Calling was exactly what Darklord needed to be a prevalent contender amongst today’s metagame. Banishment provides stronger recovery plays, a method of toolboxing out the more situational Darklord cards, an increase in consistency alongside a way to generate card advantage as the deck cycles through its motions. In further regards to toolboxing out the more situational cards, Banishment can also be used defensively when being copied by a Darklord’s effect by searching for . Strong performances from Darklord are expected, even in its early stages of legality.

Desperado remains at Tier 1 due to its continued strong performances in the competitive scene. The deck consists of a strong boss monster, powerful traps and a flexible playstyle that grant it the ability to navigate through various matchups for victory - even those which are considered unfavourable. Furthermore, the deck has a pseudo Pot of Greed at its disposal in due to the skill - . Due to its many open slots the deck is able to adapt well to changes in the meta because of its ability to play a variety of strong tech cards. With this in mind, we may see make a return in many Desperado decks as a result of the uprising Darklords. This is because World Legacy Clash allows to dodge . Desperado has been performing well since its debut, and even more strong performances are expected in the coming week.

Tenma

The new box introduced which is the omnipotent searcher of the archetype as it can search any card. Moreover, the search can be used multiple times in the same turn thanks to the effect that most of the Darklord monsters share. It was what the deck was missing and it’s now finally top tier. The meta will have to adapt to it.

Desperado is not the best overall deck anymore. It remains a great deck but the current build will likely have to change to keep up with Darklords.

Tier 2

TPC Comments:

Luke Tyler

Ancient Gear falls to Tier 2 upon the release of the new box. The deck struggles to consistently beat Darklord due to being their skill of choice - meaning that clearing an for them is relatively easy. Ancient Gear is still expected to perform well in the tournament scene, though not to the standards of a Tier 1 deck.

Cyberdark remain at Tier 2. Even the unfavourable matchups in the format for Cyberdark can be overcome by drawing above average hands that can pump out enough damage to clock the opponent into closing the game out before it’s too late. Strong performances have been happening with Cyberdark. However, interferes with the Cyberdark engine heavily - influencing how the deck must be built going forward into the new meta.

Spellbook remains at Tier 2. In a very strong position right now, the deck has many favourable matchups across the board - making it a strong deck pick in a diverse format. is still a solid searchable removal card. Removing monsters without destroying them is a very valuable trait for a card to have (in a format such as this especially). Furthermore, can sometimes be problematic for Darklords to deal with.

Triamid remains at Tier 2. The deck is still a versatile control deck supported by an arsenal of powerful trap cards as it filters through its field spells to generate advantage. The deck can hold its own against Darklords, which will be a relevant factor in the new metagame. Strong performances from Triamid are expected to continue.

Tenma

Ancient Gears will suffer from the release of the new box. Darklords seem too fast for them to keep up. It remains a viable deck but it’s definitely not Tier 1 anymore.

Spellbooks remain a powerful deck. Going first against Darklords with a Spell negation and a will surely cause some obstacles for setting up the Darklord board.

Tier 3

TPC Comments:

Luke Tyler

Blue-Eyes is in a very unfortunate position right now. Not only is Desperado a bad matchup for the deck, but with Darklords (another bad matchup) entering the meta Blue-Eyes declines in relevancy even further. Having to adapt to both decks is a difficult task for Blue-Eyes, especially while trying to keep the deck somewhat consistent.

Magnet Warriors are forced to adapt to the release of Darklord into the meta (because of Sanctified). This may include experimentations with different tech cards. For example, some users of the deck are playing at the moment with a singular .

Subterror sits in a decent position right now. Though it doesn’t have an outstandingly favourable matchup against Darklords, it benefits from the likely decline in Ancient Gear popularity. The deck also has a strong matchup against Desperado. Being able to hold its own against both Tier 1 decks is a strong trait, so perhaps we will see an increase in Subterror usage in this new meta.

Vendread faces demotion to Tier 3. Though it a powerhouse of a deck, it does not benefit from the uprise in Darklords. The deck struggles against . Strong performances from Vendread are expected, but not to the same degree as it were prior to the release of the new box.

Tenma

Vendreads will likely suffer from the release of the new box.

High Potential

TPC Comments:

Luke Tyler

Fortune Lady boasts a powerful synchro engine due to netting free advantage as the deck climbs up into a Synchro monster. In regards to deck building trends, many are using the skill Fortune Lady exclusive skill and . It will be interesting to see how Fortune Ladies perform amongst the meta once more tournament results with them legal come and go.

Flower Cardians are an intriguing deck from the new box. Despite being incredibly cheap/low rarity the deck is a menace when it comes to tearing boards apart. Non-targeting core removal and non-hard once per turn effects make up for quite the deck. It will be interesting to see how it performs in a competitive environment.

Tenma

Flower Cardians have a lot going for them except a Turn 1 play. The non-targeting removal is the best part of the deck allowing them to clear entire boards very easily.

Removed

TPC Comments:

Crystrons are not expected to thrive in a meta where Darklord are anticipated to take up a large portion of representation. is very difficult for Crystrons to deal with, same as any deck relying on many on-field monster effects. Though Crystron may return to the meta, demotion appears to be appropriate for now.

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