Introduction:

This is a tier list. I decided to write one myself because the one on game-ai.jp (which is then translated to gamepress) is likely of tournament only and is not representative of my experience. My data is from shadowlog.com, which means this piece comes with all of the site’s limitations. I made this one specifically because of the new expansion coming out, and this seems like a decent last goodbye to the meta we all know, and some love.

This article will contain class usage, archetype usage, matchups, and explanations. Part 2, if and when I get around to it, will contain deck lists for each archetype, as well as more in-depth explanation of the meta around them.

Disclaimer:

This is my list, and thus naturally my rules as far as arbitrary cut-offs are concerned. I do, however, take inspirations from the Hearthstone equivalent of vS Data Reaper reports, and adapt it to Shadowverse. The tiers are a combination of sample size and strength, and hope to be as objective as the numbers allow.

Edit: As this tier list is purely based on ladder win rate and popularity, it’s fit only for laddering, and not as a power level distinction for a tournament setting, or in a vacuum. The numbers themselves are also for all levels of play, since it’s currently impractical for me to manually do a closer analysis.

Note: There’s no meme tier. There just aren’t enough data for that.

Tier List:

Tier 1:

Tier 2:

Tier 3:

Tier 4:

Images and format courtesy of game-ai.jp

Tier 1 decks have at least 55% win rate and 7000 recorded usage.

Tier 2 decks have at least 52% win rate and 5000 recorded usage.

Tier 3 decks have at least 50% win rate and 3000 recorded usage.

Tier 4 decks have at least 3000 recorded usage.

Class distribution:

Excuse the ugly graph

Sword has risen to be the driving force it has always meant to be, both in terms of popularity and strength. Sporting positive win rates against every single other class in the game, Erika leads an unstoppable army that completely dominates the ladder, with Albert at the helm. This rise isn’t unexpected, as pre-nerf it was Daria and Forest which kept it in check. Now with the refined Midrange list that eliminates the old Aggro variant’s weakness to control decks packing AoE and heals, Sword stands on top a mountain of success, despite its most common match-up, against Daria, being a negative one. Fast, strong, and consistent, its complete command over the rest of the game’s available archetypes more than makes up for this one weakness. The classics of Control Sword and Aggro Sword still lives well and strong as secondary choices, slightly better than they were pre-patch.

Despite the Piercing Rune nerf, Rune remains top of the ladder, although its difference in usage level is a mere rounding error in comparison with Sword. Daria is still the most popular archetype, and through the meta’s adaptation still retains a healthy 52% win rate. D-Shift is the second most popular, with more than 60% the usage of the former, but its success are less than hopeful. The increase in speed of the rest of the ladder has made the experience rather miserable for the counter-control specialist archetype, which sits at a meagre 45% win rate. Earth Rite Rune sees limited play in comparison, but no more success than D-Shift.

Shadow enjoys a relatively healthy position on the ladder. Its aggro variant feeds on Runecraft of all types, along with good match ups against the competing fast deck Aggro Blood means that it’ll always be a popular choice for ladder, sporting the unique burst combo of Phantom Howl + Cerberus for closing out games. The deck loses badly to Sword, but then again that’s mostly a given. Nepthys is the only other significant Shadow list, and it sees decent success. It crushes all control decks, but falters against the otherwise fast meta.

Haven is popular, but the win rates of its slower lists aren’t really the best. Storm Haven enjoys a decent win rate overall, with essentially the same match up spread as Nepthys Shadow while having the upper hand in the 1-on-1, and also being slightly less bad against Sword and Daria Rune. Seraph struggles to hold a decent win rate, due to its polarising match ups. It handily beats Daria and most Aggro decks, its critical weakness to Sword and the inexplicably popular D-Shift crushes any hope for the deck to rise above Tier 3. Guardian Sun is almost as popular as the two archetypes above, but falls flat in terms of actual results. Somewhere down there sits Elana.

Dragon is a wild animal. Ramp Dragon is a terribly performing deck, and one of the most popular in the game. It’s slow, nice, and strong in the late-game or so it seems at first glance. In reality, the only good thing going for it is a good match up against Daria and the occasional Control Blood. Otherwise, it crumbles against almost every other popular archetype, whether due to its inconsistencies against their speed, or inferior win condition against the likes of Nepthys and Seraph. On the other hand, faster lists such as Storm Ramp and Aggro flourish, half due to the surprise factor and the other being Forte. It’s also one of the few archetype that actually beats Midrange Sword, confirming that in fact Forte is best girl.

Blood is in a weird spot. There aren’t that many viable archetypes for the class, nor does anyone seem to be trying. Aggro Blood has the same match up spread as most other aggro decks, but directly loses to them. This puts it down by quite a bit in terms of desirability, even though the deck is uniquely consistent even in terms of combos compared to its peers. Control Blood, on the other hand, is miserable. Proving that more dust isn’t always better, the deck sports good match ups against Aggro decks and Daria Rune. What? You may ask. That sounds good. Isn’t that most of the meta? While true, its absolutely abysmal win rate in almost all other match-ups, especially the 20% struggle against D-Shift, obliterates any chance of it being a good deck for climbing.

Forest is the lucid dreamer of this meta. Its popularity does not match its strength, at all, possibly due to the overreaction to the Goblin Mage nerf. Silverbolt is the most popular archetype, and is the definite sleeping giant. Boasting a win rate and match up spread that surpasses even Midrange Sword, this 18-dmg combo sports a positive 1-on-1 against the entire playing field. The aforementioned Aggro Blood’s one single redeeming quality in the meta as it stands is the ability to beat Silverbolt Forest. No other Aggro Deck of any other class has the sort of burst, flood, and reach to pose even a threat to Silverbolt. The deck is that good, which explains its ubiquity in tournaments. On the other hand, OTK Roach features some very lopsided match ups. Having to ditch consistent early game options or lose consistency, the deck suffers from the speed of the rest of the aggro-centric ladder, and falls to a lower tier performance bracket.

End of Part 1

Continued in part 2:

https://medium.com/@tomanderson_47035/23-3-meta-tier-list-analysis-lists-part-2-9cafe14b973c#.ad9eh6slo