Not much has changed since last week, Salamangreat is still the best deck but two decks are doing pretty well in the current meta: Gemini and Crystal Beast are both being able to summon the best Salamangreat counter in Loading... . Other decks are dedicating main deck techs to beat Salamangreat (like Loading... ) but not drawing them usually results in a loss.
Tier 1
Salamangreat is still powerful, consistent, and able to handle any board both going first (by being well-protected) and second (by the free monster generated by Soulburning Link ). Even if the opponent has Loading... or Loading... , Salamangreat can still make Loading... or Loading... to deal with the opponent's board. The biggest strength of Salamangreat, however, is the ability to run any number of techs (since Soulburning Link guarantees Loading... and Loading... in your opening hand. All-in-all, the deck is just that much stronger than any other deck in consistency and power-level.
Tier 2
TPC Comments
As predictied with the consistency hit, HERO's are not able to compete with Salamangreat any more (outside of running specific anti-Salamangreat techs like Loading... and Loading... , which they would still need to actually draw). The only thing keeping the deck in it's current spot is Dragonic Contact , since it adds Loading... and continuously drain the opponent's resources with multiple free big monster summons. In conclusion, HEROs consistency hit drastically affected their strength (even more so if players continue to run low-probability-of-success builds), but the deck is still playable if it draws well.
Gemini has been showing solid performances lately since its able to:
Make a decend board going first with Loading... + Loading... with optional additions including Loading... , Loading... , Loading... or Loading...
Play well going second, primarly because Phoenix Rising adds both Loading... and Loading... to play around interruptions. It can also OTK quite easily thanks to the Loading... 's ability to massively increase damage output.
These combined make it so their matchups are never too bad (as long as the load=bearing Skill exists).
In conclusion, Gemini is a solid deck in this format with its abiility to do well going first and second while also dealing with most of the current meta decks.
More players have given Gemini a try, and it has been performing well. The deck has a strong matchup against HEROs, as it can set up multiple disruptions going first, meaning a single Loading... isn't enough to force all interactions. Even if Loading... or Loading... is removed, Loading... can summon Loading... to revive them from the graveyard. And if all of that weren’t enough, Loading... provides an extra layer of protection by stopping one attack. Going second is also good, as Loading... can remove Loading... or Super Polymerization (or their only HERO monster) before they commit into their main plays.
Against Salamangreat, the deck generally prefers to go second, as it has the tools to break their board with a free Gemini Spark, Gearfried, and Loading... , (which can attack multiple times thanks to Loading... ). Going first, setting up Loading... alongside Gearfried should give the deck a chance to survive (as long as Dweller resolves).