Much like the German-Soviet nonaggression pact of 1939, Therion and Destiny HERO exist in a passive-aggressive symbiosis: hand traps are not very reliable against Therion, but are incredibly necessary to combat Destiny HERO. Board breakers do nothing to Destiny HERO, but are necessary to deal with Therion on Turn 1. Much like Poland, you can prepare for a battle on one front, but not for both.
Other decks are considered for the meta, but it feels like a formality to be honest. Therion is performing nuclear fusion, the Destiny HERO hand loop is performing nuclear fission, and while there is a scientific difference between the two, it doesn't really matter if all you can do is hide in a refrigerator.
Tier 1
T0 Sebastian W.Therion is a consistent and powerful deck that provides all the solutions needed for each situation. It can summon multiple monsters easily, can run all the techs in the game, and has no restriction on playing Loading... or Loading... . The deck was optimized for this KC Cup with 100% consistency and the ability to deal with any board.
Going first, you have the ability to make a board that includes:
Going second, you will be able to force your opponent's interruptions or simply draw a copy of Loading... or Loading... . Against Destiny HERO, any tech can out their board: once you deal with Loading... , it is very simple to continue breaking the board. In the mirror match, going second obviously gives you an advantage if you drew Loading... or Loading... .
Conclusion: Therion is the best deck right now by a large margin. Because it's the most consistent and powerful deck in the current format, the only real question is how you choose to build your specific version.
REDZIN11A very linear deck which has warped the entire format around its Turn 1.
Not only does it have the strongest and possibly most consistent Turn 1 in the game, able to set up through 1 to 2 hand traps, but it can also run around 12 tech slots to adapt its strategy to whatever you want. Going second, the engine itself is so powerful at this point in the game that stopping it is nigh impossible.
The only reliable ways to win against it are:
Going first: Floodgate them or FTK them.
Going second: Have a combination of a tech to out their floodgate (they can set up Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , Loading... , and many more), alongside Loading... or Loading... , plus a way to OTK them.
To top it all off, Therion is the best engine to FTK with as well, having produced 5 different viable FTKs over the course of 2 weeks. These FTKs are insulated from at least 1 hand trap thanks to Loading... .
Those qualities put the deck head and shoulders above every other deck, solidifying it as the strongest deck not only in this format, but in general at this point in time in Duel Links.
YutoshinigamiIt's the best deck in the game; both the FTK and normal versions are very strong. To stop the FTK version, you need 2 hand traps, and the deck is also very consistent, allowing the use of many tech cards. The deck's Turn 2 is also very strong; just by using its core engine, you can destroy many fields.
JoshfishyGWell, it was expected. I feel like the Tier 0 title was a bit of an exaggeration, but given that it allows for both a consistent FTK and a field with at least four interruptions, it's worth highlighting why it remains dominant for now.
Of course, we still have to see how the game develops after the KC Cup ends. Remember that the existence of Loading... and Loading... already severely damages their field on Turn 1, but that doesn't eliminate the FTK threat. Hand traps are its main weakness, so considering them as a vulnerability justifies keeping it at Tier 1 instead.
SmaSma227I personally think Therion is not Tier 0. It is definitely beatable and not as wicked as everyone would think, but I believe it still safely holds Tier 1, and for this upcoming KC Cup, both the FTK and normal versions will be very good.
For Tier 2, I think Destiny HERO has a 50 percent win rate versus Therion. It cannot win going second, but going first, Loading... can be very annoying. However, if Therion is able to open Loading... or Loading... to stop the FTK, they can make Loading... to out Destiny HERO, allowing Therion to steal the win.
It feels like the FTKs kind of balance the pure Therion version, since Loading... and Loading... are useless against them. They need to run hand traps, which prevents them from auto-winning games just by putting a golden ball on your opponent's field.