Tier List Update

The season's first Tier List is here, brought to you by our new Top Player Council! Give them a warm welcome in the comments!

Note: This Article was written before the latest Banlist Update.

Tier 0

Stardust / Synchron

You can build Stardust to beat any deck in the game, so there's not much reason to play anything else right now.

Tier 3

Destiny HEROs

Vaalmonica

With Loading... falling out of favor in Stardust, Destiny HERO can safely consider running Loading... to try to remove all of Stardust's interruptions. This, alongside Loading... and Loading... , gives Destiny HERO a realistic chance to win going 2nd. However, more Stardust lists have also taken note of Destiny HERO, with the inclusion of Loading... making Loading... a less reliable win condition.

Loading... is very common in both Stardust and Destiny HERO right now which is often enough to defeat Vaalmonica by itself. This makes Vaalmonica a less safe pick to use with the risk of going 1st and not being able to setup everything after Droll. Going 2nd the deck is fine vs Destiny HERO but vs sStardust often requires 2 board breakers to win, with Loading... being the best bet.

In the current format, both Destiny HERO and Vaalmonica remain viable even against the Tier 0 meta. Neither deck was originally designed as a Stardust counter, but both are still important options because they can secure wins by setting up effective interruptions going 1st.

Destiny HERO relies on Loading... as its primary Turn 1 play, which has become an even more critical piece than Loading... . Vaalmonica, meanwhile, leans on Loading... , which doubles as the deck's primary counter to Destiny HERO. Vaalmonica also shows notable resilience against Stardust, building end-boards that can rival or even surpass theirs, though it remains a high-roll deck, since reaching its full ceiling requires hard drawing three specific traps.

Unfortunately, Loading... is now played at 3 in almost every deck, which hurts Vaalmonica significantly. Konami's decision to ban the floodgates that helped decks stand up to Stardust (such as Loading... and Loading... ) while leaving Stardust at full power was, in my view, not their best move.

Destiny HERO got a nice push going 2nd from the Loading... limit: a single Loading... or Loading... can now deal with Stardust, meaning the deck no longer has to rely solely on the usual Turn 1 plan of drawing into Loading... .

If you don't want to think that much and just want to beat Stardust, Destiny HERO is a great pick — your Turn 1 is essentially an FTK if you draw into Loading... . It also has a good chance of winning going 2nd, though a good combination of cards is needed for smooth sailing vs Stardust.

Vaalmonica is a really underrated deck right now, but if your opponent ever sees Loading... , you lose the game. Essentially, roll your luck and start praying.