This is the first Tier List after the Banlist Annoucement, which was in effect for MCS XXXIII.
Negative1
This Tier List update comes shortly after Loading... being added to the banlist. As a number of TPC members use tournament results to inform their Tier List evaluations, the lack of data has resulted in a lack of consensus as to what decks are good or not post-banlist. The only deck that was agreed to be Tier 1 by a majority vote was Invoked Neos, however, even Invoked Neos is similar to the other Tier 2 decks in power level. A few members have expressed the idea that there might be no Tier 1 decks at the moment and Neos should be placed with the other Tier 2 strategies, but accomodations were made to avoid the potential uproar from having no Tier 1 decks. Going forward, expect the Tier 1 and Tier 2 decks to be more fluid, as they all have inherent weaknesses that prevent them from standing above the other strategies. Neos struggles against battle traps, Blackwings struggle against interruptions, Witchcrafter struggles against removal, Blue-Eyes struggles against otk strategies, and Shiranui and Elementsabers struggle against strategies that can eat through their resources.
Tier 1
Jadehex
While Invoked Neos isn't necessarily the most flashy deck, it has been performing consistently as of late, taking many Top Cut spots in the MCS. With a good enough hand and the right tech cards, Invoked Neos has the potential to win against any deck, given their ability to use strong traps like Loading... and Loading... while still maintaining advantage. However, the deck seems to lack great ways to play around battle Traps like Loading... , which may spell disaster as more and more people start to Side with Invoked Neos in mind. That being said, results indicate that Invoked Neos belongs in Tier 1, for the time being.
Tier 2
TPC Comments
ChuChuMTFKR
Invoked Neos being the most popular and best performing deck alongside Elementsabers making a comeback in force are what made Blackwings go down to Tier 2, the inability of this deck to play through backrow without drawing specific tech cards is a real problem in a format dominated by Trap cards and Flip Down effects.
The most recent banlist reduced Witchcrafter's consistency by a good margin making it lose its Tier 1 status. Despite this it will still have good matchups against slower decks because of the ability that this deck has to generate resources.
gift
Witchcrafter has been demoted to Tier 2 after the most recent banlist (Loading... went to 3 which conflicts with Loading... ). Prior to the banlist, most players would agree that Witchcrafter was the best deck and very deserving of Tier 1. However, the meta is now in a very awkward state with a bunch of decent decks but nothing really sticking out (outside of maybe Invoked Neos)
Witchcrafter is still very good but lost some power and consistency in a deck that already had some consistency issues. Players have simply adapted by running 2 Charge of the Light Brigade, 1 Witchcrafter Holiday, 1-2 Loading... , and more copies of other Witchcrafter spells. This works pretty fine and although the deck did quite terrible during the MCS (only 1 out of 14 participants were able to get into top 32), it will probably perform better in future events as players find more optimal builds.
While getting back to its Tier 1 status is tough, the deck should remain solid at tier 2 as it is still very decent. Prior to the banlist, many decks in the meta were teching a lot for Witchcrafter. Cards like Karma Cut (main deck), Chain Disappearance (side deck), and Last Day of a Witch (side deck) were commonly played. It is possible that players will slowly begin to tech less for Witchcrafter and this can crucial for its success. An example of this is if Elementsabers (the deck that won the MCS) becomes very popular, then players may not necessarily want Karma Cuts in main deck as it can be pretty mediocre in that matchup.
Herbel
After the recent banlist one of the most effective Elementsaber counters in Witchcrafter took a big hit. This hit doesnt mean that Elementsabers have the upper hand in the matchup, but it is enough to push down the numbers of Witchcrafters in tournaments, specially in Top Cut. Invoked Neos being the most played deck in tournaments also a welcomed trend for Elementsabers. Invoked-Neos has a hard time outing Loading... while it's boosted by Loading... and protected by heavy backrow. Specifically for this matchup, players started to side Loading... , which alone can decide duels if the Invoked Neos player is attacking carelessly. The banlist totally changed the meta in favour of Elementsabers, and as long as other decks don't target them too hard with Side Deck cards, such as Loading... or Loading... , they will remain as a very strong and popular meta deck.