Tier 1
TPC Comments
Davide Magri
Noble Knights are in this awkward position where it's as close as it's ever been to the definition of a Tier 2 deck. However, It still maintains a Tier 1 status due to its nature (Go first with combo and most likely you'll win). This goes to show how the meta is just really weird and how pretty much anything can win against anything, as all you get to do in a game is just see your opening hand and think "yeah, I'll win this". If there was ever a Tier 1.5, Noble Knight would definitely be ranked there, but we'll see where It will place in the next weeks after the upcoming banlist.
zenzoh
Noble Knights continue to be the sole Tier 1 deck of the format, for the time being. However, the actual gap between Noble Knights Tier 1 status and the other Tier 2 decks is actually really small. The deck still has one of the strongest Turn 1 in the meta relatively consitently with Balance , alongside a strong grind game, but its reign over the meta is slowly fading. Staple Cards such as Loading... are annoying to deal with and going second with Noble Knight against Loading... , Loading... or even backrow are severely lowering the decks' win-rate. Not to mention, a lot of decks in the current meta are now able to break a Turn 1 Noble Knight board. Another problem the deck faces has always been floodgate cards in the Side Deck. For the time being, Noble Knights are still Tier 1, but dont be surprised if the Tier 2 decks perform just as well or maybe even better.
Tier 2
TPC Comments
Davide Magri
In the definition of a coinflip meta, It's no surprise that Desperado can be a good deck. It adapted decently well to its new foes by running different techs (for example, Loading... against Onomats), and it overall has one of the most balanced matchup spreads in the meta. Loading... can completely stop the "Stick and Chair" combo, average Water hands have a hard time dealing with Loading... or Loading... + Loading... , and you could win against anything if you draw decently. On top of that, Loading... is still a card for some reason, so that's gonna steal games you weren't even supposed to win (or just be a straight -1).
DanielYGO
Onomat is in a weird spot thise meta. On the one hand, Noble Knights' popularity is going down by a lot, which is one of its harder matchups, while also being able to handle Water Xyz (which is rising in popularity) very effectively. As such, some might think that the deck is in a great spot in the meta. However, on the other hand, the Star Seraph Darklord matchup (which is also somewhat popular) is really hard to deal with. If Onomat goes first they have to potentially struggle with the "Stick and Chair" combo which can force out the Loading... and other potential backrow to make sure the Darklord engine is uninterrupted. If Onomat goes second though, they will very likely only start with 4 cards in hand and will have to deal with big monsters, effect negation and Loading... s. Loading... might deal with Book of Moon and pick up potential bluffs to the hand so the Onomat Player does not have to worry about that. However, if the Darklord Player was smart, they would set up Loading... in the GY to make sure that Trunade cannot interact with it. All these factors make that matchup very much unfavoured. As such, it will be important to see which will be the deck to beat moving forward and if Onomat can adapt to counter it.
trapdexter
The Top Player Council had some varying opinions on the new Darklord deck that has been going around, however, all of the votes have averaged out to Tier 2 status. The reason for the difference in opinion is because the deck truly has games where it looks virtually unbeatable: putting up two negates and a hand rip Turn 1. While this is true, there are also times where the deck doesn't seem to open anything remotely scary and passes with Loading... or Loading... in DEF mode. Personally, I lean on the side of TPC that believes this deck is one of the best decks in the game right now. The potential of the deck is through the roof and more often than not the deck has a playable hand if not an outright broken one. The deck doesn’t have many counters and can farm decks like Water Xyz and Thunder Dragons. While results in competitive events haven’t been out of this world because of a lack of representation, I still think this deck is great and should be feared.
Water Xyz jas seen an increase in positive results and representation therefore it has been ba-boosted to Tier 2 status. They continue to be a deck that torments its opponents with its versatility and will likely be around for quite some time. It is also benefitting from a decrease in the amount of Thunder Dragons, which can be a hard matchup if you don't open Loading... . Opening Loading... + Loading... is solid against mostly anything and therefore is why the deck is going to continue to see massive amounts of usage.