Tier 1
TPC Comments
While not dominating the MCS, Harpies getting Harpies' Hunting Ground back in the competitive scene will undoubtedly boost the deck a notch or two. The story remains the same with Harpies, opening Loading... with 2-3 backrow is still one of the most broken things one can do in Duel Links while opening Loading... or some other opening is mid at best. It should be mentioned that the gap between the Tier 2 decks and Harpies could not be any smaller and on any given day those decks could be better choices for a specific tournament. Furthermore, the other decks in the meta have been more finely tuned while Harpies remains varied in terms of deck building which can skew results as well. Only time will tell what remains as the best way to build harpies now that HHG is back and people might experiment with Loading... again.
Harpies did not perform particularly well in the last MCS, but this does not make them bad at all. Although personally I think that it can be debated if there really is a Tier 1 deck in this meta, Harpies are undoubtedly one of the decks that can have a change for the better in the upcoming weeks, and not particularly from the influx of new cards, but because of the change to Harpies' Hunting Ground finally being implemented. We will see how the meta adapts to this change.
The real format should begin this week as Harpies' Hunting Ground finally gets implemented in the recent update. We'll see if it is the go-to skill for the deck despite it not being a free plus one anymore.
Tier 2
TPC Comments
Gaia has gained some steam thanks to the addition of Loading... and Loading... ; both additions improve the follow-up and comeback abilities of the deck, while BLS can also be searched by Soldier if needed for an easy OTK or a clutch spot removal (i.e. Loading... ).
Gaia and Water are also the only decks in the meta which can currently get rid of Loading... without having to waste resources, though ironically the HHG skill "nerf" made it harder for Gaia to do so.
The format right now is basically "As long as I set up my boss monster with backrow, I win" and the most-consistent deck that does that is Gaia. Furthermore, the deck has been blessed with Loading... and Loading... , providing them with a recovery card and a finisher card respectively. That being said, recent lists have already cut Loading... since the new cards have higher impact.