Top Player Council Thoughts
With the results of MCS XVI giving valuable insight into the new meta, we have multiple major changes to the Tier List.
Tier 1
Ancient Gears were by far the most played deck in the MCS and converted that into very high representation in the Top 32 as well. Ancient Gears were the deck with the biggest target on its back, having to fight through main-decked Loading... and Loading... , side-decked Loading... , a resurgence of Amazoness and Hero decks using Loading... and Loading... respectively, and even Koa'ki players who took advantage of being under the radar to win the whole event. One of the biggest takeaways from the MCS was the return of Koa'ki, and Ancient Gear decks will again need ways to deal with them consistently or risk falling back to Tier 2.
TPC Comments
monkeyboy44:
Ancient Gears stand strong in Tier 1 despite the large target on their back and players running counter cards like Loading... en masse. This deck has consistently been the most represented in both swiss and top cut, and has impacted the way others build their decks around it as a result of that presence.
Tier 2
Koa'ki Meiru has been promoted to Tier 2. Although weaker than in its pre-banlist form, Koa'ki Meiru is still stronger than many expected and took advantage of an over-correcting meta to win the MCS. Many decks dropped Loading... and Loading... for Skull Meister and Bad Aim, neither of which do much against Koa'ki's offensive onslaught. One interesting thing to watch will be the balancing act between Koa'ki and Ancient Gears: Which deck is considered more of a threat by other players? Are the main-decked Skull Meisters worth it if you're still losing to Koa'ki? And conversely, is Canadia worth putting back into the deck to deal with Koa'ki, given how little it does to stop Ancient Gears?
Amazoness and Heros have been promoted to Tier 2 (from off the Tier List) after significant representation in the MCS as strong counters to Ancient Gears. However, a corresponding rise in the number of Koa'ki Meiru decks may be problematic for these decks which had consistently struggled to be competitive pre-banlist. On the other hand, Amazoness and Hero decks are some of the best abusers of Loading... and can deal with Ancient Gears well, so as long as Ancient Gears are the deck to beat, expect these decks to be doing just that.
Finally, Dinos have been demoted to Tier 2. Hurt by many of the same counters that hit Ancient Gears (mainly Skull Meister), Dinos are also not happy to see the return of Koa'ki or Amazoness. But as another strong counter to Ancient Gears (when maxed out on Skull Meister and Bad Aim), Dinos will also be a viable competitive choice as long as Ancient Gears remain in the meta.
TPC Comments
Luke Tyler:
Though Dinosaurs are still a top contender and a fantastic deck, it is evident that it is represented far less than Ancient Gear within tournaments. This demotion is a reflection of this.