Disclaimer
This Tier List comes right before the November KaibaCorp Cup 2nd Stage. As such, this Tier List was written with KaibaCorp Cup in mind, with more emphasis on Bo1 Format. Additionally, the next Tier List will be delayed until Wednesday, November 27th, in order to allow TPC members who are competing in the KaibaCorp Cup some time to breathe.
Tier 1
TPC Comments
Drizzels
Blackwings are here and they are Top Tier! As predicted last week this deck shot from nowhere to the top in no time. Blackwings won the MCS, had the highest participation % and will dominate the upcoming KC Cup Stage 2 this weekend. Their OTK potential is insane and the combination of Loading... and Loading... / Loading... can lock their opponent out Turn 1. On top of that, no real hard counters have developed yet, as even Loading... / Loading... isn't the end of the world for these crazy chickens. I still can't believe Konami released so many strong Blackwing cards - I'm expecting their gonna be in the meta for a long time, just like Six Samurai.
Darklords are still Tier 1 but it's getting harder and harder for them every week. Over the last week, it clearly developed that KaibaCorp Bling is the only really strong version of this deck and the MCS proved this as well. They have a hard time against the new released Blackwings, especially if they are playing Sealed Tombs and/or Loading... . I still can see Darklords performing well in the KC Cup due to the fact that not everyone will main side deck hate cards. Over the long term I can see Darklords declining - which is totally fine after 3 months of dominating the meta
Loading... gave this deck a nice little push and is working great with the Elementsabers aswell. Loading... is basically another Loading... and can prevent Blackwings from getting their crazy searches off of Loading... . On top of that Purgatrio can easily OTK a lot of boards, especially if there are low DEF monsters carelessly left on the field. Since Loading... is getting played a bit less with less people main decking 3+ Water monsters, the deck is a little more susceptible to cards like Loading... , Loading... and Loading... .
Despite all the hate, this deck will stay at Tier 1! Ritual Beasts nearly won MCS and the Japanese players showed a new way to play this deck. Due to a low general population, people won't be siding for them as much as before and a lot of more good Tournament performances are expected. On top of that in the Bo1 KC Cup format, it can have a very high winrate if played correctly. 40-70 hours of playing Ritual Beasts nonstop won't be easy but I expect to see them in Top 10 Global.
Erikson
As expected, Blackwings are Top Tier. They can easily swarm the board, boast powerful synchros, and have access to a Counter Trap that can be activated from hand (most of the time). On top of all that, they're very consistent, have insane OTK-ability and can shut down several decks with their easy access to Loading... and/or Loading... . Not much to say other than it's Tier 1 and I expect it to have a strong perfomance in the KC Cup.
Ritual Beasts are a very powerful deck going into the KC Cup. The deck can do a whole lot of stuff: generate huge card advantage, bounce multiple monsters, or even OTK with a good enough start. In my opinion, this deck has the best grind game out of any deck out there. However, I'm afraid that it won't see the play it deserves in the KC Cup due to long games.
MedzR
As expected, Blackwings impact on the meta has been significant. The deck's ability to OTK going second is unrivalled at this moment in time, due to having access to Loading... . The decks weakness is its turn one as you are very susceptible, if you don't open any defensive backrow. Right now we are seeing a few different Skills being run with the deck, Harpies' Hunting Ground grants more flexibility with Loading... searches, due to the 200 ATK boost it provides. In addition, as we saw from the MCS-winning decklist, running this Skill enables you to play Loading... to search your deck for Loading... and/or Loading... , two cards that can very easily decide the game if your opponent doesn’t have something like a Loading... to deal with them. You can also run Peak Performance as a more accessible alternative but this also boosts cards like Loading... so this isn’t optimal. Sealed Tombs is also seeing some play, although more players are electing to side it. See You Later! is an interesting skill with Blackwings. If you open Whirlwind and either Loading... / Loading... , you can use Whirlwind to search for Loading... , use See You Later! to bounce the monster you summoned back to your hand and then activate Simoon. The Skill can also be useful for playing around Loading... / Loading... , if they use these on one of your Blackwings that be Special Summoned from hand, bounce it back to your hand and summon it again. Given how quickly this deck can end a duel, I expect this will be the most played deck during the KC Cup.
Invoked has continued to evolve following the release of Loading... . Purgatrio is a very scary card that can easily OTK a number of decks in the meta at present, thanks to his piercing effect. Throw in Loading... and you will see some very cheesy OTKs. However, given the explosiveness of Blackwings at present, some players have cut Current in favour of cards like Loading... to increase their chances of getting to Turn 3 against Blackwings. As always seems to be the way with this deck, there are a number of variants doing the rounds at present, you’ve got the standard Sorcery Conduit variants still performing well with many players either adding Loading... or Loading... to give them access to Purgatrio. Loading... has also seen play in this build as his ability to flip a monster face down when sent to the graveyard can be the difference between getting OTK'd by Blackwings and getting to Turn 3. Elementsaber Invoked has started seeing some play as Loading... ’s effect is another way you can disrupt a Blackwing play. Each of the Elementsabers can change their attribute whilst in the GY, giving you the flexibility to choose which invoked fusion monster you need depending on the game state. It is worth noting that whilst having a better Blackwing matchup, this variant does struggle when playing against the standard Sorcery Conduit version. Magician Girl Invoked was my personal favourite prior to the release of Blackwings. However, Loading... is a lot less safe than she used to be as Loading... doesn’t care if she switches into DEF position.
Negative1
Blackwings are likely the deck to beat this KC Cup, as they are new, have high representation, and are a potent OTK deck. All of these factors are ideal for a KC Cup where fast duels and high winrate are valued most.