Disclaimer

With DLM Tournaments returning to 1 Deck 7-card Side Deck format, this Tier List is made with Side Deck in mind. Expect a more conservative list as decks reacclimate to Side Deck format.

Dantekk

The meta really seems to be figured out right now (we are in banlist season though so do not expect that to last). The Tier 1 and Tier 2 slots ain't getting changed since both Crystrons and Karakuri have proven themselves to be the superior decks, with Shiranui (both combo and control) and Invoked Magician Girls being not too far behind. The Tier 3 decks, however, weren't able to stay in touch (even though Cyber Dragon had multiple achievements in the KC Cup but that is a different format) and they have been removed. Still, fans of Blackwings, Cyber Dragon and potentially Dark Magician are waiting for the banlist that may improve the position their favorite decks have. One thing is certain; while we most likely won't have a huge banlist like the ZEXAL world one, it definitely isn't expected to be a minor one, with multiple issues needing to be adressed.

xeNNw0w

Nothing has changed at the top of the list, Tier 1 and 2 decks stay intact, but the big change is the fact that there are no Tier 3 decks. There are a lot of decks like Blackwings, HEROs, Cyber Dragon, Dark Magician and such that could be considered 'Tier 3', but the gap between the Top Decks and those decks is too large to justify it for now, so Tier 3 is vacant for the time being.

Tier 1

Buns

With the return of side deck Karakuri once again see the unwelcome Loading... to combat it. Overall however, Side will benefit Karakuri more than it does harm, being able to side into more backrow hate vs the control decks and potentially siding multiple Loading... for the System Down threat while also negating their disruption traps. It also gives it room to side Loading... against Graveyard-heavy decks like Crystrons and Combo Shiranui.

Tier 2

gift

Invoked Magician Girls had a great run this KC Cup and remain a solid Tier 2 deck for the upcoming week with Side Deck. In the KC Cup, several players used this deck in both the Top 100 and Top 10 due to its great matchup spreads and being able to hold its own even against the difficult matchups. Among the top decks, Magician Girls have a good matchup against Control Shiranui and Karakuri, and while struggling against Loading... Crystrons and Combo Shiranui, it can definitely hold its own and sometimes steal wins. Against the rogue decks, Magician Girls is also ok for the most part, having a solid matchup spread but there are some decks such as Cyber Dragon and Dark Magician that can give it some trouble.

However, going into Side Deck format, similar to how the Machine decks are vulnerable to Loading... , Magician Girls can be vulnerable to Loading... . This will be commonly sided against Magician Girls and it can definitely give it some trouble. The Control Shiranui matchup for example, is usually very favoured in 1-Deck format. It's usually a long/grindy game but Loading... is able to slowly outgrind the Shiranui player. However, in Side Deck format, with how long the games can go, Control Shiranui may actually be able to hold its own as it can very likely reach its Artifact Lanceas and other tech cards. Regardless, Invoked Magician Girls also has a lot of side room themselves and should be able to still be very solid going into Side Deck format. It will be interesting to see how well it does and it could possibly rise in the Tier List in the future.

wowerer

Combo Shirnui is probably the strongest deck if it's set up being able to pop cards with Loading... whenever you need it in addition to having access to Loading... to Loading... your opponent is something most decks just can't deal with. The problem it has are heavily aggressive strategies like Blackwings which is a very hard matchup if you don't draw your techs or if you are not set up quick enough. This leads to the second problem of the deck: the deck sometimes has very bad hands which usually will lead to a loss because you don't run a lot of backrow to help you survive bad hands. The power level of this deck is still strong enough to be a viable Tier 2 deck as it has many advantages but also disadvantages over the Control build which is why both are put to Tier 2.

Dantekk