This is the last Tier List for this Top Player Council. Next week's Tier List will be written by our new TPC.
Tier 1
TPC Comments
Autumn Leaf
Darklords are unquestionably the best deck in Side Deck tournaments with a consistent search and draw engine in Loading... and Loading... as well as a staple Side Deck Skill in Destiny Draw . With the majority of Darklord having the ability to pay 1000 LP for their effects, Darklords are given easy access to tech cards such as Loading... , Loading... , Loading... and Loading... through Destiny Draw – often leading to OTKs without giving their opponent the chance to respond.
The counter-trap build of Desperado provides the deck with a very strong turn one play against many decks in the current meta. Counter-traps including Loading... , Loading... , and Loading... are excellent against the Darklord and Spellbook match-ups. Other cards such as Loading... are tech'd in for Darklords and the mirror match along with Loading... (which more players now have access to since its Main Box release).
Luke Tyler
Competitive events continue to prove that Darklord is a prevalent force amongst the meta. The deck boasts immense power alongside a relatively flexible engine that allow it to prevail in a competitive environment. Despite the deck having a target on its back, a good pilot is able to pioneer the Darklord strategy through various counters. Strong performances from Darklord at a high level are expected to continue.
Since the Loading... variant of Desperado emerged from the KC Cup, Desperado has continually performed well in competitive events on a large scale. Counter Trap Desperado is a menace to be reckoned with, most especially when it takes the first move. Darklord found this matchup to be a challenging adversary.
ShinySopheon
The only argument for Darklords not being Tier 1 is that it should be Tier 0. Darklords continue to force the meta to revolve around them, and consistently top despite every deck teching/siding heavily against them.
Desperado is arguably the best counter to Darklords, Master of Destiny is a very solid choice in this meta. Being able to plus for free with Loading... to set up your Loading... plays and fuel your myriad of Counter Traps is extremely strong, making this the only other Tier 1 deck.
zaidking
It'll be interesting to see how Desperado adapts to this upcoming meta. They don't want the Invoked engine to rise in popularity as they have almost no way to deal with their board once it's been set up. They'll be reliant on techs such as Loading... or Loading... in addtion to having negates set up to have a chance