A Word From , TPC Manager
Hello all, in light of the recent balance update, we're going to be posting a TPC reaction to the Balance Changes and how the current Tier List is affected
Tier 1
TPC Comments
With the recent banlist, Resonators have lost access to Loading... and Loading... . Losing Void Ogre means that your Turn 1 has lost some of its power but this can be compensated by a second copy of Loading... for more durability, making it very hard to OTK (especially if you were able to gain a ton of Life Points with Loading... ). Resonator always had strong follow-up, so just surviving can be enough for a comeback play. No Void Ogre means that you dont have to keep an empty hand which makes playing handtraps easier (as well as not discarding your follow-up). Another Turn 1 option would be Loading... to floodgate a few decks like Tri-Brigade (if that deck becomes popular).
The loss of Loading... is an issue for going second in the mirror (and other matchups), since Tuning Gum stopped Loading... from just banishing your Synchro Monster. This will make the mirror match a lot more going first dependent than it already was.
Resonator's first turn power has been decreaed, since Loading... and Loading... are now Limited to 1 alongside Loading... . The Tuning Gum hit specifically makes it harder to go second in the mirror, as you are no longer protected from Loading... . That being said, Resonators are still are powerful deck, since it doesn't have consistency problems and can still go first and second against other decks.
Resonator lost 1 endboard piece and its targeting protection, but it's far from deck. While the power ceiling has decreased Resonators are still one of the best decks in the meta, especially now that two of its worst matchups (Salamangreat and Predaplant) have been hit.
Resonators weren't hit that much compared to other decks, I expect it will continue to rise as the most-represented deck.
The banlist hits to Salamangreat were huge. With Loading... being Limited to 1, it cannot be played with Loading... (functionally removing it from the deck). This affects Salamangreat's Turn 1 and follow-up, since there's no way to add Salamangreat monsters from the GY aside from Loading... or Loading... . Swapping to Lion Emperor alongside Loading... to recycle monsters fixes the Turn 1 problem, but doesnt solve the follow-up problem. I would expect Salamangreat to lose its position among the Top Decks.
With the Limit 1 hit to Loading... , Salamangreat have lost an important tool in their grind-game, since both of its abilities made it primary targets for both Loading... and Loading... . With this hit, players might return to playing Loading... and Loading... to patch up their Turn 1. In general however, Salamangreat will have less recursion in the long game. While this is a big hit, the deck will continue to be competitively viable for its ability to play 8-10 techs and break boards.