The new box introduced a few new decks, but only one stands out: Salamangreat is back in the meta and it's extremely strong. With two Tier 1 decks we'll have to see if one deck is going to become dominant or whether we end up in a 2-deck format. The rest of the Mini BOX is fairly unexplored for now, but keep an eye on Battlin' Boxer, which is (currently) missing a couple of much-needed support cards which could come at any moment.
A new Mini BOX came out featuring Salamangreat, Crystrons, and Battlin' Boxer cards, with Salamangreat clearly making the biggest impact on release. With its new Skill Soulburning Link , we now have another worthy rival to HEROs in the Tier 1 spot.
Tier 1
TPC Comments
HEROs finally shows its true might as it has cemented itself as the best-performing deck. Lists have been optimized, and as such I expect HEROs to keep seing success (although a new challenger has arrived).
Soulburning Link is insane. You will never brick, allowing you to run staples for any matchup. The only issue with the deck is it has no inherent draw engine, so boards will be weak against certain matchups if you don't open the right staples. Even so, Salamangreat will end on a set-up Loading... bounce and a Loading... with Loading... protection with tons of follow-up. At the moment it's too early to tell which version of the deck is best for this meta, but I feel like the deck will continue to do well once lists are optimized.
Before release, the main argument against Salamangreat was that "Loading... shuts it down". While that's not completely wrong, it's not really relecent for the deck, as the Salamangreat engine is adept at surviving big pushes, and generates more card advantage than any other deck in the long-game. The primary strategy against HEROs is to instead set-up a Loading... to Link off Loading... on your opponent's turn (rather than Loading... , which plays into Super Poly). On the other hand, we need to mention that the deck needs a solid answer to Loading... , which is why people are currently playing Loading... , Loading... , and other negates.
Soulburning Link is kind of broken: you can't brick regardless of how many techs you're running and you get a free monster if your opponent has a card on the field (both Loading... and Loading... come in clutch in some matchups). The end board will generally consist of Loading... , Loading... , and a set Loading... . The monster summoned of of Miragestallio (and the card milled from Loading... ) will vary on your hand and matchup, but Loading... is likely since it can add either Loading... or Loading... .
Salamangreat is now the most consistent deck in the format, and players are using that consistency to give it plenty of options to deal with any deck. Normally, you can go for a Loading... set-up to wipe your opponent's board (but against HEROs it's more important to set-up a Loading... bounce on the opponent's turn (to turn off Loading... .