This Tier List is being made in anticipation of the 2nd Stage of the KaibaCorp Cup, with this list being the Top Player Council's expectations for the Global Top 100 Rankings.
General Comments
The Tier 3 Decks are where the pre-Tachyon Tier List sits. The also-new Shiranui is the only deck that is capable of fighting Tachyon (but still not to the same level as Tachyon itself). I expect a lot of Tachyon Mirrors in the KC Cup, as it's hard for me to believe a hard counter will emerge in Stage 2, just by how difficult it is to truly stop Tachyon (Loading... doesn't stop Tachyon if they go for the Loading... play, Loading... only works if you go first, and Loading... / Loading... / Loading... only partially stop the deck).
Since we're in a meta that is heavily powercrept in comparison to the last meta, with Tachyon and Shiranui (even Constellar / Live☆Twin / Mayakashi) producing such insane Turn 1 Boards, it is more important than ever to refocus techs into cards that are playable both going first and second.
Loading... and Loading... are quite effective in this meta, with Veiler stopping the Loading... search / Loading... draw / Shiranui's Normal Summon / Loading... / Loading... and D.D. Crow hitting Loading... / Loading... / Loading... / Evil☆Twin Targets / Tenyis.
Quick-Play Spells are also quite flexible. In this Tachyon Tier 0 meta Loading... is stronger than Loading... since you can deny the Loading... while also being effective disruption if you go first. Decks more prone to disruption like Constellar have began to pick up Loading... to protect their pieces (Shiranui and Mayakashi have enough extension to not need it).
When it comes to Limit 3 Traps, while they're generically powerful in a vacuum, they tend to be too slow in such a high-power format.
Welcome to another KC Cup Stage 2. We know most of you don't really play this format (for various reasons) but its still a great way to see how the metagame is. Each day of KC Cup the meta is constantly evolving, either because a new strategy was discovered that had gone unnoticed, a tech card that everyone missed or just deckbuilding decisions that are more optimal than others. In particular, what I want to see in this KC Cup are the players' decisions at these four junctures:
Do Tachyhyon players Run Loading... / Loading... ?
Will Limit 3 Traps see play with how strong Loading... is right now?
Will we see players dropping Loading... for other ED options like a second copy of Loading...
Which Shiranui version will be the most popular, the one that runs Loading... with some copies of Loading... and Loading... or the Standard List with more ED options and other techs.
I really want to see how players answer these questions when the Top Lists shake out.
This is the Tier List for the KC Cup. While the deck's positions have mostly been previously established, Shiranui is just positioned better than Mayakashi and Tenyi, resulting in their demotion. It is likely that the high ranks of Stage 2 will be dominated by Tachyon, as their games are quick. I'd like to see some surprise counter to the Tier 0 meta, but I find this highly unlikely. On Day 3, if the field is mostly Tachyon, perhaps a Loading... + Loading... deck like Shiranui or Destiny HEROs would be reasonable to attempt to stabilize, but we'll have to see
Tier 0
TPC Comments
Tachyon maintains their Tier 0 status for this KC Cup, where we expect them to be the most played deck and the one that will take up the most spots in the Top 100. The deck is fast and relatively easy to master properly where most of the matches will be decided by either coinflip or deckbuilding decisions.