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 Banlist Changes and how the current Tier List is affected as opposed to your regular Tier List Content.
Loading... and Loading... are the cards the community was begging to be removed from the meta, so it's nice to see them finally gone.
Overall, this meta is weaker now but neither Predaplant nor Ghostrick will be out of the meta, so it's hard to think how or if the meta will open up (although Lyrilusc is probably out of the picture so there's some room for older decks).
The cards removed from the banlist are ok, but I don't think they will be overly impactful. Loading... is a good tech card but there is no deck currently capable of abusing it. Loading... won't be a staple, but you can at least play the Dogmatika Package more freely (Fleur variants will be stronger since they can now play Punishment alongside Loading... .
The hit to Loading... is a hit for future content, it's fine to be safe considering its an archtypal omni-negate, which could get stronger if they were to gain Skill-based support.
Tier 1
TPC Comments
The hits to Loading... and Loading... might've killed Lyrilusc as a deck (it's the Orcust treatment). We will probably see more slow versions with more techs, but they lost 1 Sparrow 2 Warbler and Limit 3 Access (since Loading... is now at Limit 3 as well), so their extension, disruption, and follow-up take a hit. The deck can still do its usual Loading... Turn 1 and OTK on Turn 3 (it's more succeptible to handtraps like Loading... and Loading... now though), but its Turn 2 will be weaker. I'm not sure about Lyrilusc, it could either be a Tier 2/3 contender or fall off the Tier List as people try better decks.
While the hits may seem huge at first sight the deck has only become a tad bit more vunerable to crow and will now be forced to play smaller lists and add starters like Loading... to the mix. I expect the deck to remain as one of the top contenders as the rest of the meta around it has been hit.
Lyrilusc essentially lost 2 copies of Loading... , which is admittedly their best starter, but I don't think this change is impactful enough. To compensate for the consistency hit, they can start using Loading... and/or Loading... . The deck can still do the same things as before but slightly less consistently. Losing access to Limit 3's shouldn't matter much, as some builds didn’t even include them prior to these changes.
The hit to Loading... was not a hit to Lyrilusc but rather Predaplants using it for their Turn 1 play. It's a fair hit considering Predaplant isn't primarily focused on summoning it and has no issue surviving without it. It's also a good lever for potential future decks that could use it.
The hits to Loading... and Loading... are huge hits to Predaplant, impacting their Turn 1 (where their standard play was dumping Planet to Fusion Summon on the opponent's turn for another Loading... . Hydra is perfectly fine at Limit 1 because you can search it via Starving Venom Invasion and cards like Loading... , Loading... , or Loading... (although the card was starting to be played in multiples to avoid having to search it). Loading... is at 1 too so the obvious choice is to keep Hydra and drop Superpoly and Predaplanet. In summary, Predplant's consistency takes a hit and its Turn 1 has gotten worse. That being said, the deck will be strong enough and I think it will remain on the Tier List.
Predaplant has lost a lot. My guess is the deck will remove Loading... and Loading... in order to keep hydra and will now be forced into running 3 Loading... .
With this developement I have to guess that Borrel Link will make a grand return as the reason it was erased from the meta was how hard Loading... was to deal with.