Its that time of the Yugioh season again. A fresh start for some and a new challenge for others, the 3rd format of the year is now upon duelists worldwide.
Note: The release of this post was delayed by the inevitable ban list delay due to the World Championships.
Of course, don’t forget that tier rankings are based on both fact and opinion. One can only be so accurate and satisfy so many people. For more of these ‘disclaimers’ check out the first ever tier ranking here.
Some other notes:
- Decks that topped or won events were bumped up. Just look at Ghostricks.
- New support always helps, although a top is more credible in everyone’s eyes. Red-Eyes were pushed up by this.
- Many decks have dropped down due to unfavorable changes to the meta-game.
- The first tier rankings got a lot of productive reviews, and a lot of them have been integrated into this one. Not all concerns were addressed, but this tier list looks to be a more accurate reflection of the state of our meta-game.
- There were 14 new archetypes introduced this time. Some are new archetypes that sprung into the spotlight due to (concrete) new support. Red-Eyes is an example. Others are older archetypes which are only being added in now (Yubel or Jester anyone?)
- Tier 3 is by far the most competitive tier in terms of ‘peer pressure’ between decks. Tier 4 decks fight to enter tier 3, and it was difficult cutting the tier 3 deck count short. One has to maintain the credibility of the tier, after all. Nevertheless, making it out of tier 3 to tier 2 remains a tough job.
Here is the list:-
Disappointments on the list? Yang Zing and Heroes were expected to rise more than they did. Burning Abyss very nearly collapsed to the bottom of the tier, only to garner an unusual number of wins and tops late format. Of course, one of the few constants was that of Nekroz which managed to stay top. A little too monotonous on that front.
One final afterthought regarding the list- if one is looking to improve his/her deck’s ranking, a good start would be to bring out an innovative build. Then either top a regional or get the build popular. Popularity usually translates to success, and that is a great way to ensure a certain deck’s rise up the tier rankings.
Recommended Article: The Yugioh Gold Mine
Tactical Fouling 
Pretty solid from what I can tell. Only criticism I have is the same as before. Melodious surely doesn’t deserve tier 1/2/3, but high 5 or low 4 seems more accurate. Also I feel as if Superheavys deserve tier 3, much more than Spellbooks or Traptrix at least.
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Melodious is at tier 7, but I am inexperienced with it so will move it up.
As for Superheavies, it’s hard to make a decision as many people hate it as they see it as a rival deck in those tiers. Still deciding on it
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Also I am absolutely DETERMINED to spark a revival of the Earthbound archetype. There’s some serious potential with them, but I feel like nobody has really been able to tap into it.
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Good luck with that.. it has a lot of potential like you said. Perhaps you can build a surprise deck with anti-meta features and top a YCS? Regardless it seems like one of those decks which would explode with some new support.
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I used earthbound immortals they are really good. You can also put regulas and ancient fairy dragon in to recycle field spells to gain lifepoints and I also put in red nova dragon.
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I would kill for new Earthbound support. Seriously, 3000 to the face, unattackable, and if you tributed Hardened Armed Dragon completely undestroyable. It’s just missing a little something to compete in the meta. I am determined to find it.
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Galaxy/Photon definetly deserve more than tier 3 (even though) they only get some plays they’re pretty powerful with the new boost in wsup mecha phantom beast should be around solid tier 2 just of it’s stalling and push plays Fire King is twice on the list btw Gadget shall be tier 3 Spellbooks deserve the tier 2 even if lower becuz they potentially have a good matchup against nekroz
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Gravekeepers? And still with those gagaga and other random types in tier 3. For a competitive tier, you sure did pick several odd choices between 39-49 in placement.I wish I could show you my deck to prove my point. BTW, this is about as pointless as Sm4sh 3ds tier rankings
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Gravekeepers are definitely relevant, at least against the rest of its tier and below. The game these days relies pretty hard on the grave, and with Shaman and Necrovalley your grave is dead. Not to mention it can also lock out SS with Hidden Temples. Might not be ubermeta, but it’s definitely competitive.
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Hey Chief, how come there are two ‘Fire King’ placements in tier 2?
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A minor error. Thanks for pointing it out, I will fix it soon!
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hey what about gem knights? they are getting new support shouldnt they be up there
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103 and 118 are both iron chain . Also prediction princesses aren’t on the list they are new but have potential.
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Bro i do have a blackwing deck and i love it and play it very often but i also own a ulthra athlete deck and i must say its 100% better than blackwings or the whole tier 2-3 list. Its a new deck with just a few cards but they have huge effects i can say that they have the best effects combined in one deck. I got 2nd in locals last week with u.a., i lost because the opponent had 2 times mistake in his start hand. And i also think superheavies are a pretty nice deck and should have been in higher tier. And the blackwings are great but its not that good for the tier 1
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I am planning on dropping them to tier 2… they topped an event.. Thus the (admittedly overestimated) ranking. As for UA, I will push them up a tier or 2
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There is also 2 Zombie ranked, 2 Yubel ranked and 2 Mecha Phantom Beast ranked. Zombie in Tier 6 (rank 93) and in Tier 7 (rank 107) ;
Yubel is in Tier 5 (rank 73) and in Tier 6 (rank 83) ;
Mecha Phantom Beast in Tier 5 (rank 80) and in Tier 6 (Rank 99).
Is it on purpose? Is there different kinds of those decks to deserve 2 differents places?
Btw, are the Tier made about how reliable are the decks in terms of chances to OTK (or just win) without making the other one able to counter it?
(Sorry for my bad english)
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Thanks for the proofread! It was down to human error, otherwise each deck should be represented once.
As for the rankings, a higher deck has better potential and card interactions against other decks (in particular, the top decks of the format) making it more likely to win and top events. Higher tier means more potential to top/win events and more representation perhaps. Popularity of the decks influences the rankings, but only because in most cases popularity reflects tournament potential.
Hope this answered your concerns!
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Thank you for your quick awnser 🙂
Do you plan to add something like “all-made” deck? A bit like “Anti-Meta” deck?
It could be a way to know if some all-made deck already came to a good rank in the ladder in a tournament (of course not in a good Tier, but maybe we could have an idea of what lvl we can reach in a Tier list as a good all-made deck done by a pro player for a tournament (or no one ever used such things? x) )
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I might add Abyss-Shaddolls to the list later, as the hybrid deck has topped some events
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Why are Fabled so low in tier 4? I know that they haven’t seen much play recently but, I have a Fabled deck and it seems to be doing quite well. Can someone explain?
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How does it fare against the meta?
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It does quite well against the meta if I do say so myself.
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Where is IgKnights? I tought it was becoming a promising deck.
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In an updated list they will be added in. Thanks for the heads up
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I’m interested in seeing where they fall because I’m thinkin on picking them up (I’m considering starting playing YGO)
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I will get back to you, but make sure you go through multiple sources. Asking people on other forums and using dueling network are great ways to play test and understand ur right deck for you
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Thanks mate, great list! It helped me a lot to get back in the game. Hope you’ll do this also in the future 🙂
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Yes, I will do it for each format. Glad to know it helped! I seriously recommend the post ‘The Yugioh Gold Mine’ if your looking for more information. It has all sorts of resources which you might find particularly useful.
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Why is gem-knights not listed I know their not high on the list but the deserve a spot.
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A careless error on my part. They will be added in!
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I love this list man. I play ghostricks and gagagas and they can compete with all of the teir 1-3 decks. But when i take them to locals i consistently trash gravekeepers or , thats a deck from the old yugioh. However when i take on qliphort or ba my deck gets beat almost every time. Solid list.
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I see that black wings are tier 1. I do play the deck and love it but it should be in tier 2. Also i made a ghostrick deck and they recently got some new support, and i think you honestly bump them up to low tier 2. There great against the meta and they keep getting better but i do like that you put them in tier 3 atleast. Also zombies are good and are truly underated deck. They can bring out level 8 synchros like nobody’s business. Check out zombies, they are fun and hoping i could see them top some time. I like the list though for the most part.
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New Superheavy support next week with Shutendoji. Think it’ll affect the standings at all?
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If Superheavy decks pop up well in tournaments, they might make the jump to tier 3.
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Does anyone know which tier Gem-knignts are in? I can’t seem to find them.
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I had forgotten to add them in. In an update they will be added in.
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Why isn’t anti-meta up higher. It should at least be low teir 3-high teir 4.
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Any reason for your belief?
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I know you already answered the question about U.A. but im just adding on by saying they are a very good deck and with a little more support they definately have a shot at top tier in my opinion. Also i think spellbooks should be higher. I know they arnt nearly as good as they used to be or as popular but i still think they should be moved up 1 tier atleast
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and what about worms ive used them and they can compete with shaddoll farely well dont they deserve a spot besides reptile.
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I’ll add them in
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I just realized, where are crystal beasts?
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Nice catch, will add them in
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Thanks man, im thinking of picking them up 🙂 they have an interesting playstyle
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wheres gem knights?
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May I just ask what happend to UA? I can’t even find them on the list, and I’ve played with them 50/50 against Qli, more with BA.
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Correction, found them. Still, with a good start, I play constistently with them. such a low ranking is unusual.
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I’m looking for more tournament tops, but due to multiple recommendations I’ll push them to tier 3. To go above that a tournament top or some other form of endorsement is necessary.
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What about toons? With the new support they should be at least 5-6 surely?
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Nice catch. I’ll add them in, in an update or the next ranking. Watch out for text that says an update or for the October Format ranking (to be released still) depending on relevancy and whether the list needs a change.
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RIP in peace Satellarknights Deneb, Triverr, and Altair. You will be missed.
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I wonder where zefra is?
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I’ll add them in next update/ranking
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No Ultra Athlete? I know they aren’t meta but they are better than like 90% of the things in Tier 2.
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Oh, I see them now.
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Well i think galaxy deck should b consider as tier 2 or 3 bcoz of it’s potential to end the game in an instant against any other top tier decks even tier 1(number 62 and cyber dragon infinity combo w/c is an ftk potential).. I do use this deck and make an otk and ftk countless times.. I know most trends here came from tcg players but as an ocg player i consider it a competitive deck and fun to play with..
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When will the next list come out? Interested to see your opinions on last ban list + kozmos & performage
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Soon, I think red eyes and performage will rise for sure.
This list is based on the ban list, although I have many recommended changes to update soon
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ok I cant find Arcana Force deck any were
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Because they are bad?
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Cyber Dragons below Gadgets and Geargia??? Hahahah what a joke lmao
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what happened to U.A? your list for last format put them in the tier 1 column and now they’re not even on the list.
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never mind them not being on the list but that’s a pretty big drop.
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Where do you see them? I might have dropped them a bit too low
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They are, just much lower on the list
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I think this is a very nice tier list! But in my opinion, malefics should be a little bit higher, like cathegory 5/6. I personnally love playing them and i recently just crushed some Tier 1 decks, like qliphorts and ritual beasts with them. All in all the list is very well done.
(Sry for bad english.)
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WHERE ARE TOONS
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What happened to Quickdraw Synchro? Why isn’t it on the list at all?
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Shocked to see mermail and noble knights below Madolche, fire fist, evilswarm and blackwings.
I thought Mermail would be just below tellarknights, BA etc
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Tournament tops affect it. Mermail hasn’t performed as well as these decks in tournaments, unless I am mistaken.
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And where are Toons ? They are able To easily beat Red- eyes and, if played correctly , They are a good for many tier 1 decks , including qliphorts , BA and Even Nekroz.
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Lightsworns are the only I have encountered to be almost unbeatable XD. Thanks for sharing the list with us; Jesus Christ Bless! 🙂
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Fire King 29 and Fire Kings 31?
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http://ygopro.it/web/index.php
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http://ygopro.it/web/modules.php?name=Forums
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where is the plant deck can someone please tell me??
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Add Kozmo deck. It really is TIER 1 after KOZMO FAMRGIRL and KOZMO DARK DESTROYER.
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Lack of love for my archfiends; any particular reason?
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Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but where is the Blue eyes archetype?
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I have to admit I was kinda surprised to see Laval as tier 4 (especially that close to hieratic) and Sylvan as tier 2. My sylvan deck is one of the strongest on the video game but I have never seen anyone using it online (nobody in my city plays yu-gi-oh). Lavals are pretty nice to play, but I haven’t found any specially effective build. It’s hard since some cards contradicts each other (some gains effects based on lavals on graveyard while others remove them from graveyard). Any tips for a laval deck?
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I’m kinda surprised with the position of Sylvan, Laval and Scrap, especially because I’ve never seen anyone using those on dueling network. Sylvan is one of my strongest decks on video game, but the scrap one is pretty close to it (it was even my “secret weapon” when I’d be loosing too many in a row before I tried sylvan). I’m also surprised with lavals ranking higher than hieratics, gusto, fabled and mecha phantom beasts since it’s a bit hard to find a decent build for it because some cards contradict each other (some get stronger with more lavals on graveyard while other remove them). Any tips for a decent laval build?
By the way, isn’t raidraptors ranked a bit too low in this list? You also forgot to add reptilianne to the list
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Please make a Tier List for the current format!
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