Tiers For The March 2010 Format

The new Advanced Format is only a few days, and to be honest we probably won't have a good grasp of the tier system til after SJC New Jersey. But until then, we can at least speculate based on our own results.

Tier 1: A tier 1 deck ought to be a favorite to win a large tournament like an SJC. It should routinely top and win regionals. In this category, I would place Blackwings with Skill Drain, Synchro Cat/Hamster, Lightsworn, Infernity, and maybe Gladiator Beast.

I'm still skeptical about the latter deck due to its relative mediocrity ever since the TeleDAD format. Though the formats have changed drastically every 6 months, GB's lack of both natural Synchro options and massive Special Summoning spam seems to fundamentally weaken it against post-The Duelist Genesis decktypes. The return of Smashing Ground/Fissure to 3 per deck, along with the potential upswing in Machine-Gadget decks heavy on removal, could further complicate GB's alleged trip back to the top.

As for LS and BW, they have proven to be resilient decktypes for over a year now (almost 2 in LS's case), and retained most of their power cards even after the recent format changed. Future sets also hold groundbreaking support for BW, too, which should secure their status as the top.

Cat/Hamster makes a return after a relevant nosedive last format. Hamster breathes new life into the deck, and it retains an amount of speed and disruption (esp. X-Saber Airbellum + Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter) that put the pressure on any deck it faces.

Infernity is an unknown quantity in the TCG, but its ability to create enormous Synchro spam, by investing all of its cards into the field/Graveyard, can end Duels in a flash. I'm further dreading the potential TCG exclusive support that they will receive in TSHD (see also: Allure of Darkness, Dark Grepher in regard to PTDN).

Tier 2: A tier 2 deck is playable and could compete at a high level in an SJC before collapsing due to lower consistency. It should be able to at least top a regional. I feel like this tier is really crowded right now. Plants, Dragons, X-Sabers, Machine-Gadgets, Flamvell, Codarus, Monarch w/Alchemist or Hamster engine, and Zombie could all be contenders.

Plants have a strong basic engine with Lonefire Blossom and Supervise. Upcoming support like Spore, Petite Inmato, and Rose Bird ought to cement its status as a tier 2, if not tier 1, contender.

I've covered one approach to Dragons in a previous article. The deck lost nothing to the list and retains an amazing engine in Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon/Future Fusion.

The recent top of X-Sabers at SJC Nashville shows the strides that the archetype has made with the release of the incredible Saber Hole and the stabilizing X-Saber Emmersblade. The fundamental power of Airbellum, along with the impressive defense of Fulhelmknight + Saber Hole, and the backbreaking Gottoms' Emergency CAll, will let the deck compete with nearly anything.

I've covered the newfound strengths of Gadgets in my previous article.

Flamvell possesses an almost unrivaled power card in Rekindling, and now has access to new tutors (Poun) and Tuners (Archer). It's too bad we won't see the powerful Neoflamvell Hedgehog for a while, though. This archetype can also incorporate the Blaze Accelerator engine.

Codarus strengthens WATER in general and turns A Legendary Ocean into a solid 2 for 1. I'm currently trying out a build with Deep Sea Diva and Skreech.

Monarchs always seems like a fringe deck early in formats. Cards like Battle Fader and Hamster make them easy to Summon, and the new semi-limitation of Treeborn Frog definitely doesn't hurt. But like GB, I feel the deck still lacks something basic in the way of tempo and explosiveness. For all of the advantage it can create, it still can be overwhelmed by a powerful turn or two from a Synchro-based deck, or simply ground down by something like Gadget.

Zombie took a big hit with the recent list, but they retain PSZ, Pyramid Turtle, Il Blud, and Goblin Zombie, as well a host of specific Synchros.

Tier 3: Tier 3 is playable and could potentially win a locals or top a regionals. I think that Gemini-based decks, Insect decks, Koa'ki Meiru decks, and maybe Reptilianne decks occupy this space. There are several more that I'm probably forgetting. I've covered most of the above types in previous articles, except Gemini. Gemini has access to powerful cards like Gemini Spark (removal and draw power in one package) and the aforementioned Supervise. Approaches may focus on either LIGHTs/Warriors (Elemental Hero Neos Alius, Crusader of Endymion), Plants (Gigaplant), or even Fiend (Doom Shaman) or Zombie (Il Blud).