Announcement from , TPC Manager
This is the Last Tier List for this iteration of Top Player Council. The first Tier List for the new Top Player Council will be on June 8th.
Tier 1
TPC Comments
Both Borrel Link and Shaddoll have moved up to Tier 1. This change has mostly resulted from the massive Agent hits in tandem with the Skill changes barring them from tournaments. Shaddoll has a good matchup against both Borrel Link and some variants of Fleur, but can still have problems against Blue-Eyes (Loading... remains a strong card regardless). Borrel Link, on the other hand, has its amazing Skill that facilitates plays going first and second (also, searchable Loading... still hurts some decks).
In a previous meta where Borrel Link and Agents fought for dominance, it was obvious that Borrel Link would remain strong after a banlist that hit Agents hard enough to bar them from tournament play (while being barely hit themselves). Without Agents, Loading... is less popular, giving Borrel Link more survivability Turn 1. There's also less Loading... going around, so resolving Loading... is much easier. That being said, this deck's plays going first are still weak (their most consistent Turn 1 being Loading... ), so many different variations are being played (between Heavy-Levi versions and more backrow-focused versions).
Borrel Link received a pretty inconsequential nerf that either limited Loading... usage or Loading... usage. Its ability to play both going first and second very well stays the same. Shaddoll and Mayakashi aren't the most highly represented decks, so I think its weaknesses aren’t exploited too often. Overall, I’m not sure it’s a Tier 1 deck performance-wise but it’s Tier 1 based on the overall spread of deck breakdowns over tournaments—it performs well into the most-played decks.
Shaddoll moves up to Tier 1. The deck is really well-placed in the meta for a number of reasons. Loading... hits most decks on the Tier List, in addition to Shaddoll being able to play into other boards going second, especially with Loading... and Loading... more or less out of the picture. The deck's playstyle tends to come with a lower playrate, but in terms of power it's right at the top.
Shaddoll is a floodgate deck by nature. If Loading... is hard to out, Shaddoll is in a good spot. While its representation is lacking, the deck is strong and it has no real bad matchups.
Shaddoll is in a better spot with Agents gone. Ultimately, it takes a pretty good pilot to succeed playing this deck and to get the best results out of it. It’s not very well-represented for how good it is, which personally steers me away from thinking it’s Tier 1 in the context of the Duel Links Meta and their definition of it. However, I can see an argument for either Tier.