Examining the meta.
This is the first tier list for snap.fan. Before we get into the decks, let's talk about the philosophy of making a tier list!
Personally, I've never been a fan of tier lists. They are quite often opinion more than fact, and the metrics being used are never fully clear. My primary goal here today is to be more clear with metrics (but even then, I can't be as precise as I want...we do still want some amount of human judgment).
This tier list was done with myself and the Snap Judgments podcast. You can go listen to our discussion on the most recent episode here.
Finally, before I get into it, let's talk about cube-rate. I think it is very much wrong to use cube-rate as the defining metric. Think for a second - what does a high cube rate but low playrate mean? To me, that means you have a surprise deck that is not well known. A top tier deck does not mean it has the best possible cube results for every player - it means it has the most consistent ones across a large number of players using it however. This sort of a deck is not stable - if you imagine a scenario where suddenly everyone starts playing the deck because it's so good...the cuberate will drop off drastically.
A high cuberate but low winrate again means that people aren't expecting your last turn properly, likely because the deck is less well known - they haven't lost to it much at all. You are losing all those games you forfeit and very much taking advantage of the fact that many players are not able to read your playline. This doesn't necessarily mean the deck has anything going for it outside of it being an underdog.
A stable deck is one that people are playing around, accepting as a valid concern, etc.
Defining the Tiers
A-Range
The A-Range represents meta defining decks. This means the decks must have a significant play rate. A "real good deck" that isn't played a lot is not a stable deck in the meta game as mentioned.
- A+ : Singular meta dominant deck. There should really never be more than 1 deck here (and often times, not one at all). This deck chokes out a lot of the A tier decks because it is that big of a deal.
- A : Heavily played, hard to contest decks. There should be 2-4 decks present here, if there is not an A+ deck.
- A- : Strong contenders, but missing either the dominant play rate or win rate. Perhaps a deck is heavy on s5 cards and thus is not played as much.
One of the biggest questions here is if we are in an A+ dominant meta or a more healthy A meta.
B-Range
These are solid decks, but not front and center in a meta defining way. These decks should all be capable of hitting infinite. This range does not have as clear of defintions as the A-Range has. It's also worth noting a budget version of an A-Range deck could reside here. There will still be subjecting +/flat/- here.
C-Range
Fringe decks that are playable. They shouldn't hurt you to play, but you may struggle to actively climb with them (though it is surely possible).
D/F-Range
Not good.
The Tier List
If you want some specifics, go check out the podcast and show notes here. Realize the stats there may not be what you see (or what I personally think matters). Glazer used rank 80-100+ only, which I feel is too narrow. It does emphasize "skilled" players in theory, but a larger sample has more value in my mind.
The first question was if this is an A+ deck meta or an A deck meta. I felt A+ and was able to convince the others. So here's the tier list (within a given tier, order is alpabetical). If you want more commentary, listen to the podcast!
A-Range
A+ : Shuri
Shuri has a huge meta share, winrate, and cube rate. While some other decks are playable, none really have the stats to compete.
A : N/A
A- : DarkhawkDino, SandmanRamp, Thanos
These are all strong decks that have solid stats, but they still have significantly lower play and winrates than Shuri.
B-Range
B+ : Discard, MasterMold
B : Patriot, 2xSheHulk, Sera
Sera and Patriot both have multiple decks. I condensed it a bit and put them in an average spot, as they both can range from B- to B+.