This tier list shows the best decks to play on the ranked ladder to maximize the chances of winning the game and climbing.
Here are the various components of the Tempo Storm Shadowverse Meta Snapshot:
Welcome to the November edition of the Tempo Storm Meta Snapshot! The Order Shift meta has been heavily shaken up by balance adjustments made toward the end of October. Dirt Rune and Buff Dragon were buffed thanks to the changes to Golem Lord, Multielemental Neophyte and Dion, Scarlet Scion: the cost adjustments to Neophyte and Golem Lord allow Dirt to come online much quicker, and the added effects to Dion mean he’s no longer a brick if drawn early. Now Buff and Dirt run rampant in Tier 1, and many previously strong archetypes, such as Heal Haven, have significantly dropped in popularity due to their weaknesses against the new top lists. So far, Loot Sword has been the only deck able to keep up, and thus the meta has mostly narrowed down to the three key players of Buff, Dirt, and Loot.Let’s take a closer look at what’s changed.
Buff Dragon, an archetype based around increasing the defense of Dragoncraft followers in the deck to enable their payoff effects, has been in the game for quite a while now, but this is the first time it’s ever been a top-tier deck. The buff to Dion caused its power level to skyrocket, and now it’s the Tier 1 deck of choice. Currently, the most popular version of Buff Dragon is a hybrid variant that includes an Evolve engine to make use of Coral Spirit, a key card in the Loot Sword, Dirt Rune, and Heal Haven matchups. Alice, Blooming Dancer and Kyrie allow the deck to draw plenty of cards while staying ahead on tempo. Ideally, Buff Dragon wants to hit as many buff cards in the early game as possible, pressure the midgame with large followers such as a buffed Grand Slam Tamer, then threaten to finish with 12 face damage from Coach Joe in the late game.
Like Buff Dragon, Dirt Rune was pushed toward success quite heavily by the recent balance patch; Multielemental Neophyte’s change to 1PP granted the deck a lot of flexibility, and a turn 5 Golem Lord going first can often win the game on the spot. Dirt as an archetype is centered around Earth Sigils and Earth Rite mechanics; it aims to stack up Sigils in the early game and use them for big swings with powerful Earth Rite effects, such as that of Golem Lord and Levi, Wizard of Ages. Once 7 Sigils have been consumed, Colossal Summoning becomes a powerful finisher, and Pascale, Radiant Oracle gains the potential to set up huge boards. As Dirt Rune is quite difficult to pilot optimally, it didn’t immediately become popular in tournament play post-patch, but as players have continued to practice with it, the deck has proven itself to be comfortably one of the best decks in the meta.
Loot Sword once again finds itself at the top of the meta; even after the earlier nerf to Untold Kick, it easily remains a Tier 1 deck. Illustrious Thief, Lyrala, Luminous Cleric and Metatron all rotated out this expansion, but new options such as Kick, Dashing Duelist, and Tears of Tribulation have kept Loot’s power in place. As ever, Loot Sword aims to play or fuse 7 Loot cards, then finish the opponent off with Storm followers and direct damage using Dread Pirate’s Flag tokens, Tidal Gunner, and the leader effect of Rogers, Ruler of the Seas. Loot Sword boasts early-game presence, a powerful midgame, and explosive late-game reach with high OTK potential—it is a truly well-rounded deck that can handle just about any threat in the meta if played to its fullest potential.Learn more about Loot Sword with Tempo Storm’s official guide here.
The recent balance patch has widened the power gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 decks, and there are a limited number of archetypes that can successfully compete with those at the top—Evo Blood is one of the few decks that can. A midrange deck that aims to stack up evolved followers quickly to enable payoffs such as Alice, Grimnir, and Tevali, Evo Blood is quite simple to play and can set up some very strong midgame boards that can be difficult to clear. Ruler of Retribution can be invoked as early as turn 6, and many decks will struggle to remove Lian & Alfie, Companions, one of the strongest Transmuted cards this expansion.
Heal Haven has fallen from grace quite a bit—powerful in the previous patch’s meta, it finds itself weak in this one, with unfavorable matchups across the board, especially against Buff Dragon. Angel of Darkness is becoming more and more popular as a tech against Buff Dragon and Dirt Rune’s Pascale turns, and this comes with the side effect of hurting Heal Haven as well. Still, the deck remains in Tier 2, as the way it functions hasn’t changed, and its game plan is still strong in a vacuum: use the Evolve effect of Elluvia, Graceful Lady in combination with healing effects to build very tall, difficult-to-remove boards, and threaten to finish with Jeanne, Worldwalker.
Given the current state of the meta, it’s difficult to recommend anything that isn’t the top trio of Buff Dragon, Loot Sword and Dirt Rune; they simply stand head-and-shoulders above all other decks in the meta right now, to the point that even Tier 2 decks struggle to compete. Buff Dragon is the simplest of the three, with a very linear game plan, which makes it the best option for those looking for a relaxing, brain-off climb. Loot and Dirt are much more skill expressive, and may be more appealing for those looking to invest time into truly mastering a deck.
The latest balance patch has certainly affected the meta drastically, and perhaps not for the better. Previously various Blood, Forest, Haven and Portal decks were in a fine place, but their struggle to compete with the newly buffed Dirt Rune and Buff Dragon has mostly removed them from the meta, leaving us with a much narrower landscape than before. Add in the fact that the buff to Baccherus, Peppy Ghostie was not enough to make Shadow viable, and we find ourselves a true three-deck meta, where every option other than Buff, Loot, and Dirt feels subpar. It could be argued that Buff Dragon in particular should not have been pushed so much, because the deck is simple, linear, and overreliant on drawing its buffs first and payoffs later, which leads to many unsatisfying games for both those playing it and those playing against it. With the Tier 1 decks being as dominant as they are, though, it’s very likely this meta will remain in place until the mini-expansion drops, unless we see another balance patch.In the meantime, keep an eye out for further developments in tournament play by following @zhiff_sv on Twitter. We'll see you all in next month's edition of the Tempo Storm Meta Snapshot!
Buff Dragon is an archetype that focused on increasing the defense of Dragoncraft followers inside the deck to enable their payoffs. Cards like Coach Joe, Fiery Counselor and Grand Slam Tamer allows you to dish a lot of direct damage when condition is fulfilled. Since their defense stats are buffed, they can present a very powerful board during mid-game. The major downside of this deck is that they need a little bit of highroll since the way to buff the deck is limited.
The most popular version of Buff Dragon is a hybrid with evolve engine. It contains good neutral cards as Alice, Blooming Dancer, and Kyrie to help with the draw engine and Coral Spirit as a powerful evolve payoffs that able to block the advance of popular meta decks with untargetable ward, banish, and heal capability.
For the standard version, you want to mulligan for cheap cards that can buff your deck, such as Militant Mermaid, Sandstorm, Gunbein, or Megalorca Rider. You will need a lot of Buff cards during the early game; the sooner you hit four buff cards, the better your mid- to late-game is. Pressure the midgame with tall followers, such as Grand Slam Tamer, and auto-evolve followers like Blooming Dancer and try to chip some damage. At the end game, Joe will be a constant threat for 12 damage (5 from his effect + 7 from his evolve). Pair him with Storm followers such as Dragonborn Strikers, and you will be able to end the game decisively.
Buff Dragon evolves from meme to meta. Even before the balance patch, some players already found out that the hybrid-evolve version is much more stable, being able to get some results on RAGE and topping some JCG tournaments. After the patch, the buff to Dion takes the Buff Dragon archetype to another level as it significantly improves its consistency and late-game threats. Buff Dragon has become the most popular deck in the meta, and its potential power level is undoubtedly Tier 1.
Dion is not the only factor that turns it into a powerful meta, but the new constructions also matter a lot. Coral Spirit turns out to be a really crucial card, as it is really good against top-tier decks like Loot Sword, Dirt Rune, and Elluvia Haven. The addition of Alice, Blooming Dancer, and Kyrie also matters a lot, as it helps you draw a lot of cards while being able to stay ahead on tempo. Drazael is also no longer a common inclusion because Coral Spirit is a much more efficient card. There is less incentive for Drazael, so most people prefer to add more buff cards or replace Drazael with a better draw engine for deck consistency.
The featured list is from Esuna, who managed to win the 10/29 JCG. Here, we only play one copy of Gunbein and three copies of Sandstorm. The main reason for cutting Gunbein copies is that Megalorca Rider will guarantee much better cards from reduced pools, such as Grand Slam Tamer or Coach Joe. This change could be game-winning because drawing Gunbein from Megalorca Rider during the late game can be a game-losing situation. Of course, it comes with the weakness of not being able to clear early threats, and Sandstorm is a less flexible card to play, especially during the late game due to its Enhance ability.
Loot Sword is a deck that aims to get 7 Loot cards played or fused and finish off the opponent with a combination of Storm cards and Burn damage with Dread Pirate's Flag Token.
The early game revolves around generating Loot cards with its multitute of early-game generators, while also drawing for the powerful Rogers, Ruler of The Sea that gives your leader the effect of recovering play points for the first Loot played in the turn and dealing 2 damage to the opponent's leader when the second one is played. When 7 Loots played or fused is reached, it is possible to start generating Dread Pirate's Flags, a powerful token that deals 3 damage to the board and to the enemy leader for just 1 play point; when combined with Barbaros, Briny Convict's Enhance effect or Tidal Gunner's pings, it is possible to deal massive amounts of damage, even surpassing 20 in one turn.
The mulligan for Loot should aim for a smooth early game and to find Rogers; keep 1 drops like Knightly Thief, Seeker of Love and Deep-Sea Scout.
Learn more about Loot Sword with the Tempo Storm guide on it.
Loot Sword is a top-tier deck once more; even after the balance patch to tone it down, it manages to stay as a very solid top-two deck. In rotation, the deck lost Illustrious Thief, Lyrala Luminous Cleric, and Metatron while gaining new options such as Untold Kick, Dashing Duelist, and Tears of Tribulation.
The list chosen is from the Tempo Storm guide on Loot Sword, being generally a standard list.
Dirt Rune is an archetype centered around Earth Sigils(Stacks) and Earth Rite mechanics. Their early game focused on building board presence while accumulating stacks and consuming it for strong effects such as Golem Lord for its massive board presence or Levi, Wizard of Ages for a massive burn damage.
Once you consume 7 stacks, cards like Colossal Summoning turns into powerful finisher. and Pascale allowed you to build a really strong board. Moreover, 1pp Undying Witch allowed you to gain PP with her leader effect so that you can play more cards in a turn. A combination of Golem Lord with Pascale or Levi with Colossal Summoning would be possible once Undying Witch leader is active. The deck also has last resort play which is Midelo that allows you to play 5 strong cards that can instantly win you the game if you are lucky.
You want to mulligan for solid early-game cards: premier among these are 1PP Earth Sigil options like Ultramarine Witch, Familiar's Pact, or Multielemental Neophyte. Also consider 2PP followers like Astrological Sorcerer or Gruinne. Start to consume your stacks by playing quick removal like Magical Augmentation or your Golem Lord's accelerate effect. Going first, turn 5 pre-evolve Golem Lord is a pretty powerful play; just pray that your opponent is unable to clear your board. If they fail to clear Golem Lord, you can immediately win with Levi, Wizard of Ages on the following turn. In general, aim to consume 7 stacks by turn 5 in order to enable Undying Witch so that you can perform powerful combos, such as turn 6 Golem Lord + Pascale or turn 7 Levi + Colossal Summoning.
Cygames really pushed this archetype with the recent patch. The deck didn't show up immediately after the patch since the archetype is quite difficult to pilot optimally. However, once players were given the time to practice and find the right build, Dirt Rune proved itself to be one of the best decks in the meta, with notable performances across different tournaments.
Golem Lord buffs changed a lot of dynamics since it is one of the strongest plays in the meta on turn 5, especially when going 1st. This pre-evolve Golem Lord play acts as a check: if your opponent is unable to remove it, they will lose on the spot. However, the strategy for Dirt Rune is not limited to turn 5 Golem Lord; the 1PP Neophyte pushes the deck to be more flexible, and it makes it easier to consume 7 stacks in order to enable Undying Witch and pull off a big combo play with either Pascale or Levi. Not to mention, there is also a surprise factor from Midelo that can win you the game out of nowhere with a little bit of luck.
The featured build is from pro player LVS | Rikka, which had an astonishing 75.4% winrate in Ratings. The build is pretty clean with the insertion of two Midelos. The list maximizes all the good cards and cuts Gruinne for two copies of Midelo in order to increase the chance of having him on turn 7. While the deck is good enough and you are usually able to finish the game without relying on Midelo, some unlucky draws might hinder you, and turn 7 Midelo is more reliable with two copies of it in the deck.
Evolve Blood is a midrange deck that accumulates evolved followers quickly to enable its finishers: Alice, Wandering Dreamer, Grimnir, Divine Stormspear and Tevali, Demonic Cat. While it lacks massive burst potential, Evolve Blood makes up for it with powerful midgame boards that can be difficult to clear. Ruler of Retribution can be invoked as early as turn 6, and many decks will struggle to remove Lian & Alfie, Companions, one of the strongest Transmuted cards this expansion.Ward removal. A single copy can be used multiple times thanks to all the bounces available: Thicket of Gnarled Hands, Floral Breeze from Gerbera Bear, and the reprinted Nature's Guidance. While Canon and Plumeria aren't as popular anymore, Harbinger of the Night has proven to be a very solid addition, providing heal, conditional cycle (e.g. in combination with Winged Inversion) and stronger board clears.
The deck makes use of multiple good Neutral followers, in particular Kyrie, Fragment of Hope and Asuka & Shiori, Twins for cycle, Blooming Dancer for evolution count, and Olivia & Sylvia, Wardens for EP recovery. Signa, Sealed Madwolf acts as both enabler and payoff for evolutions, and Gadel, Ravenous King fulfills multiple roles, including healing.
Evo Blood maintains its position in Tier 2, as one of the few decks capable of challenging Tier 1 matchups.
This top 4 JCG build is from Dios_Roa; Bloody Session is a necessary inclusion to combat large boards in the meta, alongside multiple Rulers of Retribution for longer games.
Heal Haven has seen slight variance in Elluvia and Prayer Urn ratios over the past month—Prayer Urn is a typical Haven highroll pick that is great on turn 3 or sometimes turn 4 going first, and additional Elluvias make going second a bit better with more consistent setup on the first evolve turn. Orchid's Examination Hall is a staple given the absence of Prism Priestess and provides Heal Haven with the necessary draw power to find its key cards, whether that be an effective Elluvia, Lou to clear a Golem Lord, or Agent of the Commandments for a board-lock lethal.
Tanzanite Convictor is a common inclusion though potentially at only one copy. Having an additional Storm option for a deck that spams buffs is great especially on a Jeanne turn, but it's a tough sell to run multiple Tanzanites when Prayer Urn is already a brick that still needs to played just to hit those occasional spikes.
Heal Haven has serious struggles in the current meta due to unfavorable matchups across the board and especially against Buff Dragon, though it remains in Tier 2 since the deck is still functional and strong in a vacuum. The main reason it was good on the previous patch was because most other decks were too weak or happened to have a poor matchup, but for better or worse, the tables have completely turned for Haven gamers. Angel of Darkness is more relevant than ever as a tech against Buff and occasionally Dirt's Pascale boards, so Heal Haven is simply getting shafted as a bonus.
Featured is Jiean's list from SEAO Contenders Cup. Two Prayer Urns is a typical number to run to hit some lucky games while avoiding too much risk.
Aggro Blood is the definition of a glass cannon deck. It includes a lot of self-damage pings and combines damage payoffs from both Wrath and Vengeance to rush down the opponent very quickly, often ending games by turn 5 or 6. However, this reckless strategy leaves it exposed to high midgame burst, so the player has to keep a close eye on their own leader's defense.
Early game, the deck attempts to activate Wrath as quickly as possible while cycling to find damage, using Harmonic Wolf, Demon Maestro and the new spell, How to Train Your Bat. Vicious Blitzer keeps control of the board while pushing some damage and further progressing the Wrath condition. This enables Diabolus Hedone and Silver Snipe for massive damage around turn 4 to 5. With a few more instances of self-damage (or some damage from the opponent), you can then enter Vengeance and finish with Galom, Empress Fist and Mach-Speed Maron, or even Fenrir, Endbringer. Doublame, Seeker of Beauty is also a common inclusion despite its lack of keyword, as a generic good card at all stages of the game that guarantees some damage with Leopardion. Razory Claw rounds up the build to maximize the deck's damage potential.
Aggro Blood has lost popularity for the past month or so, but it still sees some good performances occasionally.
浅原凜 was the JCG runner-up with this build, opting to run three Howling Demons for more staying power and recovery after a turn of Vengeance.
Magachiyo Forest is a pure combo deck, aiming to play four cards per turn to fulfill its win condition, ending the game with multiple Condemned followers buffed by Magachiyo, Barbed Convict around turn 7.
Starting turn 4 (or turn 3 with the help of Winged Inversion), the deck can play four cards per turn to set up Magachiyo's effect while invoking May, Budding Spring Wind. With Rayne and Whirlwind Assault rotating, the deck needs more resources than in Heroes of Rivenbrandt, a problem solved by Sapling Steward and Asuka & Shiori, Twins.
Budding Initiate serves as a tutor for Magachiyo and Warden of Recurrence, as well as additional reach and Ward removal. A single copy can be used multiple times thanks to all the bounces available: Thicket of Gnarled Hands, Floral Breeze from Gerbera Bear, and the reprinted Nature's Guidance. Canon, Yearning Heart and Plumeria, Serene Goddess round up the core of the deck due to their low cost and healing capabilities.
Recent builds sacrifice the consistency of Freyja's tutoring or cut Freyja entirely to fit in Castelle, Budding Mage, and Fauna Handler.
Magachiyo Forest drops to Tier 3; it steadily gained popularity until the last patch, but the buffs to Buff Dragon and Dirt Rune hurt its place in the meta, since those two matchups can be difficult.
There is some variety in deck builds, but Angel of Darkness remains a important tech against Buff Dragon.
Machina Portal remains as stagnant as ever, with the same plan of spamming weenies until they start dealing a ton of damage for little to no effort—assuming, of course, that the opponent lets them hit the crucial 10 Machina/Academic threshold at a good turn. Sadly for Portal enjoyers, the two new kids on the block, Buff and Dirt, can frequently ignore what Machina Portal does and simply overwhelm them with sheer board presence and damage. Buff Dragon in particular will quickly toss out boards that Machina, a deck largely reliant on multiple small hits, is remarkably ill-fitted to answer.
The endgame for Machina Portal features a range of high-damage combos and even OTKs if the stars align, or simple board and health swings with Synthetic Eden or Kyrzael, but all too often it's too little too late in the current meta.
Machina Portal sits in Tier 3 jail along with all the other decks displaced to oblivion by Buff Dragon and Dirt Rune. Just about the only thing Machina still has going for it is the ability to coinflip Loot Sword. Aside from that, the current environment is extremely bleak.
The featured 10-win streak list goes back to double Puppet Workout because this deck has to cheese out wins somehow.
Castelle Forest is primarily a combo deck with some aggro elements. The deck has the lowest play point curve ever seen in Rotation, with every single card costing 2PP or less; the deck usually features 30 or more 1PP cards.
The goal is to constantly flood the board with cheap followers like Canon, Yearning Heart and Fauna Handler, to fulfill Castelle's condition of 20 Forestcraft followers leaving play. Salvia Panther and Windflower Tiger help you progress this quest while also putting pressure on the opponent and bouncing key cards, in particular to accumulate Castelle's token, Verdant Prayer, in hand.
Around turn 7, Verdant Prayer can be used to buff the board, either for protection—building a massive board of indestructible wards—or to OTK the opponent with Storm followers, namely Gerbera Bear, Frostborn Princess, and Fairies with Plumeria's leader effect.
Castelle Forest falls to Tier 3, with fewer appearances before and after the balance patch. While the deck has strong openers and good late-game potential, its midgame options are limited against Dirt Rune and Buff Dragon's boards.
Still, Saki reached top 8 in JCG with this build, relying on three Lilys to stall and get through multiple Wards before the lethal turn.
For those who delight in disparity, boy have we got a deck for you. Control Portal is a bit like 2017 Ramp Dragon but without the Ramp—that is to say, it's a lot of big cards with a lot of cheap removal and you just have to draw things in the right order. Asuka & Shiori, Kyrie, and Arc are typical sources of card draw, though Arc of course is not immediate and can be wildly inconsistent when going first.
Control Portal has a variety of ways to stall out and eventually win a very slow game, though none of them are remarkable in a meta with Buff Dragon and Dirt Rune. The main way to win with this deck is to hope the opponent either bricks horribly or plays worse still. In that case, Enhance Interstellar Battlecruiser can keep the grief train running with random discards from the opponent's hand. At some point after the opponent continuously fails to win, Control Portal will by default be the smallest loser.
Control Portal is a Tier 4 pick at best with its singular niche of griefing Heal Haven being made largely irrelevant by the recent patch and resulting deluge of Buff and Dirt. All three Tier 1 decks are exceptional at ending games on their terms, so a do-nothing deck like Control Portal doesn't stand a chance short of inconsolable draw gap.
The featured 10-win streak list cuts some of the interesting new Transmute cards in favor of Kyrzael and Chaos, Conflagrate. Shin offers at least some way to win the game and Kyrzael certainly hits face, but it's nothing to write home about.
Armed Dragon is one of the aggressive archetypes in this meta. The deck revolves around followers with the Armed trait and the 0PP amulet that grants said trait to followers without it. The main gimmick of this archetype occurs when four Armed followers have left play: the rest of the Armed followers gain additional powerful effects, such as Storm or burn damage, to help end the game.
You want to mulligan for Armed followers—ideally the cheap ones, like Hammer Dragonewt or Draconir, Knuckle Dragon. Then simply play cheap followers and push early damage, and let your opponent answer your Armed followers. Once four have left play, look for burst damage with Lævateinn Dragon, Blast Form: it is the most powerful Armed follower combined with the other 1PP and 2PP burn sources in your hand. Alternatively, Lævateinn Dragon, Defense Form is also a good option, as opponents will have a hard time removing it. If it survives, then you are guaranteed a win with burst damage on the following turn.
The continuity of Loot Sword's popularity and the rise of Buff Dragon make Armed Dragon even less played than it was before. There is simply not much incentive to play Armed Dragon when Buff Dragon has better highroll potential and is able to handle a wider spectrum of matchups. Moreover, the matchups that they are good against, like Aggro Blood, are no longer common in the meta, which makes Armed Dragon an even worse choice to play. They are barely seen in tournaments nowadays. The combination of these factors puts Armed Dragon in Tier 4.
The build that we recommend at the moment is the hybrid of Buff Dragon and Armed Dragon from KT, which managed to get into the top 8 during the 10/25 JCG. Not only does it have the offensive ability of Armed Dragon, but it also packs the powerful board presence of Buff Dragon. Moreover, Coach Joe is another big damage dealer that helps you to end the game or simply a clutch card in case you need an AOE removal that also deals face damage. The main weakness of this build is that the draw engine is significantly weaker compared to the pure archetype.
Burial Rite Shadow is a burn deck that aims to get leader effects active from both Memento, the Grim Teacher and Myroel, Death Enforcer, and then get a two-turn kill between turns 6 and 7.
The early gameplan revolves around drawing cards while also answering opponent's boards and setting up for later damage with Memento and Ceridwen, Eternal Duality's Crystallize effect. On turn 6, Burial Rite will ideally evolve Myroel and get its effect while building a threatening board, reanimating a 2-drop and Septic Shrink. On turn 7 the ideal play is usually Lovelorn Necromancer with both leader effects active, dealing massive damage and cycling through a big part of your deck while also recovering 4 play points—you can use those points to finish off the opponent with Septic Shrink or other followers.
In the mulligan, you should aim to get early card draw and Memento, the Grim Teacher.
Burial Rite Shadow stands at Tier 4 due to its inability to deal enough consistent damage against the top decks, or simply answer their pressure.
The featured list runs three copies of Freyja and runs only two copies of Myroel, Death Enforcer; this is to get more important tools in the midgame from Freyja on average, such as Leeds, Pining Witch and Memento, The Grim Teacher. Additionally, you'd ideally only play Myroel once.
The featured list is from @j_18ks on Twitter, who managed to get a 10-win streak.