Table of Contents
Looking at the dominant archetypes, it might be time to consider this second set of Gundam TCG as a failure from a competitive standpoint. Indeed, with just GD02-079 in Wing Justice, nothing new in Zeon Rush, and a record three new cards in the EU champion's Freedom deck, Dual Impact has failed to impact the metagame.
So where are the new cards now that we've had multiple regional tournaments and the metagame had almost two months to develop?
The new colour, Purple, and its Barbatos synergy, started off well, but never got close to a top-tier archetype, while the last tournaments were catastrophic overall.
By default, the best thing to come out of this second set is the Blue - Red pair, which put on a show in the Orlando regional on December 6th. In both archetypes of that colour combination, we can spot multiple new cards, such as GD02-036 emerging as a new top-end option.
However, that archetype was nowhere to be seen in the EU championship held on December 13th and 14th, the tournament top 8 featuring only archetypes from the first set.
There is a glimpse of hope however, as the eventual winner was playing a new top-end card alongside GD01-066 : GD02-002 !
Store tournaments sport a bit more diversity, with the likes of Blue - Purple or Blue - Red being more popular, likely due to the more casual environment.
Still, it pains me to call this second set of Gundam TCG a miss, but the competitive metagame has spoken : Dual Impact can serve to adapt existing archetypes, but failed to push a synergy of its own.
Happy Tier List Everyone !
| Tier | Archetype |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Green — White |
| Tier 1 | Blue — Green |
| Tier 1 | Blue — White |
| Tier 2 | Blue — Red |
| Tier 3 | Blue — Purple |
| Tier 3 | Red — White |
| Tier 4 | Green — Red |
Tier 1
Green - White
Wing Zero took nine of the sixteen pods in the Tokyo qualifiers, won the TAK Games' Oceania and Bristol Regionals, while it typically was the most represented deck in any tournament's top cut. The archetype deserves to be ranked first overall based on results over the past month and a half.
However, it is important to note other colour combinations are improving, or at least testing new synergies, such as Aegies Aggro or Epyon Blockers, each winning one of the last two big events.
With that said, the Green — White pair is likely one of the safest picks in Gundam TCG, alongside Blue — Green. However, as the metagame progressed, those safe picks have been recording fewer wins in big events, typically losing to new ideas.
It might be time to step out of that comfort zone for Wing Zero.
Blue - Green
The only difference in the list that won the LATAM regional compared to the runner-up at the EU championship was ST01-015 in one and GD01-100 in the other.
Overall, the Zeon Rush archetype has been very steady for the entire Dual Impact metagame, posting consistent results with more than 45 cards in common from a list to another.
While this makes the archetype quite predictable, it also makes Blue — Green a very safe pick for any strong player without a solid grasp of the current match-ups and their intricacies. Plus, with Blue — White or Green — White being also strong performers, but more control oriented builds, it is difficult to target an aggressive deck without accepting to lose the value war in those other match-ups.
Zeon Rush likely won't progress much in this set, but should remain a great pick for the foreseeable future.
Blue - White
Blue — White decks had failed to get that big win until an aggro build took home the Regional in Brazil back in late November. After that event, Seed Freedom returned to be the most popular archetype in that colour combination, but still lacked that big win, until the European championship came around. There, Blue — White won the event, and had the most players in top 8, a dominant showing overall.
The important information from that tournament is the fact common Seed Freedom builds once again did well, but eventually lost before the finals. However, the more peculiar build, using GD02-002 alongside the usual GD01-065 atop the curve, won it all.
Then, it feels like Blue — White has a strong foundation, but needs that a twist to win big events. Be it to adapt to the metagame, or derail an opponent who planned to face a typical Seed Freedom deck.
Tier 2
Blue - Red
The Blue — Red pair didn't do much for most of the expansion, and suddenly woke up in Orlando, taking first, second, and fourth in that tournament. One could see just a lucky break, which could be a fair point for the Cyber Newtype build, appearing here and there in tournament top cuts, but rarely considered a contender for the final win.
However, the Aegis aggro deck feels like a new thing a few players wanted to keep secret so they could win a tournament with it.
Winning a large tournament is enough to make it into Tier 2, and considered the hot new archetype on the block. Now, the Blue — Red tandem needs to gain popularity, and prove this performance wasn't just on the back of nobody expecting the deck.
For example, Blue — Red was absent from the EU finals on December 13th and 14th, so maybe that color combination is only a thing in North America.
Tier 3
Blue — Purple
The Barbatos synergy gained some momentum towards the end of November, winning two Tokyo Qualifiers while placing second and third in the TAK Games' Oceania Regional. Unfortunately, except for a semi-final in Orlando, the Blue — Purple pair hasn't done much in December, and failed to be in the EU championship Top 8 last weekend.
As the weakest of the four Blue archetypes in the game, it might be time to consider Purple as a rather weak colour presently, and wait for the next set for it to receive more support.
Red - White
There is always a White — Red deck in a top cut or winning a store tournament here and there. However, compared to the other competitive archetype, this one feels a step behind the others.
Most likely, the problem is the mix of these two colours, which don't match very well with each other core play style.
White is mostly played for the Blocker keyword, and its ability to control opposing attacks, while red cards look to inflict damage to opposing units to take them out. The goal would be to use the likes of ST03-013 or GD01-111 to finish off an opposing card damaged by our blocker.
While that's good in theory, this also locks us in a reactive position, forced to find the right answer constantly without pressuring our opponent that much. Eventually, unless we manage to get multiple value trades early and lock the board, the threats continue to grow, and we are unable to answer them properly.
Tier 4
Green - Red
A win in a Tokyo qualifier put this archetype on the map, but it failed to do anything but win a few store tournaments ever since. Indeed, Green — Red decks have been absent from every regional tournament top cuts across the global for the past month.
It is safe to say there is nothing to expect from this colour combination until the next set.
