The current TCG Meta

I think after everyone views a new banlist, there is only one thing on their minds:

"Did my favorite deck get hit, and if so, how badly?"

This format has a -very- interesting banlist.

First, TeleDAD was hit, and badly. Limited Dark Armed Dragon, Semi-Limited Malicious, Semi-Limited Destiny Draw, Semi-Limited Allure of Darkness, Limited Plaguespreader Zombie, Limited Emergency Teleport have -all- effectively killed this decktype.

Gladiator Beasts were hit in a major way as well. Gladiator Beast Bestiari is down to 1, effectively shutting down a fair amount of good plays involving Gyzarus.

Zombies were hit minorly, as Mezuki went down to 1 and Goblin Zombie went to two, as well as Card of Safe Return going down to 1.

Lightsworns were left untouched.

Monarchs got a bit stronger with Semi-Limited Raiza.

Twilight got a bit stronger with unlimited Chaos Sorcerer, but a little weakening with only one DAD.

Meta Predictions:
Tier 1
Lightsworns
Monarchs
Gadgets

Tier 1.5
DAD variants
Gladiator Beasts
Twilight
Zombies
Plants

Aster....you completely forgot about Blackwings. They are really strong and swarm the field fast allowing you to Synchro Summon your strongest monster immediately.

Blackwings are good, Unknown, but they are not consistent enough to be Tier 1 and they aren't as good in a control-type meta like what the current one is going to be. Therefore, that would make them somewhere between Tier 2/3.

My opinion of the new meta:

The 1st thing 80% of people are going to do is decide that LS did not take any hits and rush to build Lightsworn decks. However, LS is horrible when it comes to defending against a good side deck, so when people start siding Light-Imprisoning Mirror, Royal Oppression, and Skill Drain LS are going to get beaten in most of the games 2 and 3 for match duels. This is because LS are not very good when it comes to siding themselves. The deck has a very structured hierarchy that is necessary for the deck to operate appropriately. So, LS will rise to the top and then fall back down to only seeing a small amount of play.

The 2 other decks that can be consider Tier 1 at this point, and I completely agree with Aster's Tier 1 list, are Gadgets and Monarchs. Both of these decks thrive in control-oriented metas, with Gadgets picking up an extra Book of Moon and not having to fear as many "clear and swing" OTK's and Monarchs picking up an extra Raiza which could easily mean the return of spin control (Raiza + LJM + PWWB) Monarch decks.

On to the Tier 2 deck-types. Here I feel like I have some differences of opinion with Aster. First of all, Zombies almost as hard as DAD decks. They lost copies of Mezuki, Plaguespreader, Card of Safe Return, and Allure of Darkness. In my opinion, these hits have effectively shut down any form of consistent Zombie deck which drops Zombies down to Tier 3 imo. I also feel that DAD decks took such a heavy hit that they too can be considered Tier 3 unless someone is able to come up with a new and consistent idea for a DAD deck. Note that imo for a deck to be considered Tier 2 it must be able to consistently work its strategy. For a deck to be Tier 1 it must be not only consistent but it must also be the thing to beat for the current meta. Tier 3 decks, on the other hand, can still win against Tier 1 and 2 decks, but not in a way that is consistent.

Now, Gladiator Beasts. I qualify them as quasi Tier 1/2. The hit to Beastiari is big, but it is basically the only hit. This may mean finding new ways to protect Beastiari, or maybe finding some new strategies for GB's, but it is not a fatal blow to this deck-type. Gyzarus is still active and Heraklinos is always a force to be reckoned with.

Plants have taken a long look in the back seat behind Zombies, but with Dandylion and all the new Plant support that has come out recently, they have gone from the Gigaplant OTK deck to a new type of Plants that is control-oriented and fits in well with this new meta. Pollinosis and Black Garden, along with other new supports are going to make this deck more competitive for anyone with the brass balls needed to play them. This is even a deck type that could be a future Tier 1 deck-type imo.

That last deck I would like to mention as a potential Tier 2 deck is one that was only ever used well in tournament play by 1 person. This is a deck that had 1 shining moment of glory before fading into obscurity, but I feel like it may now be back with a vengeance. I am talking about Counter Fairies! These babies thrive on control-oriented metas, but cannot stand up to OTK-style metas. With the death of Zombies and DAD and with the slowing of GB, Counter Fairies may be able to final make a name for themselves in this meta. With the new Herald Tuner monster, you could even see a Counter Fairy deck with the ability to Synchro summon! Toss in Splendid Venus or Angel O7 and you have some good counters to most control-oriented deck-types.

Well, my summary:

Tier 1: LS, Gadgets, Monarchs
Tier 2: GB, Plants, Counter Fairies

Hm. Forgot about Counter Fairies, actually.

As for Black Wings, they're a new decktype. They're OK, but not great.

Zombies still have Zombie Master, Pyramid Turtle, and Ryu Kokki. They are at an acceptable level for that, and in addition, they can use Plaguespreader Zombie.

Plaguespreader Zombie is limited to one now. So is Mezuki and Goyo Guardian. So, Zombies are going back.

Zombies have an extra support card coming up in another set that helps them out a lot, so they should not be ruled out.