Table of Contents
Welcome to our Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World Meta Tier List! In this meta report, we will look at the best Leaders and decks of the Blazing Aura (FB02) Season 2 metagame, with major changes effective July 1, 2024 for tabletop and July 11, 2024 for the digital version:
- Rule Change: that allows for players who start the game first to draw as well.
- Banned and Restricted Announcement: FB01-005 and FB02-031 are now banned, and FB02-013 is restricted (only one copy allowed in a deck).
Meta Overview
With FB02-001 out of the way, the Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World metagame is much more open, and actually looks like it will follow a similar trend to what we saw during Awakened Pulse (FB01). Indeed, the early tournaments are awfully similar in terms of patterns, with straightforward Leaders taking the early lead, until FS04-01 came in and silenced everyone else.
Overall, the aggressive phase is already over, as we knew exactly who to call to contain those decks. Now, we should enter the much more interesting phase of intricate matchups, with the best Leaders fighting for domination until the third expansion Raging Roar (FB03) comes around next month. We already know FS04-01 will be in the mix, with FB01-070 close behind. FB01-002 and FS02-01 lead their respective colors, posting solid results across the board as well.
This gives us a great metagame to look at, with all four best leaders being from each possible color, a first since the game launched back in February.
The midrange, explosive play style is dominant for sure, and taking most of the spots in regional tournaments top cuts. However, the off-tempo, value based strategies gained some ground in the second weekend of competition, giving us a diverse and complex metagame to look at.
Happy Meta Tier List Everyone!
DBS Fusion World Meta Tier List
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 🟡 Frieza 🔼 🟢 Android 17 🔼 🔴 Beerus |
| Tier 2 | 🔵 Vegeta (Blue) 🟡 Vegeta (Yellow) 🔴 Son Goku (Universe 7) 🔵 Zamasu : Fused |
| Tier 3 | 🟢 Broly 🔴 Son Goku (Starter) 🟡 Ginyu 🔵 Goku Black 🟢 Son Gohan : Childhood 🔽 🟢 Cell 🔽 |
| Lacking Results | 🔵 Trunks : Future 🔽 🔴 Son Goku (ToP) 🔽🔽 🟡 Cooler |
Disclaimer and Tier Explanations
Tier 1: Decks shaping up the early metagame and looking dominant in tournament so far. Their synergies are either solid overall, or match very well against a very popular opponent. Typically, other decks might think about including some sort of tech cards to edge against these builds.
Tier 2: Good decks, able to compete with the right build, but lacking a little something compared to the tier above. It can be a difficult match-up holding them back, a lack of raw power to dominate most opponents, or simply some play-patterns they can't answer efficiently.
Tier 3: Very few results in tournament play for lack of confidence from the player base, or just posting poor results so far. Decks in this last ranked tier either haven't found their right list, or simply don't have present the same upside as the other leaders in their color.
Lacking Results: Leaders there was nothing to say about this time around, due to no results in tournaments, lack of play rate, nor interesting discussions around them in the community.
Tier 1
Frieza
With a wide open metagame, and the 25.000 Awakened Power Leaders not so popular yet, Frieza returned to be the force it was during Awakened Pulse. Already, Frieza added major wins to its pedigree, especially in Asia with an 11-0 performance in Osaka and a 9-0 in Hong Kong while also winning the most store tournaments since the ban list went live. On top of that, Frieza also has the best percentage of players making to the top of tournaments so far, even if it isn't winning them all like FB02-001 did.
Overall, there is little doubt Frieza is the best Leader early in this new metagame. The important question to ask is whether the Yellow villain can keep that dominant run going. FB01-002 and FB02-036 have started to gain some popularity, and appeared in multiple top cuts. As such, even if Frieza is the undisputed #1 now, the real test might just be starting.
Android 17
As the only Green Leader able to develop a massive amount of tempo while ramping at the same time, FB01-070 finally looks like a solid contender.
Granted, the quick return of Yellow Leaders makes it harder for the Android synergy to thrive, as the many 20,000 Power cards they can develop, alongside FB02-133 are a problem to defend against. The win in the Alicante regional is big testimony to FB01-070's current strength. However, let's keep in mind there were 24 Android players against 19 Frieza, but the top 16 was 7 Friezas against only 4 Android 17. This means 37% of Frieza players topped when only 17% of the Green gang managed to do so.
During the second week end of regional tournament, this trend continued, with Frieza winning two out of the three contests, when Android was only able to post multiple decks in the top cut.
With this in mind, there is a chance the Android Leader loses momentum as time passes and FS04-01 gets more popular.
Beerus
After a very quiet first week post ban list, FB01-002 returned to be the best red leader, on the back of a solid match-up against the current king : FS04-01.
Synergy wise, the build is still centered around the Tournament of Power cards, except it has to deal with the bans. As such, FB01-002 plays a very similar deck with a reduced explosive potential, forcing the red leader to play control most of the time. Fortunately, Beerus posesses a great defensive ability, and plenty of draw to stay afloat and outvalue the opponent. In this metagame with a lot of tempo oriented decks, the deck can focus on what it does best, control the tempo of the match, and won the noHEROES Hildesheim Regionals in the process.
With FB01-001 losing momentum, the return of the God of Destruction keeps red in the competitive discussion.
Tier 2
Vegeta (Blue)
FS02-01 is in a similar situation to before the ban list. The leader is strong overall, and always manages to sneak into regional top cuts. Yet, FS02-01 still has to win a big one to really establish itself as an elite performer. During the three regional tournaments over the week end, Vegeta had a top 8 and two top 16s, a testimony of the leader's consistency. Still, without a win, there will always be doubters, and the possibility that FS02-01 has a lower ceiling compared to the explosive power of the leaders in Tier 1.
Vegeta (Yellow)
FB02-105 spends the two energy it gets from its ability to defend cards FS04-01 simply switches back to active at the end of the turn, and it makes a world of difference. Indeed, with the best standalone cards in the color not matching particularly well with FB02-105, Vegeta plays almost the same deck Frieza uses, with a lot more extra cards to leverage the leader ability.
The popularity is decent, and the leader placed in two regional tournaments top cuts on July 15th, so the Tier 2 ranking is warranted. Unfortunately, even if FB02-105 could claim to be the second best Yellow Leader, the gap with the best one is too big to consider playing this one over FS04-01 in a high stakes environment.
Son Goku (Universe 7)
Just like I anticipated in the first report after the ban list went live, the agressive synergies took a bit of a dive. Arguably, FB01-001 remains a solid leader, but the loss of popularity, and the worse results compared to the first week post ban list shows the metagame is a little tougher for Universe 7 synergy.
Indeed, now that other leaders have refined their decks, and expected to be under pressure a lot more compared to last week, the challenge was much bigger for FB01-001. First, FB01-002 is back in the mix, and has a knack for removing any battle card you would play, limiting your ability to mount any sort of pressure. Then, you also have to account for the return of the 25.000 power leaders, looking to defeat FS04-01, while others such as FS02-01 also build in a more defensive way.
It's just a tough environment for the deck right now.
Zamasu : Fused
With a top 8 performance in Melbourne, FB02-036 earned its way into the rankings, with many claiming it is a decent counter to the current dominant leader : FS04-01. We already knew 25.000 power leader were good against the onslaught of 20.000 power cards yellow leader tends to play. Unfortunately, this good match-up comes at the cost of several tough ones, as FB02-036 is only really good at slowing the pace of the match down, something you can't do against anyone.
With this in mind, the blue leader looks like a solid pick in a very specific environment, one we might not be in, as FS04-01 might be the best based on results, it isn't particularly dominant in the popularity poll. Then, I expect FB02-036 to be great if you are aiming for a top cut, but might be difficult to go all the way with, as you are bound to face those much tougher opponents eventually in the tournament.
Tier 3
Broly
So far, Broly's results aren't good enough to rank the legendary Saiyan any higher. Plus, there is still a doubt regarding FS03-01's ability to counter Frieza or Red Leaders like it did during Awakened Pulse. Indeed, with FB02-133/cards] for Yellow, or [card]FB02-015 alongside a plethora of cards able to hit at 25,000 Power for Red, keeping these at bay is much tougher now. This is where FS03-01 might pay the fact Blazing Aura was mostly focused around the Android synergy, and received little support as a result.
The deck posted its first top 8 performance since the ban list this week end, which is promising, but not enough to make FS03-01 a strong contender in the current metagame.
Son Goku (Starter)
On the back of a double top 8 performance in Hildesheim, FS01-01 finally managed to get a good performance on a big stage. Arguably, one could say the synergies in red are the same for most leaders, so FB01-002 or FB01-001 might do even better with the same list. I would lean towards this option personally, as the fairly defensive core FS01-01 found success with is reminiscent of the other two leader's deck.
Still, a nice performance is always worth noting, and the red starter got two this past week end.
Ginyu
Early on in a new metagame, extreme strategies tend to overperform, due to their ability to create big unbalances most opponents struggle to contain. This is exactly what happened early in the Awakened Pulse metagame, and to a lesser extent, now in Blazing Aura. Back then, Ginyu played a huge part in pushing the metagame to be the Beerus, Frieza, Broly triangle.
The exact same pattern happened once again, with FB01-104 looking menacing during the first week after the ban list, and being nowhere to be seen in the three regional tournaments the following one.
Goku Black
After a solid first week post ban list, posting the best performing amongst blue leaders, FB01-035 is paying the price of not being as good of a defender as FS02-01 or FB02-036.
Unfortunately for the leader, it didn't do anything worth noting in the second week, and naturally fell down the list as result.
Son Gohan : Childhood
Just like it happened in the first set, FB01-071 is a good, but overshadowed Leader in its own color. Indeed, from the Android synergy being the focus of Blazing Aura, to FS03-01 doing a better job against aggressive builds thanks its 25,000 Power when Awakened, there is little room for FB01-071 to exist inside the Green color.
I almost ranked this one in Tier 4 due to this lack of ability to stand apart inside the Green color, but a top 16 in Melbourne's regional tournament saved it. It isn't enough to compare to FB01-070, miles ahead in the green color. Yet, it shows FB01-071 can win if you want to play this Leader specifically, in addition to using its own synergy around the Saiyan extra trait.
Cell
I expected FB02-070 to rise much higher than where it stands with the ban list, and its popularity in tournaments shows other had the same belief. Unfortunately, while FB02-070 had been played in most tournaments I could look at, it didn't managed to impress in any of them.
If the metagame was to slow down, once answers to the Yellow onslaught emerge, FB02-070 might be able to leverage FB02-102 more. Until then, just setting up the field is a huge lose of tempo, often immediately met with a flurry of attacks you have to spend several cards to contain. As such, even if FB02-070 can rely on arguably one of the best value engines in the game, it lacks the opportunity to set it up properly, which is hurting its overall stock tremendously.
Lacking Results
Five Leaders have yet to post a convincing performance since the ban list went live, as none of those has managed to appear in a regional top 16, or win a store tournament, at least to my knowledge. Obviously, these have much more to offer than what this Tier 4 rank might reflect. Then, even if some, such as FB01-105 might stay here for a while, other definitely have the ability to grow until set three comes around.
In this bunch, FB02-036 is the unexpected one, as the 25,000 Power itself could be enough to make the Leader a good fit for the early metagame. Yet, it seems like FS02-01 is the preferred Leader for Blue control strategies. The possibility to still draw once Awakened, a better ability to trade opposing battle cards, and pressure Green Leaders with its 35,000 hits once Awakened. If the metagame keeps progressing towards a Yellow domination, keep FB02-036 in mind if you are a Blue aficionado.
FB01-002 is the other Leader to keep on your radar. Not only is the god of destruction a solid pick against aggressive strategies, FB01-002 has found a way to be an elite choice in every metagame. Then, I have no doubt there is a list, probably quite close to what FB01-001 is running right now, that could make FB01-002 a strong pick once again in the near future.
Trunks : Future
Son Goku (ToP)
Cooler
Closing Words
We already knew FS04-01 was good, only held back by a FB02-001 it couldn't handle, but nobody could. We also quickly figured how improved FB01-070 was in the second expansion. Then, it is no surprise to see these two be the big impact players after two weeks post ban list. In their path, they are making leaders with a solid match-up against these two look good, with FB01-002 leading the way thanks to its win in Hildesheim.
As predicted, the agressive strategies, great during the first week, are looking much weaker now that lists have been refined, and players could prepare for certain match-ups. The attention should now be turned towards the other end of the spectrum, with decks able to outvalue their opponent, if they can contain their development for long enough.
Looking at the most recent results, it looks like we will have to wait a little more to see it happen, as FB02-036 did better, but nowhere enough to bring the control strategies on the forefront of the stage. Then, the midrange playstyle is king in this metagame, with explosive patterns and constant draw being the most important mechanics to leverage.
I hope this breakdown was helpful, and may you find all the success in your future tournaments, or grinding the online client when the new season hits. If you needed anything, feel free to reach out through my Twitter page.
Good Game Everyone.
