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 DBS Fusion World 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: Master Roshi and Ribrianne are now banned, and Kefla is restricted (only one copy allowed in a deck).
Meta Overview
With Son Goku 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 Frieza came in and silenced everyone else.
Obviously, this is just the first step of this metagame, where the Leaders able to play a proactive playstyle pressured those with unrefined builds. As such, you could consider Android 17, Son Goku, Goku Black, Ginyu benefited from an early buff, and will now be judged on their ability to keep performing rather than winning a tournament in a chaotic environment.
On the other hand, Leaders such as Broly, Zamasu : Fused or Beerus shouldn't be judged too harshly, as defensive or reactive strategies always take a bit longer to get set. Then, even if none of those have posted convincing results yet, I wouldn't keep those in mind, especially as Broly and Beerus were those able to contest Frieza during the first set.
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 Frieza will be in the mix, while Android 17 or Son Goku have strong synergies to rely on, even if they show less flexibility. Who will join them with a little bit more time to develop?
Happy Meta Tier List Everyone!
DBS Fusion World Meta Tier List
| Tier | Deck |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 🟡 Frieza 🔼 🟢 Android 17 🔼 🔴 Son Goku (Universe 7) 🔼🔼 |
| Tier 2 | 🔵 Goku Black 🔼 🔵 Vegeta (Blue) 🟡 Ginyu 🔼 🟢 Broly 🔽 |
| Tier 3 | 🟡 Vegeta (Yellow) 🟢 Cell 🔽 🟢 Son Gohan : Childhood 🔽 |
| Lacking Results | 🔴 Beerus 🔽🔽 🔵 Zamasu : Fused 🔽 🔵 Trunks : Future 🔽 🔴 Son Goku (ToP) 🔽🔽 🔴 Son Goku (Starter) 🟡 Cooler |
Disclaimer and Tier Explanations
Tier 1: Decks shaping up the early metagame and looking dominant in tournaments and digital play so far. Their synergies are either solid overall, or match very well against other very popular opponents. Typically, other decks might think about including some sort of tech cards to edge out 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 matchup holding them back, a lack of raw power to dominate most opponents, or simply some play-patterns they can't answer efficiently.
Tier 3: Absent from competitive play from a lack of confidence from the player base, or posting poor results so far. Decks in this last tier either haven't found their right list, or simply don't have present the same upside as the other leaders in their color.
Tier 4: Leaders there was nothing to say about this time around, due to no results in tournaments, nor interesting discussions around those in the community.
There aren't any deck trackers or official data being released about the DBS Card Game Fusion World online client so far. As such, this report is crafted based on scanning social media, looking at tournament results, and testing the lists posted by those who achieved the God rank already.
This report isn't perfect, but we are working to better it with each release. Hopefully, it can still help elevate your knowledge about the game.
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 Son Goku 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. We saw Broly was able to defeat it efficiently towards the end of Awakened Pulse, while Beerus also had some solid arguments against it.
Everyone has new cards to leverage, and we already know Vegeta is huge against defensive, skill based strategies. Then, I believe Frieza might be harder to dethrone this time compared to the first expansion.
Android 17
As the only Green Leader able to develop a massive amount of tempo while ramping at the same time, Android 17 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 Vegeta are a problem to defend against. The win in the Alicante regional is big testimony to Android 17'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.
With this in mind, there is a chance the Android Leader loses momentum as time passes and Frieza, or even Son Goku get more popular. If that was to happen, we would probably return to a very similar situation to what we had during the first set, with Broly being the best Green Leader thanks to its 25,000 Power when Awakened.
Son Goku (Universe 7)
The entire Red color took a big hit with the ban list, and had to return to the basics in order to be competitive: relentless pressure. Fortunately, the metagame isn't centered around great defensive Leaders, allowing the Universe 7 deck to thrive early on.
In the first regional with the ban list in Alicante, 3 of the 15 players on the deck managed to hit top 16, the second-best conversion rate behind Frieza, even if Android 17 had 4 representatives at the top. Speaking of the Green Leader, this favorable matchup for Son Goku is a big reason for its success.
With this in mind, one could wonder if the Universe 7 synergy is the one to carry the torch for the Red color, or simply the best in this new metagame. Indeed, the relatively simple playstyle, combined with very few of the defensive Leaders around, makes Son Goku a great pick right now. However, if Frieza keeps gaining momentum, or Leaders such as Beerus would return, the Universe 7 could quickly be in a more precarious situation.
Tier 2
Goku Black
Goku Black is a bit of the dark horse in this metagame, able to cruise to victory when it gets a godly draw, or be completely overwhelmed as it doesn't use the same defensive kit as the other Blue Leaders.
Its results are pretty good so far, with a few tops in regional tournament alongside wins in store tournaments. Vegeta, ranked right behind it, could have a claim at being the best Blue Leader, and I believe it will pretty soon. However, until Android 17 loses a bit of popularity, being able to bring some pressure definitely is a great thing, which Goku Black does better than its Blue counterparts.
Just like many others ranked high on this list, it is important to keep in mind early environments tend to favor proactive strategies, which Goku Black embodies in the Blue color. As such, it is entirely possible the Leader could lose some momentum as more Yellow appears, while Green or Blue aren't as popular.
Vegeta (Blue)
Vegeta could claim the title of best Blue Leader and I wouldn't bat an eye. Simply put, while Goku Black is the best at bringing the heat, Vegeta is the more well-rounded, able to defend better while bringing enough pressure at the same time. Right now, Android 17 is a tough matchup as it is very difficult to run them out of cards, while the big cards, Android 17/Android 18 or Broly : BR, are difficult to deal with. Sure, you can always count on Zen-Oh to buy you some time and throw them back in the deck. Yet, this only buys you time, as they often are able to refill thanks to Android 17/Android 18 amongst other draw ability, while their Leader brings 30,000 Power hits every turn too.
The other issue are the Yellow decks. Before the ban list, Frieza used a very defensive build, while [cardsFB01-104[/card] was non-existent. Now, the color is much more popular, and spams 20,000 Power cards for pressure, which can be difficult to deal with when they come down early in the match. Sinister Sickle works, but you still have to expend cards to tank their attacks, while you didn't develop anything on your side, giving them a free play the next turn.
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.
This time, Frieza immediately took over the metagame, representing once again a more flexible Ginyu Leader to leverage the play patterns around Ginyu and Recoome. Still, even if Ginyu won't be the best Leader, overall or in its own color, anytime soon, this is likely the best time to play him if you enjoy a smash-mouth, very aggressive kind of playstyle.
Broly
So far, Broly's results aren't good enough to rank the legendary Saiyan any higher than at the bottom of Tier 2. Plus, there is still a doubt regarding Broly's ability to counter Frieza or Red Leaders like it did during Awakened Pulse. Indeed, with 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 Broly might pay the fact Blazing Aura was mostly focused around the Android synergy, and received little support as a result.
Tier 3
Cell
I expected Cell 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 Cell 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, Cell might be able to leverage Cell Games Arena 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 Cell 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.
Vegeta (Yellow)
Vegeta spends the two energy it gets from its ability to defend cards Frieza 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 Vegeta, Vegeta plays with a good deck, but there simply is so much better inside the Yellow color.
The popularity is decent, and the Leader won a store tournament in Japan, so the Tier 3 ranking is warranted. Unfortunately, even if Vegeta could claim to be the second best Yellow Leader in the near future, once Ginyu inevitably gets hit by its own gameplay limitations, the gap with the best one is too big to consider playing this one over Frieza in a high stakes environment.
Son Gohan : Childhood
Just like it happened in the first set, Son Gohan : Childhood is a good, but overshadowed Leader in its own color. Indeed, from the Android synergy being the focus of Blazing Aura, to Broly doing a better job against aggressive builds thanks its 25,000 Power when Awakened, there is little room for Son Gohan : Childhood 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 the results in store tournaments were promising. Sure, this is nowhere as good as topping a regional tournament, but it shows Son Gohan : Childhood can win if you want to play this Leader specifically, in addition to using its own synergy around the Saiyan extra trait.
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 Cooler might stay here for a while, other definitely have the ability to grow until set three comes around.
In this bunch, Zamasu : Fused 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 Vegeta 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 Zamasu : Fused in mind if you are a Blue aficionado.
Beerus is the other Leader to keep on your radar. Not only is the god of destruction a solid pick against aggressive strategies, Beerus 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 Son Goku is running right now, that could make Beerus a strong pick once again in the near future.
Beerus
Zamasu : Fused
Trunks : Future
Son Goku (ToP)
Son Goku (Starter)
Cooler
Closing Words
The Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World metagame is far from solved yet, as the current situation feels awkwardly similar to what we knew in Awakened Pulse already. Then, there is a good chance this metagame is a mix of comfort picks and proven decks.
We already knew Frieza was good, only held back by a Son Goku it couldn't handle. We also quickly figured how improved Android 17 was in the second expansion. Sprinkle the knack for aggressive decks to be great early in a new metagame, as they are ideal to punish unrefined strategies, and you quickly get to the current situation.
What is important to look forward to are the decks able to progress, and gain momentum from now on. Indeed, with some established targets at the top, if a deck was to win a tournament, we know it needed to reliably beat Android 17, Frieza and Son Goku at the very least.
During the first expansion, Broly took a bit before taking over and winning most of the big tournaments. Early on, Ginyu was the biggest threat, and it is the snowball it created that lead to the Beerus, Frieza and Broly triangle at the end of April. I have little doubt the second set will follow a similar path, now that the big bad wolf got nuked, so I'm eager to see which direction the metagame is headed!
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.
