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Master Duel Meta Report: Mysterious Labyrinth

With Selection Pack: Mysterious Labyrinth arriving just a few weeks ago at the start of December, players waited with bated breath to see how the long-awaited Labrynth and Runick archetypes would perform. While overall expectations should be satisfied, it has left a sour taste in the mouth of some as it marked the arrival of a new meta relevant floodgate deck.

With such a short time period between set releases, there will be little opportunity to showcase new techs to decks resulting in smaller text segments, additionally, the sample size will expectedly be fewer. Please consider this when looking at the graph below.

Data sourced from tournament reports on MasterDuelMeta.com

Runick

Despite dismissive comments from some, Runick has been the top performing decks in the last period, though how much of this is due to recency bias is up for debate.

What is not up for debate however, is that the deck is more than capable of keeping up with the current Master Duel meta. With the tools to deal with virtually any situation and resistance to most floodgates, Runick is rarely in an auto-lose situation. While playable and finding success in many different forms, such as combined with the Invoked engine, or as a Synchro deck, the floodgate variant has been overwhelmingly by competitive players. With a unique deck strategy that usually involves few or even zero monsters on the field, Runick is able to beat the clock that is the opponent assembling enough damage to end the duel by decking them out first.

It remains to be seen how powerful Runick will be in the meta over the future; while losing to auto lose techs such as Loading... and powerful cards like Loading... which disrupts the protect-the-castle strategy focusing around Loading... , tournaments which follow a no side or best-of-one format do not allow players to take the measures needed to grant a chance to win. So many counters make it likely that Runick will not be particualrly dominant in tournaments with siding, but will be a force to be reckoned with in tournaments which do not.

Top 8 in Meta Weekly #43 –

40 cards
2 copies
Effect Veiler
2 copies
Jet Synchron
3 copies
Reasoning
3 copies
Monster Gate
Instant Fusion
Tuning
3 copies
Runick Fountain
3 copies
Runick Destruction
3 copies
Runick Dispelling
3 copies
Runick Flashing Fire
3 copies
Runick Freezing Curses
3 copies
Runick Golden Droplet
3 copies
Runick Slumber
3 copies
Runick Smiting Storm
3 copies
Runick Tip
Infinite Impermanence
3 copies
Hugin the Runick Wings
Munin the Runick Wings
3 copies
Geri the Runick Fangs
Martial Metal Marcher
Herald of the Arc Light
T.G. Hyper Librarian
Accel Synchron
Jet Warrior
Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys
Baronne de Fleur
Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying

Top 8 in Third Eye Weekly #37 –

45 cards
Despian Tragedy
3 copies
Edge Imp Chain
2 copies
Fallen of Albaz
2 copies
Aluber the Jester of Despia
Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous
Dramaturge of Despia
2 copies
Polymerization
2 copies
Frightfur Patchwork
3 copies
Branded Fusion
3 copies
Runick Fountain
2 copies
Called by the Grave
Branded in Red
3 copies
Runick Destruction
Runick Dispelling
3 copies
Runick Flashing Fire
3 copies
Runick Freezing Curses
3 copies
Runick Golden Droplet
3 copies
Runick Slumber
3 copies
Runick Smiting Storm
3 copies
Runick Tip
2 copies
Hugin the Runick Wings
Munin the Runick Wings
Geri the Runick Fangs
Predaplant Dragostapelia
Albion the Branded Dragon
3 copies
Masquerade the Blazing Dragon
Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon
Alba-Lenatus the Abyss Dragon
2 copies
Lubellion the Searing Dragon
2 copies
Guardian Chimera
Side Deck
3 copies
Maxx "C"
3 copies
Lava Golem
3 copies
Cosmic Cyclone
3 copies
Eradicator Epidemic Virus
3 copies
Trap Trick

Top 4 in Hey! Cup #41 – しらっくす

40 cards
3 copies
Maxx "C"
The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode
Terraforming
3 copies
Pot of Duality
3 copies
Card of Demise
Pot of Desires
3 copies
Runick Fountain
3 copies
Runick Destruction
Runick Dispelling
3 copies
Runick Flashing Fire
3 copies
Runick Freezing Curses
2 copies
Runick Golden Droplet
3 copies
Runick Slumber
Runick Smiting Storm
3 copies
Runick Tip
2 copies
Rivalry of Warlords
2 copies
Skill Drain
2 copies
There Can Be Only One
3 copies
Hugin the Runick Wings
3 copies
Munin the Runick Wings
3 copies
Geri the Runick Fangs
Fossil Warrior Skull Knight
Fossil Machine Skull Wagon
Wind Pegasus @Ignister
Number 60: Dugares the Timeless
Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir
Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Barren Blossom

Despia

For the first time in months, Despia is no longer the showrunner in terms of representation. Despite getting brand new support, it has fallen by the wayside to Runick, though this can likely be attributed to recency bias. Despia is still the highest performing deck with a traditional playstyle, so those interested in that avenue of gameplay are still best off playing the deck. With the impending Duelist Cup Forbidden & Limited List, the players are expecting hits to this deck, which may spell the end of its meta relevance.

Of note is Despia's ability to play Loading... , an extremely strong Trap that has applications against most decks but also immediately wins the Runick matchup.

2nd Place in Meta Weekly #44 –

43 cards
2 copies
Despian Tragedy
3 copies
Maxx "C"
3 copies
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
3 copies
Edge Imp Chain
Fairy Tail - Snow
2 copies
Fallen of Albaz
3 copies
Aluber the Jester of Despia
Tri-Brigade Mercourier
Albion the Shrouded Dragon
Dramaturge of Despia
Ad Libitum of Despia
2 copies
Polymerization
3 copies
Allure of Darkness
2 copies
Frightfur Patchwork
3 copies
Branded Fusion
Branded Lost
2 copies
Super Polymerization
2 copies
Branded Opening
2 copies
Branded in Red
3 copies
Eradicator Epidemic Virus
Branded Banishment
Branded Retribution
Predaplant Dragostapelia
Titaniklad the Ash Dragon
Sprind the Irondash Dragon
2 copies
Albion the Branded Dragon
Despian Quaeritis
2 copies
Masquerade the Blazing Dragon
2 copies
Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon
2 copies
Lubellion the Searing Dragon
2 copies
Guardian Chimera
Predaplant Verte Anaconda

Top 8 in Meta Weekly #44 –

42 cards
3 copies
Despian Tragedy
3 copies
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
3 copies
Edge Imp Chain
Fairy Tail - Snow
2 copies
Fallen of Albaz
3 copies
Aluber the Jester of Despia
Springans Kitt
Tri-Brigade Mercourier
Albion the Shrouded Dragon
Dramaturge of Despia
Ad Libitum of Despia
2 copies
Polymerization
3 copies
Allure of Darkness
2 copies
Frightfur Patchwork
3 copies
Branded Fusion
Branded Lost
Super Polymerization
2 copies
Cosmic Cyclone
2 copies
Called by the Grave
Crossout Designator
Forbidden Droplet
2 copies
Branded Opening
2 copies
Branded in Red
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
Predaplant Dragostapelia
Brigrand the Glory Dragon
2 copies
Albion the Branded Dragon
Despian Quaeritis
2 copies
Masquerade the Blazing Dragon
2 copies
Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon
2 copies
Lubellion the Searing Dragon
2 copies
Guardian Chimera
Despian Proskenion

2nd Place in Meta Weekly #43 –

40 cards
PSY-Frame Driver
Despian Comedy
Despian Tragedy
3 copies
Maxx "C"
2 copies
PSY-Framegear Gamma
3 copies
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
Water Enchantress of the Temple
2 copies
Fallen of Albaz
3 copies
Aluber the Jester of Despia
Wandering Gryphon Rider
Ad Libitum of Despia
Pot of Prosperity
2 copies
Rite of Aramesir
3 copies
Branded Fusion
Foolish Burial
Dracoback, the Rideable Dragon
Fateful Adventure
Super Polymerization
2 copies
Called by the Grave
Crossout Designator
2 copies
Branded Opening
2 copies
Branded in Red
3 copies
Infinite Impermanence
Branded Banishment
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
Predaplant Dragostapelia
3 copies
Albion the Branded Dragon
Despian Quaeritis
2 copies
Masquerade the Blazing Dragon
2 copies
Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon
2 copies
Lubellion the Searing Dragon
Guardian Chimera
Link Spider
Predaplant Verte Anaconda

Adamancipator