Other metas intrigue me.
Playstyles vary from meta to meta.
Decktypes vary from meta to meta.
Food may vary from meta to meta.
Back in the day on the STG forums, there was a meta talk. Dividing metas into countries, it looked like this:
United Kingdom - Control based (Void Tycho control dominated UK Nats for two consecutive years)
New Zealand - Aggro based (Home of the Auckland Rush/Popularized T2K 8HS Hanzo)
North America - Balanced, leaning more towards control (Top 4 Worlds 2007 was 2 aggro decks and 2 control decks. The finals were the 2 control decks)
The game is currently aggro-based, which is what you will get with only three sets in the current format. Since we cannot debate playstyles, I wish to debate decktypes. Here are some conclusions I've drawn up.
Florida
- Seems like James Hata is doing pretty well over there. I've talked with Vik numerous times over the phone about his Hata deck. While many areas do not think Hata is at the top of the tier list, he took the SAS title. Although Vik lucksacked top 8 with a 2-3 record (sorry Vik, I had to!), he stayed true to his word and won the SAS with his Fire James Hata deck. Heihachi seems popular over there as well with I believe 4 players piloting him, and Keenan taking him to 2nd place.
Mindset: Hata's abilities are godlike, making him the best.
Michigan
- There is a Kazuya/Jin deck off Chaos that runs over everybody. Apparently it mains Kazuya and sides into Jin if necessary. I don't have much info on it, but this is what I hear is dominating Michigan.
Mindset: Chaos is a terrific symbol. Kazuya has everything from stat boosts to board control. You side into Jin if you need to be quicker.
Pennsylvania
- The main decks that do well over here are the ones that can disrupt the opponent on their turn; Astrid reversing with Pommel Smash and Paul Phoenix reversing with Gut Drill. These two characters are at the top of the chain here because they have disruptive capabilities in this aggression-based format. Chaos is high up there as well. The Mishima Family, especially Heihachi, is real effective over here, especially if they run Demon Slayer to counter Astrid and Paul Phoenix.
Mindset: Anything that disrupts your opponent on their own turn is golden.
Maryland
- Earth Throw decks took the meta. Any Earth deck that built up for two turns then OTKed with Throws on the 3rd turn was considered to be top tier in this meta. These characters are Bryan Fury, Ragnar, Rashotep, and King.
Mindset: Throws are the best, easiest, and cheapest way to kill in this format.
I'm not really sure of anyone else's meta. If you post yours then I'll be glad to add it to the main topic. I believe that more light will show once we get reports of Store Championships.