Following last week's momentum, Terry Bogard from 'The King of Fighters AFK' (hereinafter KOF AFK) continues his ascent, now securing the 3rd spot in overall fighter pick rates. His influence has seemingly buoyed the 'Execution' archetype fighters, with Isla making a particularly notable appearance. Let’s dive into this week’s Meca Ranking to see how the landscape of the ranked ladder has shifted.

Ranked Match TOP 100 Statistics

※ Data aggregated from deck information of TOP 100 rankers across KR-1, 2, and 3 servers.
※ There may be slight variations compared to current live ranker decks.
※ We plan to expand the number of servers monitored in the future.

The most striking change is undoubtedly Terry’s climb. After breaking into the top 10 last week at 6th, he has vaulted straight to 3rd with a 58.7% pick rate. That’s a staggering 15 percentage point jump in just seven days, leaving the likes of Yuri, Shermie, and Orochi Iori in his wake. His kit—boasting attack buffs and damage nullification—is proving to be quite the solid choice for top-tier players.

Terry’s rise has pulled other 'Execution' synergy fighters into the spotlight, most notably Isla and KUSANAGI. Isla has climbed to a joint 9th place with a 6% pick rate. Her passive is a dream for this meta: finish off an enemy with her ultimate, and you get 100% of your Power Gauge back. It’s no wonder rankers are snapping her up to capitalize on that snowball effect.

KUSANAGI remains a consistent presence, holding onto 8th place with a 10.3% pick rate, mirroring his performance from last week. Further down the list, we’ve also seen slight upticks in interest for Lee Jinju and Chris.

It’s fascinating how one high-performance fighter can shift the entire meta. Expect even more turbulence in the next Meca Ranking, as Mai Shiranui arrived on September 30th. It will be interesting to see what kind of changes she brings to the table.

Ranker Synergy Preferences

The impact of Terry and his Execution cohorts is clear in the synergy data. The percentage of rankers utilizing the Execution synergy has risen to 28%, a 5 percentage point increase from last week, with 84 rankers now activating the trait.

Elsewhere, the shift we predicted has occurred: Special synergy has officially overtaken Rage. Special has climbed to 87%, while Rage—once hovering in the 90s—has dipped to 83.7%. However, with the new fighter Mai bringing a Rage synergy effect, don't write it off just yet; a comeback could be on the cards. It’ll be a tight race to see which synergies the meta settles on.

A Peek at Ranker Combinations

This week, we’re spotlighting 'Bahu', currently the top-ranked player on the KR-3 server. Their deck consists of Shermie, Orochi Leona, Terry, Chizuru, and Kyo. They have expertly balanced Special and Rage synergies through fighter selection, while leveraging the pet 'Sun-Gretser' to squeeze in that crucial Execution bonus.

By pushing pick-up fighters like Terry, Kyo, and Chizuru to 9-10 stars, they’ve significantly beefed up the squad’s overall power. The strategy seems clear: Shermie and Leona provide the utility and buffs, while Kyo and Terry act as the heavy-hitting engine to steamroll the opposition.

User Poll - Which Rage fighter pairs best with Mai?

Last week, we asked which synergy effect you found most effective. 'Wedge' took the crown with 40.3% of the vote, largely due to its utility in boosting armor penetration and HP across various game modes. Special followed at 28.6%, with Rage and Patience trailing closely behind.

With Mai Shiranui’s arrival on September 30th, the game has a new star. She’s a Star-attribute Rage synergy fighter whose passive refunds 75% of her Power Gauge upon using a finishing skill, allowing for rapid-fire ultimates. Given this, we want to know: which Legendary-grade Rage synergy fighter do you think pairs best with her? Let us know your thoughts in the poll, and we’ll reveal the results in the next Meca Ranking.