The Meta Report #28

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Naxx cards continue to be relased. We are seeing changes to popular decks and at the same time some old decks are resurfacing. We can expect a change in the Meta this week as fan favorites are being knocked out! Unfortuantely some people were not able to get the new cards yet, hang in there! We hope you enjoy the changes this week as one of our favorite classes returns as KING!

Here’s Team DKMR’s weekly Meta ranking. Keep in mind, it’s about which classes and archetypes are played the most, not about which are the strongest. Most of the time, the strongest decks will also be the most frequently played, but that’s not always the case. That’s just part of how the Meta works.

Druid: Maybe a bit surprising to see druid this far up but with the addition of the new Naxx cards Druid has become the number one class on the ladder. Although the new druid card, poison seeds, is not very good, a new Token Druid deck has swept the meta and is being played by many on the ladder. The addition of Haunted creeper has somehow made Token Druid the deck to beat at the moment. It’s not only about getting your opponent to 14 health anymore to be able to combo them down, it is more about getting a constant stream of annoying minions out and then using Power of the Wild to make them just that bit more annoying.

Warlock: No shock to see Warlock at the top of the meta. Although Handlock has kind of died down, Zoo is stronger than ever. With the new Naxx cards like Nerubian Egg and Haunted Creeper this deck has only grown stronger. There is no explanation needed for this fast warlock deck that has swept the scene for the last few months and there is no sign that it is going away anytime soon. Although uncommon, Handlock is still around. Nerubian Egg has also been a frequent addition along with void terror to make this deck even more fearsome than before. As always it is just as hard to figure out what to mulligan against which is always going be a big factor when you face a warlock on the ladder.

Shaman: Over the last week and a half since Naxx started many people have tried perfecting a shaman deck using the new Naxx cards with some success. Both Nerubian Egg and Haunted Creeper seem like they will really fit into the already strong class. However Shaman are very reliant on many different cards that make the deck work like Lightning Bolt, Lightning Storm, etc; this makes it very hard to find the right balance for how many new cards to tech in. We are starting to see some decks come out that are starting to get there, like a new deck with harvest golems and Nerubian Egg which seems very strong. This is a class to watch out for in the future.

Rogue: With the release of Loatheb the decrease of miracle rogues on the ladder has been substantial. The hype around Loatheb has been ENORMOUS and it is almost being played in every deck which is why Rogue has fallen out of favour. Even though Miracle Rogue is still extremely strong until the hype dies down a bit on Loatheb, we do not see much play for Rogues on the ladder especially since both Tempo Rogue and Backspace Rogue seem to have fallen completely out of the meta.

Hunter: This is the new kid on the block. Is Midrange Hunter back to stay? This is a question we are asking ourselves. The once top deck seems to have found new strength after the Naxx release. With the addition of Haunted Creeper and with the new release of Loatheb, this deck has become a real powerhouse. The new Hunter class card has also been released this week, although we are slightly unsure about how strong Webspinner will be, it will be very interesting to see all of the new variations that will come out with this card.

Priest: Although the Naxx cards that have been release so far have not favoured Priest in the best way Dont Kick My Robot feels like there is still a place for Priest in the meta, the right deck just hasn’t been found. With the release of Loatheb however it might give the class some fighting power versus Miracle Rogue which has been terrorizing all Priest players. The problem Priest still have is that they are still very weak to 4 health creatures which is a pretty big thing when you are playing against the faster druid decks as well as Aggro decks.

Mage: Still no super effective Naxx cards that Mages can make use of. The new Mage class card from Naxx has been released but Duplicate doesn’t seem very strong at first glance as a card. We would have expected more Aggro Mages to be terrorizing the ladder but this is not the case, you do get the occasional one or two but in the end it might just be because the new Naxx cards don’t have the best synergy with the Mages other abilities.

Warrior: During the last week even Warrior has received some Naxxramus love with several big streamers trying out the new cards in some exciting warrior decks. Nerubian Egg has been the big hype card that Warrior lovers have been trying out and with so many cards that can bring that egg to life it was only a matter of time. Cruel taskmaster and Inner rage being the two main cards that buff the Egg to be able to make it deal damage but whirlwind can bring Nerubian to life as well. Hopefully we will see some more Warrior on the ladder with these new additions.

Paladin: After Kolento climbed to rank 1 with his innovative Paladin deck this class had a week of fame but, since then it has once again fallen out of favor in the meta. This is mainly due to the fact that Miracle Rogue was too strong against the Control oriented Paladin deck that Kolento had made. Will we then see a new Paladin deck with Loatheb rising up in favor? Maybe but for now Paladin retains its spot at the bottom of the meta.

Deck of the Week:

This week we’ll be taking a closer look at Control Paladin. Control Paladin is known for it’s slow, steady, juggernaut-like playstyle. The strength of Paladin is in their all-mighty board clears; Equality is the hammer that comes down on the board, crushing the opponent’s minions upon the anvil. When combined with Wild Pyromancer or Consecration, Equality clears the opponents entire board of all minions. Using this as the basis of the deck, Paladin slowly gains advantage through their efficient removal and powerful board wipes; then seals the game by playing legendary minions like Tirion Fordring in the late-game. The deck includes a plethora of heals to prevent itself from being rushed down before it can capitalize on it’s powerful late-game.