The Meta Report #29

Team DKMR: Twitter | Website

Sponsored by: Hearthstats | Gunnar | 2P.com | Waypoint Media | SoulFireMasters

This week we get to take a look more new cards…YAY! Some classes stay where they have been while others fall to a familiar low. But you may be surprised where some of your favorite classes end up on the rankings. So sit back, pull up a chair and enjoy this week’s Meta Report!

 

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.

Warlock: Warlock is once again back on top of the meta as it seems like 90% of the ladder is playing Zoo. This is due to two reasons, firstly that it is a new season and we all know that everyone loves to play Zoo to grind through those high ranks, and secondly that the Naxx Warlock card has just been released and everyone want to try how it fits into the old Zoolock decks. With a few different variations out there, some using void terror, some using hell fire Zoolock has become a much harder deck to predict and with that become a harder deck to beat. Even with the almost complete non-existence of any other form of Warlock we don’t see Warlock getting knocked down from the top spot anytime soon.

Druid: Still sitting tight near the top we see the always consistent Druid decks. With the release of Spectral Knight and Loatheb Druid has only become stronger due to the fact that these cards counter Miracle Rogue. We have started to see the decline of the “Double Combo” Druid decks simply due to the fact that there are too many good cards so there is no space for it anymore. With these new cards Druid has become stronger than ever and it will be hard to find a class that will be more consistent against everything than Druid.

Hunter: It’s safe to say that Midrange Hunter is back to stay. With the new Naxx cards like Haunted Creeper and Webspinner it has only made the once super popular deck stronger. Another reason this deck is so popular right now is the decrease in Miracle Rogue play which was the reason for the decks downfall a few seasons ago. The decks consistency is its biggest strength and with the fact that you can draw a million cards with a good Buzzard + Unleash combo makes it a solid choice whether you are grinding the ladder or playing a tournament. Although Midrange Hunter has taken over the meta and Sludge Beltcher is being played in many decks we feel that Face Hunter can still be quite strong but it might struggle a little on the ladder. It will be interesting to see if any new variations of either decks will emerge.

Shaman: This week we got the new Shaman card Reincarnation and this is an amazingly fun card to play, the combinations are endless. With the mass amounts of death rattle minions being released with Naxx and with the few good once we already have before this card is extremely strong when used correctly. Shaman decks have already taken very well to the new Naxx cards and this is no exceptions, it will only make the class even stronger and we expect Shaman to rise in the ranking in the coming weeks.

Rogue: Although we are seeing quite a big decline of Rogue play on the ladder no one is doubting the strength of Miracle Rogue. It might still be the strongest deck out there but we have all at some point ran into a Loatheb with a concealed Gadgetzan Auctioneer and the feeling is terrible. We feel that the massive decrease is more due to the fact that the new Naxx cards don’t really fit well in Miracle Rogue and most people want to innovate new decks with the new cards. This being said the new Naxx cards do fit quite well into other Rogue decks like Tempo Rogue and it will be very exciting to see if Tempo Rogue that used to dominate the meta back in Beta can make a comeback.

Paladin: Paladin has made a comeback in the meta with the Tauntadin deck that now is very common on the ladder. After being featured quite heavily in some of the bigger tournaments like the WEC qualifier as well as some others this deck has become very popular very quickly. With the addition of Sludge Beltcher as well as Loatheb and some other new Naxx cards it has made Paladin a much more reliable class and more consistent. The deck is not only very effective on the ladder, it is also a bit different from another deck and it is extremely enjoyable to play.

Priest: Priest is in a very similar spot to last week. Many people are hyping up Prist saying that it will be extremely strong when some of the Naxx cards being released in the last 2 weeks come out but for now nothing has really changed. With the amount of Zoolock on the ladder it does do pretty well but it still struggles against many other decks such as the new Tauntadin deck as well as any form of aggro that isn’t Zoolock. Hopefully in the coming weeks we will see what Priest is made of but we will only have to wait and see.

Warrior: Warrior is in a weird spot in the meta at the moment with some players claiming that it is very strong but many others saying the opposite. If you look on the ladder the latter is consensus of most people because Warrior seems almost non-existent. This might be due to the fact that Zoolock with the new Naxx cards is so popular and Warrior has a hard time dealing with this. Maybe in the coming weeks we will see some new Warrior decks get innovated but at the moment Warrior doesn’t seem like the best choice to climb the ladder.

Mage: Mage is still dropping through the rankings and now finally, they have hit the bottom. After Naxx was released Freeze Mage completely disappeared and nothing new has arisen. With Duplicate not being very strong as well as the other new Naxx cards not synergizing that well with the Mage class not many people have found the courage and will to sit down and innovate something new for Jaina. Hopefully soon we will see something new and she will once again be a class to be reckon with.

 

Deck of the Week:

Priest is widely considered to be the worst class in the game by most top players. However, according to GosuGamers recent statistics Priest is the most winning tournament class in the game. These statistics may come as a surprise to some, but Liquid’ Amaz has been winning tournaments with Priest since the beginning of time. The strength of Priest lies in their ability to keep their minions healthy, their mass board removal with the Wild Pyromancer and Auchenai Soulpriest combos, and their extremely mana efficient cards like Cabal Shadow Priest & Shadow Word Death.