The Meta Report #49

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Here’s Team IHEARTHU’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 will always continue to be one of the ladder’s most popular classes as long as it remains the only class with access to multiple, distinct archetypes. Both Zoo and Handlock have been performing admirably in tournaments and on the ladder recently. Darkwonyx even piloted a build of Demonlock to a victory in the ESL Legendary series this past week. Expect to see copies of his deck on the ladder as well as the usual Zoo and Handlock culprits. Don’t be caught off guard by a Fel Cannon!

Warrior: Warrior hasn’t changed much from recent weeks and remains one of the game’s most consistent decks. This consistency has made it a staple in nearly every tournament line-up. The deck has few truly poor match-ups, and has enough removal and life gain to pull its way out of any situation. Most builds of Control Warrior are incredibly similar and vary only with a few tech cards such as Gorehowl, Explosive Sheep, and Faceless Manipulator. Brawl had been seeing frequent exclusion from the deck, but is once more trending as a one-of. Note that many players running Explosive Sheep have cut one Cruel Taskmaster.

Paladin: Paladin hasn’t lost any momentum and remains one of Hearthstone’s premier competitive decks. The deck was a key component of IHEARTHU Faramir’s strategy in recent tournaments and secured him a win in both Heroes of Cards 4 and Tavern Takeover 3. The popular midrange Paladin brew boasted an impressive 7-1 record in Faramir’s Tavern Takeover run. Midrange Paladin has significant room for personal tech, so expect to face multiple variants on the ladder. IHEARTHU’s build will likely be one of the more popular versions you’ll encounter due to its recent success. Zombie Chow in particular gives this version a distinct edge in the mirror and against aggressive strategies. The Divine Shield variant popularized by Strifecro also sees a reasonable amount of play. If possible, be sure to play around Quartermaster and Blood Knight.

Hunter: Hunter has begun to creep its way into the upper echelons of competitive ladder play. While the deck is frequently a subpar choice in tournaments due to the popularity of Warrior and Paladin, Hunter can still succeed on the ladder due to the much more varied array of classes you will face. A strong build of Hunter with a good opener can still blitz its way through some of Warrior’s strongest starts. While this won’t happen frequently, it will happen often enough to get by on the ladder. Most current builds of Hunter are very reminiscent of pre-GvG midrange Hunter builds. They typically run a suite of three traps, both Savanah Highmanes, Loatheb, and frequently another heavy hitting five drop. Sludge Belcher has been especially popular in the deck as of late. Dr. Boom has also snuck his way into many builds of Hunter. While typically not relevant, it’s noteworthy that Dr. Boom’s Boom Bots proc Undertaker twice.

Mage: Mage has fallen off a bit in popularity since its success two weeks ago, but remains the most relevant mech class. Mech Mage has proven itself a standby of the new meta, largely on the back of Goblin Blastmage. Most builds are very similar, with the only difference being whether they run Dr. Boom or Archmage Antonidas. Secret Mage is still a powerful and relevant deck, but sees significantly less play than Mech Mage. If you do run into Secret Mage on the ladder, expect Mirror Entity and Duplicate.

Druid: While not moving in relative position on our rankings, Druid has seen marginally more ladder play this week than last. This is largely due to its strong Warrior match-up and general proactive nature. While some players are using Ramp Druid, Fast Druid is vastly more popular. Be sure to play around the Force of Nature/Savage Roar combo whenever possible.

Priest: Priest has struggled to solidify its identity post-GvG. Control Priest isn’t quite as well positioned as it used to be and Deathrattle Priest hasn’t been particularly popular for a while. The class has mostly stayed afloat due to its fan-favorite nature and on the sheer hype surrounding powerful GvG class cards Shrinkmeister and Vol’jin. Expect to face Control Priest when laddering. Lightbomb has begun to trend some, so be sure to play around it when reasonable.

Rogue: Miracle Rogue has gained some headway, but still sees relatively less play than most other classes. Expect Miracle Rogue opponents to rely on Alexstrasza to set up the finishing blow. Sabotage is often played as a one-of and Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil usually sees plays as well. Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil also frequently sees play in Tempo Rogue decks. The new GvG cards are proving to be powerful tools for Rogue. Expect Rogue to become more popular in the coming weeks.

Shaman: It’s telling of how diverse and powerful the meta is when a class like Shaman falls to the bottom of the ranks. Shaman is still a very strong class with top tier tools, however, its match-ups don’t line-up particularly well against the current most popular decks. It’s likely Shaman only needs a little tinkering before being a top tier contender. Don’t be surprised if Shaman spikes in power or popularity as players experiment with different ways to build the class or the volatile meta softens to Shaman.

Deck of the Week – IHEARTHU Handlock

There’s nothing quite like playing an 8/8 giant on turn four. Handlock has long been one of Hearthstone’s top competitive decks, and it doesn’t look like that’s changing with GvG. This particular build of Handlock was created by IHEARTHU team members and piloted to significant success in recent tournaments. It eschews the defensiveness of Defender of Argus and Sludge Belcher in order to maximize its AOE and threat density. Hellfire is an especially strong spell in the current meta. Paladin’s strongest move is to make a swarm of 3/3s with Quartermaster and most mechs do not have more than three health. Hellfire is the perfect answer to many of the game’s current strategies which rely heavily on board presence. Sylvanas Windrunner, Dr. Boom, and Ragnaros the Firelord ensure you can drop the most powerful threats every turn of the game. Antique Healbot is the glue that holds the deck together. The immense eight light gain allows you to get away with cutting most of the deck’s ability to taunt, and focus on a much more proactive game plan.