The Meta Report #52

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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 still sees more play than other classes on the ladder, but the margins between classes are becoming much thinner. With Priest becoming more popular on the ladder, Zoo has one more bad match-up to worry about while Handlock gains a very favorable match-up. Neither Warlock deck has seen significant innovation lately. Expect fairly standard builds of Warlock along with the infrequent Demonlock.

Hunter: Hunter remains a popular deck. Most players have moved away from builds using Explosive Trap and are instead using Snake Trap and Freezing Trap to combat slower decks. Snake Trap is particularly popular at the moment. Unleash the Hounds is also popular due to the prevalence of board control decks like Zoo and Paladin. Be ready for Explosive Traps when the meta shifts back toward aggro.

Druid: Ramp Druid has become very popular on the ladder. The current build runs Zombie Chow to manage the early game and Ancient of War to overtake the late game. The deck uses Senjin Shieldmaster as its four drop of choice. If Druid becomes too popular, it may be time to dust off The Black Knight.

Priest: Priest has seen a steep rise in popularity as players have begun to discover optimal builds for the class. One successful build even plays Prophet Velen! Light of the Naaru has also proved itself to be an excellent means to proc Wild Pyromancer while providing additional value. It also happens to play well with Prophet Velen and Auchenai Soulpriest.

Mage: Mage has quickly become one of the most diverse classes in the meta with archetypes ranging from extreme aggro to pure control. Fatigue Mage has become particularly popular. It takes many of the conventions of mid-range Mage decks and adds Illuminator to prolong the game and outlive your opponent.

Paladin: Mid-range Paladin continues to diversify. Popular builds have explored cards such as Acolyte of Pain, Unstable Ghoul, Wild Pyromancer, and even a second copy of Lay on Hands. Some builds have even opted to run one or no Quartermasters. If you know your opponent isn’t playing Quartermast, value his Recruits accordingly.

Warrior: Warrior is not nearly as unpopular as its ranking here might suggest. There are many powerful decks on the ladder, and for the moment Warrior just happens to be the least popular of them. Warrior decks have been optimized for a while. Most variation comes in what the deck chooses for its anti-aggro suite. Most builds lean on Whirlwind, but some use Unstable Ghoul. Be mindful of how your opponent has varied their build of Warrior.

Shaman: A build of Shaman topping out with Neptulon recently performed well on the ladder. However, the class has remained incredibly unpopular. If you do run into Shaman, you should expect it to be similar to the aforementioned build, which is unlikely to include Al’akir.

Rogue: Rogue has seen little play over the past several weeks. Continue to expect Miracle Rogue builds using either Auctioneer or Sprint but rarely both.

 

Deck of the Week – Priest Control

Priest has been performing very well on the ladder in recent weeks. This build uses Light of the Naaru to not only deploy a reasonable early threat, but to provide an additional means for procing Wild Pyromancer against aggressive strategies. The deck eschews RNG-laden cards such as Thoughtsteal for a more consistent and threat heavy top end akin to Warrior. Note the inclusion of a second Holy Fire as a means to pull back into the game and as surprise burst when paired with Prophet Velen.