With Year of the Dragon in full swing, many people are beginning to ask what we are seeing in relations with the meta and what decks are good and which cards should be crafted. In this guide, you’ll find what decks are being used at what ranks. As well as going over what cards to craft, be that for decks or for potential nerfs that could yield an Arcane Dust profit.
The Meta
Token Druid is on top with a win rate of 55.36% win rate and Mech Paladin with a 54.25%. These two decks have the highest chance of winning. Although they are not perfect and can be countered, they still are the strongest deck, even by a small percentage. The next decks fall under tier two, however keep in mind their win percentage. The tier two decks are Bomb Warriror at 54.13%, Tempo Rogue at 53.96, Murloc Shaman at 53.58%, Mech Hunter at 53.55% and finally Khadgar Dragon Mage with a 53% win rate.
The meta is incredibly versatile and fun. It is very rare for a meta to have so many classes to choose from that are all viable. So, grab your favorite class and head into ladder and enjoy climbing. This meta will more likely than not change drastically due to experimentation with cards, figuring out exploits or even combos that could destroy the opponent in one turn.
What You’ll See
At different ranks, you’ll notice different decks mostly determined by skill level. If you’re noticing that your opponents are playing a ton of Zoo Warlock, then you can simple choose to queue up with Bomb Warrior to counter them with their heavy draw ability. With every five ranks, you’ll notice a change in the decks you’ll come up against. Also keep in mind that because one person is good with a deck, that doesn’t mean it’s your playstyle. Use this guide to help to get out of their current rank area.
For ranks 20-15, the most run decks are Bomb Warrior and Temp Rogue. Therefore, running Mech Paladin will help you get through these ranks. With ranks 15-10 you’ll notice a ton of Bomb warrior, so sticking with the Mech Paladin for these ranks. Once you hit ranks 10-5, you’ll notice a return of Tempo Rogue. This deck is a very skill-rewarding deck. But to counter this deck in these ranks, it’s best to use Control Warrior, removing a lot of their value plays and disrupting combos.
Finally, from rank 5 to legend, Tempo Rogue dominates, so it would be wise to continue running Control Warrior. Countering the most prominent decks is the key to climbing the ranks, not just running the most successful decks available.
Cards to Craft
With the coming of a new set and a new year of Hearthstone, there are several purely good cards that can be crafted to add to your collection, as well as holding onto them in case of a nerf. These cards are Zilliax, Blastmaster Boom and Dr. Boom, Mad Genius. These are very prominent in decks that are being run, one of them being Zilliax. Zilliax is in in 47% of decks due to its abilities and it being a source of healing for most classes. It is hard to say that it will stay the same throughout the year. Not only is Zilliax a powerful card that goes in most decks, it’s also possible to make a profit off of it if a nerf hits it.
With Dr. Boom, Mad Genius and Blastmaster Boom, Warriors have access to a devastating combo. These two allow huge amounts of burst damage and can swing games alone or together. One or both of these cards might be nerfed soon to allow for other decks to have a chance at viability. Therefore, having both for now increases the power of your decks as well allows you to get Arcane Dust later if they are nerfed. The meta will absolutely shift as time goes on and there might be some archetypes that haven’t been seen before or one that had incredibly low odds, so play what you can while you still can.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website.
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