The Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 2 Week 2 Meta is much more interesting than the first week due to the many nerfs the game has received. The biggest change is Mage going from the number one class to the worst class. A lot of players weren’t sure what to expect from their fellow competitors, so we saw some interesting and unusual decks for a change.
Mage was really the only deck keeping Warrior in check. With Mage now gone, Warrior has risen to the top. This is in spite of a nerf to Dr. Boom, Mad Genius. Though, even at nine mana, he gets the job done nearly just as well.
There are of course players running some bomb cards and even Aggro Warrior. Aggro Warrior is usually ran as part of an overall aggressive lineup, in case you don’t want to ruin your decks with a random Control deck.
A deck that is new but is really popular is Quest Druid. A lot of players are convinced of its power despite its very weak early game. Fortunately, it is a good choice against Warriors, depending on the build of the deck.
Some decks include Chef Nomi to produce four Nomis, which is more than what Warriors have an answer for. There’s also a player just bringing straight up Nomi Druid without the Quest. Otherwise, you have a deck build that tries to make large Token-esque boards to produce a lot of damage in the late stages of the game.
Shaman clocks in as the third most popular class in Grandmasters this week. The most popular form of Shaman is Quest Shaman. It’s a nice deck for doing a lot of direct face damage. Though, in the early game, Shamans can high roll by playing Mogu Fleshshaper into Mutate and getting a really good eight mana minion early in the game can win on its own.
Alternatively, there are a couple Murloc/Aggro Shamans to punish the Druids and the like. There’s also Control Shaman, which is an attempt to beat everything.
Zoo Warlock is a deck on the rise because of its ability to punish the early game of Druids. The deck is still bound to struggle against Control Warriors, but it appears to be strong otherwise. There’s also the alternative of Highlander Zoo Warlock, which tries to utilize Zephrys the Great to help win some games.
Rogue is a class also with decent popularity. It’s likely also trying to punish the early game of Druid, and similarly struggles versus Warrior like Zoolock. It also can face race other decks with the weapons and direct damage. There’s a fair split of players bringing a more aggressive tempo list and those bringing the Thief package with Blink Foxes and Vendettas.
Hunter is seeing a decent amount of play, mostly represented by Highlander Hunter. The deck has fair play in the early game and likes to go face with King Krush on turn seven with Dinotamer Brann. King Krush usually demands an immediate answer and threatens lethal almost immediately. There’s also Mech Hunter in the mix, which has struggled in Grandmasters in the past.
Paladin has a slew of different archetypes in play. There are those with the OTK Paladin list, which are confident in controlling the game, but might struggle versus Warrior. There’s Quest Paladin, which can out-value just about any deck. Lastly, there’s Murloc Paladin, who just wants to go face. Quest Paladin is really in a different spot, because it has game against pretty much everything if it can find the right cards early.
Combo Tempo Priest has taken a little hit with the nerf to Extra Arms. However, that has not deterred players from bringing the deck exactly the same as before, with two copies of Extra Arms. Priest can create some extremely difficult to kill board states with Psychopomp and High Priest Amet. Plus on the coin, Priests can still go Northshire Cleric on one into Extra Arms on two.
Then we have the now lowly Mage. Some players have not lost faith in the deck, and hope to fly under the radar by playing Highlander Mage that still includes Luna’s Pocket Galaxy. Mountain Giant on three or four into Conjurer’s Calling is also still a good combo for stopping aggro decks in their tracks.
It is an overall positive that the Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 2 Week 2 Meta features all nine classes.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website and the PlayHearthstone twitch channel.
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