Now that Saviors of Uldum has been out for a few days, players are starting to notice a few decks crop up and working towards defining a meta. The hard part is, at different ranks, you’ll find that different decks. After a certain point, your deck might no longer work. This is mostly a statistics thing though, so don’t take these suggestions as which ones you should take to a tournament. Sometimes a deck that will see tons of play at the lower ranks could still work at a tournament. For example, using Quest Rogue for rank fifteen to rank ten could work, but you may find most deck for rank nine and above counter Quest Rogue. So that means you’d have to find the best deck to fight the new decks you’ll be coming up against.
Quest Druid
This deck is so powerful. It is amazing when it comes to climbing the ranks. If you are able to get moat of the core cards, you should be able to get to rank ten. The core cards being Oasis Surger, Untapped Potential, Wardruid Loti, Worthy Expedition Tending Tauren and Hidden Oasis. These cards make the most out of the quest reward. Giving tons of buffs, token generation, healing and so much more.
The main idea of this deck is to get the quest done as fast as possible. This means that you will be playing the next four turns with one less mana. This could also mean that you could simply just pass your turn, or if you’re going second, coining out the quest to get it started. The only reason to coin out the quest is if you are in a mirror match and/or have Oasis Surger in your opening hand. One difficulty with this deck is that it can be difficult determining when to delay your quest, or to pass and let it build and hope that you can find an answer.
This deck’s biggest weakness is being out valued. Decks that can do this generally are Taunt Warrior and Quest Mech Paladin. These two decks can turn the biggest threats Quest Druid has and make them into minor inconveniences. They can outlast the Druid as well, forcing them to go to the end of their deck and go into Fatigue. Once there, Druid has almost no options left.
Quest Shaman
This deck takes the most work and planning to execute. While Quest Druid was a passive ability, this one is needed to be activated. And unfortunately, if players become Hagatha the Witch, they lose the quest reward in place of her Hero Power. Core cards for this deck include Life Drinker, Shudderwok, Weaponized Wasp and EVIL Totem. These cards not only help activate the quest, but also are supported by the quest reward. This quest is the only one of its kind that continues to use the requirements that were needed to finish the quest and amplify them.
This deck should run similar to a control deck with minion focus. The deck is incredibly powerful if the user goes second. With The Coin, you’ll be able to use your new Hero Power, then using The Coin to play Shudderwok. This allows all the battlecries that were played to trigger twice, possibly instantly the game. Even without this, getting two Grave Horrors from Swampqueen Hagatha is an amazing game stabilizer especially since using the new Hero Power allows the casting of the spells twice.
This deck has one major flaw. It can sometimes have a hard time coming online. Some of the worse feelings is using Life Drinker and Weaponized Wasp without the quest reward. These two cards are incredibly powerful with the new Hero Power. But with a limited number of useful Battlecry cards, this can be difficult. So, this deck will find struggles with coming online or maintaining tempo after coming online. Keeping tempo can be a struggle if the right cards don’t present themselves.
Taunt Warrior
Perhaps the deck that requires the most planning. This deck is meant to outlast the enemy, force them to use their recourses to deal with any and all threats you present. This deck mainly uses mechs as well as taunt minions that will get boosts from Armagedillo. Core cards with this deck are Armagedillo, Doctor Boom Mad Genius, Zilliax, as well Frightened Flunky. Frightened Flunky has officially become the new Stonehill Defender for Warrior.
The main goal of this deck to create huge walls of taunt for cheap that forces the opponent to deal with them or take massive damage. Another interesting card combo is Plague of Wrath and Warpath. Warpath usually used to clear the board of threats with health five or lower, depending on the mana available. But now, these two cards can destroy any board. Plague of Wrath can also be used to use weaker minions to get a bit of damage in before the big taunts get wiped from the field. This allows a perfect path to attack the opponent. This deck can also generate a ton of value with Dr. Boom and continue playing after running out of cards with Archivist Elysiana.
This deck plays very similarly to how control warrior played, being able to draw out the long games and take it over with one well placed card. It’s weakness though, is incredibly fast aggro decks. Decks that can take out the Warrior before they put up a solid defense are it’s biggest weakness. If bad draws occur or the opponent gets the best draw and sets up their kill first is where this deck struggles. One deck that could fight this one pretty well is hunter, since with some good luck they can deal massive damage by turn five.
What to Do
If you are able to make any of these decks, try them out. Find which one fits your play style. If there is one, give it a shot. Find a good fit while the set is still fresh and you will be able to climb the ranks with a suboptimal deck. This time period is perfect for trying new things and seeing how it all plays out. Statistics will only take you so far, but finding your playstyle in a new set will take you even farther.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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