The first Perils in Paradise balance patch was not typical for Blizzard: six cards were nerfed, but the patch also included 11 buffs. Hearthstone buffs have often failed to move the meta, and most of these 11 buffs have shown no effect so far. However, there are a couple of decks that have been improved by them, and the nerfs were effective, so some meta changes have taken place as a result of the patch.
Let’s take a look at the best decks of each class right now!
Death Knight
Rainbow Death Knight remains the top Death Knight deck, and it has a new build thanks to the buffs. With Buttons and Razzle-Dazzler buffed in the patch, they have found spots in the Rainbow list, giving it even more tools to gain a board presence to either win the game or at least to fuel an infinite stream of Corpsicles.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Player:
10,680
Furthermore, Death Knight has two niche decks that are lurking behind the more popular Rainbow list: Deathrattle Death Knight and Frost Death Knight. I actually managed to meet them both yesterday. It is getting hard to predict what kind of Death Knight you will face because the class has multiple viable decks.
The Deathrattle Death Knight is a modern take on the board-swarming Unholy concept. The addition of Dreadhound Handler, Gorgonzormu, and Terrible Chef provides the deck with more staying power and more opportunities to strike with Grave Strength.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Player:
- 6,480
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
The Frost Death Knight, on the other hand, brings the return of Frostwyrm's Fury to the meta. With Horizon's Edge giving the deck more direct damage, shooting face with direct damage spells in an aggressive game plan, not just by first defending and then shooting with Corpsicles, is also an alternative for Death Knight.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
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- 8,760
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Rainbow Death Knight is a proven, top-tier deck. The other Death Knight decks are still up-and-coming and offer fresh takes on the class that may prove to be competitive in the long term. Plague Death Knight is still also around, but its results have been mediocre as of late, and it is behind all three in performance.
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter’s fall in Perils in Paradise has been swift. Pirate Demon Hunter got off to a promising start, but as other decks became more refined, the limitations of its aggressive game plan became plain. The Pain variant has shown a bit more lasting power, but only a bit. Brain Masseuse brings a lot of stats on turn one, and Acupuncture gives the deck four points of reach for one mana, but they are barely enough to keep the archetype afloat.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 7,800
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Druid
Concierge Druid was targeted with two nerfs: the cost increase to Concierge and the stat reduction to Chia Drake. Blizzard’s stated goal was not to kill the deck, but simply to reduce its power level a bit. It seems they were successful. Combo Druid is now weaker in the early and mid-game, but it still remains a dominant force against anything slow. Paladins, Warlocks, Priests, and Dragon Druids can all strike fast enough to beat Combo Druid, whereas slower decks like Control Warriors hardly stand a chance. The breakpoint is roughly around the speed of Corpsicle Death Knight, a matchup where Druid has a small edge, but where the Death Knight also has a chance to be fast enough to win.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Player:
- 6,160
Overall, the balance of power in Druid has shifted slightly in favor of Dragon Druid. Ramping up and stealing the opponent’s mana to build an overwhelming advantage remains a sound plan.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
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- 12,760
There’s nothing new for Druid so far, and both of the old main archetypes remain viable, with Combo Druid now somewhat weaker and no longer an absolutely top-tier deck.
Hunter
Hunter looks dead. The buff to Ranger Gilly did nothing. The only Hunter deck that can hit a 50% win rate is the old Secret Hunter from the last expansion, the same list we recommended right after the launch of the expansion.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 6,120
People have tried to make Amalgam Hunter work, but it just doesn’t. The very best list at the moment is in the low-40s. Here is the list, if you really want to give it a go, but don’t expect great results. It is hilarious when it works because that Adaptive Amalgam can get really big and be resummoned with Trusty Fishing Rod, but you just won’t get there most of the time.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Posted By:
- 6,120
Mage
Perils in Paradise has not been kind to Mage, either, and the “buff” to Tsunami has not helped Big Spell Mage find any room in the meta.
The one thing Mage has going for it is that it has the cheapest above-50% win rate deck in the meta in Elemental Mage.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 1,560
No Epic cards. No Legendary cards. Capable of reaching Legend with enough sweat (hopefully no tears).
The only other Mage deck that can hope to reach a 50% win rate is Spell Mage, which ironically does not even want the buffed Tsunami, as it is too slow for it. It is also weaker than Elemental Mage, but if you like to play Mage because of spells – which some people may consider a part of a Mage’s identity – this deck has plenty of spells for you.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 3,400
Paladin
Paladin continues to perform well, but you will not find the buffed Service Ace in these decks. Flood Paladin and Handbuff Paladin remain top-tier decks in the meta with no changes to them for Perils in Paradise apart from the addition Gorgonzormu to Flood Paladin and Sanc'Azel to Handbuff Paladin, both of which were done already on the first week of the expansion.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Player:
- 13,320
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 11,040
Zilliax: Twin Module + Perfect Module
Priest
Priest has only one viable archetype, but Zarimi Priest is a top-tier deck, and one of the best decks you can play right now. The list was refined during the first week, and has seen no changes since. The Hunter Tourist, Chillin' Vol'jin, is an excellent card. It is more important than the Hunter reinforcements it brings, but those still make the cut as well. Gorgonzormu is a wonderful addition to create more powerful Zarimi swing turns. Thinking that Priest benefits from being a Hunter tourist always brings a smile on my face, but I also lament the total absence of viable slow Priest decks.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 13,500
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Rogue
The nerf to Lamplighter completely killed Elemental Rogue. The deck is just gone. Low 30s win rate gone, completely unviable.
Rogue has pretty much nothing going on. Excavate Rogue is still somewhat playable and can hit a 50% win rate, but they have nothing really good left.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Posted By:
- 10,320
Zilliax: Haywire Module + Power Module
Shaman
Shaman has a lot going for it, and had a lot even before any buffs. There are three great Shaman decks on the ladder!
The first to appear was the Pirate Shaman with just a touch of Wave of Nostalgia. You have an aggro game plan, you hit some face, summon some Charge Pirates, and have your Horn of the Windlord ready. You also keep the option to turn your tokens into Legendary minions with the Wave if your all-out assault fails.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Player:
- 10,200
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Then, there is the slightly slower approach. You still have Pirates and tokens, and bring some Sea Giants along for the ride, but you also bring two copies of Matching Outfits and Wave of Nostalgia, so you are more into the evolve plan and less focused on just hitting face.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Posted By:
- 10,660
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
However, Shaman can also pursue a slower strategy with Highlander Shaman. The jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none uses the entire Shaman toolkit. There are some Pirates and some Evolve effects there, but there is also Doctor Holli'dae and Reno, Lone Ranger. Highlander Shaman is ready to play the long game if needed, but it also packs some early-game punch that can be used to defend or to apply pressure.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Posted By:
- 14,880
- 1Flowrider1
- 1Lightning Reflexes1
- 1Murloc Growfin1
- 1Pop-Up Book1
- 1Shock Hopper1
- 1Thrall’s Gift1
- 2Cactus Cutter1
- 2Trusty Companion1
- 3Carefree Cookie1
- 3Turn the Tides1
- 4Baking Soda Volcano1
- 4Hagatha the Fabled1
- 4Sand Art Elemental1
- 5Doctor Holli’dae1
- 6Golganneth, the Thunderer1
- 6Wave of Nostalgia1
- 7Wish Upon a Star1
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Overall, Evolve Aggro Shaman has been the best Shaman deck recently, followed by Nostalgia Aggro Shaman. Highlander Shaman has been played less, so I am less confident in its results, but it has the potential to be stronger than either of the aggressive decks.
Warlock
Much like Shaman, Warlock is also in an excellent position in the meta with two strong decks.
Pain Warlock has been a strong contender throughout Perils in Paradise, and the balance patch did little to weaken it. Zilliax’s Ticking Module no longer counts the opponent’s minions, but Pain Warlock can flood the board just fine on its own, so it is not affected too much.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Posted By:
- 10,680
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Fatigue Warlock is another strong one, and it has seen refinement even in the past few days. This is the latest version of the archetype, and its strongest version yet.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Player:
- 8,760
Warrior
Hit by two nerfs, Unkilliax is struggling. Inventor Boom and Hydration Station can both only resurrect one copy of the Reborn Poisonous Zilliax at a time, so the days of them swarming the board are over. You can still see these Control Warrior decks on the ladder, but their future looks uncertain, if not downright bleak.
Therefore, Warrior is turning back to Odyn, Prime Designate for a new win condition. This old, new approach has reached #1 Legend, but overall it looks barely viable. A little over 50% win rate.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-125
- Posted By:
- 9,960
Top 10 Best Hearthstone Decks After the Balance Patch
If we combine all of the above into a top-10 list, we get the following (comparison to two weeks ago):
- Zarimi Priest (+3)
- Rainbow Death Knight (+4)
- Dragon Druid (+4)
- Pain Warlock (+5)
- Handbuff Paladin (-2)
- Flood Paladin (-4)
- Evolve Aggro Shaman (new)
- Insanity Warlock (new)
- Combo Druid (-4)
- Pirate Aggro Shaman (-9)
Eight of the top-10 decks were present two weeks ago. Rainbow Death Knight has a new build, so it has underwent some major changes, whereas the others existed largely in their current forms already after the first week of the expansion. There are also a couple of newcomers to the top-10 list, so the meta has kept evolving even though at a slower pace than during the first week.
There is also some potential for the meta to keep evolving further as the effects of the buffed cards are explored further. Highlander Shaman is one potential beneficiary, but it is too early to say what its final power level will be. Rainbow Death Knight is already enjoying the buffs.
Old Guardian
Ville "Old Guardian" Kilkku is a writer and video creator focused on analytic, educational Hearthstone, and building innovative Standard format decks. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OldGuardian Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/old_guardian
