Hearthstone
Top Decks

The Best Standard Hearthstone Decks of 2017

By: Evident - - Updated:

Happy New Year everyone! Let’s take a look back at some of the decks that dominated the meta in some shape or form in 2017! If you think I’ve missed a deck then let me know in the comments.

Be sure to check out our Hearthstone Meta Decks for the currently best decks!

Best Decks of 2017

The year of 2017 was truly a testament to the power of Patches the Pirate, who charged his way into just about every aggressive or midrange deck you could throw a couple of pirates into. It also heavily increased the power of Corridor Creeper which sees play in a lot of the same decks. It will be a nice change when the rotation hits and the sun sets on this bossy pirate.

The specific deck list examples are generally what I feel best represents the deck at its peak or what was most optimal at the time before it was nerfed.

Aggro Jade Shaman
It’s amazing to look at this deck now and think about it before the nerfs and rotation. Spirit Claws and Small-Time Buccaneer were extremely powerful in this list (both since nerfed), as well as combining the powerhouse 1-2 combo of Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem (both since rotated) that would sometimes just win the game on the spot. The powerful Jade package also allowed the deck to sustain pressure into the mid-game.

Shamanstone, as it was known, was a pretty dark period for Hearthstone. Shaman’s play frequency, according to Vicious Syndicate, was the highest we had ever seen for any class. Thankfully due to nerfs to Spirit Claws (was 1-mana), Small-Time Buccaneer (had 2-Health), and the rotation of Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem brought the class back down to tolerable levels. Late in 2017 people are actually starting to long for the revival of Shaman. What a difference a year makes!

Aggro Pirate Warrior
While Aggro Shaman was mostly done in by the Standard rotation, its aggressive counter-part Pirate Warrior continued to live on for the majority of the year. The deck saw different periods at the top of the meta, but was finally brought down to earth by the nerf to the trusty Fiery War Axe (was 2-mana). Pirate Warrior is still played, but its days at the top of the meta are likely over.

Check out our current guide to Aggro Pirate Warrior!

Caverns Below (Quest) Rogue
Quest Rogue was a bit of a surprise at the time. The quest was not highly-rated coming out of Journey to Un’Goro and almost felt like the deck was stumbled upon when Dog was experimenting with it on stream during the day of the release. The early deck actually ran Moroes briefly, but was soon cut for more consistent cards as the deck was further refined. It didn’t take long for it to become one of the more hated decks in the meta, and eventually led to Blizzard nerfing the Rogue quest. The deck still sees some play, and you will see it popup high at legend where it has strong matchups against Highlander Priest and Jade Druid.

Jade Druid
There’s a noticeable theme going on with most of these lists, and it’s that they’ve all been nerfed! Jade Druid is no different, it had a period of dominance along with Aggro Token Druid in the Knights of the Frozen Throne meta. It was reminiscent of the times of Shamanstone, but Blizzard took action against the class and nerfed Innervate and Spreading Plague. Spreading Plague would continue to see play in Jade Druid, but Innervate has largely been cut from most lists.

Check out our current guide to Jade Druid!

Murloc Paladin
The powerful synergy of Murlocs finally came together fully with Murloc Paladin. Journey to Un’Goro released Gentle Megasaur which helped push this deck into the high tiers of the meta. Paladin tools like Vilefin Inquisitor, Hydrologist, Spikeridged Steed, and Sunkeeper Tarim gave the class the extra ability to abuse the Megasaur. In the great nerf of 2017 this deck would take a hit because of Murloc Warleader no longer giving +1 health to the murlocs it buffed. However, the deck still sees play due to the strong synergy and the addition of Call to Arms.

Check out our current guide to Murloc Paladin!

Aggro Token Druid
A bit of an overlooked deck, but Aggro Token Druid was one of the most dominating aggro decks of the year. Un’Goro gave it the Innervate into Vicious Fledgling combination which would frequently win games on its own. Tar Creeper, thought to be an anti-aggro card, was quickly found to be great at protecting weak minions and made for a powerful ally in aggro decks. Living Mana was the card that really put this deck over-the-top by adding a way to jump back into a game after losing the board. Your opponent would often have to exhaust their resources dealing with your board and just hope you didn’t have it.

The nerf to Innervate really took the wind out of the sails of this powerful aggro deck, but it still maintains a solid spot in the meta to this day.

Check out our current guide to Aggro Token Druid!

Tempo Rogue
Once the nerfs to Innervate and Fiery War Axe hit, it really opened up the meta to two high profile decks. One of these decks was Tempo Rogue, which also led to the rise of Prince Keleseth. The powerful aggressive/tempo based deck can beat you down with or without Keleseth, but if you have him your winrate increases dramatically. Keleseth is powerful on his own, but Rogue’s spell Shadowstep allows you to bring him back to your hand and back out on the same turn. These powerful interactions have made Tempo Rogue one of the most dominating decks of the year!

Check out our current guide to Tempo Rogue!

Highlander Razakus Priest
The other deck that greatly benefited from the nerfs to Druid was Highlander Priest. Priest always had a couple of decks floating around that included Kazakus and Raza the Chained, but it didn’t become a legit deck until Shadowreaper Anduin was released. With Druid brought down a bit we have now been in a period where Priest has largely been one of the best overall classes in the game. It has access to multiple strong meta decks including Highlander, Dragon, and Big Priest.

Check out our current guide to Highlander Priest!

Leave a Reply

12 Comments

  1. ghost
    January 1, 2018 at 11:35 PM

    No Reno deck in MSG meta,no midrange shaman, what a mising. Tempo rogue, jade, priest,… only viable after KFT meta not the whole year and look like you forgot this article talked about the whole year and mostly talked about the recent meta. I ll rate this article 2,5/5

    • CounterTrap
      January 2, 2018 at 9:08 AM

      Seriously? You’re going to give the article a rating, as if you’re a sort of invited critic? Evident goes out of his way to provide entertainment beyond the simple posting of the latest pro deck to top the charts, and you feel the need to give it a rating in a public comment sections. Well, thank you for sharing, even though it is almost wholly negative and tries to do nothing more than list flaws. And as for “mostly talk[ing] about the recent meta”, those notes are primarily in the context of how something that fared well many months ago still sits today – pretty appropriate compared to the alternative of, say, how it sat during some other previous meta. Which now just reminds me that it’s fun to overtype certain words… meta, meta, meta…. wheee! Anyway, thanks Evident… I, for one, enjoy and appreciate when you do something like this out of nothing more than a love for the game. Is it a META,meta,meta-breaking insight into the answer to all things gaming? Nope. Is it a fun little trip down recent memory lane? Yep.

      • Evident - Author
        January 2, 2018 at 10:19 AM

        Thanks for the comment, and thank you for not just insulting the person. I’m glad you like the site!

    • Evident - Author
      January 2, 2018 at 10:08 AM

      2017 only had about 3 months of Reno Jackson and only Renolock would’ve been considered and it wasn’t even really in the running. Midrange Shaman is debatable, but Aggro Shaman was far more dominant and popular. Murloc Paladin, Quest Rogue, and Token Druid are all from Un’Goro meta which was very early in the year so I don’t agree that it’s recent meta only.

  2. davidus
    December 31, 2017 at 5:39 PM

    I am literally the guy who made actual Raza Priest, in day 1 of KFT crafted Raza, Anduin and Velen, played the combo deck with the same cards actually you run. And now I hate my own invention, sure a YouTube played vs me and copied my deck and everyone else copied my, but nobody knows I made this deck, so sad.

  3. TAbril
    December 31, 2017 at 12:24 PM

    I liked the article, it also brings some nostalgia.

  4. Mythos
    December 31, 2017 at 11:10 AM

    Azure Drake in Standard shaman???

    • Mythos
      December 31, 2017 at 11:12 AM

      Forget it…was mentioned in the description ^^