The new Hearthstone expansion Perils in Paradise is here! We got to see a glimpse of what the expansion looks like from the pre-release event where Pirate Demon Hunters, OTK Druids, and OTK Paladins ruled the day. But now it’s a completely different ball game. Now all these new cards have to compete with all the good decks from the existing Standard format, ones that may not need any new cards or may just want to grab a couple of them to fill some gaps. Can the new archetypes compete in the real game?
In this article, I will take a look at some of the best-performing decks from the first day. Note that the first few days are particularly hectic with new decks being found and refined every day, so be wary of crafting cards this early. After the first week, we know a lot more, but there may still be more changes coming after that, too. That said, if you already have the cards available, some of these decks may serve you well this week and even beyond!
Pain Warlock
Pain Warlock is the early meta favorite. The deck received some new tools from Perils in Paradise, the most notable of which is the innocent-looking Party Fiend. Getting some stuff on the board early while dealing damage to yourself is simply amazing for the deck. Honorable mention goes to Fearless Flamejuggler that can turn the damage taken into more early-game stats on the board.
The deck also uses Cursed Souvenir and Party Planner Vona, but they do not seem to be as beneficial and may not stay once the deck is fully refined. Some lists opt to go for Griftah, Trusted Vendor over Vona, but that does not look like an improvement at all. In fact, running the good old Symphony of Sins over Vona or Griftah might be the best option.
Pain Warlock is the kind of deck you did not see in the pre-release event. It uses a couple of new cards, and especially Party Fiend plays an important role, but it does not want the full new package and is still based on the last expansion meta deck, just with a couple of new toys.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
11,280
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Pirate Demon Hunter
Pirate Aggro Demon hunter looked set for success in the pre-release, and it has been able to fulfill those promises in the early meta. This looks like the best early list:
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 8,040
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Dangerous Cliffside and Sigil of Skydiving are just as strong as they looked in theorycrafting, and the deck wields incredibly explosive power. Patches the Pilot may not look like much, but it is the second-best Legendary card in the deck behind the perfection that is Zilliax. If this archetype survives, Patches will be one Legendary card that you want. I would not venture to Zilliax levels of recommendation, but if this is what you want to play, you may even consider crafting it already.
There are also some clear improvement options available for the deck. Parched Desperado and Burning Heart are clear underperformers in the list, so something like Quick Pick could easily find its way to the deck to help find the Charge Pirates more easily. Maybe Southsea Captain? Perhaps even a Sea Giant? It will take some more time to refine the list, but it is off to a promising start.
Pirate Shaman
While Pirate Demon Hunter is the mainstream variant, there have been whispers among aggro connoisseurs that the real Pirate deck in Perils in Paradise just might be Shaman! Thank to Carefree Cookie, Shaman can tourist in the Demon Hunter cards from Perils, and all of a sudden it has access to all the new Pirate aggro tools too! Shaman also has Horn of the Windlord, so if you can get some attack buffs from your Pirates, you can swing twice with your big hammer.
So far, Shaman is a step behind Demon Hunter in performance, but it looks surprisingly strong. There is also still room for refinement in this deck too.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 9,000
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
In particular, Paraglide looks hard to utilize with the heavier mana curve of Shaman. Either the heavy stuff must go – perhaps even including Horn of the Windlord – or Paraglide should go. Will the Shaman deck be a slower, heavier-hitting one, or is it a Demon Hunter with Trusty Companion and Turn the Tides thrown in, maybe with just enough room for Backstage Bouncer to be played on some 1/1 Pirate on turn four? More experimentation is needed to find the deck’s true direction. When in doubt, faster is usually better in Hearthstone.
Rainbow Death Knight
Rainbow Death Knight looks surprisingly good. It received one of the best cards in the new expansion, Dreadhound Handler, and this card is simply amazing. A 2/2 with Rush for 2 mana that then becomes a 1/1 with Reborn. That is crazy early-game value, not to mention three Corpses for a deck that loves to spend Corpses.
Eliza Goreblade is not bad either for a deck that summons a lot of tokens, but as so often, strong early-game cards beat flashy midrange cards. Eliza does look like a worthwhile Legendary, as does Gorgonzormu, which is a wonderful fit, again, for a deck that loves some Corpses. Overall, Gorgonzormu looks like a good Neutral Legendary: not a Zilliax, but quite likely going to see play in multiple decks throughout the expansion cycle. Death Knight also received the machine gun location Horizon's Edge, which is incredibly easy to reactivate in this deck. Perhaps not quite enough to warrant running Seaside Giants though, those might not make it to the refined version.
If you enjoy midrange decks, Rainbow Death Knight is an excellent option for the early Perils in Paradise meta.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 14,280
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Unkilliax Control Warrior
Warrior gained access to Druid cards thanks to Hamm, the Hungry, and Control Warrior greatly enjoys some ramping (New Heights) and resurrection (Hydration Station) capabilities. Zilliax lists built around Virus and Ticking Modules were shown already in the pre-release, and they have enjoyed moderate success also in the live ladder. Bringing nigh unkillable poisonous Zilliaxes back over and over again is an effective way to both defend and attack in the late game.
The deck’s main problem right now is that aggro looks too fast. Control Warrior just might not be able to survive long enough. Perhaps the meta will change, or perhaps the deck can be improved with some additional survivability.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 11,160
ETC: Photographer Fizzle, Chemical Spill, and Odyn, Prime Designate
Zilliax: Virus Module + Perfect Module
Bubbling Under
The above five decks have been by far the most popular new decks early in Perils in Paradise. But they are far from everything in the meta! Just because we do not know much about other decks yet does not mean that they could not succeed and overtake the early meta decks. Especially so as the early meta decks are quite aggressive and able to prey on unrefined lists better than slower decks.
Elemental Shaman has not received a lot of interest. It is a tribal deck and the Elemental game plan is fairly simple, you want to play Elementals turn after turn to keep your bonuses active and improve them. There is also a limited potential to refine a tribal deck. That said, Elemental Shaman did get some nice tools in Perils in Paradise and it looks quite successful based on the limited early stats.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 9,120
Rogue is always looking for ways to play a lot of cards and bounce things around, and the early candidate for doing that in Perils of Paradise is Elemental Rogue built around Lamplighter. You want to follow the Elemental gameplan and play Elementals turn after turn, but your real plan is to use multiple copies of Lamplighter to win the game.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 7,740
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Perfect Module
If you wondered why Priest would want to be a Hunter tourist, Homi’s new take on Zarimi Priest may provide some answers. Trusty Fishing Rod helps to thin your deck and Sasquawk can repeat your big swing turns with Thirsty Drifters or even Aman'Thul. Sasquawk does look a little slow for the deck though. However, Chillin' Vol'jin, the Hunter Tourist himself, is an excellent card, as is Gorgonzormu, whose cheese can be combined with Timewinder Zarimi for an instant strong board.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 15,720
Zilliax: Ticking Module + Pylon Module
Having more resources than your opponent remains a potential winning strategy, so Ramp Druid is never completely out. The new version grabs New Heights and Trail Mix for some extra mana, Sleep Under the Stars for a wide variety of options, and Hydration Station to bring some Zilliaxes back to the field. There are not a lot of stats of the deck yet, but its popularity has been rising rapidly and it looks good enough to challenge the early meta contenders.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 11,140
Zilliax: Virus Module + Perfect Module
There is not much new going on for Hunter, Mage, and Paladin. The first two did not receive anything immediately impressive in the expansion, and Paladin’s best new hope, a Holy OTK deck, does not look as strong as hoped/feared.
Holy OTK Paladin looks like this, if you want to give it a spin.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 5,520
Or Maybe Just Skip the New Cards Altogether?
Just because a deck does not run any new cards does not make it a bad deck in the new meta. In fact, some old decks are still at the very top of the meta!
If you’re a Paladin player, this is comforting news because you do not have many new things to play with. Handbuff Paladin, on the other hand, remains a top-tier deck that can challenge all newcomers!
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 9,120
Zilliax: Twin Module + Power Module
Likewise, if Hunter is your class of choice, the old Secret Hunter remains a good deck.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Posted By:
- 6,120
Zilliax: Haywire Module + Power Module
This leaves Mage as the most problematic class at the moment. There’s nothing new for Mage, and the best old archetype, Spell Mage, is mediocre at best.
- Format: pegasus
- Season: season-124
- Player:
- 2,920
Obviously, this is still early in the new meta, and Mage may be able to come up with something brand new or Spell Mage may find ways to improve with the new cards. Perhaps you will find a way to save the class?
That’s the early look at Perils in Paradise. A good number of new things are already at the top of the meta, and a couple of old decks look set to survive for another four months. That’s what a successful Hearthstone expansion should look like: have a major effect on the meta, but not replace everything. The next week will be interesting as new decks will be refined further and hopefully some new archetypes can still be discovered as well. It is a good time to play some Hearthstone!
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
