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The Best Meta Decks for All Classes After One Week of The Great Dark Beyond

By: Old Guardian - - Updated:

We are almost one week into The Great Dark Beyond and the wheat is starting to separate from the chaff. In this article, I’ll take a look at the best decks for each class at the moment and how they all form the present meta. As the final set of this year’s Standard format, The Great Dark Beyond has a difficult task in front of it to change the meta, and there are many viable decks that use no new cards whatsoever. However, there are also some new archetypes and many of the existing archetypes have adopted some of the tools from the new expansion to stay relevant.

It’s time to venture into the first week of The Great Dark Beyond!

Death Knight

Death Knight is one of the best classes right now. It has multiple archetypes that can win more than 50% of their games, and the top deck is a real top-tier meta contender.

The current best Death Knight deck uses only one new card, Ethereal Oracle. Other than that, it is the Razzle-Dazzler/Corpsicle deck that we already saw during Perils in Paradise.

Frost/Unholy Razzle Death Knight

Deck Import

The second-best Death Knight deck features some more new cards, as it is a Highlander deck, and Highlander decks have always been quick to adopt whatever strong new cards are added in each expansion. Reno, Lone Ranger can single-handedly defeat enemy Starships and The Ceaseless Expanse adds even more hard removal to the deck. The additional survivability from Airlock Breach is strong enough to be included in the deck twice through E.T.C.’s sideboard, and Exarch Maladaar allows you to cheat out any of your big cards ridiculously early. Overall, a great overview of many of the new capabilities Death Knight received from The Great Dark Beyond, even if the overall gameplan is still that of a Reno deck.

Thanks to the power of Reno, the Highlander style seems to overpower any attempts to build a Control Death Knight with duplicates, even though the new cards would support that kind of attempt as well. They will likely not become mainstream until Reno leaves Standard next year.

Rainbow Reno Death Knight – #88 Legend (Pizza) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAfHhBB6H9gT9xAX8+QWT+wXt/wWFjgaLkgaUlQaplQb/lwbLnwaSoAbHpAavqAbLsAa5sQa7sQb/ugbDvgakwAamwAaowAa6wQb/yQaWywa6zgag4gbC6Aaq6gbt6gYAAAEGu7EG/cQF9bMGx6QG97MGx6QG7t4Gx6QGoOIG/cQF6e0G/cQFAAA=

The third-best Death Knight deck in the format is actually based on the new cards, especially the Death Knight Starship. A slow deck with powerful win conditions, but it is still too early for this one. While the deck can reach above a 50% win rate, it is just no match for Reno. It can be fun to play already now, and you can slowly climb with it, but its real time may have to wait until next year.

Rainbow Starship Death Knight – #1 Legend (santamaks) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAfHhBA6H9gT9xAXw6AX8+QWT+wXt/wWUlQaplQb/lwbHpAa9sQb23QbC6Aaq6gYIhY4Gu7EG/7oGkMsGi9wGpdwGnuIGoOIGAAEG+4AG/cQF9bMGx6QG97MGx6QGqLgG/cQF7t4Gx6QG6e0G/cQFAAA=

Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter has not had as much fun in The Great Dark Beyond. Crewmates are just… bad. I don’t see any hope for them. The Demon Hunter Starship is more promising. It is the most aggressive Starship in the game, and Starship pieces can be added to the Pirate Demon Hunter deck. The big question is, do they improve it? I hope some more refinement can still happen because the early data shows that Pirate Demon Hunter is slightly stronger without the Starship pieces. Starship pieces are not bad as such, and the Starship variant is still capable of above-50% win rates on the ladder, but losing a couple of percentage points from the Starship inclusion does not feel good.

This is the best-performing Demon Hunter deck right now:

Pirate Aggro Demon Hunter

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAea5AwSongbHpAbEuAb8wAYN5OQF6Z4G7p4G/KgG17gG17oGlL8G1sAG2MAG38AG9sAG1cEGrcUGAAED87MGx6QG9rMGx6QG6N4Gx6QGAAA=

And this is the most common Starship version of the deck:

Starship Pirate Demon Hunter – #24 Legend (Unknown) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Druid

Druid has a wide variety of playable decks, but it lacks a superstar.

The best Druid archetype is Dungar Druid, which is built around Travelmaster Dungar and a variety of big Taunt minions from different expansions that can then be resurrected with Hydration Station.

Dungar Druid

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAZICBp/zBamVBvajBsekBtrBBoviBgyunwSaoAagoAaHqAbvqQbDugbQygbzygaL3Aad4wb75Qad6wYAAQP0swbHpAb3swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

The same concept is also used without Dungar, in which case you can slap Kil'jaeden on top as an alternative win condition. There are some Dungar Druids with Kil’jaeden in them as well, but because Dungar can end up pulling it from your deck, it is generally the worst-performing card in those decks.

Armor Taunt Druid – #51 Legend (iNS4NE) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAZICCJ/zBamVBsekBsO6BqS7BqW7BqrqBuntBguunwT93wXb+gWgoAbvqQbVugbQygbzygaxzgaL3Ab75QYAAQP0swbHpAb3swbHpAbu3gbHpAYAAA==

The new cards from The Great Dark Beyond also breathed some life into Dollhouse Druid, so if you want to use Spell Damage to go for an OTK, that is yet another option for Druid in the current meta. Performance-wise, it is a little behind the Taunt decks though.

Combo Druid – #64 Legend (MrYagut) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Hunter

Hunter is performing quite well on the ladder. The Discover package of Exarch Naielle and Alien Encounters has been performing well. Hunter also received a seemingly great Egg in Extraterrestrial Egg, but it just can’t seem to find a deck right now. It competes with Mystery Egg, and in the current Breakfast Hunter, you want to go with the Mystery Egg.

Breakfast Hunter is the best Hunter archetype on the ladder. Compared to the earliest versions, the deck has cut Rangari Scout but kept Exarch Naielle, Detailed Notes, and Alien Encounters. Additional defensive strength, consistency, and new ways to get discounted Beasts have propelled Breakfast Hunter near the top of the ladder foodchain.

Breakfast Hunter

Deck Import

Hunter also has two decks from the last expansion that remain relevant: Secret Hunter and Spell Token Hunter. Neither deck uses any new cards, and they are not doing as well as Breakfast Hunter, but they are still perfectly capable of climbing the ladder.

Secret Hunter

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAR8E458Ex6QGrLYGguYGDejoBd/tBeryBeT1Bfz4BcuOBs6OBu2bBpCeBvGlBv2oBty4BtfzBgABA/GzBsekBvKzBsekBujeBsekBgAA

Spell Token Hunter

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAR8E0vgF1/kFx6QGus4GDZf2Bcj2BYWOBsuOBtKOBvGlBvKlBv+lBpKmBozBBrThBoHmBtfzBgABA/OzBsekBvazBsekBujeBsekBgAA

Mage

Mage is one of the two best classes in the game right now and it has two top-tier decks too! Mage is a frustrating opponent because its two meta decks are the polar opposites of each other. Elemental Mage was the lone star of the first day. Odyn Warrior rose to counter that, and in turn, Big Spell Mage counters Odyn Warrior. Elemental Mage counters Big Spell Mage. When you see a Mage you have no idea whether the matchup will be good or bad for you until you see them play a card.

There have been many attempts to improve the early Fire Elemental Mage deck, but none of them offer a clear improvement. You can add even more Legendary cards to the deck, or you can cut Saruun and Molten Rune to go under the main list, and both of those approaches work well, but not obviously better than this most popular one.

Fire Elemental Mage – #57 Legend (Clark) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Big Spell Mage, on the other hand, was refined already in Perils in Paradise and makes use of no new cards. It has seized the opportunity to shine as other decks try to counter Elemental Mage, and it is hard to counter them both at the same time.

Big Spell Mage

Deck Import

Paladin

Paladin has a reasonably good time on the ladder. The class has three fully competitive decks that are right behind Mages and Shamans.

The most popular Paladin deck is the newly refreshed Tourist Paladin. Blasting cheap spells straight to the dome with the help of Rogue cards and Sunsapper Lynessa is a popular playstyle. The deck also received some improvements from the new expansion in the form of Ethereal Oracle – low-key one of the most important new cards – and the new Paladin Legendary Lumia. Sea Shill into Lumia into Conniving Conman over three turns is a power move that few decks can survive. And that’s not even the deck’s main win condition, damage spells are!

Lynessa Paladin – #29 Legend (ins4ne) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAZ8FCPboBY3+BZmOBsekBtKpBtK5BtG/Bq7qBguFjga8jwaqlgbUuAbBvwbpyQbtyQbvyQaM1gal4Qbk6gYAAQP0swbHpAb3swbHpAbu3gbHpAYAAA==

While Tourist Paladin is popular, the strongest Paladin deck needs no new cards. It is the good old Handbuff Paladin.

Handbuff Paladin – #31 Legend (Lovelyz_is_god) – Perils in Paradise

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAZ8FCObkBcj4BY3+BcekBtOpBtG/BubmBsn0BgvJoATLxAW4xQXYxgW5/gX4lQbOnAa0ngbQqQbRqQabywYAAQPyswbHpAb1swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

The third competitive Paladin deck is another old one, Flood Paladin.

Flood Paladin

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAZ8FBsHEBfTIBY3+BcekBrrOBubmBgzJoASi1ASU9QWV9QWFjgaZjga8jwb1lQbOnAbUngaSoAbeugYAAQPzswbHpAb2swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

The strength of Handbuff Paladin and Flood Paladin makes the failure of Librams even more apparent. Libram Paladin should follow a similar midrange playstyle, and it can be overwhelmingly strong when it gets enough Libram discounts in, but those discounts just cannot be applied fast and consistently enough.

Priest

Priest is nigh unrecognizable. There are three Priest archetypes that see play on the ladder, and all of them are aggressive decks. The main control class has been transformed into utilizing either Dragons, self-damage, or overhealing as a tool of aggression.

Zarimi Priest has found its form for The Great Dark Beyond. Orbital Halo is actually the best-performing card in the deck. The mixture of tempo from Dragons and finally the crushing extra turn from Timewinder Zarimi have taken the ladder by storm over the past couple of days. We can see a downward trend in performance as players learn about the new contender, but the deck remains strong nonetheless.

Zarimi Priest

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAa0GDMjGBbvHBebkBc/2BcekBsOoBumoBoa/BrrOBtfSBovWBszhBgmi6AOi6QWFjgbGnAbxnAbqqAbrqAbz4Qbc8wYAAQPzswbHpAb2swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

Ethereal Oracle keeps popping up all over the place, this time in an aggressive Priest deck that includes a number of damage spells, especially the scary Hot Coals. Orbital Halo makes an appearance here as well as one of the best-performing cards. The ability to keep your early board, most notably Crimson Clergy, alive to snowball is exactly what aggressive Priest decks need.

Coals Priest

Deck Import

Surprisingly enough, Overheal Priest with Anchorite is the weakest of the aggressive Priest archetypes on the ladder right now. Still, giving your minions a lot of Health and then turning all that Health into Attack with Crazed Alchemist is a functional strategy.

Anchorite Overheal Priest – #1 Legend (WEYuansu) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Rogue

The most popular and most talked-about Rogue deck of the first week has been Quasar Rogue. You meet one on the ladder, watch them play solitaire for a while, and then it ends and they lose. Or sometimes they win. Meeting a Quasar Rogue is not an elevating experience, but as a competitive deck, the archetype has been written off. Quasar Rogue’s numbers are not improving. It is not even close to hitting a 50% win rate at any rank bracket. It is simply not a competitive deck.

Quasar Rogue – #63 Legend (Excelia) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

What is a competitive Rogue deck, then? We go back to the last expansion and to Playhouse Giants. Free Giants, good Giants. Building some Giant boards can still win games more than half the time. Rogue is not in a great spot right now, but this deck can still find some success on the ladder.

Sonya Rogue

Deck Import

Alternatively, we can build a nice big dagger or Quick Pick and just swing at the opponent’s face. This straightforward approach to the game has experienced a bit of a resurgence with the new expansion, at least for the early days.

Dagger Rogue

Deck Import

Shaman

Shaman is in a phenomenal position. The class has three top-tier decks, and does not appear to be able to fail on the ladder right now.

The two best Shaman decks do not use any new cards from The Great Dark Beyond. The top deck right now is Rainbow Shaman:

Rainbow Shaman

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAaoICPboBfTyBY31BcekBqTABvzABrrOBqXTBgvl5AWQgwazjQbDjwacngaopwbrqQacuAa/vgbWwAbR0AYAAQPzswbHpAb2swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

You can also play its close sibling without the Razzle-Dazzlers and with some more emphasis on getting those Waves of Nostalgia running.

Evolve Shaman

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAaoIBo31BcekBtSlBvzABrrOBqXTBgzl5AX26AW5/gWQgwazjQbDjwacngaopwbrqQacuAbWwAbR0AYAAQPzswbHpAb2swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

The newcomer among Shaman decks is Burn Shaman, once again powered by Ethereal Oracle.

Burn Shaman

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAaoIBJegBI31BcekBrrOBg3q5wP5nwTE0AXl5AWFjgbOnAaopwakwAbR0AbR5AaU5gbk6gaN+AYAAQPzswbHpAb2swbHpAbo3gbHpAYAAA==

All three Shaman decks above are wonderful options for climbing the ladder. However, the new Asteroid Shaman has not found success on the ladder so far.

Warlock

Warlock finds itself in a difficult position on the ladder. The random Demon theme has not worked very well for the class. The Warlock Starship is the weakest of the bunch. Warlock’s only refuge is the Wheel. Wheel of DEATH!!! is still an intimidating threat to slower decks, and Eredar Brutes, Kil'jaeden, and The Ceaseless Expanse fit well into Wheel Warlock. The deck is barely above 50%, but it is the best Warlock has available right now.

Kil’jaeden Wheel Warlock – #6 Legend (LEBED) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Warrior

Draenei were the big theme for Warrior in The Great Dark Beyond, but they have not succeeded at all so far. With Spore Empress Moldara and Dwarf Planet better suited for meme clips than actual ladder decks, Warrior has been going back to its established win conditions.

First, Odyn Warrior became the main counter to Elemental Mage. This is Odyn Warrior with a touch of The Great Dark Beyond thanks to Hostile Invader and The Ceaseless Expanse, but Odyn Warrior nonetheless.

Odyn Warrior – #42 Legend (Unknown) – The Great Dark Beyond

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAQcGpfYFofsF2IEGx6QG+skGquoGDI7UBPDNBbT4BYuUBpyeBoegBuypBtW6Bo6/BvPKBsHhBrDiBgABA/WzBsekBvezBsekBujeBsekBgAA

Another theme Warrior has explored is the Taunt Warrior that dominated the pre-release Tavern Brawl. Unkilliax is still a hard foe to handle, even more so when it keeps coming back. This deck does not need any new cards, either.

Taunt Warrior

Deck Import

Deck code:

AAECAQcEx6QGk6gGusEG+skGDY7UBJyeBo+oBpCoBpKoBpSoBuypBtW6BqS7BtDKBvPKBoriBuTmBgABA/SzBsekBvezBsekBujeBsekBgAA

Conclusions

Shaman and Mage are the classes to beat. Shaman has three top-tier decks (Rainbow, Evolve, and Burn), and Mage has two (Elemental and Big Spell), so both classes are doing incredibly well. The new version of Zarimi Priest is the latest addition to the meta and the biggest challenger to the Mage/Shaman dominance. The other decks that fill the top 10 decks in the current meta are Razzle Death Knight, Breakfast Hunter, Handbuff Paladin, and Tourist Paladin. There are quite a few decks that are able to reach a 50% win rate, but those ten would be the top picks for a smooth ladder climb.

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

Check out Old Guardian on Twitter or on their Website!

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One Comment

  1. Labraccio
    November 13, 2024 at 5:14 AM

    Dear Mr. Old Guardian! This site is absolutely the best Deck source for HS and I personally use it since 2015. But! Please! Can You fix the problem with unworking deck codes! It seems like a problem with Zilliax or something else. The codes are broken very very often, and Im picking each card separately from my collection like in good old 2014. I think this is fixable.
    Best regards