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The Standard Rotation Approaches: Play These Decks Now Before They Are Gone!

By: Old Guardian - - Updated:

Spring is always an interesting time to be playing Hearthstone. With the first expansion of the new year, the Standard format will rotate. Cards from two years ago will be gone, there will be adjustments to the Core set, and the new meta comprises four expansions: one from the current year and the three released in the previous year.

In 2024, it will be time for the expansions from 2022 (Year of the Hydra) to rotate out of the Standard format. Voyage to the Sunken City, Murder at Castle Nathria, and March of the Lich King (alongside Path of Arthas) have a limited time left in Standard. Usually, the first expansion comes in April, but according to the battle.net shop, this time we could see it already in mid-March because Showdown in the Badlands Tavern Pass is only available through March 11. It’s not a confirmed release date, but we still expect the expansion to drop in mid-March.

We do not know the new Core set yet, and some things can still be saved by including them in the Core set, like Darkbishop Benedictus was given additional time by adding it to the Core set just as it was about to rotate out of Standard. However, most decks are not built around a single card, and the Core set will not save them. The best (?) we can hope for is that something like Prince Renathal gets to stay so that we can still build 40-card decks. Yes, barring an addition to the Core set, it is soon time for Prince Renathal to go, as it is from Murder at Castle Nathria from 2022.

Given our knowledge of the hundreds of cards that are about to depart the Standard format, what decks will be gone? What are the decks you should enjoy now that you still can?

Death Knight

Death Knight is in a peculiar position. This is the first Standard rotation where Death Knight cards are on the line. Death Knight was added in March of the Lich King, and it also had its own mini-set with Path of Arthas, and they are both on their way out now. It is also likely that Death Knight Core set will see extensive changes because it was built to work with March of the Lich King and Path of Arthas from the beginning.

For example, there have been no triple-rune Death Knight cards printed in 2023. All triple-rune cards are either rotating out (Blood, Frost) or they are part of the Core set (Unholy). It would be strange for Unholy to retain access to its triple-rune cards while other Runes would lose theirs. I expect either the removal of the Unholy triple-rune cards, the addition of some other triple-rune cards to the Core set, or possibly a mix of both.

Plague Death Knight gets to keep its main cards, and so does Rainbow Death Knight. The cards that have defined Frost Death Knight and Blood Death Knight may be on their way out. The Discover powerhouses Nerubian Vizier and School Teacher are leaving Standard. The cards that defined the damage-dealing Frost Death Knight are leaving as well, from Glacial Advance to Howling Blast to Frostwyrm's Fury. The iconic Blood control cards like Vampiric Blood, Alexandros Mograine, Corpse Explosion, and Soulstealer are also headed out.

We’ll see how Blizzard plans to build a coherent whole of Death Knight after the rotation. The class has had more powerful cards than other classes, largely to offset the deck-building restrictions brought about by Runes. Consequently, it is now losing a huge swath of power, and it is unclear how a single expansion can compensate for this. Core set changes will be the main tool Blizzard has to keep the class going.

The #1 Death Knight deck I would play sooner rather than later is Highlander Blood Death Knight. With Prince Renathal scheduled to leave and many Blood control tools on their way out, it is uncertain whether this deck can be saved for the next rotation.

XL Reno Blood Death Knight – #112 Legend (Unknown) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Demon Hunter

2022 was a year of many iconic Demon Hunter cards. First, we had Lady S'theno, Predation, and Xhilag of the Abyss in Voyage to the Sunken City. Murder at Castle Nathria introduced Relics and Artificer Xy'mox alonside a streak of aggro with Bibliomite, Dispose of Evidence, and Magnifying Glaive. March of the Lich King added Spell Demon Hunter with Souleater's Scythe alongside some big support with Brutal Annihilan.

You can’t ask for much more than that. Every set in 2022 was a hit for Demon Hunter. Most of these cards do not see play in the current meta though. The attempts to revive Big Demon Hunter have not been successful. Relics are too slow. Spell Demon Hunter is non-existent.

All current Demon Hunter decks are somehow built around Blindeye Sharpshooter. They can fully focused on the combo, or include aggro elements, or include some big demons at the end, but they all share this Naga/spell core. It is uncertain what will happen to it, as we are losing a lot of Naga in the rotation: Mistake, Vicious Slitherspear, Rainbow Glowscale, Wayward Sage, School Teacher, Felscale Evoker… Treasure Guard had a chance to stay in the community vote, but it lost to Stonehill Defender. It remains uncertain whether there will be enough Naga in the format to properly build around Blindeye Sharpshooter.

At the very least, the Big dream will be over, so the most competitive Demon Hunter deck that you can play that will not be available in a similar form soon is Big Naga Demon Hunter:

Big Naga Demon Hunter – #320 Legend (MakiahTime) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Druid

The Druid sets in 2022 were all over the place. A strong card here, a strong card there, but the overall narrative was a bit confusing. That said, those strong cards now fill key roles in almost all current Druid decks. Dragon Druid is the least reliant on old cards, and even it uses Azsharan Gardens to buff up its tempo minions.

The fate of the top budget deck, Treant Druid, is uncertain. Putting together a cheap deck is easier the more expansions you have to pick cards from, and Treant Druid uses a wide variety of cards from all current Standard expansions. It is about to lose Aquatic Form, Lingering Zombie, Natural Causes, Herald of Nature, Plot of Sin, and Life From Death. That’s more than one-third of the deck. If you’re looking to climb the ladder with a cheap deck, there will not be a better time than this.

Treant Druid – #109 Legend (Unknown) – Showdown in the Badlands

Deck Import

Mill Druid is also on the line. As soon as Mill became a thing, it is possibly going away again, as Dew Process is on its way out of Standard. So are the other key cards such as Topior the Shrubbagazzor, Astalor Bloodsworn, and Naga Giants. However, the Titans will remain together with the new Shattered Reflections, so some form of Ramp Druid is all but guaranteed to survive (unless the whole package gets nerfed before rotation).

XL Mill Ramp Druid – #10 Legend (Meati) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Hunter

Hunter went through an interesting arc in 2022. Voyage to the Sunken City brought some double-casting tricks with Twinbow Terrorcoil alongside the sweet face-hunting tools Raj Naz'jan and Ancient Krakenbane. Murder at Castle Nathria added the iconic Wildseeds that formed the core of most Hunter decks for a year. Finally, March of the Lich King debuted Arcane Hunter, which was not an immediate success, but which has seen continued support all the way to Showdown in Badlands. With Halduron Brightwing and Silvermoon Farstrider on their way out, Arcane Hunter will end with the rotation.

Blizzard clearly wanted to send Arcane Hunter away with one last hurrah, and it is a good deck to play on the ladder right now. This older list is still great.

Secret Arcane Hunter – #136 Legend (RonMexico) – Fall of Ulduar (TITANS)

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You can also play with some newer cards, although the performance seems to be on a similar level.

Mini-Set Arcane Hunter

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Mage

Mage still plays with many of its 2022 cards. Voyage to the Sunken City was built around Mech Mage and Spitelash Siren‘s Naga Mage, but both of those are mostly obsolete by now. Murder at Castle Nathria is where things really started going for Mage. Skeletons, especially from Nightcloak Sanctum, are still seen today, but Mage got even more in that expansion with the addition of Frozen Touch and a big Secret package that included Objection! and Contract Conjurer. Another unforgettable card is Solid Alibi, also from the same set. All of those are now about to leave Standard behind. March of the Lich King was far weaker, but it did give Mage Arcane Wyrm.

So, Secret Mage is about to depart Standard once again, but even the future of Rainbow Mage is shrouded because Mage is losing so many direct damage spells. You can have Sif, but where will you find the damage spells?

If Standard Secret Mage is your thing, these are the last weeks to play it:

Secret Mage

Deck Import

Paladin

2022 was the year of Mech Paladin and Pure Paladin. From The Leviathan to The Countess, Blood Matriarch Liadrin, The Purator, and Anachronos, Paladin had a good selection of powerful cards. Yet, one by one they have been left by the wayside as newer cards have taken their place.

The card that continues to define Paladin is The Garden's Grace from Voyage to the Sunken City. No matter which Paladin deck you face today, you are at the risk of dying if they get to keep a minion on the board. Most of the current Aggro Paladin cards will remain in Standard, so they should still be a threat after the rotation, even though they lose their big burst card.

If you want to get the most 2022 Paladin experience today, playing an aggro variant of Pure Paladin gets you there. Many of the cards are more recent, but at least you still have The Countess there.

Buff Pure Paladin – #88 Legend (Unknown) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Priest

Naga Priest and Undead Priest were the main Priest archetypes that got support in 2022. Control Priest always gets some tools, and 2022 was no exception, but you will always be able to put together some kind of Control Priest from whatever sets Priest has available. Whirlpool, Blackwater Behemoth, and Clean the Scene were the big contributions from 2022 to Control Priest. The archetype will live on without them.

Naga Priest’s Serpent Wig, Priestess Valishj, and Handmaiden and Undead Priest’s Animate Dead, Undying Allies, Grave Digging, Rotting Necromancer, High Cultist Basaleph, and Shadow Word: Undeath, on the other hand, mean that those archetypes will be gone for good.

Naga Priest – #169 Legend (Unknown) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Rogue

Rogue moved from Aggro Pirates to Sinstone Graveyard to Secrets and Concoctions with Potion Belt and Potionmaster Putricide during 2022. Throw in one of the most powerful Rogue cards of all time in Shadow of Demise, and you can see that the class had a spectacular year. Serrated Bone Spike, Scourge Illusionist and Crabatoa are also included in the mix of cards that are about to rotate out.

I don’t even know what is left of the current Rogue decks after the rotation. So many cards that are played in all Rogue decks are leaving. Just pick a Rogue deck, any Rogue deck. It may have some Excavate cards left after the rotation, but other than that, it will be unrecognizable. The class needs a really good Core Set and first expansion to stay relevant.

Secret Concoction Rogue – #500 Legend (Fioresi) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Excavate Rogue – #4 Legend (Unknown) – Badlands Deepholm

Deck Import

Shaman

It is time to say goodbye to one of the sturdiest decks in the Standard format. Rarely a top tier deck, but always capable of climbing the ladder, Totem Shaman has been a deck that you may have crafted months and months ago, and still play today. There are new versions of it, including a pretty good one now that uses cards from the mini-set, but its core is from Murder at Castle Nathria: Carving Chisel, Gigantotem, and The Stonewright. In addition to those cards, the deck is also losing Anchored Totem, Mistake, and Amalgam of the Deep, so there is no way to revive it after the rotation.

In addition to Totem Shaman, Bioluminescence and its OTK shenanigans are going away as are Clownfish, Rotgill, and From De Other Side.

Shaman will have a lot of new discoveries to make after the rotation. In the meantime, you can take this moment to play with some totems or OTK people with Nature Shaman.

Mini-Set Totem Shaman

Deck Import

OTK Nature Shaman – #6 Legend (Norwis) – Showdown in the Badlands

Deck Import

Warlock

Warlock’s future looks bright, as Sludge Warlock is a brand-new deck. Many Warlock icons are about to retire to Wild, but they are not at the top of the meta anyway. Thaddius, Monstrosity and Dar'Khan Drathir are leaving, as is the Imp package of Imp King Rafaam and the Curse package of Za'qul. Gigafin is also leaving, but it has been too expensive to run in the current meta anyway.

All Warlock decks right now are Sludge decks, but you can run a Thaddius or a Curse variant of the theme if you want to have some old-school vibes in it. You’re better off just playing the new version though. But you should also be able to do it after rotation, and that’s not the point of this article.

Thaddius Sludge Warlock – #107 Legend (Unknown) – Showdown in the Badlands

Deck Import

Curse Sludge Warlock

Deck Import

Warrior

2022 was the year of Enrage Warrior. Well, after the nerfs during Voyage to the Sunken City, it was. Sunken City still gave Warrior From the Depths, but it was all to the depths from there. That is not to say that Enrage Warrior is a bad deck. It’s not. It just wasn’t what Warrior players most wanted.

It is still a good deck to climb the ladder right now, actually. And with Sanguine Depths, Anima Extractor, Crazed Wretch, Imbued Axe, Decimator Olgra, Sunfury Champion, Light of the Phoenix, and Thori'belore all on their way out, now is your last chance to play it in Standard. It can actually climb the ladder.

Most of the current Control/Odyn/Reno Warrior package is from 2023 (and Core), so that should still be playable after rotation.

Enrage Warrior

Deck Import

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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