I skipped last week’s compilation because it was only just a few days after the patch and we still didn’t have enough decks to really share (but Old Guardian did a quick early post-patch meta roundup). This week we have tons more decks because people are trying new (and old) stuff.
To address the Brann-sized elephant in the room – Reno Warrior is by far the most talked about deck this week (in fact after some meta adjustments it probably dropped to Tier 2). Even though statistically it’s not the strongest one, it’s BY FAR the most popular deck at all ranks. And let me tell you this – that’s quite rare. Usually, we have 2-3 different decks that are #1 at different ranks (Legend, Platinum-Diamond, Bronze-Gold for example). But not this time. Reno Warrior is most popular all the way through. And it’s sitting at nearly 30% popularity at some ranks, which is crazy. It looks like it’s a playstyle people enjoy and I honestly get that. I really like that deck myself – I like Control Warrior and I like Reno decks so for me it’s a match made in heaven. But facing the same deck over and over again is annoying. Not only that, but a deck that has some frustrating gameplay patterns. It’s not fun when cards in your hand/deck are getting blown up and you can’t do anything about it. That’s why I hope that we’ll see some nerfs even though it’s my favorite deck in the current meta.
Other than Warrior, the two most common/strongest decks are definitely Small Beast (Token) Hunter and Aggro (Showdown) Paladin. Zarimi Priest is doing quite well despite its main card getting nerfed (Timewinder Zarimi is now harder to play, true, but the deck still has lots of crazy early/mid-game tempo turns so it can afford to wait one or two more turns before getting an extra turn). Sludge Warlock and Hybrid Druid are also pretty popular and sit somewhere in Tier 2. Interestingly enough, Aggro (Shopper) Demon Hunter looks to be pretty competitive in the current meta, but it’s quite underplayed. It’s a common thing after a deck gets nerfed, but if you liked it before the 29.2 patch then you might try it out again and you should get some decent results.
The meta still hasn’t fully settled actually. Just a few days ago a new Warlock build popped up and it’s actually looking pretty good. It relies on the Fatigue package combined with Encroaching Insanity – it gets extra tempo from Baritone Imps and Crazed Conductors in the early/mid game and then can have a big combo turn with pumped Crescendos and Trogg Gemtosser in the late game. Similarly, we just had a new Rogue build based around Sonya Waterdancer. It’s a bit similar to the early expansion builds where the goal is to get multiple Sonyas on the board and then just kill the opponent with Deadly Poisons from Valeera's Gifts (that you get LOTS of copies with Sonyas). Win rate on that deck is quite low overall because it’s really difficult to play, but some high Legend players had decent success with it. Even if not now, there’s a chance that it will shine in a future meta, because the combo itself is pretty crazy (it’s just somewhat hard to stay in the game until you can play it + the combo turn is pretty easy to mess up).
There’s also a Heroic Tavern Brawl going on right now, and we have some 12 wins decks to share. I’ll also add them here because overall the Brawl meta is not that different from the regular Standard meta, so they should also work on the ladder if you want to try them out. Just a quick note is that unless you’re a Top 0.1% player I really don’t recommend playing this Brawl. Even purely statistically, an average participant will go 3-3 and that’s a net loss (you only break even at 5 wins). But if you take into account that the playing field has lots of high Legend players, pros, streamers etc. and you can be matched against all of them… getting to the break-even point (5 wins) is very difficult. Ultimately it’s your Gold (or real money) so I won’t stop you, but there are simply better ways to spend that.
But most importantly – the meta will see another big shake-up very soon. Heroic Brawliseum means one thing. Okay, two things. One is some players getting baited into losing lots of money. But the other one is the mini-set. If we follow the pattern, for the last two years mini-sets were always announced right around Heroic Brawliseum. I suspect that we’ll see the announcement next week, or the week after at the latest. The power level of Whizbang’s Workshop was pretty insane so if the mini-set is similar, well, anything can happen. Just like always, I’ll be reporting on any news and card reveals we get!
Below is a full list of the Legend decks from last week, sorted by the highest placement.
If you want to see all of the current top meta decks, go to our Hearthstone Meta Tier List post!
Hearthstone Standard Legend Decks of the Week
- 1Garrosh’s Gift1
- 1Shield Slam1
- 1Slam1
- 1Town Crier1
- 2Bash1
- 2Bladestorm1
- 2Blast Charge1
- 2Safety Goggles1
- 2Shield Block1
- 2Stoneskin Armorer1
- 3Bellowing Flames1
- 3Reinforced Plating1
- 3Steam Guardian1
- 4Craftsman’s Hammer1
- 6Sanitize1
- 7Badlands Brawler1
- 7Trial by Fire1
- 8Boomboss Tho’grun1
- 8Deepminer Brann1
- 8Inventor Boom1
- 1Pop-Up Book1
- 1Shock Hopper1
- 1Thrall’s Gift1
- 2Amphibious Elixir1
- 3Fairy Tale Forest1
- 3Hex1
- 3Lightning Storm1
- 3Turn the Tides1
- 4Baking Soda Volcano1
- 4Hagatha the Fabled1
- 4Sand Art Elemental1
- 5Altered Chord1
- 5Doctor Holli’dae1
- 6Golganneth, the Thunderer1
- 6Shudderblock1
- 7Giant Tumbleweed!!!1
- 7Wish Upon a Star1
Heroic Tavern Brawl (Standard) 12 Wins Decks
- 1Felstring Harp2
- 1Fracking2
- 2Defile2
- 2Elementium Geode2
- 2Endgame2
- 3Furnace Fuel2
- 3Mortal Eradication2
- 4Dark Alley Pact2
- 4Forge of Wills2
- 4Pop’gar the Putrid1
- 4Wing Welding1
- 5Symphony of Sins1
- 6Loken, Jailer of Yogg-Saron1
- 8Wheel of DEATH!!!1
- 9Sargeras, the Destroyer1
- 10Table Flip2
- 30Fanottem, Lord of the Opera1
- 1Crimson Clergy1
- 1Fan Club1
- 1Holy Smite1
- 1Psychic Conjurer1
- 2Creation Protocol1
- 2Power Chord: Synchronize1
- 3Benevolent Banker1
- 3Holy Nova1
- 3Madame Lazul1
- 4Fight Over Me1
- 4Glowstone Gyreworm1
- 4Invasive Shadeleaf1
- 4Serenity1
- 4Shadow Word: Ruin1
- 6Harmonic Pop1
- 7Aman’Thul1
- 7Repackage1
- 8Elise, Badlands Savior1
Hearthstone Wild Legend Decks of the Week
- 1Cold Storage1
- 1Schooling1
- 1Thrall’s Gift1
- 2Bolner Hammerbeak1
- 2Cactus Cutter1
- 2Devolve1
- 2Pebbly Page1
- 3Brilliant Macaw1
- 3Elemental Destruction1
- 3Framester1
- 3Lightning Storm1
- 3Primal Dungeoneer1
- 4Baking Soda Volcano1
- 5Doctor Holli’dae1
- 6Golganneth, the Thunderer1
- 6Grumble, Worldshaker1
- 6Shudderblock1
- 6Snowfall Guardian1
- 9Shudderwock1
- 0Zilliax Deluxe 30001
- 1Glacial Shard1
- 1Miracle Salesman1
- 1Sir Finley, Sea Guide1
- 2Cult Neophyte1
- 2Greedy Partner1
- 2Zephrys the Great1
- 3Forensic Duster1
- 3Prince Renathal1
- 3Razorscale1
- 3Timeline Accelerator1
- 4Aftershocks1
- 4Blademaster Okani1
- 4E.T.C., Band Manager1
- 4Lorekeeper Polkelt1
- 4Speaker Stomper1
- 5Boompistol Bully1
- 5Loatheb1
- 6Reno Jackson1
- 7Mutanus the Devourer1
- 10Reno, Lone Ranger1
- 1Avenge1
- 1Crystology1
- 1Feast and Famine1
- 1Galloping Savior1
- 1Hidden Wisdom1
- 1Judgment of Justice1
- 1Never Surrender!1
- 1Noble Sacrifice1
- 1Oh My Yogg!1
- 1Reckoning1
- 1Redemption1
- 1Righteous Protector1
- 2Hydrologist1
- 2Resistance Aura1
- 2Sir Finley of the Sands1
- 3Enter the Coliseum1
- 3Lightbringer’s Hammer1
- 3Runi, Time Explorer1
- 3Spirit of the Badlands1
- 4Nozdormu the Timeless1
- 5Mysterious Challenger1
- 7Amitus, the Peacekeeper1
- 7Kangor’s Endless Army1
- 7The Leviathan1
- 8Lightforged Cariel1
- 8Prismatic Beam1
- 0Aquatic Form2
- 1Floop’s Glorious Gloop1
- 1Malfurion’s Gift1
- 2Breath of Dreams2
- 2Invigorate2
- 2Moonlit Guidance2
- 3Frost Lotus Seedling2
- 3Splish-Splash Whelp2
- 3Take to the Skies1
- 4Branching Paths1
- 4Chia Drake2
- 4Desert Nestmatron2
- 4Flobbidinous Floop1
- 4Poison Seeds1
- 4Wing Commander Mulverick1
- 5Nourish2
- 5Wildheart Guff1
- 7Scale of Onyxia1
- 9Aviana1
- 9Fye, the Setting Sun1
- 10Eonar, the Life-Binder1
- 1Garrosh’s Gift1
- 1Shield Slam1
- 2Bladestorm1
- 2Corsair Cache1
- 2Drywhisker Armorer1
- 2Frozen Buckler1
- 2Man the Cannons1
- 2Quality Assurance1
- 2Safety Goggles1
- 2Shield Block1
- 2Stoneskin Armorer1
- 3Bellowing Flames1
- 3From the Depths1
- 3Steam Guardian1
- 4Craftsman’s Hammer1
- 4Igneous Lavagorger1
- 4Outrider’s Axe1
- 5Brawl1
- 8Deepminer Brann1
- 10Shield Shatter1
- 1Armor Vendor1
- 1Sir Finley, Sea Guide1
- 2Astalor Bloodsworn1
- 2Dirty Rat1
- 2Greedy Partner1
- 2Needlerock Totem1
- 2Watcher of the Sun1
- 2Zephrys the Great1
- 3Card Grader1
- 3Coldlight Oracle1
- 3Lord Barov1
- 3Prince Renathal1
- 4Aftershocks1
- 4Caricature Artist1
- 4E.T.C., Band Manager1
- 4Ignis, the Eternal Flame1
- 4School Teacher1
- 5Taelan Fordring1
- 6Theotar, the Mad Duke1
- 10Reno, Lone Ranger1