Fall of Ulduar has been out for almost 2 weeks now and I can safely say it right now – the mini-set had the biggest impact on the meta out of all of the mini-sets so far. Or maybe let’s put it another way – Yogg-Saron, Unleashed is one of the strongest card released in the last few expansions. I won’t go as far as “the strongest”, but it’s up there. At the time I’m writing this, the card is present in 54% of decks in Legend. The number was at 51% yesterday, so it’s still growing. That obviously puts it it at #1 spot in terms of popularity. But it’s not just Legend thing that doesn’t affect the rest of the ladder. Going down to Diamond, it keeps a strong 41% play rate (#1) and even in Bronze-Gold it’s at 35% play rate (#1). Those aren’t official stats, of course, but HSReplay has a big enough sample size to be pretty on point.
Yogg is just crazy good. More and more people realize that they can put him into their decks. Sure, at first he only saw play in decks that were basically fully made of spells. It makes sense, right? You need to cast a lot of spells to discount him. But as it turns out, it’s not that hard to cast a lot of spells nowadays. Most of the decks can do it – even if the main build doesn’t run that many of them, there are some extra tricks to make it work (like Hunter’s 3 in 1 spells such as Bunch of Bananas or cards that draw/generate more spells like Nerubian Vizier). Many decks can make him cost 0 mana very, very quickly – and then he’s just a 0 mana 7/5 giving you Mind Control or a better Mass Hysteria. Or a lot of 1/1’s (Chaotic Tendrils) that most of the time give you a lot of extra value. You might say that his statline is not important because he almost never gets to live until his second turn – but that’s exactly why his stats matter too. He NEEDS to get removed, because even though he doesn’t get to attack the turn after you play him, he gets to do something even better (use one of the other abilities). And so, your opponent needs to deal with that 7/5 body even more than if he was just a normal 7/5 that can attack.
I’m rarely 100% sure about a nerf, but this one is basically guaranteed. The next balance update will hit Yogg. We just had an emergency hotfix earlier this week banning The Jailer from Standard and Wild. And did it help? Sure, it made Druid a bit worse (not by A LOT, mind you), but Druid is only the symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. The current meta is completely wrapped by Yogg. You either need to play a deck that runs it or a deck that’s good against it. And it just turns out that Druid is the best class at utilizing Yogg. The deck’s presence in lower ranks is not that big of a deal (probably because it’s a bit tricky to pilot), in high Legend every second match is against Druid. And I’m not exaggerating – watch any high Legend streamer and see for yourself. Something needs to be done about it, and I hope that it will be done quickly. Luckily, if you aren’t in high Legend, Yogg Druid is not a burning problem, but I’m afraid that it might trickle down there soon – it’s already becoming the most popular deck in Diamond.
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
- 1Crimson Clergy2
- 1Fan Club2
- 1Shard of the Naaru2
- 1The Light! It Burns!2
- 2Creation Protocol2
- 2Power Chord: Synchronize2
- 2Thrive in the Shadows2
- 3Cathedral of Atonement2
- 3Holy Nova2
- 3Identity Theft2
- 3Love Everlasting1
- 4Cannibalize2
- 5Clean the Scene2
- 6Harmonic Pop1
- 7Aman’Thul1
- 7Blackwater Behemoth1
- 8Whirlpool2
- 1Crimson Clergy2
- 1Fan Club2
- 1Shard of the Naaru2
- 1The Light! It Burns!2
- 2Creation Protocol2
- 2Power Chord: Synchronize2
- 2Thrive in the Shadows2
- 2Twilight Torrent2
- 3Cathedral of Atonement2
- 3Holy Nova2
- 3Love Everlasting1
- 4Cannibalize2
- 4Shadow Word: Ruin1
- 5Clean the Scene2
- 6Harmonic Pop2
- 7Aman’Thul1
- 7Blackwater Behemoth1
- 8Whirlpool2
Hearthstone Wild Legend Decks of the Week
- 2Acidic Swamp Ooze1
- 2Astalor Bloodsworn1
- 2Cold Feet1
- 2Cult Neophyte1
- 2Manafeeder Panthara1
- 2Sketchy Stranger1
- 2Watcher of the Sun1
- 2Zephrys the Great1
- 4Blademaster Okani1
- 4E.T.C., Band Manager1
- 4Frenzied Felwing1
- 4Mechagnome Guide1
- 4Royal Librarian1
- 4School Teacher1
- 4Speaker Stomper1
- 6Genn Greymane1
- 6Hollow Hound1
- 6Reno Jackson1
- 1Raid the Docks1
- 1Risky Skipper2
- 1Sky Raider2
- 2Battle Rage1
- 2Drywhisker Armorer1
- 2Frozen Buckler1
- 2Harbor Scamp2
- 2Iceblood Garrison1
- 2Obsidiansmith1
- 2Shield Block1
- 2Stoneskin Armorer1
- 3Ancharrr1
- 3Bulwark of Azzinoth1
- 3Snowed In1
- 4Light of the Phoenix1
- 5Brawl1
- 6Sanitize1
- 7Rokara, the Valorous1
- 10Shield Shatter1
- 1Execute1
- 1Sanguine Depths2
- 2Bladestorm1
- 2Corsair Cache1
- 2Forged in Flame2
- 2Frozen Buckler2
- 2Shield Block2
- 2Stoneskin Armorer1
- 2To the Front!2
- 3Battleworn Faceless2
- 3Charge1
- 3From the Depths2
- 4Blacksmithing Hammer1
- 4Craftsman’s Hammer1
- 4Outrider’s Axe1
- 6Captain Galvangar1
- 7Rokara, the Valorous1
- 10Shield Shatter2
- 1Evocation1
- 1First Flame1
- 1Magic Trick1
- 1Open the Waygate1
- 1Ray of Frost1
- 2Ancient Mysteries1
- 2Conjure Mana Biscuit1
- 2Primordial Glyph1
- 2Prismatic Elemental1
- 2Research Project1
- 2Rewind1
- 2Vast Wisdom1
- 3Frost Nova1
- 3Ice Block1
- 3Objection!1
- 3Solid Alibi1
- 4Commander Sivara1
- 4Fire Sale1
- 4Varden Dawngrasp1
- 7Magister Dawngrasp1
- 9Grand Magister Rommath1
Hearthstone Twist Legend Decks of the Week
- 1Mortal Coil2
- 1Power Overwhelming2
- 2Darkbomb2
- 3Hellfire2
- 4Shadowflame1
- 4Siphon Soul2
- 4Voidcaller2
- 7Abyssal Enforcer2
- 8Lord Jaraxxus1
- 9Mal’Ganis1
- 2Sunfury Protector2
- 3Timeline Accelerator1
- 4Defender of Argus2
- 4Twilight Drake2
- 5Antique Healbot2
- 5Emperor Thaurissan1
- 5Faceless Manipulator2
- 5Leeroy Jenkins1
- 5Sludge Belcher2
- 6Sylvanas Windrunner1
- 6Valstann Staghelm1
- 8Ragnaros the Firelord1
- 10N’Zoth, The Corruptor1
- 12Mountain Giant2
- 22Molten Giant2
- 0Backstab2
- 0Preparation2
- 1Jade Swarmer2
- 1Swashburglar2
- 2Eviscerate2
- 2Fan of Knives2
- 2Jade Shuriken2
- 4Jade Telegram2
- 4The Scarab Lord1
- 5Sprint2
- 0Backstab2
- 0Preparation2
- 0Shadowstep1
- 1Jade Swarmer2
- 2Fan of Knives2
- 2Jade Shuriken2
- 2Sap1
- 4Jade Telegram2
- 4The Scarab Lord1
- 5Sprint2
- 7Blade of C’Thun2
- 1Mortal Coil2
- 1Power Overwhelming2
- 2Darkbomb2
- 3Hellfire2
- 4Shadowflame2
- 4Siphon Soul2
- 4Voidcaller2
- 7Abyssal Enforcer2
- 8Lord Jaraxxus1
- 9Mal’Ganis1
- 0Innervate2
- 1Cenarion Hold2
- 1Jade Idol2
- 2Invigorate2
- 2Wrath2
- 3Jade Blossom2
- 3Mulch2
- 3Swipe2
- 5Jade Behemoth2
- 5Nourish2
- 7Ancient of Lore2
- 10Kun the Forgotten King1
- 0Backstab2
- 0Counterfeit Coin2
- 0Preparation2
- 1Cold Blood1
- 1Sinister Strike2
- 1Swashburglar2
- 2Eviscerate2
- 2Fan of Knives2
- 2Jade Shuriken2
- 2Shiv2
- 3Edwin VanCleef1
- 4The Scarab Lord1
- 5Sprint2
- 2Ancestral Knowledge2
- 2Flametongue Totem2
- 2Jade Claws2
- 2Pebbly Page2
- 3Elemental Destruction2
- 3Far Sight2
- 3Hex2
- 3Jade Lightning2
- 3Lightning Storm2
- 4Jinyu Waterspeaker2
- 4Totally Totems2
- 5Bloodlust1
- 5Hallazeal the Ascended1
- 5Thunder Bluff Valiant2
- 6Jade Chieftain2
- 6Thing from Below2
- 7Al’Akir, the Winds of Time1
- 8Al’Akir the Windlord1