Been playing since the launch of GvG 🙂 all these are good choices, except I have to say the introduction of Quest Rogue sort of wrecked the early days of Un’Goro for me as a greeeeedy Dragon Priest player at the time, so in spite of its undeniable strengths I couldn’t include that one.

A criteria that I think is being overlooked a little in this article is the single player experience, which is very important for a lot of people. In spite of Corridor Creeper, Psychic Scream and the Cubelock package, I think Kobolds and Catacombs was the moment Hearthstone became a really good single player game as well as a multiplayer one, and I was absolutely thrilled with Dungeon Run. It was a completely new way to experience the game, with a tonne of care put into it, and personally I thought the whole theme of that expansion was the best we’ve had. It was just a left-turn after the serious lore of Frozen Throne.. it took a little, unimportant, arguably filler race from WoW and injected them with sooooooo much personality. And everything tied so beautifully into the homage to D&D.

Boomsday hasn’t had the freshest of metas but I’d be tempted to include it just for theme and single player alone too. While not on the level of K&C, still great 🙂 and pretty damn balanced to boot, which is something people seem to be under-appreciating a bit at the moment. I think when people look back on Boomsday it will be regarded in quite a positive light generally, if not up there with the very best like the others the article mentioned. I think the problem is that after Witchwood not bringing lots of new cards into the meta (the shake-up coming from Genn and Baku, which might have brought new decks with them,
but those decks we mostly made up of existing cards, specifically neutrals with uninteresting mechanics… arena cards basically) people wanted, and expected that injection of new at the highest level from Boomsday, especially with the theme and how nutty the cards looked on paper. This didn’t happen unfortunately, but I still think the cards that were added nicely supplemented the 2nd half Witchwood meta that was already very good, and I personally pretty much exclusively played Goblin Bomb Hunter in the first 2/3 weeks (I think it’s still the joint top community Hunter deck from Boomsday so far which made me pretty happy lol SHAMELESS PLUG!) so I personally got that new feeling. I think the meta has been just about accommodating enough for players that want to experiment if they aren’t too fussed about achieving the best possible win-rate they can.

Anyway, lots of great expansion to choose from. I think they’ve done pretty good by us all in all.

Yeah it would be kind of a drastic change for sure, and you’re right that you might need an icon or something in game to help you track. It shouldn’t be too hard to count 5 turns if you’re concentrating, it is maybe a bit clumsy if not represented aesthetically. I think a lot of people have been saying that they need to either completely change or gut the way Quest Rogue works, so I thought that was maybe kind of a neat way to keep it around but tackle some of the problem 🙂

Ok.. idea. What if the nerf to quest rogue was something like a nerf to Crystal Core, where the new card text says ‘For the next 5 turns, all your minions are 4/4’.

I’m no expert card designer/balancer, so those figures might need to change. A different number of turns or a different stat-line etc… but I think that would be an interesting change. It would keep much of play-style of quest rogue in tact, while also making it kind of feel like a fresh new concept. The goal now is to set up a series of devastating turns. This way, if it survives against aggro decks it gains more or less the same advantage, because the games don’t last forever anyway, but against control, if the control player is able to utilise their defensive tools well enough to survive that 4/5 turn onslaught, then they are put back into a winning position.

Could make for some really exciting games. With this sort of change, I think the archetype can still be an empowering one to play, but the whole crushing, infinite nonsense thing it has going on at the moment that makes anything but the most aggressive decks want to auto concede against it would come to an end. Maybe lol.

This is great news! I was actually planning on getting me some more KotFT packs soon for a chance to hit Rexxar and Putricide for secret hunter, as I have most the Boomsday stuff I need now. Very very happy I didn’t already do this at the regular rate just before this announcement.. I would have been eating my socks and pants and rubbing salami into my eyes.

Great read thanks! I just crafted Whizbang myself a few days back after pretty much completing all the other decks I want to play this expansion, and I don’t regret it at all. A really fun new way to play the game. I exclusively play him in casual matches, but when I want to unwind after some intense laddering it’s just perfect 🙂

Really great article, it was a fun and informative read for sure! I played a tonne of wild Togwaggle Druid in Witchwood but have exclusively played standard since Boomsday dropped, so it was nice to read about what’s going on over there. I can see why a change might need to be made (personally I’m a big fan of the ten mana Aviana one, necessitating the Innervate) but I’m still really looking forward to giving Juicy Togwaggle a go. I was very excited to play him properly in standard this exp, but realised upon playing that I was too used to the strength of Poison Seeds and leaving a big board behind after the combo.. the inferiority just hurt my enjoyment more than I thought it would, and I moved over to other decks.

Really glad you’ve had fun with it! It feels a little different from the most controly lists out there which I’m chuffed with. I had a lot of success with it once I settled on this version, but over the past few days have been struggling. I’ve just had an unlucky few days though generally so maybe I’ll put it down to that haha. I kind of like that it feels a bit explosive and unpredictable, which fits nicely with the volatile goblin theme. Sometimes you just waste everyone, and sometimes it just seems to blow up in your face against the more oppressive aggro decks, and decks with tonnes of healing and armour. Thanks for the feedback 🙂

Umbra surviving is a big if though. Very weak stat line so more often than not it takes on the role of a soft taunt to stall out the game a tiiiiny bit. I’d personally put in another Vilespine, or take out one of the Shineyfinders and put in two preps, or just stick the one in. Lots of things you can do for a budget version 🙂 but don’t believe that you absolutely cannot play a functioning deathrattle rogue this meta without Umbra because that is not true. Many lists do not include it. Mad fun if you do for sure, like Rotspring, but not essential and maybe not even that good.

I accidentally replied to you on someone elses comment so I’ll reply here again as it makes more sense :p, I totally get why you’re having a bad time then! For non-Warlock control decks this is likely the most polarised meta the game has seen (aggro you have a chance vs combo you always loose), and that coin toss situation isn’t fun at all. Even if you are playing a bad match-up, you always want to at least feel like you have a chance to pull off something special if you play a really good, scrappy game an get a little luck with your draw. I remember feeling a similar way when Un’goro released and I was maining control Priest, and just getting hopelessly murdered by Quest Rogues. And that was just 1 deck! Unlike the current plethora of combo decks we have no, regardless of whether many of them struggle against aggro. So I totally get where you’re coming from, and I hope it improves for you. I’m lucky that it’s not effecting me in that I am mostly playing and enjoying Malygwaggle Druid and Bomb hunter, with a sprinkling of Mecha’thun and Topsy Turvy Priest thrown in there.

I can totally see why you’re having a bad time if you predominantly play non Warlock control decks haha. I feel for you!

Throwing it out there.. I think Goblin Bomb Hunter is getting really slept on this meta. Regular Recruit/Deathrattle Hunter is no doubt stronger, as is Spell Hunter, which is probably why it’s being ignored as people ride out most of their experimental phase in the first few weeks messing about with the combo decks etc, but I still think it could be strong enough to be a tier 2/3 deck. I’ve messed around with it a bit, running eggs and Terrorscale Stalkers, play deads, dropping DK Rexxar (which sounds mad but trust) running 1 missile launcher etc, and I swear it’s better than people think! It’s capable of snowballing so much face damage, and the bombs/eggs make board clears really awkward for your opponent. It’s a tonne of fun.

I don’t disagree with more cards being added that interact with your opponents hand to mess with combos, but they do need to be handled extremely carefully. 1 single card could completely derail all combo archetypes (for instance if demonic project was neutral I don’t think anyone would be playing combo decks full stop beyond the flexibility of the druid ones) which shouldn’t be the goal. I’m sure someone smarter than me could come up with some ideas, and maybe Blizzard will down the line, but I don’t think it’s some easy fix without completely destroying one of the 4 main types of deck that are played in Hearthstone, and alienating all those who enjoy those decks.

Here’s an idea that’s probably crap lol, how about offensive spells/minions or something that increase in attack power every turn that your opponent doesn’t play a minion. It might be be direct interaction, but something like that if balanced right could make the non combo player in a match feel like they are being empowered by the situation as well, while still retaining the tension involved in not knowing if they will be able to break through and use that increased potency. That in turn would mean that combo decks would have to run more minions, making their combos more difficult to pull off, and spells like demonic project would give opposing players a way to potentially derail a combo without it just being this 100& guaranteed win thing, as it might hit one of those supplementary minions.

An interesting read for sure. I have to say, as someone who loves playing combo decks, and doesn’t dislike playing against them either (I like the tension of the race to damage face, so long as it’s balanced enough) I do disagree. I’ll have to play around in this meta a long while more before I can say whether I think it is a good one or not, but I’m definitely enjoying myself. I also think that perhaps you were somewhat overstating the power of the current otk decks. It seems to me like you have an issue with them being viable at all due to their nature. I don’t think they are dominating though, there are just more of them than usual. All the best decks at this point are still aggro decks, and largely pre-existing ones with a few cards added. That for me is the bigger issue right now. The only Mecha’thun deck which looks to actually be strong is Priest, due to it being able to get through its deck so fast, and I suppose it’s alright in Druid as well.. it’s just that the other two Druid combo decks are much quicker.

So to be honest I think aggro decks are doing fine, there are just more insta kill decks around, but they aren’t performing badly against them. And if you enjoy combo decks like me then it’s obviously a pretty good time. The real issue for me is that the combo breaking card of the set was given to one class, and the most popular one at that. How do you get more people playing classes other than Warlock? Not by giving them Demonic Project you don’t. I’m an average player myself but I read (or perhaps it was Kripp in a recent video) a few days back that around half of the games he played at legend during that particular day were against Warlock, what with zoo being as strong as it is, and that class having the only control deck that can directly counter combo decks. Anyway, I’m having fun with the meta, and the only combo decks I’m seeing played well and relatively frequently around the mid ranks are Mecha’thun Priest (which potentially is a slight problem, they might have missed this combo… if it gets too out of hand I would think about nerfing Hemet so he busts everything from 4 mana and below, so you have to draw the abominations before playing him) and the 2 main druids. I’ve spent so many of my years playing control in Hearthstone and barfing over the ability of the best aggro decks to just roll over me, while still having fun, that I don’t feel too sorry for the other camp if the tables have turned a little lol.

This looks amazing!

Yeah you still have all the tools you need to pull off either combo. Basically in order to merge the decks so that you have two win conditions, each of the two decks within this new list have had to make a compromise or two. For example, Malygos no longer has Alexstrasza to help set up for a lethal turn (in order to make space for the new pieces), and Togwaggle/Azalina have less of the survival tools that were available to them, like Oaken Summons/Ironwood Golem (which wasn’t being ran in Malygos due to Floop being ran, which you don’t want to pull out with Oaken Summons.. now this version is running Floop to facilitate Malygos so they loose those defensive tools).

The benefit to merging these two decks into one, as far as I see, it the increased flexibility. Let’s say you are playing against an even warlock, so you decide to go down the Malygos win condition route as they are likely to draw through their deck fast (meaning the fatigue advantage provided by swapping decks might be weakened), plus they are going to burn their own health down to 15 or so anyway, setting up nicely for Malygos. You play Floop, then they play Demonic Project. Either this hits Togwaggle, Azalina or or another minion in your hand and you are fine to continue with Malygos, or it hits Malygos. Before, this would be the game dead, but now you can chuck out an extra Ultimate Infestation to try and race them to fatigue, and go the Togwaggle route.

Or on the other side of the spectrum, you are playing against Odd Warrior, and you are worried that the Malygos combo won’t do enough damage, or you are just playing against no fun (control) warlock, that runs 2 demonic projects and wants to draw more slowly. Against the former, just swap to the Togwaggle win condition. Against the latter, you have a much better chance of pulling off one your combos before they draw both demonic projects, but if not, you just fall back on the Twig (unless you manage to set up for the optimal Twig plus Floop plus Malygos combo)

This list is obviously new so I don’t know how much if at all the compromises hurt the win rate of each individual combo deck, and I haven’t played it myself yet, but I think the concept is sound, especially if you are dead cert on playing some form of Togwaggle druid and you don’t want demonic project to ruin your life.

I guess this version might be best to run with on ladder if demonic project continues to be everywhere, as it means you have flexibility, and don’t need to auto concede. More of an issue for Togwaggle than Malygos it seems, but if you love playing Toagwaggle like me this is good news. If one strat gets hit by project you just go down another road. Plus, I quite like the idea of both combo druids being merged into one awesome combotastic deck!

Looks pretty strong mid-game for zoo

Could be effective in a big warrior where you can dump this out of the the Boomship with Deathwing and something else, as they are as big as it gets.If the game plays out for long enough then you have a fun alternative win condition that you’ll only see once in a blue moon, but dropping Mecha’thun out of Dr Boom’s space ship is an awesome enough fantasy for me most the time I think. Plus once this has rush after playing the hero card it could be a decent play, especially if it lives to magnetise next turn.

Having played a tonne of Togwaggle Druid in Wild these past few months I almost coughed up a lung when I say this card. Genuinely thought I might be dreaming. Seems ridiculous for that deck. Happy days.

Unstable Pogo Rogue here we come!