Dean "Iksar" Ayala took to Twitter yesterday to give us some insight on the Standard Meta at high ranks according to Blizzard's own data. He kept it somewhat vague - we know the Top 5 most popular and the Top 5 by winrate, but not which of those five is overall number one.
We've collated some example lists for these deck archetypes below - which one do you think is ruling the ladder right now?
Quote From Dean Ayala Standard Meta Update:
(Last Full Week, All Regions, Rank 5-Legend, Alphabetical Order)
Top 5 Population
Embiggen Druid
Galakrond Rogue
Galakrond Warrior
Highlander Hunter
Highlander RogueTop 5 Win-Rate:
Aggro Hunter
Combo Priest
Highlander Hunter
Mech Paladin
Quest Hunter
The Popular
Embiggen Druid
Embiggen Druid [Galakrond's Awakening]
A Unknown Druid Deck created by
targus. Last updated 4 years, 11 months ago
9
- 2x Embiggen
- 2x Strength in Numbers
- 2x Breath of Dreams
- 2x Faerie Dragon
- 2x Injured Tol'vir
- 2x Scalerider
- 1x SN1P-SN4P
- 2x Swipe
- 2x Evasive Feywing
- 1x Frizz Kindleroost
- 2x Big Ol' Whelp
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 2x Oasis Surger
- 1x Zilliax
- 2x Emerald Explorer
- 2x Evasive Wyrm
- 2x Winged Guardian
Galakrond Rogue
Gyong's Legend Galakrond Rogue
A Galakrond Rogue Deck created by
ShadowsOfSense. Last updated 4 years, 10 months ago
6
- 2x Backstab
- 2x Shadowstep
- 2x Pharaoh Cat
- 2x Praise Galakrond!
- 2x Eviscerate
- 2x Sap
- 2x Skyvateer
- 1x Edwin VanCleef
- 2x EVIL Miscreant
- 2x Seal Fate
- 2x Devoted Maniac
- 2x Faceless Corruptor
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 2x Shield of Galakrond
- 1x Flik Skyshiv
- 1x Heistbaron Togwaggle
- 1x Kronx Dragonhoof
- 1x Galakrond, the Nightmare
Galakrond Warrior
Galakrond Warrior [Galakrond's Awakening]
A Galakrond Warrior Deck created by
targus. Last updated 4 years, 11 months ago
1
- 2x Inner Rage
- 2x Eternium Rover
- 2x Town Crier
- 1x Cruel Taskmaster
- 2x Ritual Chopper
- 2x Temple Berserker
- 2x Awaken!
- 2x Bloodsworn Mercenary
- 2x Bomb Wrangler
- 2x EVIL Quartermaster
- 2x Scion of Ruin
- 2x Devoted Maniac
- 2x Kor'kron Elite
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 2x Shield of Galakrond
- 1x Kronx Dragonhoof
- 1x Galakrond, the Unbreakable
Highlander Hunter
Dragon Highlander Hunter [Galakrond's Awakening]
A Highlander Hunter Deck created by
targus. Last updated 4 years, 11 months ago
1
- 1x Crystallizer
- 1x Dwarven Sharpshooter
- 1x Springpaw
- 1x Tracking
- 1x Corrosive Breath
- 1x Faerie Dragon
- 1x Fresh Scent
- 1x Phase Stalker
- 1x Rat Trap
- 1x Snake Trap
- 1x Zephrys the Great
- 1x Animal Companion
- 1x Desert Spear
- 1x Diving Gryphon
- 1x Kill Command
- 1x Nightmare Amalgam
- 1x Primordial Explorer
- 1x SN1P-SN4P
- 1x Stormhammer
- 1x Unleash the Hounds
- 1x Ursatron
- 1x Dragonbane
- 1x Houndmaster
- 1x Faceless Corruptor
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 1x Zilliax
- 1x Veranus
- 1x Dinotamer Brann
- 1x Siamat
- 1x Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
Highlander Rogue
Highlander Galakrond Rogue
A Highlander Rogue Deck created by
ShadowsOfSense. Last updated 4 years, 10 months ago
1
- 1x Backstab
- 1x Shadowstep
- 1x Bloodsail Flybooter
- 1x Dragon's Hoard
- 1x Pharaoh Cat
- 1x Praise Galakrond!
- 1x Eviscerate
- 1x Sap
- 1x Underbelly Fence
- 1x Zephrys the Great
- 1x Bad Luck Albatross
- 1x Blink Fox
- 1x Edwin VanCleef
- 1x EVIL Miscreant
- 1x Seal Fate
- 1x SN1P-SN4P
- 1x Bone Wraith
- 1x Devoted Maniac
- 1x Hench-Clan Burglar
- 1x Vendetta
- 1x Faceless Corruptor
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 1x Shield of Galakrond
- 1x Zilliax
- 1x Flik Skyshiv
- 1x Heistbaron Togwaggle
- 1x Kronx Dragonhoof
- 1x Galakrond, the Nightmare
- 1x Siamat
- 1x Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
The Powerful
Aggro Hunter
Face Hunter
A Face Hunter Deck created by
ShadowsOfSense. Last updated 4 years, 10 months ago
0
- 2x Arcane Shot
- 2x Blazing Battlemage
- 2x Dwarven Sharpshooter
- 1x Timber Wolf
- 2x Toxic Reinforcements
- 2x Tracking
- 2x Explosive Trap
- 1x Freezing Trap
- 2x Kobold Sandtrooper
- 2x Phase Stalker
- 1x Snake Trap
- 2x Animal Companion
- 2x Eaglehorn Bow
- 2x Kill Command
- 2x Unleash the Hounds
- 2x Lifedrinker
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
Combo Priest
Combo Priest
A Combo Priest Deck created by
ShadowsOfSense. Last updated 4 years, 10 months ago
0
- 2x Circle of Healing
- 1x Silence
- 1x Topsy Turvy
- 2x Beaming Sidekick
- 2x Inner Fire
- 2x Lightwarden
- 2x Northshire Cleric
- 2x Power Word: Shield
- 2x Divine Spirit
- 2x Injured Tol'vir
- 2x Neferset Ritualist
- 2x Wild Pyromancer
- 1x Acolyte of Pain
- 1x Extra Arms
- 2x Injured Blademaster
- 1x High Priest Amet
- 2x Psychopomp
- 1x Bwonsamdi, the Dead
Highlander Hunter (...again)
Secret Highlander Hunter [Descent of Dragons]
A Highlander Hunter Deck created by
targus. Last updated 4 years, 11 months ago
0
- 1x Dwarven Sharpshooter
- 1x Secretkeeper
- 1x Springpaw
- 1x Tracking
- 1x Explosive Trap
- 1x Freezing Trap
- 1x Phase Stalker
- 1x Pressure Plate
- 1x Rat Trap
- 1x Snake Trap
- 1x Snipe
- 1x Zephrys the Great
- 1x Animal Companion
- 1x Deadly Shot
- 1x Desert Spear
- 1x Diving Gryphon
- 1x Eaglehorn Bow
- 1x Kill Command
- 1x Unleash the Hounds
- 1x Ursatron
- 1x Dragonbane
- 1x Hyena Alpha
- 1x Faceless Corruptor
- 1x Subject 9
- 1x Zilliax
- 1x Unleash the Beast
- 1x Veranus
- 1x Dinotamer Brann
- 1x Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
- 1x Zul'jin
Mech Paladin
Mech Paladin [Descent of Dragons - 2nd Refinement]
A Mech Paladin Deck created by
targus. Last updated 4 years, 11 months ago
1
- 1x Blessing of Wisdom
- 2x Crystology
- 2x Glow-Tron
- 2x Hot Air Balloon
- 2x Mecharoo
- 2x Galvanizer
- 2x Micro Mummy
- 2x Goboglide Tech
- 2x Sky Claw
- 1x SN1P-SN4P
- 2x Annoy-o-Module
- 2x Blessing of Kings
- 2x Replicating Menace
- 2x Truesilver Champion
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 2x Wargear
- 1x Zilliax
Quest Hunter
Quest Hunter
A Quest Hunter Deck created by
ShadowsOfSense. Last updated 4 years, 10 months ago
0
- 2x Clear the Way
- 2x Springpaw
- 2x Tracking
- 1x Unseal the Vault
- 2x Hench-Clan Hogsteed
- 2x Licensed Adventurer
- 2x Questing Explorer
- 2x Desert Spear
- 2x Diving Gryphon
- 1x SN1P-SN4P
- 2x Unleash the Hounds
- 2x Bone Wraith
- 1x Faceless Corruptor
- 1x Halazzi, the Lynx
- 1x Leeroy Jenkins
- 1x Zilliax
- 2x Swarm of Locusts
- 1x Veranus
- 1x Boommaster Flark
Comments
Is there any card to replace halazzi in quest hunter? Only missing that one and dont feel like crafting it.
I felt exactly the same. Replaced it with a scavenging hyena. I also played shuma instead of flark. Got to legend for the first time with it, but that was just before embiggen druid hit the scene
I played without it, its not really necessary to have him. Surprised that there's no Shu'ma in that list.
Agreed Shu'ma is ridiculous in quest hunter. I love dropping that bad boy on 7. Which is funny, because I was so disappointed when I unpacked that card, yet now I'm so happy when I draw it!
I am very confused about those two copies of Injured Tol'vir in the embiggen druid list. What are they for? According to HSreplay.net (and I am fairly sure I am reading the data right) the decks win rate goes down when you play them. They don't have synergy with anything in the list. Almost any 2-drop would be better. I took them out of my deck and replaced them with Rising Winds
Also, I have all of the cards for the Highlander Hunter except for Dragonbane, and Subject 9 for the secret deck, and [Hearthstone Card (storm hammer) Not Found] for the dragon one. Are these cards replaceable?
You can play highlander Hunter without those. You may hav to try a different approach for the secret package cutting all the secrets except for rat and snakes, cutting also secretist and leaving only stalker. The mech is replazable by any card you like.
Injured Tol'vir is a vanilla 2 drop with taunt when played (the 'taunt' is not to be underestimated) but an overstated 2 drop when drawn with Strength in Numbers. Embiggen decks are curve decks at heart, so its not always possible to skip turn 2 without problems, especially against aggro decks. That's where having a 2 drop with taunt comes in handy.
As for highlander hunter, from my own experience, Subject 9's win rate is high enough that its not easy to play the deck without that card and expect the same results. I play without that card myself, but there are many times where drawing the secrets directly seems really bad, especially since highlander hunter doesn't draw well. One way to mitigate that is to play less secrets, but it really comes down to what strat you are going for in deckbuilding.
Stormhammer is not replaceable in dragon hunter. In fact when you play dragon hunter and don't draw it the deck is basically a mid range deck with lots of dragons that cannot grab tempo back once you lose it. It also pressures the opponent's face (against rogue its almost impossible to win without this). Its just my opinion, but you just can't play dragon hunter without this card.
Rising Winds is probably a good choice, however, the main reason for including them is that they are an early minion that's still decent to pull from Strength in Numbers even without an Embiggen buff.
After the Embiggen buff they still become decent taunts to play.
Keep in mind that these lists were played before Rising Winds was out so Tol'vir was basically the best possible option until now.
Rising Winds screws up Witching Hour. It's no good.
witching hour isn't even played in Embiggen Lists because it's unnecessary.
Only Wall Druid cares about it and that deck sucks in comparison
Witching Hour is literally in the list on the article...
and it's a 1-of for a reason. It's basically the flex spot and a terrible topdeck if you haven't played your Guardian yet, at which point there's a good reason to just replace it with Winds