We're checking out the best decks that you'll want to play for the end of this season after we saw those Twin Slice changes this past week.
With so many problematic issues with Demon Hunter since their release in April of this year, it's no surprise that they still remain a top contender on Hearthstone's ladder, but they've finally been dethroned by... Pirate Warrior. Our yarrr harrrr friends have returned to the top and whether you've loved them or hated them, Pirate Warrior appears to be here to stay so you should probably just join in on the weapon and buff fun.
Pirate Warrior - King Again
Galakrond's Awakening took Pirate Warrior up a notch to succeed with the addition of Sky Raider, the beautiful Ancharrr, Skybarge, and the acceptable version of Patches the Pirate, Parachute Brigand. Blizzard must have decided to rebrand the expansion right before release because it was clearly previously named "Ascent of Pirate Warrior: Setting Them Up For a Year of Awesome". It makes you wonder if the strategic launch of a mini-expansion through the Descent of Dragons adventure was just so that they could temporarily bring back some archetypes. Anyway...
You can either play Pirate Warrior or complain about its return, it's here to stay for at least the next couple of months. Corsair Cache is absolutely disgusting and I love every second of it because of that sweet, sweet buff on Ancharrr which means we're just going to be drawing our whole deck. Join us. We have cookies!
Tempo Demon Hunter - Dethroned
No one is surprised that Demon Hunter continues to receive class changes. You may agree with the vocal majority that Blizzard screwed up with the class and should have known better, but none of that matters since they are actively addressing the absurd win rates we've seen from the new class which isn't something we'd have seen from them just a couple of years ago. Demon Hunter reminds me of when Death Knights were added to World of Warcraft. They were called a Hero Class which was supposed to mean that they were simply unique, but their overpowered abilities that received nerfs and sweeping changes each patch said being a hero just meant you were better than all us peasants who didn't swap classes.
I really have nothing of value to say about Demon Hunter; You know how their decks are played at this point. Thanks to Blizzard for addressing the problem through the multiple patches we've seen so far. I do question how it made it out of the gate like this though. Buffing the class would have been so much better than the constant nerfs.
Galakrond Stealth Rogue
If HSReplay was to be used, Galakrond Stealth Rogue sits solidly in Tier 2 and has great win rates against Demon Hunter, Hunter, Priest, Paladin, and Shaman. The archetype as a whole is sitting at 31% of Rogue decks which has only increased over the past couple of weeks and the best part about it? Looking at what the community is playing, we're not limited to a single list.
We've seen in the wild (not the format) that some players aren't making use of Pharaoh Cat and instead opting for consistency. This could be more control though a card like Frozen Shadoweaver, Akama, or even Alexstrasza.
A favourite substitution though is to bring in a couple of Questing Adventurers and Umbral Skulker. Ditch the cats and Faceless Corruptor (or Sap) to make room for this hilarity. You can make some really big Questing Adventurers with the coins and lackeys you'll be creating. Having a couple of mini Edwin VanCleef helps the consistency of building big dudes.
Highlander Mage
Highlander Mage isn't very common but it is very strong, achieving success against those pesky Tempo Demon Hunters we mentioned above. It does, unfortunately, require the sale of an arm and a kidney if you're newer or simply haven't had a chance to play Pokemon with all the Legendary cards you'll find in this deck.
If you want to start the game off right, look for your cheap, strong cards. Imprisoned Observer is an excellent early drop, clearing out anything aggressive and potentially forcing your opponent to play less than optimally by not putting minions on the board for a turn or two since why feed into the death? Zephrys the Great, a card we've had in the game for close to a year and with plenty of wonderful stories is another great tool in our chest for early-game success. If we're getting overwhelmed, receiving something to deal with that is incredibly valuable. It is pretty cool that a card like Zephrys can exist.
Other cards of note for the early mulligan are Ancient Mysteries which helps thin your deck out, Arcane Breath which can be used in a pinch, Astromancer Solarian which we would want to get shuffled into our deck as soon as possible, and to a lesser degree, Reno the Relicologist. I'm not saying you should hard mulligan for him, but if he happens to be sitting in your opening hand, be a nice Mage and let him stay.
An important note to make here is that of substitutions. If you're encountering a lot of weapon play, which is quite common these days, ditching your Blizzard for an Acidic Swamp Ooze can really help destroy momentum our weapon swinging friends bring to the inn and we have other ways of clearing boards so it isn't entirely necessary.
Enrage "That's Not Even a Keyword Anymore" Warrior
Is anyone else still disappointed that Enrage can only live on in spirit since it was removed from the game? Regardless, Enrage Warrior is a slick deck right now and it is on the cheaper side of things when you consider that warrior decks are usually met with the wallet moniker and that like the Pirate Warrior deck above, we also make use of Ancharrr which makes it a very worthwhile investment.
If you're wondering what you should keep at the start of the game, you really can't go wrong with Warmaul Challenger which can easily take out minions early on and will serve as an excellent target that will be damaged. Considering buffing it up with Rampage and giving it a clone through Bloodsworn Mercenary.
Corsair Cache of course also makes an appearance and is very helpful early on since if played on 2, we will always be able to play one of our weapons (Ancharrr & Livewire Lance) on curve, plus, who doesn't love thinning out their deck.
What are you playing as the June 2020 season enters its final week of play? Tell us about your favourite decks in Standard right now down below!
![All The Great Dark Beyond Card Reveals for October 12 - Day 2 [Finished]](dark-beyond-reveals-day-2-thumb.webp)
Comments
Just wait till [Hearthstone Card (Corsair Cache) Not Found] is nerfed to 3 mana :D destroy all those pirate warrior hopes and dreams!
Hmm, I might craft Ancharrr after all. It seems like Warrior is totally impotent without it right now.
Also, I don't play much now but still use Gala Secret Rogue on ladder. Is it obvious that Stealth is the way to go now instead of Hanar et al?
oh thank god I was looking for decks to climb ladder with
"You may agree with the vocal majority that Blizzard screwed up with the class and should have known better,..."
I will restate something I said in another thread. Blizzard had I think a year to balance all the classes in beta? So I feel like if the first expansion, or two, or even the first year of Demon Hunter is filled with quick nerfs and/or buffs to cards to figure out what power level the class and it's cards need to be at it's not a failure, it's expected as everything right now is like the DH beta period. And ultimately, whether it's DH or some other class/deck, as long as they are proactive and making adjustments quickly instead of waiting 4+ months to change cards that may be oppressive, that's also a win!
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but it's my honest opinion.
There is a whole lot of a difference between a game in its beta and a new class being introduced once the said game is in its 5/6th year of official release.
In other words, DH is in no beta mode, and we're 3 months since its introduction now.
Inb4 Sky Raider becoming a 1/1, Beaming Sidekick to give +1, and Warglaives of Azzinoth becoming (6)
Related but unrelated, what happened to the weekly meta reports?
Targus, unfortunately, left the team a few weeks ago to focus on real-life. We haven't solidified the plans for the meta report yet but I'm hoping we can figure something out for the next Hearthstone expansion. Personally, I'd like us to do a bit more of a twist on it, though keeping with the same format that Targus had started
Thanks for the info @Fluxflashor. Was really missing those meta reports. Articles like these are greatly appreciated :D
His insight will be missed! Certainly by me, who got used to using the meta report to decide what to play this week and without it I'm stuck at Diamond 10 this month. Glad this post has pointed me in the right direction though... looks like I'm going to have to be "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" on the Pirate Warrior.
Why did the term "Enrage" get abandoned anyway?
It wasn't used very often for an evergreen keyword and Blizzard said that it was just easier to use "while damaged".
Here's the blog from Peter Whalen on why it was changed.
https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/news/21614307
It wasn't used very often, as opposed to Counter? (see Counterspell)
Counter might be needed just for the sake of not over crowding the text box. Without it the text would be
Secret: When your
opponent casts a
spell, prevent the
spell's effect.
Okay so that's not too bad actually... However, it would be interesting to see them use Counter in a few cards moving forward. Maybe a Legendary Minion whose battlecry is to Counter your opponent's next spell. Or maybe "Counter all enemy spells next turn." This could have actually been Khadgar's effect and it would have made complete sense. If any future sets have another version of Khadgar it'd be a great opportunity to use something like that for him.
Hmm...I need
I can afford it...but that's a lot of dust. But it's for my favorite class. But it's mostly *only* for the class. But it's been a good deck for a long time...Gah! I can never decide if I should pull the trigger or not >_<
You should! I have all the cards except Malygos and do must say I love them. Astromanser is strong and fun to play, but Reno really is the one that shines the most. Siamat is great to, especially combined with the Mage DK.
Also worth considering is that only Astromancer Solarian will be in Standard next year. The other cards will all rotate.
Don't do that. You can make a ton of other good decks with this amount of dust.
If you are already playing other highlander decks, i say craft away.