For the better part of this month, the talk of 'Roguestone' dominated most conversations about the Standard format (with some choice curse words being thrown at Incanter's Flow on the side). And then at lower ranks players had their own ongoing love-hate relationships with Pirate Warrior. So by that logic, the long-awaited balance changes coming in and delivering precise hits to the biggest offenders should absolutely result in the most wonderful diverse metagame from now on.
However, it might not be quite what we're seeing just yet. Other strategies receiving more room to expand ought to bring about increased variety, but it's been only several days since the release of patch 22.2, with various different factors to consider. It's the end of the January season, making it so many players are far more concerned with securing their rank finishes rather than any joyful experimenting (hence the reliance on the already known solid decks, for the most part). And many others yet - even among the regular Constructed crowd - are currently distracted playing with all the Battlegrounds Buddies, new Mercenaries, or trying out the fresh Duels content. Not to mention the usual Mini-Set 'waiting room' population at this point in the expansion.
Even if it's not full of overwhelming early enthusiasm and praise, hopefully the current status quo will be just good enough for the coming weeks. As is often the case, we pretty much expected to hear familiar voices which like the way things are after the nerfs, same as ones with certain gripes or larger reasoning as to the perceived shape of the metagame. For anyone after the 'big data', HS.Replay shared their usual snippets with recent regional power rankings and popular tracked decks from Diamond to Legend.
Below we'll take a more extensive look at some of the stronger viable options out there. It's safe to say that's not even everything currently available, but for the reasons mentioned above players have yet to give the less visible decks a proper chance:
Demon Hunter
Starting with the one that hasn't really changed, your typical Fel slinger. Handy if you keep running into various aggressive board-based decks, less so if Ramp Druids are out in force. Rustrot Viper might not be as needed anymore now that Poison Rogue isn't as common (but there is also that Lightforged Cariel consideration); Magtheridon tech is more of a preference.
Druid
One of the more prolific classes nowadays, with various different directions to explore. To begin with, we have this familiar shell of (Aggro) Taunt Druid, with Beast Druid being this "new kid on the block" since the expansion release, now vying for the crown.
Then there is your Ramp Druid, the deck Standard players love arguing about. More of a bait whose days are numbered within the current more aggressive field, or a genuine article able to persevere? If you've got the cards, there's been several slightly different takes on how to build it. Here are two from a couple of American Grandmasters.
All we know is that we wouldn't expect this seemingly innocent Wildheart Guff to be a devoted follower of the Old Gods, but evidently appearances can be greatly deceiving.
Hunter
The usual 'face' variant was holding its own even during Roguestone, and naturally spikes in its playrate to prey on unrefined decks anytime there is a post-patch meta. We sometimes see another Trueaim Crescent over the second copy of Piercing Shot. Beaststalker Tavish made it in for those times when your default Hero Power isn't likely to be enough to close the game.
Mage
There are claims that Mozaki, Master Duelist might not be completely dead even after that second nerf to Incanter's Flow, but we're going to conveniently ignore them and pretend that it is until it all becomes indisputably true.
Besides that, players don't seem particularly excited to play the known Wildfire variants (be it with a lower curve or leaning towards larger spells), so it is what it is. Once again, you may want to reconsider including Rustrot Viper if for some reason Rogues with sharp weapons are still after you.
Paladin
Librams remain fairly strong, and we are still stuck with them for a couple of months. Lightforged Cariel can also make Mr. Smite pretty big, in case you haven't heard that story yet.
In the mood for something altogether different? MadThanos got a foothold with this Secret variant, along with Drek'Thar and friends.
Priest
It's... alive. Perhaps not highly regarded nor widely popular, but we've noticed a few Priest archetypes sneaking around. People haven't had a proper chance to band together and hate on the class in a while, so your conscience might remain relatively guilt-free, for now.
HS_Queens has recently made rounds for showing decent results with Control Priest shell that wasn't running Seek Guidance or the expected Spirit Guide and Undying Disciple. Meanwhile Ramses continues to be a firm believer in this Miracle Priest variant. Shadow Priest is hiding on the fringes, only for the willing.
Rogue
Dead and dusted? Not quite (although disenchanting all these cards is still a pretty tempting proposition). Not everyone was willing to forsake their dear Poison Rogue in the wake of the nerfs; we've already seen some early hopeful reports between KNMDehua and Foghi. If you want to be a true villain and make people feel bad for giving up their Rustrot Viper tech, this is a lone path to tread.
Meanwhile, the likes of Thief Rogue or Quest Rogue can still do (arguably) alright for themselves, but haven't been enjoying any great interest from the playerbase (a recent example of the latter in action). Given the nudge to the early power of Wildpaw Gnoll (as well as the typical sentiment of moving away from the recently nerfed cards), Maestra of the Masquerade had to give up on the metagame domination.
Shaman
Here is another prolific class that's been allowed to catch its breath again, now that the Rogue oppression was forced to let go. There are plenty of options, and we're largely familiar with all of them.
Orange has managed to hit a very impressive record with his Burn Shaman. Bolner OTK still exists to frustrate people (wiRer was promoting Big Game Hunter as an answer to Ramp Druid, but if that's not a common matchup for you, best use Auctionhouse Gavel or a different tech i.e. Rustrot Viper).
The known quality of Questline Shaman is doing very well now that there are more decks fitting into its gameplan, and even fans of evolving things might have something to look forward to.
Warlock
The one Warlock deck that's been performing well across various metagames (despite a storied recent history of previous nerfs) is also the one many people grimace upon hearing about, as it has that forbidden "quest" keyword attached. But it just doesn't seem to care. The Demon Seed is not the actual win condition most of the time, for what it's worth. Perhaps you can take some comfort in Flesh Giant's Standard lifespan coming to an end.
Warrior
Let's forget all about Pirates, it's that time again to see if different variants of Control Warrior might be able to stick around for longer. Also dubbed 'Wallet Warrior' within some circles, as the dust count becomes very steep with all these Epics and Legendaries.
Ostinato had a good climb to the top with this more old school Silas Darkmoon/Soulbound Ashtongue inclusion, but there is still room there for Captain Galvangar and/or Rattlegore (with or without Faceless Manipulator), if that's your preference. Acidic Swamp Ooze over Rustrot Viper? That's mainly for the sake of N'Zoth, God of the Deep's resurrection pool (hi, Kresh, Lord of Turtling). If that strikes you as too greedy, it's a fair argument. Anything else? Brawl is a fine consideration if you keep running into wide boards.
Is that enough of a diversity to tide us over until the Mini-Set, or is there more to be found in the coming days? If you believe you've got another must-have inclusion to the list, let us know!
Comments
I can't wait for new year and rotation. No old gods, no librams, no soul shards, no lightning bloom, no cenarion ward eclipses arbor up and rest of druid junk.
This is why I keep refreshing. No less than 4 new decks to give a whrill.
Cheers!
🤣This cracked me up, definitely the most apt description of Ramp druid.
The article thumbnail is pretty accurate too
(We are definitely onto Guff's dark secrets now)
I thought so too, looking at that image! All credit goes to Sinti for coming up with the idea on the fly.
Good stuff. Meta seems pretty diverse for now, let's hope it stays that way this time.
People have been playing owl warlock again since the nerfs, that's the one deck I'm kind of missing here.
Oh and where did you get the shadow priest list from? I'd been looking for one since the nerfs but couldn't find anything.
I wasn't convinced whether Owlock had a good place in this meta yet, and next to the Handlock power it did not seem as proficient. But there was somebody reporting decent results with it at high Legend (link in case you or anyone else is interested).
Regarding Shadow Priest, there is this Japanese site called BeerBrick where they talked about it recently. Although I recall a similar list making rounds in the West before, as well - the versatility of Najak Hexxen was quite a nice surprise.
Ah, cool. Thanks for the source!