We've now had a couple more weeks of clashing within this very diverse Alterac Valley meta, in the wake of all the crucial balance changes that came with the patch 22.2. Our previous thorough look across the forming Standard field was already able to come up with a number of established decks for all classes out there, and we've seen some interesting developments since. Game lengths have indeed become longer on average.
The traces of previous 'Roguestone' have only diminished further as the weeks went by - from a still noticeable presence to a rather middling one. Even Poison Rogue doesn't seem as scary anymore, even though it's still capable of punishing certain types of decks. That doesn't necessarily mean Rustrot Viper is fully off the menu, as Lightforged Cariel might end up haunting your dreams.
Burn Shaman has really taken off meanwhile; our condolences to anyone cursing loudly as their boards get "endlessly" frozen while they are bracing for the inevitable burst from hand. We don't have Living Dragonbreath around in Standard anymore, so players resorted to using Showstopper where applicable. It's better if you have got the tools to kill it off with a spell yourself, but it can also offer some extra protection if you are expecting your minions (and potential taunts) to be cleared with one powerful Landslide, there to pave the way for a big Snowfall Guardian and Brilliant Macaw.
Do you hear that familiar 'hooting'? Handlock has been doing alright for itself, yet Humongous Owl offers another viable alternative. They've been out in force, as evident in the recent HSReplay update. Face Hunter tends to hold its ground as it always does, but it had to recognize a rising competitor in Shadow Priest. Druids and Paladins remain just as popular, doing their thing.
There is something to be found for everyone out there. The currently known Standard meta maybe not so much constantly evolves as continues to shift in response to popular strategies. Running into a lot of aggressive decks? Pick up a defensive option with decent survivability tools if you wish to stem the tide. Annoying 'turtle' decks messing up with your plans to go face and wiping away your boards? There are ways to counter that. It's certainly handy to have more than one favorite deck to climb with.
New Mini-Set Cards on the Horizon
Onyxia's Lair Mini-Set is right around the corner, yet a relatively small amount of cards rarely results in a grand revolution. We might see some fresh inventions or tech choices, but it's just as fair to expect several of the existing archetypes will end up receiving further enhancements with their new toys. That is, if the coming additions even turn out to be strong enough to warrant a slot in the congested pool of 6 expansions (and 4 mini-sets) at the very end of the current Standard rotation.
So don't be surprised to still see a lot of familiar takes in the weeks to follow. The first Masters Tour event of 2022 is set to take place over the next weekend, which means the participants will only have a couple of days to figure out the new meta (not everyone is happy about it, understandably). Perhaps we'll have a bunch of spicy pro decks to look at! Afterwards, it'll be time to see how the ladder develops towards the end of the February season - remember that this year offers a greater amount of tournament invites to the top grinders.
Consider this article to be more of a companion piece to our previous listings, as we'll try to avoid repeating the exact same decklists and descriptions for clarity purposes. For a full picture or side by side comparisons, it's best to look here as well:
Demon Hunter
At the start of February, we heard a successful Big Demon Hunter story from ConstructHS - but it's also one you might wish to take with a grain of salt. If that's your dream deck, you can follow the link for more details. Whether that counted as "bait" or not, it's always worth keeping in mind how many people don't faithfully grind towards their ranks (even in Legend) during that first week of a season. As such, not everything might end up being as viable later on, once the competition becomes more deadly.
Deathrattle Demon Hunter also sort of exists on the fringes, yet it just doesn't seem to get much love whatsoever. We've seen more developments elsewhere: some people still managed to climb with Lifesteal OTK DH, even considering that Mo'arg Artificer nerf. Pretty much the same old list. But how about mixing things up? Typical Fel Demon Hunter started having some struggles, so players iterated upon existing options:
Not a fan of Jace Darkweaver & Co. or any of that Fel nonsense? D0nkey briefly hopped on Twitter amidst a social media hiatus and shared his take on the good ol' Aggro DH (with a very respectable winrate at high legend). If you missed those simpler times, might be worth taking it for a spin:
Druid
Wildheart Guff and his Old God buddies continue on their Ramp-age. Whenever there are more greedy decks that give it time and less early aggression that's difficult to mitigate, the whole package is in for a good time. Latest successful lists are similar variations of the ones we've featured previously; just finding that 'perfect 30' isn't always a simple task.
Alternative takes? iNS4NE hit the top with almost the same list (minus Spammy Arcanist, plus one Lunar Eclipse) as the one above that did so well for Jengo. ThisIsChris believes that one Guess the Weight is enough, also bringing back Ivus, the Forest Lord instead of Wing Commander Mulverick and adding one Oracle of Elune (works with discounted Umbral Owl and corrupted Strongman as well). Early on in the month, Meati was running a slightly different package with Vanndar Stormpike and no [Hearthstone Card (Yogg, Master of Fate) Not Found], but we haven't seen it as much for the past week.
We hear that the rumors about Celestial Alignment's total demise might have been greatly exaggerated. At least Feno seemed glad. Perhaps not as recommended for casual players not expecting very particular matchups.
Aggro Druid sticks to its familiar reliable shell - that's about it.
Meanwhile, Beast Druid might've pulled ahead following some small iterations. The list popularized by the fine folks at Vicious Syndicate should be a familiar sight on ladder. Here is Adodo with top Legend proof.
Hunter
The one constant of the Hearthstone universe, must always be going face. We know these cards all too well.
Beaststalker Tavish was a fine addition the last time we checked on the deck, so it's only fitting some people thought to ditch it again in order to enhance their old school early aggression. Quite successfully, as could be seen here and here.
There is also a somewhat different take to consider (and not nearly as popular, of course) - a Drek'Thar version. Fribz has fully credited his friend Enori for the reported good results with the deck.
Meanwhile, there's been more promising signs of life from the Questline variant:
Mage
Ping Mage has actually been doing alright competitively (the leaner builds without Rune of the Archmage, at least). It's not the biggest fan of Wildheart Guff's not-so-merry band of Old Gods, but the deck still saw decent results in the hands of Bunnyhoppor (who has also uploaded a dedicated YouTube guide) and others.
Eh, we really tried to pretend this following deck doesn't exist anymore, yet wishing it away could only do so much. Due to Lady Prestor in disguise - that is, Avelline's - unending dedication towards embracing the status of ultimate Hearthstone villainess, Mozaki, Master Duelist has been the talk of the town again. The deck especially likes to hunt slower Warlocks and Shamans (or even an occasional Druid which forgets how to ramp or stack their armor in time).
Paladin
Greedier meta, happier Paladins. The Libram variant holds few surprises at this point, it remains very solid. As it happens, y0ungchrisT made it to the very top in the first week of February by utilizing a handful of chosen tech cards.
Besides that, we've been observing a true rise of Buff Paladin once again. Board and hand empowering alike. Level 9001 found cozy spots for both Nerubian Egg and Ram Commander, Sezoklo utilized SI:7 Skulker, and Iscoman embraced the whole Divine Shield synergy.
The deck mainly takes offense at evil Shamans trying to freeze its precious buffed boards. But that isn't always enough to stop the march of Buffadins, if they go tall rather than wide on the board while getting hold of Lightforged Cariel.
Priest
Now that's been a proper resurgence for the class, the likes of which we haven't seen in a longer while. There is a lot of love for various Priest options, and a number of players had respectable results to show for putting their faith in the Light (or Shadow).
Let's start on the dark side. Steelo has certainly maintained a respectable winrate there. While Rami94 managed to climb with it while also playing Pokemon on stream.
Miracles are happening all around. Possibly the most popular Priest variant out there, we have witnessed so many good takes lately. It's hard to know where to even start. LvGe made it to the top with Drek'Thar. Xilinhung scored triple Legend. NiceJewishOwl and D_con more than held their own.
Questline? Worked just fine for Tobyka's conquest.
Last but certainly not least, the proud Boar Priest. Elétron reported promising results, while the true believer ClarkHELLSCREAM offered us quite a few video tidbits to support such findings. Boar power!
Rogue
Finally (?), that one class with hardly any developments worth a special mention. It's just okay-ish in the middle of the pack, with the three main decklists we've already known. Nobody seems to have come up with anything revolutionary or particularly fresh. Could be your proverbial "Mini-Set's waiting room".
Shaman
The big one. Following the popularity of previously featured Orange's Burn Shaman (who also managed to come up with a proper in-depth guide for the deck, after many trials and tribulations), we've witnessed its consqeuent spread. For some, the variant has become the enemy number one on ladder. That's not to say it doesn't have its weak points: be it dealing with focused aggressive wave after wave before chain freezing becomes available, or facing decks that can mitigate its burst later in the game. Still, it's worth learning how to play with or against.
The ongoing developments have been mostly limited to adding a few core cards (Wildpaw Cavern and Bru'kan of the Elements), while cutting what could be considered redundant. That means something else for various people: usually Diligent Notetaker and a copy of Primal Dungeoneer. The daring ones may touch Windchill. Although JheickWeiss might be the only Imprisoned Phoenix believer out there.
Other Shaman decks at the time? Pretty much what has existed beforehand.
Warlock
Handlock is a known quantity at this point (with the aforementioned Showstopper as tech), yet early on in the month we've noticed quite an uptake in the amount of Owls hooting around. Whether that's fully warranted or not, some players sure have a soft spot for that one. Fewer Poison Rogues around certainly don't hurt the odds here.
Warrior
Control Warrior has been partially responsible for the greedier turnarounds in the metagame, and yet... it feels like a lot of players have simply dropped it as of late. It was very popular at the start of the month and still can be seen here and there, but for the past week and a half it's also been strangely silent on that front.
That's more or less our foundation heading into Onyxia's Lair. Do you plan to stick to the reliable decks and prey on players experimenting with the new fancy cards, or have already got your sights on how to improve the existing options? Perhaps find something brand new? We're curious to see where it all goes this week!
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