10 Top Standard Hearthstone Decks to Climb the Mid-April Ladder

It's been a bit since the release of the newest Hearthstone expansion, Festival of Legends, but we've already seen a couple cards get nerfed and new decks rise to the top of the Standard meta. Here are the 5 decks for you to take out on the ladder and win with!

Or, if you're a contrarian, we've once again included a counter-pick for each meta deck, an off-meta (or off-off-meta) strategy that appears to do well against it - this brings our total to 10 decks for your viewing pleasure.

Pure Paladin

As it currently stands, Pure Paladin is one of the best decks to ladder with, whether you're going for the basic "good stuff" version or trying to build towards the more flavorful Silver Hand or Bubble variants. Thing is, the class just has a lot of good cards right now and there aren't a lot of strategies that can stand in its way.

This build of the deck adds in The Garden's Grace for extra stats, while shedding Jitterbug to ensure that The Purator draws double Lightray when it hits the board.

Counter-pick: Miracle Rogue

One of this week's risers in the meta is Miracle Rogue. Always a threat in the hands of a player who knows what they're doing, Miracle Rogue picks up some extra points thanks to its solid matchup against the otherwise unassailable Pure Paladin, taking advantage of its few options for dealing with large minions. Concoctions continue to be a stellar tool (and they're flexible, too!). In the hands of a skilled pilot, Miracle Rogue is capable of anything, but perhaps you'll settle for beating Pure Paladin.

Frost Death Knight

Frost Aggro Death Knight has seen a slight shift in the past week; for starters, it's actually running a new card! Hardcore Cultist is useful for controlling the opposing board (and can slap some extra damage at the opponent's face), while new technology Might of Menethil can use the copious corpses the deck makes to chill out opposing enemy minions.

Counter-pick: Thaddius Warlock

Once again, the archetype best suited for surviving the onslaught of Frostwyrm's Fury is Thaddius Warlock. The deck runs E.T.C., Band Manager for extra flexibility in matchups; his bandmates are Coroner, Lord Jaraxxus, and The Jailer. Additionally, this week Zola the Gorgon and Alexstrasza the Life-Binder have been added to the predominant list for extra minions and extra health (or removal), respectively.

Blood Death Knight

Blood Death Knight has taken a bit of a tumble from the top of the meta, as it can no longer rely fully upon the mid-game power of Construct Quarter summoning three 4/5 Undeads. Instead, this list has abandoned its Quarters in favor of Amalgam of the Deep discovering potentially juicy Undead minions. Also new in the deck is E.T.C., Band Manager, who brings with him Coroner, Rivendare, Warrider, and Theotar, the Mad Duke.

Counter-pick: Secret Rogue

If you're looking specifically to go after all those Blood Death Knights on ladder, the deck that shows the most promise is Secret Rogue. The power of Double Cross in a world with Finale is undeniable, and Shadowjeweler Hanar is still great at making your face look like a Christmas tree (even if he has one fewer color to choose from). This deck is also ready to rock: E.T.C., Band Manager is hitting the road with Dirty Rat, Photographer Fizzle, and Sunfury Clergy in tow.

Unholy Death Knight

We finish our trilogy of Death Knight decks with Unholy Death Knight, who has slowly but surely climbed the ranks to join its brethren near the top. The deck's designs involve generating a massive amount of Corpses, then spending those Corpses to end the game with a massive board buff. Festival of Legends card Rowdy Fan helps all those small creatures punch above their weight, while Blightfang is just kind of annoying, you know?

Counter-pick: Relic Demon Hunter

Relic Demon Hunter has the right number of cheap board clears (which it can boost with Spell Damage from Bloodmage Thalnos and Silvermoon Arcanist) to make life pain for Unholy Death Knight, while still retaining the ability to actually end the game with Rowdy Fan and Lady S'theno before a big board from Lord Marrowgar can take things over.

Undead Priest

Another new face near the top of the meta is Undead Priest, an aggressive Shadow Priest deck that swarms the board with Ghosts and Ghouls while chipping in damage from the Shadowform Hero Power, courtesy of Darkbishop Benedictus and new weapon Idol's Adoration. Haunting Nightmare is still a pain, especially once you give it Reborn and resummon it a couple of times.

Counter-pick: Totem Shaman

The counter to new hotness Undead Priest is everyone's favorite* old hotness, Totem Shaman. Party Favor Totem is still grooving along and summoning Totems that JIVE, INSECT! can turn into a 5 mana Ragnaros the Firelord, while the extra tempo added to the deck from free-ish big bodies Thing from Below and Gigantotem can cause problems for a deck that has no unconditional removal to speak of.

*Statement may not reflect your wrong opinion.

What top decks are you planning on playing in Hearthstone this week? Share them in our deckbuilder and show them off in the comments below.