The Day before Hearthstone Freezes Over!
I know nobody wants to read my crap but I'm bored, so whatever!
Before Un'Goro I posted this:
Green = mostly right
Yellow = partially right
Red = completely wrong
White = neutral / not applicable
---
-----
So I was probably more right than wrong, even calling out Quest Rogue and Paladin, though I had no idea it'd be these versions of Paladin. I was convinced Galvadon would be OP. Tier list is so hard to guess obviously, I was completely wrong about Warlock, the others all fluctuate around tier 2-3 mostly.
----
With Frozen Throne, I've been tweaking decklists for a couple days now and here are my guesstimates:
Druid:
- Jade Druid: They are getting even more tools to survive early game. Jades should continue to reign. I do not think Skulking Geist will be prominent enough to hurt Jade Druid. Even if it does make a (very few) decks, Jade Druid can still pack enough punch to win.
- Aggro Druid also get more tools, a 2 mana 1/5 taunt OR 1/2 poisonous, tons of CHEAP high-health minions to protect their other stuff & then buff up. Aggro druid will be stronger for sure.
- Druid DeathKnight is cheap enough to fit in practically every Druid deck, including aggro. They can hero power for 3 damage a turn, nuff said.
- Full-on taunt deck likely doesn't work, but Hadronox may see play as a finisher in Big Druid & Jade Druid.
- Big Druid still sees play, gets a little stronger, it has high win percentage against slower decks as well as Jade Druid. Suffers against Aggro, but maybe Gnash & Prince Valanar see play to give a little breather early on.
Hunter:
- Hunter will be tough.Their existing tier 3 deck probably stays mostly in tact. They can slot in Bearshark to get some better board control. Everything else doesn't make too much sense or is too niche or expensive.
- It'll be a struggle to find a new deck that works. They get Bloatbat & DeathKnight battlecry as very expensive board AoEs, which hunter have lacked, they can slot in some Lifesteal to heal, but it might all just be way too cumbersome or come way too late to be viable.
- Secret Hunter may have the best chance at survival, perhaps a very strong Secret deck lurks.
- I'll still try to make Quest Hunter work, but it is likely to be very inconsistent.
Mage:
- Mage possibly get more viable decks focused on: Elemental / Grinder / Dragon. Mage could have 4-6 very different viable decks in the new meta.
- Quest Mage may become a legitimate top-tier deck. Simulcrum prevents Dirty Rat from mostly screwing up the main plan, now he would HAVE to pull Antonidas. Pulling Sorcs wouldn't matter so much. Also Coldwraith for more draw, and Ghastly Conjurer helps complete quest sooner. Quest Mage is an absolute counter to control & slow decks.
- Freeze Mage is already a Tier 2 deck and is getting a couple tools to assist with their plan. Coldwraith for more card draw, Ghastly Conjurer adds a 1 mana spell to hand which will become another Fireball & stall card.
- Secret Mage is also a Tier 2 deck and do not get much at first glance. Glacial Mysteries doesn't seem viable while Arconologist exists. The new secret is more for value than Board Control. Secret Mage probably exists mostly in their current form with maybe a couple card differences. Many decks will be cutting Eater of Secrets during the testing phase.
- Burn Mage is a Tier 4 deck right now and they don't appear to be getting many tools to assist with Burning... It's an Ice Expansion after all. This deck may just disappear entirely. The winrate is already atrocious and the new decks seem better & more fun.
Paladin:
- Everyone is super high on Paladin right now simply because they are already a Tier 1 deck and it appears like they are getting the BEST Deathknight card - possibly the best card - in the entire set. Will this be another monumental prediction fail? I doubt it. Uther is just insane. Not only do you get an insane weapon but you also churn out 2/2 minions every turn that could just end the game. A 2/2 requires an actual resource to remove, they can't just be pinged off anymore (except by Druid/Warlock/Priest DK, of which Priest/Warlock will be infrequent). It's absolutely crazy pressure for 2 mana a turn. I do believe the 4 Horsemen will determine MANY games, either by outright winning it, or sucking up so many resources you just win anyway.
- Most of the paladin decks will remain with just a few card swaps... They are already very diverse. Aggro, Mid-Range and Control variants will all exist.
- Handbuff is the only deck that could be a newcomer, but still probably weaker than the more mature decks.
- Divine Shield deck with Bolvar & new weapon will be garbage
Priest
- This set brings a very diverse set of cards to Priest that are tough to figure out. Silence Priest is their best performing deck currently and they didn't get many tools to assist it.
- Priest are getting 1 of the best minions in the set: Obsidian Statue. This card alone could be a build around for some very new and exciting decks.
- Priest have a LOT of potential with a LOT of possible decks. What becomes meta always depends on the other classes. Slower decks mean a Control/Thief list become very strong. Aggro meta means Silence remains a strong deck. It seems like Kazakus & Quest Priest should be able to make a splash at first, but I am betting the Kazakus list doesn't make it too high on the tier list. Priest Deathknight is not strong enough to make it work any better. The OTK combos with Deathknight Anduin just won't work out. I also do not think Quest Priest sees much of a boon. There are many new deathrattles but very few are actually good.
- I have the most hope for an "Eternal Servitude" list, which maybe is just part of the "Control" list. But only if the meta is slow enough.
Rogue
- Will definitely keep seeing Miracle Rogue & variants as the main rogue identity.
- Valeera, Doomerang and Shadowblade will be prominent.
- Prince Valanar may make it into some lists, but not with Sherazin.
- Thief Rogue may actually make a Tier list, with Shadowblade, Obsidian Shard, Doomerang, and Prince Valanar as healthy control & sustain tools.
- I can't see a Jade or N'Zoth decks working
- Thief or a sleeper C'Thun deck seems most likely to enter the scene.
Shaman
- All of the new Freeze stuff is just silly and won't work out.
- Evolve & Token lists will reign and get even stronger. Saronite Chain Gang is an awesome card for Evolve lists. Bloodlust will continue to reign. The Deathknight is just so good for evolve lists, losing totems hurts the swarm though. No more random taunt totems, as well as the other totems, are huge negatives for the Shaman. Might get tossed from lists after a while, having more minions is always preferred for the Bloodlust turn.
- Water package could easily end up in these lists due to the new Draw card.
- Elemental lists aren't given much support, will continue to not be good enough.
Warlock
- Will they rise from the ashes? Is the DeathKnight card good enough? Possibly.
- Drain Soul, Despicable Dreadlord, Defile, and DeathKnight Gul'Dan are all very good tools for the Warlock.
- There is a Control list here somewhere. Their hero powers are the strongest in the game. Problem is.. all 3 are super strong... Draw Card, Deal3&Heal3, Summon a 6/6. What do?
- While I think a list exists somewhere, it's going to have to manifest from somewhere special to be able to compete with all of the other classes (except Hunter).
Warrior
- Move aside Pirate Warrior, Tempo is back. Control possibly back. Taunt gets stronger.
- Pirate Warrior basically got nothing. The new Pirate is akin to Bittertide - It doesn't do shit when played. The new weapon is shit for Pirate. The Draw card COULD be an include, just to get those Arcanites into hand.
- Blood Razor and Forge of Souls will be an auto-include in every single other Warrior deck. Getting your Weapons out of your deck is super important and gives you at least 4 turns of weapon removal starting on turn 3. It's absolute insanity.
- Warrior are getting a lot and will be very strong. Pirate, Tempo, Taunt and Control may all be very viable... if anything, Pirate is getting weaker, but the fact Patches exists means it'll never die.
Tier List Predictions:
Tier 1:
Mage
Paladin
Warrior
--
Tier 2:
Druid
Shaman
Priest
--
Tier 3:
Rogue
--
Tier 4:
Hunter
Warlock
