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Learn more about the Hearthstone Showdown in the Badlands Expansion's Mini-Set Delve into Deepholm (Patch 28.4.1) Standard metagame with our tailored Meta Tier List. Here, you'll find every deck for each class, tested and refined, to help you reach the Legend rank!
Hearthstone Standard Meta Overview
With significant nerfs to Druid, Rogue, and Paladin, the latest patch has crowned Warlock as the new metagame king, dominating most ranks with its Sludge archetype. So far, although Death Knight is showing a lot of promises around the Plague or Rainbow archetypes, Gul'dan has posted a win rate at least 2% above every one else. As such, it feels right to rank the deck alone in Tier 1 after the patch, even if there are several decks potentially able to join it there in the future.
Naturally, having a dominant deck has impacted the metagame, making the decks able to compete with it more likely to do well. Plague Warlock, thanks to shuffling the opponent's deck when plagues are added to it, which messes up the position of the Sludge barrels in the deck. Control Warrior, which has the potential to take enough damage to the face and stay alive. Or Dragon Druide and Mining Paladin, able to develop minions which can sustain those hits, logically follow Gul'dan in the rankings.
The last two in Tier 2 are explosive, combo archetypes able to go off early in the match and outpace their opponent. So far, neither is showing particularly good match-ups to abuse, but their high rolls are looking high enough to post a decent win rate. This is why Demon Hunter and Priest are ranked in the second tier, while Totem Shaman and Wishing Well Rogue, also archetypes hoping for a specific draw, end up in tier three, their consistency costing them.
This return to more high rolls from several decks is due to the metagame being faster since the last update. Plus, Sludge Warlock also punishes many defensive strategies, as you often end up getting blasted by numerous sludge barrels in your hero if you don't seize the board fast enough. Then, apart from Control Warrior, able to build enough armor to stay alive, all the other classes see their faster, or damage oriented archetypes perform best so far. Considering the more value, midrange oriented Druid and Rogue just got nerfed, and the best deck in the format is able to OTK you if they have enough sludge barrels at the bottom of their deck, this is a pretty logical follow-up to the changes in Patch 28.4.1.
Overall, the trend right now should be to quickly get set on the board, and dictate the trades, or when the damage race starts. A few classes are unable to do so, and instead rely on explosive patterns to turn the situation around in one swing, such as Aggro Naga Demon Hunter. Yet, unless you have the ability to remove the opposing board, develop yours, and almost threaten lethal at the same time, this early passivity will often lead to nothing good. Then, except if you are excellent at playing from behind, and able to anticipate a comeback a couple turns ahead, I would stay away from those explosive strategies, focusing on a steady development instead, with a couple of power turns early in the match.
Of course, if you can find a deck able to consistently beat Warlock, you should be able to cruise to Legend. Unfortunately, the best deck against it right now is only 53% favored.
Best Hearthstone Deck for Every Class - Delve into Deepholm - Patch 28.4.1
| Tier | Archetype | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Sludge Warlock | AAECAaPDAwLm/wWAngYOx8IFyMIF3cIF1/oFhY4GlZcGlpcGl5cGmJcGm6AGoqAGq6AG96MGpqgGAAA= |
| Tier 2 | Dragon Druid | AAECAe2/BASwigS1igTlsATBlQYNrp8EkLUErsAEu84Eo5MF/N8F/d8Fp/oFu5UGvJUGvZUG15wG2pwGAAA= |
| Tier 2 | Plague Death Knight | AAECAfHhBAak7wTipAXm5AWT+wXt/wX/lwYMh/YEopkF9fcFgvgF8vgFu/kF+PkF6/8FyoMG0IMG9YwG85EGAAA= |
| Tier 2 | Mining Paladin | AAECAZ8FAo3+BZOeBg7JoATavQSrkwWBlgWgmQXBxAXKgwbQgwaFjga8jwaOlQa1ngbIogbOsAYAAA== |
| Tier 2 | Control Warrior | AAECAQcG5bAEl+8E4qQFpfYF2IEGqZUGEYagBI7UBJDUBLT4BbX4BZD7BZf7BaH7BaT7BYWCBsqDBtCDBpKOBsKRBouUBuiYBp+eBgA= |
| Tier 2 | Aggro Naga Demon Hunter | AAECAea5AwTlsASkkgX3wwXZ0AUNiLIEmLoE+b8EpeIElaoF5OQF4fgFxfkFkIMGhpAGjZAGnJoG7p4GAA== |
| Tier 2 | Naga Priest | AAECAa0GBImyBPrbBM/2BaSdBg2i6AOIsgSktgSntgSGgwXdpAWVqgXIxgW7xwWi6QWFjgbGnAa4ngYAAA== |
| Tier 3 | Totem Shaman | AAECAaoIBLHZBPLdBI31BcKeBg36tASywQSq2QS95QS27QSVqgX08gXDjwacngbBngbmngbXogbOsAYAAA== |
| Tier 3 | Wishing Well Rogue | AAECAaIHCLezBNi2BMygBYukBdCUBo6WBuSYBrezBAv2nwT3nwT13QTo+gWQgwbKgwa5hgbIlAbJlAbOlAaNlgYAAA== |
| Tier 3 | Arcane Hunter | AAECAbv5AwSXoASGyQSwkgXX+QUNqp8EwNMEp5AFmpIFqpIFqZMFqqQF8/IFyvYFkIMGhY4GwZwGjp4GAAA= |
| Tier 3 | Secret Mage | AAECAf0EBL3kBIf1BdH4BYWeBg3nnwT+7AS87QT/kgWQlgWqmAXo6AXKgwbQgwaVhwbzmwaznAaQngYAAA== |
Impactful, Second Best Decks - Delve into Deepholm - Patch 28.2.3
| Tier | Archetype | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | Rainbow Death Knight | AAECAfHhBAT8+QXt/wWLkgb/lwYNy+IE8OME2fEEtPcEmIEFmYEFkpMFl5UGkZcGzpwGkqAG16IGy7AGAAA= |
| Tier 2 | Treant Druid | AAECAZICAA/XnwSuwASozgSB1ASy3QS14wSxmAXsowX93wXO5AWw+gXZ/wW1mgbYnAasngYAAA== |
| Tier 3 | Highlander Shaman | AAECAaoIHv2fBOWwBOC1BMbOBOnZBOmjBeKkBf3EBb7QBeXkBfboBc3uBfTyBY31Bf74BYf7BcqDBtCDBvmMBuyVBqudBq2dBpOeBpyeBp2eBp+eBs2eBtWiBq+oBs6wBgAAAQO42QT9xAX/4QT9xAXpowX9xAUAAA== |
| Tier 3 | Mech Rogue | AAECAaIHBti2BOy6BL/OBLb2Ber6BfajBgz3nwThtQT13QShkwXZ0AXV9gW/9wWm+AXm+gWh/AXn/QW5/gUAAA== |
| Tier 3 | BIG Demon Hunter | AAECAea5AwjsoATlsASEsgT+vwSkkgXipAX3wwWRkAYLgIUEpeIE6e0Ei5IFnaQFkKUFsvUF4fgFnJoG6Z4G7p4GAA== |
| Tier 3 | Overheal Priest | AAECAa0GBMzGBc/2BemYBqSdBg2i6APLoAT52wSGgwWkkQXIxgW7xwWi6QXt9wX7+AXGnAa4ngaWoAYA |
Disclaimer and Tier Explanations
There are a variety of ways to be informed about the Hearthstone metagame, a logical trait of a 10 years old game. In order to craft this tier list, den, a veteran coach and competitor on Hearthstone, has combined the data available on the popular deck trackers, the opinion of top ranked players about the dominant decks, and its own expertise. He also tested all the archetypes on this list on its way to the legend rank, or once he reached it.
This list should represent the Diamond and Legend ranks pretty well, with the very top of the ladder being excluded. Indeed, once you reach the top of the Legend rank, the game changes and focuses much more on combo and explosive patterns, which require a lot of time to master completely. Then, you will typically see different decks perform at those ranks, or archetypes be built to specifically match the environment of these ranks.
As for the ranks before Diamond, those tend to be more about game fundamentals rather than precise archetypes. One should be able to reach Diamond with any deck on the rankings, as long as they understand the basics of crafting a game plan, seizing initiative, and building momentum to pressure the opponent.
The lists aren't set in stone, particularly the reactive decks, which need to be tailored to your most popular opponent. Often, a proactive deck will focus on its own strengths, leading to a decklist which isn't very flexible once we found the right balance. On the other end, a reactive deck is designed to answer other decks, or trends of the metagame, meaning they have to be adapted to your own environment.
Tier 1: Decks with a stellar win rate, around or above the 60% mark, and more than a thousand games with that win rate. Either their match-up spread is great in the current environment, or they rely on game mechanics which are simple enough to suit a large variety of player, boosting their performance over large sample sizes.
Particularly before the Legend Rank, these decks should be ideal to climb steadily.
Tier 2: Solid decks in the current metagame, with a win rate north of 53% and the ability to compete against a large variety of decks. Typically, these decks will require a little more knowledge of the game fundamentals, or the current environment in order to put up the same win rate as a Tier 1 deck.
Tier 3: Decks with something holding them back currently, either their sheer power compared to other decks, or a bad match-up being too unpopular.
Particularly on the road to the Legend rank, decks need to be able to fight for initiative, and stop an opponent able to snowball in the early to mid-game. Unfortunately, some classes simply don't have the tools for that.
Conclusion
For any question about the rankings, or a deck in particular, feel free to reach out on Twitter. I mostly share Marvel Snap decks lately, but I still love and play Hearthstone daily, I promise.
Good game everyone!
