Standout Post-Nerf Witchwood Hearthstone Decks for Balance Patch 11.2 - A Week Later

19 Comments

1. RDUNeil May 30, 2018

   Could these nerfs be the best round of nerfs ever, from Blizzard? I'm no expert, but they seem to have taken a very different approach this time, hitting several cards with "slight nerfs" rather than target bombing a couple cards into oblivion. While things could go badly, this seems to have very effectively knocked back the general power level of the meta, giving more/different decks a chance to compete. Purely anecdotal at this point, but the meta feels wide open, without the unbalanced chaos of the days of a brand new set/rotation aspect.

   I've been playing two decks I've never played before, Quest Warrior (I crafted the quest after the nerfs) and Tempo Mage... and both have strong game against the field with very different strategies (I play at Rank 4-ish every month) and have really enjoyed a lot of different types of opposing decks. Last night was filled with a lot of Malygos Druid (which Tempo Mage eats alive, it seems) but otherwise lots of the decks you've listed.

   It's a fun meta right now. We'll see what another couple weeks of refinement bring, as two months of this meta is a long, long time in Hearthstone and we will likely see a reduction in played decks, and some stagnation... but that is what ladder play enforces, no matter what is done to tweak.

   1. RDUNeil May 30, 2018

      I would add that playing Quest Warrior with Scourgelord Garrosh is a blast... kind of a "This isn't even my final form!" kind of moment, as you time your transformation in Scourgelord to wipe their board and beat them down for a couple turns... THEN play your quest Weapon and Ragnaros their face.

      Good times.

   2. GlosuuLang May 30, 2018

      The nerfs were spot on (maybe Naga Sea Witch too harsh - the card just needed to revert to its original state), and NOW we're seeing the diverse meta that a rotation normally brings. I'm enjoying the game more than ever! Props to Blizzard!

2. Wikator1231 May 30, 2018

   My favourite deck right now is Miracle Rogue. I created a deck with Valeera the Hollow and I'm in 4 rank with it.

   1. Wikator1231 May 30, 2018

      Also, as I never spent money on this game I play only with rogue, so I had time to practise this deck.

      1. Stonekeep May 31, 2018

         Good job, hitting R4 with Miracle Rogue is a nice achievement :)

         1. Wikator1231 May 31, 2018

            Thanks.

         2. Wikator1231 May 31, 2018

            Stonekeep, can you take a look at my deck? Is there something I should change? http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/decks/wikators-rank-4-miracle-rogue/

3. MattH May 30, 2018

   I have been playing quest priest a fair bit over the last week, i had one match where i vs a dead mans hand warrior and after about 40 or so minutes (i stole 2 copies of his dead mans hand as well) the game just ended in a draw. i didnt realise that there was a time limit on games until now lol

   1. CloudTemplar May 31, 2018

      90 turn limit, 45 for each player
      the one with more hp+ armor wins the game

      1. Stonekeep May 31, 2018

         Correct about the turn limit, but the game ends in a draw.

         The "higher health total" rule was set in official tournaments so they don't have to replay those games, lol.

         1. MattH May 31, 2018

            That makes sense for tournaments, it would be a nightmare otherwise and no one could ever win, I was on 100 hit points (40 health 60 armour) and he was on 6 hp (he used the DK and lost his armour up hero power) but it was still a draw.

            The annoying this was that I would have won after 2 more turns because both our hands were full of unusable cards (no minions left to use brawl, shield slam, SW: death etc) so we were at the point of milling the rest of our decks.

4. elzein May 31, 2018

   I've been playing Hearthstone for quite a while now, and this post-nerf meta is the best experience I've had so far. A slower meta allows for lots of creative builds. I see a lot of different decks in the ladder. At least for me, this is Hearthstone's standard ladder at it's best.

   1. Stonekeep May 31, 2018

      I agree, a slower meta means that more creative decks can get played. Normally those are usually punished hard by Aggro, and they have no place on the ladder.

      The only downside of a slower meta are game times. Sometimes when you play a slow deck and you queue into another slow deck, the games are horribly long. Especially bad for pooper players, lol.

      1. RDUNeil May 31, 2018

         While I probably count as a "pooper player" I still find this meta encouraging. Once I get to Level 5, I don't really worry about climbing, and play decks that can win, but pressure is off to hit a goal in a set time period. Thus... Quest Warrior is suddenly really fun! I'm not even sure what the point of trying to reach Legend is good for, since you don't get better rewards. Seems more like a frustrating grind than anything.

5. Braadpan May 31, 2018

   The current meta is awesome! I've climbed with elemental mage which was a lot of fun without getting annihilated by Cubelock every other game!

   1. Stonekeep May 31, 2018

      Good job, that's an interesting deck choice indeed :)

      1. RDUNeil May 31, 2018

         I don't know what version of elemental mage Braadpan might have used, but when I refer to Tempo Mage, it a kind of Elemental Mage... using this...

         http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/decks/apxvoids-elemental-tempo-mage-post-nerf-witchwood/

         It is an unrelenting curve of damage... Mana Wyrm Arcanologist secrets Kirin Tor Mage... into Firefly or Glacial Shard (often bettern than Amalgam) to activate Steam Surger Bonfire Blazecaller (often to the face) and usually t that point they are at 10 or less life and you have a handful of burn. It is pretty good against slower decks we are seeing right now, as even Druid can get burned out unless they get all their armor early, and even then, that usually means they have left big dudes on the board to smash with.

6. xNanoks May 31, 2018

   Not sure if you intentionally left it out, but Murloc Pally is still pretty viable, even with the nerf to CtA. If you managed to look at it, I'd love to hear some data on it. I'm thinking it performs above average, but I could be wrong.

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