Welcome to the 324th edition of the Data Reaper Report!
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Class/Archetype Distribution | Class Frequency | Matchup Winrates | vS Power Rankings | vS Meta Score | Class Analysis & Decklists | Meta Breaker of the Week | How to Contribute | Credits
Number of Games
| Overall | 711,000 |
| Top 1K Legend | 62,000 |
| Legend (Excluding Top 1k) | 250,000 |
| Diamond 4 to 1 | 77,000 |
| Diamond 10 to 5 | 106,000 |
| Platinum | 77,000 |
| Bronze/Silver/Gold | 139,000 |
Class/Archetype Distribution
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All Ranks
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D1 to D4
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Legend
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Top 1K Legend
Class Frequency
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Weekly
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Daily
Class Frequency Discussion
You would not be able to tell that Rogue has just lost its best card in Harbinger of the Blighted. The class may have initially declined after the patch, but its play rate is recovering, already re-establishing itself as the most popular class at top legend. Pirate Rogue has made its return with a build similar to the one it utilized before Harbinger was added to the deck, while Cycle Rogue, a deck that already did not use Harbinger, has surged in play with novel builds gaining traction.
Death Knight is popular at all levels of play, with Starship Death Knight picking up more interest over the last week. Blood-Ctrl Death Knight is experimenting with different builds, while Menagerie Death Knight has stayed the same. Meanwhile, Handbuff Death Knight is attempting a small comeback.
Protoss Mage took over the format on the first day of the patch, but has significantly declined since, settling at more reasonable play rates across ladder.
Innovation can be found in Druid. Imbue Druid’s number have relaxed post-patch, but the deck is still a popular choice through most of ladder. Things change at legend ranks, where the class diversifies. Spell-Damage Druid, with Owlonius as its win condition, can be found. Aviana Druid has gone from a fringe deck to a hyped strategy. Even Starship Druid, for the first time, is making a serious attempt at carving out a place in the format.
Paladin has completely transformed. Drunk Paladin has disappeared, yet the class surged back thanks to Imbue Paladin. The buff to its hero power has elevated Imbue Paladin to become the most popular strategy on ladder, only dipping in its play rate at top legend. Aggro Paladin does not see much play.
Priest is also a class transformed by the buff to its Imbue package, but the outcome may not be what Priest mains were looking for. Menagerie Priest, yet another aggressive Priest deck, seems to be the main benefactor of the buffs. Experimentation in Protoss and Control Priest running the Imbue package can be observed, but these decks are not nearly as popular. Zarimi Priest has disappeared following the nerf to Naralex.
Cliff Dive Demon Hunter has survived the nerf to the card it is named after, with one variant disappearing. But the class may not be about one deck anymore, as Aggro Demon Hunter has popped up, while attempts to bring back the armor stacking Starship Demon Hunter can be observed.
The patch has really opened up space for novelties to emerge, with the failing Wallow Warlock archetype taking another shot at competitive viability. Starship Warlock is gaining more traction than Wheel Warlock post-patch, a reversing of pre-patch trends.
Shaman is showing signs of life, with Murmur Shaman sparking interest at top legend once again. At lower rank brackets, Asteroid Shaman’s small presence is noticeable.
Warrior has been relatively quiet. Control Warrior is the main archetype of choice, but experimentation in Terran and Dragon Warrior exists.
Imbue Hunter has completely disappeared, leaving Hunter to explore other options, with Starship Hunter looking like the most popular choice.
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All Ranks
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D4 to Legend
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Legend
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Top 1K Legend
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Legend
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D1 to D4
vS Meta Score
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Top 1K Legend
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Legend
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D1 to D4
vS Power Rankings Discussion
Last week’s balance patch has completely transformed the format, leading to some decks looking drastically different in terms of power, with some particularly shocking and unexpected results.
Rogue
- One thing did not change, which is Rogue’s success, especially at top legend. The class is simply wearing different clothes. Pirate Rogue looks busted across ladder, though some reliable answers exist (Menagerie DK, Cliff Dive DH, Cycle Rogue). This is the new best deck in the game, for now.
- Cycle Rogue has gone from trash to treasure, turning into an elite top legend deck. The nerfs to the competing field has been the biggest factor, but we cannot ignore a breakthrough in its build that is also contributing to its success, which we mention in the Rogue section. This has drastically helped its performance in slower matchups. It is not an unstoppable deck though, with several answers found in its matchup spread (Death Knight, Menagerie Priest, some Starship decks). One important factor worth highlighting is its good matchup against Pirate Rogue.
- Fyrakk Rogue (Shala Rogue renamed, as Fyrakk is now core to the deck) may have taken a blow with the nerf to Harbinger, but we believe the deck still has great potential in this format. Many builds persist with Harbinger, especially at lower rank brackets, but the card has become a trap for the archetype. Cutting it leads to drastically different results, and we would not be surprised to see it come back to a Tier 1 performance level. Its performance at top legend is a hint to its true potential, where more players drop Harbinger.
- Protoss Rogue is also handling the Harbinger loss very well, looking competitive across ladder. It may not see much play due to other Rogue decks looking more appealing.
Death Knight
- Menagerie DK is producing great results on the climb to legend. It slightly dips at top legend, where defensive decks are more prevalent, but it is still strong thanks to its good Rogue matchups.
- Starship DK is the best Death Knight deck at top legend, and the best non-Rogue deck there. It does well against most of the popular decks on ladder, but we do identify plenty of counters to it amongst the emerging strategies from the patch.
- Blood-Ctrl DK looks weak, but this could be a case of the wrong builds being utilized. The archetype can take a different direction that leads to dramatically better results. When refined, the archetype is much closer to Tier 1 than it is to Tier 4.
- Handbuff DK is back on the map and looks successful. Unfavored matchups against Rogue are the main reasons why it may struggle to gain traction at top legend, but the deck is an objectively good choice on the climb to legend.
Mage
- Protoss Mage looked like the best deck in the game for about 12 hours, but things have gone downhill since. A horde of new counters has emerged to give the class an increasingly harder time, pushing its win rate below 50% above Platinum ranks. The deck is competitive and there is a large section of players that love it, so it should remain popular, but it is not a balance concern. Its main role in the format is keeping passive decks in check.
- Imbue Mage gets worse and worse as you climb ladder, with its future outlook not looking good. In a refined format, it is likely unplayable.
Druid
- Imbue Druid is now a good deck that is not overpowered. The balance changes have been a resounding success here, keeping a deck with healthy play patterns competitive. You can still have a lot of success with Imbue Druid across ladder, even at rank brackets where it has become less fashionable.
- Spell-Damage Druid is the real deal. A strong deck across ladder that peaks at top legend thanks to an above average skill ceiling, but does not have a good matchup against Rogue, so it cannot displace it from the top of the food chain.
- Starship Druid might be the biggest shock of the patch. The archetype has never looked close to being competitive before, yet suddenly it has become a Tier 1 deck post-patch! There is a disparity in the performance of the archetype across different rank brackets, caused by its unrefined state. This is not as much of a skill issue, as it is about top legend players running more optimized builds. Once the best build propagates, Starship Druid should become at least a Tier 2 deck across ladder. This is the one Druid deck that beats Cycle Rogue.
- The Aviana Druid hype does not seem to have merit. The deck looks weak at all levels of play and shows no signs of getting better.
Paladin
- Imbue Paladin is showing a big performance disparity, looking elite at most rank brackets, but turning into a Tier 4 deck at top legend. This is a combination of a lower than average skill ceiling, as well as terrible matchups against Rogue. Its low play rate at higher levels of play is not a coincidence. Nevertheless, the buff to its hero power can be considered successful, as it has become competitive and popular throughout the majority of ladder, while not displaying egregious play patterns. Much like Imbue Druid, it largely plays for board.
- Aggro Paladin has gone a bit under the radar. It can be very successful in the current format by adjusting its build to the Shaladrassil nerf. We are not even sure Drunk Paladin is truly dead. We would like to see how it performs without Shaladrassil.
Priest
- Menagerie Priest looks great. Its matchup spread is a bit polarizing, as it gets hard countered by defensive decks, but its strong matchup against Cycle Rogue may keep it relevant at higher levels of play. This is the best Cycle Rogue counter in the format, so if Rogue blows up, Menagerie Priest’s win rate could spike.
- Other Priest decks are not looking good. Protoss Priest is too slow, while Control Priest builds are even slower. The Imbue package might be good at giving us card advantage, but it cannot close out games late, when other classes are equipped with real finishers that force the Priest to either pressure, or die.
Demon Hunter
- Cliff Dive DH looks strong across ladder, though its matchup spread is checkered and shows vulnerabilities to plenty of strategies. Interestingly, it may not be stronger at top legend anymore. It beats Pirate Rogue, but it surprisingly struggles against Cycle Rogue, so it is no longer a foolproof Rogue counter.
- Aggro DH looks competitively viable and may further improve if it is curated to one specific build. Its Rogue matchups are softer. Pirate Rogue is not as easy, but Cycle Rogue is not as hard.
- Starship DH is back. It is not exceptionally powerful, but it is clearly effective. Poor Rogue matchups limit its success at top legend specifically, but its win rate is positive everywhere else.
Warlock
- Starship Warlock has overtaken Vanilla Wheel Warlock in dramatic fashion. Playing passively does not reward control decks in the current format, so having proactive avenues is necessary, which is what the Starship package offers.
- Wallow Warlock does not look good, but the archetype is also unrefined. Its optimal builds should be worthy of a Tier 3 win rate. It is unlikely that Wallow Warlock becomes a strong deck, but it might be competitive.
Shaman
- Murmur Shaman is showing tentative signs of competitive viability at top legend, but its poor matchups against Rogue are not a good sign. Asteroid Shaman has plenty of room for improvement through refinement, so the archetype may establish itself as competitively viable at several rank brackets. Probably not a deck you want to play at top legend though.
Warrior
- Control Warrior does not seem particularly strong, but we are optimistic about its chances to improve its standing. It has a good matchup against Cycle Rogue, as well as Cycle Rogue’s biggest counter in Menagerie Priest. If those decks rise up, while Protoss Mage declines, we could see Warrior become a more relevant competitor.
- Terran Warrior is emerging with a new build that looks very promising. Currently, its success is contained to lower rank brackets, but based on its projected performance, it may be superior to Control Warrior across ladder. Top legend players are currently not interested whatsoever. We will see if that changes.
Hunter
- It is not looking good for Starship Hunter. We think it is likely that the archetype disappears, leaving the class with nothing on paper. However, based on our low sample estimate, Handbuff Hunter should be competitively viable. Whether it garners interest is another question.
Class Analysis & Decklists
Death Knight | Demon Hunter | Druid | Hunter | Mage | Paladin | Priest | Rogue | Shaman | Warlock | Warrior
Harbinger might be gone, but Rogue is not slowing down. The class may have lost its best card, but the rest of the field has also been hit with balance changes that made life for Valeera easier.
Cycle Rogue has drastically improved its performance thanks to dodging nerfs and seeing the entire field weakened. Incindius looks like the best game closing card once we near fatigue. It is vastly superior to Agency Espionage. Thalnos can help us win through Incindius once we reach the end of our deck. Living Flame is a crucial tutor to ‘Eat! The! Imp!’. Prize Vendor is weak in the mirror, so its performance nosedives at top legend, where most active Cycle Rogue players dwell.
Pirate Rogue looks insane with a build that resembles the one it utilized before it added Harbinger to the deck. We think Sailboat Captain is not necessary and are intrigued by 9-mana Zilliax being ran alongside Fyrakk to corrupt Shaladrassil more consistently.
Fyrakk Rogue might be able to fully recover from the Harbinger nerf if it just… cuts Harbinger. We do not think this deck is dead. We replaced Harbinger with Nightmare Fuel but are open to every option available.
Protoss Rogue has also dealt with the loss of Harbinger well. Blink looks better than Photon Cannon, likely because it makes it easier for us to combo Sonya/Scoundrel with a Templar (4 mana Templar is the sweet spot).
Blood-Ctrl Death Knight has the potential to be strong in the current format but needs a change in attitude. The passive Vampiric Blood builds with Pyromancer/Breath are ill-equipped to deal with the emerging field. Death Knight needs to be more initiative-taking through a surprising win condition: Foamrender! The single Unholy rune means we can go back to Airlock Breach and Morbid Swarm, cards that pressure the opponent better. Punch them in the face.
Starship Death Knight looks successful through two different paths. The Vampiric Blood build remains strong, but a Foamrender approach, influenced by developments in Blood-Ctrl Death Knight, looks viable too. The best variant depends on the matchups we value. The Vampiric build is stronger when the Death Knight is happy to prolong the game, while the Foamrender build is better in matchups we are required to pressure.
No changes in Menagerie Death Knight, which is one of the best ladder climbers, while Handbuff Death Knight has made its return. Rainbow Seamstress looks great right now, so it is feasible to run a single Poison Breath. Never cut Spinel Spellstone.
- Death Knight Class Radar
- Blood-Ctrl Death Knight
- Starship Death Knight
- Menagerie Death Knight
- Handbuff Death Knight
Protoss Mage wants to be as greedy as possible, so we did not see a reason to change its build from what it was before the patch.
Imbue Druid does not need to cut any of its nerfed cards. Symbiosis is weaker and no longer a mulligan priority but remains serviceable. Sing-Along Buddy is still crucial in the late game, while Shaladrassil can still be corrupted by Fyrakk.
Interestingly, Imbue Druid has started to run both Malorne and Fyrakk, while cutting Photosynthesis. Wrath and Petal Picker compete for the final slots. Our impression is that Petal Picker is usually worse but gets progressively better at higher levels of play due to the greater need for resources and the decline in aggressive decks.
Spell-Damage Druid with Owlonius is an elite deck at top legend. Its build is solidified, though the last few slots are a bit tough to sort out. We do not think Burndown is necessary, but a single copy of Go with the Flow can be important in the late game. A single copy of Oaken Summons is extremely strong with Ethereal Oracle, which makes us wonder whether running two copies is optimal or whether the second copy becomes too weak later. Making space for a second copy is not easy either.
For the first time, Starship Druid looks like a competitive deck, and it is shockingly strong. The spell damage package in this archetype looks good, though we are not married to it. Chia Drake is weak. We like a single copy of Un’Goro Brochure to soft tutor our starship pieces. Understand that this deck is mostly about building a big board rather than burning down the opponent.
Aviana Druid is popular at top legend yet seems overhyped. We suspect this deck will not last in the format.
Imbue Paladin has massively benefitted from the buff to its hero power, along with the nerfs to the rest of the field. Running both Malorne and Ursol looks correct, with Renewing Flame replacing Shaladrassil as the Ursol target. This is the deck where Petal Picker is at its best.
Aggro Paladin can easily replace the Ursol-centric top end with a package focused on Menagerie Jug.
The buff to the Imbue Priest package has made its way to a competitive deck. An aggressive Menagerie Priest utilizing the Imbue package as extra fuel looks successful. Pet Parrot sucks. Kaldorei Priestess is good.
Protoss Priest can also add the Imbue package, but it does not look competitive.
The nerf to Cliff Dive has killed the Briarspawn Drake variant of Cliff Dive Demon Hunter, but the Hog/Felhunter variant is still extremely powerful. Climbing Hook has been added to the deck and provides a great setup turn for a 7-mana Cliff Dive. Ferocious Felbat is core in the current format.
Starship Demon Hunter has returned with its armor stacking through Arkonite Defense Crystal and Ferocious Felbat.
Aggro Demon Hunter looks promising running a Hog/Felhunter/Felbat package. You can think of this deck as Cliff Dive DH without Cliff Dive.
Wallow Warlock is not too strong, but it is finally a competitive option on ladder once refined. There are two variants that perform similarly well and that we have curated: Caverns package or no Caverns package.
Starship Warlock looks like the best direction if you opt for a Warlock deck with Wheel of Death. Heart of the Legion should be a core 2-of. Glacial Shard is less important.
Shaman is back to the fringes of the format. Murmur Shaman looks serviceable at top legend. Fyrakk is extremely important to the deck. Asteroid Shaman can improve with refinement. We are surprised Growfin barely sees play in the deck when Braingill is there, even if the big Growfin is rarely used.
Control Warrior’s best build has not changed. Terran Warrior looks superior now thanks to a build that runs Inventor Boom and Wreck’Em, which you use on your starship.
Starship Hunter does not seem particularly strong, but Handbuff Hunter with Bumbling Bellhop and a big-spell package looks good.
A wide open format promises further changes over the next week, with the player base not yet aware of how many new viable options are available to it. Currently, Pirate Rogue is the best performing deck in the format. It is extremely underplayed relative to how good it is, especially at Diamond ranks, where its win rate is dominant yet its play rate is barely noticeable.
Meanwhile, Cycle Rogue is spiking in its popularity at top legend. Even though Pirate Rogue is the better performer, Cycle Rogue seems far more attractive to play amongst top legend players, which means Cycle Rogue will become the deck to beat at higher MMR’s. The one you are most incentivized to counter.
Life without Harbinger… seems great.
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