vS Data Reaper Report #340

January 1, 2026

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Welcome to the 340th 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 2,071,000
Top 1K Legend 55,000
Legend (Excluding Top 1k) 715,000
Diamond 4 to 1 490,000
Diamond 10 to 5 389,000
Platinum 173,000
Bronze/Silver/Gold 249,000

Class/Archetype Distribution

Class Frequency

Class Frequency Discussion

Elise Rogue seems to have made a big breakthrough, surging at top legend to become one of the most popular decks in the format. This trend is trickling down ladder, though we expect Rogue to continue to be skewed towards high MMR in terms of popularity. Cycle and Protoss Rogue have declined.

Discover Hunter has slightly declined. The Eliseless variant has become a bit greedier, adjusting to a format that is slowing down.

No play rate changes in Blood-Ctrl DK, but the archetype has started to run Chrono-Lord Deios at the 7 mana slot. A new, defensive variant of Herenn DK has appeared, utilizing Mo’arg Forgefiend as the Wakener/Herenn target.

Control Warrior has risen in play, while Dragon Warrior has curiously declined. Some card choices in other decks are partly impacted by the fact Control Warrior is becoming more popular.

Hagatha Shaman has significantly declined across ladder, especially at top legend. We will see whether there is a competitive justification for it.

Cliff Dive DH has slightly risen in play, but despite its strong performance, it simply does not have wide appeal. Spell DH has settled to a small, niche play rate.

Mage has slightly declined. The class currently boasts 7 different archetypes that have noticeable play rates, the latest one being Imbue Mage, yet none of them have proven to be particularly good.

Azshara Druid has declined, mirroring its decline in performance last week.

Warlock, Paladin and Priest are relatively inactive and mostly appear at lower MMR’s, before fading at higher levels of play. Rafaam Warlock is a very popular deck relative to how poorly it has been performing, much like Toki Mage.

Matchup Win Rates Header

Power Rankings Header

vS Meta Score

vS Power Rankings Discussion

Rogue

  • Elise Rogue is exhibiting a drastic improvement in its performance that is tied to an improvement in its build. Players have figured out a better curve for the deck, one that activates Elise while minimizing the number of bad cards it runs. This deck’s rise to prominence is the most influential one we have seen in this expansion, as it is a reliable counter to Hagatha Shaman. As a result, it has managed to drastically dent Shaman’s performance at higher levels of play. We expect it to reshape deck choices going forward at top legend, though it remains to be seen how much traction it gets elsewhere on ladder to provide a similar effect.
  • While Protoss Rogue remains a good performer at higher levels of play, we anticipate it will decline in play as Elise Rogue is a more attractive deck. Protoss does perform better against Control Warrior and is slightly favored against Elise Rogue, but is inferior in other areas.
  • Cycle Rogue will maintain its current standing as long as it struggles to gain an edge against most of the popular decks on ladder. As it stands, it is a Rogue deck that counters other Rogue decks.

Hunter

  • Discover Hunter is being eclipsed by Elise Rogue and is expected to lose some of its value at top legend. Elise Rogue is a superior Shaman counter that also beats Discover Hunter.

Death Knight

  • Blood-Ctrl DK is not affected by current meta trends. Shaman, Hunter and Elise Rogue are all 50-50 matchups.
  • The new variant of Herenn DK looks superior to the Bonechill Stegodon build and suits a format that is becoming greedier. However, the archetype’s success is limited at higher levels of play.

Warrior

  • Control Warrior prefers queuing into Elise Rogue compared to Hagatha Shaman, but it is getting increasingly targeted by other decks that are adding more late game power to their builds. These effects cancel each other out to some degrees.
  • Dragon Warrior is slightly unfavored against Elise Rogue, so its decline in play does make sense. However, it remains one of the best performing decks on ladder and continues to perform well at top legend despite the popularity of Elise Rogue and Blood-Ctrl DK.

Shaman

  • Hagatha Shaman has shockingly dropped to Tier 3 at top legend as a result of the meteoric rise of Elise Rogue. Elise Rogue represents its worst matchup (40-60), worse than both Cliff Dive DH and Discover Hunter. A trickling of Elise Rogue may impact the deck at lower rank brackets as well, but the extent is unclear. We do not think it will drop from Tier 1 at other rank brackets, but it should decline further.

Demon Hunter

  • Cliff Dive DH is quietly establishing itself as the best performing deck at all levels of play. It is a strong counter to Elise Rogue, so current meta trends are cementing its Tier 1 standing further. It also has the flexibility of two builds. One is well-rounded and stronger against a diverse field of opponents, which we recommend running for most players, and then one build that targets Rogues harder at top legend, but performs worse in other matchups (such as Control Warrior). Most players do not want to play this deck, but the ones that do are eating good.
  • Spell DH may struggle against most meta contenders, but one thing it has going for it is a strong matchup against Elise Rogue. As a result, we see an improvement in its performance this week, especially at top legend.

Druid

  • When the general trend calls for more late game greed, the field becomes more favorable to Azshara Druid. Elise Rogue is not a good matchup, but it is preferable to Hagatha Shaman. The deck is also a hard counter to the rising Control Warrior.

Mage

  • 7 different Mage decks and none of them are good past Diamond 5, though Protoss Mage should welcome a decline in Hagatha Shaman.

Warlock

  • Based on its low sample, Egg Warlock is competitive, but not great (Tier 3). Every other Warlock deck is dumpster diving.

Paladin

  • Paladin remains competitive outside of legend ranks but no class falls as hard as Paladin at higher levels of play.

Priest

  • These recent trends are all positive for Protoss Priest, leading to an improved win rate. More Warrior/Death Knight and less Hunter/Shaman are what the deck wants to see. It also has a decent matchup against Elise Rogue, in contrast to its struggles against Cycle and Protoss Rogue.

Class Analysis & Decklists

Death Knight | Demon Hunter | Druid | Hunter | Mage | Paladin | Priest | Rogue | Shaman | Warlock | Warrior

 

Data Reaper Report - Rogue

Refining Elise Rogue has been about minimizing the number of expensive, bad cards that are used to activate Elise. The featured build cuts The Ceaseless Expanse, which is a very weak performer in the deck, sticking a leaner curve from 0 to 9 mana.

One development has been the utilization of a 7-mana Zilliax instead of Dethrone. This both cuts the number of 9-drops in the deck and fills a weak mana slot with a serviceable card.

The other painful mana costs are 5 and 8. Shaladrassil is used at 8. You do not expect to corrupt it. The 5-mana slot has seen experimentation with a long list of cards: Sandbox Scoundrel, Scrapbooking Student, Time Adm’ral Hooktail, Shoplifter Goldbeard, Steamcleaner, Nostalgic Clown, Treasure Hunter Eudora, Maestra. They are all bad. We opted for the most “stable” option in Scoundrel, but there is little difference between all these cards.

We will repeat what we have said about Garona before. It is a bad package for Elise Rogue. Part of the reason why the deck performs better at top legend is that top legend players are more receptive to cutting Garona.

Data Reaper Report - Hunter

With the format further slowing down, we are seeing the faster variant of Discover Hunter go back to running more value cards, rather than fully committing to burn.

Chrono-Lord Deios is proving to be a strong card in Blood-Ctrl Death Knight thanks to its synergy with Hideous Husk. It is, by far, the strongest option at the 7-mana slot, beating both Marin and Naralex.

A new variant of Herenn Death Knight has appeared, utilizing Mo’arg Forgefiend as the Herenn/Wakener target. This deck looks to play extremely defensively and “tank up” against faster opponents, with its late game stacked with grindy, value options.

The featured build is the original decklist, as there has been no deviation from it. We do question the inclusion of all three of Marin, Horseman and Kil’jaeden. Maladaar is also strangely absent, though it might be influenced by the inclusion of Husk, Eternal Reaper, as well as two Corpse Explosions. They are strong performers in the variant due to its defensive playstyle.

Data Reaper Report - Warrior

Control Warrior is becoming greedier due to the format slowing down. Murozond is making a comeback. The other change that is boosting the deck’s performance is cutting Marin for Bouldering Buddy at the 7-mana slot for Elise activation. Ever since it was nerfed, Marin has been one of the most overrated Hearthstone cards in the last few years. It is constantly thrown into original decklists and then cut during the refinement process. Now, it seems to be Warrior’s turn to realize it is not worth running.

The other change is cutting Precursory Strike for Un’Goro Brochure, which can help some of our top end minions become stronger swing cards. It is also useful in pulling quest rewards from the deck. Early game removal is not as important when most decks try to reach the late game.

Data Reaper Report - Shaman

Hagatha Shaman does not seem to possess the ability to adjust to the Elise Rogue matchup.

We updated our faster Cliff Dive Demon Hunter build to run Headhunt instead of Sigil of Cinders. This build is only recommended for a Rogue-saturated field.

Data Reaper Report - Mage

Imbue Mage has seen some experimentation, but the deck looks thoroughly unplayable.

Data Reaper Report - Druid

Azshara Druid is recovering a bit thanks to appealing meta trends. More Warriors and Death Knights means more wins.

Data Reaper Report - Warlock

Egg Warlock is likely the most competitive Warlock deck based on its small sample.

Data Reaper Report - Paladin

Paladin is desperate for new ideas that carry wider appeal.

Data Reaper Report - Priest

Priest is desperate for playable cards.



It would not be a Hearthstone Christmas/New Year without Rogue making a big impact on the format. Unlike some past occasions though, Elise Rogue is a welcomed addition to the format. Its play patterns are largely inoffensive and the deck has plenty of counters. Its value comes from its strong matchups against both Hagatha Shaman and Discover Hunter, while representing a more attractive deck than Protoss Rogue.

Shaman and Hunter have shaped the format since the first balance patch of the expansion. With their grip on the format loosened, the field is becoming more balanced and diverse. Issues related to this year’s sets may raise its head in rotation, but for now, Hearthstone is in a decent state. A returning player who has not tasted some of these cards over the past year should have a good time.

With that, we have published reports on both Christmas and New Year’s Day. We will be taking a break next week, as we anticipate that a Mini-Set should arrive soon. If it does, expect us to preview the set in both a dedicated podcast and a comprehensive article.

We will see you then.

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Contributors

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