Welcome to the 359^th edition of the Data Reaper Report!

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Quick Links

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

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Number of Games

Overall	1,588,000
Top 1K Legend	47,000
Legend (Excluding Top 1k)	377,000
Diamond 4 to 1	386,000
Diamond 10 to 5	324,000
Platinum	185,000
Bronze/Silver/Gold	269,000

Class/Archetype Distribution

Class Frequency

Class Frequency Discussion

This report will be relatively short, as we wind down to the next expansion. Meta developments once reveal season rolls around usually slow down. The one exception is the introduction of M.O.T.H.E.R, the pre-release legendary for Reign of The Black Empire, which has sparked experimentation in multiple classes initially, before settling in the Warlock class. When it comes to the analysis of deck refinement this week, only Warlock has provided new discoveries worth mentioning in the class sections. What we have found in other classes was further confirmation of conclusions we have already made.

Two new archetypes have emerged in Warlock that utilize Mother as a bulk discount tool. Pig Warlock is a Divergence deck that finishes opponents off with Agamaggan. Drake Warlock utilizes the Earthen Drake/Bat Mask/Deios combo to OTK opponents. These archetypes have not significantly lifted the class’ play rate as a whole, but mostly cannibalized on Herald Warlock’s presence.

On the climb to legend, we can observe a similar field to the one from last week. At top legend, Herald Rogue and Quest Priest have declined, while Warrior and Warlock have risen in play. But the most notable change at top legend is a drastic rise in Mug Shaman, a deck we previously considered to be underexplored. From a fringe deck with a low play rate, it now exhibits a more significant presence there.

vS Meta Score

vS Power Rankings Discussion

We will highlight the most important developments this week.

Warrior

• Warrior is facing a more difficult field at higher levels of play due to the rise of Mug Shaman and decline of Herald Rogue. The decline of Quest Priest did not make up for those trends. Pirate Warrior has declined in its performance more because it gets countered harder by Mug Shaman, while Dragon Warrior has a better chance in this matchup.

Shaman

• Mug Shaman has finally gotten attention and is rewarding players who decide to pilot it. It has strong Warrior matchups alongside a generally well rounded matchup spread without any painful counters (its strongest counter is Rafaam Warlock).

Demon Hunter

• Raza Demon Hunter has delivered the improvement in its performance that we expected to see last week. The decline in Quest Priest and small uptick in slower Priest decks helped too, but much of this improvement is driven by players learning how to play the deck better. Currently, it does seem like it will stop shy of the 50% mark.

Rogue

• Ayaya Rogue still exhibits the most skill intensive metrics, but meta trends this week have not been kind for it. A decline in Quest Priest alongside a rise in Mug Shaman and Warrior is bad for Rogue. Herald Rogue is also suffering.

Warlock

• Pig Warlock looks barely competitive. Drake Warlock looks respectable. Drake Warlock is also more likely to improve its performance thanks to refinement, so we can see it getting closer to the 50% win rate mark. Unless Pig Warlock finds a breakthrough in its approach, Drake Warlock will establish itself as the best deck in the class. Its matchup spread looks similar to Herald Warlock, but better.

Class Analysis & Decklists

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

 

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The Pig Warlock build is a spell deck with a curated pool of minions to improve the consistency of Divergence. It is relatively straightforward to build, as it does not have many playable spells to fill its build with.

Drake Warlock is split on whether to run Annihilation and Stooge. The difference might be small, but we lean towards Annihilation, as it seems to perform well and gives the deck another pathway to victory outside of the Bat Mask combo.

• Warlock Class Radar
• Herald Warlock
  • Stooge Herald Warlock
• Rafaam Warlock
  • Stooge Rafaam Warlock
• Drake Warlock
  • Mother Drake Warlock
• Pig Warlock
  • Mother Pig Warlock

• Warrior Class Radar
• Pirate Warrior
  • Fire Pirate Warrior
• Dragon Warrior
  • Cannoneer Dragon Warrior

• Druid Class Radar
• Attack Druid
  • Elise Attack Druid
  • Bite Attack Druid

• Priest Class Radar
• Quest Priest
  • Reborn Quest Priest
• Thief Priest
  • Azalina Thief Priest

• Shaman Class Radar
• Mug Shaman
  • Wanted Mug Shaman
• Zee Shaman
  • Slagclaw Zee Shaman
• Herald Shaman
  • Hex Herald Shaman

• Rogue Class Radar
• Herald Rogue
  • Stealth Herald Rogue
• Ayaya Rogue
  • Ashamane Ayaya Rogue

• Death Knight Class Radar
• Egg Death Knight
  • Thalena Egg Death Knight
• Unholy Death Knight
  • Tower Unholy Death Knight

• Demon Hunter Class Radar
• Void Demon Hunter
  • Irida Void Demon Hunter
• Raza Demon Hunter
  • Galaxy Brain Raza Demon Hunter

• Mage Class Radar
• Burn Mage
  • Tricky Burn Mage

• Paladin Class Radar
• Pure Paladin
  • Beatrix Pure Paladin

• Hunter Class Radar

Mug Shaman is delivering strong results on ladder after being given another chance to shine. If you are looking for a well-rounded deck that can handle Dragon Warrior, it is a great choice.

We are still a few weeks away from Reign of the Black Empire, so we expect to see one more balance patch, which will likely happen next week based on Hearthstone’s usual cadence. We will have to see how Team 5 plan to set up the format to receive the new set.

The new expansion, at first glance, promises a significant change to the Hearthstone landscape, with a big focus on late-game-oriented strategies that the player base has consistently been attracted to. We would welcome this development, as it could improve the game’s strategic diversity.

We have also discovered that Hearthstone’s 12th class, the Monk, will be arriving in the spring. A new class should mark a period of great interest. Many players have been waiting for Chen to enter the Hearthstone tavern, so there is much to be excited about.

• Mug Shaman

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Contributors