Winners and Losers of Standard Rotation

Introduction

Rotation (and Un’goro) is almost here, and that means big changes are coming to the Hearthstone scene. The meta has been set for a while now, and it is finally time to sit back and shake things up. Rotation is always a very interesting point in card games because it is the time where there is the most uncertainty. Not only do you have a influx of brand new cards, but it is very hard to tell exactly how those cards are going to fit into the game because most of the decks they will be played in don’t exist yet. This time always brings massive changes to each class that either makes them better or drags them down into the depths of mediocrity. Understanding those shifts is important for planning new decks and trying to see what is going to be best to take to the new ladder. In this article we are going to look at how rotation is going to affect all nine classes and study what the best options for each hero are going to be as we move into Un’goro.

Druid

Druid is perhaps one of the biggest winners of the new standard rotation. Not only do they have arguably some of the strongest classic cards in the game, but they also get to rely on their Jade package if nothing else works. Jade Druid is still going to be one of the most consistent and dominant archetypes of the new set and should keep the class at the top of the meta once the early dust settles. However, it is worth noting that losing Azure Drake is going to be a big blow. Card advantage is very important for a deck like Jade, and not being able to get that reliable body/draw on turn five is going to limit a lot of their value. It also takes away spell power, making Swipe and Wrath a little bit worse. While things like Aya Blackpaw should still make the deck plenty strong in a sea of new, slower decks, I don’t think it will be quite as crazy as it has been in the past. However, as long as they have Innervate they should be fine.

Jade is going to be strong, but go-big ramp is likely going to have its place as well. I am not quite sure what form this ramp could take, but Jungle Giants is the real deal. The quest is absolutely worth playing and being able to load the top end of your deck with things like Giant Anaconda and Tyrantus really gives the list some extra punch against other slow decks. It has been a long time since ramp has been a viable archetype, but the quest could really be the push that it needs to get back into the mix. Making everything in your deck cost zero and then playing something like Nourish or Lunar Visions can (and likely will) end the game on the spot. That, combined with the fact that the quest is not hard to get when you’re ramping, could really solidify the archetype. Pirate could still be a problem for Malfurion, but Druid also has access to Emerald Hive Queen should they want some early board presence.

Hunter

Hunter is likely going to rise from the ashes in the coming months and reclaim its rightful place atop the ladder. Not only is the class losing nothing significant with the exception of Quickshot, it is getting some very strong tools. For the past two months, Midrange Hunter has been close to tipping into “good” territory. They have some of the best midrange cards in the game and a wide range of incredibly strong threats. Savannah Highmane is still unfair and things like Rat Pack and Dispatch Kodo will only get better as things start to slow down. Though there is no way to tell, if quests catch on Hunter should be able to prey on decks taking a few turns to put them together. Another big advantage Hunter now has is that it can run double Golakka Crawler (which is an on-curve beast) if Pirates become too much a problem. That helps its worst matchup without detracting from its good ones.

An interesting note is that Hunter may be able to play a great number of styles in the next few months. The classic midrange build is likely going to the strongest and most consistent, but both Miracle Hunter with the new quest and Dinomancy have some real potential. A deck of one drops does not seem great at first glance, but being aggressive has always been Hunter’s main plan. Flooding the board for the first four or five turns and then following that up with a five mana 8/8 into a bunch of 3/2 draw beasts is not a bad plan and one that could win a lot of games. On the other hand, Dinomancy is a very interesting card. Yes, it is fairly slow (two to put into play and then two to use) but it allows Hunter to play a different style. I have taken token Hunter builds to legend in the past, and I think that a beast swarm deck could really make use of the new hero power.

Mage

Mage is a class that is moving into Un’goro not knowing what it is. For the past two years Jaina has had a very set identity. She has either been Freeze, Tempo or Reno. Now, she has lost just about all of those tools and is left with her quest and elementals. That pretty much means Mage is going to go the quest route. While elementals are strong individually, they do not lend themselves to the type of play style that Mage enjoys. The class has always been best at generating fast tempo and then building that into damage. In contrast, elementals just enjoy playing a slower midrange style where they grind their opponent down turn after turn. I don’t see Mage making that transition in the same way Shaman will (more on that below). That leaves just the quest, which lends itself very nicely to one of Mage’s favorite achetypes: an instant kill combo.

Open the Waygate could very well become the new Freeze Mage. Taking an extra turn has been strong in every card game since the dawn of time and the new quest is no exception. The hardest part about the spell is figuring out the best way to use it. There are a few combos, but no doubt the only thing you really want to do with an extra turn is kill your opponent on the spot. The best way to do this is either with two turns of burn (something like Fireball into Pyroblast) or double Arcane Giant into Alextrasza. I think Mage is naturally going to shift into a more controlling style of deck, where you simply generate spells from outside of your deck and use them to control the board until you can go off. I could also see a Medivh, the Guardian list that simply uses the Waygate to generate an insane amount of value over their opponent that the game ostensibly ends, but why do that when you can actually just win?

Paladin

Moving on, we have Paladin. The healing class has had a bad bet since losing Shielded Minibot and Muster for Battle, and for the past few weeks it looked like that trend would continue. Control Paly simply doesn’t have the tools to keep up with the quests and it is also losing its best card in Anyfin Can Happen. Not only that, but it is safe to say that Handbuff is a failed experiment that just never quite had the punch to pan out. So, where does that leave Uther? Well, while he has lost just about everything he used to be, the light bringer also has the scariest quest in the game. The Last Kaleidosaur is a terrifying card because, unlike the other rewards, it basically ends the game the turn after it comes down. Despite a few fringe scenarios, the dinosaur is almost always going to be an OTK. You simply get stealth, windfury and then buff his attack as much as possible. Not the most exciting or fun thing in the world, but if you can reliably get that quest off the deck may have some real potential.

Paladin is on the edge. The class lost the only card that was going for it, but got a potentially strong . Either the new buff cards (Adaptation, Primalfin Champion, The Voraxx) are going to be powerful enough to reliably power out Galvadon or they simply are going to be too clunky and the class is going to fall apart. While that may seem like an obvious statement, it is important to note that almost all Paladin’s hopes right now rely on the buff deck. There simply isn’t enough tools for the class, and there is no way you can reliably try to play handbuff or strong control with all of the new cards the other classes got. Paladin might be standing still while everyone else is moving forward, but they do have one extremely overpowered card. And that could be enough.

Priest

Did someone say quests? Priest has been solidified into tier 2 for some time, and I think that is going to change in a big way. It is very easy to look at Anduin and see all the things he’s losing. Most of the dragons are leaving with rotation, and Reno Jackson is also falling by the wayside. This leaves very little options for the class, but that does not mean it is going to be weak. Deathrattle is the way to go if you want to team up with Priest in the coming weeks, and there are likely going to be two strong options for this. You can run the classic one-of deck (Kazakus and Raza, the Chained are still around) by swapping Reno out for Awaken the Makers and trading dragons for deathrattle. I think that will likely be the best version of this deck because there are more than enough strong cards to get up to thirty. Amara, Warden of Hope is a very powerful card, but she’s only going to go so far. You need to find a way to actually kill your opponent, and that is where things like Kazakus come in.

If you don’t want to go that route for whatever reason (consistency) there is also likely a midrange/late-game value build somewhere here. Deathrattle cards are quite strong on their own, and things like Harvest Golem and Shifting Shade can help you generate early game value while you slowly build up into your bigger midgame plays. Then, N’zoth the Corruptor finishes it all off. The deathrattle options are not as strong as they have been in the past, but having access to Amara gives you a lot more leeway. Not only can you take your time by running worse cards, but you can also get away with things like Bomb Squad and Abomination. This version may be more all-in on the quest, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Rogue

Valeera is going to be going through some big changes when the cards shift, but I can say one thing for certain: Miracle will still be around. Losing Tomb Pillager hurts, but the archetype has more than enough tools to survive. The deck is one of the cockroaches of Hearthstone and it will persist as it has done so many times. Without being able to rely on Conceal, the decks will likely shift away from the Questing Adventurer package and turn back to Leeroy Jenkins. Not being able to stealth an auctioneer seems weak at first, but there have been plenty of lists throughout the years that didn’t need that combo. And none of them had Counterfeit Coin. It is very easy to go off in one turn with the new tools, and building to a quick one turn burst kill seems like the best path.

Beyond going off in one turn with that ****** goblin, Rogue could also shift back towards the aggro-tempo side of things with The Caverns Below. It is no doubt going to take some time to figure out how to correctly play a card four (four!) times, but the payoff is incredible. There are a ton of small minions (Argent Squire, Bluegill Warrior, Runic Egg, Moroes) that play extremely well with Crystal Core. There are many possible decks for this, but I like the idea of going in with the elemental package since Fire Fly and Igneous Elemental both create the same card. That gives you a lot of options on its own, and that’s without counting value cards like Shadowstep and Young Brewmaster. Keeping a low curve could open up this archetype, especially in a meta where people are trying to buy time for their own quests.

Shaman

Shaman is in a very interesting spot. While it still has the Jade Package and so many of the strong cards (Hex, Lightning Storm, Devolve) that have made it good in the past, it also is losing both Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem. Not only does that completely kill off aggro, but it really takes a chunk out of the class as a whole. Shaman made a living on early board control and without it they are going to need to shift. Jade Shaman will still be good, but it won’t be as reliably as Jade Druid. In fact, losing their early game as well as Azure Drake may gut the deck just enough to push it out of the meta. If that happens (which I think there is a good chance it will) I think Thrall is going to have to look to the elementals to save him. Midrange has always been Thrall’s bread and butter, and there is just so much you can do with the new minion type. Kalimos, Primal Lord oozes value, and if you can hit your minions reliably it should be able to tangle with anything in the game. Like Jade, this version of the deck is going to start slow, but it builds so much more quickly.

Warlock

How do you like your eggs? While losing Reno is going to hurt both Priest and Mage, it hits Warlock so much harder. The healing was essential for Gul’dan and without it, the class is almost assuredly going to go back to their early game. There are still going to be some attempts at slower Warlock builds, but I just don’t see the class being able to do much without a strong healing option. Things like Refreshment Vendor and Earthen Ring Farseer help, but they just aren’t enough against the power of today’s burst. That leaves Zoo, another Hearthstone staple that always seems to rear up whenever things shift. The deck, like Hunter, got chased out by a combination of Midrange Shaman and Pirate Warrior. However, with both of those expected to dip in popularity I think it will once again be Flame Imps time to shine.

Zoo has always been good, and there may well be two different versions moving forward. Discard has some insanely powerful new cards like Lakkari Felhound and Clutchmother Zavas, while midrange/tempo got both Devilsaur Egg and Ravenous Pterrordax. The sheer power and the raw consistency of midrange will likely split the archetype in half. I am not sure which version is going to be stronger (my gut says discard) but they are both going to have some real potential. This deck will likely start off slow and then build more and more as the weeks move on. There may also be a pure midrange list in here somewhere, but right now I don’t really see why you would play that over either of the above styles.

Warrior

While Pirate Warrior is not dead by any means, it is dying. Not only did Blizzard print a few overt hate cards against the deck, but the class has dipped greatly in popularity since Small-Time Buccaneer was hit with the ol’ nerf hammer. While I think that Pirate will not be on the ladder in a month or two, it will still be very strong before people figure out their new decks. The list doesn’t lose anything but Sir Finley Mrrgglton and consistency is always important to have during times of change. In addition, there isn’t that much healing in the current game. The number of taunts have (and will) go up, but Pirate may just be a little bit faster. If they are not, they will most assuredly die now that they can no longer try and cheese Lifetap to generate card advantage.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, Fire Plume’s Heart is the exact remedy taunt Warrior has been looking for. The quest has one of the best payoffs in the game, and it provides a built in finisher to an already control-focused deck. Taunt warrior got so many new tools (Direhorn Hatchling, Cornered Sentry, Primordial Drake) on top of the quest that it is hard to imagine it won’t be good. Garrosh still has all of the classic cards that helped him survive in the past, and now all of his minions work towards that goal as well. This reminds me of the old Elise warrior where you get to just go all-in on living because your finisher is neatly packed into a single card. You don’t need to bog yourself down finishers anymore, which is a huge plus. That deck opened up Warrior, and this one should as well.

Conclusion

Un’goro and rotation? Hell yes! I am over the moon excited for this set, and looking at how different all the classes will be has me more excited than ever. Rotation is a very special time, and there are so many solid or staple cards leaving that there is no telling what is going to rise up. I cannot wait to get my hands on the new cards and start figuring it all out. Hope you’re excited as I am. As always, thanks for reading!