Too lazy to completely redo the post so here's a quick recap taking into account the Genn/Baku rotation:
Drood
Surviving decks
Token
Treant
Malygos
Rotating decks
Togwaggle
Mecha'thun
Taunt
Spiteful
Undatakah
Quest
Conclusion
Threatened
Druid unexpectedly survived the nerfs to its ramp tools, but without Togwaggle, Naturalize, or the Twig, he may not survive the rotation.
Blizzard seems to be wanting to push the Treant archetype further, so I assume we'll see a complete Treant Druid deck in the next expansion. Whether or not it will be viable remains to be seen.
Huntard
Surviving decks
Midrange
Secret
Rotating decks
Odd
Spell
Cube
Recruit
Conclusion
Safe
A bit too safe perhaps, I'm genuinely worried about the power level of Midrange Hunter post rotation. Sure, the deck loses the insane Mole into Razormaw opening, as well as Deathstalker Rexxar, which can beat Odd Warrior on its own, but it still looks insane.
The good news is, without DK Rexxar, control-heavy decks (read: Warrior) are able to beat it. I think Warrior will become a tier 1 class thanks to Hunter alone.
Given the raw power level of Subject 9, Secret Hunter might also remain viable.
Mage
Surviving decks
Tempo/Burn
Freeze
Rotating decks
Odd Aggro
Odd Control
Exodia
Big spells
Elementals
Murlocs
Conclusion
Uncertain
Mage remained mediocre throughout 2018, and will lose ALL of its current archetypes!
Is the class doomed? Not necessarily. Mage has an excellent core set (the second best behind Rogue's I would say). In the absence of innovation, Mage might return to its Classic archetype Tempo Mage and Freeze Mage. Although the successive waves of nerfs and HoFs have weakened those decks, their win condition remains untouched and they fill a niche: the "SMorc with spells" niche.
Prust
Surviving decks
Inner Fire combo
Control
Rotating decks
Wall
Resurrect
Quest
Mecha'thun
Spiteful
APM
Conclusion
Threatened
Priest players, take profit from the few weeks left before April because altar boy Anduin is going to get molested by the rotation. Priest's core set absolutely sucks and the class is therefore reliant on continuously getting good cards from expansions.
Two glimmers of hope for the class are Talanji and Zerek's Cloning Gallery. These cards are huge mana cheaters and can become very powerful with the right big minions.
Pally
Surviving decks
Secret
Holy Wrath
Mech
Rotating decks
Odd
Even
Murloc
Exodia
Cube
Conclusion
Uncertain
Paladin looked like the best class post-rotation, but the news about Genn & Baku changed everything. Without them, the class doesn't look as good.
With that said, it has Secret Paladin and Holy Wrath Paladin to fall back on. Mech Paladin might also leave tier 5 and become a viable ladder option now that other opressive decks will go away.
Rouge
Surviving decks
Tempo
Miracle
Pogo
Thief
Rotating decks
Cube
Malygos
Quest
Kingsbane
Conclusion
Safe
Valeera always finds a way. Tempo Rogue will pave the way and the full potential of Captain Hooktusk will be unleashed. (and yes, she's hot). Miracle Rogue, an evergreen archetype, will follow. However it will be less effective without Strider and Minstrel.
Big Rogue might remain viable even without the Cube. If it is viable, it will fill the mana-cheating niche and oppress slow decks.
Shaman
Surviving decks
Dragon
Overload aggro
Value Shudderwock
Rotating decks
Even
Elemental
Overload Control
Evolve
Conclusion
Threatened
Thrall seems to have been stuck in a time loop since Witchwood. With Even Shaman out, Shaman has no viable archetype left. However, Shudderwock's potential can easily be awakened again if the right battlecry minions are printed. Hagatha is also the closest thing to a infinite value generator in standard.
Electra, Krag'wa, and Zentimo might also constitute the shell of a spell-based shaman deck
Lock
Surviving decks
...
Rotating decks
Zoo
Even
Mecha'thun
Cube
Control
Discard
Conclusion
Threatened
In fact much more than other classes. Of all the threatened classes, warlock is the most critical. Unlike Priest and Shaman, Warlock only received bad cards in 2018 and therefore has almost nothing to fall back on. On top of that, the loss of Doomguard will likely kill Vanilla Zoolock, the class' flagship evergreen archetype.
What does the class have left? Blizzard keeps shoving Discard Warlock down our throat even though it's become obvious that the archetype simply can't work. Blizzard also wants to push Handbuff Warlock, but we've seen the effectiveness of handbuffs during MSOG. Omelette Zoolock might be a thing.
I feel like the closest thing to a non-T5 deck Warlock can build with 2018 cards is a Dragon Handlock from the ashes of Evenlock.
Warrior
Surviving decks
Rush
Mecha'thun
Rotating decks
Odd
Quest
Odd-Quest
Conclusion
Safe
For the first time since the nerf to Win Axe, Warrior might become relevant again. Even though Odd Warrior will never enjoy a meta without DK Rexxar, the class has enough tools to make non-Odd Control Warrior viable. Old favorites like Warpath and Execute will make a comeback. On top of that, Rush Warrior might finally become a serious meta threat. It loses almost nothing and has a good matchup against Midrange Hunter, the probable future meta tyrant. However the deck is hampered by its high cost (9 legendaries!)
I think that you might have forgotten the hall-of-fame rotation, because you said that cards like baku and naturalize will still be in the meta. I also might be missing something, if so, let me know.
I mostly agree with the revised version of this analysis, but I have a few remarks:
Mecha'thun Druid is still possible with Floop. The main question is whether it is possible to stay alive while you draw your whole deck.
Mid-range Hunter is a deck that needs to stay ahead on board during the early turns. Without Razormaw and Flanking Strike, I'm not sure it can.
Secrets Hunter will lose two above-average secrets, and new sets generally contain 0 or 1 secrets. So it will probably have to fall back on Snake Trap, which is vulnerable to Dragonmaw Scorcher.
I've not been impressed by Talanji so far: against aggro she's too slow, against control a single wave of big minions is probably not enough. Maybe she'll be decent if slower mid-range decks dominate the meta, but it might just be a card that looks better on paper than in play.
Shaman has gotten a lot of nice toys in recent expansions, but it doesn't quite fit together well enough to create a strong deck. A few good new cards could change all that though.
Zoo Warlock might still be viable if the overall power level of the meta is low enough. We could even see the return of Murloc Zoo.
Control Warlock still has Godfrey and its Basic/Classic cards, so the control part is still fine. What it needs is a win condition, maybe Hakkar + Rafaam?
Dragon Warrior is not terrible at the moment and loses few cards. With a lot of strong decks not surviving the rotation, it could be a decent mid-range option.
In any case, it looks like the meta is going to be very different, which is exciting.
As a new player, I don't want to see those 'At the start of game' animations for upgraded Hero powers. Ever. Again. Thank the Lord Almighty for the rotation. Jesus Christ.
As a new player, I don't want to see those 'At the start of game' animations for upgraded Hero powers. Ever. Again. Thank the Lord Almighty for the rotation. Jesus Christ.
When I see start of game animation.....i hope to see.... Prince Malchezaar! That always give me a good laugh.
Control Warlock still has Godfrey and its Basic/Classic cards, so the control part is still fine. What it needs is a win condition, maybe Hakkar + Rafaam?
I will disagree with you about the first part. In order for control warlock to survive the rotation, it needs to get good sustain options and yet another mid-game AoE. The win-condition part is easy - if there aren't any burn decks on the ladder, Lord Jaraxxus is a sweet choice. The Hakkar+ Rafaam combo sounds nice too, though it's kinda slow imho.
Are you gonna update this given the fact that Baku The Mooneater and Genn Greymane gonna rotate to wild?
LOL 😂 I don't know if you're considering that Baku and Greymane won't be able in rotation
The post was written before we learned that odd and even cards rotate so no, it is not considered, how could you expect that? LOL
--Alfi--
why not, 5 mana removal any minion.
Spare time underrated here :) good job OP
+1 good thread
Please Update Druid. Neutralise is being Hall of Famed, so Mechathun is DOOMED too :)
Too lazy to completely redo the post so here's a quick recap taking into account the Genn/Baku rotation:
Drood
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Threatened
Druid unexpectedly survived the nerfs to its ramp tools, but without Togwaggle, Naturalize, or the Twig, he may not survive the rotation.
Blizzard seems to be wanting to push the Treant archetype further, so I assume we'll see a complete Treant Druid deck in the next expansion. Whether or not it will be viable remains to be seen.
Huntard
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Safe
A bit too safe perhaps, I'm genuinely worried about the power level of Midrange Hunter post rotation. Sure, the deck loses the insane Mole into Razormaw opening, as well as Deathstalker Rexxar, which can beat Odd Warrior on its own, but it still looks insane.
The good news is, without DK Rexxar, control-heavy decks (read: Warrior) are able to beat it. I think Warrior will become a tier 1 class thanks to Hunter alone.
Given the raw power level of Subject 9, Secret Hunter might also remain viable.
Mage
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Uncertain
Mage remained mediocre throughout 2018, and will lose ALL of its current archetypes!
Is the class doomed? Not necessarily. Mage has an excellent core set (the second best behind Rogue's I would say). In the absence of innovation, Mage might return to its Classic archetype Tempo Mage and Freeze Mage. Although the successive waves of nerfs and HoFs have weakened those decks, their win condition remains untouched and they fill a niche: the "SMorc with spells" niche.
Prust
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Threatened
Priest players, take profit from the few weeks left before April because altar boy Anduin is going to get molested by the rotation. Priest's core set absolutely sucks and the class is therefore reliant on continuously getting good cards from expansions.
Two glimmers of hope for the class are Talanji and Zerek's Cloning Gallery. These cards are huge mana cheaters and can become very powerful with the right big minions.
Pally
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Uncertain
Paladin looked like the best class post-rotation, but the news about Genn & Baku changed everything. Without them, the class doesn't look as good.
With that said, it has Secret Paladin and Holy Wrath Paladin to fall back on. Mech Paladin might also leave tier 5 and become a viable ladder option now that other opressive decks will go away.
Rouge
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Safe
Valeera always finds a way. Tempo Rogue will pave the way and the full potential of Captain Hooktusk will be unleashed. (and yes, she's hot). Miracle Rogue, an evergreen archetype, will follow. However it will be less effective without Strider and Minstrel.
Big Rogue might remain viable even without the Cube. If it is viable, it will fill the mana-cheating niche and oppress slow decks.
Shaman
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Threatened
Thrall seems to have been stuck in a time loop since Witchwood. With Even Shaman out, Shaman has no viable archetype left. However, Shudderwock's potential can easily be awakened again if the right battlecry minions are printed. Hagatha is also the closest thing to a infinite value generator in standard.
Electra, Krag'wa, and Zentimo might also constitute the shell of a spell-based shaman deck
Lock
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Threatened
In fact much more than other classes. Of all the threatened classes, warlock is the most critical. Unlike Priest and Shaman, Warlock only received bad cards in 2018 and therefore has almost nothing to fall back on. On top of that, the loss of Doomguard will likely kill Vanilla Zoolock, the class' flagship evergreen archetype.
What does the class have left? Blizzard keeps shoving Discard Warlock down our throat even though it's become obvious that the archetype simply can't work. Blizzard also wants to push Handbuff Warlock, but we've seen the effectiveness of handbuffs during MSOG. Omelette Zoolock might be a thing.
I feel like the closest thing to a non-T5 deck Warlock can build with 2018 cards is a Dragon Handlock from the ashes of Evenlock.
Warrior
Surviving decks
Rotating decks
Conclusion
Safe
For the first time since the nerf to Win Axe, Warrior might become relevant again. Even though Odd Warrior will never enjoy a meta without DK Rexxar, the class has enough tools to make non-Odd Control Warrior viable. Old favorites like Warpath and Execute will make a comeback.
On top of that, Rush Warrior might finally become a serious meta threat. It loses almost nothing and has a good matchup against Midrange Hunter, the probable future meta tyrant. However the deck is hampered by its high cost (9 legendaries!)
Custom cards :
CLASSES : Alchemist (CCC#5 | Phase V) | Chef (CCC#4)
EXPANSIONS : Year of the Scorpion (Year Comp)
If priest could have Flash Heal as basic card that would be amazing, Heal to Damage is decently viable again.
They really need to find a way to make priest work without OP cards every new rotation.
I think that you might have forgotten the hall-of-fame rotation, because you said that cards like baku and naturalize will still be in the meta. I also might be missing something, if so, let me know.
nvm, just noticed
I mostly agree with the revised version of this analysis, but I have a few remarks:
Mecha'thun Druid is still possible with Floop. The main question is whether it is possible to stay alive while you draw your whole deck.
Mid-range Hunter is a deck that needs to stay ahead on board during the early turns. Without Razormaw and Flanking Strike, I'm not sure it can.
Secrets Hunter will lose two above-average secrets, and new sets generally contain 0 or 1 secrets. So it will probably have to fall back on Snake Trap, which is vulnerable to Dragonmaw Scorcher.
I've not been impressed by Talanji so far: against aggro she's too slow, against control a single wave of big minions is probably not enough. Maybe she'll be decent if slower mid-range decks dominate the meta, but it might just be a card that looks better on paper than in play.
Shaman has gotten a lot of nice toys in recent expansions, but it doesn't quite fit together well enough to create a strong deck. A few good new cards could change all that though.
Zoo Warlock might still be viable if the overall power level of the meta is low enough. We could even see the return of Murloc Zoo.
Control Warlock still has Godfrey and its Basic/Classic cards, so the control part is still fine. What it needs is a win condition, maybe Hakkar + Rafaam?
Dragon Warrior is not terrible at the moment and loses few cards. With a lot of strong decks not surviving the rotation, it could be a decent mid-range option.
In any case, it looks like the meta is going to be very different, which is exciting.
Technically each meta deck will be gone because Mammoth year had powerful and impactful cards.
As a new player, I don't want to see those 'At the start of game' animations for upgraded Hero powers. Ever. Again.
Thank the Lord Almighty for the rotation. Jesus Christ.
Very nice work, but for Druid Mecha'thun I think you missed naturalize, I believe it's a key card for the combo, so shouldn't it be "doomed"?
Edit: sorry just realized this post was grave dug, and before hall of fame was announced.
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Polymorph is a stronger removal. 1 mana less to give them a 1/1, 1 mana more to remove it. But the key power is in poly getting around deathrattles.
When I see start of game animation.....i hope to see.... Prince Malchezaar! That always give me a good laugh.
Thanks for the updates, CheeseEtc! Great write-up again. I’m glad you have a lot of spare time on your hands! ;-)
I will disagree with you about the first part. In order for control warlock to survive the rotation, it needs to get good sustain options and yet another mid-game AoE. The win-condition part is easy - if there aren't any burn decks on the ladder, Lord Jaraxxus is a sweet choice. The Hakkar+ Rafaam combo sounds nice too, though it's kinda slow imho.
I think Shaman will be just fine. It won't be in as good a position as some of the others, but it won't be at the bottom.