Last summer, I got a new hobby, and during the fall of 2021, I had a very important and demanding IRL task which required my full attention, so I decided to stop all gaming to increase my odds of being successful. The strategy worked, and I will soon return to my home country in a new and very interesting job!
To my surprise, the desire to return to Hearthstone when I had more time was gone, including maintaining this guide. It felt a bit like trying to make out with an ex you are not into anymore, so I have realized everything has an end.
Thank you all for the journey, I have learned a lot, and I hope mountains of dust have found satisfying homes! This guide actually outlasted both my own MOD career and even the previous admin team of this site, and I will always be proud of having made something online which amassed over 1 million views!
If you spot inconistencies or errors, please post them in the thread and it will be looked into!
Buildaround: Playing an archetype without this card does not make sense. Ex: Baku the Mooneater in Odd paladin
Staple: The archeype can be played without this card, but it will almost certainly hurt your winrate. EX Death Speaker Blackthorn in deathrattle DH.
Good card/near staple: The card performs very well in an archetype, but you can find replacements which are about as good.
Playable: The card is not strictly necessary for the archetype, but can be a nice personal twist or tech option. EX: Al'ar in deathrattle DH.
Niche: Used both for cards rarely used in common archetypes and important cards for rare archetypes.
THE TIERS: The focus of this list is competetive ranked play. Fun/interesting cards and cards performing well in duels or other formats are usually not given a bonus.
TIER 1: Flexible cards which see a lot of play in different classes and archeypes and important cards for the strongest decks.
TIER 2: Cards which are typically very important for "tier 2" decks or viable tech options in tier 1 decks. Also contains some flexible cards which do not have the play- and winrates to be put in tier 1.
TIER 3: These cards are typically not strictly necessary for competetive play, but that does not mean that they are never seen in the top end of the ladder! These cards are recommended for fans of particular classes or if you want to try a specific deck and have the dust to spare.
TIER 4: These cards will typically gather dust in your collection and hurt your winrate as tech cards, but they can be used for meme decks, tavern brawls and curveballs to surprise your opponent. Also the "graveyard" of staples of many outdated archetypes, especially in the Wild section.
TIER 5: While the the tier 4 cards might give you some moments of joy, the tier 5 cards should bring mostly disappointment with their low powerlevel and how hard it is to make them work as intended. Many of these cards have common, rare and epic counterparts which are strictly better for almost every situation
Added a "how to read this list" section at the top of the OP. I should probably have done this a while ago, but for regular readers, I think this is all known information.
i mean just one example, Deck of Lunacy* - Playable in no minion mage.
OK. thx Captain Obvious.
Give some more examples, please, and I will check if I have to do changes. Note there is a difference between "staple", "good card in", "playable", and "sees niche play in". Every card gets the same treatment, and the description should be matching how important the card is for the deck it is mostly played in. Regulars in this thread rightly often give feedback when they don't think a card is "staple" in a deck and should be demoted.
I took some time to review the full list of wild legendaries and their tiers, below is my feedback:
Dragonqueen Alextrasza sees niche play in a few Reno decks only (I can only think of greedy Renolock with the new N'Zoth) so she probably belongs to tier 2 or tier 3 rather than tier 1.
I've never seen Doctor Krastinov in wild, I don't think he deserves a place in tier 2, not even tier 3 probably.
Sathrovarr doesn't see play any more as Malygos Druids simply run the Celestial Alignment package. I guess he can go back to tier 4 or 5.
Big Shaman is non-existent and even there Colossus of the Moon was never a staple. Seems like a tier 3 or 4 legendary
Siamat is a good legendary that is not good enough to see play in any deck, should probably also be demoted to tier 3 or even 4. Same with Vessina
Catrina Muerte has also been cut from Big Priest since a long time, also deserves to be demoted to tier 3 or 4
Scargil sees no play in Murloc Shaman, should be tier 3 or 4.
Dr. Boom, Mad Genius only sees some niche play in Odd Warrior, should probably be tier 3.
Mecha'thun Warlock is not really seeing any play and the 'modern' list uses Vol'jin and a 0-mana token for the combo so Dollmaster Dorian is no longer a staple. I'd put him in tier 4.
Shaman is quite possibly the best class in wild right now with a large number of strong performing decks and they all run Shudderwock (even those that are not built around him). So perhaps he deserves a promotion to tier 1.
Aluneth is not even an afterthought for Secret Mages since Sayge was printed. I'd put it to tier 4.
Val'anyr is a niche card that sometimes makes the cut in Handbuff Paladin and nowhere else, probably deserves to be in tier 3.
Zola the Gorgon sees a ton of play in a ton of decks (Reno Mages, Renolock, Reno Shaman, Shudderwock Shaman as well as some off-meta decks like Quest Rogue and others), definitely deserves to be in tier 1.
Hemet, Jungle Hunter, Open the Waygate, Sunkeeper Tarim: Mecha'thun Warlock is not really a viable deck these days and neither is quest mage (has been replaced by APM Mage) or Even/Dude Paladin, probably all 3 cards should be in tier 3.
Sylvanas Windrunner: sees very little niche play in very few deathrattle hunter decks that are not even that good, probably tier 3?
Emperor Thaurissan: Isn't he barely more than a meme card for meme OTK decks these days? Maybe not 100%, but he doesn't really see competitive play. Tier 3 or 4 seem more appropriate
I'll continue with Tier 3,4 and 5 legendaries on a later post, but I'll mention already here a few cards that deserve and upgrade in my opinion:
Galakrond the Tempest: Galakrond Shaman might be the 2nd best deck in the format right now, so even tier 1 would be fair, but probably tier 2 as the deck is not really carried by Galakrond, but rather by elemental synergies and the Flurgl-Toxfin combo
Dreadscale is back to being a playable card (mostly in Reno Hunter, but also in some Beast Hunter decks) thanks to the 0-mana spell that gives him poisonous. Deserves an upgrade to tier 3.
Kingsbane: Kingsbane rogue is good enough that the weapon itself should be in tier 2
Kun the Forgotten King. Celestial Druid decks still run him even though Aviana has been cut (and they are doing quite well, especially Maly Druid). Should be in tier 2. For similar reasons, Twig of the World Tree could be worthy of tier 3.
I know the meta changes fast with all the balance patches and thus the tiering is also very volatile, but already some assigned tiers to standard legendaries are a bit outdated in my opinion:
Deck of Lunacy: No longer run in the majority of Spell Mage decks post-nerf and not as impactful as before in general. Feels more like a tier 3 card now, definitely no longer tier 1 Lord Barov: Still a good card, but not really staple in any deck at the moment in standard so I'd put him on tier 2. Cairne Bloodhoof: Not really seeing any play right now, I'd say it's also a tier 3 card Xyrella: I still think she is a tier 1 minion, auto-include in pretty much any Priest deck and has pretty much the highest Played WR, Mulligan WR and Drawn WR in these decks Kayn Sunfury: Barely sees any play these days, probably belongs to tier 3 as well. Alexstrasza the Life-Binder: Staple in so many decks these days as a late game finisher, tier 1 all the way in my opinion Vectus: Starts to see some experimental play in various decks (from egg Warlock to deathrattle hunter, even saw him in a libram paladin), tier 3 is fair I think, but text needs an update as quest hunter is no longer a thing;) Vanessa VanCleef: These days she is pretty much always included in Miracle Rogue (mostly because she comes for free with Foxy), so she might be worth a promotion to tier 2.
I'll try to take a look at the tiering for wild later too
I am not quite sure if Xyrella is worth tier 1 status if you are not a serious priest player, but she can always be demoted if someone crafts her and ends up disappointed!
Hmm, Dollmaster Dorian actually has a good winrate, but sees much less play. I would have to investigate the current combos a bit more. They are not always played in the same deck anymore, it seems.
Hi guys! I owe you an explanation!
Last summer, I got a new hobby, and during the fall of 2021, I had a very important and demanding IRL task which required my full attention, so I decided to stop all gaming to increase my odds of being successful. The strategy worked, and I will soon return to my home country in a new and very interesting job!
To my surprise, the desire to return to Hearthstone when I had more time was gone, including maintaining this guide. It felt a bit like trying to make out with an ex you are not into anymore, so I have realized everything has an end.
Thank you all for the journey, I have learned a lot, and I hope mountains of dust have found satisfying homes! This guide actually outlasted both my own MOD career and even the previous admin team of this site, and I will always be proud of having made something online which amassed over 1 million views!
See you around!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
More expected tiers have been added. I am awaiting nerf announcements to place them in the guide.
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
I am back! Expected tiers are now added for some of the new legendaries. Many of them also had a significant Wild impact!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks a lot to SirJohn13!
Here are the first parts of the updates for the Wild section:
Shudderwock Tier 2 to 1
Dragonqueen Alexstrasza Tier 1 to 2
Siamat Tier 2 to 3
Dr. Boom, Mad Genius Tier 2 to 3
Vessina Tier 2 to 4
Dollmaster Dorian Tier 2 to 4
Sathrovarr Tier 2 to 4
Colossus of the Moon Tier 2 to 4
Face Collector Tier 4 to 5
Doctor Krastinov Removed from the Wild section
The announced new legendaries has also been added to the "awaiting placement" section.
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Added a "how to read this list" section at the top of the OP. I should probably have done this a while ago, but for regular readers, I think this is all known information.
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Give some more examples, please, and I will check if I have to do changes. Note there is a difference between "staple", "good card in", "playable", and "sees niche play in". Every card gets the same treatment, and the description should be matching how important the card is for the deck it is mostly played in. Regulars in this thread rightly often give feedback when they don't think a card is "staple" in a deck and should be demoted.
Some updates for the Standard section:
Kresh, Lord of Turtling To tier 2
Mutanus the Devourer To tier 2
Inara Stormcrash Tier 1 to 2
Cariel Roame Tier 2 to 3
Apothecary Helbrim Tier 3 to 4
Dark Inquisitor Xanesh Tier 5 to 4
Also added the new cards in the "Awaiting placement" section at the top.
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks man! I have been AFK for a travel, I will get on it soon!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks for the feedback!
Updates for the Standard section:
Archdruid Naralex To tier 1
Death Speaker Blackthorn Tier 2 to 1
Inara Stormcrash Tier 3 to 1
Murgur Murgurgle Tier 1 to 3
Al'ar Tier 3 to 2
Tickatus Tier 2 to 3
Keli'dan the Breaker Tier 3 to 4
Bru'kan Tier 4 to 2
Maiev Shadowsong Tier 3 to 4
Magtheridon Tier 3 to 4
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks, I'll get on it!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Updates for the Standard section.
N'Zoth, God of the Deep Tier 3 to 1
Lady Liadrin Tier 1 to 2
Speaker Gidra Tier 4 to 2
Tamsin Roame Tier 2 to 3
Lady Anacondra To tier 4
Also added provisional descriptions and expected tiers to the new legendaries.
Feedback and help to keep the list updated following the latest changes is appreciated as always!
Oh, and this thread is now close to 1 million views total! I am thinking of what to do when it happens!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks! Little bugs like that tend to sneak in!
Updates for the post mini expansion meta are incoming soon.
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks.
Updates for the Wild section:
High Abbess Alura Tier 2 to 3
Captain Greenskin Tier 2 to 3
Princess Talanji Tier 4 to 5
Hakkar, the Soulflayer Tier 4 to 5
Swamp King Dred Tier 4 to 5
Ragnaros, Lightlord Tier 4 to 5
Bolvar Fordragon Tier 4 to 5
Myra Rotspring Tier 4 to 5
Medivh, the Guardian Tier 4 to 5
Wilfred Fizzlebang Tier 4 to 5
A couple of duplicate listings removed.
The race to the bottom continues!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks for the feedback!
Updates for the Standard section:
Murgur Murgurgle Tier 2 to 1
Alexstrasza the Life-Binder Tier 2 to 1
Lord Barov Tier 1 to 3
Deck of Lunacy Tier 1 to 3
Cairne Bloodhoof Tier 1 to 3
Aegwynn, the Guardian Tier 2 to 3
Vanessa VanCleef Tier 3 to 2
Kayn Sunfury Tier 2 to 3
Xyrella Tier 2 to 1
Mozaki, Master Duelist Tier 3 to 4
I am not quite sure if Xyrella is worth tier 1 status if you are not a serious priest player, but she can always be demoted if someone crafts her and ends up disappointed!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Thanks, for the Wild section:
Galakrond, the Unbreakable To tier 3
Galakrond, the Tempest To tier 3
Silas Darkmoon Tier 2 to 3
Shudderwock Tier 3 to 2
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Hmm, Dollmaster Dorian actually has a good winrate, but sees much less play. I would have to investigate the current combos a bit more. They are not always played in the same deck anymore, it seems.
Feedback appreciated!
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide