With the arrival of a new expansion brings with it a brand new meta. This thread will reference statistical material from hsreplay to illustrate what the Arena meta looks like.
Keep in mind that Blizzard has announced updated offering rates for patch 10.0 and I will be factoring these changes and its potential meta impact.
Here are the notes for your reference.
Arena draft appearance rates have been adjusted.
Note: Non-Basic Neutral Classic minions represent the baseline for draft appearance rates.
Basic/classic neutral minion: .5x
Non-basic/classic neutral minion: 1x
Most recent set neutral minion: 2x
Basic class minion: 2x
Basic class spell: 3.5x
Non-basic/classic class minion: 2x
Non-basic/classic class spell/weapon: 3.5x
Most recent set class minion: 4x
Most recent set class spell/weapon: 7x
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve Class balance in the Arena, we are making small, periodic appearance rate adjustments to specific Arena cards.
Blizzard offerings may or may not be accurate based on recent findings. Certain classes are benefit much more from micro adjustments then others and it is currently very inconsistent with what has been announced. 12/13/17
Mar 18, 2018 - Blizzard has been busy, with 10.4 they brought new changes to how Arena drafts work. Rarities are now mixed and card options are bundled together based on power levels. The KnC bonus has been removed and the tierlist is totally different now. Arena Exclusive cards have been released as well.
General thoughts :
There is only 1 common neutral 2-drop (Plated Beetle, which is excellent) in the set. Keep this in mind while drafting and plan your picks accordingly.
Stoneskin Basilisk is an excellent common tier card, one of the most hyped cards going into the expansion, but it’s interesting to note that the 3 classes that can handle it efficient are in the lower half of the tier rankings, so it’s meta impact might be overblown.
Corridor Creeperwas rated highly on our Arena impact predictions, but it’s performance right now is through the roof across all classes. A bit of a sleeper pick, but it has shown to be worthy of the hype. Card has since been nerfed to 2/5.
Updated report as of Dec 13/17.
Updated report as of Mar 18/18. Last update before next expansion.
Tier 1
Paladin - Weapons, powerful class cards and a swarmy hero power that makes it difficult for non AOE classes, Paladin has spiked up to the #1 spot to close out the KnC meta.
Shaman - Strong mana cheat class cards, loads of AOE, single target removal and over powered minions for their mana cost along with weapon support has put Shaman in a good place. Oh and they also got some help from their new exclusive card Crackling Doom
Warrior - WOW, they did it. Finally near the top of the Arena. Weapon support, and one of the best Arena exclusive cards Blazing Longsword has helped Warrior jump up the Arena tierlist.
Tier 2
Rogue - Still stuck in mediocrity due to some poor offerings. Since 10.4 Rogue though it has been able to get some traction back to it's previous glory. High tempo plays and combo cards make Rogue hard to deal with if you fall behind. A staple for stronger players, no doubt still a good option right now with reduced KnC offering bonus and a strong match up against Paladins.
Mage - Mages have great class cards in all rarities so constructing a balanced arena deck should be pretty easy. Can play the value game or play the aggressor in match ups, this class has benefited from the fall of Hunter and Priest.
Priest - Fallen from grace a bit, less Screams and a faster meta has pushed Priest down. Paladin spread and their Divine shields give Priest headaches.
Tier 3
Warlock - Lowered KnC offerings hurt Warlocks ability to heal up and taunt up when they are low.
Druid - Tough spot for Druid, not exactly what is going on with this class, but we can only assume a poor match up against Paladin and Shaman spread makes it hard for Druid if they can't find AOE.
Hunter - How the mighty has fallen. It's debatable whether hunter is at the bottom of arena now, but it's certainly not doing very good. Paladins counter Hunter very well and without the pool of cards boosted from KnC it's been tough going for Hunters since patch 10.4
Let me know what you think – Agree ? Disagree ? Post comments below and make sure to vote for your top class predictions.
priest/hunter- Psychic scream is offered alot, same with spellstone, bow, and crushing walls (people not playing around). Hunter beats alot of rogue, mage and priest builds
Mage/Rouge- always solid
Paladin-Warlock: warlock loses the long game alot now, destroyed by hunter....Paladin is the exact middle can spike a good draft
Druid-Shaman: Druid is still ok if you can draft UI but definitely 6 IMO, shaman can spike a decent draft but the cards in KAC arent great with the boost in seeing them
I think it's pretty balanced, Priest and Rogue seem to be the top two but Hunter, Mage, Warlock and Druid aren't far behind at all. Shaman and Warrior are definitely the bottom two. Not sure on Paladin but I think they're more middle pack now than they were before. Hunter in particular feels strong and Warlock could definitely be Tier 1 too.
I would bump Hunter up a tier, personally, otherwise I'd entirely agree. Whilst they still lack catch-up mechanisms I think the extra cards are good enough to make them a really solid tempo class and some classes (including Rogue) really struggle with the Spellstones.
I would bump Hunter up a tier, personally, otherwise I'd entirely agree. Whilst they still lack catch-up mechanisms I think the extra cards are good enough to make them a really solid tempo class and some classes (including Rogue) really struggle with the Spellstones.
I've updated the rankings with rough rankings based off of HSreplay.net.
Very surprising that Rogue has slipped quite far into the medium win rate classes.
The emergence of Hunter along with micro adjustments surely have affected Rogue's win rate negatively.
Bizzare; I have one of my highest Arena winrates Vs Hunter and Warlock. They're virtually free wins for me.
I did have decent runs *as* Hunter/Warlock; but the class I lose to most is Priest [Although I'm not sure if my Priest drafts were awful or Priests are very polarizing in that they win some games hard lose some hard, but Priest is one of my worst performers].Priests also have a lot of... unreliability; partially in their cards which copy from the enemy deck; or Free From Amber.
The class I've performed best as is Paladin so far; and I honestly didn't even feel that the Paladin deck I drafted was that good.
While you can claim Hunter is strong; the Paladin draft I had which performed the best was even more aggressive than most Hunters. I've made Hunters Turn 5 Concede or Turn 7 die outright. Paladin can play just as fast as Hunter.
Interestingly; however; I think my personal experiences as Hunter/Warlock/Paladin were against the grain.
Hunter [7 Wins]: Was actually a Hunter with Dinomancy; and cards such as Houndmaster and Lesser Emerald Spellstone and Deadly Shot never even showed up in the draft. I won every single game where I drew and played Dinomancy. The games I lost were close games where I never drew Dinomancy; and 2 of those 3 losses had me semi-brick by drawing literally every weapon in my deck in a cluster.
Warlock [7 Wins]: Was hardcore control Warlock. Losses were to SMOrc; and games were usually long.
Paladin [8 Wins]: Hard aggro Paladin. Good early minions; buffs; two UID Mauls; but the lategame was lacking; causing me to mostly lose to Priests.
I'd personally also say that Mage is still at least T2. Especially once people adjust their drafts a bit; putting more value on cards like Volcanic Potion to stem more aggressive decks; instead of relying on Flamestrike which is more anti-Midrange.
I'd also say Druid is not bad. Shaman and Warrior are certainly the worst right now.
People saying Warriors are the worst, have you tried them yet?
I've played 4 Warrior runs with an average of 9.2 wins. 1 12, 1 11, 1 8, and a 6. Honestly the only reason I even got a 6 was because my opponent outRNGd me super hard against a mage.
Warrior feels real good in a meta dominated by Priests and Hunters. A lot of weapons which play around all their removal spells while crushing their minions down and eventually having enough reach for lethal. Will be playing Warrior more often. HSreplay does a terrible representation when good players are biased against warriors and only bad players pick Warriors.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Regular NA Arena Leaderboard player. Reached #1 in NA arena leaderboard in May 2018 with a 9.07 average!
Bizzare; I have one of my highest Arena winrates Vs Hunter and Warlock. They're virtually free wins for me.
I did have decent runs *as* Hunter/Warlock; but the class I lose to most is Priest [Although I'm not sure if my Priest drafts were awful or Priests are very polarizing in that they win some games hard lose some hard, but Priest is one of my worst performers].Priests also have a lot of... unreliability; partially in their cards which copy from the enemy deck; or Free From Amber.
The class I've performed best as is Paladin so far; and I honestly didn't even feel that the Paladin deck I drafted was that good.
While you can claim Hunter is strong; the Paladin draft I had which performed the best was even more aggressive than most Hunters. I've made Hunters Turn 5 Concede or Turn 7 die outright. Paladin can play just as fast as Hunter.
Interestingly; however; I think my personal experiences as Hunter/Warlock/Paladin were against the grain.
Hunter [7 Wins]: Was actually a Hunter with Dinomancy; and cards such as Houndmaster and Lesser Emerald Spellstone and Deadly Shot never even showed up in the draft. I won every single game where I drew and played Dinomancy. The games I lost were close games where I never drew Dinomancy; and 2 of those 3 losses had me semi-brick by drawing literally every weapon in my deck in a cluster.
Warlock [7 Wins]: Was hardcore control Warlock. Losses were to SMOrc; and games were usually long.
Paladin [8 Wins]: Hard aggro Paladin. Good early minions; buffs; two UID Mauls; but the lategame was lacking; causing me to mostly lose to Priests.
I'd personally also say that Mage is still at least T2. Especially once people adjust their drafts a bit; putting more value on cards like Volcanic Potion to stem more aggressive decks; instead of relying on Flamestrike which is more anti-Midrange.
I'd also say Druid is not bad. Shaman and Warrior are certainly the worst right now.
How many runs of each class are you referring to in your analysis?
Hunters and Warlocks make up a large % of overall matches, and have the highest win rates across thousands of runs. It's not a claim to say Hunter is the best class in Arena, it's based on stats.
People saying Warriors are the worst, have you tried them yet?
I've played 4 Warrior runs with an average of 9.2 wins. 1 12, 1 11, 1 8, and a 6. Honestly the only reason I even got a 6 was because my opponent outRNGd me super hard against a mage.
Warrior feels real good in a meta dominated by Priests and Hunters. A lot of weapons which play around all their removal spells while crushing their minions down and eventually having enough reach for lethal. Will be playing Warrior more often. HSreplay does a terrible representation when good players are biased against warriors and only bad players pick Warriors.
I have played a warrior and it is still the exact same thing as before ... u either get weapons or u dont. Warrior was pretty good class in the past as well, if u got enough weapons, same thing applies in KAC ... so yeah, warrior is on average still a bottom tier class, cause the drafts r super inconsistent, but if u do get a decent draft, he can perform like a tier 1.
I am absolutely tearing up Arena with Hunter at the moment. What's particularly noticeable is that you don't even need to have a low-mana aggro curve with them at the moment - cards like Lesser Emerald Spellstone, Flanking Strike and even Crushing Walls give you more mid-game control than they previously had. Helps that the class also got good cards in KFT. Also, I get all the theory behind why it's a bad card and it makes complete sense but in practice Wandering Monster has been MVP for me so many times. Last game (at 7-0 currently) someone swung into it with a 4/3 and it spawned a Vryghoul - lol. I think people play into it so much because they're worried it's Explosive Trap and want to clear it.
Otherwise... most of my Paladin drafts have been pretty Aggro and done alright with them. Mage is just RNG bananas but still fairly consistent despite that because card advantage is always good. Priest, as always, has very variable drafts but a top Priest deck is pretty OP and I have seen a lot of them at 7+ wins. Also done OK with Druid but only played against them at low wins. Rogue noticeable by its absence for me and haven't tried them yet. I also haven't done well with Warlock, despite the fact I thought they'd be amazing. Only done 3 runs with them but got below 7 each time, think I only got 2 wins on one.
Yeah, Wandering Monster is not a good standalone card, but it performs very well due to a fact that ppl r constantly misplaying into it. So that makes it a pretty good card for the moment :)
People saying Warriors are the worst, have you tried them yet?
I've played 4 Warrior runs with an average of 9.2 wins. 1 12, 1 11, 1 8, and a 6. Honestly the only reason I even got a 6 was because my opponent outRNGd me super hard against a mage.
Warrior feels real good in a meta dominated by Priests and Hunters. A lot of weapons which play around all their removal spells while crushing their minions down and eventually having enough reach for lethal. Will be playing Warrior more often. HSreplay does a terrible representation when good players are biased against warriors and only bad players pick Warriors.
I have played a warrior and it is still the exact same thing as before ... u either get weapons or u dont. Warrior was pretty good class in the past as well, if u got enough weapons, same thing applies in KAC ... so yeah, warrior is on average still a bottom tier class, cause the drafts r super inconsistent, but if u do get a decent draft, he can perform like a tier 1.
I have not run a single Warrior run without weapons in this expansion. I've done 6 runs in this meta with a 9.2 win average. Got a really good grasp on it atm, and it faces Hunter really well. Since the meta is running out of large removal answers Warriors have a lot of taunts that just straight up block Hunter's stuff. You can easily play around Crushing Walls by placing Taunts in the middle and destroying minions with weapons. I've had really good experiences against Hunter and feel like many people have no idea how to draft or play with Warrior.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Regular NA Arena Leaderboard player. Reached #1 in NA arena leaderboard in May 2018 with a 9.07 average!
People saying Warriors are the worst, have you tried them yet?
I've played 4 Warrior runs with an average of 9.2 wins. 1 12, 1 11, 1 8, and a 6. Honestly the only reason I even got a 6 was because my opponent outRNGd me super hard against a mage.
Warrior feels real good in a meta dominated by Priests and Hunters. A lot of weapons which play around all their removal spells while crushing their minions down and eventually having enough reach for lethal. Will be playing Warrior more often. HSreplay does a terrible representation when good players are biased against warriors and only bad players pick Warriors.
I have played a warrior and it is still the exact same thing as before ... u either get weapons or u dont. Warrior was pretty good class in the past as well, if u got enough weapons, same thing applies in KAC ... so yeah, warrior is on average still a bottom tier class, cause the drafts r super inconsistent, but if u do get a decent draft, he can perform like a tier 1.
I have not run a single Warrior run without weapons in this expansion. I've done 6 runs in this meta with a 9.2 win average. Got a really good grasp on it atm, and it faces Hunter really well. Since the meta is running out of large removal answers Warriors have a lot of taunts that just straight up block Hunter's stuff. You can easily play around Crushing Walls by placing Taunts in the middle and destroying minions with weapons. I've had really good experiences against Hunter and feel like many people have no idea how to draft or play with Warrior.
I haven't played warrior yet no, but will it a try next opportunity ! Don't think I've played arena since fools bane was introduced. Would be a welcomed changed seeing what the microadjustments can do
Shadybunny just posted a really good article that mirrors Boozor's rankings identically, except he created a separate tier for Paladin. It's a good read, with lots of details and insight. Check it out!
Playing as Priest results in so much salt from your opponents. Just had two 7+ runs in a row with them (first one 8, currently on 7-2) and so many of my opponents have rage-quit. I don't really blame them, Priest is by far the most frustrating class to play against. They either have the perfect answer or they don't and it's hard to predict. It's got to the point where I simply don't play cards like Scaled Nightmare or Twilight Summoner against them at high wins, just in case. Even more galling is when they take your own cards/minions and beat you with them.
Yup, everything that u said. The most frustrating on all that is, that even if they dont have those perfect answers u expect them to have, u still "have to" play around those cards and give the priest WAY more breathing room just cause those cards exist. Very annoying and exhausting.
With the arrival of a new expansion brings with it a brand new meta. This thread will reference statistical material from hsreplay to illustrate what the Arena meta looks like.
Keep in mind that Blizzard has announced updated offering rates for patch 10.0 and I will be factoring these changes and its potential meta impact.
Here are the notes for your reference.
Blizzard offerings may or may not be accurate based on recent findings. Certain classes are benefit much more from micro adjustments then others and it is currently very inconsistent with what has been announced. 12/13/17
Mar 18, 2018 - Blizzard has been busy, with 10.4 they brought new changes to how Arena drafts work. Rarities are now mixed and card options are bundled together based on power levels. The KnC bonus has been removed and the tierlist is totally different now. Arena Exclusive cards have been released as well.
General thoughts :
Updated report as of Dec 13/17.
Updated report as of Mar 18/18. Last update before next expansion.
Tier 1
Paladin - Weapons, powerful class cards and a swarmy hero power that makes it difficult for non AOE classes, Paladin has spiked up to the #1 spot to close out the KnC meta.
Shaman - Strong mana cheat class cards, loads of AOE, single target removal and over powered minions for their mana cost along with weapon support has put Shaman in a good place. Oh and they also got some help from their new exclusive card Crackling Doom
Warrior - WOW, they did it. Finally near the top of the Arena. Weapon support, and one of the best Arena exclusive cards Blazing Longsword has helped Warrior jump up the Arena tierlist.
Tier 2
Rogue - Still stuck in mediocrity due to some poor offerings. Since 10.4 Rogue though it has been able to get some traction back to it's previous glory. High tempo plays and combo cards make Rogue hard to deal with if you fall behind. A staple for stronger players, no doubt still a good option right now with reduced KnC offering bonus and a strong match up against Paladins.
Mage - Mages have great class cards in all rarities so constructing a balanced arena deck should be pretty easy. Can play the value game or play the aggressor in match ups, this class has benefited from the fall of Hunter and Priest.
Priest - Fallen from grace a bit, less Screams and a faster meta has pushed Priest down. Paladin spread and their Divine shields give Priest headaches.
Tier 3
Warlock - Lowered KnC offerings hurt Warlocks ability to heal up and taunt up when they are low.
Druid - Tough spot for Druid, not exactly what is going on with this class, but we can only assume a poor match up against Paladin and Shaman spread makes it hard for Druid if they can't find AOE.
Hunter - How the mighty has fallen. It's debatable whether hunter is at the bottom of arena now, but it's certainly not doing very good. Paladins counter Hunter very well and without the pool of cards boosted from KnC it's been tough going for Hunters since patch 10.4
Let me know what you think – Agree ? Disagree ? Post comments below and make sure to vote for your top class predictions.
Twitch Arena Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/boozor / Youtube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/c/boozortv
#1 Arena Leader Board Player in North America - August 2018 and April 2020
#2 NA Nov 18, #2 Asia July 19, #2 NA Feb 20, #2 NA June 20
So, what classes do u guys have been feeling are perfoming the best in arena since launch? :)
Hard to tell right now, but had two good hunter runs with lots of secrets and the new spellstone - went 7 and 8 wins with them.
Well I've played about 15-20 arena games so far since thursday and ive seen 10 priest, 3 rogues and 2 or 3 mages, and nothing else.
I think Rogue is still tier 1, followed by priest and then mage because priest demolishes mage.
Rogue has crazy draws now , definitely good.
priest/hunter- Psychic scream is offered alot, same with spellstone, bow, and crushing walls (people not playing around). Hunter beats alot of rogue, mage and priest builds
Mage/Rouge- always solid
Paladin-Warlock: warlock loses the long game alot now, destroyed by hunter....Paladin is the exact middle can spike a good draft
Druid-Shaman: Druid is still ok if you can draft UI but definitely 6 IMO, shaman can spike a decent draft but the cards in KAC arent great with the boost in seeing them
Warrior- don't pick even for testing
IMO
I think it's pretty balanced, Priest and Rogue seem to be the top two but Hunter, Mage, Warlock and Druid aren't far behind at all. Shaman and Warrior are definitely the bottom two. Not sure on Paladin but I think they're more middle pack now than they were before. Hunter in particular feels strong and Warlock could definitely be Tier 1 too.
I would bump Hunter up a tier, personally, otherwise I'd entirely agree. Whilst they still lack catch-up mechanisms I think the extra cards are good enough to make them a really solid tempo class and some classes (including Rogue) really struggle with the Spellstones.
Twitch Arena Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/boozor / Youtube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/c/boozortv
#1 Arena Leader Board Player in North America - August 2018 and April 2020
#2 NA Nov 18, #2 Asia July 19, #2 NA Feb 20, #2 NA June 20
Hunter is tier 1.
Priest, Warlock, and Paladin are tier 2.
The rest of the classes are tier 3-4.
Rogue feels pretty dumpster right now because of micro adjustments and how strong hunter is.
4x Top 150 arena player
#95 June 2017 6.80, #108 Aug 2017 7.67, #127 Feb 2018 Wildfest 7.7, #33 Nov 2018 7.53
HCT Challenger Finals qualifier: 2018 Season 1, 2, 3
Twitch Arena Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/boozor / Youtube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/c/boozortv
#1 Arena Leader Board Player in North America - August 2018 and April 2020
#2 NA Nov 18, #2 Asia July 19, #2 NA Feb 20, #2 NA June 20
Bizzare; I have one of my highest Arena winrates Vs Hunter and Warlock. They're virtually free wins for me.
I did have decent runs *as* Hunter/Warlock; but the class I lose to most is Priest [Although I'm not sure if my Priest drafts were awful or Priests are very polarizing in that they win some games hard lose some hard, but Priest is one of my worst performers].Priests also have a lot of... unreliability; partially in their cards which copy from the enemy deck; or Free From Amber.
The class I've performed best as is Paladin so far; and I honestly didn't even feel that the Paladin deck I drafted was that good.
While you can claim Hunter is strong; the Paladin draft I had which performed the best was even more aggressive than most Hunters. I've made Hunters Turn 5 Concede or Turn 7 die outright. Paladin can play just as fast as Hunter.
Interestingly; however; I think my personal experiences as Hunter/Warlock/Paladin were against the grain.
Hunter [7 Wins]: Was actually a Hunter with Dinomancy; and cards such as Houndmaster and Lesser Emerald Spellstone and Deadly Shot never even showed up in the draft. I won every single game where I drew and played Dinomancy. The games I lost were close games where I never drew Dinomancy; and 2 of those 3 losses had me semi-brick by drawing literally every weapon in my deck in a cluster.
Warlock [7 Wins]: Was hardcore control Warlock. Losses were to SMOrc; and games were usually long.
Paladin [8 Wins]: Hard aggro Paladin. Good early minions; buffs; two UID Mauls; but the lategame was lacking; causing me to mostly lose to Priests.
I'd personally also say that Mage is still at least T2. Especially once people adjust their drafts a bit; putting more value on cards like Volcanic Potion to stem more aggressive decks; instead of relying on Flamestrike which is more anti-Midrange.
I'd also say Druid is not bad. Shaman and Warrior are certainly the worst right now.
Current Deck -http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/240420-army-paladin - Token Paladin
People saying Warriors are the worst, have you tried them yet?
I've played 4 Warrior runs with an average of 9.2 wins. 1 12, 1 11, 1 8, and a 6. Honestly the only reason I even got a 6 was because my opponent outRNGd me super hard against a mage.
Warrior feels real good in a meta dominated by Priests and Hunters. A lot of weapons which play around all their removal spells while crushing their minions down and eventually having enough reach for lethal. Will be playing Warrior more often. HSreplay does a terrible representation when good players are biased against warriors and only bad players pick Warriors.
Regular NA Arena Leaderboard player.
Reached #1 in NA arena leaderboard in May 2018 with a 9.07 average!
Twitch Arena Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/boozor / Youtube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/c/boozortv
#1 Arena Leader Board Player in North America - August 2018 and April 2020
#2 NA Nov 18, #2 Asia July 19, #2 NA Feb 20, #2 NA June 20
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Regular NA Arena Leaderboard player.
Reached #1 in NA arena leaderboard in May 2018 with a 9.07 average!
Twitch Arena Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/boozor / Youtube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/c/boozortv
#1 Arena Leader Board Player in North America - August 2018 and April 2020
#2 NA Nov 18, #2 Asia July 19, #2 NA Feb 20, #2 NA June 20
Shadybunny just posted a really good article that mirrors Boozor's rankings identically, except he created a separate tier for Paladin. It's a good read, with lots of details and insight. Check it out!
Shadybunny's K&C Early Meta Report
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