Taking a Look Back at the Top Decks of 2016
Happy New Year! Let's take a look back on the top decks on HearthPwn throughout the past year and see who came out on top.
Although this will provide a look into how the meta changed over the year, it is not by any means a full representation! That's okay though because that's not what we're trying to do here, we are simply giving credit to the great authors on the site who bring us all great decks and guides to better ourselves at the game.
Here's to a great 2017!
January
Back when Goblins vs Gnomes and Naxxramas was still in rotation! Patron Warrior was still a thing and Tempo Mage was a fair bit different than what we see today. Renolock as usually is in the top, everyone loves a good Reno deck!
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
 Patron Warrior |
kuonet | 3960 |
 Combo Druid |
tylerootd | 4320 |
 Tempo Mage |
FR0G1123 | 2280 |
| OTK Warrior |
lokshadow | 880 |
 Renolock |
Mart23 | 6440 |
February
We saw Shaman start to gain popularity by SMOrcing it up and Reno was as popular as a card could be.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
 Obey The Call of Legend |
EAldanaJHS | 2520 |
 Face Shaman |
AtlasHS | 2240 |
| Chaos Control Hunter |
Kharanlol | 8740 |
| Zoo Renolock |
Torlk | 7660 |
 Elise Priest |
Kolento | 5520 |
March
Anti-meta seems to be a title theme during March and looking back on it, it's really no surprise. Warrior of the Control and Patron variety were being played quite a bit and there were plenty of complaints to go round.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Injured Camel Hunter |
J4CKIECHAN | 2560 |
 Aggro Paladin |
KonstantOut | 1360 |
| Anti-Meta DemoMage |
IndinaDemo | 5400 |
| Anti Meta Control Priest |
Racket_hs | 3440 |
 Maly Rogue |
Anti91 | 6520 |
April
Whispers of the Old Gods launched and with it, GvG and Naxxramas cards were rotated out of Standard. This lead to some new decks for the first time of the year. C'Thun and Yogg-Saron, Hope's End quickly became competitive powerhouses and we saw Zoolock take on a new shape.
Super Cool Fact: Trump's C'Thun Druid theorycraft deck still remains one of the top decks on the site.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| C'Thun Druid |
Trump | 6720 |
| C'thun Priest |
MrSavge | 2820 |
| Our Lord & Savior Yogg |
andrewc5120 | 3640 |
| Midrange Darwin Shaman (Evolve) |
Serology | 4500 |
| New Zoo |
TophatDemon | 5160 |
May
The era of Shaman continues! Everyone and their mother was playing Shaman which lead to an all-time high of responses in our Salt thread. We still saw the old gods and Zoo keep up with things.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| C'thun Priest |
MrSavge | 2820 |
| Totem Shaman |
DontBePotato | 1800 |
| Bloodlust Shaman |
11point5ft | 1740 |
| New Zoo |
TophatDemon | 5160 |
| Divine Aggro |
sixenm | 1880 |
June
Kripparrian got some spotlight on the site for a super budget Warrior deck which was quite popular but the real stars continued to be C'Thun and Yogg. It was very hard to ignore Yogg as he was able to turn the tides on games or solidify wins so easily.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Disneyland Warrior |
Kripparrian | 680 |
| C'Thun Control Warrior |
SjoW | 7520 |
| Yogg Token Druid |
J4CKIECHAN | 8520 |
| Midrange Hunter |
Toymachine | 1940 |
| Control Priest |
Happy2demon | 7700 |
July
Secret Paladin finally shows up but don't you think for a second that it wasn't popular earlier on in the year. So Secretadin was brought back into play briefly, Warriors continued to top the charts, and Evolve Shaman was just super fun and awesome.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| F2P OTK Warrior |
lokshadow | 800 |
| Evolve Shaman |
aytugex | 1780 |
| Worgen Combo Warrior |
kimsaw | 1520 |
| Secret Paladin |
Jackker | 3840 |
| Hybrid Hunter |
Thund3rHS | 2040 |
August
One Night in Karazhan! Medivh invited us into his tower for a party and we left with more Shaman and Hunter nonsense. Resurrect Priest became insanely popular for a short time, as you can see since it made the list twice with two different decks, and it's no real surprise since it was fun!
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Mid Hunter |
BLo0DLesS | 3660 |
| Midrange Shaman |
TjornHS | 3320 |
| Resurrect Priest |
ThijsNL | 6040 |
| Beast Druid |
Trump | 2580 |
| Resurrect Priest |
KevinStarr | 7320 |
September
Shaman, Shaman, and Shaman. Sorry, there's other classes in there somewhere but Shaman really continued its popularity streak with no thanks given to Spirit Claws and Maelstrom Portal. Discardlock gained massive popularity and there were quite a few different decks on the site for it.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Discolock |
Zananananan | 1200 |
| Midrange Shaman |
Loyan | 4720 |
| Control Warrior |
Num3roun0 | 11800 |
| Valet Aggro Freeze Mage |
tom_hs | 3480 |
| Secret Midrange Hunter |
SODA_Was_Here | 7040 |
October
Blizzard decided that we were having too much fun so they brought down a handful of nerfs early in the month which paved the way for the removal of Yogg-Saron and damage to the various Shaman decks that were popular.
Just kidding, Shamans were still doing fine though in a different light.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| SMOrc Hunter |
C4mlann | 3200 |
| Pirate Warrior |
Iddos | 4540 |
| New Tempo Mage |
liken27 | 11360 |
| Miracle Rogue |
Zananananan | 6840 |
| Midrange Shaman |
Muzzy | 4720 |
November
By November, Karazhan decks matured and Tempo Mage's spot in the top was truly solidified in the top. Shamans were still popular but there were good counters and we saw Druid gain more popularity.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Shaman Eater |
AlwaysFace | 4480 |
| Tempo Aggro Mage |
LastDesireHs | 4600 |
| Faceless Shambler Druid |
SoLegit | 10820 |
| Beast Druid |
Truebee | 4220 |
| Evil Rexxar |
Barlender | 1600 |
December
We should all be familiar with the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan launch and wave of new decks to play. There's been a lot of fun to be had thanks to Patches the Pirate and those crazy Jade Golems.
Something, something Shamans.
| Deck | Author | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pirate Warrior |
WeCoexist | 6520 |
| Midrange Jade Lotus |
hydrox1de | 7940 |
| Dragon Priest |
SjoW | 4140 |
| Busted Jade GANG UP Rogue |
9Ox | 10840 |
| Jade Druid |
Kolento | 6380 |
In Conclusion
It is safe to say that the Year of the Kraken will forever be remembered as the Year of the Shaman, Warrior, and Yogg-Saron.
What sort of decks did you have fun playing in the past year and more importantly, did any of them not make this list? Share your thoughts and lists in the comments below!
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Posted Jan 3, 2017 (Gadgetzan)To the Wilds we go!
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Lol midrange shaman still competes in 2017 insane
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Old zoo, new zoo, no zoo... FeelsBadMan
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Wow, this is the first time i realized that Shaman decks have been the best for pretty much the whole year. Starting with aggro in February to midrange in December.
In other words: Tunnel trogg + Totem Golem get my votes for most broken and hated cards of 2016. Blizzard, please please PLEASE stop making broken 1 drops.
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)We hear you! Tunnel Trogg has now had its cost reduced to zero to compensate for complaints about broken 1 drops.
-Blizzard
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Aggro shaman was good pre-rotation as well
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)this list is a direct representation of how hearthpwn does not properly display the meta. every month 3/5 of these decks are incorrect or experimental at best. there either needs to be a separate non voted meta list, or the upvoting system needs an overhaul
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)May i ask what's wrong with Hearthpwn showing both the top meta decks and fun / experimental decks?
It already kind of sucks that 90% of all players you encounter on ladder are obviously net-decking one of the few highest rated decks on Hearthpwn without changing a single card.
Don't get me wrong, i really appreciate Hearthpwn and the guys behind it. But i wouldn't mind if they don't encourage net-decking even more by creating a separate list for only the best decks to climb ladder.
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)-
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)he's to op to be in this list
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)An interesting trend is that the dust costs of the top decks are steadily increasing, while those op cheap decks e.g. OTK warrior, discardlock, and some paladin and hunter decks have been nerfed into non-existence.
I WONDER WHY!
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)-
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Well, I guess the idea is that ever retard can get to Legend if he just pays enough to Blizzard. That's why decks are more and more easier to play (curvestone) and need at least 2 adventures and some Legendaries.
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Lol the Injured Camel-toe Hunter
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Wow the 2k16 flew by fast, can't even remember now that we had 3 month of no standard now.
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)1) No idea how you guys didn't include SECRET PALI at the start of the year before Naxx and GVG rotated out. (Yet, it's included AFTER? Smoke more crack).
I mean, seriously look at the Janurary list. The ONLY reason 3 of those decks were viable in the meta was to combat the strength of Secret Pali.
(Likely, the only reason Secret Pali is not mentioned, is it didn't use any LoE cards. That's how strong the deck was--which also means, not many new decklists for Secret Pali were made on this site).
2) It's also weird that Control War is absent. It's strongest incarnation to date is arguably the period when it had BOTH Justicar and Shieldmaidens. It absolutely outlasted every single class with the addition of Elise, winning games 15 turns into Fatigue.
3) Where is Dragon Warrior? Dragon Warrior absolutely DOMINATED the summer months.
4) Yogg / Maly Druid is noticeably missing too which was pretty much THE reason Yogg was nerfed. Not to mention it received a massive buff with Karazahn in the form of Arcane Giants. This deck was also the precursor for the current Kun/Aviana/Maly combo Druid.
5) How November doesn't include Shaman is beyond me. Good counters? You're kidding, right? Midrange Shaman was a 55-60% win rate deck vs EVERY matchup. (And again, mentioning that the meta is something in order to COUNTER the strongest deck in the meta without including the strongest deck in the meta seems to completely miss the point of putting together a "best of" list.
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)As I understand, this is not the list of the "best" decks that month, but just the most popular - so literally the ones with most views or upvotes. And it's only 5. But I totally agree with you on the meta-analysis - it's just different list.
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Wow this is great! I really appreciate this reflective look back into 2016.
Is there one for 2015?
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Posted Jan 2, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Mainly, because there are less and less basic cards used in those decks - everything gets a better version, that you need to get or craft.
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Posted Jan 1, 2017 (Gadgetzan)Can't wait for Reno retires, then the shit really hits the fans.