Metagame Madness-6/6

We've got a lot of results to digest this week so let's get right into it.

Alliance-91/+28
Horde-82/+32

The two factions were relatively even this week, with the Horde holding a slight advantage. In addition to Phadalus's steady numbers, the Alliance got a big contribution from Dizdemona. The Horde continues to get its numbers through verstatility and while nobody can challenge Phadalus again this week, there were several Horde heroes who put up solid numbers.

Shaman-41/+12
Warlock-31/+13
Hunter-31/+11
Warrior-22/+8
Druid-19/+1
Paladin-11/+3
Priest-8/+6
Rogue-5/+4
Mage-5/+2

Things look a lot like the good old days once again with Shaman on top, Warlock and Hunter duking it out over second, Warrior right in the middle, not quite with the top three but distinctly ahead of the bottom 5 and everyone else getting what they can. For the first time in a very long time Shaman was not the best performing class. The Warlocks got very good weeks from Dizdemona and Pagatha, but it was Zenith chipping in off the bench that put them over the top for the week. Hunters once again got solid contributions from all three major players to stay near the top. Warriors relied on Gorebelly this week with the usually reliable Bulkas only netting one top 8. The big story of the week (aside from Warlock finally getting over the Shamans, even if only for the week) was the lack of Druids anywhere. Telrander Cat Form decks were the second most popular decks and had been challenging Phadalus for supremacy. It will be interesting to see if this week was an aberration or the beginning of a trend. The Warlock class is just a few weeks removed from getting blanked, so a bounceback is possible. But my guess is that the novelty is gone and people have started looking to more consistent beatdown options. Another amazing story this week in the class breakdown (there seem to be a lot of great stories this week) is that every class pulled at least 2 top 8's. Priests actually managed 6 spots and Rogues 4. I think it's a sign that every class is at least playable and originality in decks is really starting to come through the further away we get from the Darkmoon Faires.

Now on to the individual heroes.

Phadalus-33/+8
Telrander-17/+1
Pagatha-14/+5
Gorebelly-12/+6
Dizdemona-12/+6
Azarak-11/+5
Sen'Zir-10/+3
Bulkas-9/+1
Elendril-9/+3
Nimaasus-7/+3
Grennan-6/+2
Zenith-4/+2
Kayleitha-4/+3
Omedus-4/+2
Aleyah-2/+0
Morganis-2/+1
Jan'ah-2/+2
Kalinna-2/+2
Haruka-2/+2
Graccus-1/+0
Ta'Zo-1/+0
Ruby-1/+0
Grumpherys-1/+0
Radak-1/+0
Savin-1/+0
Timmo-1/+1
Victoria Jaton-1/+1
Litori-1/+1

First a warm welcome to some new heroes this week, Mojo Mender Jan'ah (who technically had a top 8 last week due to a drop, but for this column I gave the top 8 to the deck that dropped), Anchorite Kalinna, Timmo Shadestep, Haruka Skycaller, Victoria Jaton, and Litori Frostburn. For those of you keeping score at home that is 29 of 36 heroes represented. These 7 are still scoreless, Boris Brightbeard, Daspien Bladedancer, Moonshadow, Morova of the Sands, Nathressa Darkstrider, Varanis Bitterstar, and Warrax. Now, on to the relevent information.

This week's top performers were: Phadalus (8), Gorebelly (6), Dizdemona (6), Pagatha (5), and Azarak (5). Phadalus isn't shocking as he's been the top dog every week since he became legal. Gorebelly and Dizdemona climb up the ranks this week. Most of the Gorebelly decks are the aggro/combo decks from Frankfurt with a beatdown start and then the Mortal Strikes to end the game. Dizdemona rush gains in popularity with access to some very good cards against opposing Alliance rush decks in Rain of Fire and Infernal. Operation Recombobulation is actually also very good in rush matchups. Pagatha control is starting to regain a foothold in an environment almost devoid of control decks, and Azarak moves up as well. I'll mention again the almost complete absence of Telrander decks this week. I know a lot of Shaman decks have started packing Purges in their sideboard, and I personally think they are good main right now. Purge can be crippling in the Shaman/Druid matchup. Even if you have the two resources up to "save" your Cat Form, you miss one attack and against a deck that aims to kill you in 5 or 6 turns, sometimes that's all it takes. The fact that Purge only costs 1 means the Shaman player doesn't have to use up a turn playing it and can still play out plenty of allies to attack you with. One final note here is that we're now a little over a month removed from Austin and a few weeks from Frankfurt. The decks that won each event only posted 1 top 8 each this week. I may talk about why I think this has happened both from the actual decks themselves to just the phenomenon in general of top finishing decks not surviving a qualifier type environment, but that will be next week. For now, I'm done with this week. I'll be leaving in the morning for Vegas, so I won't be updating until I get back next Tuesday. Until then, good luck at Regionals.