Metagame Madness 9/20

In our second week of Regionals the metagame starts to show its true colors. This week, we will see a little clearer definition between the decks that should be considered Tier 1 and Tier 2, and sadly, Mages get shut out again.

The first breakdown as usual, will be the ratio of Horde to Alliance. Last week we saw a tie between the factions, but this week was a different story.

Horde-50/+26
Alliance-35/+11

Horde dominated Alliance this week. The question is why. The easy answer is the top three represented heroes are all Horde. Gorebelly continues at a strong pace. Daspien seems to have won the battle of who's the best solo Rogue, and Shadowfiend-powered Omedus decks are killing people faster than any deck ever has. Expect the trend toward Horde to continue.

Next, let's take a look at the class breakdown.

Warrior-16/+7
Rogue-16/+7
Hunter-14/+5
Priest-11/+6
Shaman-8/+5
Paladin-8/+2
Warlock-6/+3
Druid-6/+2
Mage-Still 0 :(

The Warrior and Rogue decks continue to battle it out for top class. Priests as a class are essentially just Omedus decks. Hunters continute to be solid choices and Shamans had a good bounceback week on the back of Grennan mid-range decks. Mage is still getting shut out.

Finally we'll move on to what is really the most important part, hero breakdown.

Daspien-12/+7
Gorebelly-11/+6
Omedus-9/+5
Kana Nassis-6/+2
Grumpherys-5/+3
Nathadan-4/+1
Phadalus-4/+1
Telrander-4/+2
Mazar-4/+2
Grennan-4/+4
Rotun-3/+0
Nimaasus-3/+0
Bulkas-3/+1
Ona-2/+0
11 heroes tied at 1.

In a strange turn of events, there are three clear-cut Tier 1 decks, but they're not what you think. How? you ask. The numbers are right there, Daspien, Gorebelly, and Omedus are the top three decks. The numbers don't lie, I've said that since I started this segment. In this instance, the numbers don't like, but they don't tell the whole truth either.

While it's true there are three clear-cut Tier 1 decks, Gorebelly is surprisingly not one of them. I know he has the second most top 8's, but the problem here is that his 11 top 8's are misleading. Those 11 are split almost evenly between Twig rush decks and solo combo/control decks with Twig rush actually being slightly more popular. So while Gorebelly is quite popular, it is two separate decks that are posting those numbers.

Ok, so Gorebelly is more like the top of Tier 2 than a Tier 1 deck. Then what the heck is the third clear-cut Tier 1 deck? I'm glad you asked. In the exact opposite of the Gorebelly syndrome where one hero is actually represented by two decks, we have the case of Hoot'n'Shoot, a single deck represented by 2 heroes. Some players have elected to stay true to this decks roots and continue to run Grumpherys as the hero, presumably for his flip and Bestial Wrath. Some players on the other hand have turned to Kana Nassis for Rescue the Survivors and Ka'lai. Whichever hero you choose, the deck remains essentially the same.

So our Tier 1 is currently comprised of Daspien, Omedus, and Hoot'n'Shoot. The top of Tier 2 is the Gorebelly decks and a host of others. Which ones do are worth noting? First, let's just quickly establish which decks are Tier 2 in addition to the two Gorebelly decks. We've got Nathadan, Phadalus, Telrander, Mazar, Grennan, Rotun, Nimaasus, and Bulkas. So which of these seem likely to continue to do well?

The first deck to take notice of is Grennan, which posted all 4 of its top 8's this week. The Shaman has always been solid and with a better grasp of what to prepare for, Grennan should continue to post solid numbers.

Telrander is another deck to note. It's still one of the fastest in the game, and with Shamans (and their Purges) becoming less popular, that could help open the door for Feral Druids. Of course of the three Tier 1 decks, Omedus can play Dispel Magic which is functionally better than Purge, and Hoot'n'Shoot runs Chipper. So there's still plenty of ability hate at the top tables.

Mazar is one other deck I would like to highlight. The Warlock class has always been very good against rush with the tempo stealer Sarmoth. Shadowfury has just made rush matchups even easier. Warlocks biggest problem has always been Mortal Strike. With Escape Artist technology becoming more widespread, don't be surprised to see Warlock control make the climb towards the top.

As for Tier 2 decks on the way down, Rotun and Nimaasus both got blanked this week. Most Rogue players have chosen Daspien as their hero in the solo Rogue deck with his amazing flip ability. It's hard to say what happened to Nimaasus this week. His popularity seems to be fleeting. Before FoO came out there would be weeks where Nimaasus was one of the most represented heroes and then weeks where he would disappear. We'll see what continues to happen with him.

That's all for this week. Anyone who attends Regionals this weekend, please send me your top 8's. Thanks and good luck.