If a deck is anywhere close decent and can be used by the majority of the player base easily, it will be on the list of the meta. If a deck is viable but really, really hard to play it will not be seen in the meta as the majority of the player base cannot use it properly. There are cases of people piloting some really strange off-meta archetype variations into Legend. But they only did because of their ability to PLAY, as such decks have probably been tried a few times and failed, and disappeared from the popular list because of the difficulty to play.
The only way to get off-meta decks onto the table with balance changes for the majority of players is to just change the meta, there’s no way you can grab 30 cards randomly and win. Little to no cases of easy to use and viable off-meta decks have been seen after the dust settles in an expansion. This is why Face Hunter and Aggro Paladin is not really overpowered in Legend, where people actually understand how to play.
In Hearthstone, you win by playing. Not by showing up with some strange builds no one has tried before. This doesn’t demonstrate intelligence, as much as a stubborn personality of wanting to stand out in a crowd (which is virtually impossible for the average player in a 40 million player environment). Because if something wins games, there’s a 99% chance it’s probably already discovered and what you play is just a slight variation of it.
The meta needs change for more fun and enjoyable archetypes, but most viable off-meta decks won’t ever be for the average player, and arbitrarily trying them ISN’T a sign of skill, playing them WELL is.
Ikr, the “duh I play aggro priest in platinum and I’m better than you” kind of people is kinda annoying.
“happyly flash homebrews” 
homebrew are often a variant correct
…but strange builds are fine…let ppl enjoy custom building…at best it may inspire refining…and maybe it become solid at some point
btw i dont understand the purpose of your thread… if you could explain what was your goal ?..dont wanna jump to conclusion and claim you were bitter facing a strange build…but thats just the feel i get
Not everyone wants to play mirror matches all day, and don’t really care about ranking up. It’s kind of the opposite of “try hard”. If you have fun by trying to obtain the most wins possible, go for it. I have never met someone playing off meta decks that is clueless as to why they are not ranking up as you’re suggesting.
it reminds me of transmog stuff from retail wow. people talk about “creativity” and “self expression” if you use a set/meta deck and they feel their stuff is more “special.” there are only so many combos though. you cannot create your own stuff. with player bases that size you haven’t really '“created” anything that at least a million other people haven’t as well.
I don’t think the issue here is about people who want to be creative, but more about those who like deck building and judge others for not doing the same or blame them because they don’t win.
“deck building” vs meta decking essentially boils down to you using something you made yourself vs something you copied off a website. if that isn’t a thing about wanting to feel special you succeeded using you created yourself thing, i don’t know what is. i play all sorts of weird things to get quests done. i also know meta exists and this is a pvp game so i am intentionally gimping myself. and that the deck i made that was entirely battlecry cards isn’t carrying me to legend. if i wanted that i know where to go to get the info i need to craft the decks i’d need to do that. if you want to homebrew you should understand you’re doing it for fun. not complain and moan not everyone shares your idea of being a unicorn. in pvp games people generally want to win. they use the things that will let them.
yes.
with hs you use x deck and spend x amount of time to hit x rating. this isn’t the type of game where you can do whatever you want. i think morrowwind is that kind of game, but it’s certainly not a card game. 
Honestly, this post felt a little mean spirited and very pessimistic. If people have been ridiculing you for using net decks I’m sorry to hear that dude, because you sound like you are in pain.
I play homebrews exclusively because the deckbuilding and refining experience is fun. I know I lose more often as a result and I am ok with that. I am, however, offended by your post because you seem to suggest that playing homebrews is something that appeals only to narcissists, which I don’t believe to be the case.
It was an interesting read though, so thanks for that 
it’s okay to play homebrew if it’s fun. the op is about people who think it makes them special and that if they focused more on their gameplay vs fiddling with cards they’d get more wins. the problem comes when people blame people who try to win for trying to win and them not winning when they’re playing “fun” decks not “good” ones.
I just don’t get why people are so serious about the game. To me it’s like watching people flex about being good at Angry Birds. It’s just a card game to kill time. Also, we are shifting the goalposts here. He said that people who play their own decks are ‘try hards’. Now we are saying that these people have a false sense that they are creative and special. Which is it? Where are all the people who feel their home brew deck is so special? I don’t see any threads like that?
Threads of people acting all high and mighty because they don’t netdeck do show up from time to time. It isn’t the most common thing, but it definitely happens.
he said:
In Hearthstone, you win by playing. Not by showing up with some strange builds no one has tried before. This doesn’t demonstrate intelligence, as much as a stubborn personality of wanting to stand out in a crowd (which is virtually impossible for the average player in a 40 million player environment). Because if something wins games, there’s a 99% chance it’s probably already discovered and what you play is just a slight variation of it.
The meta needs change for more fun and enjoyable archetypes, but most viable off-meta decks won’t ever be for the average player, and arbitrarily trying them ISN’T a sign of skill, playing them WELL is.
he said intelligence. but it’s not intelligence. it’s someone feeling they’re being creative. an intelligent person that wants to win/rank is going to use the tools they need to to accomplish their goals. i am NOT saying homebrewers are not intelligent though. it’s just that when you choose to play something bad because it’s fun you’re doing so by choice. i play warlock all the time with all sorts of random combos of cards as i main a warlock in wow and it’s my favorite archetype. i don’t win a lot with it. but it’s fun to me. if i were trying to win i have multiple pally decks and hunter decks also built. like when i need to get the 5 wins for my card back.
Lol you netdeck to get 5 wins for a card back? I feel like that came out wrong…
i only do what i find fun, in any game. i am not competitive by nature though so i play stuff i enjoy playing and don’t care about rank. in a game like this though you cannot control if others do play to win. sometimes you get lucky and get a win, but often you do not. if you’re having fun though that should be what is important. if you want to be competitive though there are resources out there that will allow show you how to do that.
i don’t play ranked at all in general. i play pve/bgs/do quests against my wife in standard vs matches where we challenge each other. i do not care about rank. or epeening in general. i didn’t find ranked play fun so i don’t do it. except i have to WIN 5 games of ranked for the card back. i try to get it over with asap because it’s the least fun aspect of hearthstone to me.
I think I should have just not responded. I am just confused why someone would be hostile towards people playing off meta decks. It’s one of the weirder complaints I’ve seen about the game.
do a search. its the homebrewers who are generally angry their decks aren’t getting them to legend and them lashing out at net deckers over it. whenever i open a thread about the great old days of hs that’s what the thread boils down to.
I love when people friend request you to flame you for net decking, when all they did was take a meta deck and put bad cards in it. Lol