https://tempostorm.com/articles/live-now-hearthstone-standard-meta-snapshot-the-great-dark-beyond-take-two-nov-26-2024
November 27, 2024
The latest expansion, The Great Dark Beyond, struggled with its first impression. Upon release, players quickly flocked back to older archetypes that were clearly more powerful than newer ones, with some of the strongest decks running zero new cards. The latest patch, 31.0.3, aimed to change that. With a total of 28 changes, 14 buffs and 14 nerfs, the meta was flipped on its head. All the buffed cards were from The Great Dark Beyond, while nearly all the nerfed cards were from previous expansions. Some cards were nerfed due to play-pattern concerns, but most were toned down due to their power level, which has opened the meta up for more archetypes to make their mark. Still, despite all the changes, some older archetypes have remained among the strongest in the game.
Aggro Shaman keeps the top spot in Tier 1. Despite nerfs to Wave of Nostalgia and Malted Magma, this archetype has remained very strong, in part due to all the nerfs to competing archetypes. Cycle Rogue takes the second Tier 2 spot as another deck that survived a big nerf. Everything Must Go! was a payoff card for the archetype, but the deck has changed its build and found a lot of success in the developing meta. Weapon Rogue is the final Tier 1 archetype, benefitting from so many other archetypes getting nerfed.
Handbuff Paladin makes a return to the meta, landing in Tier 2. Another beneficiary of other archetypes receiving nerfs, though this deck could decline as other archetypes get refined. Pipsi Paladin remains in Tier 2. Although the nerfs to Sea Shill and Conniving Conman have forced this archetype to change its build, it has done so successfully.
Tier 3 sees a lot of changes, with plenty of new archetypes seeing play after the balance patch. Discover Hunter, Pain Priest, Starship Hunter, and Starship Rogue are new archetypes that have become much more popular after the patch. While the power level of starships in general is still questionable, the patch certainly pushed them in the right direction. Cleave Hunter, Zarimi Priest, and Pain Warlock are all older archetypes that have returned to the meta following the changes. While none of these look competitive at the top level, all three have grown in popularity and are performing decently in the developing meta. Warrior perhaps took the biggest hit from the patch, will all of its played archetypes landing at the bottom of this Tier. The nerf to Sleep Under the Stars, combined with the lack of any buffs, has left Warrior in a rough spot right now.
The first balance patch of The Great Dark Beyond meta had a clear goal in mind: To reduce the power level of older archetypes while enabling newer ones. While the outcome of the patch may have left some archetypes stronger than intended, things seem to be headed in the right direction. We’ll update you in our next Meta Snapshot on how the meta continues to evolve.