Each week, we'll be bringing you the top performing decks from the most recent top level Hearthstone tournaments and some of the world's best players. This week, we'll be taking a look at the decks played at the StarLadder Star Series Season 1 Last Chance bracket. For the first time in the history of this article series, we have the same decks in the exact same order taking up our top 3 decks. How's that for consistency? Right now, it's looking like Patron Warrior, and the decks that are expected to counter it, are what almost all of the pros are playing to keep their tournament hopes alive. If you want to know what the strongest deck types are right now, look no further!

 

1) Patron Warrior

Nothing really happened with TGT to change the deck much, though it has forced players to re-think their deck lists a little bit. A new tech card had briefly arisen in Shield Slam, though it seems many players still choose to leave it out of their lists. In its place, some had begun to include Harrison Jones, helping to deal with the both the mirror match, and the expected rise of Secret Paladin. However, with Secret Paladin very quickly losing steam on the tournament circuit, Harrison has already fallen off of most Patron lists, meaning that almost every Patron deck is now almost card-for-card the same. Make no mistake about it; despite its immense popularity, Patron Warrior is not simple to play. Particularly in a tournament environment against skilled opponents, the player definitely needs to be on top of their game. When they are, Grim PatronWarsong Commander and Frothing Berserker become some of the scariest cards in the game. This is a true combo deck, yet boasts a fair amount of removal with cards like WhirlwindCruel TaskmasterExecute, and the weapons able to remove threats (with some of those doubling as activators for the Patron and Berserker as well.) Zalae was ready to be counted in for a fight, and this is the deck list he used:

 

2) Mid-range Druid

Druid has always been played by at least a few pros, but has always seen mixed success. While the deck didn't change drastically after The Grand Tournament, the introduction of Darnassus Aspirant introduced another way to ramp up the mana, and improved the consistency of the deck's early game. This pairs well with the old classics of Innervate and Wild Growth, allowing the Druid player to quickly accelerate into the mid game. While the class suffers from not having any sort of board clears outside of Swipe, putting big minions such as Druid of the Claw or Ancient of Lore on the board earlier than usual can often swing things in Malfurion's favor. The game can often end just from that dominating board presence, but if not, the old combo of Force of Nature + Savage Roar will usually do the trick. Druid is usually seen as at least a somewhat favorable matchup against Patron Warrior and some aggro decks, making it continue to be a popular choice. Here's the list used by Surrender in the tournament:

 

 

3) Demon Handlock

Handlock is an interesting place right now. On the one hand, it struggles against very aggressive decks, such as Face Hunter, and certain variations of Secret Paladin. On the other hand, it's seen as a natural counter to Patron Warrior, and as long as it doesn't get crushed in the early game, can actually stabilize against aggro decks as well. While its matchups are a bit iffy, some players have begun turning to the Demon variant of the deck, as it's expected to perform a bit better against the decks that traditional Handlock struggles with. As always, players will be looking to drop a Twilight Drake or Mountain Giant on turn 4, Molten Giant in the late game, and taunt them up with Sunfury Protector or Defender of Argus. The Demon variant introduces the extra mid-game power of Voidcaller, which allows players to drop a very early Mal'Ganis or Lord Jaraxxus onto the board. These two can be incredibly difficult to deal with, especially when given Taunt. Here is the list piloted by Ostkaka:

 

 

That wraps things up for this week, but we want to know your thoughts. What decks have you been having the most success with? What archetype is most likely to become the new flavor of the month? Tell us in the comments below!

 

Want to know how things compare to the meta of weeks past? Check out our previous top decks articles!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

A longtime fan of competitive gaming, Jeremy got his first chance to work in the field as a writer for eSportsMax. Now eSports Editor for TenTonHammer, he looks to keep readers aware of all of the biggest events and happenings in the eSports world, while also welcoming new fans who aren't yet sure where to go to get the most relevant information. Jeremy always looks to provide content for new fans and veterans alike, believing that helping as many people as possible enjoy all the scene has to offer is key to its growth.

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