With 16 players headed to the Bahamas for the Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) Winter Championship, we now know what decks they will be piloting—and most players have opted not to spring a surprise.
Decklists are public, meaning there is no advantage to hidden tech cards, and the Conquest format lends itself to bringing the strongest decks as opposed to counters.
For those reasons, and the power of the decks in the meta, Pirate Warrior, Miracle Rogue and Reno Warlock dominate the lineups that will feature in next week’s $250,000 tournament.
Of the 16 players taking part, 14 will be bringing Pirate Warrior. With the Small Time Buccaneer nerf the card has disappeared from the meta, but the potency of the Pirate package in Warrior alone remains strong. The decklists are virtually identical, with some players adding Argent Horserider for extra direct damage.
Only two players are avoiding the deck. Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang has opted to not bring Warrior at all, while his Group A opponent “b787” of Korea is bringing Control Warrior.
Rogue is the next most common class, with 11 players bringing Miracle Rogue. Despite repeated nerfs, the deck has persisted as one of the most successful in the game since almost the very beginning of Hearthstone. The current version opts to include Questing Adventurer for more board presence and power. With Conceal on its way out after the Championship, time will tell if it can survive another hit.
Three players have taken a different approach to the class. James “Greensheep” Luo, Yulsic, and Samuel Tsao have brought an aggressive Rogue with a hybrid of Pirate and Murlocs, including Finja.
Eleven players have brought Jade Shaman, with 10 players bringing Dragon Priest. B787’s perhaps somewhat surprising lineup continues when it comes to Priest, as he has brought a Reno variant—one of three Reno decks in his lineup.
Mage decks are where the players diverge a little more. 12 players are bringing Mage, but they are split on what deck to play. Five players have opted to bring a version of Reno Mage, while five will be playing Freeze Mage. Greensheep and China’s “OmegaZero” have chosen Tempo Mage.
With Paladin and Hunter nonexistent, Druid is the only other class that puts in an appearance. Five players are bringing Jade Druid, while Fr0zen is playing what might be the most unconventional deck of the event—Malygos Kun Druid.
