Current Meta Analysis: Control Decks

by JR Cook - 7 years ago

A couple weeks ago I talked about the aggro decks in the current meta. While aggro is still viable in higher ranking of play it’s no longer as dominate as it used to be as several control decks have cropped up. The Healadan and Druid MidRange decks actually came to light in response to the pre-nerf ice mage with giants deck as they were able to heal up and avoid getting pyroblasted to the ground. However, these decks also did well against aggro and have been able to stick around.

These 4 midrange/control decks are not exact deck lists, but will give you a decent idea of what you will see at higher (and some not so higher) ranks in constructed play in Hearthstone.

Healadan

The Healadan deck has actually been around for a while. It was around before the first major patch in closed beta and then kind of disappeared when Sword of Justice and divine shield minions became popular. Now the meta has shifted away from that and we’re starting to see what is basically Paladin control with some healing mixed in.

The whole object of this deck is to control the board early. When playing against aggro you want to clear the board as often as possible. You want to mulligan for consecrate when you can and Wild Pyromancer + Equality is just as good (if not better). Once you start gaining control of the board momentum will shift and you’ll get out bigger dudes that are harder to deal with and eventually beat your opponent down while healing yourself up.

Against other control decks Equality and Aldor Peacekeeper will be your best friends. If you can pull off a late game Equality + Avenging Wrath you might have just guaranteed yourself a victory.

Healidan

Class: Paladin

Cards sorted by Low Cost

Paladin (18)

Neutral (12)

MidRange Druid

This deck is the reason why The Black Knight is starting to get played more in the meta. It came to prominence as a defense against the old Frozen Giant Mage deck that got nerfed and stuck around because it’s really good against aggro. The MidRange Druid deck is probably the most popular deck on ranked ladder right now and you’ll see it (and variations of it) roughly 50% of the time. The whole idea of the deck is to control the board, put out large taunt minions, and keep yourself healed. During the late game you’ll eventually take control of the game and your opponent won’t have much left to deal with your super large creatures.

The mirror match of this is painful and boring to play in my opinion.

MidRange Druid

Class: Druid

Cards sorted by Low Cost

Druid (20)

Neutral (10)

MidRange Rogue

The MidRange Rogue deck has been popular since near the beginning of Hearthstone beta shortly after the initial rogue nerfs that hurt the miracle rogue deck and the spell power rogue deck. This deck does well against aggro with spells like backstab, eviscerate, and SI:7 Agent and does well against Paladin and Druid Midrange decks for it’s ability to outpace them. The nice thing about this deck is it’s ability to switch tempo if needed, it can go from a control deck to just swarming your opponent with a lot of damage in one turn.

Midrange Rogue

Class: Rogue

Cards sorted by Low Cost

Neutral (19)

Rogue (11)

Warlock Control

The Warlock Control deck is starting to gain more steam in the meta. I still see the occasional Warlock Aggro deck after the Blood Imp nerf but I see Warlock Control much more these days. The idea behind this deck is to control the board for the majority of the game and when your health starts getting low you can dump down your Molten Giants, give them taunt, and just start laying a beat down to your opponent. If you find yourself in a rough spot you can always count on LORD JARRAXUS EREDAR LORD OF THE BURNING LEGION to help stabilize you a little bit.

Warlock Control

Class: Warlock

Cards sorted by Low Cost

Neutral (17)

Warlock (13)