Dreamhack Valencia 2017 Hearthstone Grand Prix decks, results, and analysis

Dreamhack Valencia 2017 Hearthstone Grand Prix was played from 13th to 15th July in Valencia, Spain. Almost 300 players participated in this major tournament with a $25,000 prize pool.

In this post, I take a look at the decks and results of the top 16, including class distribution, archetypes, and archetype performance.

Results

The event was played in a best-of-five Last Hero Standing format with one ban. It started with a 10-round Swiss bracket followed by a top-16 cut into single-elimination playoffs.

The Swiss bracket was played with hidden decks, and the decks were then published for the top 16 playoffs.

Round of 16:

Top 8:

In the end, the local Spanish player HariSeldon emerged victorious and received the coveted Dreamhack Grand Prix trophy.

Prize pool:

  • 1st place (HariSeldon): $7,500 + 15 HCT points
  • 2nd place (Xl3en): $3,500 + 12 HCT points
  • 3rd and 4th place (Meliador, Nothum): $2,050 + 8 HCT points
  • 5th to 8th place (Fluffy, Turna, Benene, Kartoha): $1,125 + 4 HCT points
  • 9th to 16th place: $675 + 2 HCT points

Class distribution in the top 16

The decklists of the top 16 were published by Dreamhack.

Classes in top-16 from the most popular to the least popular:

  • Druid: 14
  • Paladin: 13
  • Shaman: 13
  • Mage: 9
  • Warrior: 9
  • Rogue: 5
  • Priest: 1
  • Hunter: 0
  • Warlock: Zero. Zippo. Nada. Zilch.

Warlock remains dead as expected, and this time one Priest was in the competition and no one made it this far with Hunter.

There was a clear top trio this time: Druid, Paladin, and Shaman dominated the lineups. Mage and Warrior were quite a bit behind, and Rogue had been relegated back to class enthusiasts’ choice – still a viable choice nonetheless.

Classes in top-8 from the most popular to the least popular:

  • Druid: 7
  • Paladin: 7
  • Shaman: 6
  • Warrior: 5
  • Mage: 4
  • Rogue: 2
  • Priest: 1
  • Hunter: 0
  • Warlock: Zero. Zippo. Nada. Zilch.

On class-level, the distribution in top-8 stayed roughly the same. Every class was at most one representative away from the same distribution as in top-16.

Archetype distribution by class and performance

The most popular archetype in the top-16 was Evolve Shaman with a whopping 11 players bringing it. Jade Druid and Midrange Paladin were close, both with nine representatives. For the top-8, Jade Druid was the strongest performer with five of the nine making it. Of the 11 Evolve Shamans, also five made it, and Midrange Paladin had a rough time in the playoffs with only three of the nine who made it to top-16 managing to go ahead to the top-8.

Control decks did well in the playoffs overall: two out of two Control Paladins to the top-8, two out of two Freeze Mages to the top-8, three out of five Taunt Warrior to the top-8, and the only Control Priest also to the top-8.

Likewise, the aggressive decks did reasonably well: Murloc Paladin and UK Paladin pushed through, both Secret Mages made it, and two of the four Pirate Warriors and two of the five Aggro Druids made it.

Surprisingly, all four Gunther Mages were stopped at the round of 16.

These results line up quite well with the results from Titanar Open International a few days ago: UK Paladin / Murloc Paladin, Secret Mage, Freeze Mage, and Control Paladin all did extremely well there as well. In the early days of the post-patch meta, these have been the decks that have really made a difference. It is quite amazing how these two classes have two so different competitive archetypes each.

Of course, the staples must not be forgotten. Decks such as Evolve Shaman, Pirate Warrior, and Jade Druid can sweep matches: they are merely so ubiquitous that sweeps with them and against them happen all over the place, evening out the stats in the end, whereas the less chosen options have more room to shine.

Archetype distribution in top-16 and top-8 and performance in top-8 excluding mirror matches:

Paladin

  • 2 Control Paladin – 2 in top-8 (4-1)
  • 1 Murloc Paladins – 1 in top-8 (2-0)
  • 1 UK Paladin- 1 in top-8 (0-1)
  • 9 Midrange Paladins – 3 in top-8 (1-3)

Warrior

  • 4 Pirate Warriors – 2 in top-8 (4-2)
  • 5 Taunt Warriors – 3 in top-8 (0-3)

Druid

  • 5 Aggro Druids – 2 in top-8 (1-2)
  • 9 Jade Druids – 5 in top-8 (2-3)

Mage

  • 4 Gunther Mages
  • 2 Secret Mages – 2 in top-8 (3-2)
  • 1 Hybrid Freeze Mage – 1 in top-8 (0-1)
  • 1 Freeze Mage – 1 in top-8 (3-2)
  • 1 unknown Mage

Rogue

  • 5 Miracle Rogues – 2 in top-8 (1-2)

Shaman

  • 11 Evolve Shamans – 5 in top-8 (5-2)
  • 1 Jade Elemental Shaman – 1 in top-8 (0-1)
  • 1 Jade Shaman

Priest

  • 1 Control Priest – 1 in top-8 (1-2)

Deck spotlights

For a new post-patch meta, Dreamhack Valencia was surprisingly the victory of the mundane over the innovative. There were a handful of off-meta decks in the top 16: a Jade Elemental Shaman, a Jade Shaman, and a Control Priest, and one UK Paladin too if you count that as off-meta (it had a fair bit more representation at Titanar). They were swept aside quickly, with the exception of Control Priest that made it all the way to the finals – an impressive feat for a Priest, although it only played a minor role in the playoffs.

This is perhaps understandable, as players had merely a single day to test after the patch before the decks had to be submitted – and that was with a time extension from Dreamhack when the patch dropped ten minutes before the original deadline. Innovative solutions to a new meta do not simply appear in a matter of hours.

I have chosen not to feature the Jade/Elemental Shaman decks: they did not yet perform at a level where they could be considered well-tuned. Even though the Priest did not exactly cause awe, it did reach the finals, so it earns a spot in the spotlight.

Here are the most successful decks of the new tournament meta, mere days after the patch:

HariSeldon’s Secret Mage

HariSeldon’s Secret Mage is consistent and aggressive. There are no Yogg shenanigans or anything of the like, just good, basic stuff.

The secret package is the standard one: two copies of Counterspell and two copies of Mirror Entity.

The deck wins games through tempo: an early Mana Wyrm can grow to be a sizeable threat, Sorcerer’s Apprentice enables discounted spells, and there are huge secret-based tempo swings available: Medivh’s Valet for damage, Kirin Tor Mage to develop a minion and a secret simultaneously, and Kabal Crystal Runner for some sweet cheap 5/5s.

Where this version differs from some others is how sustainable its minion-based pressure is: Pyros and Faceless Summoner are additions that are not always seen in Secret Mage, and they enable more pressure from the board than spell-heavy builds.

This also means that the deck has no real tricks outside the secrets. No Yogg, no Medivh. Babbling Book and Primordial Glyph can of course always swing games, but there are no big late-game threats here other than the 10/10 that Pyros can eventually become.

Deck code: AAECAf0EAsWuAsrBAg5xwwG7ApUDqwTmBJYF7AWBsgKjtgLXtgKHvQLBwQKYxAIA

HariSeldon’s Pirate Warrior

What Pirate Warrior lacks in elegance, it makes up in performance. This deck closed out the quarter-final series against Fluffy and swept Meliador in the semi-finals, and was one of the key pieces of HariSeldon’s journey to the title.

In some ways, the deck could even be called old-fashioned. Pirate Warriors have been moving towards Captain Greenskin and Bittertide Hydras, and double Spellbreaker is not a rare sight either nowadays. They are more often about pure minion and weapon pressure augmented with silence effects than anything else.

Sure, there is one copy of Spellbreaker in this deck as well, no one dares to leave home without one in Un’Goro. However, there is also one copy of Mortal Strike, once a feared spell, but nowadays a less fashionable addition as well as Leeroy Jenkins.

The most novel inclusion is Fire Fly. It is sometimes used in Pirate Warrior when you really, really want to get on board on turn one. If it’s fast, HariSeldon is probably interested in it. In the winner’s interview, he remarked that he expected people to try to counter control and decided to bring aggro instead to beat the anti-control decks.

Minions, weapons, and face. And some smart trades, but you need to know when. That’s Pirate Warrior.

Deck code: AAECAQcGrwTyBaQGkbwCub8C68ICDBywApED/wOOBagF1AXuBucH7weCsAKIsAIA

HariSeldon’s Murloc Paladin

Some people work on building aggro-midrange hybrids when it comes to Paladin. Some people are there just to play aggro and chew bubble gum. Granted, I did not see any bubble gum, but HariSeldon definitely played some aggro.

This is a relatively pure-bred Aggro Murloc Paladin. Double Grimscale Chum (also included in many hybrid lists nowadays), double Coldlight Seer, double Blessing of Kings, and even a Divine Favor.

The face-hitting power of Murlocs and the boost they get from Coldlight Seer and Blessing of Kings was clear in the finals, and this deck does not look for a long game. There is one Stampeding Kodo in it, but given all the Taunt minions with two or less attack, it too can just enable the other minions to hit some more face.

The deck follows classic Paladin deckbuilding and tops out at Tirion Fordring. If the game somehow goes to turn eight, an aggro player appreciates a big body that gives a 5/3 weapon upon death.

Deck code: AAECAZ8FBqcF+gbbCuO+ArnBAojHAgzFA9sD3APjBc8GrwenCNOqAtO8ArPBAp3CArHCAgA=

Xl3en’s Control Priest

Tired of all the face-hitting from the previous spotlights? Xl3en (pronounced “Ben”) comes to the rescue with the world’s greediest Control Priest deck.

This deck has all the value in the world: Elise the Trailblazer (yummy with those Shadow Visions), Lyra the Sunshard, Medivh the Guardian, Free from Amber, and Mind Control. It is as if Ben had taken a list of possible Priest win conditions and just decided to include them all. Except for the buff combo. Why buff stuff when you can play big stuff all the time.

The only problem the deck can run into is surviving until the late game. There are Crystalline Oracles for one-drops that also copy a random card from the opponent’s deck – and if it’s an aggro deck you should get something aggressive that you can use for board control – there are two copies of Potion of Madness, and there are two copies of both Shadow Words (Pain and Death). There are also some Dirty Rats that can grab win conditions away or defend against aggro when they are running out of minions.

The deck is a little light on area-of-effect damage: there are two copies of Dragonfire Potion, but that’s it. No Wild Pyromancers, no Auchenai Soulpriests, no Holy Novas. It is very much possible to get overrun when playing this deck.

Deck code: AAECAa0GBgiQB6G3As/HApnIAr7IAgzlBNMK1wryDJK0ArW7Auq/AtHBAtXBAtjBAtnBAt/EAgA=

Xl3en’s N’Zoth Control Paladin

Following the world’s greediest Control Priest comes a greedy Control Paladin – of the N’Zoth variety of course.

Control Paladin has the upside of having more of a chance against aggro even in its greedy forms: Doomsayer, Wild Pyromancer + Equality, and Consecration mean that this deck does not run out of board clears quite as easily as the Priest and can use them earlier as well.

Built to outlast the opponent and ultimately pressure them down with big value minions such as Cairne and Tirion (and additional copies of them from N’Zoth), it is a solid deck.

Deck code: AAECAZ8FDqQDzwb6BpAH2wr7DOCsAoquAtmuAuauArmyAry9ArnBAsnHAgiKAdwD9AX2B48Js8ECm8ICiMcCAA==

Xl3en’s Freeze Mage

Ben was the only player in the top-16 to bring a pure-bred Freeze Mage. No hybridization, no tech cards even (who needs an Eater of Secrets anyway), just 100% pure fun and interactive.

Running both Archmage Antonidas and Pyroblast, the deck has damage for days. Also equipped with the full Freeze Mage palette of stalls – two copies of both Frost Nova and Blizzard as well as two copies of Ice Barrier and Ice Block- most board-centric decks will find it very difficult to actually hit face and deal damage. One copy of Volcanic Potion a day also helps to keep aggro away.

Deck code: AAECAf0EBsUE7QXsB7gIvwjpugIMigHAAbsCyQOrBMsE7QSWBfsM17YCwcECmMQCAA==

Appendix 1: Decks by player

Benene

  • N’Zoth Control Paladin (Gluttonous Ooze, Rallying Blade, 2xTruesilver Champion, 1xPrimordial Drake)
  • Secret Mage (Pyros, Gluttonous Ooze, 2xCounterspell, 1xSpellbender, Burgly Bully, Archmage Antonidas, Yogg-Saron)
  • Jade Elemental Shaman (Gluttonous Ooze, 2xDevolve, Lightning Storm, 2xBlazecaller)
  • Aggro Druid (2xHungry Crab, Golakka Crawler, Crazed Alchemist, Swipe)

Crujecerdos

  • Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)
  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Hoej’s Vinecleaver and Deathwing list)
  • Taunt Warrior (2xDirty Rat, Harrison Jones)
  • Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, Questing Adventurer, 2xSI:7 Agent, Shaku, 1xRazorpetal Lasher, Mimic Pod)

DanieLegend:

  • Evolve Shaman
  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Hoej’s Vinecleaver and Deathwing list)
  • Pirate Warrior (Fire Fly, Spellbreaker)
  • Gunther Mage (2xDoomsayer+2xFrost Nova, Eater of Secrets)

Diggen:

  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (2xGrimscale Chum, 2xRallying Blade, Truesilver Champion, Deathwing list)
  • Aggro Druid (Hungry Crab, Golakka Crawler, Genzo the Shark, Swipe)
  • Gunther Mage (2xDoomsayer+2xFrost Nova, Ice Barrier, Elise the Trailblazer)
  • Evolve Shaman

Fluffy:

  • Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Sea Giant, Stonehill Defender, Barnes)
  • Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)
  • Taunt Warrior (2xDirty Rat, Shield Block, Harrison Jones)
  • Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, Questing Adventurer, Mimic Pod, Shaku, SI:7 Agent, 2xRazorpetal Lasher)

HariSeldon (shoutout to The Foundation!):

  • Pirate Warrior (Fire Fly, Mortal Strike, Spellbreaker)
  • Jade Druid (2xTar Creeper)
  • Secret Mage (Pyros, 2xCounterspell, 2xMirror Entity)
  • Murloc Paladin (2xColdlight Seer, Divine Favor, 2xBlessing of Kings, Stampeding Kodo, Spikeridged Steed, Tirion Fordring)

Kartoha:

  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Hoej’s Vinecleaver and Deathwing list)
  • Taunt Warrior (2xDirty Rat)
  • Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, Questing Adventurer, Shaku, 2xSI:7 Agent)
  • Evolve Shaman

Meliador:

  • Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Sea Giant)
  • Aggro Druid (2xHungry Crab, Golakka Crawler, Genzo the Shark)
  • Taunt Warrior
  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Equality, 2xAldor Peacekeeper, Stampeding Kodo, Deathwing)

Mitsuhide:

  • Taunt Warrior (2xDirty Rat, Harrison Jones)
  • Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)
  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Hoej’s Vinecleaver and Deathwing list)
  • Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Sea Giant, Stonehill Defender, Barnes)

Nothum:

  • Evolve Shaman
  • Hybrid Freeze Mage (2xMana Wyrm, 2xFirelands Portal, no Blizzard)
  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Equality, 2xAldor Peacekeeper, Stampeding Kodo, Ragnaros Lightlord)
  • Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Bloodmage Thalnos)

Osha:

  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Devilsaur Egg, 2xBlessing of Kings, Harrison Jones, Vinecleaver)
  • Jade Druid (Golakka Crawler, Gluttonous Ooze)
  • Pirate Warrior (Fire Fly, Mortal Strike, Spellbreaker, Bittertide Hydra)
  • Jade Shaman (Gluttonous Ooze, Spirit Echo, Hallazeal, 2xVolcano, Jade Chieftain)

Pnc:

  • Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, Questing Adventurer, Burgly Bully, 1xRazorpetal Lasher, 1xSI:7 Agent, 2xMimic Pod)
  • Aggro Druid (Hungry Crab, 2xGolakka Crawler, Druid of the Claw)
  • Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Sea Giant)
  • Gunther Mage (Pyros, Counterspell, Polymorph)

Torlk:

  • Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, Questing Adventurer, 2xSI:7 Agent, 2xMimic Pod)
  • Gunther Mage (Doomsayer, 2xVolcanic Potion, Counterspell, Polymorph, Harrison Jones, Archmage Antonidas)
  • Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Mana Tide Totem, 2xSea Giant)
  • Aggro Druid (2xHungry Crab,2xGolakka Crawler)

Turna:

  • Pirate Warrior (2xSpellbreaker, Bittertide Hydra)
  • UK Paladin
  • Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Barnes)
  • Jade Druid (Golakka Crawler)

Tyler:

  • Jade Druid (Hungry Crab, Doomsayer, Feral Rage, Yogg-Saron)
  • Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Barnes)
  • Midrange Murloc Paladin (Hoej’s list? Not released)
  • Mage (Not released)

Xl3en:

  • Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)
  • Freeze Mage (Archmage Antonidas)
  • N’Zoth Control Paladin (Harrison Jones)
  • Control Priest (2xPotion of Madness, 2xDirty Rat, Harrison Jones, Medivh, Free from Amber, Mind Control)

Appendix 2: Dreamhack Valencia 2017 top-8 matches

Raw data on matches, lineups, and bans. We only got to see two of the eight ro16 matches, so not enough information is available from them.

Quarter-final 1: Hariseldon vs Fluffy

Hariseldon: Pirate Warrior, Jade Druid, Secret Mage, Murloc Paladin

Fluffy: Evolve Shaman, Jade Druid, Taunt Warrior, Miracle Rogue

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Evolve Shaman Jade Druid Taunt Warrior Miracle Rogue
Pirate Warrior 0.38 0.52 0.5 0.61
Jade Druid 0.47 0.5 0.7 0.41
Secret Mage 0.45 0.58 0.58 0.57
Murloc Paladin 0.43 0.66 0.62 0.5

 

Bans: Hariseldon banned Evolve Shaman and Fluffy banned Murloc Paladin.

Evolve Shaman is just strong against all of HariSheldon’s decks, so that was a completely expected ban. As for Fluffy, Secret Mage and Murloc Paladin both have some really strong matchups against his other decks. I would have expected a Secret Mage ban, as that looks even stronger, but both are quite alike.

Games:

Secret Mage wins against Jade Druid

Secret Mage wins against Taunt Warrior

Secret Mage loses to Miracle Rogue

Pirate Warrior wins against Miracle Rogue

Hariseldon 3 – Fluffy 1.

Quarter-final 2: Meliador vs Turna

Meliador: Evolve Shaman, Aggro Druid, Taunt Warrior, Midrange Murloc Paladin

Turna: Pirate Warrior, UK Paladin, Evolve Shaman, Jade Druid

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Pirate Warrior UK Murloc Paladin Evolve Shaman Jade Druid
Evolve Shaman 0.62 0.57 0.5 0.53
Aggro Druid 0.61 0.6 0.45 0.62
Taunt Warrior 0.5 0.38 0.59 0.3
Midrange Paladin 0.38 0.38 0.46 0.63

 

Bans: Meliador banned Evolve Shaman and Turna banned Aggro Druid.

Turna’s ban was expected: Aggro Druid has favorable matchups against three of his decks, and the only favorable matchup he had was likely to be banned, as Evolve Shaman was the deck that best lined up against Meliador’s decks. Meliador noticed this too and banned Evolve Shaman.

Games:

Evolve Shaman wins against Pirate Warrior

Evolve Shaman wins against Jade Druid

Evolve Shaman wins against UK Paladin

Meliador 3 – Turna 0.

Quarter-final 3: Benene vs Xl3en

Benene: N’Zoth Control Paladin, Secret Mage, Jade Elemental Shaman, Aggro Druid

Xl3en: Jade Druid, Freeze Mage, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Control Priest

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Jade Druid Freeze Mage Control Paladin Control Priest
Control Paladin 0.33 0.51 0.5 0.57
Secret Mage 0.58 0.56 0.49 0.59
Elemental Shaman 0.42 0.33 0.6 0.5
Aggro Druid 0.62 0.31 0.34 0.44

 

Bans: Benene banned Control Paladin and Xi3en banned Secret Mage.

Xi3en’s ban was expected: Secret Mage is favored against three of his decks and even with the fourth one. Benene, on the other hand, banned Control Paladin, a deck that is only favored against one of his decks, and left up two decks that are favored against two of his decks. The most expected ban was Freeze Mage, which would still leave Aggro Druid with one favored matchup to counter-queue while removing a deck that is favored against multiple decks.

Games:

Jade Elemental Shaman loses to Control Priest

Aggro Druid wins against Control Priest

Aggro Druid loses to Freeze Mage

Control Paladin wins against Freeze Mage

Control Paladin loses to Jade Druid

Benene 2 – Xl3en 3.

Quarter-final 4: Nothum vs Kartoha

Nothum: Evolve Shaman, Hybrid Freeze Mage, Midrange Murloc Paladin, Jade Druid

Kartoha: Midrange Murloc Paladin, Taunt Warrior, Miracle Rogue, Evolve Shaman

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Midrange Paladin Taunt Warrior Miracle Rogue Evolve Shaman
Evolve Shaman 0.54 0.41 0.6 0.5
Freeze Mage 0.5 0.42 0.65 0.63
Midrange Paladin 0.5 0.68 0.5 0.46
Jade Druid 0.37 0.7 0.41 0.47

 

Bans: Nothum banned Evolve Shaman and Kartoha banned Hybrid Freeze Mage.

Kartoha’s ban was expected, as Freeze Mage is strong against most of his lineup. Given that ban, it makes sense for Nothum to respond with an Evolve Shaman ban, as he has no other favorable matchups against that deck.

Games:

Evolve Shaman wins against Miracle Rogue

Evolve Shaman wins against Taunt Warrior

Evolve Shaman loses to Midrange Paladin

Midrange Paladin loses to Midrange Paladin

Jade Druid wins against Midrange Paladin

Nothum 3 – Kartoha 2.

Semi-final 1: Hariseldon vs Meliador

Hariseldon: Pirate Warrior, Jade Druid, Secret Mage, Murloc Paladin

Meliador: Evolve Shaman, Aggro Druid, Taunt Warrior, Midrange Murloc Paladin

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Evolve Shaman Aggro Druid Taunt Warrior Midrange Paladin
Pirate Warrior 0.38 0.39 0.5 0.62
Jade Druid 0.47 0.38 0.7 0.37
Secret Mage 0.45 0.59 0.58 0.45
Murloc Paladin 0.43 0.4 0.62 0.62

 

Bans: Hariseldon banned Evolve Shaman and Meliador banned Secret Mage.

Hariseldon’s ban seems clear: Evolve Shaman is favored against everything he has. Meliador responding with a Secret Mage ban then gives his Aggro Druid the chance to sweep the series.

Games:

Pirate Warrior wins against Aggro Druid

Pirate Warrior wins against Taunt Warrior

Pirate Warrior wins against Midrange Paladin

Hariseldon 3 – Meliador 0.

Semi-final 2: Xl3en vs Nothum

Xl3en: Jade Druid, Freeze Mage, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Control Priest

Nothum: Evolve Shaman, Hybrid Freeze Mage, Midrange Murloc Paladin, Jade Druid

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Evolve Shaman Freeze Mage Midrange Paladin Jade Druid
Jade Druid 0.47 0.71 0.37 0.5
Freeze Mage 0.63 0.5 0.5 0.29
Control Paladin 0.53 0.51 0.39 0.33
Control Priest 0.44 0.68 0.33 0.43

 

Bans: Xl3en banned Jade Druid and Nothum banned Freeze Mage.

Xl3en’s ban could have been Midrange Paladin or Jade Druid, and he went with the Jade Druid. Nothum responded with a Freeze Mage ban, giving him the possibility to sweep with Midrange Paladin.

Games:

Control Paladin wins against Freeze Mage

Control Paladin wins against Midrange Paladin

Control Paladin wins against Evolve Shaman

Xl3en 3 – Nothum 0.

Grand final: Hariseldon vs Xl3en

Hariseldon: Pirate Warrior, Jade Druid, Secret Mage, Murloc Paladin

Xl3en: Jade Druid, Freeze Mage, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Control Priest

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks Jade Druid Freeze Mage Control Paladin Control Priest
Pirate Warrior 0.52 0.55 0.45 0.59
Jade Druid 0.5 0.71 0.67 0.57
Secret Mage 0.58 0.56 0.49 0.59
Murloc Paladin 0.66 0.41 0.49 0.66

 

Bans: Hariseldon banned Control Paladin and Xl3en banned Jade Druid.

Jade Druid can demolish greedy control decks, so Xl3en’s ban was to be expected. Likewise, Control Paladin can withstand aggro the best from Xl3en’s lineup, so another expected ban from HariSeldon as well.

Games:

Secret Mage wins against Control Priest

Secret Mage loses to Freeze Mage

Pirate Warrior loses to Freeze Mage

Murloc Paladin wins against Freeze Mage

Murloc Paladin wins against Jade Druid

Hariseldon 3 – Xl3en 2.