Just Another Meta Monday
Welcome back to Meta Monday! Last week, the meta game took a drastically unexpected turn. I’m sure many people were either overjoyed or frustrated about what is perceived as the best current deck in the format.
Pillar One: Hela
Guess who's back? Everyone's favorite deck! I know many Hela enthusiasts are thrilled that this deck is not only extremely viable again but also quite powerful. However, there are just as many people who feel the exact opposite. Either way, Hela is back and performing well. With the change to Skaar, Hela has gained an additional card that she can resurrect. Previously, she was limited to bringing back only one other 7-cost card (that you can never actually use), but now Skaar can fill that slot and provide a significant power boost as well. The play patterns are similar to earlier versions of Hela, but some slight differences have emerged in how the decks are constructed.
Hela
Hela 2
Unfortunately, as Hela remains a top-tier deck in the meta game, only a couple of other options have emerged as viable counters.
Pillar Two: Clog and Negative
These two decks serve as the main counters to a meta game dominated by Hela. Although Clog and Negative have been decent in previous meta games, Clog is now more viable as it's an effective counter to Hela, while Negative can easily outpace Hela. Consequently, both decks have become more prevalent, especially at higher levels of play.
Negative
Clog
Pillar Three: Ongoing
Now that we've addressed the challenging aspects of the meta game, let's look at some other decks that are performing well. Ongoing strategies are not new, but they have been achieving consistent results recently. Consistency is key—while Hela, Negative, and Clog rely on specific card combinations in a certain order, ongoing decks can generate significant power regardless of the order in which cards are drawn.
Ongoing 1
Ongoing 2
Pillar Four: Ajax
Before the OTA changes, the Ajax deck was immensely popular. With the release of Diamondback and Laufey, it remains fairly popular, but it isn't achieving the same success it once did. The widespread use of Luke Cage in many decks is making Ajax less effective at winning and gaining cubes.
Ajax
Ajax HE
JFSnap’s Deck of the Week
Usually, I stick with Clog for the entire season, and since that deck is becoming more popular, it’s likely the one I'll play this week. However, I believe ongoing strategies are among the best options available right now, even if they may appear weak on paper. They have the lowest cost to build currently, excluding a few season pass cards, which can easily be substituted with similar ongoing cards of the same cost.
Ongoing
Meta Health
This is a straightforward meta report, as the meta inevitably changes with each new season. I expect some changes tomorrow. However, if Hela remains dominant, the meta will likely condense to focus on Hela and her counter strategies, which typically isn’t healthy for the game. While I’m fine with the current state of the meta, if Hela continues to remain strong or gets even stronger, it could pose a problem for the game. I appreciate Hela's presence in the format, but we may need new cards that can effectively counter her; otherwise, she might dominate the meta uncontested.