The results are in for this week.  There were 6 Regionals held across the country this weekend, and once again we were fortunate enough to get the results from all 6 events.  It was an interesting week.  Some of the popular decks seem to be losing some steam, to seemingly forgotten heroes post solid weeks, and we now have a clear deck to beat.  Enough talk, let's look at the numbers.

First is total top 8's.

Omedus-19
Ozzati-14
Mazar-12
Gorebelly-12
Telrander-10
Rotun-9
Nathadan-9
Taheo-8
Pagatha-8
Ona-6
Bloody Mary-5
Zenith-5
Ta'Zo-5
Halavar-4
Graccus-4
Phadalus-4
Blaize-4
Grennan-4

These heroes are all tied at 3

Litori
Warrax
Morganis
Morova
Daspien
Mojo Mender Janah
Victoria Jaton

2

Kassandra
Kalinna
Kana Nassis
Raesa Morningstar

1

Ruby
Exaura
Indalamar
Hekto
Dizdemona
Aleyah
Yanna
Thatia
Dralor
Harrigan
Urrth
Elendril
Bulkas
Fillet
Velora
Moonshadow

The first thing to notice is that Omedus has taken a somewhat commanding lead in the race for the top deck.  As more people realize the power of Shadow Weaving as a finisher for this deck, it continues to gain in popularity.  Of course, a little TCG knowledge tells us that getting a big lead isn't always good for a deck's success as it is easier now to take a deck that beats Omedus first and has game against everything else second.  For those of you trying to stay one step ahead, know what decks people are likely to bring to combat the Shadow Priests, then bring a deck that's good against Omedus but also against the decks that will show up as a foil to Omedus. 

Now let's take a look at the weekly results for a clearer picture of what happened this week.  This is only the decks that posted at least three top 8's this week.

Omedus-9
Nathadan-5
Gorebelly-4
Ozzati-3
Mazar-3
Grennan-3

As you can see, Omedus ran away with it this week, but if you look at the deck right after Omedus you can see the first part of the metagame shifting against him.  Nathadan generally has a very good matchup vs. Omedus.  Early protectors keep the damage to a minimum, and Doshura Risestrider poses an even bigger threat to Omedus.  Going into the late game, the Omedus decks are particularly vulnerable to Blessing of Freedom since many have dropped Faesha in favor of cards like Kiani Denara.  The difference is that since Faesha can go one at a time, Blessing of Freedom isn't quite the blowout it is in response to Kiani since you'll be out four resources in that case while not getting any damage through with Morlug. 

The next three decks aren't super surprises as they have posted solid numbers all season, but there at the bottom we have one of the game's forgotten greats, Grennan Stormspeaker.  So far, when you look at the heroes that have been Tier 1 at one point and fallen out of favor, none of them have returned to success.  Grennan, Elendril, and Dizdemona have seen little play since Dark Portal came out.  Phadalus took over the summer, but hasn't seen much success since U.S. Nationals hated him out.  Rotun is now feeling the pinch with March of the Legion bringing in the back-breaking Bringer of Death + making Omedus more deadly.  Grennan is trying to be the first hero to return to glory.  We'll keep an eye on him and see what happens.

Almost as surprising as who is here is who isn't.  Last week, Gift of the Wild based Taheo decks stormed through their respective Regionals.  This week, the Druid slowed significantly.  Taheo still managed to pick up two top 8's, but I think a lot of people realized that Omedus and Gorebelly are just better options for Horde rush.  It looks like it may have had its day in the sun.

So here are some things to consider heading into events this weekend.  Omedus is clearly atop the decks to beat.  Ozzati, Gorebelly, and Mazar are still holding on as the solid second group.  Nathadan has had at least a one week resurgence as one of the top control decks.  Telrander and Rotun are still there as well.

Ok, let's move on to the class breakdown.

Mage-32
Warrior-31
Warlock-28
Priest-27
Druid-23
Paladin-16
Rogue-13
Hunter-12
Shaman-10

Mage hangs on to the top spot this week, based on the amount of ways you can play the class right now.  Ozzati is still carrying the Mage banner, but only has 14 of the class's 32 top 8's. The fact that Omedus is the top deck by a now considerable margin but Priest only ranks 4th in class shows the importance of versatility among the class.  It also shows that while Omedus is the DECK to beat, there are still plenty of other things out there to be concerned with.

Hunter and Shaman are still bringing up the rear, but they are closing the gap on Rogues for last place. 

Let's look at how the classes did this week, which will help paint a clearer picture of what to expect.

Priest-12
Warrior-9
Warlock-8
Mage-7
Paladin-6
Druid-5
Shaman-5
Rogue-2
Hunter-2

The Priests win the week thanks to the dominance of Omedus.  Warriors and Warlocks also outperformed the current top class Mage who checked in at fourth this week with Nathadan and the Paladins right on their heels.  So if you look at the weekly numbers combined with the overall numbers, Omedus is public enemy No. 1.

Here are my choices for the top 5 decks to be prepared for this week.

1. Omedus
2. Nathadan
3. Mazar (although this could be just Warlock control in general)
4. Ozzati
5. Warrior control-This is one of those one step ahead predictions.  Warrior control has a lot of potential vs. not only Omedus but the Warlocks and Ozzati as well.  Withering Shout completely shuts down Morlug (along with a lot of the other allies in the deck) and Wreck gives it a solid answer to the biggest threat posed by the Warlock decks, namely Bringer of Death.  If you still play Wraith Scythe, the healing factor can win a lot of games vs. aggressive decks as well. 

Tags: World Of Warcraft