Wintertide Wrap-up - December 31

With 2 Siege Series of results, and with Wintertide Wonders, Campaign Promo Releases, and SRL list updates shaking up the meta, where do our 17 Warlords stand on the tier-list?

S-Tier

The top of the meta remains largely unchanged, with Onoskelis and Sharn holding down the top 2 spots. Both decks have been hurt by nerfs, but maintain their strength and placements. Sharn Aggro Boar lists specifically have been weakened by the printing of Shackle The Summoner, but the explosive speed of the deck keeps it locked in S-Tier. Consistency is the name of the game for these 2 decks, with cards like Advance Of The Fallen Armies and Reservoirs Of Revival Ooze allowing both decks to enact their gameplan with a brutal and intimidating level of consistency.

A-Tier

Sh'Lara has moved down from S-Tier with a lack of competitive placements, and the universal sideboard option of Shackle The Summoner. Despite this, Mystic Fire Midrange still packs a punch with incredibly strong value and removal tools. Mortis, Michael, and Castiel hold their placements with top 4 placements in recent Siege Series level events. Out of these three, Mortis remains the most popular, and potentially the most powerful with the recent powerhouse printing of Invitation To The Masquerade. Mortis Grimm lists range drastically in build, between more midrange oriented Grimm builds, and burn-centric builds looking to abuse cards like Spores Form The Suffering Cyprus. Despite these differences, there are a variety of sideboard cards available to hate out Mortis for any deck to consider. Adramelech moves up to A tier following a second place Siege Series finish. Similarly to Mortis, there are a variety of hate pieces available to combat the Black Magic strategies, but skilled pilots can navigate through these hate pieces, and find blisteringly fast kills.

B-Tier

Prometheus, Ethelhime, and Merrisod, have all moved down from A-tier due to a lack of Siege Series placements, but all three decks have shown strong capabilities at Battle For Glory and Campaign level play, and the right pilot could easily push any of these three warlords back to the top of the roster. Quartzheart was buffed from the Wintertide Wonders box, similarly to Mortis, with Beckon The Mistral Winds providing a fantastic but pricy value and control tool. Alero hasn't seen quite as much popularity as other warlords, but has still found top 8 Siege Series placement. Duxvox has proven a strong, if occasionally clunky, competitor which can heavily reward a skilled pilot, but can suffer against aggro and tempo strategies such as Castiel Lost Messiah Tempo.

C-Tier

One important note for the tier list is that a "D-Tier" has been created to allow for more space in between tiers, and especially to distinguish between decks previously in B-Tier. Marianas, Angelica, and Gaia are all solid options which have seen varying levels of competitive success, but frequently lack the tools needed to push them solidly above the average. Still, these three lists have strategies that can be difficult to combat, especially against unprepared players. Ma'lady Grimm Mausoleum combo lists have pushed Ma'lady into a higher position, but these lists are much more comparable to Mortis Grimm lists than more traditional Ma'lady lists. Still, this archetype provides an incredibly powerful tool to Grimm midrange builds which can threaten kills more consistently if uninterrupted.

D-Tier

True Ma'lady putrid builds are unfortunately still lacking some needed tools for the list to compete consistently, although determined and skilled pilots have managed to find success with the deck. Ultimately the best builds of Ma'lady will center around Grimm tools for the time being. Quartzheart Burnforge has had some performance, but the list lacks the consistency needed to place it higher for the time being, and the printing of Alburdunn's Mayoral Announcement is close to a death-knell for the archetype. Quartzheart Blastforge is a largely unknown entity competitively, but seems to lack the lethality or consistency needed to unseat the more powerful Blastforge/Frost builds of Quartzheart. As Frost and Blastforge receive more pieces in future sets, these archetypes will likely branch out and find solid performance, but for the time being the Blastforge package struggles to stand alone.

Consistency is Key

As previously mentioned, one notable aspect of the metagame is consistency; some of the best strategies are those that can execute their strategies as consistently as possible, through tutors and card draw/resource generation. These lists are of course not 100% consistent, nothing in a card game ever is, but strategies that can come together frequently have a notable advantage. Onoskelis and Sharn are different in speed, but similar in their ability to setup powerful board states frequently and consistently, whether these boards are looking for an early lethal, or grindy value. Mortis and Adramelech are also similar in their ability to churn through their deck (as well as their opponents), triggering mill and eradication effects to keep on going. 

Underused Powerhouses

Additionally, the tier list has a few lists with the potential to dominate tournaments and easily find their way to the top. Sh'Lara, Prometheus, Ethelhime, and Merrisod are all lists that are theoretically strong, or have had historically strong performance, but simply haven't shown up at tournaments. Whilst placing unseen lists is difficult, these four warlords all have strong strategies and deserve respect since when they do show up they'll be strong contenders for a top 8 placement. Any players looking to catch a tournament off guard may find success tapping into the power of these decks.

Sideboard Selections

Recent Campaign Promos have brought a Bounty of options. Whilst some of these are more interesting for the brewers, some options are maindeck powerhouses such as Gone But Never Forgotten and Final Resting Place, but a handful provide unique and crucial sideboard tools for players to use. Token decks had a last hurrah at the Nerdz Cafe Siege Series, but with Shackle The Summoner now being legal, Sharn, Sh'Lara, Merrisod, and any other token decks have a powerful tool to fight through. Whilst not every list may require it, Shackle The Summoner should certainly be in your list of considerations for sideboard options going into any tournament.

Alburdunn's Mayoral Announcement is additionally a powerful tool against the effect-damage decks in the metagame, such as Castiel, Adramelech, and potentially the more burn-centric Spores builds of Mortis. Announcement is especially powerful against decks with ample backline disruption and destruction, such as Castiel with Bow Of The Archangel and Rift triggers off of veil flip. 

Players should sideboard in preparation for both popular decks and archetypes such as Adramelech Black Magic and Mortis Grimm Midrange, aswell as for the known top competitors such as Onoskelis Fallen Control and Sharn Boars Aggro.

Comments from a Top player

Aj Christiaens 

Meta, a word to me with so much complexity.

When it comes to the meta in legions I find it hard to give such a simple answer. We have so many viable decks, that can very from pilot to pilot.

The tier list gives you a good starting point into the strength of each warlord. Although that is all it is, a starting point. The Meta depends on so many variables. the biggest I think is the particular tournament you're attending.

Whatever deck you want to use, learn their more unfavorable match ups. With the wide selection of decks being played, sometimes match making can be cruel.

Tierlist Overview