Europe Kicks Off the HCT Fall Playoffs

With Season 2 of the Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) behind us, it’s time for the Fall Playoffs! Top players from across Europe have submitted their deck lists and will now spend the weekend locked in intense matches in hopes of securing a seat at the upcoming Fall Championship. So, what’s being brought to the biggest HCT event of the Boomsday meta so far? Odd Rogue Plenty of people are banking on the pressure-oriented Odd Rogue to take quick games. Odd Rogue continues to utilize many familiar tools, but the deck has evolved to include Giggling Inventors, Blood Knights, and the occasional Myra’s Unstable Element. Giggling Inventor provides multiple bodies for Odd Rogue to land Fungalmancers or Cold Bloods on, and the power that Blood Knight represents—not only in stealing enemy Divine Shields, but also turning your own into additional damage potential—is a definite meta call. Odd Rogue is the choice of players who like to end games early, like Marco “Turna” Castiglioni and Thomas “Sintolol” Zimmer. Token Druid While all but a handful of Europe’s competitors will field Druid in their lineup, the surprisingly popular choice to push damage with Wispering Woods, Soul of the Forest, and Savage Roar in Token Druid makes up nearly half of all the Druid decks in the Europe Playoffs. You’ll see Malygos, Togwaggle, Spiteful, Big, Mecha’thun, and Taunt Druid, too, but Token is certainly the one to watch. Interestingly, only two of Europe’s top 10 point earners from Season 2—George “BoarControl” Webb and Idan “Glaser” Glaser—brought the archetype, with all the others choosing other Malfurion flavors. Quest Rogue The Caverns Below has exploded back on to the scene in a big way. Giggling Inventor resuscitated this archetype, and Quest Rogue has in many ways reclaimed the anti-control throne from Shudderwock Shaman. Valeera the Hollow is now a standard inclusion, and these deck lists are very, very refined—variations are distinguished by only a single card, sometimes two. The first-ever Hearthstone Master, Casper “Hunterace” Notto, will be joined in piloting this highly technical deck by popular contemporaries like Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh. Cube Hunter Rexxar doesn’t hunt quite as alone any more. A wide range of people brought variants on this Deathrattle-oriented Hunter style, and they’ve got distinct game plans. The consistent core of Devilsaur Eggs, Carnivorous Cubes, and Kathrena Winterwisp will be filled in with a range of tech choices to gain edges in different matchups. HCT Summer champion Raphael “Bunnyhoppor” Peltzer and Hearthstone Global Games (HGG) Team Germany teammate Torben “Viper” Wahl are both counting on the snowball potential of this beastly archetype. Odd Warrior If shutting down aggression and tempo appeals to you, you’ll want to join Thijs “Thijs” Molendijk and James “Greensheep” Luo in slamming the Tank Up Hero Power with Odd Warrior. Vulnerable almost exclusively to the killer combo decks like Shudderwock Shaman or Quest Rogue, Odd Warrior has all the tools to reclaim the board from their opponent while continually building up huge amounts of Armor. The addition of Dr. Boom, Mad Genius gives this playstyle even more ability to take control as the game progresses. This is only a small sampling of the huge range of classes and archetypes that will be in play this weekend at the Europe Playoffs! Tune in to the official Hearthstone Twitch channel starting at 1:00 a.m. PDT on Sept. 1 and 2 to catch all the action. Which deck are you most excited to see played? Who are you cheering for to reach the HCT Fall Championship? Let us know in the comments!