AP predicts what cards will be good in standard!~
Good news everyone! You are all excited about standard format and all the new decks that will suddenly become viable. Its hard to predict which currently unplayable cards will start to see some playtime without
powercreep around to shunt them. Which of those dust-collectors in the old shoebox deserve a second chance with GvG and Naxx shuffling out? I have consulted my magic 8-ball to answer just that question. You can bet that all of these predictions are guaranteed to be accurate or your money back.
A number of cards already see fringe playtime. It is safe to predict that most fringe cards will see more use with direct competitors being removed. Cards like Edwin Van Cleef which are not staples in most lists but are used in some combo or unique lists will see a rise in popularity proportional to the amount of currently playable direct competitors they have rotating out. The 4-drop slot in particular will be largely impacted with shredder leaving and there is already plenty of speculation on which cards will appear after shredder dies.
Blizzard also announced some cards will be nerfed when Standard is released. These nerfs are unclear and could further affect the playability of cards in Standard. I may factor some expected nerfs into my predictions, but its not my aim to outguess the balance team that
nerfed warsong commander. Lets get right into it.
Paladin is taking one of the most notable hits. Almost all of the cards in secret-paladin are being cycled out. The deck is only losing one 'core' card in Avenge and could hypothetically refit its curve while still keeping the late game Tirion/Challenger engine. The main problem with that is replacing Muster for Battle and Shieldbot which were standalone cards for high value and tempo. I'd wager that paladin won't be playing secrets for a while. Aggro paladin may see some resurgence to fill the void left by secret. Aggro paladin is not losing very many cards as a result of the rotation. The most notable would still be Muster and Shieldbot which will affect every single paladin list.
Mech synergy is dead and gone with GvG. Mechwarper, Shredder, Cogmaster, Spider Tank, Clockwork Gnome, and all the class specific mech cards are all leaving. Gorillabot will be unplayable as will any of the other slight mech synergy cards tacked on in post-GvG sets. Notably, mech mage is entirely gutted. Mage will still retain most of its freeze list with notable exception of Mad Scientist. I doubt that losing scientist will have a huge affect on freeze's viability. If anything, it will takeout a couple of its secrets and fit the deck with more heal or burst. Tempo mage loses Mad Scientist, Flamecannon, and Unstable Portal. None of these are enough to drastically change tempo which will continue to be a good deck in Standard. Kirin Tor Mage may replace Mad Scientist as a secret acceleration engine. Mage secrets can be played around but are almost always high-value cards. A 3 for 4/3 is solid stats and may be enough to be the new Scientist for tempo mage decks still running secrets.
Warlock has a short but distinguished list of cards cycling out. Mal Ganis, Dark Bomb, and Implosion are all critical to multiple warlock archetypes. Dreadsteed is dead right out the gates without these three cards. Zoo will likely still be playable but will see some growing pains as people figure out what to replace Naxx Egg, Naxx Spiders, and Implosion with. Hand and Reno warlock will be fairly unchanged structurally except with some slightly different seasonings. Speaking of Reno Jackson, I fear that the lack of all the Naxx and GvG staples will make padding decklists harder. Reno may very well fall off as good cards are more of a premium. Aggro may rise in response to a lack of Reno, Belchers, and Healbots. Zoo is sort of aggro and will benefit from this shift.
Anduin is losing Shrinkmeister, Velen's Chosen, Voljin, Light Bomb, and Dark Cultist class cards which are critical in most priest decks. These cards will affect most priest lists, allowing more diversity in the 3-drop slot as a result. The class is taking a large hit though. Since priest is often a deterrent to aggro decks there is even more reason to suspect that aggro decks and fringe aggro cards will flood the meta. Dragon priest keeps its dragon engine and will likely be the most common priest deck in standard after finding replacements. The most interesting and unanticipated change for priest is Deathlord. Entomb created a very slow priest deck which played no real win cons, expecting to steal them from opponents and win in fatigue. Deathlord is played in this list and is critical in slowing down aggro and tempo decks. It is possible that this type of deck will fall out of favor with Standard.
Shaman will not miss too many cards, Crackle and Zap-o-Matic being the primary exceptions. Face Shaman is the only serious shaman deck in this meta and it will be playable. The mech side of the deck will be replaced by different aggressive neutral cards. The removal of anti-aggro cards will outweigh the losses that face shaman incurs. Warrior is in a comparable position, losing Death's Bite and Shieldmaiden. Patron Warrior will die out without Deaths Bite but Control will remain strong. Shieldmaiden and Belcher are the notable losses for Control, but won't cripple it.
The two most enigmatic classes are Rogue and Druid. Rogue's primary loss is Sharpsword Oil. That is a notable loss, but only one card. Most Rogue lists will look similar to what they do now. Miracle variants will gain popularity without Loatheb around to hard counter them. Druid is losing no cards whatsoever. Speculation is high that a lot of Druid classic cards will be nerfed, particularly Force of Nature and Savage Roar. These 2 cards define all druid decks and limit design space. Its hard to say what will happen to rogue and druid with what we know.
Moving on, lets look to what cards will fill the void in light of the likely meta shifts and newly missing cards. I expect the return of Senjin Shieldmasta, like everyone else. More interestingly, Refreshment Vendor will rise to fill the vacancies left by Belcher, Healbot, and Shredder. The rise of aggro will also encourage Vendor, so expect to see it in many control and midrange lists alongside Senjin. Honorable mention goes out to Violet Teacher which will likely help fill the Shredder and anti-aggro gaps. Tempo mage and perhaps some new druid token decks will run it.
Inspire mechanics may finally have the breathing room they need to be viable. Currently, inspire decks are too dependent on early tempo to be reliable. Inspire can also work as combo but is generally too slow for aggro and loses value wars to control. I suspect that certain inspire cards will find playtime in entirely new decks. Coldara Drake, Mukla's Champion, and Boneguard Lieutenant are diamonds in the rough. Drake is a less sure bet since it will likely fit into a combo deck and is specific to mage. Boneguard and Muklas are both good cards overshadowed by more reliable drops of the same cost. Midrange decks will consider Mukla's as a game finisher and aggro decks will pick up boneguard to replace Creeper, Shieldbot, Scientist, and Egg.
The 3-drop slot is losing Shade of Naxx and Spider Tank in addition to some class cards. I suspect Shattered Sun Cleric may return to Zoo although the disappearance of Nerubian Egg lowers its value. Harvest Golem will be reborn from the ashes in the effort to counter aggro decks. At the very least, paladins will run it to replace Muster/Coghammer. Cry no more Uther.
I mentioned Haunted Creeper and Scientist rotating out. I can see Bloodsail Raider making a surprise appearance in some aggressive or tempo decks. It combos with Brann and provides solid stats for its cost. Without the go-to sticky deathrattle picks around this slot will see some of the highest amount of new material and Bloodsail may be a big part of that in Aggro Pally and Face Shaman. Aggro is a common theme here for good reasons. I am willing to bet that Mad Bomber and Acidic Swamp Ooze may see some playtime in response to an aggro-heavy format.
Loatheb, Belcher, and Healbot disappearing will make 5-cost cards more flexible. The 5-slot already has a lot of sturdy alternate picks in Azure Drake and BlackWing Corruptor. These are fairly specialized cards which means some unexpected cards may still show up here. The need for anti-aggro and the lack of Belcher may get Abomination into some decks. Its actually a classic card, not Naxx! Abom fills a very specific role though and would not fit in any old list as a 5-drop. There are plenty of potential contenders for such a role but my personal favorite bet is Spiteful Smith. Solid stats and a decent ability that benefits any weapon wielding class. Spiteful's day may very well come.
That is a lot of text! I'll provide a TL;DR to fully sort that and condense what I think will see a resurgence in Standard.
