Season 2 began without much deviation from what we have seen in the meta so far this expansion in the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament, although the newest Conquest format with a shield and ban phase have given us insight into what is to come. Eight more weeks are to follow with a playoff to conclude, with the winning players from each of the three regions earning a spot at the Global Finals to attempt to capture the title of World Champion.

As announced last week, there are a round of balance updates coming today to five cards that target the Warrior, Mage, and Priest classes. with the conclusion of the Season opener. Due to this, every single of the 48 Grandmaster competitors brought a Warrior deck, a Mage deck, or both due to the power of Dr. Boom, Mad Genius, and Luna’s Pocket Galaxy. As both cards are being nerfed, we can finally expect to see some variance in future competitive events.

Via: youtube.com (Thijs Hearthstone)

However, moving past the old Specialist format that only allowed for a single class to be brought with its two variations has certainly allowed for some competitors to bring more creative decks with the start of season two. In the match below between Vladislav "SilverName" Sinotov from Russia and Torben "Viper" Wahl from Germany, we can finally see some variation in decks.

While both players brought a Mage deck, the new Conquest format also allowed for the inclusion of the Hunter, Priest, Rogue, and Shaman classes. This is important because following the nerfs to both Control Warrior and Mage, Tempo/Aggro Rogue, Highlander Hunter, Combo Priest, and others will have a far more relevant position within the meta.

Via: youtube.com (Hearthstone esports)

The above deck list brought by SilverName for example will not have more time to pressure and close out a match against both Warrior and Mage decks, and we may be shifting towards a faster, more midrange style of play now that those two decks cannot perform as well until the late game.

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Casper "Hunterace" Notto from Norway, who is considered one of the best players in the world right now, spoke about the changes coming into Season 2 with regards to format. Most players consider Specialist to have become stale with too similar lineups, and Hunterace was among them.

As one can see during the interview, neither caster nor player can keep a straight face as they skip over the use of Luna’s Pocket Galaxy, because it is simply too powerful right now in its pre nerf stage. However, another card is becoming a consistent point of discussion, and that is Zephyrs the Great because of the creative potential that be gained from using it properly.

Finally, the top performers at the start of this new Grandmaser season were:

  • For the Americas: Muzahidul "Muzzy" Islam, Eddie "Eddie" Lui, David "Justsaiyan" Shan, and Frank "Fr0zen" Zhang
  • For Europe: Hunterace, Silvername, Linh "Seiko" Nguyen, and Pavel "Pavel" Beltukov
  • For Asia-Pacific: Tsao “SamuelTsao” Tsu Lin, Che0nsu, Chen "tom60229" Wei Lin, and Kenta "glory" Sato

While these players performed well at the start of the season, the balance update will make this anyone's game in the future.

For now, we can say that the Conquest format is a breath off fresh air, and combined with the nerfs that will be live in next weeks competition, we are bound to start seeing more consistent shifts in the meta towards something new, and likely more aggressive.

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