Dreamhack Atlanta 2017 Hearthstone Grand Prix was played from 21st to 23rd July in Atlanta, USA. 169 players participated in this major tournament with a $25,000 prize pool.

In this post, I take a look at the decks and results of the top 16, including class distribution, archetypes, and archetype performance.

Results

The event was played in a best-of-five Last Hero Standing format with one ban. It started with a nine-round Swiss bracket followed by a top-16 cut into single-elimination playoffs.

The Swiss bracket was played with closed decks, and the decks were then published for the top 16 playoffs.

The Swiss bracket had a relatively clean cut: everyone with 7-2 or better record was in the top-16, and they were joined by one player with a 6-3 record out of 21 players who finished with that scoreline.

Top Swiss scores:

1^st	Chrisleblanc	8-1
2^nd	Sintherius	8-1
3^rd	SirSlim	8-1
4^th	Amnesiac	8-1
5^th	Richwebz	7-2
6^th	Mordekaiser	7-2
7^th	Caravaggio	7-2
8^th	Justsaiyan	7-2
9^th	Pilou	7-2
10^th	Icer	7-2
11^th	DrJikininki	7-2
12^th	Impact	7-2
13^th	Noblord	7-2
14^th	Hotgirlz	7-2
15^th	Naiman	7-2
16^th	Chakki	6-3

These were the top-16 players who advanced to the single-elimination playoffs. As always, the Swiss bracket was stacked. Just take a look at all these players who went 6-3 and narrowly missed the playoff spots despite overall strong performance:

Lance
Astrogation
Zalae
Eranowenn
Fr0zen
Ginge
Hound
Gallon
Muzzy
RadamD
Yoitsflo
Bloodyface
Ropecoach
Echo
Nefiu
Leadpaint
ThatGuy
Killinallday
McBee
Teebs

The top-16 players were seeded into the playoff bracket based on their Swiss results, and the ruthless single-elimination stage began.

Round of 16 had its fair share of sweeps, something that is typical of Last Hero Standing format: half of the round of 16 matches ended with a 3-0 scoreline (overall in the tournament, 161 of the 500 matches ended 3-0).

However, quarter-finals and the rest of the finals from there were all close, each one ending 3-2. The VOD of top-8 is available here.

In the end, it was Americas 2017 Winter Champion DrJikininki who prevailed and added a second major title to his resume by taking out Noblord in the Grand Final after a close 3-2 series.

Prizes:

1^st place (DrJikininki)	$7,500 and 15 HCT points
2^nd place (Noblord)	$3,500 and 12 HCT points
3^rd and 4^th place (Justsaiyan and Naiman)	$2,050 and 8 HCT points
5^th to 8^th place (Chakki, Richwebz, Icer, and SirSlim)	$1,125 and 4 HCT points
9^th to 16^th place (Chrisleblanc, Pilou, Amnesiac, Impact, Sintherius, Caravaggio, Hotgirlz, and Mordekaiser)	$675 and 2 HCT points

Swiss statistics

The tournament was organized on smash.gg platform, and for the first time for such a large Swiss bracket, we have some statistics available.

Classes in the entire tournament from the most popular to the least popular:

Druid: 143
Shaman: 140
Paladin: 122
Warrior: 114
Mage: 111
Priest: 33
Rogue: 31
Hunter: 10
Warlock: 4

Looking at the entire tournament, some people were even willing to put their faith in Warlock, a class that has not been seen in serious competitive play for months. Warlock achieved a 29% win rate (2-5) in the entire tournament, so I guess you can argue that it still did not see serious competitive play.

We have class-based statistics on win rates from the Swiss stage as well:

Shaman: 54% (297-252)
Mage: 50% (221-222)
Paladin: 50% (257-260)
Priest: 49% (85-87)
Warrior: 49% (264-272)
Druid: 49% (254-261)
Rogue: 45% (72-88)
Hunter: 42% (14-19)
Warlock: 29% (2-5)

On class-level over the entire field, Shaman was the only class to win more games than it lost. It was followed by a close group of Mage, Paladin, Priest, Warrior, and Druid. Three classes were clearly weaker: Rogue, Hunter, and Warlock could not find success overall.

However, players use specific decks, not just classes, so it is important to not read too much into these results, as results by archetype are much more significant.

Class distribution in the top 16

The top-16 decklists were published on Dreamhack website.

Classes in top-16 from the most popular to the least popular:

Shaman: 15
Druid: 14
Paladin: 11
Warrior: 10
Mage: 9
Priest: 3
Rogue: 2
Hunter: 0
Warlock: Zero. Zippo. Nada. Zilch.

Shaman and Druid were extremely popular coming into the tournament and did not give up their top spots coming into the playoffs either. Compared to Dreamhack Valencia a week earlier, the popularity of Rogue kept declining as did its share of the top-16 spots, and Paladin lost just a touch of its popularity as well. The winners were Shaman, which was almost omnipresent, and Priest, which was able to overtake Rogue.

Archetype distribution by class and performance

Examining the decks on archetype level shows four interesting shifts that have taken place in the week since Quest Rogue nerf:

First, Pirate Warrior has completely replaced Taunt Warrior. Ten Warriors in the top-16, all of them Pirates. Pirate Warrior has undergone some changes that make it even better against control decks, and it enjoys strong matchups against decks that attempt to return to the game using the space left behind by Quest Rogue’s departure while retaining strong matchups against many other aggressive decks. Pirate Warrior has solidified its position as one of the strongest decks in the game, while Taunt Warrior suffers from the popularity of Jade Druid and Midrange Paladin.

Second, Gunther Mage has dramatically fallen in popularity in favor of Freeze Mage. Some if this change can be attributed to hybridization: Medivh, in particular, has become much more common in Freeze Mage, but the decks are not cutting any Freeze effects to fit in these new additions. Freeze Mage was the most popular Mage archetype in the playoffs at five representatives, followed by Secret Mage at three, and one lonely Gunther Mage that also made it to the top-16. Performance-wise, Secret Mage was by far the strongest type of Mage – and deck overall – in the playoffs with its stunning 9-2 record, while Freeze Mage was only able to squeeze out a 5-6 result. Both have their good matchups, but as Secret Mage has kept up great performance for a while now, it should increase in popularity still.

Third, Priest has returned to the competitive scene, and it did so with Dragons – all three Priests in the top-16 were Dragon Priests. What’s more interesting is that these Dragon Priests were of the more midrange style and not control style, each running seven or eight Dragons in the deck. Each of them had also been teched to beat Pirate Warrior, a good meta read.

Fourth, the search for Jade Elemental Shaman continues. Most Shaman decks in the top-16 were Evolve Shamans, but that archetype has largely been figured out by now. It is still strong, but it can be targeted, and its 2-9 record in the playoffs was the worst performance of any archetype there even while it was the most common archetype. However, Noblord’s Jade Elemental Token Shaman, still a double Bloodlust aggressive deck, but without any Doppelgangster+Evolve shenanigans, racked up an impressive 4-1 score and looked really strong and consistent. I was asked about the effect of Jade Spirit becoming an Elemental immediately after the surprise patch, and back then I wrote: “My initial prediction: After the dust settles, the best build will include Jade Spirit, but will not include Evolve.” I look forward to seeing how Noblord’s list affects the meta.

One more observation. Druid is a pretty good class. There were three archetypes of Druid in the top-16: Jade Druid (eight of them, 9-7), Aggro Druid (five of them, 3-1), and Big Druid (one of them, 2-1), and each of them was able to win more games than it lost. Each archetype also made it to top-8, and Druid was the only class in the lineup of every player in the top-8.

Archetype distribution and performance excluding mirror matches:

Paladin

1 Control Paladin (4-2) – 1 in top-8
2 Murloc Paladins (0-1)
3 UK Paladin (1-2)
5 Midrange Paladins (7-8) – 4 in top-8

Warrior

10 Pirate Warriors (9-12) – 5 in top-8

Druid

5 Aggro Druids (3-1) – 2 in top-8
8 Jade Druids (9-7) – 5 in top-8
1 Big Druid (2-1) – 1 in top-8

Mage

1 Gunther Mages (0-1)
2 Secret Mages (9-2) – 2 in top-8
1 Giants Secret Mage (0-1) – 1 in top-8
5 Freeze Mages (5-6) – 2 in top-8

Rogue

2 Miracle Rogues (2-2)

Shaman

12 Evolve Shamans (2-9) – 6 in top-8
1 Jade Elemental Token Shaman (4-1) – 1 in top-8
1 Jade Elemental Shaman (0-1)
1 Jade Evolve Shaman

Priest

3 Dragon Priest (4-4) – 2 in top-8

Deck spotlights

Unlike Dreamhack Valencia, that took place immediately after the patch, enough time had now passed for players to test things out and make real predictions on the upcoming meta. What we saw at Dreamhack Atlanta was a meta in process of adapting to the latest patch, where some decks had been determined to be stronger than before, others had been abandoned, and work on some archetypes was still ongoing – a much more interesting environment than we had a week ago!

Naiman’s Secret Mage

Secret Mage was the most successful archetype in the playoffs. The archetype had already showed a lot of promise in recent tournaments, but this time its performance was just through the roof. Naiman’s list was the most successful one, so it is worth examining in more detail.

The Secret package is slightly tuned to target Paladin: two copies of Counterspell, one Mirror Entity, and one Spellbender were Naiman’s choice for this tournament. The Secret package is something you tweak to fit whatever meta you are facing, and Spellbender is most effective against Paladin.

The deck does not include a lot of tech cards otherwise. Just solid, core Secret Mage cards with one significant alteration: there is Archmage Antonidas together with two copies of Burgly Bully in the deck. This combination gives the deck a good amount of reach to take on control decks. One Babbling Book had been cut to make room for the package.

Deck code: AAECAf0EBMMB7gK4CIGyAg1xuwKVA6sE5gSWBewFo7YC17YCh70C+r8CwcECmMQCAA==

See it in action:

Secret Mage vs Evolve Shaman: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=05h12m39s

Secret Mage vs Pirate Warrior: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=05h22m26s

Secret Mage (Chakki’s similar list) vs Dragon Priest: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=02h13m52s

Noblord’s N’Zoth Control Paladin

Have you ever dreamed of a deck that can beat a number of aggro decks as well as Mage? Noblord’s N’Zoth Control Paladin could be the deck you’re looking for.

If it has healing, Noblord wants it. The deck has been completely proofed against any sort of burn with two copies of Forbidden Healing, two copies of Ivory Knight, and Ragnaros Lightlord.

The ultimate win condition – should the opponent choose to not concede when it becomes obvious that there is no way for them to win – is N’Zoth the Corruptor, who will bring back two minions, Tirion and Cairne. Any additional Deathrattle minions need to be the result of secrets from Hydrologists or Discovered minions from Stonehill Defenders.

With so much healing and N’Zoth package in the deck, something has had to be cut. There are no Acolytes of Pain or Stampeding Kodos in the deck, and there is only one Primordial Drake. There is a Harrison Jones to provide weapon removal and a bit of card draw to compensate for the lack of draw otherwise.

Deck code: AAECAZ8FCKQD+gaQB+CsAuauArmyArnBAsnHAguKAdwD9AX2B48Jiq4C2a4Cj7QCs8ECm8ICiMcCAA==

See it in action:

Control Paladin vs Pirate Warrior: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=01h50m54s

Control Paladin vs Freeze Mage: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=07h05m19s

Justsaiyan’s Dragon Priest

Dragon Priest was one of the rising stars in the tournament. Despite Priest being a rare class overall, three variants of Dragon Priest were piloted to the top-16 by Amnesiac, Chakki, and Justsaiyan.

What is particularly interesting is that all three were at the more midrange end of the spectrum. Many Dragon Priest decks nowadays are hybrid Control builds that cut some Dragons and only take the synergy value later in the game. These decks did not want to wait: Amnesiac’s list included seven Dragons, and Chakki and Justsaiyan brought eight Dragons each.

Eight Dragons is the safe line for reliable synergy activation in the early game as established during the previous Standard rotation when Dragon Priest was a curve deck, and it can just barely be fulfilled with the current card pool: players brought two copies of Twilight Drake, Drakonid Operative, Book Wyrm, and Primordial Drake to reach that number (Amnesiac cut one Book Wyrm).

If building the deck more against Control, one of the slots can also be filled by Ysera, but these lists were focused on beating aggro, especially Pirate Warrior. That said, Dragon Priest has some inherent power against control decks anyway thanks to Netherspite Historian, Drakonid Operative, and Elise the Trailblazer – none of the players cut any of those core cards.

Justsaiyan’s list was the least targeted one, and only included a couple of tech cards against aggro: Golakka Crawler, Gluttonous Ooze, and Greater Healing Potion. Amnesiac and Chakki had chosen to tech more extensively against aggro with two copies of Golakka Crawler and Amnesiac with two copies of Gluttonous Ooze whereas Chakki included one copy of Shadow Word: Horror.

In order to fit in all the tech cards, Amnesiac and Chakki had chosen to cut Curious Glimmerroots, whereas Justsaiyan was able to include them. None of the decks included Radiant Elemental or Lyra the Sunshard.

Justsaiyan had chosen to cut Priests of the Feast and replace them with a single copy of Greater Healing Potion. The Potion gives you more burst healing to stabilize against aggro, but less sustained healing to deal with slow Mage decks, so if you take the deck to the ladder and face a lot of Mages that can be an issue, unless you can find more copies of your potion with Shadow Visions.

Deck code: AAECAZ/HAgS3uwLkwgLTxQLPxwIN5QSNCNMK1wryDKqyAoK1ArW7Arq7Auq/AtHBAtnBAsnHAgA=

See it in action:

Dragon Priest vs Jade Elemental Shaman: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161236946?t=01h21m33s

Dragon Priest vs Secret Mage: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=02h13m52s

Noblord’s Jade Elemental Token Shaman

In addition to the army of Evolve Shamans, there were a few attempts to bring in new Shaman builds focused on Jades and Elementals to the meta. Noblord’s token-based build with two copies of Bloodlust but no Evolves or Doppelgangsters was the most successful one, going 4-1 in the playoffs.

The deck is in some ways reminiscent of the double Bloodlust Jade Elemental Token builds that Kranich and Zorkthar created and piloted successfully in early June: giving up the Evolve combo for some powerful minions and one Elemental synergy card, Kalimos.

However, Noblord’s build is clearly a new creation for a new meta: the newly Elemental-tagged Jade Spirit plays a central role and allows the deck to create up to 8/8 Jade Golems, something that was not possible earlier. Nonetheless, it is an aggressive deck that does not try to milk all the possible Jade value – there are no Spirit Echoes.

Another sign that the build is a new one is the inclusion of Sea Giant. Evolve Shamans started to include Sea Giants to improve the mirror matchup in early July, and Noblord’s creation includes two of them. This gives the deck a lot of late-game power: there are two 8/8 Sea Giants, up to 8/8 Jade Golems, and a 7/7 Kalimos in the deck.

When compared to the standard Evolve Shaman build, the deck feels a lot different with just five cards changed: one copy of Devolve has been cut as well as the Doppelgangster+Evolve package, and the additions are two copies of Jade Spirit, two copies of Sea Giant, and Kalimos.

Evolve can be a powerful card, but it can also be an inconsistent one. Should a more consistent approach deliver similar levels of power, Evolve is by no means an automatic inclusion. With Noblord’s Jade Elemental Token Shaman delivering such great results, we may be witnessing the start of a shift away from Evolve.

Deck code: AAECAaoIBJG8ApS9Ava9AvPCAg3TAYEE5QfwB5MJ+6oCoLYCh7wCz7wC0bwCkcECm8IC68ICAA==

See it in action:

Jade Elemental Token Shaman vs Jade Druid: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=07h53m59s

Jade Elemental Token Shaman vs Dragon Priest: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=08h01m54s

Jade Elemental Token Shaman vs Pirate Warrior: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=10h09m35s

Jade Elemental Token Shaman vs Freeze Mage: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=10h17m48s

Pirate Warrior

Every Warrior deck in the top-16 was a Pirate Warrior. Let that sink in for a moment. Not a single Taunt Warrior made it to the top-16.

Pirate Warrior is evolving with the new meta, and there are plenty of variants around. In general, the shift has been towards silence effects and big minions over burst damage from Mortal Strike and Leeroy Jenkins. The decks want to deal consistent minion damage to beat healing from slower decks, such as Jade Druid, instead of attempting to get the opponent within reach of an individual spell. How popular were the various variants in the top-16? Let’s take a look.

There were ten Pirate Warriors in the top-16. How many of them featured various non-core cards?

Spellbreaker: One copy in 7 decks, two copies in 2 decks – included in 9/10 decks
Naga Corsair: One copy in 5 decks, two copies in 2 decks – included in 7/10 decks
Bittertide Hydra: One copy in 4 decks, two copies in 3 decks – included in 7/10 decks
Captain Greenskin: Included in 7/10 decks
Leeroy Jenkins: Included in 7/10 decks
Mortal Strike: One copy in 4 decks, two copies in 1 deck – included in 5/10 decks

Spellbreaker is used almost universally, and the other choices are all over the place with Mortal Strike trailing behind everything else in popularity.

If you just can’t decide which ones are the right cards for your deck, you can always use DrJikininki’s build: it includes everything but Naga Corsair, in single copies of course as two copies of everything would never fit. It was also one of the most successful Pirate Warrior decks in the tournament.

Deck code: AAECAQcGyAOvBPIFpAaRvAKvwgIMHLACkQP/A44FqAXUBe4G5wfvB4KwAoiwAgA=

See it in action:

Pirate Warrior vs Midrange Paladin: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=06h24m05s

Pirate Warrior vs Evolve Shaman: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=06h32m37s

Pirate Warrior vs Control Paladin: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161356589?t=09h59m23s

Richwebz’s (Ostkaka’s) Big Druid

Richwebz piloted Big Druid all the way to the top-8. The list itself is not a new one, it is the exact same list Ostkaka brought to SeatStory Cup VII in late June.

However, the meta has changed, and for the better for Big Druid: there is no Quest Rogue anymore, and Jade Druid has increased in popularity. Big Druid is a rare control deck in that it actually has a favored matchup against Jade Druid: infinite value cannot compete with the amount of tempo Big Druid can push out in the mid-to-late game.

In general, the matchups of Big Druid closely mirror those of Jade Druid. Most of the time, it is a little better at defending against aggro, although it is still unfavored in those games. It is also worse against some control decks, as it does not have infinite threats: removal-heavy control decks can actually fatigue a Big Druid – but those decks lose terribly to Jade Druid, so their viability in the current meta can be a little questionable.

With Big Druid able to take out Jade Druid, it reaps double benefits from the prevalence of Jade Druid: Jades discourage playing some of its worst opponents while being susceptible to Big Druid themselves. Should Big Druid replace Jade Druid, the meta would shift in response, making Jade Druid more attractive again. Interesting times.

Deck code: AAECAZICDlaiAqQDwgaLCKIJqKsCvq4Cn7ACubIChbgCiMECrsICysMCCEBf/gHEBuQIorYC+cACyccCAA==

Appendix 1: Decks by player

Amnesiac:

Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Sea Giant)
Dragon Priest (2xPotion of Madness, 2xGolakka Crawler, 2xGluttonous Ooze, Kabal Songstealer, Dragonfire Potion, 7 Dragons – 1xBook Wyrm)
Midrange Paladin (2xGolakka Crawler, 2xRallying Blade, Wickerflame Burnbristle, 2xBlessing of Kings, 1xConsecration, Ragnaros Lightlord)
Pirate Warrior (Spellbreaker, 2xNaga Corsair, Bittertide Hydra, Captain Greenskin – no Mortal Strike or Leeroy)

Caravaggio:

Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Doppelgangster, 2xSea Giant)
Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, 2xSI:7 Agent, 2xMimic Pod, 2xRazorpetal Lasher)
Pirate Warrior (2xSpellbreaker, Naga Corsair, Captain Greenskin, Leeroy)
Freeze Mage (2xMana Wyrm, 2xFirelands Portal, Pyroblast)

Chakki:

Jade Druid (2xGolakka Crawler)
Secret Mage (2xGolakka Crawler, 2xCounterspell, Ice Block, Potion of Polymorph, 2xBurgly Bully, Archmage Antonidas, Yogg-Saron)
Midrange Paladin (2xGolakka Crawler, 2xRallying Blade, Wickerflame Burnbristle, 2xBlessing of Kings, 1xConsecration)
Dragon Priest (2xPotion of Madness, 2xGolakka Crawler, Gluttonous Ooze, Shadow Word: Horror, Dragonfire Potion, 8 Dragons)

Chrisleblanc:

Jade Druid (2xMoonfire, Bloodmage Thalnos, 2xWild Pyromancer, 2xAcolyte of Pain, no Primordial Drakes)
Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Doppelgangster, 2xSea Giant)
UK Paladin (Stampeding Kodo, Tirion Fordring, no Argent Squire)
Pirate Warrior (2xNaga Corsair, Captain Greenskin, 2xBittertide Hydra – no Mortal Strike, Spellbreaker, or Leeroy)

DrJikininki:

Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)
Pirate Warrior (Mortal Strike, Spellbreaker, Bittertide Hydra, Captain Greenskin, Leeroy)
Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Doppelgangster, 2xSea Giant)
Freeze Mage (Volcanic Potion, Eater of Secrets, Medivh the Guardian, Pyroblast)

Hotgirlz:

UK Paladin (2xBloodsail Corsair, no Argent Squire)
Jade Druid (Tar Creeper, Yogg-Saron)
Pirate Warrior (Mortal Strike, Spellbreaker, Captain Greenskin, Leeroy)
Jade Evolve Shaman (Doomsayer, 2xHot Spring Guardian, Lightning Storm, Spirit Echo, 2xJade Spirit, Doppelgangster, 2xServant of Kalimos, 2xVolcano, Jade Chieftain, Kalimos)

Icer:

Evolve Shaman (2xHungry Crab, Devolve, Stonehill Defender, Barnes, Sea Giant, no Fire Fly)
Giants Secret Mage (2xArcane Giant, 2xCounterspell, Mirror Entity, Spellbender)
Pirate Warrior (Naga Corsair, Spellbreaker, 2xBittertide Hydra, Leeroy)
Aggro Druid (Hungry Crab, 2xGolakka Crawler, Genzo the Shark, Swipe)

Impact:

Evolve Shaman (Devolve, 2xFeral Spirit, Doppelgangster, 2xSea Giant, no Stonehill Defender)
Freeze Mage (2xMana Wyrm, Archmage Antonidas, Medivh the Guardian)
Miracle Rogue (2xArcane Giant, 2xQuesting Adventurer, Razorpetal Lasher, SI:7 Agent)
Aggro Druid (2xHungry Crab, 2xGolakka Crawler, Genzo the Shark)

Justsaiyan:

Freeze Mage (Volcanic Potion, Eater of Secrets, Medivh the Guardian, Pyroblast)
Evolve Shaman (Devolve, Maelstrom Portal, Lightning Storm, Stonehill Defender, Barnes, Sea Giant)
Dragon Priest (2xPotion of Madness, Golakka Crawler, Gluttonous Ooze, Greater Healing Potion, 8 Dragons)
Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)

Mordekaiser:

Aggro Druid (Hungry Crab, Crazed Alchemist, Golakka Crawler, Genzo the Shark, Shellshifter)
Evolve Shaman
UK Paladin (Crazed Alchemist, Stonehill Defender)
Gunther Mage (Doomsayer, Counterspell, Ice Barrier, 2xIce Block, Gluttonous Ooze, 2xVolcanic Potion)

Naiman:

Aggro Druid (Hungry Crab, 2xGolakka Crawler, Bittertide Hydra, 2xDruid of the Claw)
Secret Mage (Babbling Book, 2xCounterspell, Mirror Entity, Spellbender, 2xBurgly Bully, Archmage Antonidas)
Midrange Paladin (Vinecleaver, Deathwing)
Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Sea Giant)

Noblord:

Pirate Warrior (Mortal Strike, Spellbreaker, 2xBittertide Hydra, Captain Greenskin – no Leeroy)
Jade Elemental Token Shaman (Devolve, 2xJade Spirit, 2xBloodlust, Kalimos, 2xSea Giant)
N’Zoth Control Paladin (2xForbidden Healing, Harrison Jones, 2xIvory Knight)
Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Yogg-Saron)

Pilou:

Aggro Druid (2xHungry Crab, 2xGolakka Crawler, Swipe)
Murloc Paladin (Wickerflame Burnbristle, 2xRallying Blade, Spikeridged Steed, Primordial Drake)
Jade Elemental Shaman (Bloodmage Thalnos, 2xDevolve, 2xHex, 2xLightning Storm, Spirit Echo, 2xServant of Kalimos, 2xVolcano, Kalimos)
Freeze Mage (Gluttonous Ooze, Archmage Antonidas, Pyroblast)

Richwebz:

Pirate Warrior (Spellbreaker, Naga Corsair, Captain Greenskin, Bittertide Hydra, Leeroy Jenkins)
Big Druid
Midrange Paladin (Vinecleaver, Deathwing)
Evolve Shaman (Stonehill Defender, Barnes)

Sintherius:

Evolve Shaman
Murloc Paladin (Wickerflame Burnbristle, 2xTruesilver Champion)
Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze, Tar Creeper, Yogg-Saron)
Pirate Warrior (Mortal Strike, Naga Corsair, Spellbreaker, Bittertide Hydra, Leeroy)

SirSlim:

Evolve Shaman
Jade Druid (Gluttonous Ooze)
Midrange Paladin (2xAldor Peacekeeper, Blessing of Kings, 2xTruesilver Champion, Harrison Jones, Ragnaros Lightlord)
Pirate Warrior (2xMortal Strike, Naga Corsair, Spellbreaker, Leeroy Jenkins)

Appendix 2: Dreamhack Atlanta 2017 Hearthstone Grand Prix top-16 matches

Raw data on matches, lineups, and bans.

Round of 16, match 1: Chrisleblanc vs Chakki

Chrisleblanc: Jade Druid, Evolve Shaman, UK Paladin, Pirate Warrior

Chakki: Jade Druid, Secret Mage, Midrange Paladin, Dragon Priest

Bans: Chrisleblanc banned ? and Chakki banned UK Paladin.

Games:

Evolve Shaman loses to Secret Mage

Pirate Warrior loses to Secret Mage

Jade Druid loses to Secret Mage

Chrisleblanc 0 – Chakki 3.

Round of 16, match 2: Justsaiyan vs Pilou

Justsaiyan: Freeze Mage, Evolve Shaman, Dragon Priest, Jade Druid

Pilou: Aggro Druid, Murloc Paladin, Jade Elemental Shaman, Freeze Mage

Bans: Justsaiyan banned Murloc Paladin and Pilou banned Freeze Mage.

Games:

Dragon Priest wins against Jade Elemental Shaman

Dragon Priest wins against Freeze Mage

Dragon Priest wins against Aggro Druid

Justsaiyan 3 – Pilou 0.

Round of 16, match 3: Amnesiac vs Noblord

Amnesiac: Evolve Shaman, Dragon Priest, Midrange Paladin, Pirate Warrior

Noblord: Pirate Warrior, Jade Elemental Token Shaman, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Jade Druid

Bans: Amnesiac banned Jade Elemental Token Shaman and Noblord banned Evolve Shaman.

Games:

Midrange Paladin loses to Jade Druid

Pirate Warrior loses to Jade Druid

Dragon Priest loses to Jade Druid

Amnesiac 0 – Noblord 3.

Round of 16, match 4: Richwebz vs Impact

Richwebz: Pirate Warrior, Big Druid, Midrange Paladin, Evolve Shaman

Impact: Evolve Shaman, Freeze Mage, Miracle Rogue, Aggro Druid

Bans: Richwebz banned Aggro Druid and Impact banned ?.

Games:

Midrange Paladin wins against Evolve Shaman

Midrange Paladin loses to Freeze Mage

Big Druid wins against Freeze Mage

Big Druid wins against Miracle Rogue

Richwebz 3 – Impact 1.

Round of 16, match 5: Sintherius vs Naiman

Sintherius: Evolve Shaman, Murloc Paladin, Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior

Naiman: Aggro Druid, Secret Mage, Midrange Paladin, Evolve Shaman

Bans: Sintherius banned ? and Naiman banned Evolve Shaman.

Games:

Jade Druid loses to Secret Mage

Pirate Warrior loses to Secret Mage

Murloc Paladin loses to Secret Mage

Sintherius 0 – Naiman 3.

Round of 16, match 6: Caravaggio vs Icer

Caravaggio: Evolve Shaman, Miracle Rogue, Pirate Warrior, Freeze Mage

Icer: Evolve Shaman, Giants Secret Mage, Pirate Warrior, Aggro Druid

Bans: Caravaggio banned Giants Secret Mage and Icer banned Evolve Shaman.

Games:

Miracle Rogue wins against Evolve Shaman

Miracle Rogue wins against Pirate Warrior

Miracle Rogue loses to Aggro Druid

Pirate Warrior loses to Aggro Druid

Freeze Mage loses to Aggro Druid

Caravaggio 2 – Icer 3.

Round of 16, match 7: SirSlim vs Hotgirlz

SirSlim: Evolve Shaman, Jade Druid, Midrange Paladin, Pirate Warrior

Hotgirlz: UK Paladin, Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior, Jade Evolve Shaman

Bans: SirSlim banned Jade Evolve Shaman and Hotgirlz banned ?.

Games:

Midrange Paladin loses to Pirate Warrior

Pirate Warrior wins against Pirate Warrior

Pirate Warrior wins against UK Paladin

Pirate Warrior wins against Jade Druid

SirSlim 3 – Hotgirlz 1.

Round of 16, match 8: Mordekaiser vs DrJikininki

Mordekaiser: Aggro Druid, Evolve Shaman, UK Paladin, Gunther Mage

DrJikininki: Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior, Evolve Shaman, Freeze Mage

Bans: Mordekaiser banned ? and DrJikininki banned Aggro Druid.

Games:

Evolve Shaman loses to Pirate Warrior

Gunther Mage loses to Pirate Warrior

UK Paladin wins against Pirate Warrior

UK Paladin loses to Evolve Shaman

Mordekaiser 1 – DrJikininki 3.

Quarter-final #1: Chakki vs Justsaiyan

Chakki: Jade Druid, Secret Mage, Midrange Paladin, Dragon Priest

Justsaiyan: Freeze Mage, Evolve Shaman, Dragon Priest, Jade Druid

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Freeze Mage	Evolve Shaman	Dragon Priest	Jade Druid
Jade Druid	0.65	0.45	0.53	0.5
Secret Mage	0.55	0.49	0.58	0.59
Midrange Paladin	0.45	0.46	0.63	0.68
Dragon Priest	0.63	0.57	0.5	0.47

Bans: Chakki banned Evolve Shaman and Justsaiyan banned Jade Druid.

Games:

Secret Mage wins against Dragon Priest

Secret Mage loses to Freeze Mage

Dragon Priest wins against Freeze Mage

Dragon Priest loses to Jade Druid

Midrange Paladin loses to Jade Druid

Chakki 2 – Justsaiyan 3.

Quarter-final #2: Noblord vs Richwebz

Noblord: Pirate Warrior, Jade Elemental Token Shaman, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Jade Druid

Richwebz: Pirate Warrior, Big Druid, Midrange Paladin, Evolve Shaman

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Pirate Warrior	Big Druid	Midrange Paladin	Evolve Shaman
Pirate Warrior	0.5	0.57	0.58	0.43
Evolve Shaman*	0.57	0.53	0.54	0.5
Control Paladin	0.55	0.6	0.49	0.55
Jade Druid	0.44	0.36	0.32	0.45

* Using Evolve Shaman data for Jade Elemental Token Shaman

Bans: Noblord banned Evolve Shaman and Richwebz banned Jade Elemental Token Shaman.

Games:

Pirate Warrior loses to Midrange Paladin

Jade Druid loses to Midrange Paladin

N’Zoth Control Paladin wins against Midrange Paladin

N’Zoth Control Paladin wins against Big Druid

N’Zoth Control Paladin wins against Pirate Warrior

Noblord 3 – Richwebz 2.

Quarter-final #3: Naiman vs Icer

Naiman: Aggro Druid, Secret Mage, Midrange Paladin, Evolve Shaman

Icer: Evolve Shaman, Giants Secret Mage, Pirate Warrior, Aggro Druid

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Evolve Shaman	Secret Mage	Pirate Warrior	Aggro Druid
Aggro Druid	0.47	0.44	0.6	0.5
Secret Mage	0.49	0.5	0.45	0.56
Midrange Paladin	0.46	0.62	0.42	0.39
Evolve Shaman	0.5	0.51	0.57	0.53

Bans: Naiman banned Aggro Druid and Icer banned Aggro Druid.

Games:

Midrange Paladin wins against Giants Secret Mage

Midrange Paladin loses to Evolve Shaman

Evolve Shaman loses to Evolve Shaman

Secret Mage wins against Evolve Shaman

Secret Mage wins against Pirate Warrior

Naiman 3 – Icer 2.

Quarter-final #4: SirSlim vs DrJikininki

SirSlim: Evolve Shaman, Jade Druid, Midrange Paladin, Pirate Warrior

DrJikininki: Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior, Evolve Shaman, Freeze Mage

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Jade Druid	Pirate Warrior	Evolve Shaman	Freeze Mage
Evolve Shaman	0.55	0.57	0.5	0.4
Jade Druid	0.5	0.44	0.45	0.65
Midrange Paladin	0.68	0.42	0.46	0.45
Pirate Warrior	0.56	0.5	0.43	0.47

Bans: SirSlim banned Freeze Mage and DrJikininki banned Jade Druid.

Games:

Pirate Warrior wins against Evolve Shaman

Pirate Warrior loses to Jade Druid

Midrange Paladin wins against Jade Druid

Midrange Paladin loses to Pirate Warrior

Evolve Shaman loses to Pirate Warrior

SirSlim 2 – DrJikininki 3.

Semi-final #1: Justsaiyan vs Noblord

Justsaiyan: Freeze Mage, Evolve Shaman, Dragon Priest, Jade Druid

Noblord: Pirate Warrior, Jade Elemental Token Shaman, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Jade Druid

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Pirate Warrior	Evolve Shaman*	Control Paladin	Jade Druid
Freeze Mage	0.53	0.6	0.5	0.35
Evolve Shaman	0.57	0.5	0.45	0.55
Dragon Priest	0.39	0.57	0.52	0.47
Jade Druid	0.44	0.45	0.57	0.5

* Using Evolve Shaman data for Jade Elemental Token Shaman

Bans: Justsaiyan banned Jade Druid and Noblord banned Evolve Shaman.

Games:

Freeze Mage wins against Pirate Warrior

Freeze Mage loses to N’Zoth Control Paladin

Jade Druid wins against N’Zoth Control Paladin

Jade Druid loses to Jade Elemental Token Shaman

Dragon Priest loses to Jade Elemental Token Shaman

Justsaiyan 2 – Noblord 3.

Semi-final #2: Naiman vs DrJikininki

Naiman: Aggro Druid, Secret Mage, Midrange Paladin, Evolve Shaman

DrJikininki: Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior, Evolve Shaman, Freeze Mage

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Jade Druid	Pirate Warrior	Evolve Shaman	Freeze Mage
Aggro Druid	0.57	0.6	0.47	0.35
Secret Mage	0.59	0.45	0.49	0.55
Midrange Paladin	0.68	0.42	0.46	0.45
Evolve Shaman	0.55	0.57	0.5	0.4

Bans: Naiman banned Pirate Warrior and DrJikininki banned Aggro Druid.

Games:

Secret Mage loses to Jade Druid

Midrange Paladin wins against Jade Druid

Midrange Paladin wins against Evolve Shaman

Midrange Paladin loses to Freeze Mage

Evolve Shaman loses to Freeze Mage

Naiman 2 – DrJikininki 3.

Grand Final: Noblord vs DrJikininki

Noblord: Pirate Warrior, Jade Elemental Token Shaman, N’Zoth Control Paladin, Jade Druid

DrJikininki: Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior, Evolve Shaman, Freeze Mage

Expected win rates for each matchup:

Decks	Jade Druid	Pirate Warrior	Evolve Shaman	Freeze Mage
Pirate Warrior	0.56	0.5	0.43	0.47
Evolve Shaman*	0.55	0.57	0.5	0.4
Control Paladin	0.43	0.55	0.55	0.5
Jade Druid	0.5	0.44	0.45	0.65

* Using Evolve Shaman data for Jade Elemental Token Shaman

Bans: Noblord banned Evolve Shaman and DrJikininki banned Pirate Warrior.

Games:

N’Zoth Control Paladin loses to Pirate Warrior

Jade Elemental Token Shaman wins against Pirate Warrior

Jade Elemental Token Shaman wins against Freeze Mage

Jade Elemental Token Shaman loses to Jade Druid

Jade Druid loses to Jade Druid

Noblord 2 – DrJikininki 3.