Initially, friends, I wanted to entitle this piece "The Curse of the Ladder" and get deep into what entices me as well as what bugs me about Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft's (or now just Hearthstone, as they try to shift towards new stuff and less Wacraft-reliant source material) ever-changing meta, the challenges of climbing up the ladder in Ranked (or down, depending on how you're looking at it) and more. Indeed, it is a brute of a gaming task to get deep towards the esteemed rank of Legend, but instead for today I'm simply going to look at the December 2016 meta itself in light of the most recent (and quite awesome, now that it's actually out Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion, courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.)

1. Secrets Hunter

Admittedly, I'm a bit biased here; though I do play slow, control decks (See: Control Paladin, Dragon Priest, Renolock, etc.) and my first golden deck wasn't Hunter, Hunter quickly became my favorite and a semi-updated Secrets Hunter deck (now with the MSG addition of the Hidden Cache secret, buffing an in-hand minion, Grimy Goons style) it still reigns supreme for me. Don't get me wrong, my second fav is Warlock (specifically Zoolock or Discardlock, though I must admit Handlock with the Leeroy Jenkins/Faceless Manipulator/Power Overwhelming combo via at least (1) Emperor Thaurissan discount is super fun) and then the list goes on from there, but the power of Secrets Hunter is what got me as high as Rank 5 this past November. When you combine the possibility of Rag from Barnes, spamming (0)-cost secrets from Cloaked Huntress as it buffs Secretkeeper via The Coin usually, and then more... Man alive, it may be flawed and it doesn't fit well with all match-ups, but I love this deck. (Battle.net Credit: Quake & Rebel)

2. Aggro Pirate

Spoilers: I do not have 500 Ranked with Warrior yet. Control Warrior is harder for me to play, be it with N'Zoth injections or not. Warrior generally connotes slower play styles. But then... Then came Patches. He's a 1-cost 1/1 Pirate with the passive ability/effect to be summoned from wherever in your deck, even if it's the last card on the bottom, whenever any Pirate is summoned. That is so cool! Sync that up with Small-Time Buccaneer from MSG, Southsea Deckhands, extra weapons, Mortal Strikes and buffed Frothing Berserkers, even if you think Aggro players are the cancerous bane of the HS meta, it's still pretty satisfying to obtain win streaks from the screeching Pirate storms which Pirate Warrior wields. (Battle.net Credit: Overdeemer and RANT)

3. Jade Druid/Jade Shaman

Ah, Jade Golems. You summon one 1/1 with a Lotus card, and then your next one chains into a 2/2. Then, a 3/3. Then, smuggle yourself a Brann onto the field for a well-timed Battlecry and you've got both a 4/4 and a 5/5. Throw in some taunts and some ramped Mana Crystals early on and BOOM! The archetype works. Now Jade-style decks are weak to several easy-to-construct elements, but overall it's quite entertaining to ramp hard into multiple essentially free, ominous Jade Golems in addition to your other minions. (As gamers say, smorc away!) (Battle.net Credit: gettirith and vagilisk)

4. Bonus! The Values and Pitfalls of the Three Gadgetzan Crime Family Leaders

Don Han'Cho. Aya Blackpaw. Kazakus. In the lore behind these three leaders of the Grimy Goons, the Jade Lotus, and the Kabal respectively, each has their own ability as a Tri-Class-specific Legendary minion. Don adds a +5/+5 buff to a minion in your hand, Aya's Battlecry and her Deathrattle summons more Jade Golems, and Kazakus can create over 120+ different kinds of potion variations, so long as you're playing a (0)-duplicate deck (whether Reno is present in Standard at the time or not, just in terms of future deck-building) and then you're in business. Kazakus has the weakest body of the three at 3/3 but is the easiest to summon in terms of Mana cost. Don is a heftier body to have on the board but, aside from his immense-ish Battlecry may not be useful for much else. Honestly, Aya seems the most resourceful but then again it also depends on your play preferences. That's that, for now!

What are your thoughts on Hearthstone and the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion? It's my favorite game, I'd love to discuss, debate, and even play! Feel free to leave your Battle.net tag below!