With a new expansion and even new format in Hearthstone we have found out some old decks don't work like they used to, some decks continue on being strong, and there are some exciting new decks that we really didn't see coming. THL has mirrored this in a way as we see some veteran teams thrive and others struggle to adapt to the new environment, while there are new teams surprising everyone with their early success. Just who are those teams? Let's take a look.
1. Team Rank Five (previous ranking 2)
Being at the top of the power rankings is a familiar position for Team Rank Five and after their second win and Soupreme's stumble they find themselves back on top. It was the middle of the roster coming through this past week with Imbolc, MVParker, and JesusC coming away with the wins against Boom Squad.
2. The Hairy Generals (previous ranking 4)
Another team accustomed to finding their name at the top of the rankings, the Hairy Generals had an impressive win over Soupreme in week two. Somewhat clouding this particular matchup was two forfeits from Soupreme and with three of their members playing in the Spring Preliminaries it's possible Soupreme's focus was elsewhere. Still, the Generals went about their business and now haven't lost a series since the playoffs of season one.
3. Xnergy (previous ranking 5)
After tearing through Entropy week one, Xnergy did pretty much the same thing week two against the Gosu Casuals. Out of ten individual matches Xnergy has only dropped one of those and find themselves as the points leader at the moment as a result. It's only two weeks but so far it seems the roster changes are paying off and putting distance between them and what happened last season.
4. Soupreme (previous ranking 1)
Somewhat surprisingly two of Soupreme's big three lost in week two but with all three of them playing in the Spring Preliminaries it's hard to determine what impact that had on their preparation. There were several teams with players playing in the prelims so they weren't the only ones affected, but they were the only team with three players participating. Along with those two losses, there were also two forfeits with their remaining seeds which is a pretty big concern. A loss is never fun but with their captain DeerJason having an impressive run to qualify for the Spring Championship it wasn't too bad of a week for Soupreme.
5. N.W.A. (previous ranking 6)
I think N.W.A would be the first to tell you they had a disappointing start to the season but they bounced back with a nice victory over Danger Zone, winning all five of their matches. This is probably more in line with what they and many of us expected from them before the season started but it will take a few more wins to forget about week one.
6. Noob Central (previous ranking 10)
After a close loss to Boom Squad in their opener, Noob Central followed it up with a win over division opponent Super Heroes. There is still a lot of shifting going on within the Orange division but it seems the Noobs may have the best chance of chasing down Team Rank Five.
7. Pure Strategy (previous ranking 3)
Few teams had a better week one than that of Pure Strategy and they quickly became one of the hottest teams in this still very new season but that fire was somewhat extinguished by Team Avatar. Pure Strategy is still extremely balanced but I believe expectations have been scaled back down a little, at least for now.
8. Team Avatar (previous ranking 13)
Speaking of Team Avatar, fresh off a win over the Gosu Casuals they kept the momentum going and took down the aforementioned Pure Strategy. Feeling disrespected after the preseason rankings, Leumer and his crew have wasted no time in their campaign to prove everyone wrong. One thing to note is their one seed and THL rookie, Gnetz, who has now taken down Slimsch and Alexstrasza; not bad. YGOadam and PumbaasBFF will swap seeds for week three and we'll have to see what effect this will have.
9. Archon Storm (previous ranking 15)
A disqualification in week one resulted in Archon Storm earning a tie but unfortunately for their rival Entropy, all of Archon Storm showed up for week two and it was the most uneven series to date this season. Now we wait for the answer to the question that's on many minds, is Archon Storm back?
10. Netherstorm (previous ranking 18)
Netherstorm was unable to handle Team Rank Five last week but had a much easier time with the Damaged Ones in their most recent series. It was a nice week for Twizz's team as four matches were 3-1 in their favor and their only loss was 2-3.
11. Yogg Champs (previous ranking 16)
After a tie in week one to Archon Storm, Yogg Champs were paired up with the Red division leader in the Dream Team and were able to get the win. It's still early but the Red division is looking like it might be one of the most interesting divisions to watch and the Yogg Champs hope to be right in the middle of it.
12. Dream Team (previous ranking 7)
With three substitutes in two weeks it's hard to accurately gauge the Dream Team. It looks like week three may be the first week where they are able to play with their full roster and it will be exciting to see what happens as they go against the Gosu Casuals.
13. Gosu Casuals (previous ranking 9)
The new look Xnergy was too much for the Gosu Casuals and the Casuals find themselves in a tough spot after two weeks. New member TheAnarchist picked up his second win if you're looking for a positive amid the negatives. Last season the Casuals didn't see their first win until week four and then started picking up speed so maybe they'll be fine, but with some strong teams in the Green division they can't afford to wait much longer.
14. Aeon (previous ranking 8)
One of the early surprises so far has been the struggling Aeon, now 0-2 after a recent narrow loss to Team Golden Wisp. Even with experienced players sometimes it takes time to adjust to the league format and that might be part of the issue as veteran Detrucci is the only member to have two wins so far.
15. Damaged Ones (previous ranking 11)
It was a rough outing for the Damaged Ones in week two against Netherstorm with Bytes being the only player able to earn a win. It's hard to figure out exactly where the Damaged Ones stand, but a week three matchup against Boom Squad will go a long ways in helping us determine that.
16. Boom Squad (previous ranking 12)
Did someone say Boom Squad? The Squad started off their season with a nice win over Noob Central but fell to the always dangerous Team Rank Five in their most recent series. With a looming matchup against the Damaged Ones and what will be their third division game I think we will soon get a better idea of their place within the Orange division.
17. Team Golden Wisp (previous ranking 19)
Starting off the season against the defending champions is never easy but things were a little easier this week as Team Golden Wisp grabbed their first victory in a close one against Aeon.
18. Entropy (previous ranking 14)
Week one was bad for Entropy and week two was even worse as their long-time rival Archon Storm limited them to just five points. Jaxox and company need to figure things out and quickly as N.W.A. is waiting for them in week three.
19. Super Heroes (previous ranking 17)
The Super Heroes are team with some talent, but with five rookies that inexperience may play a part in their early struggles. Also, playing Soupreme doesn't help and with a date with the Hairy Generals week three it doesn't seem things will get easier anytime soon.
20. Danger Zone (previous ranking 20)
It's been a tough beginning of season Corruption for Danger Zone as they figure out their seeding and look for wins. They'll have a chance at their first win in week three when they take on the motivated Team Avatar.
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