This tierlist was created using tier maker on twitch here. The banner was made with assets found here and All other in game content are my own screenshots.
A lot of card on this tierlist can see more or less use as time goes on but this is a general tierlist for strength, meta use, and viability. Despite the constraints a "diamond meta" has on deck discovery and proliferation. I explain each classification and why I think cards should be there (some might be a C or D in reality but I see too much potential there and visa versa, Ennara might be a C if certain interactions don't work the way I think they do etc.)
Tier List for GoE w/ Explanation
S: Strong on it's own, Good wherever placed
These cards I see as strong cards in various archetypes and placements. Likely to be seen as a slot in for various decks
A: Strong in it's archtype, redefines the way things work
Don't get me wrong these cards are still pretty crazy. These cards are very strong aswell, but not quite as "put me in any deck and I'm just strong" as the cards in S tier and need to be "built into". Or in other words, these cards are strong but they need synergies to be strong so aren't classified as S but are still potentially strong for a tech reason and/or general synergy.
B: Usable, has strong synergy. Not overtly strong on it's own
These cards do not "add crazy elements" to existing decks but offer draw synergy with pets/creatures and/or add or enable something for the archtypes in which they'd be present. These cards aren't bad, but they don't swing decks on their own unless the decks themselves become very niche or thematic (regen nature being "good enough but niche" comes to mind etc.).
C: Shine fodder, Pretty Rough
These cards are pretty rough compared to existing cards that perform similar functions (a lot of core stuff etc.) these cards will probably be shined up for maximizing shine in decks but aren't going to be very strong or present in the vast majority of tuned decks. Usable but not ideal for deckbuilding aka "sealed cards". Some of these cards could see strength in the future but as it stands there is a lot of core stuff that seems on par with much that is present here.
D: Unusable, Won't be seen
Just bad, they don't draw anything they are too slow or their downsides are too much to include in deckbuilding. Now you COULD use these cards, but they are REAL bad. Potentially not the worst cards printed but these are the least desirable of the lot in many ways. If they ever add 1 mana pets a few of these cards bump way up the list. The 2 mana death guardian also has the potential to be quite good overall, BUT I don't think people will be trading out their shiny bifrucatings or other removals to slot her in most of the time. That's the one D card that is only there from lack of meta proliferation and not strength overall.
Overall Set Thoughts: Strong
This set is full of strong cards, a lot of highly functional cards, and various "flashy" cards where they won't be very good overall but will be fun to play with. There are various cards like "rough seas", and various S and A tier cards that might be overtly quite strong but a lot of the rest in similarly on par with existing effects. The one thing about this set is that the "shine meta" doesn't require cards from this set to be tossed into existing extraction lists. So it's difficult to tell how much will actually be used despite strength or viability. Overall perforation and use isn't necessarily tied with card strength in the current meta so isn't the best gauge to include when making a tier list. "A diamond anything is better than a meteorite anything" sort of logic. This set is a powercreep but isn't as much of a jump as various other sets have been (but it still IS in fact a jump, just nothing that stands out as "holy fuck that's game breaking" with the new cards).
Pet and guardian combos are in the discovery phase. Various seem to be very strong when used in tandem with existing archtypes, but pets haven't really been distributed yet so we won't see a lot of this gameplay develop right away. We'll see how actual gameplay use pans out though. I think they will be strong overall. This is a bit of a sort of post meant to just highlight where I think cards will end up before the meta actually starts to rattle and roll and all cards are distributed. Thanks for the continued support everyone, you all rock and are what make HIVE worth posting on. See you in Eucos
