ProQuest Season 3: Week 3 Metagame

3rd Feb 2023

So this is it, huh? The third and final installment of the ProQuest Season 3 trilogy. It has been such an honor to be able to provide my unique perspective on the developing metagame over the past few weeks. I want to begin by thanking each and every one of you for providing constructive feedback and allowing me a few short moments of your precious attention.

Now, enough of the mushy stuff, let’s get into week 3 ProQuest metagame data!

In this final week, events were slightly more tapered as 82 PQ’s took place across 22 countries. For many, this was the final stretch in securing a Pro Tour invite. And because this was the final localized event worthy of a PTI, many competitive players fought hard across multiple events this week. So with that in mind, remember that this dataset should be taken with a certain amount of approximation as we have no way to determine which players battled in multiple ProQuests.

With that, let’s take a look at the overall meta for week three:

PQS3W3 Metagame

At first glance you’d think we just copied week two data and pasted it into week three. Seeing little to no variance here raises two points for me. One, people saw what worked in week two and ran with it. Week one was very much about testing the water and dipping the proverbial toe in to see what works, and what still needs improvement. By week two, we saw a dominating presence of Fai, Iyslander and Oldhim that it stuck going into week three. The other point this data raises is that many Oldhim and Iyslander players utilized this opportunity to send off the current version of their decks in style before the Bans and Suspensions went into effect.

Interestingly, Fai took a small 2% dip in representation compared to last week, proving to be the smallest showing for him this season. On the contrary, Oldhim holds his steadfast grip on 10% of the meta, similar to last week. Likewise, Iyslander continued to control 10% of the metagame, something she’s maintained since week one of ProQuest.

Let’s take a look at how some familiar faces fared in the Top 8 this week:

PQS3W3 T8

Ah yes, here we are again with little to no changes compared to week two. With all 17 heroes securing themselves a Top 8 placement in every week this season, it’s safe to say that no hero is expelled from the discussion. Yet from an analytical perspective, we have three weeks of compelling data that shows our three Uprising superstars Fai, Iyslander and Dromai, have solidified a name for themselves in the meta. Much different from previous 3-point metagames, Oldhim completes the square and shows that there is room enough for a fourth contender. With 53% of the Top 8 presenting ice disruption, dragon-filled board states, awkward break points and massive attacks, it was surely a strategic uphill battle for the remaining 47% of contenders.

Now, let’s take a look at the Percentage of Winners in week three:

PQS3W3 Winners

At first glance we can see that this week is a little more slim as it pertains to winning spread. Two heroes that didn’t make the winners bracket this week, but did previously, are Arakni and Ser Boltyn. Not to say these heroes aren’t capable of securing a win in today’s meta, it’s just evident that this final week of ProQuests was not as vastly spread as previous weeks.

That said, looking at the data really puts into perspective just how menacing the field truly is. With Fai taking down the most ProQuests at 21% this week, it’s clear players have held true to his potential. Combined with Iyslander and Oldhim each claiming 17% of wins this week, that leaves 45% of the meta primed for the taking. Interestingly enough, 8 of our heroes sit somewhere between a healthy 5 and 6% - showcasing a rigorous game of tug of war to get to the top tables. Going into ProQuest, Dash was widely deemed the people’s choice for most likely to shock the meta. This week her win rate was cut nearly in half with 6% compared to a staggering 11% last week. Again, take into account far fewer ProQuests took place this week so that could have an impact on some of the data shown here.
\

BR33ZY


Before we close out, I want to share the full spectrum data sheet with you all. Again, please bear in mind that some stores only reported their Top 8 placing heroes or the winning hero and may not reflect 100% of the entire playing field.

Hero Name Players Top 8's Wins % Meta %Top 8's % Wins T8Conv WinConv T8toWin
Arakni, Huntsman 27 3 0 2% 1% 0% 11% 0% 0%
Azalea, Ace in the Hole 27 3 0 2% 1% 0% 11% 0% 0%
Bravo, Showstopper 115 45 5 7% 8% 6% 39% 4% 11%
Briar, Warden of Thorns 114 42 4 7% 8% 5% 37% 4% 10%
Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire 138 41 5 9% 7% 6% 30% 4% 12%
Dorinthea Ironsong 94 29 5 6% 5% 6% 31% 5% 17%
Dromai, Ash Artist 176 56 4 11% 10% 5% 32% 2% 7%
Fai, Rising Rebellion 225 95 17 14% 17% 21% 42% 8% 18%
Iyslander, Stormbind 160 73 14 10% 13% 17% 46% 9% 19%
Kano, Dracai of Aether 43 10 1 3% 2% 1% 23% 2% 10%
Katsu, the Wanderer 25 8 0 2% 1% 0% 32% 0% 0%
Levia, Shadowborn Abomination 18 3 0 1% 1% 0% 17% 0% 0%
Lexi, Livewire 87 23 4 6% 4% 5% 26% 5% 17%
Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity 158 73 14 10% 13% 17% 46% 9% 19%
Rhinar, Reckless Rampage 72 18 5 5% 3% 6% 25% 7% 28%
Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn 26 7 0 2% 1% 0% 27% 0% 0%
Viserai, Rune Blood 52 19 4 3% 3% 5% 37% 8% 21%

As we’ve seen in previous data this season, there are three names that stand among the rest in victorious fashion. Fai, Iyslander and Oldhim. Three heroes that stampeded into a very diverse and wide battlefield and came out on the other end as leaders of the pack. Something to note is that in our closing week, Iyslander and Oldhim tie at 46% conversion rate into Top 8. This further solidifies that winter is no longer coming, it is here. Fai reigned in the highest record of his ProQuest career with a phenomenal 18% Top 8 to win conversion rate, up 5% from last week. Something to consider is that an old classic from the Savage Lands, Rhinar, managed to have the highest conversion from Top 8 to win this week with 28%; a 15.5% increase from the first week of ProQuest.

Want to check out some of the incredible ProQuest Season 3 winning deck lists? Find them out here!

Pro Tour: Baltimore

For all you heavy duty data consumers out there, here is the entire ProQuest season breakdown. You can check out the full Living Legend Leaderboard here.

Congratulations to everyone who managed to secure themselves an invite to Pro Tour Baltimore during ProQuest Season 3! And best of luck to everyone heading into the Calling and Battle Hardened in Indianapolis this weekend!

Hero Name Players Top 8's Wins % Meta %Top 8's % Wins T8Conv WinConv T8toWin
Arakni, Huntsman 121 17 2 2% 1% 1% 14% 2% 12%
Azalea, Ace in the Hole 140 14 0 2% 1% 0% 10% 0% 0%
Bravo, Showstopper 551 218 17 7% 8% 5% 40% 3% 8%
Briar, Warden of Thorns 492 187 21 7% 7% 6% 38% 4% 11%
Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire 731 217 30 10% 8% 9% 30% 4% 14%
Dorinthea Ironsong 485 170 20 7% 6% 6% 35% 4% 12%
Dromai, Ash Artist 745 257 21 10% 10% 6% 34% 3% 8%
Fai, Rising Rebellion 1,158 486 63 16% 18% 18% 42% 5% 13%
Iyslander, Stormbind 771 340 61 10% 13% 17% 44% 8% 18%
Kano, Dracai of Aether 199 43 3 3% 2% 1% 22% 2% 7%
Katsu, the Wanderer 133 36 1 2% 1% 0% 27% 1% 3%
Levia, Shadowborn Abomination 90 12 0 1% 0% 0% 13% 0% 0%
Lexi, Livewire 427 136 13 6% 5% 4% 32% 3% 10%
Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity 685 332 70 9% 12% 20% 48% 10% 21%
Rhinar, Reckless Rampage 336 93 16 5% 3% 5% 28% 5% 17%
Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn 128 38 4 2% 1% 1% 30% 3% 11%
Viserai, Rune Blood 252 62 8 3% 2% 2% 25% 3% 13%

Well, this concludes our time together for now. A bittersweet moment for me, and one I won’t soon forget. As we approach the era of a new dawn, there is hope on the horizon. Three new heroes urge to shake up the meta with Outsiders, which is set to release on March 24th. Will this be a short lived metagame, or will ProQuest Season 3 have a long lasting effect on the meta as we move forward?
Whatever the answer, fear not, just know that we are on the cusp of something incredible in the World of Rathe.

ProQuest Season 3