Shadowverse Best Arena Class [Shadowverse Arena Class Tier List]

Shadowverse Best Arena Class
The Arena/Take Two/Open 6 Screen


Shadowverse Best Arena Class [Shadowverse Arena Class Tier List]

This is a review of the best arena classes to date as of 2020. The classes will be rated on a scale of S to D, S being the strongest with the highest of victory, and D being the weakest with lowest chance of victory.

S Tier (A class with superior control over the field in terms of all three card categories; amulets, followers, and spells. An S tier class has the highest chance of victory against any other class in the game, and the match has the potential to be faster with a lower chance of winning with less than double digit HP) 

Runecraft: 100/100

A Tier (A class with high control over the field in at least two of all three card categories, whether it be a mixture of amulets, followers, or spells. An A tier class has a significant chance of victory against most classes in the game. The chance of defeat from an opponent is slightly higher than an S tier class, but can be avoided with practice and skill)

Portalcraft: 95/100
 

B Tier (A class with moderate control over the field in at least two of the three card categories, but has less finesse than an A or S tier class. A B tier class has a decent chance of victory against at least three of the classes in the Arena. The chance of defeat is a lot higher than an S Tier or B Tier class, but a win is possible) 

Havencraft: 90/100

C Tier (A class with low control over the field in at least two of the three card categories, it’s strength is usually extremely high in one category and mediocre in the rest. A C Tier class has the potential for victory, but is very tricky to pull off. Experienced players have a shot at victory with this type of class, but beginners should generally avoid them) 

Bloodcraft: 85/100

D Tier (A class with poor control over the field in nearly all three card categories. This is usually because there are too many varied cards from several of the eighteen card packs, or because a class deck is made out of cards from an older pack in general. That, and this class tends to have a strategy in place that is either too fast or too slow. A D Tier class has an extremely low chance of victory against an opponent, especially in the event of battling with a more modern approach to the game. Even experienced players should try their best to avoid a D Tier class if they want a solid win)

Dragoncraft: 80/100
 

Top Class: Runecraft (S Tier)

Runecraft is a spell focused class that uses spells to create spell boost effects, meaning that the more spells you use, the more powerful your hand becomes. Most Runecraft decks are midrange decks, meaning that their ultimate power reveals itself mid-match. In the Arena world, Runecraft is still a midrange class, but takes a step back from spells to embrace Earth Rites. What makes this class exceptional this season is that it manages to appear weak at the start, but suddenly packs a surprising punch when your opponent least expects it. In turn, what truly makes this class exceptional this Arena season, is that it’s recent deck is updated to fit the Fortunes Hand card packs. Now it has a true shot at victory. 

Why Runecraft Is Overpowered

  • One of the major reasons why Runecraft is overpowered this season is because of the card Karyl, Catty Sorceress. If she’s played on only turn six, she reduces your leader's health to five, and if any other followers are on the field they can help finish you off. But that’s not all. If you play her on turn ten for Union Burst, she does the same thing, but then proceeds to do five damage to your leader in turn, taking you out. This suddenly puts Aggro Blood and Rally Sword at a huge disadvantage in terms of speed, and if a class was already slow, it has no chance. In most cases, it’s almost as if you don’t have a shot at all, something that gets extremely frustrating really quick. It almost feels unfair.
  • What else makes Runecraft overpowered is it’s control over Earth Rites. They’re low cost, really easy to keep on the field the majority of the match, and have numerous followers who’s effects will activate once they are brought into play. This is very similar to Natura, but what makes Runecraft’s Earth Rites overpowered in comparison is that they’re easier to play and more connected to each other. And they do more than just allow you to draw cards when destroyed. They can do damage to a random or specific enemy, heal you, give you specific spells, bring a follower into play, and draw cards as well. With so many in the class, and intertwined followers to boot, it almost makes it seem as if Runecraft has the common tendency to be OP.
  • Lastly, what makes Runecraft an S Tier class with an overpowered streak is it’s element of surprise. The most recent Runecraft Arena deck has plenty of low cost cards that pack quite the punch, a punch that only most high cost cards possess. For example, Karyl, Catty Sorceress, cost only six play points and has easily stolen many a win. Unless you’ve fought against this recent class before, you’re not at all prepared. Other classes may have the same approach, but since Runecraft is an usual contender against Aggro Blood and Rally Sword, an opponent won’t be expecting it’s strength whatsoever. Runecraft is superior in all card categories, has the highest chance of victory, and is proof that most classes don’t have a shot against it.

Class Power Rating: 100/100

 

2. Portalcraft (A Tier)

Portalcraft is a class that has always relied on Resonance to activate certain effects connected to your followers based on the number of cards in your deck. Portalcraft is also the newest addition to the game itself, meaning that it introduced the Machina and Artifact cards. For those who play Portalcraft often, you understand that Portalcraft is all about the timing, and that one little mishap has the potential to throw your strategy off it’s game. In previous Arena seasons, this has been the case for Portalcraft. However, things are different this time around. Portalcraft is known to be a little slow, and this deck is no different. However, it catches up rather quickly with certain cards that do a colossal amount of damage to the enemy leader in one strike, giving a hard fought win.

Why Portalcraft Is Overpowered 

  • In this Arena season, Portalcraft’s biggest problem is still it’s speed, that hasn’t changed. Yet cards such as Rebel Against Fate and Absolute Modesty help you put that issue on the back burner with effects that can do copious amounts of damage to the enemy leader in one or two turns. This helps to balance out the timing issue. However, where Portalcraft is overpowered here, is indeed due to the fact of the Absolute Modesty’s existence. It does damage to an enemy follower or leader equal to the amount of differently named Artifacts destroyed so far. Played correctly, the opponent will have quite a difficult time rotating around this unless they are utilizing Fairy Forestcraft or Puppet Portalcraft, Puppet Portalcraft being a rare strategy these Arena days. It’s nearly impossible to get past, and only Portalcraft has it.
  • One of the reasons Portalcraft is A Tier is because it has a poor relationship between the three card categories; it has absolutely no amulets to balance it out. However, this doesn’t always have to be a problem. The spells such as Rebel Against Fate and Awakened Ragna allow different follower cards to be drawn that have enough power to make up for the loss if used correctly. Simultaneously, these followers such as Vesha, Herald of Ravage and Megaera, the Indignant, prove to be overpowered deadly forces on the battlefield. It’s hard to get around a follower that costs zero play points and has ten attack, as well as a follower that does six damage to the enemy leader. Of course, only Arena Portalcraft can pull this off.
  • It’s been made obvious the reasons Arena Portalcraft is A Tier is due to its unbalanced card categories and inconvenient timing, but it's overpowered spells that connect well with its followers can easily make up for that with the correct finesse and overall thought. It’s control over Artifacts and heavy leader damage dominate the field to the point of no return, making it the most overpowered Arena Portalcraft version to date. 

Class Power Rating: 95/100

 

3. Havencraft (B Tier)

Havencraft is a class that has a high amount of powerful amulets on its side, making its card categories tilt greatly in one direction. Havencraft’s countdown amulets gain their true power when their countdown reaches zero. Some give you powerful spells, powerful followers to put in your hand or summon to the field, and even permanent amulets. Havencraft is a control class, making it primarily slow. During this Arena season, that much hasn’t changed. However, the defense and healing aspect of it is higher than usual, meaning that you’ll be protected while trying to get your hits in. Havencraft isn’t particularly offensive this time, so the win may be tough. However, it’s still out there.

Why Havencraft Is Overpowered

  • Like what was said before, Havencraft is currently heavy on the defense and light on the offense, making it slightly unbalanced. However, the ward Elana, Purest Prayer can sometimes even it out. This follower summons an amulet when evolved that increases a followers offense and defense whenever your leader is healed. This usually allows low cost followers to become incredibly strong on the field, meaning that they have every opportunity to do significant damage to the enemy leader. This is what makes Havencraft one of the most overpowered classes this season.
  • What makes Havencraft so overpowered this season is how it utilizes Natura effects. These Natura effects allow for some of the offensive tactics that the class sorely needs this time around. Cards such as Meowskers, Ruff Tuff Major, and Saintly Squeaks are both low cost cards that can gain Storm early on. This way Havencraft can do as much damage as it needs before its opponent can. No other class can take this advantage besides Aggro Swordcraft, and that class isn’t even available this season. This makes Havencraft the only class with this available strategy.
  • It’s been made obvious the reasons Arena Havencraft is B Tier is due to its unbalanced card categories, inconsistency in offense, and overall speed. However, it still remains an extremely overpowered deck with its skills in terms of healing and the ability to gain attack points through healing, skills most classes don’t have. This way Havencraft still has a shot, and can even regain some of that speed it lost. While the the chance of victory isn’t as strong as Runecraft or Portalcraft, it certainly is possible if you know what you’re doing and consider yourself a Havencraft expert.

 Class Power Rating: 90/100
 

4. Bloodcraft (C Tier)

Just like usual, Bloodcraft still has cards that lower your leader's defense on purpose until you reach Vengeance, powering up other cards in your deck and in your hand. This time around, Arena Bloodcraft really emphasizes the Vengeance aspect of itself, meaning that the balance between the healing and damaging cards is a bit tilted. There are more than four cards that will help heal your leader in a dire situation, but they’re all either high cost cards or low cost cards you would rather wait for an Enhance effect. There is only one amulet and only three spells, meaning the card category balance is off. However, there are more than a few powerful followers that can make up for this if played correctly, meaning a win could be on the horizon.

Why Bloodcraft Is Overpowered 

  • For this season, Bloodcraft is awkward to maneuver and can be overwhelming. It can be easy to get stuck. Lucky for Bloodcraft users, they have Darhold, Abyssal Contract on their side. Already as a follower, they can destroy an enemy follower and deal three damage to the enemy leader if Wrath is active for you. If it evolves, it summons the amulet Dire Bond, an amulet that can heal and balances out the amulet shortage in the class. Not only is the card low cost, but there are the max three of it included. This makes Arena Bloodcraft overpowered because the follower itself is frustrating to deal with and the healing aspect of the amulet can ruin an opponent's attack strategy.
  • Meanwhile, Bloodcraft also has the common Natura aspect to it like many other classes have. This may seem a bit pointless and basic, but this gives Arena Bloodcraft an opportunity to draw its powerhouses at any time such as the Darhold or Io, Enchanting Educator. As common as it may seem, this strategy can throw off an opponent into thinking Arena Bloodcraft is a Natura focused craft, which isn’t true. This means that your enemy will be focused on taking out a completely different strategy, giving Arena Bloodcraft a chance to be sly and sneak in at the last minute.
  • Arena Bloodcraft is definitely a C Tier class due to its card category imbalance, its overflow of Vengeance inducing cards, and lack of defensive opportunities. However, it can still be overpowered. Its element of surprise with Natura and its opportunity to defy an opponent's attack strategies at the last moment make Arena Bloodcraft overpowered this season.

  Class Power Rating: 85/100
 

5. Dragoncraft (D Tier)

Arena Dragoncraft is still known for cards that allow you to gain extra play points at the beginning of your turn and is still known for its seven play points activating Overflow. However, Overflow seems to be a bit pointless in this deck, as well as the Machina cards included. Arena Dragoncraft is a Natura focused deck, a bit of an outdated strategy if it doesn’t have a decent mixture of something else inside. That seems to be a primary issue here. It does have a well balanced card category overall, and has at least two followers that still make Arena Dragoncraft rather overpowered. 

Why Dragoncraft Is Overpowered 

  • One thing that makes Arena Dragoncraft particularly overpowered this season are its low cost followers and spells that can either give you extra play points, heal you, or deal damage to enemy followers as well as the leader. The Changewing Cherub and Rockback Ankylosaurus are perfect examples of these. It helps to balance out your health and attack at the same time. Arena Dragoncraft can be quite frustrating to fight against.
  • Where would Dragoncraft be without Valdain, Cursed Shadow? Valdain does damage to the enemy leader equal to how many Naterran Great Trees have been destroyed that match, and it lasts the entire battle no matter what. This is definitely overpowered because there is literally no way around it, regardless of your class. Arena Dragoncraft in this way can decimate any other class quite easily.
  • Arena Dragoncraft, however, is still a D Tier Arena class. It relies too much on one or two cards, has Machina cards that have the tendency to take up too much room, and can rely too much on starting Overflow quite early. It’s still rather overpowered with Valdain on its side, along with several other permanent effect cards, and can do some serious damage compared to even B Tier Havencraft. But it's imbalance brings it down to the bottom, despite it being extremely overpowered this Arena season.

  Class Power Rating: 80/100

You May Also Be Interested In:

More on this topic:


I carry my pen like I carry my broadsword; with confidence and experience. My entire life has been devoted to creative writing and gaming, and always will be.
Gamer Since: 2012
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: Shadowverse
Top 3 Favorite Games:Costume Quest, Star Wars: Battlefront, The Elder Scrolls Online


More Top Stories