Modelling the meta (based off of the VS data report)

Win steaks contribute even more significantly with a higher win rate. They actually increase the preference for a higher win rate to climb faster. Losses per hour are as significant as wins per hour and moving from 55% to 65% moves you from gaining stars worth slightly more than 5% of your games played to gaining stars worth more than 15% of your games played. (And the difference is of course more pronounced at rank 5 because you have no more win streak bonus.)

Game time is also significant - a 55% win rate at 7 minutes per game is superior to a 60% win rate at 20 minutes per game, but the 55% deck is only similar (and in fact slightly slower) compared to a 20 minute game game.

We can see examples of this as recently as the post Karazhan meta, where relatively slow midrange Shaman builds were far better and more popular for climbing the ladder than weaker aggressive builds.

I have no idea how this idea has become controversial, but your win/loss ratio is at least as important to your climbing speed as your game time. If you can switch from a 50% winrate deck to a 60%, for example, you could literally justify spending 20 times or longer on each game. (Although the same is not true of 55% to 65%, where the ratio is slightly under 3:1.)

/r/CompetitiveHS Thread Parent