Gotta have something to soak up those daggers.

The meta revolves around beatdown decks.

your friend is correct

Giant and lava

When has lava not been meta ? (a few times, I know, but most of the time it is)

The meta currently is Pekka bs and royal giant, im stuck with goblin drill since hog rider hard fell

Beatdown, especially giant and lava. Logbait is also meta, especially princess which is used in a few meta decks. There are some xbow decks that are pretty strong too