Metagame

From Wikipedia: "Metagame, literally "a game outside the game," is a prediction of how others will make decisions in a game based on their personality or their previous decisions. A metagame can exist in any game in which the opposition is human or portrays some sort of artificial intelligence and the competitors make choices. Metagaming is taking advantage of the metagame for purposes of winning more often."

Within Guild Wars, the metagame refers chiefly to the skill selections and profession combinations in builds (solo and team) used to win PvP battles. There are multiple metagames in Guild Wars, including:
 * Guild versus Guild metagame
 * Tournament metagame (also known as Heroes' Ascent or Tombs metagame)
 * Team Arena metagame
 * Random Arena metagame (less well defined than other metagames, but a metagame exists regardless)

The word metagame is incorrectly used to refer to the popularity of builds - this is the environment, which is shaped by the metagame, hence the two concepts are somewhat confused in most gamer's minds. The metagame, properly, is what one indulges in when considering what to play, and the decision making that goes on when selecting a build - it is not the environment in which play occurs, though it shapes that environment.