The trick is a ladder is often rating your fundamentals + meta abilities. Where meta is a boost on top of your fundamentals. So, yeah, if you know around the G

The trick is a ladder is often rating your fundamentals + meta abilities. Where meta is a boost on top of your fundamentals. So, yeah, if you know around the Gold ranking the meta seems to bias towards folks playing Terran using a Reaper at time X, then the meta knowledge gives a quick and easy boost since you're prepared. But that's a temporary boost. In Plat or Diamond the meta is often different due to the increase in skill floor from improved fundamentals. This is why folks often say just MACRO BETTER instead of chasing optimizing meta strats. Better long-term reward.