Now I know it's a small sample size but at this rate, I doubt it will get below 60% on a bad day.
Decklist
So 14 games, 1 loss, and going strong.
Showing posts with label hearthstone guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hearthstone guide. Show all posts
Friday, November 6, 2015
Hearthstone - 93% Win-Rate with Mid-Range Hunter by SpedwardsBot
Now I know it's a small sample size but at this rate, I doubt it will get below 60% on a bad day.
Decklist
So 14 games, 1 loss, and going strong.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Hearthstone Guide - From Rank 4 to Legend w/ Aggro Paladin in 3 Hours [by Dorgan]
Deck Discussion, Stats & Educational Gameplay Videos
Introduction / Story
Hi guys, Dorgan here again. :)So, this month was a busy one for me. I had a lot of things on my desk, some family stuff to do and I was on a short vacation. Therefore, I didn't really get into a flow of a consecutive session and mostly played games in shorter sessions with a lot of different decks, a lot of them with a lack of focus and some other distractions just for the fun of playing.
However, last Wednesday, I finally had some time to spare and felt good, so I took a look at the meta and realized that almost no Patrons were around, at least at rank 4. Instead, I met a lot of Midrange Hunters and Handlocks. There was also a rise of Control Warriors which made Face Hunter a somewhat odd choice. I realized that all of the mentioned decks had problem with a combination of early sticky minions and very aggressive decks. I therefore wanted to try Aggro Paladin again, which was a decent success. :)
I ended up running from rank 4 to 2 in two hours on Wednesday before I started to play the new Tavern Brawl. I then took a break until Saturday, where I climbed from rank 2 to legend in about an hour, making the whole run from rank 4 to legend around 3 hours long.
Video Resources & Proof
You can find a consecutive video with all* games here on YouTube. As always it includes educational commentary and explanations of my thought proccess.Deck Discussion & Stats
I tried Aggro Paladin at the beginning of the season running this version that I saw floating around, but didn't like it too much. Running a lot of situational cards like Kings x2, Consecration x2, Divine Favor x2, Hammer of Wrath etc. didn't feel too consistent. I also wanted to go for more stickyness and early aggression to counter the beforementioned decks, so I tried a slightly different approach this time.
- Deck: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/268845-s16-aggro-paladin
- List: http://i.imgur.com/ROT2bwp.png
- Stats from rank 4 to legend*: http://imgur.com/p4NPUbN
Why is there ... in the deck?
- Argent Squire x2, Argent Protector x2: Like I said earlier, I wanted to include as much stickyness as possible since I found Divine Shields to be one of the most important mechanics to run, therefore, both cards were pretty much auto includes.
- Blessing of Might x2: With so many Divine Shields in the early game, Blessing of Might becomes a really powerful card, can make for good trades (Squire into Misha, still a 4/1 to deal with), provides instant reach and helps to dump the hand for a valuable Divine Favor.
- Piloted Shredder x2: Shredder is simply a powerful aggressive minion that also provides stickyness and helps with having buff targets around.
- Ironbeak Owl x2: Owl is great in most matchups and with this deck, I really want to run two of them. Bypassing taunts, silencing Mad Scientists, getting rid of slow-down effects like Sylvanas and almost killing Twilight Drakes are already nice examples that makes it worth running two copies.
- Southsea Deckhand x2: I'm still not sure if I want two Leper Gnomes or two Deckhands. Gnomes are obviously better in the early game (turn 1 in particular) while Deckhands provide some flexibility and reach later on.
Why is ... not in the deck?
- King Mukla: I really wanted to include him again. However, now that I think of it, against decks like Control Warrior or Handlock, it might actually help my opponent to find a BGH target with bananas and to develop their board. Even though it has some obvious synergy with Divine Favor and is an aggressive card, I couldn't find another card to cut for it. Worked out well without, so I guess it's fine. :D
- Consecration, Equality, second Kings, Hammer of Wrath, ...: Even though these cards obviously have some merits, I didn't like the situationalness of the cards. BoK is quite powerful, so I kept one, but the second you fall behind, you definitely don't want two of them in your deck. Consecration would've been nice in the mirror, but overall, I find the aggressive consistency to be more important.
- Arcane Golem: Leeroy is already a situational charge minion that serves as a finisher. While there are definitely situations where I would prefer Arcane Golem over (at least) one Wolfrider, I found the drawback too problematic in the early game.
Mulligans & General Strategy
Goind first, you definitely want to mulligan hard for 1-drops. This deck includes a lot of them for a reason: To get pressure going right from the start. Southsea Deckhand and Abusive Seargeant are obviously not your favored turn 1 plays, but don't hesitate to drop them anyways. Shielded Minibot and Owl against Hunter and Warlock are pretty much the only non 1-drops that you want to keep.Going second, you can be a little bit more moderate with your cards, also keeping strong 2-drops of the specific matchup. Knife Juggler can be a bad start if you suspect your opponent to open with a 2/1 or 3/2.
In general, you want to curve out as well as possible, fight efficiently for board control and protect your minions from possible clears/AoE. From there, the gameplan can vary quite a bit. At some point, you usually want to stop going for board control, hitting your opponents hard by simultaniously making sure that you have answers to possible taunts and enough reach. However, this point can sometimes be sooner, sometimes later, depending on how the games develop and whether or not you get the opportunity of a good Divine Favor. Don't hesitate to take some risks against Control decks since they usually want to buy time to stabilize.
Plugs
If you're interested in my other educational videos (constructed, arena, post commentary, deck discussions, ...), feel free to check them out. I still try to establish the channels, so I appreciate every following/subscription. :-)You can find the rest of my stuff here:
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/DorganHS
- Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/dorgana
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DorganHS
- Links & Resources: http://www.dorgan.eu (introduction, schedule, articles, ...)
- Deck Collection
SOURCE
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Hearthstone Guide - Chinese player Fuoliver (温酒斩华佗) brings new account to legend with a 1200 dust (no Naxx/BRM) deck [czhihong]
Chinese player Fuoliver (温酒斩华佗) had notably done 4 f2p series on 4
different servers (with 4 different classes; they were pure runs with $0
spent and no extra arenas), the latest
completed in mid-November just before GvG. He’s also one of the most
respected and popular players/streamers in the Chinese scene, known for
his knowledgeable and informative streams.
His goal for this attempt was to build a relatively straightforward deck
by opening a reasonable number of packs (to an extent) and show new
players how a journey to legend can be achieved realistically. The
original plan was to use either warlock or mage, but he settled on mage
after opening a few packs.
He stated clearly from the beginning that he did not want to simulate
a completely f2p experience this time, which might be difficult for new
players to replicate due to difficulty in piloting the decks created
(they are usually far more punishing on mistakes).
This was seen in his last f2p deck (otk warrior on NA, as linked
above), where he mentioned that it was a very difficult deck to play
properly and does not recommend new players to use it. He also stated
that he wanted a more non-destructive approach to dusting for this run,
so after the first few packs he will not dust playable cards (that are
usable in other decks but useless to his deck) to better simulate the
new player experience.
Key points for journey to legend
- Proof
- Server: Asia
- Date: 10th to 15th July 2015
- Decklist (This has been anglicised by me, due to requests. original list here): It's a poor man's mech mage; 1200-1300 dust, no Naxx/BRM - Just about the whole run was done with slight variations of it, this exact one was what he was using at the end of the first day. He subsequently tweaked often with the mech yeti and sorcerer's apprentice spot, mostly subbing in either water elemental, stranglethorn tiger or second Azure Drake.
- Packs opened: 20+. I understand that he bought the 7-pack bundle twice on the first day and stopped opening packs after he was happy with the deck. He did not disenchant decent, playable cards (that can be used in other decks) after the first 10 packs.
- Games played: 300+ (Reference for number of games to legend based on different win rates.)
Note: It’s a little difficult for me to verify exact packs and games
since I have a lot of problems viewing the VODs, but the numbers are
definitely in the ball park.
Some notable comments from the Chinese community
Q: It’s not a f2p run, he bought packs
Yes, he did. He opened 20+ packs in the first few days, the key point
was that the run was done 99% with a 1200-1300 dust, no adventures
deck.
Q: The run was done on Asia, which is easier than the China server.
Possible, maybe even likely, but there are no hard stats supporting
that. Even assuming that was true, he would probably have made it there
on any of the servers anyway.
Q: The environment seems much more difficult than last year for f2p players
He agrees (as you can read from his last entry below), he thinks
standard of play has risen significantly across the board compared to
when he did his previous f2p runs towards the end of last year.
Q: He is much more skilled than the regular player, and has much
more time on his hands, normal people will never be able to do this.
Most definitely, getting a new account (with this amount of money
spent) to legend in 6 days is unfathomable for new players, no one is
advising that! He just wants to show that with the right deck and
learning, even new players have a good chance to beat net-decks stacked
with legendaries and adventures cards.
Stream and VODS
His entire run was streamed on zhanqi at his huatuo channel. VODS for the run can be found on his youku channel here. Please note that they are frequently extremely laggy
(and spammy) when accessing from the West, youku is essentially
unwatchable for me, zhanqi is sometimes ok when it's in a good mood.
Translation for his reports (posted in a thread
on the NGA forums) starts after the break, if anyone wants to read
through them. Most of them were posted before, I added his final
write-up.
Introduction
It’s been more than half a year since the last “Solo-queue from Zero”
series [Note: this is a direct translation of 从零单排, which is I presume a
loan term from MOBA games. I translated it as "Starting from Scratch"
previously]. Since moving over to Zhanqi (streaming site), I’ve been
swamped with tournaments, events and real life/family matters. I’ve been
practising less and become more distant with viewers and fans. My
standard of play has dipped, and
I’ve lost some of my passion for
Hearthstone.
This was not what I had in mind when I quit my (civil servant) job
and committed to Hearthstone full-time. The reason why I committed to
Hearthstone was to 1) give my dream a proper shot: to become World
Champion and, 2) to get more people to play and love card games.
I’ve decided that this [slump] cannot continue and I need to make
some changes. Therefore, I’m starting the new account series again,
partly to dig deep and push myself in a different way, and partly to
provide guidance and confidence to the many beginners who have a limited
collection.
I’m starting the new account on Asia for this attempt. The current
plan is to open 7 packs (or 1 adventure wing) every 4 hours of play, I
think this way of playing is more relevant to a beginner, and is a
better simulation of a new player’s experience. [NOTE:
He has since stopped opening packs, since he does not see a need to. As
far as I know, he has opened 14 paid packs to date, and is not using any
of the legendaries that he opened].
I invite and welcome everyone to watch my stream on Zhanqi, come
cheer me on! This will also be where I record my daily progress.
10th July – Day 1 - Playtime: 8 hours
I’ve decided to adopt a non-destructive approach to opening packs
this time; besides the first few packs (free ones + first 7), I will not
disenchant the cards that are of decent value (i.e. playable). This is,
again, to better simulate a beginner’s experience.
I used more than 2 hours to clear up the tutorial, basic AI and the
free arena. I unpacked some mechs and mech mage cards, and actually
opened a Toshley [NOTE: which he is not using in his deck, as you will
see from the decklist below], so I decided to attempt the climb with
mage.
I hit Rank 15 after the 1st 4 hours, and my wife opened the new packs
for me, unpacking a Leeroy, which was useless to me. After quickly
hitting Rank 10, I met a barrage of warriors which proved to be very
challenging, and I ended the stream at Rank 9: 4 stars today. I will
probably make some tech changes to adapt against weapon classes
tomorrow.
Current decklist
11th July – Day 2 - Playtime: 5 hours
Had to go to the movies with the missus today, so I only streamed 5
hours. There are no big changes to the decklist, the tech cards have
been going in and out, currently playing water elemental
to counter weapon classes. I have not disenchanted the ladder-usable
cards that I’ve opened, and I do not intend to open new packs at the
moment. The current decklist costs 1200 dust with no adventure cards, I
feel it’s pretty strong, currently at Rank 5.
I invite friends to try the deck on CN, I think it’s viable to climb
the ladder well with it. This series is for beginners, that was partly
why I chose mech mage as it’s a simple deck; I believe my road to legend
can be replicated. Also, I will be hosting a giveaway when I hit Rank
1, the prize is this Asia account after I hit legend. Once again, I
invite and welcome you to watch my stream.
12-13th July 2015 - Days 3 and 4
Sorry I was too tired yesterday so I did not update, here's a summary
of the last two days. It was pretty smooth sailing from Rank 12 to rank
5 [I think this was referring to the 2nd day], but I misplayed quite a
bit on the 3rd day due to fatigue, and had a few unlucky moments, so I
was knocked back to Rank 5 - 0 stars by the end of Day 3. After a good
night's rest, this afternoon I rode a streak to Rank 2, and spent the
day oscillating between Ranks 3 and 2, eventually ending up at Rank 3 - 2
stars. I will try my best and strive to hit legend tomorrow.
The decklist has not changed much, except I took out a water elemental
for a Stranglethorn Tiger. It has worked very well, and helped secured a
few wins.
Decklist: As above, -1 Water Elemental, +1 Stranglethorn Tiger
[The final update was posted on tieba instead of nga.]
15th July 2015 – End of Day 6
This has been the most tiring “solo-queue” attempt yet, it’s clear
that the overall standard of play of Hearthstone players has risen
significantly in the past 6 months, it’s pretty challenging if you’re
completely new. However, I firmly believe that a new player can get to
the higher rungs of the ladder with appropriately chosen decks; the
final push to legend will depend on one’s ability to adapt, and some
luck.
I chose mage for this attempt and thought it should be fairly
straightforward initially. It was smooth sailing before Rank 5, but I
was struggling from Rank 5 to Rank 2. After countless tweaks to the
deck, I finally made it in 205 wins [His previous attempts took 108, 98,
120 and 168 wins respectively]. Dr Boom and Sylvanas are this deck’s
greatest enemies/challenges. After endless yo-yoing through the ranks, I
finally made it! 6 days and 300+ games of mech mage is no doubt tiring,
but I’m really happy to hit legend. This was the decklist used for the last few games.
I hope this can provide some encouragement and confidence for both
new players and others who aspire to hit legend, and I welcome everyone
to watch the VODs of my climb. I believe watching the VODs will raise
your standard of play and be of some benefit.
Here’s to everyone making legend!
tl;dr- Chinese player fuoliver brings a poor man’s mech mage
deck (~1300 dust, no adventures) in 6 days to legend on Asia. He opened
20+ packs throughout his run and hit legend in 205 wins. He hopes his
run can encourage new players to keep learning and overcome the
perceived difficulties they’re facing.
恭喜佗爷! 佗爷威武！
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Hearthstone Guide - 1000 Dust Budget Decks For New Players [by Sheng]
I’m Sheng, a Legend rank constructed and 7+ win-average arena player. I run HearthstoneCoaching.com where our coaches have helped many students achieve the same results.
Introduction
Last month I released a set of Starter deck guides for new players built from the Basic, Naxxramas, and Blackrock Mountain card sets. In the past month, I've received a lot of questions from readers about how they could upgrade their deck over time with cards they open from booster packs.
Initially, I set out to build a mega substitution chart, but found that it wasn't able to capture the synergy between cards that's so important for top-tier constructed decks.
Thus, I've written a new series of guides geared towards the same audience of players who have completed the single player expansions, and want to further improve their decks.
Budget Restrictions
In order to emulate the collection of a player who has only played Hearthstone for a little while, I wanted to set a realistic limitation on the cards I could include into each deck. After some though, I came up with this criteria.
- Access to all cards in the Basic, Naxxramas, and Blackrock Mountain card set. The thought process here is that most players would be willing to spend money on the single-player adventures. They're a really good deal and are not worth grinding for with gold.
- Restricted to only using Commons and Rares from booster packs, with the total cost of a deck not exceeding 1000 dust.
Guide Breakdown
Now that you know the criterion for building these decks, here's what each guide includes, for every class.
- Introduction
- Deck Requirements
- Deck Design Principles
- Deck Playstyle (Overview and Strategy)
- Card Choice Breakdown
- Mulligan Guide
- Combos
- Gameplay Video
- Upgrades
- Conclusion
I've also brought back the upgrades section in case people want to see what an unhindered version of the deck looks like that may be capable of reaching Legend rank. This time it includes direct substitutions, so you don't have to wonder about what cards to keep or take out. It's very clear.
The Guides
Budget Midrange Druid -- 640 Dust
- Budget Midrange Druid is an extremely flexible deck that is built around the efficient mana-acceleration of cards like Innervate and Wild Growth. With this extra mana, a Druid is able to play mid-game threats early, making it extremely difficult for opponents to catch up.
- Budget Face Hunter’s goal is to beat your opponent down as quickly as possible. The general theme of the deck is to get onto the board extremely quickly with minions like Leper Gnome and Worgen Infiltrator, and then finish opponents off with direct damage spells and charge minions.
- Budget Tempo Mage’s goal is to control the board early on with extremely cost-efficient minions that synergize remarkably well with Mage’s cheap class spells.
- Budget Aggro Paladin seeks to claim the board early and never put the foot off the gas. The goal of the deck is to play small cost-efficient minions that benefit from each other and to overwhelm your opponent before they have answers.
- Budget Control Priest is a deck that utilizes Priest’s ability to heal as an offensive and defensive weapon. The two key minions in our deck are Northshire Cleric, which serves as a card draw engine and Auchenai Soulpriest which allows us to use Circle of Healing, Zombie Chow, and our hero power offensively.
- Budget Mech Rogue is a midrange deck whose goal is to utilize Mechwarper to develop a board of Mechs as quickly as possible while eliminating our opponent’s threats using Rogue’s efficient removal spells.
- Budget Mech Shaman is a midrange deck whose goal is to utilize Mechwarper to develop a board of Mechs as quickly as possible, and then utilizes the burst from Windfury cards and Fire Elemental to finish off opponents.
- Budget Zoo Warlock is an aggressive deck that relies on the synergies between its many small minions. In addition, cards like Imp-losion simultaneously help build board for you while eliminating opponent’s threats.
- Patron Warrior might just be the most synergistic deck in the history of Hearthstone. Each card in this deck works towards our strategy of surviving until we can bring out Grim Patron or Frothing Berserker to kill our opponent off in a single-turn. Thanks to the low cost of this deck, we haven’t cut too many cards from it to stay within our budget with the notable exception of Grommash Hellscream which isn’t completely necessary.
Don't have 1000 Dust?
Don't worry, I've got you covered. Check out my previous Starter deck series that don't require any dust to build.
- Decks with Basic Cards Only
- Decks with Basic + Naxxramas Cards Only
- Decks with Basic + Naxxramas + Blackrock Mountain Cards Only
Conclusion
Deck construction was one of the hardest things for me to learn when I first picked up this game, so I hope this will help you guys that are newer to the game bridge that gap.
As always, I'd be very happy to answer your questions on this thread or on the guides themselves. Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
If you’re interested in reaching Legend rank, or earning unlimited gold from arena, my team at HearthstoneCoaching.com would love to help! We’ve provided over a thousand hours of excellent coaching to students around the world.
SOURCE
Friday, June 13, 2014
Tips for Hearthstone by Mike Donais
Building a deck can be stressful, especially if you’re left wondering “what do?” when staring at your collection. I’m Mike Donais, senior designer for Hearthstone, here with a few tips on the subject. Aside from 20 years of card-gaming under my belt, I also worked as a designer for Magic: The Gathering and the World of Warcraft trading card game. Let’s get to it!
Deck building, how does it work?
Here are a few fundamentals for building a strong deck.
1. Focus on a theme
The types of decks you can create are virtually endless, so it’s good to know what kind of deck you want to play before you start building. If you want a fast, aggressive (“rush”) deck, stick to efficient, high-damage minions. Include minions with Charge and spells that deal damage directly to your opponent.
If a slow and careful “control” deck is more your style, include healing and taunt minions. The taunt minions force your opponent to attack them before they can take a swing at you, and the healing minions help restore some health you (or your other minions) might have lost.
Some themes can be more complex, for example focusing around cards like Gadgetzan Auctioneer, Alarm-o-Bot, various Pirates, or Malygos. In those cases, you’ll of course want to include some fun cards that match your theme, but don’t forget to also have some strong, generally useful cards to keep you alive while your theme plays out, such as Frostbolt,Backstab, or Lightning Bolt.
2. Have 5–10 early game cards.
If you get behind in the early game, it’s tough to get the upper hand again. Having 5–10 cards that cost 1–2 mana and make sense to play on the first two turns can help avoid this. These are usually minions or spells that can remove your opponent's early minions.
3. Have 5–10 late game cards
Most decks can benefit from solid late-game/higher cost cards. Even for rush-themed decks, something aggressive like Argent Commander can make sense, whereas a control deck might do well to include something like Sunwalker .
Card drawing can also be useful in the late game but remember a minion that takes 2 cards to kill is better than drawing 2 cards because if your opponent doesn’t have the cards to kill it you are way ahead.
4. Play mostly minions
If you play a minion and your opponent can deal with it, then you end up even. However, if you play a minion and your opponent can’t deal with it, then you are ahead on the game board. Once you are ahead on the board you can start making favorable trades or smashing your opponent directly. This makes minions more important than spells which kill minions.
When first building decks, try including 20 or more minions. Later you might break this rule with specific spell focused decks.
5. Improve the deck over time
Remember, this is a learning process; you’re going to win some and lose some. Don't change your deck after just one game—pay attention to what cards worked out well over the course of several. Then, go back over the deck and make changes based on what you learned.
For example, if you lost to a lot of fast-paced decks, add more taunt minions and cards that cost 1–2 mana. Make sure you don't have too many expensive cards.
Or, if you run out of cards before killing your opponent, add more late-game minions.
Have patience! If you lose to a deck/specific class once, it doesn't necessarily mean you need to make a change!
Playing your new deck
1. Start with cheap minions
If you don't play any cards on the first three turns, you’ll likely get too far behind, so make sure your starting hand has at least one 2-mana card even if it means you have to mulligan (redrawing at the start of a duel) a good 4-mana card.
2. Spend your mana
First, consider a play that would spend all your mana, and then compare that with your other options. Getting big minions out early is usually the best strategy because it puts your opponent on the defensive. If your opponent doesn’t have the right card to deal with your early minions you end up with a big advantage.
Once you are more experienced you should also think about how you will spend your mana on your next turn.
3. Think twice before making a play
Before you make a play, pause and look at your whole hand to make sure you don't have a better way of dealing with the situation.
4. A clear board is a happy board
Trading one of your minions for a similar enemy minion is generally a good idea. Meaning if you have say a 3/3 minion and your opponent also has a 3/3 minion, you should attack and kill theirs with yours. By doing this, they won't be able to surprise you with a buff spell that could make that 3/3 minion a 4/4 minion.
This is also important because if they play a spell that damages all of your minions, it won't be as big of a problem.
5. Don’t play too many minions.
Each class has some way of clearing the board if there are a lot of enemy minions. Try to keep those in mind when playing more than two minions.
6. Card drawing is for late game
If you have a choice between playing a minion or drawing cards it is almost always better to play the minion first. Putting out minions puts your opponent on the defensive while drawing cards doesn’t improve your board at all. When you are out of minions then you can play your card drawing to get more.
This applies to minions like Loot Hoarder, too. On turn 2, if you have a Faerie Dragon and a Loot Hoarder you should play the Faerie Dragon first because you don’t need to draw cards yet. Having the bigger minion out is more important.
7. Hero power
If you can kill an enemy minion by using your hero power it is a big advantage because you didn’t spend a card. However, most of the time, playing a creature from your hand will give you a bigger board presence than using your hero power. In the early game focus on getting out minions so that you control the board. In the late game you will have more mana so you can use your hero power more often.
8. Have fun!
Even the most experienced players don’t win all of their games.
Relax and have fun, switch decks sometimes, experiment, learn, enjoy!
Source: http://us.battle.net
Monday, May 26, 2014
Top 10 Arena Misplays by Waskir
Here is my friend Waskir's top 10 for arena misplays. He's an EU legend but mainly play a lot of arena with a winrate of ~75%. I hope you like it, have a good laugh or that this post even helps you to improve your game. (Reason I'm posting is the fact that he's having trouble posting it himself)
No. 1 Missing Lethal: Sometimes you get so occupied keeping the board clear that you just continue clearing the board instead of just killing your opponent. Sometimes this outright costs you the game since it gives your opponent a potential out. This mistake even happens to the best players so don't forget to constantly check for lethal. On a higher level of play you can miss lethal one or even two turns before actually killing your opponent. A simple example is to have a Fireball in hand and missing to put your opponent to 7.
No. 2 Forgetting to attack: This mistake is so silly.. yet it happens to the best of us. Plan your turn --> Execute your turn --> Take your time to check your play --> Hit the "next turn" button.
No. 3 Playing for too much value: This is something I have seen plenty of times and I consider it to be one of the most frequent and most terrible mistakes of lower level arena players. The classic example is to just use the hero power or playing an inferiour minion instead of lobbing out that Mind Control Tech on turn 3, since it's battlecry is useless. A really bad player even continues to wait the following turns hoping for the opponent to overcommit taking a lot of damage in the meantime.The correct play is to just play that Mind Control Tech if you don't have a better alternative. By not playing that MC-tech turn 3 you are essentially giving away board control as well as the control over the game for a 25% (or lower) chance to get their best minion on turn x, which might still lead to a loss if your opponent has an answer.
No. 4 Getting greedy: You got offered a Ragnaros, an Ysera, 3 Boulderfist Ogres, 2 Ancient of Lores, 2 ancients of war, 2 iron bark protectors, and you took them all? You should probably be extremely happy if you ever get more than 3 wins! Having all these amazing cards is great. The problem is the probability for having 2 or even more dead cards until turn 6 is so high that your precious ragnaros will never see daylight since you are already dead.
No. 5 Playing like in constructed decks: A lot of plays that might be great for constructed are highly questionable in the arena. I have seen a lot of players using Wrath to cycle through their deck instead of just using their hero power while being on perfect health. This might be an ok play when you are playing a ramp druid knowing what deck you are playing against. First, in arena you most likely don't have a ramp druid deck. Second, you have no idea what you are up against. Usually you will regret your misplay just the following turn, not having that extra 3 dmg.
No. 6 Drafting for constructed decks: A lot of players seem to try drafting a deck that is as close as possible to a constructed deck they know. Occasionally they end up with decks that just crush through the arena like a beast. However, most of the time they will end up with unfinished "half-combos" since there is no guarantee to get all the required cards. For example Shadowstep is a terrible pick unless you already have a god-tier card to combo it with.
No. 7 Bad Mulligan: So you are going first and you got three 4-drops in your starting hand? Well that's bad luck. But if your deck is rather expensive you might want to keep at least one of those 4 drops since getting an even more expensive hand happens more often than you might think. One could write a whole chapter about how to mulligan correctly but the main remedy to this mistake is to get familiar with your arena deck and it's mana curve specifically before even starting the first game.
No. 8 Having inflated expectations of your arena deck: This might seem a bit odd but I have seen streamers falling prone to this, and I have catched myself thinking: "This deck is awesome, I'll get to 12 wins with this!". All of a sudden you lose 2 early games and get tilted, leading to a misplay causing an unnecessary third loss. Never forget that RNG plays a big role in hearthstone, especially in the short run. If your new forged "imba-deck" loses due to abysmal draws or to opponents with even more ridicolous decks there is nothing you can do about it. Suck it up and play your best. In the long run you WILL perform according to your drafting and playing skills.
No. 9 Killing yourself: You got a bunch of weapons? Awesome! You can trade superefficiently almost every turn? Awesome! You get a Fireball out of the blue and lost the game? ... Oooops! Never forget to keep an eye on your lifetotal. If you are dropping low you need to settle for less efficient trades or you'll get maged!.
No. 10 Drafting too many situational cards: In arena it is easy to pick up too many cards that are situational (e.g. Betrayal) or cards that rely on a specific combo (e.g. Timber Wolf). Even if these cards were the best pick at the time and their potential value is enormous you want to keep them to a minimum. Otherwise you'll end up with a hand full of situational cards not having any play for a turn since the requirements are not met. This is one of the main reasons blunt cards like Chillwind Yeti or Boulderfist Ogre are so strong in arena. It's rarely wrong to just play them.
Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone
Monday, October 21, 2013
New to Hearthstone? Here's your quick start to level and get gold fast!
How to get started in Hearthstone:
If you just got a beta key, you want to get gold, cards and start playing arena as fast as possible. I was very frustrated by how long it took me to "jump right in" to the real playing, so hopefully this will help you get there faster. To do this, you need gold, a decent hero, and lots of wins. Here’s a quick guide on how to get started as fast as possible so you can start playing the real game.
Winning games as fast as possible will really help you get started. Playing the AI, although not as fun, is much faster than a lot of the players you’ll encounter online, and will help you unlock everything you need to really start playing.
As you level up each class, you’ll unlock new basic cards, so the set below is not completely available until you hit level 10 with your priest. You'll get these spells at the levels below.
- Level 2 - 2x Divine Spirit
- Level 4 - 2x Mind Vision
- Level 6 - 2x Holy Nova
- Level 8 - 2x Shadow Word: Death
- Level 10 - 2x Mind Control
You can substitute some low mana minions up until you hit level 6 and 10 for Nova and Mind Control.
Your first class is a mage, so the first thing you should do is beat a priest to unlock the class.
Basic Priest Deck:
Minions (18)
- Chillwind Yeti x2
- Darkscale Healer x2
- Gnomish Inventor x2
- Ironfur Grizzly x2
- Northshire Cleric x2
- Novice Engineer x2
- River Crocolisk x2
- Sen'jin Shieldmasta x2
- Shattered Sun Cleric x2
Spells (12)
- Holy Nova x2
- Holy Smite x2
- Mind Control x2
- Power Word: Shield x2
- Shadow Word: Death x2
- Shadow Word: Pain x2
Then you want to take this deck and beat every computer AI in the game, which will unlock all classes. That pays 100g.
Go back and do it again, only in expert mode. That will net another 100g. If you hit level 10 with your priest, it’s a good idea to switch to another class, as you’ll want to level all 9 classes to level 10, which will net you another 200g.
After you’ve beaten the AI, which even on expert is less difficult than most games against real people, in my opinion, it’s time to take your skills to the “Play” feature. Make sure to keep track, I just went in order. There is no way to tell which classes you have or haven't beaten in this mode.
Every 3 wins up to this point will also net 10 gold, and you’ll gain experience for both wins and losses.
At this point, if you've decided not to play the AI and play actual humans over the internet, you should have racked up at least 18 wins, so that’s 60 gold, another 100g for unlocking all the heroes, and another 100g from beating all the AI in expert mode, which at minimum will be enough to pay 150 gold to get into the arena once. You likely have some random daily quests completed too, so maybe 300 gold, which will let you pay for arena twice. The first entry is always free.
Great, I have gold, now what?
Arena is the smarter way to spend gold, rather than just buying decks. Every 150 gold spent on arena will get you one deck, some crafting essences, and some gold. The bonus depends on your win ratio, but I’ve found with 3 wins and 3 losses I just about break even. If you are able to win 7 games out of 9 you are guaranteed to get 150 gold when you retire from the arena. If you’re good, it can be better than that, but arena is just fun!
Gold going forward can be earned by every 3 wins, achievements and daily achievements. I’ll list the main ones you’ll encounter below, and will likely have earned one or two by this point.
Achievements:
- Win 100 games in any mode. (300g)
- Win 1000 games in any mode. (300g)
- Level each available hero to level 10. (100g)
- Unlock every Hero. (100g)
- Defeat every Expert AI Hero. (100g)
- Collect every card in the Basic Set. (100g)
- Collect every card in the Expert Set. (100g)
- Disenchant a card for the first time (95 dust) (Used to create new cards)
Daily: (One per day, randomly)
- Win 2 game with [Insert 2x Random Class] in any mode. (40g)
- Win 7 games in any mode. (100g)
- Destroy 40 minions. (40g)
- Play 20 minions that cost 5 or more. (40g)
- Play 40 minions that cost 2 or less. (40g)
- Cast 40 spells. (40g)
- Deal 100 damage to enemy heroes. (40g)
- Win 3 games with any class. (40g)
- Win 5 games with [Insert Random Class] (60g)
So there you have it, roughly 3-4 hours of play, you’ll have enough gold to enter arena, access to all classes, and well on your way to dominating your friends (but when you play them no gold per 3 wins), and random strangers on the internet (10 gold for 3 wins).
Guide by: nuhertz
Monday, October 14, 2013
Comprehensive Guide to Hearthstone (Everything you need to know)
Hello everyone and Welcome to my Guide to Hearthstone!
Within this post you'll find an overview of all Heroes and strategy guide as well as an Arena guide discussing things such as key cards to pick.
My name is Quickstero and I'm an avid MTG player and have lots of experience in games such as Yu-Gi-Oh and Cardfight Vanguard so I know a little bit about CCG games in general.
But anyways lets move onto the Hero Overviews:
Druid
Power: 2 Mana, 1 Atk Dmg, 1 Armor
The Druid is a spell heavy hero that focuses on gaining more mana in the begin in order to outpace their opponent. Druids use a combination of creatures and spells in order to overcome their opponent.
Key Cards: (cards to look for in Arena)
Hero Specific Cards:
- Innervate
- Wild Growth
- Druid of the Claw
Neutral Cards:
- General Standard Neutral Cards that are good in any deck
Hunter
Power: 2 Mana, 2 Dmg to opponent
The Hunter is a more minion focused deck that revolves around the Beast subclass. The goal of most Hunter decks is to rush down the opponent with low cost minions as well as remove opponent minions with spells. Secrets are also a main theme among Hunter decks.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Explosive Trap
- Scavenging Hyena
- Explosive Shot
- Starving Buzzard
Neutral Cards:
- Dire Wolf Alpha
- Bloodfen Raptor
- Any Neutral Beast minions
Mage
Power: 2 Mana, 1 Dmg to anything
The Mage is by far the most spell reliant hero among the entire group. Most Mages use spells to kill their opponent rather than using minions. Minions with Spell Damage are extremely powerful in Mage decks. There is also a mage deck that revolves more on the mechanic of Secrets. If anyone is interested, I can discuss this deck more in-depth in the future.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Fireball
- Polymorph
- Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Flamestrike
Neutral Cards:
- Ogre Magi
- Kobold Geomancer
- Dalaran Mage
Paladin
Power: 2 Mana, Summon a 1/1 minion
Paladin decks are a mainly minion focused deck that uses spells to buff up their minions. A main theme among Paladin decks is the skill Divine Shield. Paladins can also manipulate the opponent's minion's health or attack with their spells or minions. Paladins have a higher survivability rate compared to other heroes due to the use of theses spells/ minions.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Truesilver Champion (Weapon)
- Hand of Protection
- Consecration
- Argent Protector
- Aldor Peacekeeper
Neutral Cards:
- Sunwalker
- Argent Commander
Priest
Power: 2 Mana, Heal 2 Dmg on Hero or Minion
Priest rely on their power to heal in order to survive longer than their opponent. They also have spells to spot remove minions from the board. The priest also have the ability to change their healing capabilities into the ability of damaging the opponent's minion and hero.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Lightwell
- Auchenai Soulpriest
- Lightspawn
- Northshire Cleric
- Shadow Word: Pain
Neutral Cards:
- Lightwarden
- Eathen Ring Farseer
Rogue
Power: 2 Mana, Give hero a 1/2 weapon
Rogues are another spell heavy deck that are used to take out the opponent's minions. Rogues also focus on theStealth mechanic when involving their creatures. Rogues usually wait for their opponent to make a move before they decide what strategy they should use. They also have a hero specific skilled called, Combo which requires a card to be played beforehand in order to gain the affect of the Combo.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Defias Ringleader
- Backstab
- Assassinate
Neutral Cards:
- Jungle Panther
- Stranglethorn Tiger
- Ravenholdt Assassin
Shaman
Power: 2 Mana, Summon a random Totem
Shaman decks uses a combo of spells and minions to overpower their opponent. Although the power of these spells and minions are very strong they have the negative ability of Overload. Shamans also specialize in the ability ofWindfury.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Forked Lightning
- Stormforged Axe
- Lightning Storm
- Unbounded Elemental
- Flametongue Totem
Neutral Cards:
- Raging Worgen
- Windfury Harpy
Warlock
Power: 2 Mana, Lose 2 Life, Draw 1 Card
Warlocks are one of my favorite deck types. The hero uses his own life to gain the benefits of his creatures and spells. Minions also have a negative cost but are very powerful for their mana cost. Warlocks have to pay attention to their life at all times or the power becomes useless. the minions' positive abilities usually outweigh the negative ability of the minion so use that to your advantage. Healing is important to keep in mind when drafting as a Warlock. Most important rule of Warlocks in arena is alway pick the Blood Imp.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Blood Imp
- Flame Imp
- Demonfire
- Summoning Portal
- Voidwalker
- Sense Demon
Neutral Cards:
- Voodoo Doctor
- Darkscale Healer
- Flesheating Ghoul
Warrior
Power: 2 Mana, Gain 2 Armor
Warriors are by far my favorite hero, they have great synergy with the subclass Pirates. Warriors are a minion reliant deck that gain power by damaging their own minions. Warriors also benefit from weapons more than any other hero. Always pick the Fiery War Axe in Arena.
Key Cards:
Hero Specific Cards:
- Fiery War Axe
- Cruel Taskmaster
- Frothing Berserker
- Battle Rage
Neutral Cards:
- Raging Worgen
- Bloodsail Raider (if your deck has weapons. which it should)
- Dread Corsair (same as the raider)
- Gurubashi Berserker
Game Mechanics
Here I will discuss some key aspects of the game. (The order of this will be pretty random because my thoughts are fairly scattered right now)
The Coin
The Coin is used to give the second turn player a less of a disadvantage. If you get the coin, don't just waste it. Use it to your best ability. Favorite combos include The Coin + Defias Ringleader and Questing Adventurer+The Coin+Another spell/ minion. Proper coin placement can turn the early game in your favor.
Weapons
Weapons give the player an extra bit of control to the board. Your is important but you have to use it to your best advantage. Think of health as another source of mana. Make smart decisions when deciding to kill a minion with a weapon. Unless you are going for the win, don't waste your weapon on the opponent's life total.
Silence
Silence is an ability that doesn't appear often among minions/ spells. I would suggest to have two minions/ spells with the ability Silence in my deck. Use your Silence to the best advantage. Don't waste such a powerful ability.
Card Advantage
Card Advantage is key to maintaining stability throughout the game. This is very important during late game situations. Once you run out of steam, you are relying on whatever you draw each turn to go against your opponent. Therefore cards that can draw more cards are extremely useful in any deck.
If anyone wishes for me to discuss other aspects of the game, just let me know in the comments
Know the Lingo!
- Card Value - this is talking about how useful the card is for the amount of mana you spend on it. For example if your opponent has a weapon and you play an Acidic Swamp Ooze, that two mana cost Ooze is worth way more than what you just spent it on since you go a creature and destroyed a weapon.
- Top Decking - Top Decking is a term used when you are out of cards and are relying on the top card of your deck. You never want to be in this type of situation.
- Luck Sacking - Players say this whenever he or the opponent gets a lucky draw and wins the game. No amount of skill could prepare anyone for something like this to happen.
Drafting in Arena
Here is a list of Neutral cards that are always solid picks in arena
Common Card Choices
- Faerie Dragon
- Dire Wolf Alpha
- Ironbeak Owl
- Mad Bomber
- Youthful Brewmaster
- Acolyte of Pain
- Flesheating Ghoul
- Harvest Golem
- Raging Worgen
- Dark Iron Dwarf
- Spellbreaker
- Fen Creeper
- Sen'jin Shieldmasta
- Bolderfist Ogre
- Frost Elemental
Rare Card Choices:
- Knife Juggler
- Demolisher
- Emperor Cobra
- Questing Adventurer
- Defender of Argus
- Twilight Drake
Druids
- Keeper of the Grove
- Nourish
- Starfall
Hunter
- Explosive Shot
- Savannah Highmane
Mage
- Blizzard
- Vaporize
Paladin
- Equality
- Aldor Peacekeeper
Priest
- Lightwell
- Auchenai Soulpriest
Rogue
- SI:7 Agent
- Master of Disguise
Shaman
- Feral Spirit
- Lava Burst
- Mana Tide Totem
Warlock
- Shadowflame
- Siphon Soul
Warrior
- Frothing Berserker
- Armorsmith
Once it gets to Epic and Legendary card level than it is really up to you to decide what to pick.
Alright that is it for my introductory guide to Hearthstone, I will update with whatever you guys want in the future. Maybe throw in some pictures when I get a chance.
Thanks for reading!
By: Quickstero
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)