• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Hearthstone |OT5| Corrupted Deeprock Salt

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"


Previous Threads:
Beta - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=755759
OT1 - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=782919
OT5 - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=878696 (Accelerated by Unstable Portal)
OT6 - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1008907
OT7 - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1086390

------

Hr3iXm8.jpg


What is Hearthstone?
Hearthstone is a free-to-play online Collectible Card Game (F2POCCG, which is a real genre) from Blizzard, based on the Warcraft universe. Choose a hero corresponding to one of the nine classes in Vanilla WoW and create a deck using their signature mechanics to fight other players in Casual or Ranked matchmaking. Earn Gold for every three wins and use the Gold to buy booster packs in order to expand your card pool, or use the Gold to purchase a ticket to the Arena where you construct your own deck on the fly using a random pool of all cards in the game. There is no offline play, but there are singleplayer adventure modes.

Download the client (Windows, Mac) on the main site. Note, you will also need a Blizzard account to log in to their launcher.

How to play Hearthstone?
I'm not going to go into that here, just play the tutorial to learn the game.

How to really play Hearthstone?
Read articles, apply critical thinking, watch good streamers.

Is there an in-game/player-driven economy?
No. There is no card trading or buying cards from other players and there probably won't be anytime in the foreseeable future. In its place is a crafting system. You can disenchant cards you do not want for arcane dust. You can then use that arcane dust to craft cards you do want.

Is this game Pay2Win?'
Of a sort. The thing you should know about Hearthstone is that if you're not going to pay money, plan on playing a lot (read: grinding) or becoming really good at Arena. The longer a player has played, the bigger their card pool will be. This means that an older, frequent player will always have better cards than a newer player. This is just an unavoidable part of collectible card games.

A paying player can save a lot of time by buying boosters, but it's not cheap and they're not guaranteed the best of the best cards, which is, in the end, what separates good decks from the best decks. Buying some boosters right off, however, will help you build a foundation to reliably win games in order to get Gold.

If you really hate not having good cards, then stick to Arena, which is a "level" playing field for a certain definition of "level".

What's the balance like?
This far post release, the Hearthstone team is committed to only affecting balance changes when they are "absolutely necessary".

If I like MTG/YGO/blah blah blah, will I like this?
Hearthstone is simplistic compared to games like MTG and YGO. The reason for this is because of Hearthstone's asynchronous turns, which means that you can't make any moves on your opponents turns. Hearthstone does have it's own particular brand of complexity, but it's really designed from the ground up to be a "pick up and play game". If you're looking for a hardcore card game experience like MTG, you won't find it here, but if you're looking for a streamlined card game experience you can jump in and out of whenever you want, then Hearthstone is right for you.

Anyway it's free, so you don't lose much by giving it a shot.


peI9qrv.jpg


Le Reddit Guide - Probably the best place to start if you're totally new.
Trump Teachings - A video series by one of the game's most notable streamers. This is essentially Hearthstone 101 and is mandatory viewing for any new player looking for a crash course in Hearthstone strategy.
Liquid Hearth's Beginner Guides - Some of the info is outdated but the general ideas remain the same.
Three Competing Resources Parts 1, 2, 3 - A series of articles on "resources" in the context of a card game, which goes well beyond just mana.
Gold, Arcane Dust, and Real Money Tips - Some tips from yours truly about how you should be managing your gold, arcane dust, and any real money with Hearthstone.


zmCTLEI.jpg


Official Forums - A veritable nest of QQ and cries for nerf, just like your WoW days!
Team Liquid's Hearthstone Portal - Better place to discuss and learn about Hearthstone, frequently featuring competitive analysis and deck tech articles.
IHearthU - Another good site for high level Hearthstone discourse.
Hearthpwn and Managrind - Part of the Curse family of gaming sites, not only does it have an online database of cards and deck building tool, it is also home to ManaGrind, one of the premiere Hearthstone tournaments!
Hearthstone Wiki - Obligatory game wiki.
HearthArena - This website will help you out while drafting for arena. You enter the three cards you are presented for each pick and the tool will attempt to recommend you the best pick based on a general tier list and your current deck.
Gutshot's Hearthstone Collection Spreadsheet - You can use this to keep track of your current card collection.


jPH90XN.jpg


Amaz: YouTube, Twitch - Over the top reactions, priest-focused. Constructed and arena.
Brian Kibler: YouTube, Twitch - High level, very professional streamer. Former MTG Champion. Doesn't usually play meta-decks. Constructed-only.
Forsen: Twitch -"For fun" stream. Politically Incorrect. Twitch at its best/worst depending on who you ask. Constructed-only.
Hafu: Twitch - High level arena play
Kolento: YouTube, Twitch - Arguably the best player in the world. Very high level stream.
Kripparian: YouTube. Twitch - Decent arena play. Good YouTube content.
Trump: YouTube, Twitch - Nice guy. Lots of good YouTube content. Somewhat high level analysis. Constructed and arena.
Funny and Lucky Moments (Trolden): YouTube - Crazy play montages.
Epic Plays (Rage Orc): YouTube - More crazy play montages.
Disguised Toast: YouTube - Variety video content
Hearthstone Science: YouTube - Advanced Rules Experimentation and Discovery


TBKEMcK.jpg


Hearthstone Calendar
Team Liquid Calendar
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Wall of shame!

9RAxymL.jpg


The thread title is an obvious reference to the famous Christmas carol. But I replaced the word "branches" with "curves". =)

An yes, this is OT6 again. Because of course it is.
 

Dahbomb

Member
Just saw Kripparrian's review of Mysterious Challenger (when the card was first showcased):

Said the card doesn't fit the aggro theme of Paladin (he was talking about Eboladin at the time) and it won't get used because Paladin secrets are notoriously bad so this card will probably be bad too. Also this card is slow.


ayylmaochat.png
 
Just saw Kripparrian's review of Mysterious Challenger (when the card was first showcased):

Said the card doesn't fit the aggro theme of Paladin (he was talking about Eboladin at the time) and it won't get used because Paladin secrets are notoriously bad so this card will probably be bad too. Also this card is slow.


ayylmaochat.png

Watching krip for constructed advice is like watching reynad for an always upbeat and positive personality.
 

Dahbomb

Member
Watching krip for constructed advice is like watching reynad for an always upbeat and positive personality.
He got most of the cards right though. I mean yeah he got the main one wrong but like 90% of the TGT cards he correctly predicted.

It's just funny to put well known players on blast. And he definitely wasn't the only player to get Mysterious Challenger wrong, lots of top players did. Remember when Lifecoach stated that only 11 cards will be used from TGT?
 
Was hoping for "The nerf before Christmas",

But this will do for now.

Just saw Kripparrian's review of Mysterious Challenger (when the card was first showcased):

Said the card doesn't fit the aggro theme of Paladin (he was talking about Eboladin at the time) and it won't get used because Paladin secrets are notoriously bad so this card will probably be bad too. Also this card is slow.

Kripp is still 100% right. It doesn't fit into eboladin and eboladin is still better. Paladin secrets do suck and nobody plays secret paladin in tournaments. If they do, they lose.

The fact that lots of people play it on ladder doesn't mean it is good. People have to be told to play something, it could be a goblin sapper meta next.
 

Dahbomb

Member
Kripp is still 100% right. It doesn't fit into eboladin and eboladin is still better. Paladin secrets do suck and nobody plays secret paladin in tournaments. If they do, they lose.

The fact that lots of people play it on ladder doesn't mean it is good. People have to be told to play something, it could be a goblin sapper meta next.
Secret Paladin is being used at the Blizzcon tournament, a lot in fact and most of the matches today with Secret Paladin had won it. Wouldn't be surprised if it had the highest win rate of the group stage thus far.
 

Dahbomb

Member
Yeah this should've been OT8 unless it's a joke on Dr 6.

Actually it should be OT5 because we skipped 3 OTs thanks to Unbalanced Esportal.
 

Line_HTX

Member
Yeah this should've been OT8 unless it's a joke on Dr 6.

Actually it should be OT5 because we skipped 3 OTs thanks to Unbalanced Esportal.

Actually, I don't understand the skip from 1 to 5. Was it really the release of GvG and Unstable ESports?
 
Wall of shame!

9RAxymL.jpg


The thread title is an obvious reference to the famous Christmas carol. But I replaced the word "branches" with "curves". =)

An yes, this is OT6 again. Because of course it is.

You would think this is a vergil thread with the amount if post dahbomb had lolol.

Been playing Rouge in arena pretty fun with all the combos but cant seem to get past 7 wins unlike paladin/mage where i can make a few mistake and still hit double digits.
 

Dahbomb

Member
It's bad enough when they create garbage RNGstone Brawls...

It's the absolute worst when they repeat these Brawls.


Well at least the Webspinner Brawl had some new dynamics in the form of Acidmaw and Dreadscale. Those two cards turn the tide of battle very dramatically especially if you get them together.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
I would legit use that in the new Grim Patron deck.

Mostly because I can't currently use Azure Drake because 2 spell power on Whirlwind can clear your own board too. That's also why Azure Drake wasn't used in the original Patron deck and instead Gnomish was used.

I feel like this game could use some more enrage effects. A warrior deck that makes better use of enrage effects feels like it should really be a thing. Cards like Rampage and Sea Reaver are begging for it.
 

Dahbomb

Member
I feel like this game could use some more enrage effects. A warrior deck that makes better use of enrage effects feels like it should really be a thing. Cards like Rampage and Sea Reaver are begging for it.
Sea Reaver is now and forever will be garbage. If it hit the enemy's board as well then I might consider playing it just for the free board wipe but as it is, it's basically just a Boulderfist Ogre.
 

Celegus

Member
Tried playing on my phone for the first time. Accidentally thumbed end turn and skipped my turn 6 in arena. So much for that run... but got a TGT pack with a legendary glow! Woohoo, finally my third legendary! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand
Skeleton Knight
. At least my Icehowl will have a buddy to sit and rot with.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Sea Reaver is now and forever will be garbage. If it hit the enemy's board as well then I might consider playing it just for the free board wipe but as it is, it's basically just a Boulderfist Ogre.

A free whirlwind is just too strong imo. Ridiculous activator for execute and scales too well with other whirlwind effects.

If a warrior deck could conceivably populate their entire minion base with enrage/damage cards on the level of Dragon Egg and Amani Berserker then I think Sea Reaver could see use. The new Patron still looks too much like old Patron imo. Stepping away from Patron and towards other lower cost enrage minions is a direction the deck could conceivably take, especially as an anti-aggro option. I've run Dragon Egg and Amani in such decks and they really aren't that bad. Even Axe Flinger isn't that bad in an aggressive meta. It can work almost like a 6/5 at times. It is just super weak against shredder right now.
 

jgminto

Member
They should make Sea Reaver gain an advantage for how many of your minions it hits when drawn, that would be a cool mechanic to build a deck around.
 

Dahbomb

Member
A free whirlwind is just too strong imo. Ridiculous activator for execute and scales too well with other whirlwind effects.

If a warrior deck could conceivably populate their entire minion base with enrage/damage cards on the level of Dragon Egg and Amani Berserker then I think Sea Reaver could see use. The new Patron still looks too much like old Patron imo. Stepping away from Patron and towards other lower cost enrage minions is a direction the deck could conceivably take, especially as an anti-aggro option. I've run Dragon Egg and Amani in such decks and they really aren't that bad. Even Axe Flinger isn't that bad in an aggressive meta. It can work almost like a 6/5 at times. It is just super weak against shredder right now.
Enrage deck doesn't have a Dr 1, Dr 2, Dr. 4 and Dr.6.

You have Grim Patron on the 5 mana slot, you have Berserker on the 3 mana slot, Dr.7 and Grommash at 8. At 2 mana the enrage deck is playing Unstable Ghouls, Taskmasters and Armorsmiths. These are generally weak offensive minions. You can play Amani Berserker in that slot but that card is not a dominant 2 drop at all (nothing like a Minibot for example). Same for that Warbot, it's not that threatening as a 1 drop.

For turn 4 you are forced to play Shredder because it's the god damn Shredder. There's no good 4 drop Enrage minion. Axe Flinger is butt cheeks and it probably wouldn't even see play even if it was a 3/5. Now if Axe Flinger was a 3/5 and chucked a 2 damage attack at random enemy minions whenever it got hit then you would have something there.

You don't have any 6 drop option for this deck either. Generally you are playing Grim Patron on turn 6 with a whirlwind while other decks are dropping Mysterious Challengers or Sylvanas or Emperor Balanced or Highmanes or actually ending the game by turn 6. That's why it was a failed opportunity to create a good Sea Reaver.


Imagine if Warrior had Gazrilla instead of Dr Balanced. Now that's what I am talking about!
 
hope to see an announcement on blizzcon

I would say there's a pretty good chance that is the case since we saw Goblins vs Gnomes revealed at last year's Blizzcon(I think). I don't exactly remember GvG's release date.

Even if they don't have much to show, it'd be a bit of a waste not to promote the next expac on a Blizzcon stage.
 

Line_HTX

Member
I would say there's a pretty good chance that is the case since we saw Goblins vs Gnomes revealed at last year's Blizzcon(I think). I don't exactly remember GvG's release date.

Even if they don't have much to show, it'd be a bit of a waste not to promote the next expac on a Blizzcon stage.

It was roughly 30 days after the end of Blizzcon IIRC.

This next expansion needs to murder Ebola and Living Roots Druid, maybe Zoo.
 
A free whirlwind is just too strong imo. Ridiculous activator for execute and scales too well with other whirlwind effects.

If a warrior deck could conceivably populate their entire minion base with enrage/damage cards on the level of Dragon Egg and Amani Berserker then I think Sea Reaver could see use. The new Patron still looks too much like old Patron imo. Stepping away from Patron and towards other lower cost enrage minions is a direction the deck could conceivably take, especially as an anti-aggro option. I've run Dragon Egg and Amani in such decks and they really aren't that bad. Even Axe Flinger isn't that bad in an aggressive meta. It can work almost like a 6/5 at times. It is just super weak against shredder right now.

You still can't control when it activates, so it's not like you get a free Whirlwind whenever you need it. It might pop out at just the right time, and it might pop out and board wipe you when the other guy has nothing out or isn't phased by 1 damage. Death's Bite is still a more reliable Whirlwind.
 

Dahbomb

Member
I don't even know what Blizzard can actually introduce in the next adventure that would counter the aggro.

But it's fun to theory craft so I am going to do it anyway:

First of all we would need weapons that silence on attack hit. I would honestly pay 4 mana for a 3/2 weapon just so I can kill a Shredder in one attack. It doesn't even have to be a silence, it can just be a weapon that negates deathrattles and they can name a new mechanic after it.

Secondly they have to introduce ways to counter armor. A minion that does triple attack on armor for example would be interesting. Or an Alexstraza type minion that removes armor. Any way so that we don't have a 9-1 Freeze Mage vs CW match up ever again.

More control options that are cheap and deal with multiple smaller minions at once. Preferably anti-deathrattle effects. Like a Fireball that negates deathrattle before dealing damage.

Then we need taunts that can't be silenced off.

And of course... gotta have a neutral minion that counters mass secrets. If they aren't going to nerf MC anytime soon then at least give us ways to deals with multiple secrets. Game needs more ways to counter play the bull shit.

Finally, there needs to be a mechanic that punishes filling up the board with garbage minions. Like a board clear that deals damage to the hero depending on how many minions you cleared times 3.
 

Line_HTX

Member
Didn't they say at one point they were pondering Legendary spells or weapons? The only Legendary weapon at the moment is Ashbringer.

Yeah, Freeze Mage definitely needs something to remove the armor from Control Warrior. At this point, it's nothing but a 10-0 matchup just waiting to be bodied.

Buff Mage again Kappa
 

Dre

Member
I'm actually glad Blizzard fucked up yet another Brawl. I got The Meek Shall Inherit daily quest today and didn't have to reroll it.
 
Top Bottom