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[ZealousD]

Previous Threads:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=782919
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=755759

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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.

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 like Trump.

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?
Eh. If you're used to the Blizzard cycle of buffs and nerfs and FOTM, you'll feel right at home here. Because of the digital format, the dev team can play a little fast and loose with card balance compared to, say, Wizards of the Coast. But this also means they make more mistakes, and overall they're still trying to find that card balance sweet spot. Once they do find their footing, however, they will dial back the number of changes and generally take a hand off approach.

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.

Le Reddit Guide - Probably the best place to start if you're totally new.
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.

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.

Trump: YouTube, Twitch
Value Town and Deck Wars (Chanman): YouTube, Twitch
Funny and Lucky Moments: YouTube
2pPressStart; YouTube

Hearthstone Calendar
Team Liquid Calendar

 

[Minsc]

Thanks for the new thread. I don't have too many ideas to add for the OP, but look forward to seeing what else can be done to have it be more useful!

Spoiler

Now everyone is saved from my oh-so clever would be title of RNG, or DIE! .... or both.

 

[Haunted]

Heroic final wing is kicking my ass so far. I'm thinking Freeze Mage for the first encounter, but I don't have the necessary cards.

Going to be rough!

 

[RumblingRosco]

Nice OP. Now... let's speculate what comes next for HS now that Naxx is finished. Android/iPhone version?

 

[Tacitus_]

Heroic final wing is kicking my ass so far. I'm thinking Freeze Mage for the first encounter, but I don't have the necessary cards.

Going to be rough!

The first two and the last wing are the most sensible in HC. Fuck the construct and military wing.

Oh and freeze mage isn't needed, I cleared hc without it.

 

[Acidote]

Heroic final wing is kicking my ass so far. I'm thinking Freeze Mage for the first encounter, but I don't have the necessary cards.

Going to be rough!

I will be working on HM when I get back home. I pretty much don't have any mage cards so I'll have to find a different (budget) strategy.

 

[Blu(e)]

I will be working on HM when I get back home. I pretty much don't have any mage cards so I'll have to find a different (budget) strategy.

Yeah I haven't even really attempted heroic. I always start against Anub'Rekhan and quickly lose interest when he starts summoning his 4/4 monseter. I need to look up some budget decks and strategies to try lest I hope I win through blind luck.

 

[ZealousD]

Wall of Shame from the prior thread.

 

[ShinNL]

I wonder how Kel with taunts is going to affect the meta.

 

[Tacitus_]

Yeah I haven't even really attempted heroic. I always start against Anub'Rekhan and quickly lose interest when he starts summoning his 4/4 monseter. I need to look up some budget decks and strategies to try lest I hope I win through blind luck.

I think I just beat him with your basic pre-naxx zoo. Or was it midrange hunter, I can't remember. Then Zoo for Faerlina and a custom outlast deck for Maexxna. Like I said above, the first two wings are fairly reasonable in HC.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

I wonder how Kel with taunts is going to affect the meta.

Goldshire footman + frostwolf grunt OP

 

[ZealousD]

I wonder how Kel with taunts is going to affect the meta.

I kind of think the only taunt deck he might fit in would be control pally, but he'd be like the third 8+ Mana card in that deck.

 

[Tacitus_]

Fuck the meta, I'm going to start playing arenas again now that I don't need to save gold for Naxx.

 

[Acidote]

I've had no problems with HMs yet, but reading you guys I suppose I will with the final wing as pretty much everyone is talking about freeze mage, and I don't have the necessary freeze mage cards.

 

[raiot]

Haha, I got an epic KT Heroic win!

I was at 28 life, out of cards, with 2 paladin minions.
KT had 7 life, a shade of naxxramas, 3 paladin minions and played an acolyte of pain.
I attacked the acolyte with one minion, 1 fatigue dmg.
I attacked with the second minion, 2 fatigue dmg.
Now I used the paladin hero power and ended the turn.
He got 3 dmg from fatigue, putting him to 1.
What does he do? He does not use his shackles, he attacks with the acolyte into my minion and kills himself with fatigue!

 

[Yoshichan]

New thread, fuck yes

Also, how did I get that high up in the wall of shame? Did I really complain that much?

 

[Blu(e)]

I think I just beat him with your basic pre-naxx zoo. Or was it midrange hunter, I can't remember. Then Zoo for Faerlina and a custom outlast deck for Maexxna. Like I said above, the first two wings are fairly reasonable in HC.

I don't know what "Zoo" is but I'll look into it when I can. I'm still kind of new to HS so I haven't dug any deeper into the meta or anything like that.

 

[CoolOff]

Wall of Shame from the prior thread.

My first time on a Wall of Shame. ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

 

[Mr Cola]

Getting kicked out of HS on Eu, was doing the wing and couldnt move

 

[Raxus]

Wow, I didn't make the wall. I am surprised.

 

[zoukka]

Wall of Shame from the prior thread.

Wat...

-_-

 

[ViviOggi]

*shameless repost*

Finally committed to the grind after many months of losing motivation at around rank 3. So glad Control Warrior is really strong for once.

Also congrats zoukka

 

[NBtoaster]

KT has been a dead card in my hand every game..
I imagine he's good in shaman vs control but he only makes your matchup vs hunter worse.

 

[zoukka]

Eh lol can't access Naxx atm... game works otherwise.

Nvm: Nothing works in EU atm.

 

[Deadceptor]

Getting kicked out of HS on Eu, was doing the wing and couldnt move

Yeah the game just froze.

Any tips for that pally challenge? At the moment I'd say it's just impossible...really frustrated after 30+ attempts. What's the best strategy: buffing those oozes, using Blood Knights and Argent Squires or is there something else I'm missing?

I've been breezing through Naxx content with no problems and then I get stuck in the last one...

 

[Strider]

New thread \O/

*shameless repost*

Congrats!

--

I gotta start grinding for gold to unlock the last wing. I had exactly 0 after purchasing wing 4

Which of course means i have to wait even longer to do the class challenge for my favorite class...

 

[Tarazet]

Yeah the game just froze.

Any tips for that pally challenge? At the moment I'd say it's just impossible...really frustrated after 30+ attempts. What's the best strategy: buffing those oozes, using Blood Knights and Argent Squires or is there something else I'm missing?

I've been breezing through Naxx content with no problems and then I get stuck in the last one...

Argus between two Oozes = four taunting Oozes.. Ooze + Kings = two 5/6 dudes.. flood the board and then use Divine Favor.

 

[StMeph]

So glad Control Warrior is really strong for once.

Hasn't Control Warrior always been one of the top deck archetypes?

 

[ViviOggi]

Yeah the game just froze.

Any tips for that pally challenge? At the moment I'd say it's just impossible...really frustrated after 30+ attempts. What's the best strategy: buffing those oozes, using Blood Knights and Argent Squires or is there something else I'm missing?

I've been breezing through Naxx content with no problems and then I get stuck in the last one...

Did it on my first try, I managed to pull off a Squire into turn 3 Blood Knight who secured the board while I just dropped any combos I drew, the most impactful being Ooze + Kings/Might. Try to get taunts up and value out of Cult Master and Divine Favor so you can refill the board after Twisting Nether, which you mustn't overcommit into under any circumstance. Seeing how many people are having problems with the challenge it seems like I got a bit lucky with my draws.

Congrats!

Thanks

Hasn't Control Warrior always been one of the top deck archetypes?

It was always a solid deck but suffered a lot when Miracle was dominating the ladder. That matchup's no good.

 

[Tarazet]

It was always a solid deck but suffered a lot when Miracle was dominating the ladder. That matchup's no good.

Inner Rage on an Armorsmith puts a lot of pressure on their resources early.. and Brawl has a good chance of removing a stealthed goblin. It is a tough matchup, just takes a little creativity.

 

[zoukka]

Is Alex banned in the last wing?

 

[Freakinchair]

haly you posted more than yoshichan

do u kno what this means?

 

[Deadceptor]

Argus between two Oozes = four taunting Oozes.. Ooze + Kings = two 5/6 dudes.. flood the board and then use Divine Favor.

Did it on my first try, I managed to pull off a Squire into turn 3 Blood Knight who secured the board while I just dropped any combos I drew, the most impactful being Ooze + Kings/Might. Try to get taunts up and value out of Cult Master and Divine Favor so you can refill the board after Twisting Nether, which you mustn't overcommit into under any circumstance.

Okay thanks, these are the tricks I've been using but it's that Nether that always fucks me up if I manage to get some board control. Gotta keep on trying!

 

[Haunted]

Is Alex banned in the last wing?

I thought he was banned in all Heroic fights.

 

[zoukka]

I thought he was banned in all Heroic fights.

Oh... I remember beating some heroes with it. Must've been normals.

 

[bigkrev]

Probably taking a 3-4 week break from the game once Nax is over. I'm starting to burn out a bit (I can't get past level 5 ever, and while I keep blaming RNG I know that it's actually me, not the RNG holding me back), and have hated how much constructed has been shifting the past few weeks as more cards come in. I'll let the Meta start to solve itself a bit with all the new cards, and jump back in late September

 

[Tacitus_]

I thought he was banned in all Heroic fights.

No, the first that banned her was Loatheb. Can't really say about the later wings since I don't have her.

 

[Haunted]

No, the first that banned her was Loatheb. Can't really say about the later wings since I don't have her.

I just assumed it was banned from the second week onwards, when Blizzard realised that it's too strong and bypasses most of their design. Or maybe it's just specific fights. Either way, I think Frostwyrm would be one of those fights where it makes sense to ban Alex.


Speaking of interesting interactions, I did find an easteregg in the Kel'Thuzad fight.

Spoiler

If you're a hunter and play animal companion, you get Mr. Bigglesworth (0 mana 1-1 beast).

 

[slayn]

I just assumed it was banned from the second week onwards, when Blizzard realised that it's too strong and bypasses most of their design. Or maybe it's just specific fights. Either way, I think Frostwyrm would be one of those fights where it makes sense to ban Alex.


Speaking of interesting interactions, I did find an easteregg in the Kel'Thuzad fight.

Spoiler

If you're a hunter and play animal companion, you get Mr. Bigglesworth (0 mana 1-1 beast).

As a futher comment on that spoiler:

Spoiler

If you taunt Mr. Bigglesworth, KT will refuse to attack him and instead attack through him as if he didn't have taunt

 

[Tacitus_]

I just assumed it was banned from the second week onwards, when Blizzard realised that it's too strong and bypasses most of their design. Or maybe it's just specific fights. Either way, I think Frostwyrm would be one of those fights where it makes sense to ban Alex.


Speaking of interesting interactions, I did find an easteregg in the Kel'Thuzad fight.

Spoiler

If you're a hunter and play animal companion, you get Mr. Bigglesworth (0 mana 1-1 beast).

As a futher comment on that spoiler:

Spoiler

If you taunt Mr. Bigglesworth, KT will refuse to attack him and instead attack through him as if he didn't have taunt

Hah, that's brilliant

 

[Super Nothing]

I just assumed it was banned from the second week onwards, when Blizzard realised that it's too strong and bypasses most of their design. Or maybe it's just specific fights. Either way, I think Frostwyrm would be one of those fights where it makes sense to ban Alex.


Speaking of interesting interactions, I did find an easteregg in the Kel'Thuzad fight.

Spoiler

If you're a hunter and play animal companion, you get Mr. Bigglesworth (0 mana 1-1 beast).

She might be banned in some of them, but not all. I just used Duplicate and made two copies of Alexstrasza trying to beat heroic Grobbulus. He still won because of his ridiculous board control. That hero power is like a free Consecration every turn that summons 2/2 slimes from all of its kills. I'm still working on that one.

 

[IceMarker]

Next card set hype when?

 

[Haunted]

Summer 2015

 

[Bizazedo]

Kel was my favorite fight. Responds to every emote as opposed to other bosses with specific responses and I LOL'd for real when he got pissed and ended my turn for me before I was done because he decided it was his turn.

 

[inky]

Wall of Shame from the prior thread.

22nd place? I should up my game.

 

[Aylinato]

Wall of fame =D

 

[ViviOggi]

Next card set hype when?

Gonna be a while, all I want right now is spectator and replay functionality in a timely fashion. Proper stat tracking would be nice as well.

 

[Haunted]

I want some more deck slots. One per class isn't enough.

 

[ViviOggi]

I want some more deck slots. One per class isn't enough.

That too, hope they'll at least let us buy them with gold.

 

[Krassus]

My first time on a Wall of Shame. ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

Are you Caribbean? Cool Off is something they say when youre pissed or being rude down there a lot.