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Hearthstone |OT3| Preparing for the Ball of Spiders Meta

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Decided to try out Kripp's Dragon Hunter deck for funsies.

It's pretty strong. Broke into rank 16 now with it after being stuck at 19-18 for the first week. I think I like it better then mid-range.

Rank 15 now
 

CoolOff

Member
After going through rank 15 to 11 in a breeze with freeze mage without seeing a single warrior, I've now had 3 in a row and like 7 in the last 10 games.

I'm actually inclined to believe Reynads claim that the MM isn't completely random.
 

Danj

Member
I'm using this deck (because it's what I could afford from what cards and dust I have), what am I doing wrong? Other than not paying £34.99 to buy 40 packs to guarantee having enough dust to craft Dr. Balanced that is.
 
I'm using this deck (because it's what I could afford from what cards and dust I have), what am I doing wrong? Other than not paying £34.99 to buy 40 packs to guarantee having enough dust to craft Dr. Balanced that is.

Not much is wrong. Might try and squeeze in a Azure Drake. Also not sure how much KT is helping you here.


Edit: I think I just fought a Face Mage. Dear God.
 

Xanathus

Member
I'm using this deck (because it's what I could afford from what cards and dust I have), what am I doing wrong? Other than not paying £34.99 to buy 40 packs to guarantee having enough dust to craft Dr. Balanced that is.

The problem with this deck is it's using Kelthuzad + Flamestrike instead of Antonidas + Dr Boom, so unless you win by turn 5-6, you're going to have a hard time with such a weak end-game.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
I'm using this deck (because it's what I could afford from what cards and dust I have), what am I doing wrong? Other than not paying £34.99 to buy 40 packs to guarantee having enough dust to craft Dr. Balanced that is.

I dunno if KT is gonna do a whole lot there, he might come out too late. Atleast when I played Mech Mage, Antonidas seemed to be a really important second wind. If you lost control early on there's little that can get you back in, which is where holding onto spare parks kicked in for fireball finishers. I think if you already have control by the time you drop KT and trade you likely already won the game. Flamestrike is a bit of a similar case, if you're using it while behind it mostly delays the game after you probably ran out of steam.
 
Got excited when I saw the orange glow of legends again (lucky week) and then it was another King Krush
cry.gif



Edit: Just realized Dark Wispers card art is the bunch of Wisps killing Archimonde lol
 

Danj

Member
The problem with this deck is it's using Kelthuzad + Flamestrike instead of Antonidas + Dr Boom, so unless you win by turn 5-6, you're going to have a hard time with such a weak end-game.

This is exactly the sort of shit I'm talking about. I shouldn't be required to own a particular card to be able to win consistently with a particular class. Like I said before I calculated it and the only way to 100% absolutely guarantee I could get Dr. Boom would be to spend £34.99 on packs and there's no way I'm doing that just for one card. Obviously it would be nearly twice that to get Antonidas as well and that's not happening either.

I dunno if KT is gonna do a whole lot there, he might come out too late. Atleast when I played Mech Mage, Antonidas seemed to be a really important second wind. If you lost control early on there's little that can get you back in, which is where holding onto spare parks kicked in for fireball finishers. I think if you already have control by the time you drop KT and trade you likely already won the game. Flamestrike is a bit of a similar case, if you're using it while behind it mostly delays the game after you probably ran out of steam.

Well okay, if I shouldn't be using KT then what should I be using that isn't a BRM card or a non-Naxx legendary?
 

ViviOggi

Member
lol you don't need Boom or Antonidas to take Mech Mage higher than rank 15, you're likely making multiple small mistakes/subpar plays over the course of a game causing you to lose control of the board - your opponents do the same. I agree that KT doesn't make sense in a list like this, what I would do is tech in some value cards like Water Ele, Belcher, 1x Counterspell and the aforementioned BGH to make sure that you keep the board throughout the midgame.
 

Shiver

Member
Well okay, if I shouldn't be using KT then what should I be using that isn't a BRM card or a non-Naxx legendary?

Try another deck instead. There are a lot of good decks that don't require legendaries.

Do you have any good epic cards (prep, fon, sea giant...)?
 

Xanathus

Member
lol you don't need Boom or Antonidas to take Mech Mage higher than rank 15, you're likely making multiple small mistakes/subpar plays over the course of a game causing you to lose control of the board - your opponents do the same. I agree that KT doesn't make sense in a list like this, what I would do is tech in some value cards like Water Ele, Belcher, 1x Counterspell and the aforementioned BGH to make sure that you keep the board throughout the midgame.

The reason why Boom and/or Antonidas are needed by Mech Mage is because without them it lacks a way to finish off opponents or a come-back card. Without them, one board wipe or if you lose board control and you're completely gone from the game. I'd recommend using Pyroblast as a budget alternative finisher to Antonidas. Flamestrike is fine I guess as a replacement for Boom, though I'd consider looking for alternative ways to capitalize on the spare parts. I wonder how good Gadgetzan would be in the deck...
 
I'm not sure. Blizz has said in the past that they want HS to be about variety and choice. Yet Dr. Boom is an auto-include in nearly every deck. Yes, EVERYONE, GET IN HERE! does well against it, but that's a single deck type.

And yet loatheb, far before dr. boom was introduced, is probably more of an auto-include than dr. boom. I don't recall people asking for nerfs based on his usage, perhaps ever.

Also, when they nerfed on the basis of "this is too common, we want to promote variety", was back in beta. When they talked about their balancing philosophy we were still in beta and yet they said that as they came to release they intended to only nerf when it was necessary. And since then they have reiterated time and time again that nerfs would only happen when absolutely necessary (even in an interview discussing dr. boom). And we've only seen a handful of nerfs, I'd argue most of them very necessary, and a few to prevent things from becoming too necessary.

I personally wouldn't mind seeing dr. boom be nerfed in some small manner. I just don't expect it. Nor if it ever happened, it would be pretty small I would bet, nothing like UT or buzzard, I think.
 

ViviOggi

Member
The reason why Boom and/or Antonidas are needed by Mech Mage is because without them it lacks a way to finish off opponents or a come-back card. Without them, one board wipe or if you lose board control and you're completely gone from the game. I'd recommend using Pyroblast as a budget alternative finisher to Antonidas. Flamestrike is fine I guess as a replacement for Boom, though I'd consider looking for alternative ways to capitalize on the spare parts. I wonder how good Gadgetzan would be in the deck...
I know why you'd ideally want these cards and even need them to go beyond rank 5, but Danj is stuck at 15 and doesn't have that option right now hence my recommendation of including a few beefier minions to make you less vulnerable to midgame board clears. Pyroblast is too slow for the 10 damage it provides, if you've lost the board and ran out of gas come turn 10 most of the time you'll either get combo'd by Druid/Dank Warrior, chipped to death by Hunter/Zoo or you're facing a Warrior/Paladin/Handlock who will easily have healed out of its range by then.

Or just play Zoo which currently dominates the board more consistently than MM and only runs commons and rares as finishers.
 

Xanathus

Member
I know why you'd ideally want these cards and even need them to go beyond rank 5, but Danj is stuck at 15 and doesn't have that option right now hence my recommendation of including a few beefier minions to make you less vulnerable to midgame board clears. Pyroblast is too slow for the 10 damage it provides, if you've lost the board and ran out of gas come turn 10 most of the time you'll either get combo'd by Druid/Dank Warrior, chipped to death by Hunter/Zoo or you're facing a Warrior/Paladin/Handlock who will easily have healed out of its range by then.

Or just play Zoo which currently dominates the board more consistently than MM and only runs commons and rares as finishers.

I didn't really read his previous posts but there's no point to getting any rank after 20 if you're not going for legend. I thought he was just asking for ways to optimize his deck. You could even make ranking up easier by just doing nothing and only playing nearer to the end of the month and then get past rank 15 playing a basic deck.
 

Lumine

Member
People in general need to stop thinking that only certain exact decks are somehow the only ones viable. Not only is the game far too random for that to be true, matchups impact the game greatly and the meta is continuously shifting.
Missing certain cards also does not mean you are suddenly unable to play the class. For example something like ancient of lore is a great addition to many druid decks, but not having it doesn't mean these decks are suddenly useless or weak.
In fact sticking to "netdecking" really takes a lot of the fun away from the game. Thinking about how to build a deck and why certain cards work and others don't is half the fun really. Look at the cards you have and don't be afraid to experiment a little.
Also having Dr. Boom does not automatically win you games (though it probably is a little overpowered). Lastly, I agree that Kelthuzad is probably a little slow for a Mech Mage, but from time to time it can actually win you games.
 

ViviOggi

Member
I didn't really read his previous posts but there's no point to getting any rank after 20 if you're not going for legend. I thought he was just asking for ways to optimize his deck. You could even make ranking up easier by just doing nothing and only playing nearer to the end of the month and then get past rank 15 playing a basic deck.
Sure, but it's not like Blizz gives you anything else to do besides arena, which he seems to be playing somewhat regularly. If you're stuck at 15 that means you're winning much less than 50% of your games (as streaking still works here) at a rank anyone should be able to surpass, which I don't imagine to be very fun.
 
Getting an Ice Block and an Echo off of Nefarian when you're a Warrior with Sylvanas on board and a ton of armor..

Beautiful. Guy conceded when I played echo to duplicate Nefarian and Sylvanas. lol
 

Danj

Member
Try another deck instead. There are a lot of good decks that don't require legendaries.

Do you have any good epic cards (prep, fon, sea giant...)?

The Epic cards I have are as follows:

Spellbender x 2
Shadowbomber x 1
Kidnapper x 1
Earth Elemental x 1
Echoing Ooze x 2 (from Naxx)
Shade of Naxxramas x 2 (from Naxx)
Molten Giant x 1

It's a shame that the one feature HearthPwn's search doesn't have is the ability to filter out certain keywords, like "Heroic" (because those are all decks aimed at beating the solo adventures in Heroic mode).

I didn't really read his previous posts but there's no point to getting any rank after 20 if you're not going for legend. I thought he was just asking for ways to optimize his deck. You could even make ranking up easier by just doing nothing and only playing nearer to the end of the month and then get past rank 15 playing a basic deck.

Sure, but it's not like Blizz gives you anything else to do besides arena, which he seems to be playing somewhat regularly. If you're stuck at 15 that means you're winning much less than 50% of your games (as streaking still works here) at a rank anyone should be able to surpass, which I don't imagine to be very fun.

It's not fun, let me tell you that. It's the main reason I switched to Casual for daily quests, then I can just concede early if it looks like I'm not going to win and it doesn't impact anything.

I've done 8 arena runs so far; they're all on Youtube and the stats are all on HearthArena. I have learned from using the tool that it is not the best way to draft an Arena deck, but it's still better than trying to do it myself. They just need to improve its heuristics some more (it is in "limited release", which is their code for "beta" after all).
 

Haunted

Member
People in general need to stop thinking that only certain exact decks are somehow the only ones viable. Not only is the game far too random for that to be true, matchups impact the game greatly and the meta is continuously shifting.
Missing certain cards also does not mean you are suddenly unable to play the class. For example something like ancient of lore is a great addition to many druid decks, but not having it doesn't mean these decks are suddenly useless or weak.
In fact sticking to "netdecking" really takes a lot of the fun away from the game. Thinking about how to build a deck and why certain cards work and others don't is half the fun really. Look at the cards you have and don't be afraid to experiment a little.
Also having Dr. Boom does not automatically win you games (though it probably is a little overpowered). Lastly, I agree that Kelthuzad is probably a little slow for a Mech Mage, but from time to time it can actually win you games.
Add to that that you're really only going to get into serious competition with the top 10% of players (so.. roughly rank 12 and upwards), and competent players should be able to rank up with competent decks, even if they're not part of the current tournament rotation.


People obviously just tend to gravitate to the easiest, "proven" decks (hi facehunter!), because they're the most optimised and they're the first ones that come up when they search on hearthpwn - even when it doesn't really make any difference at their level.
 

Haunted

Member
Molten Giant x 1
You son of a bitch, I've been playing for 17 months and I don't have a Molten Giant yet.

And I won't get one anytime soon since I'm buying GvG packs at the moment and saving up my dust for more legendaries (Alex, Jones).
 

Danj

Member
On the subject of arena, is this list still the best indicator of class choice for arena? Or is there a more up to date one somewhere now that BRM is out?
 

Lumine

Member
Oh the irony. I just lost to some sort of control mage that actually plays Kelthuzad. Running his piloted shredders into my minions and then dropping kelthuzad was too much for my shaman to deal with. I did have a really slow start though.
 

ViviOggi

Member
Imo:

Faceroll tier
Mage
Paladin

High tier
Warlock
Druid

Decent to good tier
Rogue
Priest
Shaman
Hunter

I've hit the gold cap tier
Warrior
 
I think I just fought a Face Mage. Dear God.

Yeah, I played one of these last night. Guy was an embarrassingly poor player. He played both Arcane Golems without being anywhere close to a finish, which basically just gave me more mana. Then I stole his Mirror Entity with Kezan, and he dropped an Argent Commander right into it without even hesitating. He eventually ran out of steam and just conceded since I still had an Ice Block and was holding a ton of cards.
 

IceMarker

Member
Time to make another "fuck face decks" post. Pieces of shit all of them. If I see you playing those decks I'm roping you every turn.
 

Nightbird

Member
So i started playing Heartstone a few Days ago, and it's really Fun!

I just finished battling against all Basis Classes and reached Level 10.

What do i do from now on?

(I also recieved a Golden Card in a Booster i bought with my Gold, is that common? o.o )
 

Danj

Member
No offence meant, but you're making some weird choices. It's often better to pick decent value minions over weird tech cards that aren't going to work in most situations. Also you probably shouldn't skip board clears like consecration. But hey, you got a Tirion, that'll help! :)

I'm using HearthArena to help with the draft, so if there's stuff that's wrong with it, maybe send some info to the guys who run that site so they can adjust their algorithms and heuristics?

If I was trying to do it myself I'd be terrible at it.

Anyway it turned out awfully as real life intruded and lost me a game, and things just went downhill from there.
 

ViviOggi

Member
So i started playing Heartstone a few Days ago, and it's really Fun!

I just finished battling against all Basis Classes and reached Level 10.

What do i do from now on?

(I also recieved a Golden Card in a Booster i bought with my Gold, is that common? o.o )
There are some hidden quests like defeating each class on expert AI for 100g (google for the full list, on mobile atm), as for resources on how to play Trump's Teachings is essential, you can find the link and more in the OP. Build and experiment with the basic decks recommended there as the starter decks Blizzard gives you are 100% pure ass. Getting good at arena is generally the fastest way to expand your collection, but you'll need to understand the basics of the game and additional arena-specific knowledge to do well, which you can pick up from guidesand streamers (your first arena run is free).

Always make sure to reroll your 40 gold quests using the X button in the corner for the chance of getting a better one, you can do this once per day. Note though that up to 6 daily quests are stored as long as you don't reroll any of them, that's something to keep in mind for when you know you won't be able to play for more than three days.

Golden cards aren't super common but you get them every once in a while, you get back its full dust value when you disenchant it which helps a lot in the beginning if it's a crappy card. It's a purely cosmetic effect.
 

Nightbird

Member
There are some hidden quests like defeating each class on expert AI for 100g (google for the full list, on mobile atm), as for resources on how to play Trump's Teachings is essential, you can find the link and more in the OP. Build and experiment with the basic decks recommended there as the starter decks Blizzard gives you are 100% pure ass. Getting good at arena is generally the fastest way to expand your collection, but you'll need to understand the basics of the game and additional arena-specific knowledge to do well, which you can pick up from guidesand streamers (your first arena run is free).

Always make sure to reroll your 40 gold quests using the X button in the corner for the chance of getting a better one, you can do this once per day. Note though that up to 6 daily quests are stored as long as you don't reroll any of them, that's something to keep in mind for when you know you won't be able to play for more than three days.

Golden cards aren't super common but you get them every once in a while, you get back its full dust value when you disenchant it which helps a lot in the beginning if it's a crappy card. It's a purely cosmetic effect.

Thanks a lot! :D
 

Lumine

Member
I'm using HearthArena to help with the draft, so if there's stuff that's wrong with it, maybe send some info to the guys who run that site so they can adjust their algorithms and heuristics?

If I was trying to do it myself I'd be terrible at it.

Anyway it turned out awfully as real life intruded and lost me a game, and things just went downhill from there.

Without actually having looked at it I'm sure there's nothing wrong with however they're ranking the cards. However it was clear that you made sub-optimal choices several times. Skipping the consecration for example stood out to me. As a Paladin it's going to be your only board-clear card. Something you'll need frequently whenever you're behind or the opponent decides to flood his board. There were more choices like that. Secrets are generally not that great to pick either and you had quite a few of them. Unless you have already picked a Mad Scientist of course. So I can only advice you to not take the rankings too literally but also look at your deck what fits best. A general rule is to take your curve into consideration so you don't have too many low or high mana cards. Also picking minions that have high stats for their mana cost relatively speaking are probably the better picks. And don't skip cards like Consecration. :)
Don't worry too much though, we all had to start somewhere to learn the game. The more you play the more you get the hang of it.
If I remember right I think Trump (?) made some videos where he drafts some arena decks and explains his picks. It might teach you some. You can probably find them on youtube.
 
Picked the game back up now that it is on iPhone and I'm enjoying a worrying amount. Picked up the first expansion as I already had the first wing and made it to the lovely boss with 75 health. I want to pickup Blackrock but I suppose I should complete this first. I wish I could play offline however, I'll be travelling the next couple of days by plane and would really appreciate the ability to make my way through the wings while I'm connectionless.
 
Getting back to the game seems like a costly hell now if I don't want to grind for a couple months.

Eh, not as costly as people would have you believe. I just made a free to play EU account (to see if EU was really worse), and I've gotten to Rank 15 with a near basic Mage.

Time to make another "fuck face decks" post. Pieces of shit all of them. If I see you playing those decks I'm roping you every turn.

PJSalt

Just play Priest with Deathlords in it.
 

gutshot

Member
I'm using HearthArena to help with the draft, so if there's stuff that's wrong with it, maybe send some info to the guys who run that site so they can adjust their algorithms and heuristics?

If I was trying to do it myself I'd be terrible at it.

Anyway it turned out awfully as real life intruded and lost me a game, and things just went downhill from there.

I made this suggestion in your chat, but the biggest thing that helped me improve at arena was working backwards through each of my plays. What I mean by that is, think about what your opponent will do in response to each of your lines of play and what the resultant board will look like afterwards. It's all about controlling the board in arena, so your most optimal play is always going to be the one that gives you a chance at holding the board or reclaiming the board.

Some examples from the couple games I watched:

Turn 7 against a Warlock. He had a 6/6 Floating Watcher and you played an Earthern Ring Farseer and then buffed it to a 7/7 with Blessing of Kings. This was a bad play because on his turn he easily could Life Tap to make his Watcher an 8/8, then kill your ERF for free and play another minion or two. The board would then be his 8/1 and 4/5 or 8/1, 3/2, and 3/3 to your nothing. You ended up not being punished by this play because he let your 7/7 live and you were able to lethal him (quite spectacularly, I might add) a couple turns later, but against a better player, this would have been a loss.

Turn 6 against a Mage. She had a 2/2 Razorfen Hunter and you played a Wild Pyro, a Loot Hoarder and hero powered instead of playing your Spectral Knight. This was a weak play because the Mage will just trade into your Wild Pyro, ping your Loot Hoarder and then play a 4-drop. The board would then be her 4-drop to your 1/1. Spectral Knight would at least survive the turn and you'd be able to attempt to gain back the board.

I also suggested you slow down and think about each turn. Use your full 90 seconds. Again, board control is so, so important in arena. You absolutely have to stop and think about each play and how it will affect the board in that turn and then even the next one or two turns after that. Plan your turns out well in advance. Think about what your opponent is likely to do in response to your plays that turn and then think about what you will do in response to that. Yes, it can be pretty mentally taxing, but it is the only way (I've found) to win consistently in arena.

Hope this helps!
 

Tacitus_

Member
It wasn't even the minibot that carried me. One game I didn't even pull any of them and I was almost 20 cards deep to my deck. Just tempo tempo tempo
 
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