Hearthstone Players!

I recently just started playing this last week at the urging of one of my friends. I'm very much addicted at the moment.

My main tip is to watch some videos online or read about some decks/strategies/concepts. Unless you're a deckbuilding savant you'll need some ideas to start. Plus once you begin playing ranked you'll noticed you're getting creamed. That isn't fun. I still suck very badly, but I finally have a deck or two that I feel competitive with. I MIGHT win 2/3 out of 5 games.

One thing that crops up from time to time is you'll play against someone with a fucking SICK deck. Like every other goddamn card they play is a purp or legendary. They've either been playing forever or they just dropped $200 on cards. It's not fun when it happens.

Right now I'm digging the hell out of the game. My ID is MRNad15

If you want to Add Friends or be added, you need to send the Battletag and the #, like jeblucas#1574. Here's our current list:

• jeblucas#1574
• Jackwraith#1816
• GameTekGuy#1675
• NotSure#1314
• QPCloudy#1141

You don't need to be playing forever to have those juiced deck--you need to have been playing for about six months. I started in October and have plenty of good shit. I did spend $50 on the Adventures, and each of those gets you ~6 Legendaries plus some Epics, Rares, &c.

The vast majority of my collection is from packs earned via Arena, quests, or spare gold once I'd accrued enough to keep my Arena habit going.

For those of you just starting--you're going to lose more than win on the ladder for s bit. But a lot of this is from your piloting. The game has nuance that you will pick up as you play. The awesome cards are great, but you will wreck folks with Murlocs or huge Lightspawns every now and then. Just keep at it. Murloc Paladin is totally playable once you have his Basic cards (i.e. Level 10). That Priest deck Mike has builds itself. FreezeMage as an archtetype is something you can put together quickly (get to Level 10, my lord, you need Flamestrikes). Hunter decks play fast, so win or lose, you'll get experience quickly.

Anyone beat final boss of Naxxramas? I blazed thru the first 11 or so challenges with some revisions to Druid deck. Saw some guy online that has ideas about how to beat it with priest or paladin, but i don't have most of the cards he suggests for those. I feel like I suck at this game but have a 22 rank. Is that good? I can't win in Arena because I mostly get crap cards and play people with incredible cards, or so it seems.

I am the guy who said Shadow Era is a better online deck builder, I still stand by that, but am taking this on as a challenge since it's not as much fun for me. I figure if everyone else is loving Hearthstone, I must be missing something. Maybe when i have more cards and understand the classes inside and out like I do Shadow Era it will get better.

Alastair MacDirk wrote: Anyone beat final boss of Naxxramas?

Quick Paladin will beat it. Cheap minions, draw cards with Divine Favor. Pack Ironbeak Owls for his Abominations and Taunts. I beat it on Heroic with this deck .

Alastair MacDirk wrote: I feel like I suck at this game but have a 22 rank. Is that good? I can't win in Arena because I mostly get crap cards and play people with incredible cards, or so it seems.

22 is not so good. You can and will do better. If you have made it that far in Naxx you have some cards that will really help: Leper Gnome, Zombie Chow if you are aggressive. Unstable Ghoul, Sludge Belcher if controllish. Remember the "value" idea. You want to kill stuff "for free." That's why Zombie Chow is so good. It kills every other 1-drop and most two-drops. You can "kill" three of the opponents' mana with 1 mana of yours spent in Zombie Chow form.

Alastair MacDirk wrote: I am the guy who said Shadow Era is a better online deck builder, I still stand by that, but am taking this on as a challenge since it's not as much fun for me. I figure if everyone else is loving Hearthstone, I must be missing something. Maybe when i have more cards and understand the classes inside and out like I do Shadow Era it will get better.

Never played that, but Hearthstone is slick as HELL. It's gorgeous and as I had expressed earlier in this thread, it's about time someone threatened WotC with decent TCG product.

So I just started an Arena run? Jesus, I suck. Who's this 3/3 that makes a clone if he takes damage and doesn't die? Yeah, fuck that card.

Also, is it odd if I feel like I just can't get into it being digital? I want paper cards, man. My inner Magic nerd still wants to shuffle and lay stuff out.

As gorgeous as you think Hearthstone may be click on 5 random cards from this card list and tell me these aren't 100% better art, not kiddie cartoon style like Hearthstone.

artdevil27.deviantart.com/art/Shadow-Era-v1-24-202594957

Zurenarrh#1816

I tried Shadow Era a couple of times, it just feels like an also-ran compared to Hearthstone. Like, I dunno, Wyvern or something.

But you tried Shadow Era when it was in Alpha state several years ago..... right?
It is way more robust now. Over 30 heroes. To me the 'in game' play had more complex decisions than Hearthstone. In Hearthstone if you have 6 mana available and have a 6 mana creature in hand there usually isn't much to think about. Shadow Era you would need to sac a card from hand to get from 5 to 6 mana and would have needed to have foresight to not sac the card you gonna play already in most cases.
You are quick to crap on Shadow Era Barnes. But I know you never really gave it a chance after they had a few releases under their belt. Admit it.

Zurenarrh#1816

I tried Shadow Era a couple of times, it just feels like an also-ran compared to Hearthstone. Like, I dunno, Wyvern or something.

The art in Hearthstone is perfect, and is matched with the sounds. Of course it's all recycled.

Playing Hearthstone sometimes makes me want to got back and play World of Warcraft again (it's been like five years, and I'm too old and busy for that shit, but still...)

Jack's got good advice about picking one or two classes, but I could never do it. I just hoard stuff for all of them, with the exception of Goldens, which I melt down for dust ASAP. It seems like I can never figure out which class I like.

Damn. I don't want to hijack Jebs nice Hearthstone thread with another pissing contest with Barnes about Shadow Era...
HOWEVER,

Barnes, if you are being honest you will admit your experience with SE was limited and when the game was essentially in its Alpha state. And that you have not seen it in over two years or more. And that you really don't know much at all about it. And that whatever your reservations are about the game, being as articulate and well written as you are, can't be defined specifically.

For instance, please try and explain the difference between SE version of the Arena, and Hearthstone. Ah, but you can't, can you?

SE wasn't released by a big game corporation like Hearthstone and hence started small. But it's now several years in and the Meta game is far far beyond what Barnes saw all those years ago.

Anyway, forget about SE. If Barnes says it's no good he must be right. I found out about it from reading Drakes Flames. Who you gonna believe, Barnes or Drake? Barnes proved this AM he doesn't know the difference between well sculpted minis and 2 cent toy soldiers.......

I'm really glad someone resurrected this thread. I couldn't find it.

Since this game is FINALLY working on my tablet, I'm available to play again. Ascension as well.

Dude, I tried Shadow Era again after you praised it back when Hearthstone first came out. In fact, I tried it again BECAUSE of what you wrote about it. I just could not get into it at all. I didn't get deep into it or anything like that, no. But I played it enough to see what was going on, what the mechanics were, what the construction would be like and so forth. And that was the second time I gave it a shot, the first time was back in what would have been the early days, I suppose. It just didn't feel as compelling as Hearthstone- but some of that could be because SE seems like a more complex game that is probably less derivative overall, truth be told.

But now this...
In Hearthstone if you have 6 mana available and have a 6 mana creature in hand there usually isn't much to think about.

Is pure poppycock. It is like the essential oil of poppycock. It's refined, distilled poppycock.

If I have 6 mana and a 6 mana creature, I may have to think about:

- If the creature has a Battlecry effect that I want to use on something on the table or if it would be better served next turn.
- If the creature has a high attack value or ability if it will put pressure on the other player to respond.
- If the other player does respond, what kinds of responses will they make (removal, combat, direct damage, etc.)
- The other player's class and what cards are available to them- and If they've already played two of a potentially threatening card
- What minions are on the table on both sides and how they interact/counteract with the one I'm playing
- If waiting for the next turn to play it and a 0/1 cost Taunt minion is worth the wait
- If the other player has Taunt minions how effectively I'll be able to remove them to make the most of the 6-cost minion I'm holding
- Deathrattle- is it something useful that late into the game or could it negatively affect my position?
- Do I have initiative/control or am I in a reactionary/defensive posture?
- Would I be better served by playing lower cost cards on this turn rather than the one 6-cost minion?
- Will the next card I draw be something that augments, protects or invalidates that 6-cost minion?
- What is my life total right now and how many effective turns do I have before I'm dead?
- If the 6-cost minion has Charge, is it going to have significant impact?
- Secrets- if the other player has a secret that counters the Minion spell or removes it when it attacks, I might be wasting the card, the mana and my turn
- How the card augments other cards based on keywords (i.e. +1/+1)

There's all kinds of things to consider...it is NEVER just "play the big card". Hearthstone is very much a "know when to hold 'em" game.

Had a promising Hunter arena run (4-0 vs Mages!) bomb out at 5-3, but I opened a Sneed's Old Shredder from the pack. VALUE!