Hearthstone 2: Believe in the Hearth of the Cards [Open Beta] [Archive]

Zevox

2014-01-17, 04:57 PM

So, since the first thread has hit 50 pages, starting a new one. If anybody has suggestions for a good thread subtitle, I'd love to hear them, because nothing is coming to mind for me right now.

For anyone who doesn't know, Hearthstone is a video card game from Blizzard, based on the Warcraft series. The game is now in its open beta phase, and is available for free here (http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/), so if you're interested, give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose but your free time. :smallwink:

For new players, something to be aware of is that there are a number of hidden "quests" you can complete which will give you free gold, dust, or even a pack. A complete list can be found here (http://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/general-discussion/1088-list-of-quests-and-daily-quests-in-hearthstone). Be aware that not quite all of those are ones you'll be able to complete quickly though.

And here is a list of Playgrounders currently in the game, for both NA and EU servers:
{table="head"]GitP Username|Battle.net ID (US)
aethernox|aethernox#1948
AgentPaper|AgentPaper#1193
AmberVael|AmberVael#1225
Antonok|Antonok#1704
Baelot|Baelot#1149
banthesun|banthesun#1782
Destro Yersul|DestroYersul#1239
D_Lord|Volrock#1367
Firedaemon33|Firedaemon#1846
Gray Mage|GrayMage#1723
jindra34|JinRia #1770
Krade|Krade#1266
LegoShrimp|legoshrimp#1722
Loreweaver15|Loreweaver#1199
MathMage|MathMage#1797
mistformsquirrl|mistformsqrl#1430
nhbdy|Nohbdy#1927
Nerocite|JoeKage#1852
Olinser|Olinser#1393
Onionbreath|GiantSquid#1845
Temotei|Temotei#1507
TheGlyphstone|Glyphstone#1419
The_Jackal|TheJackal#1499
Trouble Brewing|HairyPoppins#1949
Volatar|Volatar#1750
ZeroNumerous|ZeroNumerous#1913
Zevox|Zevox#1522[/table]

{table="head"]GitP Username|Battle.net ID (EU)
Adumbration|Adumbration#2419
Avilan the Grey|Beardedgeek#2355
Gandariel|Ciabatta#2958
Infernally Clay|Winny#1904
Raddish|Raddish#2730
ScionoftheVoid|JayPsi#2775
ShinyRocks|MoodyTuskarr#2790
Volthawk|Volthawk#1214
Weimann|Weimann#2716[/table]

The Glyphstone

2014-01-17, 05:02 PM

Hearthstone 2: Hearth Harder?

Ionbound

2014-01-17, 05:04 PM

New title should be Hearthstone: Pay 2 Win

AmberVael

2014-01-17, 05:06 PM

Hearthstone 2: Opt In For Title.

Hearthstone is not giving me my quest for today. This makes me sad.

Bayar

2014-01-17, 05:13 PM

Add me to the list of EU players. Bayar#2968 :biggrin:

Math_Mage

2014-01-17, 05:14 PM

Hearthstone 2: Believe in the Hearth of the Cards

Olinser

2014-01-17, 05:14 PM

Hearthstone 2: HEARTH HARDER!!

EDIT: I also enjoy the Yu Gi Oh pun in Math Mage's title, and that's pretty appropriate for this particular thread :smallamused:

Zevox

2014-01-17, 05:23 PM

EDIT: I also enjoy the Yu Gi Oh pun in Math Mage's title, and that's pretty appropriate for this particular thread :smallamused:
Yeah, I kinda do to. Any objections/counter-votes?

Hearthstone is not giving me my quest for today. This makes me sad.
It did that for me too, but after a couple of matches one popped up.

Weimann

2014-01-17, 06:34 PM

I vote for Math Mage's suggestion.

Bringing it over from the last thread, does anyone know how to actually give beta feedback? It would be useful to know, just in case.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-17, 06:38 PM

Math Mage's title is good.

As for feedback, there's an official bug report forum on the Hearthstone site. That's the best place to do it.

Karoht

2014-01-17, 07:51 PM

Zevox

2014-01-17, 08:22 PM

My friends were playing Magic the Gathering last saturday. While decks were everywhere, in one of the boxes I found a Pokemon deck. And so I said the following to hurt everyone's brains, now I'll dump it here too.

*while holding a Charizard*
"I untap 3 lands to play Ragnaros the Firelord in defense mode."

If you don't get the meme, here's a picture reference.
"Use the Force Harry"-Gandalf (http://www.google.ca/imgres?hl=en&biw=1435&bih=650&tbm=isch&tbnid=jEszjA0Vc2bAtM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fabsurdlynerdly.wordpress.co m%2F2011%2F10%2F19%2Fuse-the-force-harry%2F&docid=BpD-Rx7Vmwl8CM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fabsurdlynerdly.files.wordpress .com%2F2011%2F10%2Foffensive.jpg%253Fw%253D300%252 6h%253D225&w=300&h=225&ei=e9DZUoSIDOnkyQH-_4CgDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=2515&page=1&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=0CFkQrQMwAA)

:smallconfused: Not sure how that picture helps me understand the meme. Is it just mixing random references to create something that makes no sense? Because... well, okay if so, I guess I just don't get the humor in it.

Also, opened a pack yesterday, scored a Ragnaros. Woot.
Lucky. My packs of late have been nothing but underwhelming. Best luck I've had is getting two Abusive Sergeants in my last pack, which is only good because of their temporarily-higher disenchant value. (Turned them and the little dust I was sitting on into a Siphon Soul for my new Control Warlock deck.)

Karoht

2014-01-17, 08:35 PM

:smallconfused: Not sure how that picture helps me understand the meme. Is it just mixing random references to create something that makes no sense? Because... well, okay if so, I guess I just don't get the humor in it.Have you ever been around someone who talks about Luke Skywalker but then mentions Star Trek in the same breath? Does it annoy you when someone can't give a hoot enough to know which thing is which? That irritation it causes in some fans is basically the humor. It's also known as "Stirring the Pot" humor. It's not for everyone really. Some people aren't annoyed by it, some people aren't all aware of the reference sources in order to get it. I was just marveling at the number of factors that came together for me to be able to make that joke.

Lucky. My packs of late have been nothing but underwhelming. Best luck I've had is getting two Abusive Sergeants in my last pack, which is only good because of their temporarily-higher disenchant value. (Turned them and the little dust I was sitting on into a Siphon Soul for my new Control Warlock deck.)
Wicked.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-17, 08:44 PM

The_Jackal

2014-01-17, 08:51 PM

Anyone else having cards go missing? My level 11 mage has only 16/20 basic cards. Annoying.

Math_Mage

2014-01-17, 09:06 PM

Idea is to control the board with removal and taunt until Velen can hit the board and stick, then start throwing 2-mana Pyroblasts, 5-mana Healing Flamestrikes, and 6-mana Healing Pyroblasts around. Its big draw for me right now is that I can build it out of existing resources, with enough dust to craft the 4 rares I'm lacking ATM. But can it work?
I'm sorry to say that it probably can't. A deck that's only viable if your legendary sticks is really fragile, and a control deck needs more high-end cards than you have to handle other control decks. I also feel like an aggro deck that hits its stride might just overwhelm your defenses, but I haven't played enough recently to really evaluate that.

AgentPaper

2014-01-17, 09:12 PM

Thinking about a Priest control deck utilizing the only good Legendary I have, Prophet Velen:

2x Holy Smite
2x Mind Blast
2x Shadow Word Pain
2x Bluegill Warrior
1x Loot Hoarder
2x Shadow Word Death
2x Wolf Rider
2x Gnomish Inventor
2x Senjin Shieldmasta
2x Spellbreaker
2x Auchenai Soulpriest
2x Holy Nova
2x Fen Creeper
2x Holy Fire
1x Argent Commander
1x Prophet Velen
1x Mind Control

Bold cards are uncrafted right now.

Idea is to control the board with removal and taunt until Velen can hit the board and stick, then start throwing 2-mana Pyroblasts, 5-mana Healing Flamestrikes, and 6-mana Healing Pyroblasts around. Its big draw for me right now is that I can build it out of existing resources, with enough dust to craft the 4 rares I'm lacking ATM. But can it work?

It almost certainly can, but I'd suggest putting more thought into what you do when you don't draw Velen. Mind Blast in particular seems useless when you don't have him out, while the rest are at least decent.

Your creature loadout also seems fairly sub-par, even for a limited card pool. Bluegill Warrior, Wolf Rider, and Fen Creeper should be on your short list for replacing.

Zevox

2014-01-17, 09:43 PM

Have you ever been around someone who talks about Luke Skywalker but then mentions Star Trek in the same breath? Does it annoy you when someone can't give a hoot enough to know which thing is which?
Not really, no. If I met someone who confused things like that, I'd just correct them politely, nothing more.

That irritation it causes in some fans is basically the humor. It's also known as "Stirring the Pot" humor. It's not for everyone really. Some people aren't annoyed by it, some people aren't all aware of the reference sources in order to get it.
Well, I guess I can see how that would be humorous, if you knew the people you were talking to would be bothered by the statement. Just not for me I guess.

For the record though, I do get all of the references sources in both of your references (even though I've never played Magic nor read/watched Harry Potter). I just didn't understand why combining them in a way that didn't seem to make sense was supposed to be amusing.

Thinking about a Priest control deck utilizing the only good Legendary I have, Prophet Velen:

2x Holy Smite
2x Mind Blast
2x Shadow Word Pain
2x Bluegill Warrior
1x Loot Hoarder
2x Shadow Word Death
2x Wolf Rider
2x Gnomish Inventor
2x Senjin Shieldmasta
2x Spellbreaker
2x Auchenai Soulpriest
2x Holy Nova
2x Fen Creeper
2x Holy Fire
1x Argent Commander
1x Prophet Velen
1x Mind Control

Bold cards are uncrafted right now.

Idea is to control the board with removal and taunt until Velen can hit the board and stick, then start throwing 2-mana Pyroblasts, 5-mana Healing Flamestrikes, and 6-mana Healing Pyroblasts around. Its big draw for me right now is that I can build it out of existing resources, with enough dust to craft the 4 rares I'm lacking ATM. But can it work?
I think Math_Mage is right that building the deck entirely around one card is going to be kind of weak. If Velen is your only particularly big target, a lot of opponents will likely have a way to handle him quickly - Polymorph, Hex, Assassinate, Shadow Word: Death, their own beefy minions, so on a so forth. But it could be fun nonetheless.

I'd echo AgentPaper's suggestion to replace some of those creatures as soon as you have better, though. The Bluegills in particular are just not good outside of a Murlock deck or an Arena deck that was hard up for 2s. Fen Creeper's high health does synergize with Priest enough that I can kind of understand him, and I do think that Wolf Rider is decent enough removal (tends to kill anything cost 3 or less on command) that using it to supplement your Shadow Words and Holy Smites isn't necessarily bad, though.

You might even want to drop the Spellbreakers, actually. They seem more offensive than defensive, since they get killed by 2- and 3-costs. Silence is potent, but other effects might serve your particular deck better.

A good common card to replace some of that though would be the Earthen Ring Farseer. Whether its effect is healing one of your taunters to extend their life or turning into a Fire Elemental's because Soulpriest is on the field, it seems like it would do well in that deck. You'll probably want more draw, too, since you very specifically want Velen + Mind Blasts to make that deck work as well as it can, so another Loot Hoarder and/or Novice Engineers are probably good ideas. Or Power Word: Shield. Or less reliably but potentially even better, Northshire Cleric. Might even want to ditch the Gnomish Inventors in favor of some of those, since they're all cheaper, and the Inventor herself isn't going to do much besides maybe kill a 2-cost.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-17, 11:08 PM

Anyone else having cards go missing? My level 11 mage has only 16/20 basic cards. Annoying.

I haven't, but I have heard of it happening to other people. Nothing to do but wait for the patch, I think.

Also, I'm currently at 11-2 in Arena with a Paladin deck. One more game to make or break this run. I didn't write down what the options were, but I do have a decklist.

Worgen Infiltrator
Argent Protector
Bloodfen Raptor
Bloodsail Raider
Dire Wolf Alpha
Faerie Dragon
Kobold Geomancer
Big Game Hunter
Mind Control Tech
Scarlet Crusader x2
Shattered Sun Cleric
Truesilver Champion
Consecration x3
Ancient Mage
Chillwind Yeti
Dark Iron Dwarf
Spellbreaker x2
Fen Creeper
Silver Hand Knight
Avenging Wrath
Reckless Rocketeer x2
Stormwind Champion x2
Sea Giant x2

EDIT: Yeah, first 12 win run! Final score 12-2, Science is 235 gold, Gold Feral Spirit, Regular Void Terror, and 2 packs. Final game was against a hunter, and I started with NO viable plays until turn 4. Thing was, he decided to go for me instead of killing my stuff, so my turn 2 and turn 3 recruit enabled a turn 4 consecration that cleared his side of the field, and my late game saw me through. It was dicey for a couple turns there, and when the game ended I only had 4 life, but I did it!

EDIT 2: Packs were mostly garbage. All I got that I didn't have was a Gold Thrallmar Farseer, and a second Slam.

onionbreath

2014-01-18, 12:04 AM

Apparently I am bad at this game. My last two Arena runs were with priest and druid and I felt good about both decks after the draft. Yet I finished 0-3 and 2-3 in those.

Science: 0-3 priest won a pack and 20 gold.
2-3 druid won a pack and 40 dust

There was a silver lining in this though. The druid deck showed me how fun a gadgetzan auctioneer can be and gave me enough dust to craft one, so i did. It also had an orange lining :) I got Hogger from that pack. First legendary! (ok technically, 2nd, because I bought an arena run and got mekkatorque for it, but he sucks).

My last ranked game was fun. I was playing hunter and got 2 buzzards out early (the first one was on turn 4. I started with it but saved it because I also had unleash the hounds) When the opponent forfeited, he had 16 cards left while I had 7.

Zevox

2014-01-18, 12:37 AM

So, about that tournament we were doing. It's been several days, and no response from our other players besides Glyphstone, who is definitely out. So, at this point, perhaps we should presume it's the just the remaining four of us (me, Destro, Agent Paper, and Onionbreath) and just do a round-robin tournament with the two top scorers going to a finals round. Unless we get anyone else suddenly expressing an interest, though even then we'd need four more to do any other format, I think.

What does everyone else think?

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-18, 01:18 AM

AgentPaper

2014-01-18, 02:14 AM

What we really need is designated times to be on and do the tournament. That's the real stumbling block, since everyone is on at different times, and different amounts of time. A designated time would also make it easier to identify people dropping out without notice, since they simply wouldn't be showing up at the designated time.

If it's too much to do the whole tournament in one go, then we could easily break it up over a few days/weeks. How does 5pm PST/8pm EST tomorrow sound? We can either continue the current tournament, or just start a new one with whoever shows up for it.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-18, 03:32 AM

I've got work at 5PM. Night Shift.

Seriously, though, herding gamers is worse than cats. :smalltongue:

Nerocite

2014-01-18, 06:49 AM

I opened 3 packs and got 3 mana wyrms. I think the game is trying to tell me something.

Olinser

2014-01-18, 11:07 AM

Infernally Clay

2014-01-18, 11:24 AM

I'd join a tournament but I'm English, so time zones mean you'd either end up playing very early in the afternoon or I'd be playing late in the evening.

I opened 3 packs and got 3 mana wyrms. I think the game is trying to tell me something.

Don't play Mage?

Artanis

2014-01-18, 11:47 AM

In case anybody is interested in professionally-casted Hearthstone, Husky is currently running a small tournament with Artosis, Sheth, Tasteless, and Trump. It's up on his YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/HuskyStarcraft).

Adumbration

2014-01-18, 12:31 PM

Add me for the EU server list: Adumbration#2419.

As a sidenote the new hunter decks are hilarious. Unleash the hounds+free sea giants? Delicious!

ShinyRocks

2014-01-18, 12:35 PM

Eurgh. Just ... eurgh.

That's something like 8 or 10 losses in a row in ranked. From 17 down to 20. I have *never* sucked that much so consistently.

Time to do something else for a while.

Olinser

2014-01-18, 12:39 PM

Another random fact:

If you have Hearthstone windowed, and pull up another window on top of it - as you move your mouse around, it still plays the 'mouse over button' sound, even though Hearthstone isn't on top.

onionbreath

2014-01-18, 03:11 PM

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-18, 04:51 PM

I don't think adding more games is a good idea. If we went this way would we start over and rebuild decks?

As for times, evenings are usually best for me, usually I'm on between 9PM and 11PM central.

Doing it that way would actually be less games than originally planned, since we don't have a round of 8 anymore.

Zevox

2014-01-18, 05:10 PM

That does seem to be the case. I believe Aethernox and Legoshrimp had expressed interest, but it may be best to go ahead with just 4, since the others haven't said anything. We can take what we've got and go with Best of 3 and best of 5 finals, or we can just do the RR.
Hm, it hadn't dawned on me that we could just do a single-elimination with four. But personally I'd still vote for round robin + finals, since otherwise half of us play only one round, and the others only two. Best 2 of 3 all-kill for the RR, 3 of 5 for finals, of course.

What we really need is designated times to be on and do the tournament. That's the real stumbling block, since everyone is on at different times, and different amounts of time. A designated time would also make it easier to identify people dropping out without notice, since they simply wouldn't be showing up at the designated time.

If it's too much to do the whole tournament in one go, then we could easily break it up over a few days/weeks. How does 5pm PST/8pm EST tomorrow sound? We can either continue the current tournament, or just start a new one with whoever shows up for it.
Eh, we seemed to be doing fine during what we played earlier, aside from Baelot, who is one of our drop-outs. And as Destro said, it could be difficult to find a common time for everyone at once, so I think playing it by ear as we were is our best option. We just need to fully decide who exactly is participating and the format due to the drop-outs.

Olinser

2014-01-18, 05:47 PM

efdf

2014-01-18, 05:51 PM

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that play from just the information given.

Zevox

2014-01-18, 06:01 PM

So, random weird play of the day to share with you:

I'm playing against a Shaman. I have an Ogre Magi (4/4) on the board.

He equips himself a Doomhammer (2/8, windfury)... and attacks the Ogre twice, killing it, but costing himself 8 life in the process.

Wut?
Eh, depends on the situation. If he still had near-full health or thought that it was particularly important the Ogre die right away, it could be considered a worthwhile play. Otherwise, yeah, kinda suspect. Doomhammer seems like a weapon you mostly want to use bashing the opponent's face, precisely because it'll take multiple uses to take down any creature above cost 2.

Nerocite

2014-01-18, 06:24 PM

8-3 again, this time as pally. 175 gold, shiny inner fire (ugh) and a pack. Only 1 consecrate and no truesilvers hurt.

D_Lord

2014-01-18, 06:39 PM

You can add me, Volrock 1367.

Zevox

2014-01-18, 06:41 PM

You can add me, Volrock 1367.
NA or EU server?

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-18, 06:46 PM

Eh, depends on the situation. If he still had near-full health or thought that it was particularly important the Ogre die right away, it could be considered a worthwhile play. Otherwise, yeah, kinda suspect. Doomhammer seems like a weapon you mostly want to use bashing the opponent's face, precisely because it'll take multiple uses to take down any creature above cost 2.

Doomhammer is also really strong combined with Rockbiter Weapon, because of the Windfury.

Weimann

2014-01-18, 07:07 PM

Okay, let's record a draft again!

Warlock | Priest | Shaman (I've kind of warmed up to Priest lately... no, Shaman.)

Emperor Cobra | Argent Commander | Lightwarden (I know she's suboptimal here, but it just struck me that she might have some hilarious synergy with Healing Totem. Also, 1/2 for 1 isn't that bad in itself. That said, I know I'm mispicking.)

Totemic Might | Mogu'shan Warden | Earth Shock (Silence and/or finisher. Not like the options were that great either.)

Windspeaker | Novice Engineer | Fire Elemental (Great creature, awesome Battlecry.)

Ancestral Spirit | Argent Commander | Injured Blademaster (Commander here, but I'm tempted to get Ancestral Spirit just for kicks. I might've if I has a huge minion already in my deck.)

Strangethorn Tiger | Flametongue Totem | Spellbreaker (Hard pick. Just barely wins out.)

Gurubashi Berserker | War Golem | Goldshire Footman (Zerker is hard to trigger for a Shaman. At least War Golem is straight up 7/7. I want to look for earlier plays now, though.)

Frost Shock | Ancestral Healing | Gnomish Inventor (Nom.)

Ironbeak Owl | Acolyte of Pain | Bluegill Warrior (Acolyte will at least (nearly) always pay for itself, sometimes more.)

Flesheating Ghoul | Windspeaker | Stormpike Commando (Windspeaker has one big advantage over Ghoul, and that is that his effect is instant. I actually think I'll take him here.)

Coldlight Oracle | Arcane Golem | Defender of Argus (Do I want to give my opponent cards or mana, or get one of the best rares in the game? HMMM!)

Dragonling Mechanic | Gnomish Inventor | Core hound (If I can get a Bloodlust, I think Mechanic is better. Otherwise Inventor. Card draw is always card draw, though.)

Unbound Elemental | Fen Creeper | Stonetusk Boar (Solid taunt.)

Dust Devil | Windfury | Stormwind Knight

Magma Rager | Core Hound | Mad Bomber (I'll take him only because the other choices are more terrible. And I do need earlier plays.)

Darkscale Healer | Ancestral Healing | Frost Shock (Healer for a body.)

Mana Tide Totem | Defender of Argus | Wild Pyromancer (I've one spell so far, and I don't like Mana Tide because it depends on staying alive while being a priority target. One more Defender, I think.)

Booty Bay Bodyguard | Raid Leader | Harvest Golem (Not bad choices, but Harvest Golem is so strong.)

Oasis Snapjaw | Stranglethorn Tiger | Harvest Golem (One more? Yes please.)

Acolyte of Pain | Fire Elemental | Raid Leader (And another one of these for good measure. But now I seriously gotta stop picking late-game stuff.)

Mana Tide Totem | Sunwalker | Lightning Storm (Sunwalker is nice, but REMOOOOVAL.)

Big Game Hunter | Blood Knight | Faceless Manipulator (Removal and a body. Mmhm.)

Dust Devil | Priestess of Elune | Young Dragonhawk (Crappy choices. Not Priestess, I'm overloaded on late-game as it is. Dragonhawk, I think, because both the others will die the next round and that one will not cost me Overload.)

Kobold Geomancer | Unbound Elemental | Hex (Gotta take that frawg.)

Bloodlust | Ogre Magi | Razorfen Hunter (Oh yeah.)

Ancestral Healing | Frost Shock | Mad Bomber (I have exactly one 2-drop so far. Another Mad Bomber. God damn it.)

Fire Elemental | Bloodlust | Sen'jin Shieldmasta (Oh man. Double Bloodlust, I guess, but picking Shieldmasta is in my reflexes... no, Bloodlust.)

Flesheating Ghoul | Amani Berserker | Silver Hand Knight (Zerker here, becuase I have such lousy 2-drops. Also, a Bomber might trigger his enrage.)

Kobold Geomancer | Nightblade | Booty Bay Bodyguard (2-droooop.)

Grimscale Oracle | Earthen Ring Farseer | Windfury Harpy (Not taking that murloc. Farseer.)

Ravenholdt Assassin | Demolisher | Master Swordsmith (Hard, but yes. Probably suboptimal, but I wanted him.)

Final mana curve: 0-3-5-7-6-5-3-1. I'm not seeing this going too far, though. Lacks removal and somewhat card draw. We shall see.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-18, 07:08 PM

My username is Winny#1904, by the way. European server. I may try adding some folks to see how it all works and stuff.

Weimann

2014-01-18, 07:27 PM

Feel free to add me, if you like. I'm pretty mellow so I won't bother you. :smalltongue:

Infernally Clay

2014-01-18, 08:08 PM

Well, I've been playing ranked a lot more and just now I was losing to this Druid. He had 30 health and 3 armour while I was down to 14. I was really boned most of the match since I couldn't even play a minion until the sixth turn (and this is a deck with nine minions that cost five mana or less), so by then I was pretty desperate and played my Baron Geddon on turn seven and my opponent's Ironbark Protector on the turn after. They used Starfall to destroy the Baron, but only silenced the Ironbark Protector.

So then this happened...

http://i.imgur.com/sZQRBgo.jpg

They eventually managed to silence it a second time but, by then, the match had already been decided.

Although now I have no idea what the game is playing at now. Three matches in a row now and the game has given me nothing I can play for the first five or six rounds. Nearly third of the deck is early game minions and it keeps not giving them to me until much later, usually when it's far too late for them to do anything. It's bad enough I have to go up against people with Ysera, Black Knight, Sylvanas Windrunner and Bloodmage Thalnos in the same deck, but it'd be really nice if I could actually play cards once in a while. Thoughtsteal is a gimmick card, a little bit of fun to shake up an otherwise routine match, not something I should be relying on to give me something to play.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-18, 09:12 PM

Notes on picks I disgree with:

Okay, let's record a draft again!

Emperor Cobra | Argent Commander | Lightwarden (I know she's suboptimal here, but it just struck me that she might have some hilarious synergy with Healing Totem. Also, 1/2 for 1 isn't that bad in itself. That said, I know I'm mispicking.) - Like you said, shouldn't be picking Lifewarden over Argent Commander or even Emperor Cobra.

Strangethorn Tiger | Flametongue Totem | Spellbreaker (Hard pick. Just barely wins out.) - It's a tough pick but a tough pick between Flametongue and Spellbreaker. Stranglethorn is a distant third and the Totem is usually the correct choic.

Unbound Elemental | Fen Creeper | Stonetusk Boar (Solid taunt.) - I'd take the Unbound Elemental on the expectation that most Shaman decks will pick up at least 3-4 overloads naturally. Fen Creeper isn't great.

Fire Elemental | Bloodlust | Sen'jin Shieldmasta (Oh man. Double Bloodlust, I guess, but picking Shieldmasta is in my reflexes... no, Bloodlust.) - There is no such thing as too many Fire Elementals as Shaman.

onionbreath

2014-01-18, 09:44 PM

Hm, it hadn't dawned on me that we could just do a single-elimination with four. But personally I'd still vote for round robin + finals, since otherwise half of us play only one round, and the others only two. Best 2 of 3 all-kill for the RR, 3 of 5 for finals, of course.

OK. So it sounds like we are basically throwing out the old records and starting over. Is it OK to build a new deck for this tourney then? My warrior one in the 8-person tourney was really bad and I have some better cards now.

Zevox

2014-01-18, 09:58 PM

OK. So it sounds like we are basically throwing out the old records and starting over. Is it OK to build a new deck for this tourney then? My warrior one in the 8-person tourney was really bad and I have some better cards now.
That would be my preference as well, but Destro has been the one organizing this, so I think it's his call.

Edit: So, anybody ever had a play that seemed so mean they actually said "sorry" before doing it?

I've done it twice now. Once way back shortly after I started, a match as my Mage was going my way, but then my Priest opponent, with the last cards in his hand, fielded a Lightspawn, buffed it with Power Word: Shield, and drew and played that spell that doubles a minion's health, giving him a 14/14, which was basically his last hope. One which wasn't entirely without merit either, since my minions at the time couldn't handle it, nor was he close enough to dying for me to just ignore it. But I had Polymorph in hand. Yeah, I felt so bad for how it was going to make him feel that I had to apologize before making the play.

And again just now, I had another. I'm playing Priest, he's playing Druid, I've just mind controlled his Ironbark Protector and have a Chillwind Yeti on the field, and he's at 11 health. He plays a Harvest Golem and buffs it to 11 hp and taunt with two of those Mark spells. Plainly a desperate move just trying to buy himself a turn. And I had Shadow Word: Pain in hand. Again, I just had to apologize in advance - it felt downright evil to already have the perfect counter to such a play at that moment.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-19, 03:37 AM

I feel bad pretty much every game I've played in the past two days but I guess that's the normal feeling when you decide to take a break from playing control and go with Scumlock Murlock cause you want short games.

ShinyRocks

2014-01-19, 05:43 AM

I came up against my first Murlock yesterday. I was like 'Oh. That's how that works. Okay.'

Bayar

2014-01-19, 05:49 AM

Finally caved in and crafted a Pit FIend and a Shadowflame. Removed the sole Flesheating ghoul and a hellfire for them so it should still work like before. Might have to swap either mad bomber or 2-1+1-1 murloc with Earthen ring farseer if health becomes an issue.

Weimann

2014-01-19, 10:55 AM

Previously mentioned Shaman draft went 6-3 in the end. Pack, 80g and 55g. Surprisingly good deck, it seems. I had expected much worse.

Edit: With a Golden Milhouse Manastorm, even. That's neat.

Notes on picks I disgree with:Thanks for looking at them! While I can certainly see the point with the Fire Elemental, I'll have to disagree with about the second Bloodlust however; Bloodlust was key to winning most of my games with this deck. It was nice to have two, since it increased the chances of getting one and made the times when you had two downright nightmarish.

Nerocite

2014-01-19, 01:07 PM

Faceless Manipulator is the hero this game needs. Copying legends never gets old.

Also my IGN is JoeKage#1852 on NA.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-19, 01:17 PM

Faceless Manipulator is the hero this game needs. Copying legends never gets old.

Also my IGN is JoeKage#1852 on NA.

But it's not the hero this game deserves.

Legoshrimp

2014-01-19, 04:07 PM

So I found http://www.liquidhearth.com/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=513
What are your thoughts on this?

Volatar

2014-01-19, 04:17 PM

Yay! Blizzard finally send me an invite to this. Installed it last night and ran through the tutorial and a few games.

As a Magic player, I really didn't expect to find this game any good. I was very very wrong. This game is awesome.

Unlocked all the characters and when the Arena opened up I immediately jumped right in. All three options where characters I had yet to play, so I picked the hunter.

And then proceeded to bungle my way through card selection. I know enough to try and balance mana and try and find cards that work well together, but my resulting deck wasn't particularly good. Immediately lost my first two games... and then won the next three. :smallbiggrin:

I like this game.

I am Volatar#1750, NA server.

Zevox

2014-01-19, 05:03 PM

So I found http://www.liquidhearth.com/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=513
What are your thoughts on this?
Hm. Honestly, I think I mostly would quibble with them on where in each list section most of those would go - i.e. I'd move Mad Bomber down and Faerie Dragon and Raging Worgen up in the "good" list, for instance.

As far as ones I'd move to a different category, I'd perhaps drop the "excellent" picks from rank 10 down to "good" (except for Sen'jin Shieldmasta and Earthen Ring Farseer), mostly because I can see picking some other cards they rate as "good" over them in a vacuum (taking Loot Hoarder over Gnomish Inventor because he's the cheaper card draw option, for example). I'd certainly drop Bloodfen Raptor from good to average. Perhaps drop Stormpike Commando from average to poor. Probably move Lord of the Arena up to the low end of average, though I'm more iffy on that one.

I actually have a at least one major disagreement with them in the "poor" category. Ogre Magi is respectable stats for its cost even if you can't capitalize on its effect, and is quite good if you can, so I think it deserves at least to be in the average category. I also think they might be undervaluing post-nerf Novice Engineer by putting it so low, since card draw is still extremely good, especially at a low cost.

Nerocite

2014-01-19, 05:03 PM

So I found http://www.liquidhearth.com/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=513
What are your thoughts on this?

One great piece of advice I've heard in regards to arena is to not just look at the 3 cards available but the rest of your deck. Combos with cards, mana curves, etc., all play into what you choose, not just what is "best".

ex cathedra

2014-01-19, 05:26 PM

Hm. Honestly, I think I mostly would quibble with them on where in each list section most of those would go - i.e. I'd move Mad Bomber down and Faerie Dragon and Raging Worgen up in the "good" list, for instance.

As far as ones I'd move to a different category, I'd perhaps drop the "excellent" picks from rank 10 down to "good" (except for Sen'jin Shieldmasta and Earthen Ring Farseer), mostly because I can see picking some other cards they rate as "good" over them in a vacuum (taking Loot Hoarder over Gnomish Inventor because he's the cheaper card draw option, for example). I'd certainly drop Bloodfen Raptor from good to average. Perhaps drop Stormpike Commando from average to poor. Probably move Lord of the Arena up to the low end of average, though I'm more iffy on that one.

I have a lot of quibbles with your quibbles. Unless you're dying for two-drops gnomish inventor tends to be a much better card than loot hoarder in arena. hoarder trades poorly against four (and sometimes five or six) different hero powers and since it has 1 health it never really trades better than evenly. inventor kills 3/2's for free and trades most 3 and 4 drops. not only do constructed decks tend to be very focused, they also have access to higher average card quality. this makes loot hoarder better than inventor in most constructed decks. neither of those things are true of arena decks, however, and i feel like inventor vs loot hoarder is a good example of how people over-value synergy and effects and undervalue actual card quality in arena.

bloodfen raptor is a better minion than raging worgen so i won't even pretend to understand your rationale in moving the weaker card up and moving the stronger card down.

it is not uncommon for 2 drops to persist on the field by turn 4, and stormwind knight nearly always sticks around after he kills them for free when he comes into play. i can see an argument for stormwind knight not being at the top of the average list but i don't really believe that he deserves to be below it.

Zevox

2014-01-19, 05:43 PM

Leaving aside Loot Hoarder vs Gnomish Inventor, since I'm less certain of that:

bloodfen raptor is a better minion than raging worgen so i won't even pretend to understand your rationale in moving the weaker card up and moving the stronger card down.
Simple. Bloodfen Raptor is a strictly average 2-drop, at 3/2 with no effect. Raging Worgen would be an average 3-drop with its stats alone, but its effect potentially allows it to do far more. This is particularly true if you're a Mage, but in arena, where people often have to accept sub-optimal cards, there's a decent chance it'll be true regardless of your class.

it is not uncommon for 2 drops to persist on the field by turn 4, and stormwind knight nearly always sticks around after he kills them for free when he comes into play. i can see an argument for stormwind knight not being at the top of the average list but i don't really believe that he deserves to be below it.
This is you misreading my post - I said Stormpike Commando, not Stormwind Knight. I probably would move Knight down within the average list, but I agree he's fine being in it.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-19, 05:45 PM

That would be my preference as well, but Destro has been the one organizing this, so I think it's his call.

Yeah, I'd say it's fine to change up your decks.

I actually have a at least one major disagreement with them in the "poor" category. Ogre Magi is respectable stats for its cost even if you can't capitalize on its effect, and is quite good if you can, so I think it deserves at least to be in the average category. I also think they might be undervaluing post-nerf Novice Engineer by putting it so low, since card draw is still extremely good, especially at a low cost.

Trump doesn't respect spellpower, which is why the magi gets placed so low. Having only 4 health makes it die too easily. As for Novice, I can see that, since now it doesn't trade well with anything. Previously it traded against 1/1s and lived. The card draw is the only thing making it not terrible at this point.

ex cathedra

2014-01-19, 06:00 PM

Simple. Bloodfen Raptor is a strictly average 2-drop, at 3/2 with no effect. Raging Worgen would be an average 3-drop with its stats alone, but its effect potentially allows it to do far more. This is particularly true if you're a Mage, but in arena, where people often have to accept sub-optimal cards, there's a decent chance it'll be true regardless of your class.

3 health 3-drops that don't immediately affect the board are bad cards. they die to the majority of 2 mana cards in the format. if 3/2 feels like a fair and average 2-drop then don't you think that 3/3 is a bit low for 3-drops?

AgentPaper

2014-01-19, 06:18 PM

I have a lot of quibbles with your quibbles. Unless you're dying for two-drops gnomish inventor tends to be a much better card than loot hoarder in arena. hoarder trades poorly against four (and sometimes five or six) different hero powers and since it has 1 health it never really trades better than evenly.

Loot Hoarder always trades at least evenly unless it's silenced. If it kills something, that's a 2-for-1. Even if they use a hero power to knock it out, that still buys you a whole turn for no real cost.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-19, 06:30 PM

Previously mentioned Shaman draft went 6-3 in the end. Pack, 80g and 55g. Surprisingly good deck, it seems. I had expected much worse.

Edit: With a Golden Milhouse Manastorm, even. That's neat.

Grats on the Golden Milhouse, time to DE it for a good legendary of your choice :smalltongue:

Thanks for looking at them! While I can certainly see the point with the Fire Elemental, I'll have to disagree with about the second Bloodlust however; Bloodlust was key to winning most of my games with this deck. It was nice to have two, since it increased the chances of getting one and made the times when you had two downright nightmarish.

This is just my opinion of course but while I don't disagree with Bloodlust been a reasonable card, more often than not, it's just a "win more" type of card that occasionally steals you a game whereas Fire Elemental is a solid card that's almost always going to get you at least a 2 for 1 if not better and have an immediate impact on board state.

Noone will argue that Bloodlust's effect is huge but the main weakness of the card lies in the fact that it requires at least some semblance of board presence. That's usually not happening against the better players you'll face in later rounds of an arena unless you're already winning so when you need a game changer the most, it's almost always a dead card if you draw it or at best trades 1 for 1.

The only time I'd pick Bloodlust over Fire Elemental is late in a draft when playing a full out rush deck because I know the cards I've drafted just won't be able to win me a drawn out late game.

Trump doesn't respect spellpower, which is why the magi gets placed so low. Having only 4 health makes it die too easily. As for Novice, I can see that, since now it doesn't trade well with anything. Previously it traded against 1/1s and lived. The card draw is the only thing making it not terrible at this point.

The major problem with Ogre Magi has actually more to do with the tough competition at 4 slot. At Neutral alone, there's Yeti, DID, Spellbreaker and Shieldmasta to name a few and when you add in the class specific commons, there's just too many better cards for it to receive a rating much higher than what it got. Basically, it's where it is not because it's bad but because there's a million better cards than it at common in that slot.

ex cathedra

2014-01-19, 06:58 PM

Loot Hoarder always trades at least evenly unless it's silenced. If it kills something, that's a 2-for-1. Even if they use a hero power to knock it out, that still buys you a whole turn for no real cost.

the comparison being made is specifically between loot hoarder and gnomish inventor, so they're identical in regards to basic card advantage (except that inventor can't be silenced). however, saying that it "buys you a whole turn for no real cost" is nonsensical. if they use a hero power, it costs your opponent no more than it costs you. two mana and zero lost cards versus two mana and zero lost cards.

Zevox

2014-01-19, 07:22 PM

3 health 3-drops that don't immediately affect the board are bad cards. they die to the majority of 2 mana cards in the format. if 3/2 feels like a fair and average 2-drop then don't you think that 3/3 is a bit low for 3-drops?
Considering that the only 3-drop I know of with more than 3 health is the Shaman-only Unbound Elemental, not really, no. Having 3s trade with 2s sometimes is fairly expected. Obviously you'd like to play Worgen when the opponent doesn't have a 3/2 for 2 on the board, or when you have something with taunt to draw its attack instead if they do, but if you have to, it's still just a one-for-one trade between two low-cost cards, not really that bad a situation. And the potential for the Worgen to get explosive if they can't immediately one-for-one it is well worth it, I think.

ex cathedra

2014-01-19, 07:38 PM

Considering that the only 3-drop I know of with more than 3 health is the Shaman-only Unbound Elemental, not really, no. Having 3s trade with 2s sometimes is fairly expected. Obviously you'd like to play Worgen when the opponent doesn't have a 3/2 for 2 on the board, or when you have something with taunt to draw its attack instead if they do, but if you have to, it's still just a one-for-one trade between two low-cost cards, not really that bad a situation. And the potential for the Worgen to get explosive if they can't immediately one-for-one it is well worth it, I think.

reliably trading your 3s for enemy 2s with no additional value probably means that you just have low expectations.

most 3-drops are bad. the same is true for 1-drops, 4-drops, nearly everything. raging worgen is one of many bad 3-drops. you mentioned these niche scenarios in which worgen generates decent damage and sometimes even value but you fail to account for the large percentage of the time when bloodfen raptor has the same impact on the board as raging worgen with the notable difference of coming down a turn earlier or costing one less mana on every other turn.

3 mana 3/3 with enrage: +1 attack and windfury is under the curve. harvest golem, scarlet crusader, shattered sun cleric, jungle panther, and (sometimes but at least more often than raging worgen) earthen ring farseer are above the curve.

Math_Mage

2014-01-19, 07:55 PM

AgentPaper

2014-01-19, 08:06 PM

the comparison being made is specifically between loot hoarder and gnomish inventor, so they're identical in regards to basic card advantage (except that inventor can't be silenced). however, saying that it "buys you a whole turn for no real cost" is nonsensical. if they use a hero power, it costs your opponent no more than it costs you. two mana and zero lost cards versus two mana and zero lost cards.

By "no real cost' I meant that you don't lose any card or board advantage. Which if you're the type of deck that wants Loot Hoarder, is probably all you care about.

Zevox

2014-01-19, 08:26 PM

reliably trading your 3s for enemy 2s with no additional value probably means that you just have low expectations.

most 3-drops are bad. the same is true for 1-drops, 4-drops, nearly everything. raging worgen is one of many bad 3-drops. you mentioned these niche scenarios in which worgen generates decent damage and sometimes even value but you fail to account for the large percentage of the time when bloodfen raptor has the same impact on the board as raging worgen with the notable difference of coming down a turn earlier or costing one less mana on every other turn.

3 mana 3/3 with enrage: +1 attack and windfury is under the curve. harvest golem, scarlet crusader, shattered sun cleric, jungle panther, and (sometimes but at least more often than raging worgen) earthen ring farseer are above the curve.
I don't disagree that the other 3s you mentioned are better cards than the Worgen - although Cleric and Panther can be situationally worse.* But that doesn't mean that the Worgen isn't still good.

And yes, there will certainly be times when Bloodfen Raptor will have the same impact as Raging Worgen. There will never be times when he has as much impact as the Worgen does when it gets to use its effect, though. I guess our source of disagreement is that, if forced to choose, I'd rather take the 1 point of higher cost and try to get that better result than settle for the lower cost that will never be more than average.

*If the opponent is keeping the board clear enough that Cleric has nothing to buff, or if they have board sweep spells that deal 2 like Consecrate, Holy Nova, Blizzard, etc to handle the Panther.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-19, 08:49 PM

And yes, there will certainly be times when Bloodfen Raptor will have the same impact as Raging Worgen. There will never be times when he has as much impact as the Worgen does when it gets to use its effect, though. I guess our source of disagreement is that, if forced to choose, I'd rather take the 1 point of higher cost and try to get that better result than settle for the lower cost that will never be more than average.

It will also depend on curve, especially in Arena. If you're badly hurting for 2s, Raptor is a way better pick because it makes you less likely to have a dead turn early on. Alternatively, with many 2s Raptor goes down in value because you already have lots of stuff that can do what it does, and Worgen goes up. Worgen also goes up with plentiful buffs.

ex cathedra

2014-01-19, 09:00 PM

I would virtually always pick the raptor over the worgen if given a choice between the two and a third, worse, option. two-drops and three-drops are best used to establish board control and raptor generally does it earlier and more efficiently.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-19, 10:47 PM

More than a little frustrated with this MAGE arena draft. It's like it went out of its way to make me pick least-worst-of-three:

MAGE

1.Arcane Golem/KNIFE JUGGLER/Crazed Alchemist - Might as well, best of the lot.
2.SORCERER'S APPRENTICE/Ironbeak Owl/Abusive Sergeant - Apprentice is a great card early if I get spells later.
3.Elven Archer/WATER ELEMENTAL/Youthful Brewmaster - Don't want to stack my curve too early.
4.TAUREN WARRIOR/Elven Archer/Ironfur Grizzly - This sucks. At least I might be able to ping Warrior, so him > Grizzly.
5.Razorfen Hunter/Dread Corsair/FROSTBOLT - Always good.
6.Cone of Cold/CHILLWIND YETI/Priestess of Elune - Yeti!
7.Abusive Sergeant/BLOODFEN RAPTOR/Ironfur Grizzly - Raptor isn't awful, just boring.
8.Bluegill Warrior/ACIDIC SWAMP OOZE/Goldshire Footman - All the Ooze that I can Use.
9.Stormwind Knight/Bloodfen Raptor/ARCANE MISSILES - More damage.
10.SUNFURY PROTECTOR/Mana Wraith/Ancient Mage - Ancient Mage's battlecry looks nice for Mage, but Protector is more Arena-worthy.
11.VENTURE CO. MERCENARY/Worgen Infiltrator/War Golem - Shaping up to be a very Aggro deck right now, but Value Go. is excellent midgame beef.
12.Ice Barrier/SORCERER's APPRENTICE/Silverback Patriarch - Okay, my 2-slot is packed now.
13.GNOMISH INVENTOR/Sorcerer's Apprentice/Silverback Patriarch - What did I say?
14.Leeroy Jenkins/Bloodmage Thalnos/ILLIDAN STORMRAGE - I don't need MORE 2-drops, and Illidan has combo potential with my low curve.
15.Thrallmar Farseer/Voodoo Doctor/Boulderfist Ogre - Boring, but reliable.
16.Southsea Deckhand/GURUBASHI BERZERKER/Ancient Brewmaster - Pingable, and I have only 1 5-drop right now.
17.Fen Creeper/IRONBEAK OWL/Ice Barrier - Owl, I guess...it's a Silence.
18.Thrallmar Farseer/Ironfur Grizzly/TAUREN WARRIOR - This is just insulting. At least I can ping.
19.Young Dragonhawk/STRANGLETHORN TIGER/Dalaran Mage - Decent body.
20.SUNWALKER/Arcane Golem/Murloc Tidecaller - Finally, a good and easy pick.
21.ABUSIVE SERGEANT/Arcane Squire/Ironbeak Owl - So topheavy on 2-drops, Sergeant could let me trade up.
22.Youthful Brewmaster/Kobold Geomancer/RAZORFEN HUNTER - Not enough battlecries to warrant bloating the 2-drop slot more.
23.Mad Bomber/Booty Bay Bodyguard/POLYMORPH - Finally, hard removal.
24.MURLOC TIDEHUNTER/Grimscale Oracle/Archmage - Sigh.
25.Dire Wolf Alpha/Dread Corsair/MANA WYRM - Almost no spells to feed it, but it's a 1-drop.
26.Reckless Rocketeer/ARCANE INTELLECT/Murloc Tidehunter - Removal or draw, but Draw is more valuable for this aggressive deck.
27.WINDFURY HARPY/Ironbeak Owl/Voodoo Doctor - Bad, but it's higher on the curve and could be nasty if it sticks for a turn.
28.Harvest Golem/Sorcerer's Apprentice/FROSTBOLT - Harvest Golem is real tempting, but Frostbolt is removal.
29.Raid Leader/MAD BOMBER/Archmage - Another 2-drop is less painful than voluntarily taking Raid Leader.
30.IMP MASTER/Ethereal Arcanist/Kirin Tor Mage - No secrets, no question.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-19, 11:33 PM

More than a little frustrated with this MAGE arena draft. It's like it went out of its way to make me pick least-worst-of-three:

Doesn't seem that bad. These ones, though...

MAGE

9.Stormwind Knight/Bloodfen Raptor/ARCANE MISSILES - More damage.
Raptor is probably still better. Missiles is sort of bad.
16.Southsea Deckhand/GURUBASHI BERZERKER/Ancient Brewmaster - Pingable, and I have only 1 5-drop right now.
I'd take Brewmaster. Costs less, and has the same attack value as a berserker pinged once.
17.Fen Creeper/IRONBEAK OWL/Ice Barrier - Owl, I guess...it's a Silence.
Fen Creeper is a fine card.
24.MURLOC TIDEHUNTER/Grimscale Oracle/Archmage - Sigh.
Archmage, here. You have more than enough 2s, and Tidehunter isn't even a good 2.
25.Dire Wolf Alpha/Dread Corsair/MANA WYRM - Almost no spells to feed it, but it's a 1-drop.
I think Dire Wolf fits your deck better. It's aggressive, and you have few spells to support mana wyrm.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-20, 12:58 AM

I had to draft Tauren Warrior. Twice.:smallyuk:

Creeper/Owl was a split decision...reflecting, you're probably right about Dire Wolf. Hopefully Mana Wyrm will draw some early removal, killing it before they're willing to risk it getting big (which it won't).

Zevox

2014-01-20, 01:02 AM

Tournament - So, nobody else seems to be weighing in on the format. Destro, care to just pick one and get us started, then? I'd kinda like to see this resume.

It will also depend on curve, especially in Arena. If you're badly hurting for 2s, Raptor is a way better pick because it makes you less likely to have a dead turn early on. Alternatively, with many 2s Raptor goes down in value because you already have lots of stuff that can do what it does, and Worgen goes up. Worgen also goes up with plentiful buffs.
Of course, that sort of thing always needs to be considered. We're just discussing it as if it were the first pick of the draft since that's how that article was structured - most likely because otherwise it would be a mess of "if-then" qualifiers if you tried to write it as anything else.

I would virtually always pick the raptor over the worgen if given a choice between the two and a third, worse, option. two-drops and three-drops are best used to establish board control and raptor generally does it earlier and more efficiently.
Fair enough. I'm just the sort to go for the choice with more potential than the one that's just efficient I suppose.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-20, 03:49 AM

When you're playing against warlock, you should always play it safe.
Druid had 24 life against my 10.
Druid had Harvest Golem and Defender of Argus against my Coldlight Seer and Grimscale Oracle.
Druid draws for the turn, plays Druid of the Claw in Cat form and attacks me down to 2. Hero powers down the Grimscale Oracle.
My next turn: Attack with my Coldlight Seer, Leeroy, Power Overwhelming, Power Overwhelming, Soulfire (wins coin toss: discards newly drawn murloc tide hunter) and Soulfire the now very sad Druid :smalltongue:

Dada

2014-01-20, 05:05 AM

If I had the choice of a guaranteed Blodfen Raptor on turn 2 and a guaranteed Raging Worgen on turn 3, I'd take the guaranteed Raptor.

ScionoftheVoid

2014-01-20, 07:44 AM

Plays you feel evil making: opponent drops Ragnaros (in Arena). You play Faceless Manipulator, then Big Game Hunter, clear their board and deal enough damage for the Ragnaros to kill them.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-20, 07:51 AM

Plays you feel evil making: opponent drops Ragnaros (in Arena). You play Faceless Manipulator, then Big Game Hunter, clear their board and deal enough damage for the Ragnaros to kill them.

I had one of those the other day. Opponent had a couple creatures, I had a couple smaller creatures. They drop Stormwind Champion and I have no way to kill it, but they ALSO drop something else and then go for the face instead of trading.

So I play Mind Control Tech, and he grabs the Stormwind Champion. The aftermath involved favourable board clearing and my own stormwind champion dropping, and me coming from a huge life disadvantage to win the game. It was gross.

Nerocite

2014-01-20, 09:22 AM

I had two arena games in a row where my opponent gave up after activating noble sacrifice. Secrets are great just for the mind games.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-20, 10:10 AM

Is anyone else not getting any quests? For the last two days I haven't received any...

Plays you feel evil making: opponent drops Ragnaros (in Arena). You play Faceless Manipulator, then Big Game Hunter, clear their board and deal enough damage for the Ragnaros to kill them.

Oh, I have one! Playing Thoughtsteal and nabbing Ysera, only to Mind Control your opponent's Ysera as well. :smallamused:

Zevox

2014-01-20, 10:32 AM

If I had the choice of a guaranteed Blodfen Raptor on turn 2 and a guaranteed Raging Worgen on turn 3, I'd take the guaranteed Raptor.
I can understand that. But we're not talking guarantees of having them on turn 2 or 3, just picking them for your Arena deck.

Is anyone else not getting any quests? For the last two days I haven't received any...
No, I'm getting them. Had an incident the day the recent patch dropped where it didn't show up until after I played a couple of games, but since then they've been perfectly normal.

Oh, I have one! Playing Thoughtsteal and nabbing Ysera, only to Mind Control your opponent's Ysera as well. :smallamused:
Ouch. Talk about lucky.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-20, 11:12 AM

New Mage draft!

Blizzard - Ethereal Arcanist, Crazed Alchemist
Darkscale Healer - Ironfur Grizzly, Young Dragonhawk
Sen'jin Shieldmasta - Ice Lance, Kobold Geomancer
Flamestrike - Argent Squire, Murloc Raider
Gadgetzan Auctioneer - Ancient Watcher, Ethereal Arcanist
Spellbreaker - Mirror Image, Raid Leader
Raging Worgen - Ironbeak Owl, Murloc Tidecaller
Polymorph - Frostbolt, Amani Berserker
Mana Wyrm - Priestess of Elune, Arcane Missiles
Sunwalker - Mana Addict, Mana Wraith
Sen'jin Shieldmasta - Dalaran Mage, Mirror Entity
Loot Hoarder - Silvermoon Guardian, Dalaran Mage
Flamestrike - Jungle Panther, Bluegill Warrior
Mad Bomber - Abusive Sergeant, Core Hound
Worgen Infiltrator - Windfury Harpy, Southsea Deckhand
Venture Co. Mercenary - Bloodsail Raider, Tauren Warrior
Raging Worgen - Tauren Warrior, Darkscale Healer
Sunfury Protector - Lightwarden, Kirin Tor Mage
Stormind Champion - River Crocolisk, Magma Rager
Archmage Antonidas - King Mukla, Baron Geddon
Arcane Intellect - Elven Archer, Thrallmar Farseer
Arcane Missiles - Youthful Brewmaster, Lord of the Arena
Mirror Image - Mana Wyrm, Grimscale Oracle
Arcane Intellect - Priestess of Elune, Frost Elemental
Spellbreaker - Amani Berserker, Gnomish Inventor
Polymorph - Arcane Intellect, Murloc Tidecaller
Venture Co. Mercenary - River Crocolisk, Bloodfen Raptor
Frostwolf Warlord - Murloc Raider, Lord of the Arena
Frost Nova - Amani Berserker, Argent Squire
Vaporise - Emperor Cobra, Knife Juggler

I'm not sure if I made the right choice of Legendary but I have 11 spells in the deck that Antonidas' effect might potentially trigger off of - and since I wasn't given any Fireballs or Pyroblasts to draft, I think I did the right thing in picking him. Geddon would be difficult to manage during play and King Mukla isn't for this type of deck.

Nerocite

2014-01-20, 12:33 PM

Is anyone else not getting any quests? For the last two days I haven't received any...

There's a bug where if you re-roll a quest you don't get a new one.

Zevox

2014-01-20, 01:10 PM

There's a bug where if you re-roll a quest you don't get a new one.
:smallconfused: "Re-roll a quest?"

The Glyphstone

2014-01-20, 01:23 PM

:smallconfused: "Re-roll a quest?"

You can choose to discard one quest per day and have it (supposedly) replaced with a new quest...say, if you get 'Only The Mighty' to play 20 5+ mana minions and your best decks are all low-cost aggro, you can throw it away and hope to get a Victory or Dominance quest instead. But the bug means sometimes you throw it away and it doesn't get replaced.

Olinser

2014-01-20, 02:16 PM

You can choose to discard one quest per day and have it (supposedly) replaced with a new quest...say, if you get 'Only The Mighty' to play 20 5+ mana minions and your best decks are all low-cost aggro, you can throw it away and hope to get a Victory or Dominance quest instead. But the bug means sometimes you throw it away and it doesn't get replaced.

The only one I've thrown away so far was one to kill 40 minions.

I mean, SERIOUSLY? Most games you're lucky to get 10. Match up against a Mage or control deck you get a lot less. The first time I got it, I think it took me 6 games to actually finish - and that was only because I had a clear win and could have finished it any time I wanted, but I played it out for another 7 turns and killed 6 more minions before finishing him off.

Zevox

2014-01-20, 02:23 PM

The only one I've thrown away so far was one to kill 40 minions.

I mean, SERIOUSLY? Most games you're lucky to get 10. Match up against a Mage or control deck you get a lot less. The first time I got it, I think it took me 6 games to actually finish - and that was only because I had a clear win and could have finished it any time I wanted, but I played it out for another 7 turns and killed 6 more minions before finishing him off.
Playing control decks you get more - sometimes as many as 15. I've had that quest a couple of times, and it tended to take me only about 4 games to finish on average. Which is more than the easier quests, but less than the "Dominance" quests that require 5 wins.

ex cathedra

2014-01-20, 02:30 PM

the quest's contents don't really matter to me. i can throw together a deck of neutral cards for pretty much any class and complete their quests in casual play pretty trivially, assuming i don't already have a relevant constructed deck or arena option.

you only get one per day and you can hold three; those are really the only limiting factors. i just reroll all of the 40 gold quests regardless of their subject. i can sandbag the the slower quests by doing a bit each day or waiting for a relevant arena run by just finishing other quests in the mean time. the higher tiers of quest rewards are just free gold. i don't really see a reason to settle for the 40g quests.

Zevox

2014-01-20, 02:52 PM

Alright, haven't done one in a few days because I decided to try for faster packs, but today I think I'm feeling an arena run.

Class: Hunter | Rogue | Warlock (Two classes I don't like. Of course.)

Argent Commander | Bloodsail Corsair | Siphon Soul (I hate to give up an instant kill, but Commander is generally going to be the better card I think.)
Stonetusk Boar | Bluegill Warrior | Gnomish Inventor
Mountain Giant | Big Game Hunter | Hungry Crab (How come every epic pick always includes a Hungry Crab?)
Sense Demons | Succubus | Mogu'shan Warden
Priestess of Elune | Sen'jin Shieldmasta | Booty Bay Bodyguard
Flesheating Ghoul | Ironbeak Owl | Leper Gnome
Soulfire | Ironbeak Owl | Booty Bay Bodyguard
Power Overwhelming | Corruption | Gurubashi Berserker
Shattered Sun Cleric | Dread Infernal | Stormwind Champion (Kinda want the Infernal, but Cleric is probably generally the better choice.)
Coldlight Seer | Alarm-o-Bot | Ancient Watcher (Worst. Rare set. Ever.)
Coldlight Seer | Azure Drake | Demolisher
Fen Creeper | Silvermoon Guardian | Spiteful Smith
Mad Bomber | Priestess of Elune | Raging Worgen
Razorfen Hunter | Lord of the Arena | Dark Iron Dwarf
Shieldbearer | Hellfire | Bloodsail Raider
Stonetusk Boar | Darkscale Healer | Bloodsail Raider
Silvermoon Guardian | Murloc Raider | Elven Archer
Worgen Infiltrator | Gnomish Inventor | Southsea Deckhand
Sense Demons | Dark Iron Dwarf | Ironbeak Owl (Gak. Want the Owl because I'm low on 2s, high on 4s, and could use silence for that watcher... but Dark Iron Dwarf is too good.)
Knife Juggler | Ancient Watcher | Siphon Soul (Again, hate to give up an instant-kill, but I'm low on 2s, and Juggler is one of the best.)
Angry Chicken | Mana Addict | Violet Teacher (So many 4s... but the others suck, and I barely have spells for Mana Addict...)
Venture Co. Mercenary | Summoning Portal | Flame Imp (I think it's safe to say this won't be a very aggro deck, so good beef over good 1-drop.)
Sense Demons | Blood Imp | Southsea Deckhand
Corruption | Drain Life | Kobold Geomancer
Mortal Coil | Amani Berserker | Harvest Golem (Right, now it's giving me the good low-drops. All at once.)
Pit Lord | Mountain Giant | Bane of Doom (Too many 4s, can't take Pit Lord. Don't like random nature of Bane. Giant it is.)
Stormwind Champion | Silverback Patriarch | Chillwind Yeti (Eight 4s... goddamnit eight 4s...)
Tauren Warrior | Silvermoon Guardian | Voodoo Doctor
Harvest Golem | Gnomish Inventor | Novice Engineer (And now eight 3s. Sheesh.)
Faceless Manipulator | Bane of Doom | Murloc Warleader
Well, that seems bad. More than half the deck is 3 or 4 cost, and I'm not all that confident in my opening or end game.

Edit: Wound up 3-3, which I guess isn't bad for how poor I think the deck was. Mostly won because I got Blood Imp out early and my opponent couldn't handle its buff, especially if I got Raging Worgen to go with it. Got 30 gold, an Inner Fire, and a pack.

Adumbration

2014-01-20, 03:42 PM

There's a deck I've been playing around with that's enjoying moderate success for me around rank 9-10. It's fun, it's very not tryhard - I wish I could say it's wholly original idea but I saw something like it on a stream and reverse engineered it.
http://i.imgur.com/XbbXXj7.jpg

The ideal situation is to play card draw until turn 4-5, drop a Mountain giant and follow up with a board wipe via Unleash the Hounds, Timber wolf and a Sea giant. Then you just keep dropping giants until they break and if necessary - rarely so - race the finish with Leeroy/Kill Commands. :smallamused:

Weimann

2014-01-20, 04:20 PM

That deck looks nice Adumbration. :smallsmile: I should get around to actually building a solid deck myself, but I'm just more interested in the arena.

Speaking of the arena.

Hunter | Priest | Paladin

Azure Drake | Holy Fire | Mana Wraith (Sweetness right out the gate.)

Lightspawn | Stranglethorn Tiger | Inner Fire (I'm not sure if the 1 mana lower cost outweighs the Tiger's stealth... but I'm gonna say it does.)

Murloc Raider | Leper Gnome | Magma Rager

Silence | Bloodsail Raider | Mogu'shan Warden (Got no weapons, but 2/3 for 2 isn't that bad on its own, really.)

Northshire Cleric | Shadow Word: Pain | Windfury Harpy (Tough call. Taking the removal, I think. I have a tendency to get offered more Clerics than Shadow Words.)

Voodoo Doctor | Reckless Rocketeer | Stormwind Knight

Holy Smite | Holy Nova | Goldshire Footman

Lightspawn | Ogre Magi | Windfury Harpy (+1/+1 at same cost compared to Ogre Magi, and I have no damaging spells anyway.

Oh wait, I have holy Nova. Damn it. Too late now.)

Dragonling Mechanic | Holy Nova | Lightspawn (I think I want to AoE again.)

Violet Teacher | Lightwarden | Ravenholdt Assassin (Going for the endgame punch here. Gonna need earlier plays now though.)

Frostwolf Warlord | Inner Fire | Jungle Panther (Aw yeah, 3-drop.)

Wolfrider | Reckless Rocketeer | Archmage (Thinking Archmage cause he's actually pretty tanky... but I need 3-drops... but I don't like Wolfrider... screw it.)

Demolisher | Shadow Madness | Lightwarden (This just seems fun.)

Ironforge Rifleman | Frostwolf Grunt | Core Hound

Knife Juggler | Shadow Madness | Emperor Cobra (Can't pass the Juggler up.

Holy Smite | Dire Wolf Alpha | Stonetusk Boar (Okay, these are some special circumstances, but since the patch I've been getting a lot of problem with positioning-based powers. Therefore, I'm taking Smite here.)

Mind Blast | Scarlet Crusader | Chillwind Yeti

Argent Squire | Worgen Infiltrator | Dragonling Mechanic

Windfury Harpy | Lord of the Arena | Nightblade (Uuurgh. Okay, because it's a taunt and I have none yet.)

Argent Commander | Arcane Golem | Angry Chicken

Stormpike Commando | Holy Smite | Goldshire Footman

Mind Vision | Stormwind Knight | Reckless Rocketeer

Loot Hoarder | Sen'jin Shieldmasta | Gnomish Engineer (Taz'dingo vs Engineer... damn it. I have no card draw.)

Magma Rager | Fen Creeper | Oasis Snapjaw

Reckless Rocketeer | Gurubashi Berserker | Grimscale Oracle (They really want me to take that Rocketeer. Nope.)

Shieldbearer | Sen'jin Shieldmasta | Boulderfist Orge (Another hard choice. Sorry mon.)

Northshire Cleric | Stonetusk Boar | Mind Blast (Caaaaard draaaaw.)

Boulderfist Ogre | Jungle Panther | Ironbeak Owl (I have one 3-drop so far. Would have liked more Ogre though.)

Shadow Word: Pain | Flesheating Ghoul | Acolyte of Pain

Lightwarden | Violet Teacher | Master Swordsmith

Final mana curve: 0-5-5-2-7-6-4-1. Do not know about this. So topheavy.

Volatar

2014-01-20, 04:46 PM

How do you guys do such nicely formatted Arena posts? Do you type it all in yourself?

Zevox

2014-01-20, 04:50 PM

How do you guys do such nicely formatted Arena posts? Do you type it all in yourself?
Eeyup. Takes a few minutes, but it's the best way to make it easy on others reading it, I think.

Weimann

2014-01-20, 05:36 PM

Yeah. I think it's actually part of the fun as well. At least sometimes. Really, though, it helps you think through your choices.

Priest run ended 4-3, pack, 60g and 20g. Hey, I got a win ratio over 1 with a deck I didn't believe in. Dare I maybe think I might be starting to *gasp* get better? :smalleek:

Edit: Also, I DE's the Golden Milhouse Manastorm I got yesterday. I'm considering which other legendary to get for the dust. I'm thinking pragmatically, so Ysera, Sylvanas and the Black Knight is at the top, but I'm also interested in Grommash Hellscream and King Krush just becuase they're cool. Thoughts on this? How is Sylvanas even after the patch? I'd think she still holds her own, but is she still top-tier?

The Glyphstone

2014-01-20, 05:47 PM

I write my Arena lists in Notepad, then copypaste them here.

Volatar

2014-01-20, 05:49 PM

Going into the Arena again tonight I think. I'll make sure to write it up so I can get input and do better. :)

Zevox

2014-01-20, 06:07 PM

I write my Arena lists in Notepad, then copypaste them here.
I did that at first, but decided it would actually be easier to just write them in a post here directly. I already have the game in window mode to this, after all, and using the forum means I can do shortcuts like ctrl+b to bold.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-20, 07:02 PM

Spellbreaker - Amani Berserker, Gnomish Inventor - You already had a Polymorph and Spellbreaker in the deck so Berserker to lower your high curve at this point would have been a more solid choice.
Frost Nova - Amani Berserker, Argent Squire - Frost Nova isn't great, Berserker is the low drop you desperately need at this point especially with easy enrage trigger as mage.
Vaporise - Emperor Cobra, Knife Juggler - Vaporise is just too inconsistent and rarely going to get value against good players. Knife Juggler is the pick here especially with your curve.

Silvermoon Guardian | Murloc Raider | Elven Archer - 16 picks in, I'd just take the Archer with only 2 two drops in the deck so far.
Worgen Infiltrator | Gnomish Inventor | Southsea Deckhand -
Infiltrator for the same reason as Archer except it's actually a solid 1 drop. Card advantage is only good if you can get to the late game.
Stormwind Champion | Silverback Patriarch | Chillwind Yeti (Eight 4s... goddamnit eight 4s...) - If you had taken those 1 drops, this would be much easier. Even if you hadn't, I'd still take the Yeti here.

Violet Teacher | Lightwarden | Ravenholdt Assassin (Going for the endgame punch here. Gonna need earlier plays now though.) and
Lightwarden | Violet Teacher | Master Swordsmith - You're seriously underestimating Violet Teacher. Think of her as a Tazdingo that produces 1/1s.
Wolfrider | Reckless Rocketeer | Archmage (Thinking Archmage cause he's actually pretty tanky... but I need 3-drops... but I don't like Wolfrider... screw it.) - I'd take the Wolfrider as extra removal that occasionally sneaks in damage. Archmage is just bad for his cost.

ex cathedra

2014-01-20, 07:06 PM

@Zevox: i would generally not worry about having too many 4 mana cards. like, reasonably ever. they're cheap enough that you'll have a chance to cast them every game and they tend to be distinctly more powerful than 2/3 drops and only a bit weaker than 5 drops. 4 drops are often potent enough to turn the game around if you didn't have board control on turns 2 or 3.

Zevox

2014-01-20, 07:12 PM

Silvermoon Guardian | Murloc Raider | Elven Archer - 16 picks in, I'd just take the Archer with only 2 two drops in the deck so far.
Yeah, I did hesitate a bit on that one. But I figured an unimpressive 4 was still probably better than a mediocre 1. Probably would've made a different pick had I any inkling how 4-heavy that deck would turn out.

Worgen Infiltrator | Gnomish Inventor | Southsea Deckhand -
Infiltrator for the same reason as Archer except it's actually a solid 1 drop. Card advantage is only good if you can get to the late game.
That one I didn't really hesitate on though, and am not sure I would even in hindsight. It's true that Worgen is a good 1-drop, but I tend to feel that good 1-drops are a lower priority than a good anything else, and the Inventor is quite good. Maybe just because I tend to favor more control-y decks, and maybe it's a mistake, but that's how I think of it.

Stormwind Champion | Silverback Patriarch | Chillwind Yeti (Eight 4s... goddamnit eight 4s...) - If you had taken those 1 drops, this would be much easier. Even if you hadn't, I'd still take the Yeti here.
Yes, it certainly would have been an easier pick if I had made a different choice in either of those cases. Still, the Champion isn't bad at all, and it was responsible for one of my wins.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-20, 07:14 PM

Tournament - So, nobody else seems to be weighing in on the format. Destro, care to just pick one and get us started, then? I'd kinda like to see this resume.

yeah, let's just do the RR all-kill with two decks BO3, and a final with 3 decks BO5.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-20, 08:24 PM

Yeah, I did hesitate a bit on that one. But I figured an unimpressive 4 was still probably better than a mediocre 1. Probably would've made a different pick had I any inkling how 4-heavy that deck would turn out.

That one I didn't really hesitate on though, and am not sure I would even in hindsight. It's true that Worgen is a good 1-drop, but I tend to feel that good 1-drops are a lower priority than a good anything else, and the Inventor is quite good. Maybe just because I tend to favor more control-y decks, and maybe it's a mistake, but that's how I think of it.

The 1/2 drops are intended to get you to the late game with a relatively even board so your big drops can take over. All too often, the major problem you'll encounter playing control is that you took too much damage at the start because you didn't have to early cards to stem the bleeding that by the time you've gained board control, you're within range of burn or charge creatures.
There's no question that cards like the inventor is better in a vacuum but sometimes you just have to take the uninspiring 1 or 2 drop so that you're actually still alive to play your "bombs" later in the game.

Yes, it certainly would have been an easier pick if I had made a different choice in either of those cases. Still, the Champion isn't bad at all, and it was responsible for one of my wins.

I've said before that Stormwind's a good card. It's a close call and this is more personal preference than anything else but I prefer the Yeti purely purely cause it's an earlier drop that can stabilise your board. Champion on the other hand can sometimes just be a dead card that has little impact by the time you cast it even though it's effect is unquestionably much more powerful.

Science:
10-3 Shaman: Pack, 185 Gold, 85 Gold, Sunfury Protector
7-3 Druid: Pack, 155 Gold, 25 Dust

Zevox

2014-01-20, 11:00 PM

jguy

2014-01-20, 11:25 PM

Karoht

2014-01-20, 11:25 PM

So, has anyone else taken to muting Hearthstone's music and playing their own instead? Just started doing that today, and I don't think I'm ever going to do otherwise again. Makes it so much better. Of course, that could just be because the soundtracks to Metal Gear Rising and Persona 4 Arena make everything better, but still.

I particularly like listening to Rules of Nature (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9SPAOmIows) while playing Druid. And I almost wish I played Hunter just for how well I'm My Own Master Now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32llsByMLWY) would go with it.They did say that they want to expand the soundtrack a wee bit between now and launch, but this was said back at Blizzcon and I don't recall seeing anything else about it lately.

Part of me really wants to print out the cards and try playing the game IRL. I'm pretty sure this is a violation of something or other, so I won't until I know it's all good. Part of the reason is to see how this game plays with multiple players, part of it is just to have cards in hand and maybe get some other people interested in the game.
Thoughts?

Zevox

2014-01-20, 11:39 PM

This has probably been said but holy crap to I like Unleash the Hounds now with it costing 2. I've refilled my whole hand and board from near nothing by having Buzzard out and casting UtH, god forbid I also have a scavenging hyena out too. Last game my enemy had 16 cards in his deck, I had 6. I don't even play conservative most the time, just slam cards out and overwhelm with card advantage.
I have been seeing a lot more Hunters lately, that's for sure. Though mostly the ones I'm seeing seem to operate on the concept of charge creatures + Eaglehorn Bow + hero power for damage and secrets for defense and extra uses of Eaglehorn Bow.

Annoyingly, it seems to work extremely well. I don't think I've won more than one game against someone doing that. Just can't seem to figure out how to stop it, barring my opponent just not drawing the secrets he relies on for defense.

AgentPaper

2014-01-20, 11:39 PM

Part of me really wants to print out the cards and try playing the game IRL. I'm pretty sure this is a violation of something or other, so I won't until I know it's all good. Part of the reason is to see how this game plays with multiple players, part of it is just to have cards in hand and maybe get some other people interested in the game.
Thoughts?

Mostly, it would be a logistical nightmare. Between keeping track of minion health, temporary and permanent status effects, rolling random effects, and so on, turns would generally take a lot longer to resolve, negating one of the big draws that Hearthstone has with it's quick games. It would also make it really easy for a small mistake to be made, which could easily cause arguments and accusations of cheating even among friends.

You could help things by cutting out problem cards (Mad Bomber, all the priest copy cards, etc), but then you'd just end up with a dumbed-down version of Hearthstone.

The real way to share Hearthstone with your friends, though not available yet of course, will be to hand them the tablet version. That should be enough to convince them to download it themselves, then you can fight them a bit with both of you using starter decks until they decide they're having enough fun to buy into it (with time, money, or both).

Karoht

2014-01-20, 11:58 PM

Mostly, it would be a logistical nightmare. Between keeping track of minion health, temporary and permanent status effects, rolling random effects, and so on, turns would generally take a lot longer to resolve, negating one of the big draws that Hearthstone has with it's quick games. It would also make it really easy for a small mistake to be made, which could easily cause arguments and accusations of cheating even among friends.Meh. I'm used to card games where you keep track of things with counters and what not. One specifically was Magi-Nation, which was very similar to Hearthstone. Imagine Hearthstone exept instead of one hero, you get three, the new one comes into play after the first one dies. And they regenerate constantly, but that regeneration was also what you used to play cards with. If it was kept to 30 Health and the same resource system, I don't see a physical representation taking much longer than a 3 mage game of Magi-Nation did.
Also, Hearthstone caps you at 30 cards, when you run out you start taking stacking damage, Magi-Nation you just shuffled the discards and kept going.
Still, a valid concern no less.

The real way to share Hearthstone with your friends, though not available yet of course, will be to hand them the tablet version. That should be enough to convince them to download it themselves, then you can fight them a bit with both of you using starter decks until they decide they're having enough fun to buy into it (with time, money, or both).Yeah, but I can't really bust that out at our weekly card/board game sessions. Still, tablet version is pretty awesome, I got to try it out at Blizzcon. If I ever have to take the bus to get to work/school again, I'll buy a shiney new tablet just for that.

onionbreath

2014-01-21, 01:25 AM

So I'm really liking Cult Master in a Paladin deck. Boosting it to 8/6 with Blessing of Kings sure is fun.

I don't know if this counts as an evil need to apologize for move or not, but I was playing Druid v Hunter. He released the hounds twice on the same turn to fill his board. I took some hits, but then played Swipe and cleared the board. I didn't apologize; i mean how do you fill the board with 1 defense mobs against a druid and expect that to work?

ShinyRocks

2014-01-21, 03:17 AM

I don't expect he expected them to last. If he did, well, lesson learned.

I hate Blessing of Kings! It skews the tempo so badly. (Did I use tempo right?) +4/+4 is *huge*. Stick it on a 3-drop or stronger, especially early on, and you get an enormous piece of beef that's impossible to deal with beyond hard clearance or suiciding several minions to take it down.

AgentPaper

2014-01-21, 03:27 AM

I hate Blessing of Kings! It skews the tempo so badly. (Did I use tempo right?) +4/+4 is *huge*. Stick it on a 3-drop or stronger, especially early on, and you get an enormous piece of beef that's impossible to deal with beyond hard clearance or suiciding several minions to take it down.

It's really not that great once you realize that it costs a card. If you can remove it with one card (hard removal or quality removal like fireball), then you just got some easy card advantage. If you can't do that, then you should be able to just slam two creatures into it to kill it, which is basically the same as if you'd traded two of your creatures for two of his.

The main advantage that BoK has, is that it's hasty damage. This helps overcome the risk of card disadvantage a bit, since you can get in some damage right away or make a profitable trade right away, depending on whether you're on the offensive or defensive.

For power level, I'd put it a bit below Kor'kron Elite. Which is to say, fairly good. Though the Paladin has so many great 4-drops that it still gets beaten out by the likes of Truesilver Champion, Hammer of Justice, and Consecrate.

ShinyRocks

2014-01-21, 08:23 AM

Olinser

2014-01-21, 11:23 AM

You're right, of course. I'm just fewmin' because of a string of Paladins playing it exactly the right moment to beat me.

But then another Paladin kindly left me a 1/1 Hero Power summon to activate my Grommash Hellscream, so I guess it's swings and roundabouts.

Don't whine, I've had much worse defeats.

I was playing a Hunter the other day. Had a massive advantage, I had him down to 7 health and had like 4 different minions on the board, around 20 health left, and he had no cards in his hand (though my hand was empty too). He draws a Hellfire and clears the board. Pretty lucky, but whatever, I'm still way up on him. My draw is the 1/1 boar with charge, I drop it and use Hunter ability to take him to 1 life. As a Hunter, I am assured of finishing him off next turn.

Then the douchebag topdecks LORD FREAKING JARRAXUS.

Needless to say, my empty hand and board, 1 card a turn can't deal with his now 15 life, 3 power attack, and ability to summon a 6/6 every turn for 2 mana (seriously how the hell is that balanced).

Infernally Clay

2014-01-21, 12:18 PM

Jaraxxus is powerful but really risky as well. Fifteen health is pretty easy to handle in a turn or two so, if you're losing, chances are he won't save you.

Weimann

2014-01-21, 12:24 PM

Mage arena, 2-3. Pack and 45g. Eh.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-21, 01:21 PM

Are you guys sure I'm being paranoid about the game being a **** on purpose at times? 'Cause I just played two matches in that new Arena run and both times I got through over half my deck and in neither match did I draw a Flamestrike. Even when a Paladin is sitting there with five minions with less than four health each, even when a Priest manages to Thoughtsteal one.

I managed to win the second match through pure stupid luck (Raging Worgen on the field attacks my opponent, then I drop a Mad Bomber who triggers the Worgen's enrage so he gets a second attack), but this is getting stupid. I drafted two Flamestrikes yet I've played three matches and never seen either of them. Even my opponents are getting to use my Flamestrikes before I do.

I just don't know how I'm supposed to win when the cards I need aren't showing up. I'm not even getting my Arcane Intellects so I can draw more cards and I have two of those, too. Normally I'd put it down to a bad deck shuffle, but this is a simulated card game. It doesn't shuffle the deck, it manually sorts them.

Olinser

2014-01-21, 01:52 PM

So, I just found out, and I think its absolutely RETARDED, that a 'destroy minion' effect works THROUGH a Divine Shield.

That's stupid, it should burn the Divine charge.

ex cathedra

2014-01-21, 01:57 PM

So, I just found out, and I think its absolutely RETARDED, that a 'destroy minion' effect works THROUGH a Divine Shield.

That's stupid, it should burn the Divine charge.

divine shield prevents damage. destroy effects don't deal damage. divine shield is already extremely powerful, i don't see anything wrong with it having a fair amount of counterplay.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-21, 02:00 PM

Yeah, Shield would be the most OP card effect in the game if it was also a 'block death' effect.

efdf

2014-01-21, 02:13 PM

Not drawing either of two Flamestrikes after drawing half your deck is about 21% assuming you completely keep your first hand. That's not really a particularly unlikely occurrence.

EDIT: also assuming my math is right

AgentPaper

2014-01-21, 02:32 PM

If you're in a situation where you absolutely need to draw one or two specific cards in your deck to win, that's a sign that something has already gone terribly wrong, either with your deck construction or with how you played.

Edit: And according to this (http://www.unseelie.org/cgi-bin/cardco.cgi?deck=30&target=2&hand=15), it's a ~24% chance to not draw either Flamestrike.

efdf

2014-01-21, 02:38 PM

Yeah I calculated for 16 cards drawn woops

ShinyRocks

2014-01-21, 02:46 PM

Talking of plays you feel bad for making:

I was in the lead, but not substantially, I've got an Ooze on the board, my opponent has nothing. I've got about 15 health. My opponent plays Deathwing. That's that then, I thought. Except I then topdeck Grommash Hellscream. And have an Inner Rage in my hand. Which takes Grommash's attack to exactly 12, enough to wipe out Deathwing by suiciding it with his face.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-21, 02:52 PM

Karoht

2014-01-21, 04:32 PM

Did you then say "No, my friend, you've saved us all"?
Right in the feels.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-21, 05:20 PM

Might want to change the thread title - Hearthstone just entered open beta. :smallamused:

Legoshrimp

2014-01-21, 05:38 PM

So I have been messing around with a rogue deck, seems to be working decently,

http://imgur.com/5nvWRNH.png

Any thoughts?

Olinser

2014-01-21, 06:55 PM

So, interesting match.

For the record, it is not a good idea for a priest to lay down 2 Northshire Clerics against a shaman that already has a Healing totem on the board.

But making him draw 10 cards in a turn and discard most of them was hilarious :smallcool:

Ok, I'm actually recording an arena draft now!

Hunter Mage Warlock

1 - Mana Addict Doomguard Mana Wraith (not the best selection, but with charge Doomguard is a decent card to keep in your hand and only lay down for the final win.

2 - Twisting Nether Molten Giant Bane of Doom - DAMMIT, three pretty good cards, but Warlock can play Molten Giant more easily than most

3 - Shadow Bolt Soulfire Windfury Harpy - Damn, choice between a shadow bolt and soulfire.

4 - Wisp Stranglethorn Tiger Mortal Coil - Thought about mortal coil, but it's still early and STT is a good finisher.

5 - Stranglethorn Tiger Raid Leader Raging Worgen - Damn, now I wish I'd taken the Mortal Coil. But STT is still the best pick, I think.

6 - Demolisher Ancient Warden Lightwarden - As a warlock, the choice is easy - I see no real way to use either Ancient Warden or Lightwarden

7 - Stranglethorn Tiger Sacrificial Pact Mortal Coil - Seriously, whats with all the Tigers?

8 - Sense Demons Summoning Portal Silverback Patriarch - If I only get 1 other demon, I can guarantee what I'll draw with it.

9 - Blood Imp Flesheating Ghoul Ancient Brewmaster - No contest here

10 - Leeroy Jenkins Malygos Ragnaros - Not much of a choice, I'm kind of lacking in the spells right now and Ragnaros is just a badass.

11 - Drain Life Murloc Tidehunter Succubus - Succubus is OK, but I've never been a huge fan simply because if you aren't laying her out turn 2 or 3, it's not really worth it

12 - Wisp Thrallmar Farseer Senjin Shieldmasta - No contest

13 - Ancient Brewmaster Drain Life Harvest Golem - Thought about drain life, but Harvest Golem is too good to pass up, especially since I lack early creatures.

14 - Bloodsail Raider Senjin Shieldmasta Youthful Brewmaster - No contest, I have no creatures youthful brewmaster would really be useful for except as a heal, and even then I still need taunters

15 - Loot Hoarder Bloodfen Raptor Wolfrider - Tough choice between it and raptor, but I need some card drawers

16 - Silvermoon Guardian Soulfire Bloodfen Raptor - eh, guardian is more useful I think

17 - Drain Life Frostwolf Warlord Voodoo Doctor

18 - Acidic Swamp Ooze Mortal Coil Voodoo Doctor - Ooze it is. 3/2 for 2 is good to begin with, AND the buff can be useful against some heroes

19 - Power Overwhelming Frostwolf Grunt Soulfire - Man it just loves to give me soulfires, but Power Overwhelming is also a 4 damage card and can be used to suicide a small for a big

20 - Mountain Giant Sea Giant Twisting Nether - I'm pretty creature heavy and not very draw heavy, I think Sea Giant will be better

21 - Jungle Panther River Crocolisk Silverback Patriarch - Stealth is always good, and a 4/2 for 3 isn't bad either.

22 - Dread Infernal Stormpike Commando Dread Corsair - Infernal, no question, Corsair is weak for a warlock, and commando is just weak period

23 - Scarlet Crusader Earthen Ring Farseer Frostwolf Grunt - Both are 3, and I think a 3/3 with a heal (that lets me draw another card as a warlock) is better than a 3/1 with a shield that can be pretty easily popped by a lot of champs

24 - Stormwind Knight Power Overwhelming Dread Corsair - not a huge fan of Knight, and Power Overwhelming has great potential

25 - Succubus Senjin Shieldmasta Void Walker - Void Walker normally, but Shieldmasta is so much better

26 - Cult Master Corruption Magma Rager - Tough call, Cult Master is awesome but I'm light on creature control spells

27 - Shadow Bolt Silvermoon Guardian Bloodfen Raptor - Same as above, I need some creature control

28 - Spiteful Smith Boulderfist Ogre Gurubashi Berserker - Not a real tough choice for me, I'm the wrong class to really use gurubashi berserker or spiteful smith, and Ogre is better than both of them

29 - Magma Rager Worgen Infiltrator Summoning Portal - Eh, I'll pop it down and force my opponent to spend a turn dealing with it

30 - Imp Master Ancient Watcher Wild Pyromancer - Eh, I don't think Pyromancer will be very useful for me, imp master it is.

CURVE:

0 cost - 1
1 cost - 4
2 cost - 2
3 cost - 8
4 cost - 5
5 cost - 4
6 cost - 2
7+ cost - 3

Overall I think I'm happy with it. Soulfire, stealths and power overwhelming give me some good hard hitting combos that are hard to counter, and if I can get him down I think Ragnaros will be good for me. We'll see how it pans out.

Well, started 1-1. First game I just had very poor draws against somebody that had both an Imp Master and... I can't remember the creature name, but it gives a friendly minion +1 attack at the end of every turn. I just drew nothing that could actually deal with it, and by the time I got rid of it I was down to 10 life and still hadn't drawn anything with taunt. I probably would have won in 2 more turns but without Taunt he just dropped a couple chargers and finished me.

Other game ended well in my favor. Combo worked exactly as intended - Stranglethorn on the board, hit a Power Overwhelming to make it 9/9 and a Doomguard, and bam, 14 instant damage.

Nerocite

2014-01-21, 07:07 PM

So I have been messing around with a rogue deck, seems to be working decently,

http://imgur.com/5nvWRNH.png

Any thoughts?

Preparation, Mana addict, venture co, and assassin blade seem bad. Prep is more for combos, same with the addict. Venture Co. is bad in constructed, hurts you more than it helps. Assassin blade can't kill much on its own, usually basic ability+poison is enough.

I'd get some taunt to help against aggro, and loot hoarders for early card draw. Rest of the deck looks good.

Gandariel

2014-01-21, 07:21 PM

welp, better change the title! hearthstone is now open beta!

The Glyphstone

2014-01-21, 07:34 PM

Aggromage did better than I expected - 4/3, stalled out against people whose control > my aggro. If I didn't have them under 20 health by turn 5 or so, I was going to lose.

Got 60 gold, 25 gold, and a Pack for SCIENCE! The pack had Sea Giant and Gladiator's Longbow in it, which would be very nice...if I played Constructed.

Again with a DRUID this time, let 'er rip:
1.Savagery/DEFENDER OF ARGUS/Murloc Tidecaller - Defender is still okay, and the other two suck.
2.RAGING WORGEN/Cult Master/Jungle Panther - All-round good card.
3.Chillwind Yeti/DRUID OF THE CLAW/Starfire - Three good cards, but Druid is bestest.
4.Gurubashi Berzerker/DRUID OF THE CLAW/Silverback Patriarch - What's better than one Druid of the Claw? Two druids of the claw.
5.CLAW/Savage Roar/Loot Hoarder - Aggro and card draw sounds good..but Claw is also 2 damage, plus 2 armor. Claw it is, may regret this.
6.Mark of Nature/STORMWIND KNIGHT/Dire Wolf Alpha - Mark is excellent, but I want removal.
7.Leper Gnome/STARFIRE/Fen Creeper - High-end removal and card draw, good package.
8.Dire Wolf Alpha/Savage Roar/ARGENT SQUIRE - Roar's not so good in control, and Argent is nice 1-drop.
9.Southsea Deckhand/SWIPE/Moonfire - I love Swipe.
10.STARFALL/Ancient Watcher/Argent Commander - I love Starfall even more.
11.Murloc Raider/Archmage/NATURALIZE - For the end-game beef mirror matches. And Archmage is bad.
12.Grimscale Oracle/Stormpike Commando/OGRE MAGI - Magi isn't.
13.Alarm-O-Bot/Arcane Golem/RAVENHOLDT ASSASSIN - Nice finisher.
14.RAGING WORGEN/Moonfire/Healing Touch - 2 Worgens better tan one.
15.Cult Master/CLAW/Healing Touch - 2 Claws works.
16.STORMWIND KNIGHT/Moonfire/Stranglethorn Tiger - It was this or Tiger, Knight comes online sooner.
17.Ogre Magi/Wolf Rider/SHATTERED SUN CLERIC - Cleric good, and I've already got one Magi, my 3-drop is weak.
18.INNERVATE/Mark of Nature/Wisp - Soooo good.
19.Dread Corsair/Bloodsail Raider/WILD GROWTH - Also good.
20.KEEPER OF THE GROVE/Alarm-O-Bot/Murloc Tidecaller - Even more goodness.
21.Core Hound/VENTURE CO. MERCENARY/Healing Touch - Lack of end-curve cards worries me, but Core Hound isn't good enough.
22.SWIPE/Frostwolf Warlord/Healing Touch - And another Swipe.
23.Dragonling Mechanic/Novice Engineer/LEPER GNOME - Hits harder and comes out sooner.
24.Bluegill Warrior/STARFIRE/Dragonling Mechanic - Card draw and removal.
25.Jungle Panther/Murloc Tidehunter/PRIESTESS OF ELUNE - ALmost took Panther, but I have more 3's than 6's (none but Starfires).
26.WAR GOLEM/Scarlet Crusader/Mark of Nature - Boring, yes. But I'm incredibly controlly, so I need ending beef and I have none but Assassin.
27.WILD GROWTH/Earthen Ring Farseer/Moonfire - Another 2-mana card, and a good one. Farseer is nice, but not as good.
28.Druid of the Claw/FLESHEATING GHOUL/Frostwolf Grunt - A third Claw Druid would be awesome, but I have a ton of Aoe removal, which could make Ghoul gigantic. My 3-drops are lighter than 5-drops, so Ghoul.
29.Mana Addict/Young Priestess/IMP MASTER - A good 3-drop, the others don't inspire me.
30.Doomsayer/MOLTEN GIANT/Hungry Crab - Doesn't fit the deck too well, but it's better than the alternatives.

Curve of 1/5/2/5/7/4/3/3

Zevox

2014-01-21, 08:52 PM

Might want to change the thread title - Hearthstone just entered open beta. :smallamused:

welp, better change the title! hearthstone is now open beta!
Really? Huh, wasn't expecting that to happen so quickly. Probably just because I only got in a month ago, though.

The_Jackal

2014-01-21, 09:04 PM

The pack had Sea Giant and Gladiator's Longbow in it, which would be very nice...if I played Constructed.

So you're buying all your Arena tickets with cash? Must be nice to be so gangsta.

I looked at Trump's guide, and I mostly agree with his conclusions, but some of his logic regarding secondary effects of low drops seems.... inconsistent. Take the Voodoo Doctor. He rates it really low, on the undertaking that you can't use the heal on turn one, but the thing is, 70% of the time, you won't pull it on turn one. The Youthful Brewmaster is another, where his valuation is more or less contingent on the scenario that's far less likely, that you'll draw the Brewmaster before you've put down any other minions. Assuming he's taking his own advice, he's unlikely to get the opportunity to pick up a damaged minion for replay, since he generally values attack over health.

I can't argue with his top 15, however. All strong value drops you'd be be very pleased to have the opportunity to buy. But picks like Mad Bomber over River Crocolisk, or Stormpike Commando over Darkscale healer have me scratching my head.

jindra34

2014-01-21, 09:21 PM

You know what really stinks? Have a mage burn you down with spells on turn 4. When you draw the entire top third of your deck cost wise.

Olinser

2014-01-21, 09:37 PM

Ugh, only went 2-3. Had another 2 opponents that seemed to draw exactly what they needed every turn to just BARELY beat me.

On the plus side, the pack I got had a Golden Auchenai Soulpriest.

Murmaider

2014-01-21, 10:02 PM

I looked at Trump's guide, and I mostly agree with his conclusions, but some of his logic regarding secondary effects of low drops seems.... inconsistent. Take the Voodoo Doctor. He rates it really low, on the undertaking that you can't use the heal on turn one, but the thing is, 70% of the time, you won't pull it on turn one. The Youthful Brewmaster is another, where his valuation is more or less contingent on the scenario that's far less likely, that you'll draw the Brewmaster before you've put down any other minions. Assuming he's taking his own advice, he's unlikely to get the opportunity to pick up a damaged minion for replay, since he generally values attack over health.

Brewmaster is not ranked so highly because of its effect, but because it's a 3/2 for two andTrump obviously ranks 3/2s pretty high.
Same with Mad Bomber. The effect is a bit random but he simply values 3/2s more than a 2/3s.

And valueing attack over health has nothing to do with taking back a minion. Ranking Abusive Sergeant over Voodoo Doctor is valueing attack over health.
Playing Brewmaster on a damaged/Battlecry minion is weighing tempo against value.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-21, 10:22 PM

5 - Stranglethorn Tiger Raid Leader Raging Worgen - Damn, now I wish I'd taken the Mortal Coil. But STT is still the best pick, I think. - You're going abit too heavy on the mid/late drops too early for a mediocre card. Raging Worgen would be the correct pick here.

14 - Bloodsail Raider Senjin Shieldmasta Youthful Brewmaster - No contest, I have no creatures youthful brewmaster would really be useful for except as a heal, and even then I still need taunters - Even if you can't get value from Brewmaster, it's still a 3/2 for two. Not a wrong choice here but if it had come near the end of your draft, I'd pick it over Shieldmasta.

16 - Silvermoon Guardian Soulfire Bloodfen Raptor - eh, guardian is more useful I think - Guardian is just a bad overcosted Crusader: almost everything that kills Crusader will kill Guardian. I'd definately pick Soulfire over it here.

20 - Mountain Giant Sea Giant Twisting Nether - I'm pretty creature heavy and not very draw heavy, I think Sea Giant will be better - You're a Warlock and your curve isn't that low that I'd think Mountain Giant is probably better. I'd have taken the Twisting Nether though since it gets you back into games where you've fallen too far behind on board.

26 - Cult Master Corruption Magma Rager - Tough call, Cult Master is awesome but I'm light on creature control spells - Corruption is bad. Cult Master is the obvious pick here.

21.Core Hound/VENTURE CO. MERCENARY/Healing Touch - Lack of end-curve cards worries me, but Core Hound isn't good enough - Just want to point out that Venture Co is basically a cheap curve topper :smalltongue:

25.Jungle Panther/Murloc Tidehunter/PRIESTESS OF ELUNE - ALmost took Panther, but I have more 3's than 6's (none but Starfires). - Priestess is bad for it's cost. I'd pick Panther over it every time in this position.

30.Doomsayer/MOLTEN GIANT/Hungry Crab - Doesn't fit the deck too well, but it's better than the alternatives. - Doomsayer actually fits well in a control deck. Early on, he basically acts as a Time Walk that occasionally picks up a small creature or two and let you make the first play onto an empty board which is a huge advantage especially for control oriented decks.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-21, 10:25 PM

So you're buying all your Arena tickets with cash? Must be nice to be so gangsta.
.

I spent exactly 1.99 in cash, to get myself a Gelbin.

I don't consider Casual as Constructed, though, because it's unranked. I play a lot of that to get my quests. What I don't play is Ranked.

Legoshrimp

2014-01-21, 10:58 PM

Preparation, Mana addict, venture co, and assassin blade seem bad. Prep is more for combos, same with the addict. Venture Co. is bad in constructed, hurts you more than it helps. Assassin blade can't kill much on its own, usually basic ability+poison is enough.

I'd get some taunt to help against aggro, and loot hoarders for early card draw. Rest of the deck looks good.

Thanks, what are your thoughts on what I should replace them with(think relatively cheap cards)?

Volatar

2014-01-22, 12:28 AM

Really? Huh, wasn't expecting that to happen so quickly. Probably just because I only got in a month ago, though.

Pfft. I got in FOUR DAYS ago. How do you think I feel? :smallbiggrin:

onionbreath

2014-01-22, 12:34 AM

Holy Wrath seems really bad for a rare.
It's costs 1 more than Hammer of Wrath and the potential upside of pulling a high-cost card is negated because you have to choose your target BEFORE knowing how much damage you will deal. And yet, it doesn't seem worth disenchanting because it only gives 20 dust.

Am I missing something here?

(I also don't understand why Bloodmage Thalnos is legendary. He's a little worse than a kobold geomancer and a loot hoarder smashed into 1 card)

Zevox

2014-01-22, 12:39 AM

Holy Wrath seems really bad for a rare.
It's costs 1 more than Hammer of Wrath and the potential upside of pulling a high-cost card is negated because you have to choose your target BEFORE knowing how much damage you will deal. And yet, it doesn't seem worth disenchanting because it only gives 20 dust.

Am I missing something here?
No, that's about the size of it. Unfortunately not all of the crap cards in this game are commons.

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 12:54 AM

No, that's about the size of it. Unfortunately not all of the crap cards in this game are commons.

Fortunately, actually. If rarity was a reliable guide to the power level of cards, it would make deck construction much more simplistic. It'd effectively shrink the card pool to just legendaries/epics and maybe a few rares.

Zevox

2014-01-22, 01:00 AM

Fortunately, actually. If rarity was a reliable guide to the power level of cards, it would make deck construction much more simplistic. It'd effectively shrink the card pool to just legendaries/epics and maybe a few rares.
I said it's unfortunate that there are crap cards at higher rarities, not that there are good ones at lower ones.

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 01:06 AM

I said it's unfortunate that there are crap cards at higher rarities, not that there are good ones at lower ones.

That's the same thing, though. For a low-rarity card to be good, it has to be better than at least one high-rarity card unless the card pool is exceedingly small. Balance is relative.

Math_Mage

2014-01-22, 01:10 AM

(I also don't understand why Bloodmage Thalnos is legendary. He's a little worse than a kobold geomancer and a loot hoarder smashed into 1 card)
You realize, of course, that you're saying Thalnos is worth nearly 2 cards for 1. (Of course, that's not quite the case...but decks that like spellpower can run Thalnos to good effect, where Geomancer would usually not be worth it due to the lack of cantrip.)

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 01:20 AM

You realize, of course, that you're saying Thalnos is worth nearly 2 cards for 1. (Of course, that's not quite the case...but decks that like spellpower can run Thalnos to good effect, where Geomancer would usually not be worth it due to the lack of cantrip.)

He's a strong card*, but that doesn't make him legendary. Fpr me at least, the requirements for something to be legendary is that you can tell cool stories about what you did with it. All of the other legendaries do this to some degree, but Thalnos doesn't. My preferred fix would be to make him grant more than one spellpower, say 2 or 3, with no card draw and possibly a slightly higher cost/stats.

*Or at least, many people seem to think so. I'm not really convinced, mostly because it's too easy for him to just die without doing anything, and you lose tempo even if you don't lose card advantage, which can be just as deadly.

ex cathedra

2014-01-22, 01:26 AM

*Or at least, many people seem to think so. I'm not really convinced, mostly because it's too easy for him to just die without doing anything, and you lose tempo even if you don't lose card advantage, which can be just as deadly.

thalnos is an anti-tempo card used solely in control decks. you don't play him on curve. you keep him in hand before casting thalnos + swipe, cone of cold, blizzard, etc. suggesting that thalnos is bad because he doesn't generate tempo is like complaining that pyroblast is bad because it doesn't advance your board state. thalnos serves a specific purpose and he fulfills it well.

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 01:31 AM

thalnos is an anti-tempo card used solely in control decks. you don't play him on curve. you keep him in hand before casting thalnos + swipe, cone of cold, blizzard, etc. suggesting that thalnos is bad because he doesn't generate tempo is like complaining that pyroblast is bad because it doesn't advance your board state. thalnos serves a specific purpose and he fulfills it well.

Ah, I should have been more specific. He can certainly be good in some decks where you get a ton of value out of spellpower. I was arguing against him being good in basically any deck with spells, which is something I've seen claimed a few times. He's a niche card, not a power card.

Math_Mage

2014-01-22, 04:05 AM

He's a strong card*, but that doesn't make him legendary. Fpr me at least, the requirements for something to be legendary is that you can tell cool stories about what you did with it. All of the other legendaries do this to some degree, but Thalnos doesn't. My preferred fix would be to make him grant more than one spellpower, say 2 or 3, with no card draw and possibly a slightly higher cost/stats.
It's an interesting thought. Would favor cheap board clear heavily (more than he does already, I mean). But considering he's less exciting than even Wild Pyromancer, I see where you're coming from.

*Or at least, many people seem to think so. I'm not really convinced, mostly because it's too easy for him to just die without doing anything, and you lose tempo even if you don't lose card advantage, which can be just as deadly.
Well...he may be less exciting than Wild Pyromancer, but he's also more reliable for control (outside Equality or Innervate shenanigans). Naturally, some decks just don't need that kind of help for their removal spells, and would rather fill that slot with other utility.

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 04:11 AM

Speaking of making cards, would anyone be interested in a card-making contest similar to the one I started for MtG (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297819)?

Murmaider

2014-01-22, 05:38 AM

Sure, that sounds like fun. Time to brew up some Death Knight cards:smalltongue:

Weimann

2014-01-22, 06:57 AM

I could be down for that, sure. :smallamused:

Nerocite

2014-01-22, 09:14 AM

Thanks, what are your thoughts on what I should replace them with(think relatively cheap cards)?

Another Shattersun and SI:7 agent, they are really strong. Then probably 2 Dark Iron Dwarves and 1 Defender of Argus. You're hurting for 4 drops, and they work well with guys like Defias and Golem.

togapika

2014-01-22, 09:19 AM

So I pulled Ysera recently, my only legendary so far. Any tips as to what i should do with it?

Olinser

2014-01-22, 10:47 AM

So I pulled Ysera recently, my only legendary so far. Any tips as to what i should do with it?

Well, there are 5 dreams you can draw:

Dream - Cost 0, returns a minion to the owner's hand. Very good combo synergy with a lot of cards, especially with 0 cost. Also can be useful on Ysera as a heal, you can use her to clear a minion, dream her and then immediately redrop her for full health.

Emerald Drake - Cost 4, 7/6 drop. Extremely high stats for the cost.

Laughing Sister - Cost 3, 3/5 drop, can't be targeted by spells or abilities. Essentially a faerie dragon with 3 more health. Great value for cost

Nightmare - Cost 0, give a minion +5/+5, destroy it at the start of your next turn. Fantastic 1 turn buff, if you have a freeze effect or something, you can use it on a frozen minion for a free minion kill as well.

Ysera Awakens - Cost 2, deal 5 damage to everything but Ysera. Board clearer, but both you and opponent lose 5 life as well.

On her own, Ysera is a very poor minion, she costs 9 for only a 4/12, and is very random in her effect.

However, Ysera has very high synergy with cards that are based off your hand size like Mountain Giant or Azure Drake, because you are essentially getting 2 cards a turn. She is also VERY good with a card like Questing Adventurer, for the same reason, you are basically doubling the amount of cards you can pump him with.

Given a few turns on the board, Ysera will give you board dominance with a couple creature draws, just a couple Emerald Drakes is VERY hard to deal with, and her other cards give her extremely good board control.

If you draw a few cards, you can set up some extremely powerful finishing combos.

Some good combos:

Nightmare + Dream - you get an additional 5 damage, and then Dream returns them to your hand before they can be destroyed. This can also be used as a finisher - Dream removes the enemy Taunt, and then it's +5 damage on whatever you have. You can use this on Ysera herself to deal with your opponents massive creatures - making her 9/17 pretty much guarantees that she can kill just about anything on the board and not die, and then Dream her back to your hand to get dropped again next turn.

Dream + Ysera Awakens - You can remove your own vulnerable minions with Dream, then clear the board and drop them down again.

If you have even or decent board control, Ysera will probably guarantee a win.

However, Ysera's problem is that if your opponent has control of the board, she's probably not going to help you much. With only 4 attack and 12 health, just a couple decent attack minions is enough to take her down before you really get any benefit. Stronger minions won't even die killing her.

Frankly, Ysera is a weak legendary. She has some great potential combos, but is just too random to be relied on, and takes too long to start helping, as she has very little effect after hitting the board, it takes at least a couple turns to start getting real value from her.

efdf

2014-01-22, 11:58 AM

I'm fairly sure that Ysera is really good but I also have only played arena so far so who knows.

jindra34

2014-01-22, 12:03 PM

togapika

2014-01-22, 12:11 PM

So what kind of deck does she fit in?

jindra34

2014-01-22, 12:19 PM

Control definitely. And anything that is more measured and paced. You don't include it in decks that expect the game to be resolved (if not over) by turn 9.

AmberVael

2014-01-22, 12:23 PM

I imagine Druid or Priest could use Ysera best, as they both like the slow, longer term strategies. Also since Druid has innervate and mana crystal shenanigans.

Olinser

2014-01-22, 12:24 PM

Olinser, I'm going to have to disagree with you heavily on Ysera. For one, if your in a situation where your opponent is capable of cleanly (losing at most one minion) killing Ysera with minions, there is very little in the game that would save you, and that is still at least 12 damage you are not eating. Additionally only one of the dream cards has something close or better out there for its price, Dream losing out to the Rogue's shadowstep. And every single one you get is an absolutely free. Ysera may not belong in every deck, but the ones where she fits she makes an absolutely powerful Ace and fairly trump. She won't pull a lost game back for you, but little else will, and she will ALWAYS give you options and time.

At 9 cost, she takes basically your entire mana allotment for the turn. So you are essentially laying down a 4/12 without taunt and nothing else, and then getting 1 dream card a turn. So your opponent has a full turn of drops to deal with her or finish you off before you can even start getting a benefit.

Certainly, given a couple turns to draw cards she can be powerful, but she takes a while to get going.

My dislike of her stems from one major issue: too much random.

Sure all of her cards can be useful. But there's no guarantee, or even likelihood, that you'll actually be getting what you need to win or survive.

If she were something like, "At the end of the turn, pick a Dream card to draw. Each card can be drawn only once every 3 turns", she'd be much better and more reliable.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-22, 12:34 PM

AmberVael

2014-01-22, 12:35 PM

At 9 cost, she takes basically your entire mana allotment for the turn. So you are essentially laying down a 4/12 without taunt and nothing else, and then getting 1 dream card a turn. So your opponent has a full turn of drops to deal with her or finish you off before you can even start getting a benefit.
As you get a Dream card at the end of the turn on which you play her, this isn't really correct. Even if they kill her off on their turn, they've spent cards and time killing her, and you still have a Dream card. It's not optimal, but it is something.

Plus, dealing 12 damage at the drop of a hat is kinda tough (unless you're a mage... friggin mages). As jindra says, at the point they can easily do that you've pretty much already lost... and if you haven't that is a LOT that they've just sunk into killing Ysera.

Olinser

2014-01-22, 12:37 PM

Not true - her effect triggers at End of Turn, so you're guaranteed at least one Dream card before she can be killed. Could still result in a trade-down, but you will get some benefit from her.

It was worded a little poorly.

By that I meant that your next turn is the earliest you could cast a Dream card.

jindra34

2014-01-22, 12:38 PM

Ysera isn't Deathwing. In fact Ysera and Deathwing represent the two extremes of power. Ysera requires more thought put into playing, but carries the power to bring the game to a close before your opponent can recover. Deathwing is a simple play, and bears the power to bring a game back from the brink. Ace and trump, one forces the opponents hand (Ace, Ysera), the other is a response (Trump, Deathwing). Both are exceptionally powerful though. Just in different ways.

Volatar

2014-01-22, 01:02 PM

otakuryoga

2014-01-22, 01:12 PM

so...it looks like they removed the option of ditching a quest each day :smallfrown:

no more cycling the 40's into 60's :smallfrown: :smallmad: :smallfurious:

Olinser

2014-01-22, 01:30 PM

Ok, Arena time. Lets see what I get.

Druid, Paladin, Priest.

Going with Druid because I have yet to play him that much and I like his hero power better than the other two.

Mine Control Tech / Arcane Golem / Secretkeeper - best of a bad choice here
Bloodfen Raptor / Tauren Warrior / Swipe
Loot Hoarder / Druid of the Claw / Voodoo Doctor - As great as loot hoarder would be, MTG has taught me that cards with options are very powerful.
Elven Archer / Silvermoon Guardian / Nightblade - Divine Shield ftw
Ravenhold Assassin / Keeper of the Grove / Violet Teacher - Not sure here, but I think this might come in handy
Savage Roar / Power of the Wild / Novice Engineer
Youthful Brewmaster / Ironforge Rifleman / Claw
Mark of the Wild / Wisp / Mark of Nature
Voodoo Doctor / Druid of the Claw / Oasis Snapjaw
Argent Commander / Gadgetzan Auctioneer / Questing Adventurer - hmmmm...
Savage Roar / Gurubashi Berserker / Stormwind Knight - Not a fan of the latter two
Dragonling Mechanic / Young Dragonhawk / Mark of the Wild
Faceless Manipulator / Doomsayer / Mulock Warleader - Woah. Cool Cards here. I like the first one best and the third doesn't fit obviously.
Lord of the Arena / Cult Master / Frost Elemental
Bloodfen Raptor / Mark of Nature / Shattered Sun Cleric - I need more cheap creatures at this point I think
Ancient Watcher / Crazed Alchemist / Coldlight Seer - Hmph. First one has to have other cards to make him good. Second I don't understand the use of, third is not useful here. Guess I get the first one.
Nourish / Emperor Cobra / Azure Drake - Deathtouch heck yes.
Earthen Ring Farseer / Murlock Tidehunter / Savage Roar - Bit hard between the first and third, but I picked the one I expect to be useful at any time in the game.
Wrath / Earthen Ring Farseer / Moonfire - I think I have enough 3 creatures at this point
Murloc Tidecaller / Coldlight Oracle / Imp Master - Well this one chose itself. Guess I get another three creature.
Booty Bay Bodyguard / Earthen Ring Farseer / Novice Engineer - I think the game really wants me to put one of those Farseer's into my deck.
Moonfire / Wild Growth / Sen'jin Shieldmasta
Power of the Wild / Gurubashi Berserker / Acolyte of Pain
Bloodfen Raptor / Argent Squire / Boulderfist Ogre - Finally a 1 cost creature shows up, and with it a high end creature I probably need more. Well darn.
Young Priestess / Arcane Golem / Bite - Thank you god of the Arena.
Kobold Geomancer / Wrath / Mark of Nature
Southsea Deckhand / Soul of the Forest / Dalaran Mage - Hard one here. I could use the first, but the second looks so darn awesome I want it.
Gnomish Inventor / Naturalize / Starfire
Wrath / Swipe / Bloodsail Raider
Tinkmaster Overspark / Captain Greenskin / Net Pagle - Oh sweet a bunch of Legendaries. Sucky ones. First one I do not like. Random bad. Second doesn't work for Druid. Third it is then. I can deal with a coin flip. Especially at only two cost.

And there it is. My third Arena deck. Mana curve: 2x1, 7x2, 7x3, 6x4, 4x5, 3x6, 1x7.

Lets see how it fares.

Argent Commander / Gadgetzan Auctioneer / Questing Adventurer - hmmmm...

For a druid I may have gone with Auctioneer, but Adventurer isn't a bad pick.

Lord of the Arena / Cult Master / Frost Elemental

Lord of Arena isn't very good for his cost, while Cult Master is a strong all arounder and has great synergy with a lot of Druid spells.

Bloodfen Raptor / Mark of Nature / Shattered Sun Cleric - I need more cheap creatures at this point I think

Shattered Sun Cleric is hands down better.

Ancient Watcher / Crazed Alchemist / Coldlight Seer - Hmph. First one has to have other cards to make him good. Second I don't understand the use of, third is not useful here. Guess I get the first one.

While you didn't bold it, it sounds like you took Ancient Watcher.

Crazed Alchemist is 10x better. You really have nothing that Watcher could possibly be useful with, while Crazed Alchemist has fantastic combo uses. Use it on a wounded creature for essentially a heal, it is fantastic for eliminating opponent's taunt creatures, as they generally have much higher health than attack. Senjin Shieldmasta, for instance, suddenly becomes 5/3, and is suddenly able to be traded for a 2 or 3 drop.

Nourish / Emperor Cobra / Azure Drake - Deathtouch heck yes.

Cobra is by far the weakest of the 3. A 2/3 means that he's going to get crushed the second he hits the board, you are never going to kill anything of consequence with him unless you can somehow give him Charge. I would have taken Nourish here personally. You get mana CRYSTALS, not mana. Coin a Nourish and you can have 7 mana crystals available on turn 5. If you're at full mana already, you can still get 3 cards from it.

Barring that, Azure Drake would still be stronger.

Southsea Deckhand / Soul of the Forest / Dalaran Mage - Hard one here. I could use the first, but the second looks so darn awesome I want it.

Not sure how you think you could use the first. You don't have a weapon - the Druid ability is not a weapon.

Gnomish Inventor / Naturalize / Starfire

I may have gone with Naturalize as you lack hard late game creature removal right now.

Tinkmaster Overspark / Captain Greenskin / Net Pagle - Oh sweet a bunch of Legendaries. Sucky ones. First one I do not like. Random bad. Second doesn't work for Druid. Third it is then. I can deal with a coin flip. Especially at only two cost.

Nat Pagle is a terrible card, too random, only 0/4 means he'll get taken out almost instantly.

Tinkmaster Overspark is the clear best choice, especially since you lack real late-game creature removal. You don't use him on your own creatures, you save him for your opponent's scary creatures or creatures that have very good deathrattles/constant buffs. Use it on something like a Molten Giant or a big Legendary like Ragnaros. It doesn't matter if he goes 1/1 or 5/5 - he's still weaker and loses his abilities. Stormwind Champion? No more +1/+1 for you! Ragnaros? No more damage. Any of the Giant's? He's significantly weaker than he was before. Lord of the Arena? Lose your taunt at a minimum.

Honestly, your deck has no late game, and doesn't really have the punch to finish it early game.

Dada

2014-01-22, 01:31 PM

Ysera is generally considered one of the best lategame cards and one of the better legendaries. The only cards which are comparable is Ragnaros and Mind Control. Ragnaros is easier to remove than Ysera, but the 8 damage might be stronger than the extra card if the RNG is with you. Mind Control is obviously awesome if you are able to steal Ysera or Rag. Deathwing has a somewhat higher power in the best case, but is way to unreliable - you are basically all-in and any answer at all will ruin you.

ex cathedra

2014-01-22, 01:31 PM

so...it looks like they removed the option of ditching a quest each day :smallfrown:

no more cycling the 40's into 60's :smallfrown: :smallmad: :smallfurious:

it's temporarily disabled because it wasn't functioning properly. people weren't getting new quests. there's no reason to be upset.

Olinser

2014-01-22, 01:34 PM

it's temporarily disabled because it wasn't functioning properly. people weren't getting new quests. there's no reason to be upset.

I think they traded one bug for another bug - I didn't get a quest AT ALL today, and I have none active.

AmberVael

2014-01-22, 01:36 PM

so...it looks like they removed the option of ditching a quest each day :smallfrown:

no more cycling the 40's into 60's :smallfrown: :smallmad: :smallfurious:
They only disabled it temporarily, since almost every time you did it after the last patch, you'd just lose your quest rather than getting a new one. They plan to bring it back. We'll see if it happens.

Ok, Arena time. Lets see what I get.

Commentary:

Ravenhold Assassin / Keeper of the Grove / Violet Teacher - Not sure here, but I think this might come in handy
Ravenholdt is okay, but it certainly isn't an amazing card. Keeper of the Grove, on the other hand, is excellent. The decent creature attached to your choice of minor removal is hard to pass up- I would have gone Keeper.
Violet Teacher is also a good card, but since this is early in your draft and you're not sure how many spells you'll have, it's probably safer to pass it up.

Argent Commander / Gadgetzan Auctioneer / Questing Adventurer - hmmmm...
Questing Adventurer can be a very good card, but Druid isn't really the right deck for him. Druid tends to be slow, efficient, and powerful, while Questing wants to be in a more aggressive deck with lots of low cost stuff (the better to buff it with). Argent Commander would have been my pick here, as it provides surprise damage when you need it, and more often can just be used to trade 2 for 1.

Bloodfen Raptor / Mark of Nature / Shattered Sun Cleric - I need more cheap creatures at this point I think
Bloodfen is passable. Shattered Sun Cleric is great, and only a little more costly. I would have advised the cleric here.

Ancient Watcher / Crazed Alchemist / Coldlight Seer - Hmph. First one has to have other cards to make him good. Second I don't understand the use of, third is not useful here. Guess I get the first one.
How could you possibly pass up SCIENCE!
:smalltongue:
Seriously though, while Crazed Alchemist isn't a power card, it does have its uses... and is way more likely to get used at all, compared to Ancient Watcher. Ancient Watcher can be useful, but it is more of a constructed card than an arena card.

Earthen Ring Farseer / Murlock Tidehunter / Savage Roar - Bit hard between the first and third, but I picked the one I expect to be useful at any time in the game.
Savage roar is less dependable than Earthen Ring. Savage Roar is best when you have lots of creatures... so when you're already in a position of dominance. At which point it is a lot less necessary. One as a finisher card is okay, but I would hesitate to pick up this second one. Earthen Ring is at minimum a 3/3, and can save your other creatures, or at minimum heal you a little.

Booty Bay Bodyguard / Earthen Ring Farseer / Novice Engineer - I think the game really wants me to put one of those Farseer's into my deck.
You should listen to it! You know, this time. When it tries to get you to take 5 mad bombers though, don't listen to it. That's a bad idea, even if it is tempting.
(Man that deck failed so hard).

Kobold Geomancer / Wrath / Mark of Nature
Wrath is a pretty nice card, and you're not exactly loaded with removal. I'd have chosen it.

otakuryoga

2014-01-22, 02:11 PM

i was doin well with it though..last 2x i used it before it went away i traded 40's into 100's 8)

I think they traded one bug for another bug - I didn't get a quest AT ALL today, and I have none active.

sometimes you gotta play a few games to get your quest for the day

Volthawk

2014-01-22, 02:17 PM

Hey guys, I've been playing since last Friday. I'm Volthawk#1214 over on the EU server. So far, it's been going alright, I guess. Still figuring out what I prefer playing, currently leaning mage.

Anyway, the whole arena SCIENCE thing. Results of last two arena runs (out of three I've done - I can't remember what that first free one netted me):
6-3: 120 gold, one pack
2-3: 20 gold, stormforged axe, one pack

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-22, 02:48 PM

Frankly, Ysera is a weak legendary. She has some great potential combos, but is just too random to be relied on, and takes too long to start helping, as she has very little effect after hitting the board, it takes at least a couple turns to start getting real value from her.

Ysera is one of the game's best legendaries, actually. Ragnaros and maybe Sylvanas are the only ones that really beat her.

otakuryoga

2014-01-22, 03:20 PM

i might add Hogger into that mix...just because you can pretty much slot him into any deck with ease

ShinyRocks

2014-01-22, 03:32 PM

It's interesting to see people make the mistakes that I made when I started. Just had two matches in a row where my opponent kept going for my face, rather than clearing the board. Like, I had Warsong Commander out, on 1 health, and this guy was using his Druid hero power to chip at my health, rather than take out the thing that was letting me play charge minions.

But it's so easy to think, when you know that 'my opponent's health reaches 0 = I win' that non-taunting minions can be ignored. Which they can, but only when you've got a lot of presence yourself. Not when your side is empty.

Arena draw time!

Warlock/Priest/Rogue

Wild Pyromancer/Ravenholdt Assassin/Angry Chicken - Pyromancer scares me, and Chicken is just awful, even in Priest where I could potentially buff it so it could survive to enrage.

Stranglethorn Tiger/Bluegill Warrior/Spiteful Smith - Moar stealth! Apparently

Bloodsail Raider/Raging Worgen/Wolf Rider - I can heal the enrage ping, is the theory

Argent Squire/Circle of Healing/Holy Fire

Kobold Geomancer/Mogu'shan Warder/Northshire Cleric

Temple Enforcer/Murloc Tidehunter/Jungle Panther - The idea of Stealth!Priest was funny, but no.

Bluegill Warrior/Amani Berserker/Gnomish Inventor - Draw is draw

Abusive Sergeant/Stormpike Commando/Spiteful Smith

Frostwolf Grunt/Shadow Word Pain/Ironforge Rifleman

Pint-sized Summoner/Ravenholdt Assassin/Alarm-o-Bot

Lightwell/Twilight Drake/Stampeding Kodo - I just really like Kodo

Divine Spirit/Novice Engineer/Northshire Cleric

Ironforge Rifleman/Darkscale Healer/Frost Elemental

Lord of the Arena/Tauren Warrior/Northshire Cleric - Heal the ping, 2 clerics is enough clerics

Cult Master/Abusive Sergeant/Holy Smite - Feel like I could do with some straight-up damage

Amani Berserker/Chillwind Yeti/Mind Vision - Yeti is yeti

Temple Enforcer/Sen'jin Shieldmasta/Mind Blast - Taz'dingo is taz'dingo

Holy Nova/Ogre Magi/Spiteful Smith - I don't want Smith, okay, game?!

Grimscale Oracle/Divine Spirit/Holy Nova - Moar nova!

Lorewalker Cho/Prophet Velen/The Beast

River Crocolisk/Stormwind Champion/Reckless Rocketeer - My 2 slot is looking empty.

Power word Shield/Ancient Brewmaster/Silverback Patriarch

Novice Engineer/Mind Control/Murloc Tidehunter

Mind Vision/Holy Nova/Murloc Raider - I think 3 Novas might be overkill

Faerie Dragon/Inner Fire/Silvermoon Guardian - I enjoy Inner Fire hax, but not here

Flesheating Ghoul/Frostwolf Warlord/Jungle Panther

Jungle Panther/Thrallmar Farseer/Stormpike Commando - Fine! I'll take the damn panther

Holy Nova/Flesheating Ghoul/Mind Vision - Okay, fine, another Nova it is.

Stormpike Commando/Argent Squire/Ogre Magi - Commando is too expensive, I've got 1 drops, 4/4 for 4 isn't bad, and I've got some damage spells.

Agent Mage/Crazed Alchemist/Lightwell

What a weird selection I was given. Same cards over and over and over. No Shadow Word Death and only 1 Shadow Word Pain is going to hurt. Oh well.

Volatar

2014-01-22, 03:43 PM

Thanks for the Arena feedback guys. I guess I really screwed it up. :smalltongue:

While I understand a mana curve I lack the meta-sense to notice that I lack late game removal and such.

I also have seen so few of the Legendaries that I don't know them or their uses.

You know what? I think next time I do an Arena run I still Livestream it. That way I can get help on the choices (and stream the results as well). Would people be up for that?

ex cathedra

2014-01-22, 03:49 PM

Thanks for the Arena feedback guys. I guess I really screwed it up. :smalltongue:

i would mimic most of AmberVael's commentary and that's really only a handful of suggestions. you did fine. :smallsmile:

AmberVael

2014-01-22, 03:51 PM

I just went 12/1 with a mage deck. I didn't expect it to do well, but it turns out that having a surfeit of mana wyrms is terrifying when you go second. In one game I ended up 3 of them out on turn 2, all buffed just by using the coin.

Also I had Malygos. He only contributed in one game, but he saved it.

You know what? I think next time I do an Arena run I still Livestream it. That way I can get help on the choices (and stream the results as well). Would people be up for that?

Sure!

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 03:55 PM

i might add Hogger into that mix...just because you can pretty much slot him into any deck with ease

Hogger is good, but Argent Commander is better, and you don't really need more than two 6-drops, so he's left a bit out in the cold.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-22, 04:36 PM

Druid went 3/3 for SCIENCE, 50 gold, 25 gold, and a pack. Pack had Golden Young Priestess and Mindgames in it.

Unto the breach with WARLOCK:

1. MOUNTAIN GIANT/Sea Giant/Murloc Warleader - Better synergy with Life Tap.
2. Silverback Patriarch/GNOMISH INVENTOR/Stonetusk Boar - Card draw.
3. Sense Demons/Wisp/FLESHEATING GHOUL - No demons yet.
4. Bloodfen Raptor/SPITEFUL SMITH/Raid Leader - Solid body.
5. SUMMONING PORTAL/Bloodsail Raider/Corruption
6. Power Overwhelming/YOUTHFUL BREWMASTER/Succubus - Good 2-drop.
7. Worgen Infiltrator/Succubus/MORTAL COIL - Removal.
8. Sacrificial Pact/Mad Bomber/FLAME IMP - Great card.
9. DREAD INFERNAL/Faerie Dragon/Stranglethorn Tiger - Sweep clear on a good body.
10.AZURE DRAKE/Void Terror/Ancient Mage - Void Terror is fun, but Drake is more reliable.
11.SUNWALKER/Stampeding Kodo/Doomguard - Kodo is good, but Sunwalker is better.
12.Raid Leader/Archmage/CHILLWIND YETI - No contest.
13.Voidwalker/SENSE DEMONS/Dark Iron Dwarf - Now I have demons.
14.CULT MASTER/Magma Rager/Abusive Sergeant - Card draw.
15.DIRE WOLF ALPHA/Succubus/Wisp - Cheap buff.
16.Succubus/SOULFIRE/Jungle Panther - My first real removal.
17.Sacrificial Pact/Ironbeak Owl/POWER OVERWHELMING - Semi-removal
18.DRAGONLING MECHANIC/Dread Infernal/Tauren Warrior - Need lower-curve cards.
19.Southsea Deckhand/Corruption/SUMMONING PORTAL - 2 better than one.
20.TWILIGHT DRAKE/Mind Control Tech/Defender of Argus - Beautiful card in Warlock.
21.Stranglethorn Tiger/Bloodfen Raptor/HARVEST GOLEM - Beautiful card in any deck.
22.Sense Demons/JUNGLE PANTHER/Power Overwhelming - Another cheap creature.
23.Shattered Sun Cleric/SHADOW BOLT/Reckless Rocketeer - Removal.
24.Felguard/PINT-SIZED SUMMONER/Young Priestess - More acceleration if it can stick.
25.VENTURE CO. MERCENARY/Sense Demons/Scarlet Crusader - Value Co.
26.Loot Hoarder/SENJIN SHIELDMASTA/Worgen Infiltrator- Tasdingo.
27.Nightblade/BLOODFEN RAPTOR/Grimscale Oracle - It's cheap?
28.SHATTERED SUN CLERIC/Ironbeak Owl/Sacrificial Pact - I guess.
29.Pit Lord/Bane of Doom/TWISTING NETHER - Just for fun, I don't need more 4-drops and Bane looks too randomly weak.
30.AZURE DRAKE/Mind Control Tech/Crazed Alchemist - Might as well.

ShinyRocks

2014-01-22, 05:57 PM

Went 5/3 with that Priest deck. SCIENCE: 40 gold, 50 gold, and a (crappy) pack. Then I bought another pack and that was crappy too. It had a Wisp in it!

Slightly annoyed because all 3 of the losses I could have won, or at least turned around and tried to, if I could have drawn a Holy Nova. Three in my deck and not drawing any of them until there's only 10 cards left in the deck sucks and is frustrating.

I was quite pleased that I managed to beat a Warlock who Coined into an Imp and a Voidwalker on the first turn, then played another Imp on the second turn, and a Succubus on the third. I'd managed to clear the board (except for his Imps) and had Prophet Velen and Ravenholdt Assassin out. He played Doomsayer and Sunwalker. I popped the Shield and killed the Sunwalker with my pieces on the board. And then used Crazed Alchemist to kill the Doomsayer before its effect could kick in. 0 attack Minions are hella vulnerable, you guys! And then he conceded. I felt bad, but not that bad.

Nerocite

2014-01-22, 06:05 PM

i might add Hogger into that mix...just because you can pretty much slot him into any deck with ease

Cairne and Black Knight are both better six drop legends.

Zevox

2014-01-22, 06:20 PM

1. MOUNTAIN GIANT/Sea Giant/Murloc Warleader - Better synergy with Life Tap.
I'd probably grab Sea Giant here. Even with Life Tap, it's liable to be the easier of the two to get the cost down on.

4. Bloodfen Raptor/SPITEFUL SMITH/Raid Leader - Solid body.
Bloodfen Raptor here. It's a good 2, and while Smith's stats aren't bad per se, he's not really what you want for his cost, particularly when you're not a weapon-using class.

5. SUMMONING PORTAL/Bloodsail Raider/Corruption
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think Portal is worth it. It's going to be a priority for your opponent to kill, and it won't even hurt him back when he attacks it, so it'll probably do nothing but distract him for a turn at most. Maybe burn a removal card if you're lucky. Raider would be my choice.

7. Worgen Infiltrator/Succubus/MORTAL COIL - Removal.
I might've taken Infiltrator. Mortal Coil I don't like too much without spellpower.

13.Voidwalker/SENSE DEMONS/Dark Iron Dwarf - Now I have demons.
Never pass up Dark Iron Dwarf for anything that isn't strictly amazing, unless you have an absolutely horrid number of 4s. Sense Demons really doesn't qualify.

16.Succubus/SOULFIRE/Jungle Panther - My first real removal.
Might've taken Panther. Stealth + 4 attack gets you basically the same thing, but trading the card loss for cost and taking an extra turn to go off. There's an argument to be made for the reverse though I suppose.

18.DRAGONLING MECHANIC/Dread Infernal/Tauren Warrior - Need lower-curve cards.
A 4 isn't much lower, and you didn't have that many high-costs yet here. Would've had fewer if you'd taken Bloodfen Raptor instead of Spiteful Smith, too.

19.Southsea Deckhand/Corruption/SUMMONING PORTAL - 2 better than one.
Might've taken Corruption here. Bad removal still seems better than Summoning Portal to me. Though I suppose maybe there's an argument to be made for Portal being less bad.

20.TWILIGHT DRAKE/Mind Control Tech/Defender of Argus - Beautiful card in Warlock.
Not a bad pick by any means, but I'm not sure if it's worth getting instead of Defender. Would be a tough choice for me.

25.VENTURE CO. MERCENARY/Sense Demons/Scarlet Crusader - Value Co.
When you passed Dread Infernal for Dragonling Mechanic due to your curve earlier? Doesn't add up to me. Crusader is the pick here if you need cheaper things. She's one of the best at her weight class.

26.Loot Hoarder/SENJIN SHIELDMASTA/Worgen Infiltrator- Tasdingo.
Rough pick. I haven't taken full tally of your curve, but if you needed low-costs, one of the other two might have been better, despite Sen'jin being typically preferable.

28.SHATTERED SUN CLERIC/Ironbeak Owl/Sacrificial Pact - I guess.
You say that as if the Cleric weren't great.

D_Lord

2014-01-22, 07:03 PM

You can add me, Volrock 1367. American

Zevox

2014-01-22, 07:36 PM

Alrighty, another arena run for me:

Class: Priest | Mage | Hunter

Ethereal Arcanist | Angry Chicken | Arcane Golem (Bad one right off the bat. Arcanist sucks without secrets, Chicken is a joke card, so I guess it's the Golem.)
Dragonling Mechanic | Murloc Tidehunter | Mirror Entity
Dalaran Mage | Leper Gnome | Silverback Patriarch (So, Arcane Golem and Leper Gnome in my first three picks - guess I should shoot for an aggressive deck if I can.)
Harvest Golem | Bloodfen Raptor | Cone of Cold
Twilight Drake | Lightwarden | Vaporize
Ancient Brewmaster | Stranglethorn Tiger | Mirror Entity
Fireball | Reckless Rocketeer | Gnomish Inventor
Goldshire Footman | Wisp | Core Hound (Wow, this is an awful set.)
Frostbolt | Mirror Image | Silver Hand Knight
Knife Juggler | Lightwarden | Gadgetzan Auctioneer
Arcane Intellect | Young Dragonhawk | Arcane Missiles (If I had a Mana Wyrm by now I'd take missiles, but I don't.)
Frost Elemental | Voodoo Doctor | Ironforge Rifleman
Cult Master | Cone of Cold | Bloodfen Raptor
Stormwind Knight | Flamestrike | Gurubashi Berserker (Kinda tempted to take one of the others to keep this aggressive, but Flamestrike.)
Shieldbearer | Arcane Explosion | Ice Barrier (Crap. Hope I pull a Kobold...)
Harvest Golem | Southsea Deckhand | Windfury Harpy
Argent Squire | Gnomish Inventor | Ice Lance (Tempted to take Squire for the additional 1, but can't pass up the Gnome.)
Southsea Deckhand | Flamestrike | Stranglethorn Tiger
Dragonling Mechanic | Cone of Cold | Polymorph
Faceless Manipulator | Mountain Giant | Big Game Hunter (Hm, no clear pick for me here. Guess I'll take body + removal.)
Stranglethorn Tiger | Polymorph | Stonetusk Boar
Tauren Warrior | Young Dragonhawk | Bloodsail Raider
Mirror Entity | Stonetusk Boar | Frostwolf Warlord
Mad Bomber | Lord of the Arena | Goldshire Footman
Mirror Entity | Arcane Intellect | Stormpike Commando
Cone of Cold | Wolfrider | Silverback Patriarch
Earthen Ring Farseer | Ancient Brewmaster | Dread Corsair
Alarm-o-Bot | Bloodsail Corsair | Arcane Golem (Son of a gun, I'm stuck with two of them? Really?)
Mountain Giant | Sea Giant | Faceless Manipulator
Coldlight Oracle | Blizzard | Demolisher (Well, I already have nine 3s, but I also have two Flamestrikes for sweeping, and the deck is mostly more aggressive than control-y... so I guess I'm taking Demolisher.)
Not sure about this. I have a decent number of the major Mage spells (1 Frostbolt and Fireball, 2 Polymorph and Flamestrike), and the heavy amount of 2-4 costs could make it work as an aggressive one (curve is 1-6-10-6-2-1-3), but it's also saddled with a few poor high-costs that could screw me if I draw them early (Frost Elemental, Core Hound), and some just poor cards and things that don't synergize well with aggression (Arcane Explosion, Mad Bomber, Twilight Drake).

Guess there's nothing for it but try my best.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-22, 07:39 PM

I was getting so annoyed by the game refusing to give me any minions to play early game that I dropped both my Inner Fires for a Worgen Infiltrator and a Leper Gnome. I haven't seen either of them, nor either of my Northshire Clerics, for three games. That's four cards I haven't drawn once in three games. I don't know what I'm s'posed to do. I keep ending up with two or three turns where I can't play anything at all and by the time I have something to play, it's not enough to turn the match around. You'd think getting through a third of your deck would give you plenty to play yet all I keep getting are cards that cost more than I can pay or are currently useless (like a minion that'll just die next turn if I play it) and I don't know what I'm meant to do about that.

I'm starting to think maybe I should ditch Priest and go Rogue instead, picking nothing but 1 and 2 cost cards. Maybe then I wouldn't have so many dead turns. Or go back to Paladin, maybe - it might have needed far too many 4 cost cards, but at least that means I'd be guaranteed to have something to play on the fourth turn.

Any advice? 'Cause I'm getting frustrated.

Murmaider

2014-01-22, 08:05 PM

If you get a hand with nothing costing less than five, throw it all and then pick up another hand with nothing less than a five, that's bad luck. If it happens all the time, you should overthink your drafting and pick more 2-drops next time(real ones, not Weaponsmith).

You should always take Worgen Infiltrator over Inner Fire.

And Northshire Cleric is not a real 1-drop.

Zevox

2014-01-22, 08:31 PM

Wow, I'm actually 5-0 so far with that Mage draft. That already makes it one of my better arena runs, since I've never done more than 7-3, and typically average 3 or 4 wins.

Two wins so far were purely Big Game Hunter saving my ass from my opponent's beef. One a Druid that dropped an Ironbark, and one a Paladin that played a Molten Giant. The Druid match was particularly lucky of me because it had gone poorly in the opening and I was topdecking at the time, but that moment managed to let me turn it around.

Also, my second match was against a Druid player that actually surprised me with how bad he was. How bad? Well, picture this: it's turn 3, I have a Knife Juggler on the field, he has a Jungle Panther (that he put out with coin last turn). He plays Claw + Hero Power... and then hits me with his hero, and trades Panther for Knife Juggler. Yes, seriously. And in subsequent turns he seemed obsessed with giving himself as much armor as possible, using hero power almost every turn, and at least one more claw (possibly two, I forget), and always hitting me with it, never my minions. Yeah, suffice to say that was my easiest win so far.

Math_Mage

2014-01-22, 08:47 PM

Ysera can be Ye Grande Finisher for any midrange to control deck. Naturally particular decks will like particular finishers better--Tirion in Pally Control, Alextrasza in Mage, etc--but Ysera is always good.

As for Hogger, Sylvanas, Black Knight, and usually Cairne are all better 6-drop legendaries.

Volatar

2014-01-22, 09:19 PM

Also, my second match was against a Druid player that actually surprised me with how bad he was.

With open beta having just started I think we are experiencing a flood of inexperienced players. Take advantage of it I guess. :)

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-22, 09:43 PM

Completely agree with everything AmberVael said, just 2 more notes on your picks.
Young Priestess / Arcane Golem / Bite - Thank you god of the Arena - I'd take the bite here. Removal that can act as damage if needed beats out on 1 drop that just dies to so many hero powers.
Tinkmaster Overspark / Captain Greenskin / Net Pagle - Oh sweet a bunch of Legendaries. Sucky ones. First one I do not like. Random bad. Second doesn't work for Druid. Third it is then. I can deal with a coin flip. Especially at only two cost. - Tinkmaster is a better utility card but I completely disagree with Olinser's assessment on Nat Pagle. He's a 2 drop with 4 toughness so there are few decks that will be able to take him out immediately and druid is one of the best classes in protecting him early with their hero power/removal suite. He used to be bad because it wasn't actually a 50% draw but now that he is, he's actually pretty good.

Argent Squire/Circle of Healing/Holy Fire - Argent Squire isn't that great that I'd take it over the removal/heal that is Holy Fire.
Faerie Dragon/Inner Fire/Silvermoon Guardian - I enjoy Inner Fire hax, but not here - I'd say Faerie dragon is better here by a decent margin.

Points I disagree with Zevox on:
7. Worgen Infiltrator/Succubus/MORTAL COIL - Removal.
I might've taken Infiltrator. Mortal Coil I don't like too much without spellpower. - Having 1 Mortal Coil in the deck is never bad and when it's good it's basically a free removal spell.

16.Succubus/SOULFIRE/Jungle Panther - My first real removal.
Might've taken Panther. Stealth + 4 attack gets you basically the same thing, but trading the card loss for cost and taking an extra turn to go off. There's an argument to be made for the reverse though I suppose. - You don't pass the first soulfire as Warlock unless the other cards are amazing.

19.Southsea Deckhand/Corruption/SUMMONING PORTAL - 2 better than one.
Might've taken Corruption here. Bad removal still seems better than Summoning Portal to me. Though I suppose maybe there's an argument to be made for Portal being less bad. - Corruption is definately even worse than Summoning Portal.

Dragonling Mechanic | Murloc Tidehunter | Mirror Entity - I might have taken Mirror Entity over Mechanic but they're all pretty mediocre so your pick's fine.
You drafted well with what you're given and you have enough good early cards and reach that you're going to get a few free wins just by curving out.

I think it's pretty safe to say that "going infinite" on Heathstone arena is alot easier than "going infinite" on MODO. I'm over 2k gold atm and that's after I spent 3k buying some packs :smalltongue:

AgentPaper

2014-01-22, 10:09 PM

Volatar

2014-01-23, 01:18 AM

Well that sucks. I went 0-2 with that Druid deck, but was doing pretty well in the third game.

Until suddenly I was disconnected from the server.

I immediately relaunched (the problem was not on my end), but to no avail. The game gave me a loss. :smallfrown:

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-23, 02:19 AM

7/3 with Warrior. Science is Pack, normal Deadly Shot, 150 gold. Not really dissapointing, since the deck was terrible. I think I had about 2 each of 3 and 5 drops.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-23, 03:01 AM

Well Blizz stole 5 gold from you :smalltongue:

Science:
7-3 Warlock - Pack, 155 Gold, Deadly Shot (That was a huge disappointment. Jaraxus and Hogger in an amazing deck, got burnt out by 2 mages and a shaman...)
8-3 Shaman - Pack, 160 Gold, 45 Gold, Stormforged Axe (Blood Knight as my only Epic+, 1 Hex, no Fire Elementals, no AoE removal at all and I do better than my amazing Warlock deck...)

Temotei

2014-01-23, 03:38 AM

Hey, started playing a few hours after it became open beta.

NA, Temotei#1507.

I'm still seeing which heroes I like best.

jindra34

2014-01-23, 11:22 AM

You know, I really love it when a Warlock subsidizes down trading with their hero power. Because then you end up in nice situations where you are up on field and hand, have ten cards left in deck, and they are starting to take fatigue damage.

Oh yeah, in game name, JinRia #1770

Infernally Clay

2014-01-23, 12:37 PM

Well, I decided to play a bunch of Shaman matches to see if Al'Akir was worth keeping and I realised that it wasn't. 8 mana for a 3/5 is awful, even if it does have Charge, Windfury and Divine Shield. I even tried holding on to buffs for it, but it just didn't change my opinion.

So I disenchanted him for a Lay on Hands and went back to Paladin. That's the class I'm best with, I think, and Lay on Hands is a solid healing card that gets me three more cards. It's an unsurprisingly good card and I'm glad I got it.

Now all I need to do is convince myself that disenchanting Baron Geddon for Tirion Fordring is a smart move. Either that or wait and see if I can't craft/find one later on.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-23, 12:59 PM

Al'akir is absolutely terrible.

Weimann

2014-01-23, 01:04 PM

Anyone else having problems with starting the game? I suddenly don't get past the loading screen. I had this problem yesterday and now again today. Might have been since the beta went open? Anyone know any news about this?

Olinser

2014-01-23, 01:12 PM

So have Blizzard said what's going to happen when the Open Beta ends?

As in, is everybody's gold and cards going to be reset to zero and we start again?

AmberVael

2014-01-23, 01:16 PM

So have Blizzard said what's going to happen when the Open Beta ends?

As in, is everybody's gold and cards going to be reset to zero and we start again?

They seem to indicate here (http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/12440010) that no more wipes are planned.

Infernally Clay

2014-01-23, 01:19 PM

Time for a Rogue draft.

Angry Chicken / Secretkeeper / Argent Commander

Kind of a no-brainer, I think.

Betrayal / Dark Iron Dwarf / Conceal

Even after the nerd, he's still a 4/4 for four mana that provides a buff to another minion. In a Rogue deck that means trading up.

Shadowstep / Ironforge Rifleman / Sprint

There are a lot of Battlecry cards and a card that costs no mana is brilliant for combos.

Frost Elemental / Dire Wolf Alpha / Assassinate

As strong an effect as the Dire Wolf Alpha has, hard removal is hard removal.

War Golem / Wolfrider / Frostwolf Warlord

If I get the cards I'm looking for, having a lot of minions on the field won't be a problem and I'll only need three for the Warlord to be as strong as the Golem.

Dire Wolf Alpha / Nightblade / Eviscerate

Nightblade is a poor card and Eviscerate is direct damage, so I think the latter is the best option.

Priestess of Elune / Vanish / Sprint

Another no-brainer. The other two cards are pretty poor.

Ironforge Rifleman / Dire Wolf Alpha / Novice Engineer

Card draw? Card draw.

Headcrack / Young Priestess / Injured Blademaster

It's about time I started to grab some cheap minions that deal decent damage.

Violet Teacher / Knife Juggler / Gadgetzan Auctioneer

I was hoping this guy would show up.

Shiv / Ogre Magi / Ancient Brewmaster

I was really tempted by the Brewmaster, but Shiv is combo friendly, can kill weakened and/or cheap minions and functions as card draw.

Youthful Brewmaster / Nightblade / Bluegill Warrior

I know the Bluegill has Charge, but the Brewmaster is bigger and synergies with the deck for the same price.

Fan of Knives / Spellbreaker / Stormwind Knight

I don't really like Fan of Knives since it's basically a more expensive Arcane Explosion that gives you a card. The Spellbreaker is a stable card in comparison and one that's always going to be useful (especially since I can recycle the Battlecry).

Vanish / Sinister Strike / Venture Co. Mercenary

He'll probably screw up my combo cards, but the other two choices are awful and I do really need a big scary minion to drop on the field. Can't really ask for more than that guy.

Big Game Hunter / Patient Assassin / Southsea Captain

Patient Assassin is basically Assassinate with a turn delay that can be stopped by AoE and Southsea Captain is useless since I have no Pirates. Thankfully, I do have ways of recycling Battlecries and Big Game Hunter has one of the best.

Ancient Brewmaster / Kobold Geomancer / Acolyte of Pain

More ways to recycle Battlecries is a good thing to have, plus this guy has a pretty nice set of stats for his price (+1/+1 over a Spellbreaker).

Shieldbearer / Amani Berserker / Nightblade

At least I can trigger the Berserker's Enrage, right?

Assassinate / Mad Bomber / Magma Rager

Another hard removal card. Very handy.

Mad Bomber / Defias Ringleader / Flesheating Ghoul

I was starting to think this guy would never show up!

Mana Addict / Mana Wraith / Lightwarden

I don't yet have enough spells to make Mana Addict worth the investment, plus it's not that great a card. Lightwarden is totally useless to me, as well, so the Mana Wraith is my only choice.

Sap / Archmage / Bloodfen Raptor

Sap is only situationally useful and while the Raptor is combo-friendly, I do have eight 2-cost cards already.

Darkscale Healer / Deadly Poison / Faerie Dragon

Turning my hero power into a 3/2 will be very useful.

Perdition's Blade / Mana Wraith / Wild Pyromancer

Scratch that. Turning my 2/2 into a 4/2 will be even more useful.

Fen Creeper / Sen'jin Shieldmasta / Acidic Swamp Ooze

I need Taunt badly and the bigger, the better.

Priestess of Elune / Windfury Harpy / Assassinate

A third Assassinate? Don't mind if I do.

Elven Archer / Ancient Brewmaster / Nightblade

More Battlecry recycling.

Abusive Sergeant / Cult Master / Flesheating Ghoul

I do need more card draw and since few of my minions will survive that long, this should help keep up the pressure.

Nightblade / Silver Hand Knight / Assassin's Blade

I really like Silver Hand Knight, plus he has a Battlecry I can reuse.

Shadowstep / Razorfen Hunter / Windfury Harpy

I'm probably overdoing it with the Battlecry recycling now...

Argent Commander / Mana Wraith / Bloodsail Corsair

Can't go wrong with a second Argent Commander.

The curve is 2-1-8-3-5-7-2-1 with a 2:1 ratio between minions and spells.

Legoshrimp

2014-01-23, 01:28 PM

New mage draft

abomination/defender of argus/knife juggler
venture co. mercenary/goldshire footman/dragonling mechanic
bloodfen raptor/ mana wyrm/ kobold geomancer
silverback patriarch/tauren warrior/lord of the arena
spellbreaker/ironforge grizzly/arcane missiles
reclkess rocketeer/arcane explosion/polymorph
archmage/arcane missiles/ scarlet crusader
jungle panther/ arcane intellect/razorfen hunter
gnomish inventor
master swordsmith / knife juggler / emperor cobra
arcane missiles/windfury harpy/silverback patriarch
polymorph/ mirror entity / arcane explosion
spiteful smith / murloc raider/ priestess of elune
voodoo doctor /raging worgen /stormwind knight
bluegill warrior/ ice lance / windfury harpy
cone of cold/dire wolf alpha/archmage
ice lance /shieldmasta/spiteful smith
polymorph/sorcerer's apprentice/ gnomish inventor
abusive sergeant/ ice barrier/mana wyrm
imp master/violet teacher/counterspell
booty bay bodyguard/sorcerer's apprentice/bluegill warrior
counterspell/demolisher/twilight drake
ice barrier/darkscale healer/venture co.
stranglethorn tiger/jungle panther/mana wyrm
arcane intellect/mana wyrm/arcane missiles
ice lance/cone of cold/murloc raider
ice lance/abusive sergeant/mirror entity
dragonling mechanic/bloodfen raptor/windfury harpy
windfury harpy/ frost nova/ stormpike commando
molten giant/Pyroblast/ice block

could be okay, only removal I got was polymorph though.

Olinser

2014-01-23, 01:49 PM

They seem to indicate here (http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/12440010) that no more wipes are planned.

They say no more card wipes are planned - but does that just mean during the Beta?

That is, when the game is actually released for sale, is everybody back at square 1? Because most games usually you don't get anything concrete from being in the beta, except possibly an achievement/profile picture/skin.

Legoshrimp

2014-01-23, 02:01 PM

They say no more card wipes are planned - but does that just mean during the Beta?

That is, when the game is actually released for sale, is everybody back at square 1? Because most games usually you don't get anything concrete from being in the beta, except possibly an achievement/profile picture/skin.

I am pretty sure there is going to be almost literally no difference from beta->actual release, hearthstone is going to be a free 2 play game. And the amount of annoyance of doing a card reset increases as it gets closer to release.

3-0 with that deck, 2 pyroblast finishes. Both times I had lethal without it though :smalltongue:

Infernally Clay

2014-01-23, 02:02 PM

Legoshrimp

2014-01-23, 02:41 PM

ended up going 4-3, lost to a few really annoying combos. turn 3 6 attack lightwell is impossible to deal with ><

science: 25 flux 55g pack containing: fen creeper, summoning portal, druid of the claw, amani berserker, and holy fire.

AgentPaper

2014-01-23, 03:21 PM

Shadowstep / Ironforge Rifleman / Sprint

There are a lot of Battlecry cards and a card that costs no mana is brilliant for combos.

Shadowstep is not, generally, a very good card. You might pick it up later on if you've got a ton of synergy with it, but picking it up early is a mistake. Ironforge Rifleman, while not spectacular, is a decent creature with a good ability, and probably should have been the pick here. Sprint is a bit more risky, but also viable.

War Golem / Wolfrider / Frostwolf Warlord

If I get the cards I'm looking for, having a lot of minions on the field won't be a problem and I'll only need three for the Warlord to be as strong as the Golem.

You probably won't be getting 7-power Warlords that often, but you're right that he's a better card than War Golem, usually. However, neither Frostwolf Warlord nor War Golem are very exciting, and you need more low-drops than high drops, so Wolfrider would have been a better pick here.

Ironforge Rifleman / Dire Wolf Alpha / Novice Engineer

Card draw? Card draw.

Engineer is only good if you already have a lot of combo cards to set off with it. You have Eviscerate so far. You're not going to get much, if any, value out of a 1/1 in arena, since few people play 1-drops, and the only other reason is to thin out your deck, and what are you trying to draw that's better than Dire Wolf Alpha?

Ancient Brewmaster / Kobold Geomancer / Acolyte of Pain

More ways to recycle Battlecries is a good thing to have, plus this guy has a pretty nice set of stats for his price (+1/+1 over a Spellbreaker).

So far you have basically Novice Engineer and Big Game Hunter which are good targets for bounce effects, so now I wouldn't say that more ways to recycle battlecries is a good thing. Much more likely, you're going to find his battlecry as a downside rather than an upside, being forced to re-pay the cost of one of your creatures.

Acolyte of Pain, on the other hand, is a 3-drop which you are still sorely lacking, and a solid one that helps you get to the late game with defensive stats and good value.

Sap / Archmage / Bloodfen Raptor

Sap is only situationally useful and while the Raptor is combo-friendly, I do have eight 2-cost cards already.

Archmage is bad, and while you have eight 2-cost cards, two of them are spells, one is Novice Engineer, and having another solid 2-drop is better than a crappy 6-drop.

Fen Creeper / Sen'jin Shieldmasta / Acidic Swamp Ooze

I need Taunt badly and the bigger, the better.

1) You don't need taunt, and 2) Bigger isn't better, better is better. One extra mana for 1 more health isn't worth it. Shieldmasta comes out earlier and does mostly the same thing, and is the better pick here. He's one of the few taunt creatures that's actually worthwhile.

Elven Archer / Ancient Brewmaster / Nightblade

More Battlecry recycling.

You didn't have many good targets for him before, and you've only picked up one more since (Defias Ringleader), so I don't know why you think he'd be good now. Nightblade on the other hand has similar stats and is much less awkward to cast. And her battlecry shouldn't be underestimated.

Abusive Sergeant / Cult Master / Flesheating Ghoul

I do need more card draw and since few of my minions will survive that long, this should help keep up the pressure.

You're still low on 3-rops, with only two creatures and a weapon. You're actually low on 4-drops as well somehow, but 3 is more important than 4, and Cult Master isn't much better than Flesheating Ghoul.

Nightblade / Silver Hand Knight / Assassin's Blade

I really like Silver Hand Knight, plus he has a Battlecry I can reuse.

He costs 5 mana, so no you can't re-use his ability. Not often, anyways. You're overloaded on 5s, so none of these are a great choice, but Assassin's Blade is the best of the lot. You already have plenty of beefy 5-drops, and Blade can be a 4-for-1 or 12 damage to the face, or a combination of both.

Shadowstep / Razorfen Hunter / Windfury Harpy

I'm probably overdoing it with the Battlecry recycling now...

No, you were already doing that when you picked your first Shadowstep. Razorfen Harpy is a 3 drop, you need 3 drops, pick Razorfen Hunter.

The curve is 2-1-8-3-5-7-2-1 with a 2:1 ratio between minions and spells.

Cutting out spells, your real curve is 0/6/3/5/4/3. Your deck doesn't have any real strategy, other than "battlecry recycling", which it doesn't actually do, and isn't really a great strategy to begin with. You don't have enough low-cost creatures to be aggressive, you don't have a solid enough curve to control the game with tempo, you don't have enough high-cost fatties to win as control, and you don't have enough value cards to win as midrange.

I would say that you made two major mistakes while drafting this. First, you over-valued combo/synergy cards far too highly, picking stuff like Shadowstep before you had the cards to make them work, over cards like Ironforge Rifleman which, while not exciting, are reliably good.

The other mistake is that you didn't react and adapt as the draft was progressing. You got very few cheap battlecry cards throughout the draft, and yet you still picked Shadowstep as your final pick, even though you had close to nothing to play it with. Your strategy should evolve from the cards you're given, rather than trying to force the cards you're given into a pre-determined plan.

Zevox

2014-01-23, 03:23 PM

Oh yeah, in game name, JinRia #1770
NA or EU server?

New mage draft

abomination/defender of argus/knife juggler
Defender vs Knife Juggler right off the bat? Sheesh, tough one. No wrong choice between those two I think, but I think I would've taken Juggler myself, since he's possibly the best 2-drop.

jungle panther/ arcane intellect/razorfen hunter
I might've taken Arcane Intellect here, but it is a tough call between a good 3-drop and good card draw.

cone of cold/dire wolf alpha/archmage
Bad. Archmage is never worth taking unless the alternatives are awful, and neither of those are. Dire Wolf is probably the best pick, Cone would still be better.

polymorph/sorcerer's apprentice/ gnomish inventor
As good as Polymorph is, this is your third one, and both of the other cards are good as well. I may have taken one of them, but I'm not entirely such which.

stranglethorn tiger/jungle panther/mana wyrm
You already had two Wyrms at this point, and were a bit low on 3s, so I might've taken Panther here.

windfury harpy/ frost nova/ stormpike commando
Honestly not sure what I would do with this set. I think Stormpike is generally bad, but since your deck is more aggressive, being cheaper than Harpy and coming with 2 damage when you throw him down might make him the better pick. But on the flip side you only had three 5s and one 6, so a one more high-cost might not have hurt, and Windfury Harpy will do more if she sticks than Commando will.

AmberVael

2014-01-23, 04:37 PM

Guuuuys. I need help.

Making an arena deck. Class is Mage. Halfway through.

I have a choice between three legendaries:
1) Millhouse Manastorm
2) Lorewalker Cho
3) Deathwing

I have zero idea which I should pick. They're all... weird choices. Unreliable.

Deathwing costs 10 mana and is a total hail mary play. Won't show up often, and is swingy when he does. I can't help but remember that time I mind controlled him.

Millhouse can dominate an early game, potentially... but... eek. Potentially could end badly. Still, people tend to have less spells in arena, so maybe not as bad as it might be in constructed? Even so...

Lorewalker Cho. The drawback is at least under my control, and I don't have many spells thus far. That said, also has the least chance to affect the board.

Current cards:
Amani Berserker
Faerie Dragon
Knife Juggler
Sorcerer's Apprentice
Harvest Golem x2
Shattered Sun Cleric x2
Thrallmar Farseer
Cone of Cold
Chillwind Yeti
Silvermoon Guardian
Argent Commander
Flamestrike
Ragnaros the Firelord

jindra34

2014-01-23, 04:42 PM

NA or EU server?

NA I believe.

AgentPaper

2014-01-23, 04:44 PM

Guuuuys. I need help.

That is a weird choice, but I'd go for Lorewalker Cho, since as you said the drawback is under your control. Manastorm would also be viable, but riskier. Deathwing is endgame beef that you don't really need.

The Glyphstone

2014-01-23, 04:45 PM

I'd say Cho. You already have Rag as a finisher, Millhouse encourages your opponent to drop spells (since he's big and fat and they are free that turn anyways), but Cho does weird stuff to the enemy psyche. My experience with him is that he almost never gets you cards, but does 'lock down' any spells in the enemy hand until they can kill him with minions/hero powers alone. Can protect your other minions from early removal by proxy, in that way.

Zevox

2014-01-23, 04:45 PM

I'd probably grab Deathwing. Much as you'll want to avoid playing him if possible, he can bring games back from the brink, and only very specific cards take care of him easily. Some entire classes don't even have a good way to handle him unless they drafted a Big Game Hunter.

Millhouse would be my second pick, but I don't think he seems good enough to pass up Deathwing. Lorewalker Cho just seems like a joke card to me - there for ****s and giggles, nothing more.

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-23, 05:31 PM

I'd go deathwing. Your deck looks to be shaping up like an aggro deck so Cho doesn't really fit well and restricts both players - you're a mage, your spells are your bread and butter. Milhouse is too high variance while Deathwing is the ultimate Hail Mary play when you have no other way to not lose.

Weimann

2014-01-23, 06:13 PM

Well finally the game started. Let's celebrate with arena.

Warrior | Priest | Shaman (Because lok'tar ogar.)

Upgrade! | Frothing Berserker | Mortal Strike (Question, if one plays a Berserker with a Warsong Commander in the field, and the Berserker grows significantly in that first turn, does he still retain the Charge quality? Anyway, taking Upgrade here.)

Slam | Worgen Infiltrator | Cleave (Best 1-drop or cheap removal? Thiiink removal.)

Faceless Manipulator | Brawl | Hungry Crab (need dat AoE)

Dark Iron Dwarf | Faerie Dragon | Inner Rage (Haven't used Dwarf since they nerfed him. Previously I'd have taken him, but now I'm thinking Faerie Dragon.)

Leeroy Jenkins_ | Milhouse Manastorm | Bloodmage Thalnos (Seriously, Thalnos could be 2/1 at least... I guess Leeroy? I'm tempted by Milhouse for sick early pressure, but the cost isn't worth it.)

Fiery Waraxe | Inner Rage | Silver Hand Knight (Weapons for my Upgrade. I don't dare passing it up even if I do like the Knight.)

Archmage | Stormpike Commando | Cleave (I don't like either of these for a Warrior deck. Cleave again I think.)

Execute | Arathi Weaponsmith | Acidic Swamp Ooze (I like having one Execute, but the Ooze wins here.)

Lord of the Arena | Cleave | Argent Squire (Is it bad that I want to take a third Cleave? I decide that it's not. But yeah, hold on those now.)

Mind Control Tech | Ancient Watcher | Commanding Shout (Need 3-drops, but Tech isn't on-curve. Still the others are 2-costs and I already have twice as many 2-costs as I have any other thing in the deck (and out of those, half are Cleaves). Tech it is.)

Arathi Weaponsmith | Loot Hoarder | Spiteful Smith (Spiteful Smith is interesting, but can I make it work? Uncertain. Going for early-game.)

Cobold Geomancer | Inner Rage | Cult Master (Cult Master is pretty cool. He draws cards and doesn't afraid of anything.)

Shieldbearer | Heroic Strike | Stormpike Commando (The Battlecry makes it just slightly better than Heroic Strike. I think.)

Ogre Magi | Charge | Stonetusk Boar (With the Cleaves I have, maybe Ogre Magi is motivated? I also need 4-drops.)

Acolyte of Pain | Tauren Warrior | Harvest Golem (Not even a choice.)

Darkscale Healer | Stranglethorn Tiger | Stormwind Knight (I've grown to appreciate the Knight, but the Tiger is the right one here I think.)

Battle Rage | Grimscale Oracle | Kobold Geomancer (I think Trump has the Oracle as the worst arena card? Anyway, I think I'll take some more card draw and call it enough after that.)

Warsong Commander | Chillwind Yeti | Abusive Sergeant (Yeah.)

Rampage | Voodoo Doctor | Stormwind Champion (Yeah.)

Lorewalker Cho | Sylvanas Windrunner | Alexstrasza (Two legendary picks? I'm cool with that. I think Sylvie (can I call her that without becoming a zombie?) is right here, yes?)

Raging Worgen | Stonetusk Boar | Rampage (I have no secure way of triggering the Worgen, so I think I'll go Rampage here.)

Shield Block | Execute | Shattered Sun Cleric (3-drops. Would have liked that Execute though.)

Raging Worgen | Murloc Raider | Leper Gnome (Fine, I guess I'll take the damn Worgen.)

Rampage | Arathi Weaponsmith | Shield Block (I... kind of have to like another Rampage. Mostly because I don't really like the Weaponsmith.)

Frost Elemental | Acolyte of Pain | Raging Worgen (Some beef.)

Fiery Waraxe | Wolf Rider | Charge (More axes.)

Voodoo Doctor | Earthen Ring Farseer | Stranglethorn Tiger (More tigers. Can't go wrong with more tigers.)

Heroic Strike | Ironbeak Owl | Oasis Snapjaw (Screw it, the animals suck. Moar removal.)

Murloc Tidehunter | Mad Bomber | Oasis Snapjaw (The others just suck!)

Lightwarden | Ancient Mage | Azure Drake (Finally a quality pick.)

Final mana curve: 0-1-13-4-4-5-2-1. Man, this is a 0-3 deck if I ever saw one.

Karoht

2014-01-23, 06:17 PM

Lorewalker Cho? He's got some odd synergies but he can be pretty effective. If you have board advantage and you drop Cho, it really forces the opponent to think very carefully. I love it when they burn a Silence (especially from a creature instead of a spell) to shut him down. Amazing Silence bait really. If they use a spell to do it, you get a free silence on something, which will only help you reinforce your board advantage.

I drew Cho in arena my 3rd time out. Because he never attacked, he very rarely got targeted. I'm pretty sure the Priest I was playing against was very mad when I used a pair of Holy Nova's back to back to regain board advantage. The heal was enough for me to regain my momentum and bought me time. He then double nova'd the following round, then there was a slight pause, followed by a "well played" before he ended his turn. And then my minions finished him off (I chose not to show off with yet another double nova). Basically, I got him overly excited by handing him back 2 holy nova's, so he had no mana to do anything else, and he lost. Of course, maybe his hand sucked and that was why he double nova'd hoping it would buy him time as well.

Play a Cho and a Millhouse together, I'm curious to see how that would go down. The psychology hiccup of "Yay, free spells! But... waaaaaait..."

ShinyRocks

2014-01-23, 06:41 PM

(Cult Master is pretty cool. He draws cards and doesn't afraid of anything.)

I love you.

Karoht

2014-01-23, 07:32 PM

Cobold Geomancer | Inner Rage | Cult Master (Cult Master is pretty cool. He draws cards and doesn't afraid of anything.)
4 mana, plus cards and a decent trade?
Oh man, how do I keep forgetting this card exists? HOW?

Cult Master + Release the Hounds?
What is this? All the cards! Great options! So confuse!

Weimann

2014-01-23, 07:44 PM

Memes aside, Cult Master actually is pretty cool. Though I've discovered I had it wrong; in fact, she doesn't afraid of anything. And she served me well in the deck too.

Warrior arena ended 5-3. Pack, 60g and 45g. Significantly better than expected with such a spell-heavy and situation-dependant draft. I'd probably not pick three Cleaves again, that is at least one too much. Also, probably only one Rampage. I'm happy with the outcome.

Zevox

2014-01-23, 10:34 PM

Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh. :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

Guys. Guys. That Mage arena run I started yesterday? This happened:

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u86/Zevox/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014222325.png (http://s166.photobucket.com/user/Zevox/media/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014222325.png.html)
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u86/Zevox/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014222435.png (http://s166.photobucket.com/user/Zevox/media/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014222435.png.html)

And the pack had:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u86/Zevox/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014222507.png (http://s166.photobucket.com/user/Zevox/media/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014222507.png.html)
Yeah, wow, never imagined that from an arena deck with only a couple of epics and largely mediocre higher-cost cards. Especially since I've never done better than 7-3 before. Even the losses were close enough that I'm pretty sure I could've won them with a couple of different plays, too.

Pretty sure I'm gonna disenchant the Nozdormu, as I don't see myself ever using it. Think now's a good time to start saving dust for a legendary - probably Ragnaros, I think.

Edit: And since I was now sitting on over 400 gold, I decided to just straight up buy a pair of packs. One was nothing special, but the other got me a Faceless Manipulator. Wow, this has been a good day for me in this game. :smallbiggrin:

The Glyphstone

2014-01-23, 10:59 PM

All the Raeg.:smallfurious::smallbiggrin:

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-23, 11:04 PM

Grats, been able to curving out well is generally going to be better than having a few powerful cards. After all, it doesn't matter if your deck has 2 or 3 legendaries if you're dead by the time you could use them.

As AgentPaper already said, you can't try to force a strategy in drafts. This isn't constructed where you can control what you're playing.

Shadowstep / Ironforge Rifleman / Sprint
There are a lot of Battlecry cards and a card that costs no mana is brilliant for combos.
Sprint on the other hand is always good and doesn't rely on cards that you may or may not get.

Ironforge Rifleman / Dire Wolf Alpha / Novice Engineer
Card draw? Card draw.
Post nerf Engineer is mediocre at best even in rogue. I'd take another Dire Wolf Alpha here.

Sap / Archmage / Bloodfen Raptor
Sap is only situationally useful and while the Raptor is combo-friendly, I do have eight 2-cost cards already.
Sap is a nice tempo card though and you're definately not playing control here so Archmage makes no sense

Fen Creeper / Sen'jin Shieldmasta / Acidic Swamp Ooze
I need Taunt badly and the bigger, the better.
I'd never pay 1 more for 1 health when I have Tazdingo available.

Nightblade / Silver Hand Knight / Assassin's Blade
I really like Silver Hand Knight, plus he has a Battlecry I can reuse.
You're going overboard with your thinking that any Battlecry is good. While Silver Hand Knight is an acceptable pick, Assassin's Blade would be my choice here.

Shadowstep / Razorfen Hunter / Windfury Harpy
I'm probably overdoing it with the Battlecry recycling now...
Yep, should have taken the Razorfen.

Upgrade! | Frothing Berserker | Mortal Strike (Question, if one plays a Berserker with a Warsong Commander in the field, and the Berserker grows significantly in that first turn, does he still retain the Charge quality? Anyway, taking Upgrade here.)
Berserker will still have Charge. I'd take Frothing Berserker over Upgrade first pick. If I already had a few decent weapons and this was near the end of the draft, then I'd take Upgrade but not as first pick.

Dark Iron Dwarf | Faerie Dragon | Inner Rage (Haven't used Dwarf since they nerfed him. Previously I'd have taken him, but now I'm thinking Faerie Dragon.)
Nothing wrong with DID even post nerf but Faerie Dragon's good too.

Lord of the Arena | Cleave | Argent Squire (Is it bad that I want to take a third Cleave? I decide that it's not. But yeah, hold on those now.)
Third Cleave probably is overkill here.

Shieldbearer | Heroic Strike | Stormpike Commando (The Battlecry makes it just slightly better than Heroic Strike. I think.)
I'd take Heroic Strike, it's basically 2 mana removal that can hit face

Raging Worgen | Stonetusk Boar | Rampage (I have no secure way of triggering the Worgen, so I think I'll go Rampage here.)
You have no way of triggering Rampage by yourself either. I'd take the Worgen since at least it'll never be a dead card in your hand.

Rampage | Arathi Weaponsmith | Shield Block (I... kind of have to like another Rampage. Mostly because I don't really like the Weaponsmith.)
You picked Upgrade first pick and only have 1 weapon atm. Weaponsmith is a good card by itself. This should be an easy Weaponsmith pick even if you didn't have upgrade.

Zevox

2014-01-23, 11:30 PM

Pretty sure I'm gonna disenchant the Nozdormu, as I don't see myself ever using it. Think now's a good time to start saving dust for a legendary - probably Ragnaros, I think.
You know what? Screw saving. I just went through my collection and scrounged hard for dust, and managed to throw together enough to make Ragnaros right away. And damn am I happy about that :smallbiggrin: .

I did have to disenchant one of my Pyroblasts to jump-start it, taking advantage of the probably-not-gonna-last-much-longer full disenchant value of that, but it should be totally worth it. I'll just make it a priority to replace it when I can. And it was only one of the two, so I still have the other for my Mage decks.

AgentPaper

2014-01-24, 12:37 AM

You know what? Screw saving. I just went through my collection and scrounged hard for dust, and managed to throw together enough to make Ragnaros right away. And damn am I happy about that :smallbiggrin: .

I did have to disenchant one of my Pyroblasts to jump-start it, taking advantage of the probably-not-gonna-last-much-longer full disenchant value of that, but it should be totally worth it. I'll just make it a priority to replace it when I can. And it was only one of the two, so I still have the other for my Mage decks.

After this, I decided to buy a few packs with my excess gold to see if I could get enough dust to make one myself, since I hadn't actually played with Ragnaros much. And, well...

http://imageshack.com/a/img41/1433/6u7b.jpg

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-24, 12:47 AM

That's one of the most value packs ever. Gold Cabal Shadow Priest, Ragnaros, plus an (admittedly bad) epic and rare.

Zevox

2014-01-24, 12:47 AM

After this, I decided to buy a few packs with my excess gold to see if I could get enough dust to make one myself, since I hadn't actually played with Ragnaros much. And, well...

http://imageshack.com/a/img41/1433/6u7b.jpg
As I said in-game, congratulations on that. I had to disenchant 38 cards for mine, so you'd better believe I'm jealous.

Something I just had to share: first game I play my Ragnaros in, the first thing I do with him is kill my opponent's Ragnaros. And he then has no way to remove mine (Druid), so I end up winning because of it. Oh yes, I am liking this guy so much already. :smallcool:

Fleeing Coward

2014-01-24, 01:21 AM

Blizz must be sneaking in extra Ragnaros into those packs because I got one yesterday too. Unfortunately, it's just 400 dust to me since Rag was the first Legendary I crafted ages ago :smalltongue:

Temotei

2014-01-24, 01:51 AM

Alright, so Arena again, though this is the first time I've consulted with you guys.

I'm going to try a different format. If you don't like it, just let me know and I'll change it up next time.

{table=head]#|Card 1|Card 2|Card 3
Hero|Mage|Shaman|Warlock
1|Mountain Giant|Faceless Manipulator|Southsea Captain
2|Murloc Tidehunter|Harvest Golem|Voodoo Doctor
3|Stormwind Champion|Spiteful Smith|Lord of the Arena
4|Reckless Rocketeer|Flesheating Ghoul|Frostwolf Grunt
5|Frostbolt|Darkscale Healer|Arcane Intellect
6|Loot Hoarder|Fireball|Flesheating Ghoul
7|Frostbolt|Mirror Entity|Loot Hoarder
8|Coldlight Oracle|Counterspell|Azure Drake
9|Tauren Warrior|Spiteful Smith|Nightblade
10|Imp Master|Kirin Tor Mage|Ethereal Arcanist
11|Silver Hand Knight|Frost Elemental|Frostbolt
12|Harvest Golem|Argent Squire|Ice Lance
13|Stormwind Champion|Sorcerer's Apprentice|Arcane Missiles
14|Mirror Entity|Core Hound|Elven Archer
15|Silver Hand Knight|Bloodsail Raider|Ice Barrier
16|Grimscale Oracle|Bluegill Warrior|Cone of Cold
17|Arcane Explosion|Kobold Geomancer|Thrallmar Farseer
18|War Golem|Ironforge Rifleman|Ice Barrier
19|Frostbolt|Oasis Snapjaw|Ice Barrier
20|Kirin Tor Mage|Coldlight Oracle|Twilight Drake
21|Young Dragonhawk|Arcane Missiles|Silver Hand Knight
22|Ice Barrier|Faerie Dragon|Acolyte of Pain
23|Chillwind Yeti|Raging Worgen|Frost Nova
24|Frostwolf Grunt|Frostbolt|Dalaran Mage
25|Sunwalker|Young Priestess|Pint-Sized Summoner
26|Frost Nova|Stormpike Commando|Loot Hoarder
27|Sen'jin Shieldmasta|Boulderfist Ogre|Mad Bomber
28|Priestess of Elune|Youthful Brewmaster|Abusive Sergeant
29|Youthful Brewmaster|Priestess of Elune|Ogre Magi
30|Demolisher|Secretkeeper|Twilight Drake[/table]

1: Mountain Giant is hard to get out reliably. Faceless Manipulator has utility.
2: Easy choice.
3: Stormwind Hampion (because really, he's more of a ham than Scooby and Jarvan put together) because it's simply better than Lord of the Arena and Spiteful Smith wouldn't be that great in a Mage deck.
4: Flesheating Ghoul seems difficult to keep going consistently, while Rocketeer does at least 5 damage right away.
5: Y'know, I'm not sure I made the right choice here. Card draw is always good, but I was just feeling that control. Dunno.
6: Took Fireball because TEH DAMAGEZ (control/hero damage), though Loot Hoarder is pretty nice.
7: I got another chance at Loot Hoarder and took it. Mind if I roll Neeeeed?
8: Again, not sure I made the right choice. Azure Drake's card draw seems like a nice little battlecry and the +1 spell damage might help for one or two turns. I went with Counterspell for defense, I guess.
9: I actually thought I was playing a Paladin for a moment here and picked the Spiteful Smith. Oops. Should have probably gone with Nightblade, though it's not the end of the world.
10: Hmm. Imp Master is really good, though the mage is 4/3 for 3 and it has the added benefit with secrets, which is...well, it's there. Maybe more secrets will come up and it'll pay off well. I'm not very knowledgeable on Mage secrets other than Ice Barrier and Counterspell, though. Isn't there a freezing one?
11: Silver Hand Knight is a good card. Frost Elemental's battlecry is decent, but my mana curve is already somewhat skewed toward the right and I think SHK is slightly better overall.
12: Two is better than one, right?
13: Thankful for a 2 drop. It's 3/2 for 2 and it has a nice effect attached. I like.
14: Well, yeah. I need cheap cards and Core Hound isn't very good in the first place. Mirror Entity seems too unreliable to be very good. Maybe the Elven Archer's battlecry will get me some Fireblast kills or something.
15: It was this or Ice Barrier. Decided to stick with another minion that I liked rather than a secret I don't really like.
16: Yeah.
17: Kobold Geomancer helps out with my mana curve a little and adds a nice boost to the spells I've been getting.
18: War Golem is okay, but I decided to go for the cheaper secret. Ironforge Rifleman is meh.
19: Hey, look, another Frostbolt. It was this or Oasis Snapjaw, which has a really weird distribution stat-wise for a 4-drop. Decided to go for extra control/removal.
20: Hrm. Twilight Drake seems like a decent choice, but at the same time, I feel the need for a few more lower drops, even if they're 3s.
21: Not much of a choice here. Young Dragonhawk is trash and Arcane Missiles isn't much better. Another SHK it is, then.
22: Thank you, 2 drop. Acolyte of Pain would probably only last through one card draw unless I got some Taunts out...and I haven't had a Taunt pick yet.
23: Yetiiiiiiiii. Thought about Nova for a moment, but Yeti beard, so there was no choice. Yeti's awesome.
24: Another Frostbolt or an expensive 1/4 +1 spell damage minion. Figured more Frostbolts could never hurt.
25: Taunt and Divine Shield on a single minion is really nice, and I'm feeling a little more confident in my mana distribution by this point. Besides, Pint-Sized Summoner basically requires protection and Young Priestess benefits highly from it. Also, the Priestess just doesn't seem that great. It being a low drop was tempting (same with Pint-Sized), but ultimately, feeling the Sunwalker.
26: I like card draw. What can I say?
27: Nice cards. Sen'jin is really solid and more Taunt would be nice.
28: Hey, two good low-mana drops. Chose Abusive Sergeant for dat battlecry.
29: I was given another chance. I'll take it. I think another 2-drop would be more useful than a 4-drop. Ogre Magi is okay, though. Just not feeling it.
30: Another chance at Twilight Drake. I'll take it. Demolisher would be okay, but I have little protection for it and plenty of control and removal already. This should do nicely.

So, yeah. Comments? I feel like I messed up a few times in there, at least.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-24, 01:59 AM

Well, the Rogue draft I made yesterday did surprisingly well. I suspect it has something to do with two sea giants plus molten giant. Those guys carried me. Memorable play of the day: Gurubashi Berserker on the board, opponent plays tazdingo, hits me with Imp Master summons. Molten Giant into Cold Blood on the berserker, kills tazdingo, becomes 9/4. Follow that with knife juggler, then Our Town Scrub, then Jungle Panther, and the juggler pings off all the summons leaving him with an empty board.

Anyways, result:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n199/ArtemistheHunter/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014224925_zps0326ee32.p ng
12-2, aww yeah. Giants pretty good, you guys.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n199/ArtemistheHunter/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014224948_zps17df106f.p ng
I am somewhat dissapoint. Two gold rares, neither of which is super good, and a non gold rare, which is definitely bad. Also only 225 gold.

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n199/ArtemistheHunter/Hearthstone_Screenshot_1232014225011_zpsa8bac1c7.p ng
Pack had Force of Nature, though, so I've got that going for me.

Krade

2014-01-24, 02:42 AM

On the recommendation of friends, I started playing this last night. Seems pretty fun so far. Just finished my first arena run. Got 3 wins (1 of which from an Ice Block and a timely drawing of Pyroblast the next turn). All my losses were fairly thorough beat downs, though. Haven't gotten anything spectacular or messed around with the crafting yet.

Destro_Yersul

2014-01-24, 02:50 AM

Alright, so Arena again, though this is the first time I've consulted with you guys.

I'm going to try a different format. If you don't like it, just let me know and I'll change it up next time.

So, yeah. Comments? I feel like I messed up a few times in there, at least.

Comments! I modified your format slightly.

Frostbolt|Mirror Entity|Loot Hoarder
Coldlight Oracle|Counterspell|Azure Drake
Imp Master|Kirin Tor Mage|Ethereal Arcanist
Mirror Entity|Core Hound|Elven Archer
War Golem|Ironforge Rifleman|Ice Barrier
Kirin Tor Mage|Coldlight Oracle|Twilight Drake
Sen'jin Shieldmasta|Boulderfist Ogre|Mad Bomber
Priestess of Elune|Youthful Brewmaster|Abusive Sergeant

7: I got another chance at Loot Hoarder and took it. Mind if I roll Neeeeed?
I think the frostbolt is better. You got tons of them later, but at this point you didn't know that would happen.
8: Again, not sure I made the right choice. Azure Drake's card draw seems like a nice little battlecry and the +1 spell damage might help for one or two turns. I went with Counterspell for defense, I guess.
Drake would be correct. Counterspell doesn't usually hit something valuable.
10: Hmm. Imp Master is really good, though the mage is 4/3 for 3 and it has the added benefit with secrets, which is...well, it's there. Maybe more secrets will come up and it'll pay off well. I'm not very knowledgeable on Mage secrets other than Ice Barrier and Counterspell, though. Isn't there a freezing one?
I think the Imp Master wins here, simply because it doesn't die to two drops.
14: Well, yeah. I need cheap cards and Core Hound isn't very good in the first place. Mirror Entity seems too unreliable to be very good. Maybe the Elven Archer's battlecry will get me some Fireblast kills or something.
This is pretty close, but I wouldv'e gone with the Entity. It's more expensive than archer, but what it gets you will usually be better. Sometimes it's amazing.
18: War Golem is okay, but I decided to go for the cheaper secret. Ironforge Rifleman is meh.
Ice Barrier is the worst secret in Arena. Golem or Rifleman are both better, leaning towards golem unless you're low on early game.
20: Hrm. Twilight Drake seems like a decent choice, but at the same time, I feel the need for a few more lower drops, even if they're 3s.
Drake is probably better. It's close, though.
27: Nice cards. Sen'jin is really solid and more Taunt would be nice.
Unless you have lots of late-game already, Ogre wins over Tazdingo. Tazdingo is good, though.
28: Hey, two good low-mana drops. Chose Abusive Sergeant for dat battlecry.
Sergeant is pretty bad. The brewmaster is a better pick.

Gandariel

2014-01-24, 04:50 AM

So i got Hearthstone, and i already have the funniest game to tell:

I was leveling my Paladin charachter to level 10, and i fought this guy.
At turn six, he pops out a golden legendary 6/6 for 6, Gelbin Mekkatorque or soemthing like this. The effect of the card was to summon an invention, chosen at random from a list.
so, what he got was "Repair Bot". a 0/3 card that said "At the end of your turn, restore 6 health to a random damaged charachter".

He was at full health, and all other minions were not damaged. Yeah, he just healed me for free.

I played around that card, so i killed his other minions and didn't touch his HP.
The result was, i got healed for 18 HP :D (and in two occasions i was the only damaged charachter in play)
After that, i was so far ahead that i smashed his repair bot and then his face until i killed him :D

So yeah, fun times

Weimann

2014-01-24, 05:05 AM

Gelbin can really make or break your game. That's Engineering for you. :smallamused:

Olinser

2014-01-24, 08:26 AM

mistformsquirrl

2014-01-24, 08:56 AM

Hey all! I just got started playing Hearthstone yesterday. So far I've been having a lot of fun with it, even if I've only been able to face the AI.*

That said, I'm failing pretty hard at the moment, it's taken me several tries to beat a few of the AI practice decks with my Mage deck** - any basic tips for a newbie?

*My internet is currently screwed up; I don't feel comfortable trying to play against a real person until I can be fairly confident I won't DC mid-match. That'd be rude.

**I have yet to try to modify said deck, so I'm just going with the basic cards it tosses at me at present.

Weimann

2014-01-24, 09:18 AM

The feeling when your opponent drafted five Blood Imps.

No really. Five Blood Imps in a single arena deck. So much health everywhere. I still won, but... five Blood Imps.

Olinser

2014-01-24, 09:24 AM

The feeling when your opponent drafted five Blood Imps.

No really. Five Blood Imps in a single arena deck. So much health everywhere. I still won, but... five Blood Imps.

Flamestrike says HAI

AmberVael

2014-01-24, 09:28 AM

That said, I'm failing pretty hard at the moment, it's taken me several tries to beat a few of the AI practice decks with my Mage deck** - any basic tips for a newbie?

Board control is key in Hearthstone. A lot of new players make the mistake of ignoring enemy creatures and hitting the opposing player in the face, but generally you want to trade your creatures for theirs as efficiently as possible. Prioritize keeping your creatures alive, even if they're at low health (since even a low health creature will demand another card or action from the opponent to remove). Once you have control of the board, then you can safely start beating up your opponent.

Efficiency. Trade as few of your cards as you can for as many of their cards as you can. Card advantage really wins games- keep it in mind. It's possible to go too far with this, but in my experience you'd rather go too efficient than too inefficient.

Key card memorization. Rather than just reacting to what cards your opponent plays, react to what they might play. The biggest ones to keep in mind are the board clear cards since they can change the game so thoroughly. If you anticipate and play with their best cards in mind, then you can reduce their effectiveness.
Here are the board clear cards:

Paladin: Consecrate. 4 mana, deal 2 damage to all enemy minions. Equality. 2 Mana, change the health of all minions to 1 (Equality can be paired with Wild Pyromancer to kill everything on the board- watch out for that).

Mage: Blizzard. 6 mana, deal 2 damage to all enemy minions and freeze them (used less often after it was changed from 5 mana to 6). Flamestrike, 7 mana, deal 4 damage to all enemy minions. (This is the mother of all board clear. Learn to hate it early.)

Priest: Holy Nova. 5 mana, deal 2 damage to all enemy characters, heal all friendly characters for 2.

Warlock: Hellfire. 4 mana, deal 3 damage to all characters. Twisting Nether. 8 mana, destroy all minions. (Both of these are seen infrequently, the latter especially).

Druid: Swipe. 4 mana, deal 4 damage to one enemy character, 1 damage to all other enemy characters. Starfall. 5 mana, either deal 5 damage to one enemy minion, or 2 damage to all enemy minions.

Shaman: Lightning Storm. 3 mana, deal 2 or 3 damage to each enemy minion, 2 overload. (The damage dealt is determined randomly for each minion. Watch out for this one, especially since Shaman can pair it up with their spellpower totem to boost it).

Warrior: Brawl. 5 mana, destroy all minions except one, which is chosen randomly. (You almost never see this one).

Rogue: Vanish. 6 mana, return all minions to their owner's hands. (I have NEVER seen this one used. Honestly I'm just listing it here for completion).