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Hearthstone: Because what Magic really needed was F2P mechanics

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I have no prior experience with CCGs/TCGs/any kind of CGs and just kind of blundered into this, but I'm already pretty hooked. It seems like they definitely wanted it to be simple and intuitive enough for the average player to learn, I've looked up a minimal amount of theory stuff so far and already feel like I have a decent handle on the basics. I appreciate that (at least early on) there's not a huge meta-game that I have to really obsess over to get anywhere (cough dota). Another part of that is being in early enough that the card pool isn't incomprehensibly huge, which is nice. At the moment I'm really just enjoying myself, win or lose, because the learning curve is at a really satisfying level for me where I feel like I'm constantly learning from my mistakes but never overwhelmed by them.

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Well, Magic is a card game and it wouldn't make sense to actually give out physical starter decks.

Wizards literally used to do this (and still may but I'm out of the loop).

Hearthstone looks interesting but I feel that the common mistake in games like this is to allow direct attacking of creatures by other creatures. The decision whether or not to block is too interesting to eliminate in my opinion.

I understand why they did it like this (no necessary player interaction on opponent's turn) but I don't like it.

Anyway, I'm signed up but haven't got a key yet. This turns out to be a good thing because I'm having way too much fun with Faeria anyway.

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Hearthstone looks interesting but I feel that the common mistake in games like this is to allow direct attacking of creatures by other creatures. The decision whether or not to block is too interesting to eliminate in my opinion.

I still really disagree that this is a more interesting decision to make. Trying to decide, for instance, whether it's worth using your 5/5 to destroy their 3/3, when this means you can't do 5 damage to them this turn, when this means your 5/5 becomes a 5/2 and is more vulnerable to removal, when this means they might drop a 9/5 after the removal that you will no longer have an answer to: All of this is way more interesting than them knowing that they can't attack with the 3/3 because it will just die to a 5/5 meat wall, so they may as well sacrifice it to prevent 5 damage.

 

Admittedly, that's also because Hearthstone has sustained damage, which is actually a really big deal and another thing that makes the game a lot more interesting IMO. If that weren't the case then, yeah, it might not be that interesting.

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I have been playing an absolute ton of Hearthstone. It's the first CCG I've played since I was a wee lad playing M:tG during recess. (My mom was concerned that my cards might get mixed up with those of my friends, so she wrote my initials on the back of each of my cards in permanent marker--thanks mom!) I'm really enjoying it: for me, it has the perfect mix of fairly light strategy/math with enough randomness to keep it exciting. Arena is super, super fun. I also am OK with the payment model. I spent $12 in the month that I've played, all on arena tickets, and I feel like that's a fair price. I've certainly gotten more than 12$ worth of pleasure out of the game so far.

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Arena basically ate my gaming time for a couple of weeks, and now I'm burned out. The game is just too shallow with the current card pool, I think.

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Still playing every few days to clear out my dailies and get some arena runs in. Even with the limited card pool I find myself behind on the meta and can't seem to put together a really killer deck in constructed. Murloc decks are fun, though.

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Still playing every few days to clear out my dailies and get some arena runs in. Even with the limited card pool I find myself behind on the meta and can't seem to put together a really killer deck in constructed. Murloc decks are fun, though.

You can build a legitimately powerful murlock for very little dust indeed. Check reddit or hearthpwn for variations on decklists

Overall for a card game still in its first set I think HS is doing pretty well, however I do think they need to have a think about just how powerful card draw has become in this meta game. And perhaps throw some nerfs at the one turn combo decks.

Unlike Mtg for instance there is very little hand disruption or counterspell type cards to hold them back which means it feels like the problem is just going to get worse.

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Well, they are patching out some of the warrior OTK decks this week: http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/forum/topic/11222562600?page=1

Wow that's some serious application of the nerf stick.

But all in all, much (if not all) of it deserved. Pretty much every top tier deck took a hit apart from Legandary Druids, and Control shamans (who arguably are boosted by the damage done to some of the high tempo decks).

It's good to see blizzard happy to shake up the meta so significantly, though I still retain my misgivings about the lack of traditional control elements and the sheer power level of legandaries.

It feels like we are bit by bit heading to a time where everyone build's 'good stuff' decks just picking cards on raw power rather than a overall synergy or strategy.

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I've downloaded the open beta client, so I guess I'm playing Hearthstone now! So far it's gorgeously illustrated and designed, I mean, wow. I instantly started clicking on all the details of the boards and was delighted that stuff started reacting - just little doodads in the backdrop. Nice.

 

I only played with Jaina, so far winning 8 out of the 10 battles I've done against live opponents. It feels good to slap your cards on the table, and the best is that you don't have to wait for all the (elaborate) animations to play out before giving further orders. Your entire turn can be thought out in advance, executed in a flurry and then watch as the board explodes with cards attacking and spells flying simultaneously until your enemy is a smoldering crater.

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I'm still on the fence. I can't be arsed learning to build a deck, but the arena is fun. Also, I don't think I want another game on my plate where patch notes are met with people threatening to uninstall.

 

The boards are indeed pretty, but I find the Scottish announcer and the pre game search wheel to be obnoxious. Everything feels sluggish to me as well, all the menus and dragging of cards.

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I'm still on the fence. I can't be arsed learning to build a deck, but the arena is fun. Also, I don't think I want another game on my plate where patch notes are met with people threatening to uninstall.

 

The boards are indeed pretty, but I find the Scottish announcer and the pre game search wheel to be obnoxious. Everything feels sluggish to me as well, all the menus and dragging of cards.

The main trick to enjoying it is to keep it casual.

It can be really tempting to take a deep dive on a game like HS where the mechanics are so close to the surface but at high levels it is very much a pay to win game in many respects and so can be deeply frustrating.

Legendary cards can often win games single handedly, so much so that the top deck in play mode is a Druid deck that comes stuffed with every legendary they can fit in.

If any one wants to talk about the sort of things you should keep in mind when building arena decks etc I'm happy to have go into more depth.

As for sluggishness well I can't say I've experienced much tbh, that or I've just become accustom to it, and I think I agree with Rodi generally regarding the way the animations are implemented.

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Tried this out on the weekend and ended up putting maybe 6 hours into it. I'm hooked into it but I kind of feel that luck is a determining factor in a lot of that games. The majority of games I paly seem to go one of two ways. The first is where one player gets an early advantage, and the other just can't cut into that advantage. The other game is the long game, where both players have expended their hands and are relying on the next draw to determine the game's outcome. I've had a small handful of games where the favour sways back and forth mid-game which is great. Maybe the further I dig into it, especially with deck-building and arena I'll get more of those back-and-forth games.

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Maybe the further I dig into it, especially with deck-building and arena I'll get more of those back-and-forth games.

 

That seemed to happen for me -- I would still get the occasional five-game streak where I felt like there was nothing I could do, but after a few days I would more often come away with at least some ideas of how I could have played better or balanced my deck better. It also depends a great deal on how "all or nothing" your build is. When I do get a game that flip-flops a few times throughout, I enjoy it so much that I grossly overuse the "Well Played" button. =T

 

I don't really mind getting obliterated if it's by something uncommon or unexpected (and I don't mind obliterating people if I do it while trying out some fancy new strategy I thought up). The thing I do mind is when I end up playing against three or four people in a row all using the same class and evidently the same deck. =\ I haven't played in a week or two though because I got randomly sucked back into King's Bounty (which is easier to pause for crying babies =P) so maybe that was a passing phase.

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I win almost every game I play with my Warlock deck, but man do i suck at the Arena. Further proof that my skill in collectible card games is in the deck building, not the deck playing.

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I win almost every game I play with my Warlock deck, but man do i suck at the Arena. Further proof that my skill in collectible card games is in the deck building, not the deck playing.

 

I think arena does help in that respect, because it forces you to make decisions about the potential value of cards in real time. Good arena decks usually come out of a deeper understanding of synergy, familiarity with cards, and awareness of your deck's overall mana curve.

 

That being said, playing Arena is still very much russian roulette. It's very fun once you happen to build a killer deck though. My best run is 5-3. 

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I think I need to get a better handle on what makes a good deck. I've tried deck building a few times, but I feel my creations have been pretty random. Probably doesn't help that I don't have all my characters levelled up to 10 to have all the basic cards. Are there any general guidelines as to what might make a good deck?

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I think I need to get a better handle on what makes a good deck. I've tried deck building a few times, but I feel my creations have been pretty random. Probably doesn't help that I don't have all my characters levelled up to 10 to have all the basic cards. Are there any general guidelines as to what might make a good deck?

 

Most decks are built with a certain playstyle in mind. Like if you want to overwhelm the opponent early, your deck should be mostly low mana minions and buff cards, which force the other player to kill them all or else they die.

 

Other decks are sort of the hard counter to the first type, built around a few early game minions, sometimes with heal and taunt, and a lot of removal (cards that do damage or kill minions). These decks aim to survive the first 6 or 7 mana turns and then come in with a crazy super strong card that the opponent wont have an anwer to because they used up all their shit earlier.

 

There is of course, a midrange kind of deck that trys to take the lead in the midgame, which usually will catch the Control (lategame) decks by surprise, where they might have used up all their removals and can't stop you.

 

Also when building, think about how you can string the cards together to preform some great effect. Priest has a fantastic minion that draws a card whenever any minion heals. It works really well if you support it with a lot of healing spells + the priests healing power. Another bread and butter example of a combo is polymorph fireball for mage.

 

Also being familiar with all the classes is good, but I rarely play anyone other than Priest and Druid, sometimes Warlock. I can't be bothered to finish leveling warrior paladin or shaman, cause i think they're pretty boring.

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Free pack of cards for those that already have it installed on PC/Mac if anyone needed further enticement...

 

I installed it a few days ago and found the initial hook to be great!  Mostly just doing practice and gaining levels and tying out the different heroes.

 

The initial game is fun, but I'm worried that the next step is about studying the meta game and constructing decks.  I was always TERRIBLE at this sort of thing with Magic.  Is this a game whose initial enjoyment fades until one has a sense of mastery?  Or can I just play it casually for a few months and the meta game will just naturally creep into my play?

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So I fell in love with this game, accidentally playing until 2am last night. However, I really suck. 

 

If anyone has any simple tips on deck building I'd be grateful. I've never played a CCG before because I know I'm the kind of person who will let it suck me in and spend all my money. A free to play game is different though as I can quite easily avoid micropayments, and if I like it I don't mind throwing £10 to say thank you BLizzard. Anyway! No idea where to start with deck building so a few basic pointers would be highly appreciated. 

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