Hearthstone

[PX]

Hmm...
Among the cards I got by opening packs, a sixth of my rares and a third of my epics are hunter cards, including such sweet stuff as getting 4x Call Pet within 13 GvG packs, as well as 3x Bestial Wrath. I think Blizzard is trying to tell me something.  :V

That you're getting crappy Hunter cards? :V

[Suikama]

Holy shit I was stuck on some Heroic bosses so then I decided hey why not try Patron

I fucking destroyed them

[Suikama]

haha get rek-

WAIT FUCK I'M ONE DAMAGE OFF NO STO-


OH GOD NO WHY I WAS SO CLOS-



oh ok

all heroics cleared :derp:

[Suikama]

this deck is silly

too bad i probably wont have enough time to hit legend

[Raikaria]

The way to beat Randuin.

Have a deck fill of literal garbage while being a Warlock.

[qMyon]

In case some of you haven't seen it yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAWYAFKLWe0

And Hearthstone goes advertising:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3KpSFHoBo4

[Raikaria]

In case some of you haven't seen it yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAWYAFKLWe0

This is awesome.

Also on the topic of Randuin, it almost feels like you're King Midas when you're using golden Thoughtsteals; Mindgames and Mind Visions. Everything you steal turns to gold~

[Raikaria]

Double post but this is big enough news I feel it's needed:

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19534827/the-innkeepers-tale-a-mysterious-patron-6-3-2015

It appears we are getting alternate heroes. Only time will tell if this is purely cosmetic or we get something like new hero powers for these heroes. [Eg: New Warrior dosen't get Armor Up; but gets some other hero power which suits a different playstyle to control]

Edit: Then they post a trailer and an explanation:

It's purely cosmetic [Alebit awesome]; but is also only proper ; specifically $9.99. First alt hero will be Magni Bronzebeard.

Also they specifically state the art is 'never before seen in the Blizzard Universe' which is a change from most HS art which is just lifted off the TCG.

====

In other news; I upgraded my 'Swarm Paladin' deck with a more reliable lategame. Now the swarm provides a mixture of earlygame pressure and trade power [Knife Jugglers; Dire Wolf Alphas; Equality...]; as well as draw engines with Cult Master/Solemn Vigil. While Bolvar is still in; now I'm running double Dragon Consort together with Nefarian [Can give me burst; which Pally lacks severely]; Onyxia [Whelps work with the deck's entire setup already] and Chromaggus [See: Onyxia]. Also I don't have Ysera or I'd run her as well.

But with the amount of draw I can get with this deck [I usually mulligan with the aim of getting a Cult Master and a decent couple of early drops] and the fact I can dictate the earlygame very well; it's quite reliable that I get a Consort -> Big Dragon.

Also there's those hilarious moments when you get two Nefarians thanks to Chromaggus. Work mentioning Consort lowers Chromaggus to 6; making Chro-Cult a 10 mana combo which literally refills the hand if I have a decent group of expendable minions.

Played against a Preist who knew he'd lost but stayed on just to see what on earth Chromaggius had done. I dropped double 9/7 Bolvar. Because.

[Iryan]

So, alternate avatars. It was only a matter of time. And the new warrior one is Magni Bronzebeard, king of the dwarves. Hm. I was expecting either Varian Wrynn or Muradin Bronzebeard, not his older brother, heh.

Now to speculate who the other alternates are gonna be...  :V
Mage: Kael'thas?
Druid: Hamuul Runetotem?
Priest: Tyrande? A troll maybe?
Rogue: Garona?
Paladin: Lady Liadrin? Or maybe a sunwalker?
Warlock: ...Fizzlebang??
Hunter: ...Nessignwary???
Shaman: ...some draenei? I have no idea...

[Suikama]

note to patron warrior players



using all your cards to gain armor isn't a good idea



RIP

[Suikama]

:O





Also have exactly 1000 play mode wins wow how did that line up so perfectly

[Iryan]

I've been playing a bit more arena recently, and I was wondering how well everyone here tends to do there, as a point of reference.  :3

I am currently sitting at 83 wins over the course of 19 arena runs for an average of ~4.4, with my highest number of wins so far having been 8 (twice). Even though I don't think this is particularly good, I am rather happy with it, since from what I can tell, an average of more than 4 means running arena is worth it in terms of gold-spending.

Too bad it only gives gvg-packs, but whatever. Interested to see how it will be handled when another -big- expansion hits.

[Bio]

I go 6-0 then lose 3 times. 70% of the time. It's become an in joke with my friends.

[Kiro]

In regards to arena, here's my HearthArena profile with numbers I am reasonably proud of:

http://www.heartharena.com/profile/kiro

I highly recommend HearthArena and use it for all my runs now, primarily to act as a second opinion while drafting. After using it for long enough, I value its recommended picks most of the time even if my initial gut reaction is a different card. Trust in the numbers and amount of raw data they are collecting. There are a few exceptions though (for instance, my current draft is a Warlock and I absolutely despise drafting Succubus so I passed on those). Also, Fel Reaver is a difficult card to use and should not be taken at all unless you're very comfortable in arena. Otherwise, put your trust in their numbers, read their basic deck archetype description and try to play it that way even if it's not your style.

It amuses me that if I always go second, I'm a 5 win player and if I always go first, I'm a 7 win player. I guess based on this, the ability to swing the game with the Coin is the hardest thing to master in Arena as it is only a 1 turn swing. While playing a mirror match, my heart drops if I go second because it allows the opponent to get their Druid of the Claw, or Fire Elemental out before you, as a rough example. On the flip side, if the opponent makes a Coin play, devote your stronger resources to deal with it if you can as that is the only real swing they will get due to being one mana behind through the first 10 turns. At the moment, one of the best Coin plays I can think of in recent times is to Coin a Piloted Shredder on Turn 3. That card is such a pain to deal with.

It really does suck that we are forced into GvG packs as Arena rewards and not given a choice, but otherwise, Arena is the best way to get better at Hearthstone. Once you've seen the meta decks in Constructed, there seems to be very little growth you can achieve until the meta shifts dramatically. Arena is often an interesting mix of bad cards, bad players, and the occasional bullshit comboes and starts that make you shake your head in futility. I love it. Feel free to add me on NA Kiro#1584 and I will tend to spectate Arena matches if I see Friends playing.

[Iryan]

In regards to arena, here's my HearthArena profile with numbers I am reasonably proud of:

http://www.heartharena.com/profile/kiro

...damn those statistics are nice. I might make a profile there just for that.

starts that make you shake your head in futility

I think the decisively GrEaTeSt start I have seen was when watching a friend play. The enemy druid started with coin + innervate + swipe to the face. Just...  :V


Edit:
New hero silhuettes revealed. Mage is like 95% Medivh, hunter is a female elf of some kind, likely Sylvanas's youngest sister or maybe the night-elven archer general.

Also new game mode announced. How about that.

[Raikaria]

EVERYONE GET IN HERE! [Not actually to do with Patrons; but a new game mode]

[Suikama]

Hunters.mp3

[Raikaria]

Found that days ago from Trolden.

It's pretty much perfect.

===

Edit:

I just played against a Preist. Nothing strange there.

What was strange is that he played THREE Shrinkmeisters. In a single turn. I'm a Paladin so he didn't Thoughtsteal one.

[Iryan]

I just played against a Preist. Nothing strange there.

What was strange is that he played THREE Shrinkmeisters. In a single turn. I'm a Paladin so he didn't Thoughtsteal one.

Pandas?

[Raikaria]

Pandas?

No; he played #1; #2; #3 in a row. All three on the board simultaneously. This was constructed. Not Arena. And no it wasn't Faceless. They were all played from the hand.

I should have screenshotted it; 3 different screenshots proving each in the log didn't say 'created by X'. Also I was Pally; so no he didn't thoughtsteal Echo of Mediev either [If I was playing my 'Random Fire' deck then maybe]. I can only assume it was some weird bug; since I doubt if somewere were to actively cheat to have multiple of a card; they wouldn't choose Shrinkmeisters.

It was on his last turn; he'd lost anyway. I'd thrown down a 21 attack Bolvar [Thanks Onyxia] after he'd used a Mind Control [Chromaggius] and 2 SWD [Onyxia and a Consort]

Speaking of; I've been playing a RNG mage. Great fun. Wins surprisingly often. About the only cards in the deck which are technically not RNG are Duplicate [But it's duplicateing cards with RNG]; Fireball [But it fits the explosions and fire everywhere]; and Arcane Intellect [But Mage draw sucks]. Although I guess calling Clockwork Gnomes and Mech Yetis 'RNG' for their spare parts might be pushing it.

But hey; it's using ALL THE BOMBERS [Spoiler: Madder Bomber is the least useful card in the deck] and Demolishers and Flamewakers and everything. It's almost hilarious how much damage i can spray and pray. The deck basically auto-loses to Warrior but most mage decks do.

[Mr. Sacchi]

...he'd used a Mind Control [Chromaggius]...

...I think I found your "bug".

[Raikaria]

Ah. But even then; usually a card created by Chromaggus says 'created by Chromaggus'.

Also Tavern Brawl is out in EU. Nefarian OP. He's won every game I've played so far.

Also in case anyone is wondering; his attack quote is just roaring.

Edit: Took 6 games to see a Rag win; and that was me winning, because I got 2 early Moltens while Nef didn't get a 'screw you' card from his hero power like he did a couple of times before. [Seriously; open the gates into Soul of the Forest? Bane of Doom into Mal'Ganis?] And he didn't draw Velestraz. 6 games for a Rag win. Yeeeah.

[Iryan]

Nef does seem stronger than Rag. I think the two main reasons for that is mainly that Rag's lower starting amount of mana crystals mean he cannot play much if anything of the normal cards in his deck until the game has gone on for some time, so he can get screwed by the RNG there and generally has less options until later in the game. I think ragnaros is stronger in the late game though, partially due to his cards just costing virtually nothing at that point (and he still has card draw in his deck as well!), and unless your opponent has a ton of little minions, which does not happen that often, his hero power is actually really powerful, whereas Nefarian's will quite frequently give you such useful cards as sense demons, deadly poison, moonfire or Tree of Life (heal yourself to 30 and your enemy to 60? Sure!).

All in all, yes, it is not balanced, but it isn't meant to be. It is just silly fun, and it definitely provides that. Plus, free card pack!  :]

[Raikaria]

I always see Nef's hero power giving clutch cards when needed.

And people keep saying Rag wins late but of all the combined games I've played and stream games I've seen that is very rarely the case. Nef basically gets 2 draws every turn and probobly has an insane lead already. And his lategame can still trade blow for blow with Rag; all it needs is Rag's hero power to hit face once or twice for Nef to be almost assured the win.

Assumeing Rag even lives to Turn 6.

I mean I'm hearing of people just instaconcedeing when they get Rag because it's that imbalanced. From personal experience and what I've seen; the matchup is no better than 15:85.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

I've lost every time I played as Nefarian and won most of my games as Ragnaros.
Then again, for some reason I never draw that 7/7 discount card among some of the other snowballing legendaries whenever I play Nefarian.

[Iryan]

And his lategame can still trade blow for blow with Rag; all it needs is Rag's hero power to hit face once or twice for Nef to be almost assured the win.

Nef's hero power is actually far less reliable than Rag's, in my experience. A lot of the spells you can get have very little effect compared with the powerful cards that make up the decks of both players. Sure, you can get something like Sprint or Mind Control, but you sure can't bank on it. I'd say a good third of the spells you can get don't affect the state of the game all that much.

I mean I'm hearing of people just instaconcedeing when they get Rag because it's that imbalanced.

That  could also be because Nef is just plain more FUN to play as, since you have more leeway to use your mana early on and your hero power is a lot more interesting.

[PX]

That  could also be because Nef is just plain more FUN to play as, since you have more leeway to use your mana early on and your hero power is a lot more interesting.

Hey, Magma Ragers is a great hero ability :V
Played only as Rag, 2-1 without ever using the hero ability :V

[Iryan]

So. Apparently new brawl mode is pretty bananas. I immediately made a deck

Spoiler:

with lots of "on spell" triggers like mana wyrm and violet teacher, as well as minions that spawn stuff when they die

. Seems to work quite nicely, despite being unrefined.   :3

...made the deck, 5/0 so far.  Maybe I should try something else at some point.  :derp:

[Raikaria]

This mode is a lot better than last week's. I won against a mill Druid using my Swarm Pally.

I fully intend to try and make a deck which abuses Troggs; and Warrior deck with that '+1+1 every targeted cast' dragon + Charge.

Also we got a 10th deckslot [Apparently Blizzardo thinks more than 1 brawl deck is too confusing]

[Suikama]

i won without seeing a single banana somehow

so much for the gimmick