While there are many things I look forward to this year in gaming, one of my long term goals is to see if I can crack Rank 10 or better in Hearthstone. Though I can't remember for sure, Rank 15 is about the best I have done. For some perspective, Blizzard stated last year that 75% of Hearthstone players are rated between Rank 25 and Rank 15. My goal is to be part of that top 7.5% of players.
Where Have You Been?
For the completely uninitiated, Hearthstone is a free-to-play collectible card game in the Warcraft world. It is available via Battle.net on PC, iOS (iPads only), and was recently added to Android tablets. Each player selects a hero and compiles a deck of thirty cards that will be used to reduce the opponent's health to 0. Heroes fall within different classes and possess a special ability and class-specific cards at their disposal. Gameplay is based on maximizing effective use of cards with limited resources as to when and how cards can be played. Game Informer awarded Hearthstone its Competitive Multiplayer Game of the Year.
Why Now?
Along with the release of Hearthstone on Android tablets, Blizzard released the Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion in December, introducing over 100 new cards to the mix. Being limited to the iPad (my wife's tablet of choice) did prevent me from playing as much Hearthstone via portable device than I would have liked. But the introduction of the new cards was something that intrigued me and re-ignited my interest in the game.
I have only really dipped my toe in to see how serious people are about their Hearthstone. There are no shortage of sites and forums devoted to the game. I saw a lot of talk about the Meta and have been scared away. But as complex as the game can be, it has always seemed fair and rewarding of the time you spend learning and mastering new techniques.
I always wanted to be good at Hearthstone, but I grasped at the "free-to-play, but pay-to-win" excuse. I want to believe it's not necessary to pay a lot, and the truth be told, I have spent some money on Naxxramas DLC and an occasional $20 pack of cards. While I think there is certainly truth to legendary cards making decks, I think taking the long view, I can get what I need by grinding is also true.
With the new cards, a) not everyone will have them all yet and b) people are still figuring out ways to use them. So while I may not be getting in on the ground floor, my Hearthstone history has me with a good deal of the regular decks, a few legendaries, and a start on the GvG. I did make the choice earlier on to "abandon" certain heroes and have disenchanted their class specifics. Rogue, Warlock and Warrior I never quite liked their style though I've certainly lost my fair share to all.
So What's the Plan?
Much like a coinciding plan to get healthier this year, I am going to try and gut it out on my own for a little bit. It's probably a big mistake, but I'm trying to remind myself, it's a marathon, not a sprint. So instead of falling into the Meta, finding a tried and true deck and going out there with "proven" cards in hand, I'd like to think that I've seen enough and played enough that I have some ideas of what I could and should do.
My daily goal is to complete the available challenges. The dailies typically offer 40 gold for completion, sometimes more. I figure every other day or so, I will have enough gold to buy a new pack of cards (100g). Ten gold is also rewarded for every three wins and I believe I have seen you can earn up to 100 gold per day this way. I don't think I will be able to play and win thirty times every day. That is a lot of Hearthstone.
I am looking if there is a single character to stick with for my ranked play. The challenges will often require different classes be used. I think I probably need to be better about an explicit strategy. I have vaguely set decks up with early game and end game in mind, but I don't always take into account defense and flexibility. I think about the bell curve of where and when my cards fall and I have not been really convinced one way or the other which is best. When I did get to Rank 15, I used a lot of low level minions and tried to overwhelm early. The rush is fine until your cards are tapped or can't deliver the finishing blow to the heavies.
I am experimenting with the Beast-centered Hunter (much to my own chagrin). I have used and liked the divine shield inspired Paladin deck. I am looking into combinations of early Murloc use in a Shaman deck. For finishes, I had relied on Leeroy with the Faceless Manipulator or Youthful Brewmaster. Blizzard certainly has an eye on what's OP and does a good job tweaking those cheaper tactics (Release the Hounds, e.g.).
I am going to give myself the month of February to go solo and see where things are. I wonder if I should be heading to the Arena to maximize gold, but typically, I find myself with little success and the game is played quite differently there. I would like to add Ragnaros and possibly The Black Knight to my legendary collection, but I'm not holding my breath on those. I hope to also get a better handle on the mech class and the GvG expansion in general.
We'll see what happens. I am Rank 19 today and got on a bit of a roll with the Murloc-inspired Shaman deck. I crafted a couple of Annoy-o-Trons. Here's to an exciting 2015 and some Hearthstone fun!
