All right so, this might sound like a salt thread but I'm really not feeling salty. I'm feeling a little defeated. It's my second season, and earlier this season I hit rank 11. Then I dropped to around 14/15, and right now I'm sitting at rank 18. This is while using Jade Aggro Shaman. Last season I hit rank 10 as my highest rank.
So I mean if I can't even climb ranks using this deck, I'm clearly doing a lot wrong. The problem I'm having is I don't know what to look at to figure out where I'm going wrong.
I know part of the problem is the current meta - it has settled out now and we're seeing a lot of more refined decks. Decks like Reno Mage and Renolock are doing well, as are the cancerous Pirate and Jade Shaman decks. Last season this was not exactly the case, it was still settling and the more refined decks were not quite there yet, so I shouldn't be too surprised at my easy climb, especially using Pirate Warrior.
In these circumstances I come to this forum and I'm looking for some advice. I've done a lot of reading on newbie guides, as well as watching tons of videos. I watch pro players often, usually on stream. I've spent a lot of time trying to learn the best way to make plays and whatnot, but I'm falling short, obviously. Rank 18 with a deck that is capable of Legend is terrible. I'm obviously just not very good at this game (yet).
Where do I start? I guess I should ask, if you were in my position, what was it that took you to the next level? I'm really trying hard to learn the decks and how to use them in every situation, but it seems like every time I learn something, the next game I play a new opponent that counters my previous thinking. All of this constant shifting is really challenging - I'm sure as you can imagine, this meta is really tough for a newbie like me. I think Chess is an easier game than this!
Cards certainly aren't the problem. I have a healthy collection and plenty of different decks I can use. I think the real problem is I don't know what the heck I am doing, to put it bluntly. I want to push forward and climb ranks, that's my number one goal. But I can't seem to find anything that is giving me an "aha" moment, that will take me forward. I keep playing game after game, most of the time not understanding why I am losing, so it's challenging for me to learn from that. When I play Shaman I feel like my losses are draw dependent - if I don't have the right cards against the right opponent, I will lose. But when I play Renolock or Reno Mage I actually can see where I go wrong because I have so many more choices, but then I seem to face a lot of decks that counter it (like Druid for example, or mirror matchups), so I stick to Aggro, but then I lose a lot with that too. It seems like I can't win and I know it's because I'm not making the right choices, but I can't figure out how to learn to make the right choices with this difficult meta and trying to learn the game.
The other part of my confusion is my previous success. No Rank 10 or 11 is not that great, but for a new player I thought it was a worthy achievement. But now I've dropped quite a ways from that and I'm stuck and I can't seem to figure out why I am now losing so much more. I can't even remember the last time I had a win streak - but I can definitely remember how many losing streaks I've had.
I am using a deck tracker, which is depressing to say the least when almost every deck is below 50% win rate. I have also watched Trump's teachings which definitely helped, but aren't enough.
Any pointers or advice you can give would be really helpful! I'd love to see where I'm going wrong and correct my mistakes so I can start to make favourable decisions and climb the ladder, and ultimately, have fun with HS.
After reading your text, you're definitely not trying hard to play well and to learn decks. You're just one of the new players that are like "Oh wow I must get legend asap, so let's just play face shaman, where I don't need to think and can just SMOrc almost every time".
Srsly, hitting legend isn't really that important. I'm playing for 1.5 years by now and still haven't hit legend yet. Of course I want to at some point, but when the time isn't here yet, I'm not trying hard with stupid decks just to try to get there. You can learn a lot in arena and playing decks like old control priest for example (don't play this deck, it sucks now xD) or miracle rogue and of course, things like reno mage. Well I guess miracle rogue is a bit hard for a new player, but since you have a renomage deck I'd recommend that.
But you should follow my advice only if you wanna get better at the game, not for just getting legend, you're probably gonna get f*cked pretty hard with cool decks at the start, just as you mentioned ^.^
Slow down. Record your games and watch them so you can analyze the play you made vs. the play you thought about but didn't make. You could even post some videos here and get some pointers.
Thanks, I certainly do need to slow down. Part of it for me is sometimes it's so hard to see which choice is right when you have more than one. I watch players like Trump who analyze their plays so well, and I'm so far away from that. I'll try to study my replays more often, that might help.
After reading your text, you're definitely not trying hard to play well and to learn decks. You're just one of the new players that are like "Oh wow I must get legend asap, so let's just play face shaman, where I don't need to think and can just SMOrc almost every time".
Srsly, hitting legend isn't really that important. I'm playing for 1.5 years by now and still haven't hit legend yet. Of course I want to at some point, but when the time isn't here yet, I'm not trying hard with stupid decks just to try to get there. You can learn a lot in arena and playing decks like old control priest for example (don't play this deck, it sucks now xD) or miracle rogue and of course, things like reno mage. Well I guess miracle rogue is a bit hard for a new player, but since you have a renomage deck I'd recommend that.
But you should follow my advice only if you wanna get better at the game, not for just getting legend, you're probably gonna get f*cked pretty hard with cool decks at the start, just as you mentioned ^.^
This is the comment you should be paying attention to buddy
After reading your text, you're definitely not trying hard to play well and to learn decks. You're just one of the new players that are like "Oh wow I must get legend asap, so let's just play face shaman, where I don't need to think and can just SMOrc almost every time".
Srsly, hitting legend isn't really that important. I'm playing for 1.5 years by now and still haven't hit legend yet. Of course I want to at some point, but when the time isn't here yet, I'm not trying hard with stupid decks just to try to get there. You can learn a lot in arena and playing decks like old control priest for example (don't play this deck, it sucks now xD) or miracle rogue and of course, things like reno mage. Well I guess miracle rogue is a bit hard for a new player, but since you have a renomage deck I'd recommend that.
But you should follow my advice only if you wanna get better at the game, not for just getting legend, you're probably gonna get f*cked pretty hard with cool decks at the start, just as you mentioned ^.^
Haha thanks for your bluntness, I appreciate it. Yes, you're absolutely correct part of why I picked Shaman was to not have to think to hard about what play to make - just hit the face. Pirate Warrior was the same deal. It also seemed like a great way to climb ranks early and learn the basics of the game, but perhaps I've outlived that fantasy now and it's time to move on.
I think that's good advice, maybe I will forget about ranks for now and just simply worry about playing decks I enjoy. I have to admit, Shaman/Warrior gets really boring because it's just the same formula every game. Even if I'm not applying it totally correctly, Reno decks are a lot more fun because there are more options. It gets a little exhausting though because of the length of the games, so I switch back to aggro at that point but maybe I need to learn to just stick it out.
Thanks, really, I tried to be as honest as possible to get constructive feedback so that was quite helpful of you.
Arena is a good way too learn the game also u can add me im also dutch and we could talk about decks and strategies and allot about the game. I end around rank 10 average without really trying ussualy play 2 days ranked then reach rank 12/10 and get bored.. Then i play fun decks and arena everyday if possible. i play 18 months started arena for 3 months and average 6 wins lol.
Battletag Helios#2264
Are you on the NA server? Although my name is Dutch I'm only Dutch by heritage, I actually reside in Canada so I'm on NA.
If you want to get better at playing aggro shaman, you should watch life coach. He has some youtube videos and twitch vods where he explains the plays and card choices. You can watch other players as well to get multiple perspectives. In general terms however, an important part of getting better, is increasing your game knowlege. Knowing the possible card choices and what your opponents possible plays can significantly increase your game play. Playing around aoe, or playing around cards like reno will help you increase your winrate. There is also mechanical play such as trading correctly and knowing when to go face. Most players think they mechanically play correct, but as a rank 5 to legend player I can tell you that I make a lot of mechanical mistakes, and I am sure lots of others do too. The best way is to get better, is playing more. After your first 2 months, you can't expect to be top tier. Its a learning experience. I hope I could help you in anyway. GL on your ladder climb! :D Be patient and it will all work out.
Tracking your wins and losses with some kind of playback (I use HSReplay), playing with friends who will talk strategy or spectate and offer advice, and continued work are your best bets. I agree with Arena, but I never play ti because I like collecting cards more!
Also, don't forget that with the new expansion, the meta not only changed, but got much harder with the flood of pirate warrior decks and the continued power of midrange shaman (which is countered now, but not by much). On top of that, renolock is back in full force, along with handlock, and everyone has had plenty of time to perfect their miracle rogues and druids, so the changes only added ammo to their arsenals.
Best of luck!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Rage quitting: the best way to ensure your opponent knows they beat a giant baby.
Dude,I don't understand how can you think of yourself as the worst player in Hearthstone. This game requires so little skill,not trying to be rude. In fact, I'm saying this to cheer you up.
To be honest it's a little tongue in cheek, I don't really consider myself the worst. But I'm not very good haha. It was actually meant to be an attention grabbing title :-P
Thank you, though. You're right, HS doesn't require a ton of skills, it's mostly memorization and muscle memory from experience, I think. It seems like once you've learned the majority of strategies (like Chess) the game becomes less mindful. I'm quite a ways from there though but, I think I will get there eventually. I guess I'm just struggling with how to get to the next step.
Reaching legend requires not only knowing every little thing about your deck, but knowing every little thing about every deck you play against. You can't learn that until you have played every other deck. It may be frustrating to watch Gadgetzan Auctioneer tear through a thousand cards in miracle rogue for example, but until you've tried to do it yourself, you won't understand the choices they player has made up to that point and where he might be going.
In short - the long road to legend requires a tremendous amount of experience which can only be gained by playing. Unless you're some kind of prodigy, legend is not a realistic short-term goal for newcomers. So have fun! Mix up your decks frequently and ignore your rank.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard Legend - July '16 (Rank 56), June '17, Dec. '18, Apr. '19
Wild Legend - Mar. '18 (Rank 30), Apr. '18, Aug. '19
Twelve Arena Wins - Shaman, Warlock, Mage x2, Rogue, Priest (12-0), Druid, Hallow's End x2, Hunter, Taverns of Time x3 (Pa,D,WL), Paladin
If you want to get better at playing aggro shaman, you should watch life coach. He has some youtube videos and twitch vods where he explains the plays and card choices. You can watch other players as well to get multiple perspectives. In general terms however, an important part of getting better, is increasing your game knowlege. Knowing the possible card choices and what your opponents possible plays can significantly increase your game play. Playing around aoe, or playing around cards like reno will help you increase your winrate. There is also mechanical play such as trading correctly and knowing when to go face. Most players think they mechanically play correct, but as a rank 5 to legend player I can tell you that I make a lot of mechanical mistakes, and I am sure lots of others do too. The best way is to get better, is playing more. After your first 2 months, you can't expect to be top tier. Its a learning experience. I hope I could help you in anyway. GL on your ladder climb! :D Be patient and it will all work out.
Thanks man, I hadn't thought about Life Coach. I've seen his name thrown around but didn't realize he had some helpful videos. I'll definitely check those out.
I agree I think I need to learn more about potential plays and what is most likely to occur. In Chess, you have the advantage of seeing the entire board so you can see what plays your opponent will make. The real challenge is predicting plays several turns ahead. With HS you don't really have that so for a new player it's more challenging, and especially I started right after a new expansion so I had to learn so many new cards. But, that's okay - I think like you said, I need to be patient and gain experience.
Here is my advice man. I recently got into climbing for real. It's important to know that sometimes you climb, and sometimes you lose. If you are losing lots, it's time to change up decks, and probably deck archetypes.
For now, just focus on learning the decks by playing them yourself. Take the time to have fun with the game, and it will come eventually.
Also think about what is the worst the worst thing your opponent can do to you, and try and play around it, also try to notice the little things he does, in round 5/6 is that mage pinging your your 5 health minion, then he might be signaling that he have a flamestrike. Or are you playing vs. reno lock, and you have 3 minions on board, is he having a MC tech, and how will that affect you (if you only have 3 totems and patches, you might wanna ignore it, but if you have a 7/7 and 2 spirit wolves, you might not wanna use your hero power.
About lifecoach him and SuperJJ, have played a lot together and they are great at talking about their choices, specially because Superjj is mainly an aggresive player, where Lifecoach prefer control decks, so the talk they have about their choices plays are good.
An easy tip that probably has been made already, but can't be stressed enough is to take it slow. I started playing around the Grand Tournament, and still average around rank 10-5 (been doing really bad this season at rank 18 :P)
You say that you play mostly aggro shaman, but i say open your horizons, check other heroes and other styles of shaman, i played a lot of a single class myself when i first started(druid) and finally started opening up to other classes once the old gods expansion came out, before then i could never even get past rank 15, but the point is just try new things and find a deck(s) that fits you!
Arena is a good way too learn the game also u can add me im also dutch and we could talk about decks and strategies and allot about the game. I end around rank 10 average without really trying ussualy play 2 days ranked then reach rank 12/10 and get bored.. Then i play fun decks and arena everyday if possible. i play 18 months started arena for 3 months and average 6 wins lol.
Battletag Helios#2264
Are you on the NA server? Although my name is Dutch I'm only Dutch by heritage, I actually reside in Canada so I'm on NA.
I play on NA if you want someone to spectate your games or vice versa. I've played a lot of Shaman in the past (mostly midrange and control), but I don't mind spectating other decks. I have a lot of experience with Reno decks, especially Warlock and other Control decks.
Another suggestion I haven't seen anyone make is find a pro ladder or tournament VOD. Mute the game so you can't hear the players and/or commentators. Pause the video at the beginning of each turn and write down or talk out loud about what play you would make. Try to not take more than 75 seconds since that's what you would have in game. After you've made your decision, watch the pro make their turn. If they made a different play, analyze why they made that play. If you are unsure, than rewatch the turn with commentary. Try to internalize the lessons that you learn and then apply them to your own play.
Some things to pay attention to are:
Who is the aggressor or control player in the match? For example, if Player 1 is playing Control Warrior and Player 2 is playing Renolock, the Renolock is at an advantage because of his more powerful late game, especially Jarraxus. In that game the Warrior needs to play a bit faster and take more risks in order to end the game sooner. This can be true in aggro vs aggro matchups too. Sometimes you will need to play the role of control against a faster deck. For example in Pirate Shaman vs Pirate Warrior, the Shaman should take a control line of play to take advantage of his more efficient removal. Try to identify early in the match what role you will be playing and make your plays consistent to that.
Don't just make the best possible play in the imeadiate sense. Also consider what your opponents next possible plays will be. Like if it's turn 3 vs Rogue you'll want to be prepared to deal with their Tomb Pillager on the next turn. Be prepared on board or with spells in hand to efficiently answer your opponents best play.
When you are ahead, make low risk plays that will further or maintain your lead. When you are behind or in a matchup where you are at an inherent disadvantage, make riskier plays. No risk equals no reward.
Keep tabs on what cards your opponent has and hasn't played. Draw conclusions about the content and quality of their hand. If you realize for example that your opponent didn't play a board clear when they had a good opportunity, then they probably don't fave it in hand, especially if they are a Reno deck. You can the flood the board because they only have 1 or 2 out of 15 chance to draw that card, etc. If your opponent is playing a meta deck, then you can open a copy of the most common version and track there cards.
Sorry that was super long, but hopefully it helps you out. Feel free to add me, I'm Revenant#1903 on NA.
Wow, this is some really good advice! Thank you - this is exactly what I was looking for.
I feel better about things in general now. I guess I was focusing way too much on laddering when I should really just focus on the game itself. Ahh that sweet chest though! Haha. I think I'll be happy with my Rank 11 achievement so far if that's as far as I get. It's also reassuring to hear some people have been playing a while and haven't hit legend. It must really be a huge challenge to get that far.
Taking to heart the advice in this thread, I started to play some more tonight. First of all I think I am done using aggro decks for easy climbs. I don't really like them very much, easy to play and a bit mindless but also, boring. I really enjoy the strategy element of this game, that to me is what I like most. Control decks are where it's at. With that in mind, my favourite deck to use so far is Reno Mage. It has awesome board control cards and a solid late game. Although I'm missing some strong cards like Antonidas I'm making do with Medivh and Ragnaros. I also have Renolock but I don't like it as much, and Reno Mage is pretty strong.
I didn't even think about the fact that playing a deck I'm more comfortable with would improve my play, even if it isn't as strong a deck. While playing tonight I paid attention to that, and I slowed my plays down a lot as a result and also considered, hmm, what would be the best play here? Is there something I can do that would be more effective? And in turn it's causing me to think more about what my opponent might do. I have to admit it's taxing, but I hit a win streak tonight and I'm 5-2 in the 7 games I've played today. That's a good feeling. Although it's only one day and seven games, I think I am seeing the benefit of playing this deck over the other ones.
The other decks I've tried are Midrange Shaman, Evolve Shaman, Pirate Warrior, Dragon Warrior, Midrange Hunter, Reno Priest, Dragon Priest, Krul Renolock and Jade Druid. And most of them are complete or only missing a couple of pieces. Of them all Reno Mage for me is the most comfortable and enjoyable, so I am going to stick with that deck and learn it inside and out.
Also thank you for the pointers about thinking about potential plays, I always feel like the only way I'm going to really learn the opponent is by trying their deck. Rogue is one that I'm still not really familiar with, but it's not like I can't learn it without playing it. I should invest more time in looking at decklists and understanding the strategy more. But I have to admit the decks I've played, when I play against them I am much better equipped because I'm used to playing them. Though that doesn't mean I'm to know exactly what play they'll make since I likely haven't been playing them optimally.
Anyhow, this response is getting a little long in the tooth but thank you for taking the time to hear me out and to help me out. All the advice here is solid, really good stuff, I'm going to read it over again and keep moving forward.
If anyone is interested, here are some of the games I played tonight, feel free to take a look and comment and let me know what you think.
Although I won the two Reno matches there, I know I made some critical mistakes. Especially that last one, I think I could have played that one quite a bit better. If I remember right I coined into a Fireball on turn 3 and that was something I shouldn't have done, I should have held it out because he eventually played Drakonid OP and that would have been a better target. I think the rest of the game went okay. The first one is where the opening post originated from.
Glad I could help dude. I checked out the first replay. For the most part he just drew better than you, which can often happen in aggro vs aggro. You did make one pivotal misplay though on turn 2. After pulling Patches from your deck, you sacrificed it needlessly into his Small Time Bucaneer. By taking that trade you allowed him the option of killing two minions with just one of his which is very inefficient for you so early in the game. If you had instead hit face with Patches, your opponent would have to choose which minion to kill with STB. Regardless of whether your opponent killed your 1/1 or your 2/1, you would have had an extra minion ready to use along side Jade Claws on the following turns. Remember that when you take unnecessary trades, you are effectively giving more options to your opponent.
Glad I could help dude. I checked out the first replay. For the most part he just drew better than you, which can often happen in aggro vs aggro. You did make one pivotal misplay though on turn 2. After pulling Patches from your deck, you sacrificed it needlessly into his Small Time Bucaneer. By taking that trade you allowed him the option of killing two minions with just one of his which is very inefficient for you so early in the game. If you had instead hit face with Patches, your opponent would have to choose which minion to kill with STB. Regardless of whether your opponent killed your 1/1 or your 2/1, you would have had an extra minion ready to use along side Jade Claws on the following turns. Remember that when you take unnecessary trades, you are effectively giving more options to your opponent.
Ohh.. huh. That seems so obvious now that you've pointed it out. I watched the reply and you're completely right! I'll scratch that mistake out now. Thanks!
Learn your matchups, if you know what's on your opponents decks predicting their plays becomes a lot easier.
Learn how to mulligan properly, you always have a game plan of your own but sometimes is better to look for something than is better for that matchup. Like if if you play Reno Mage you usually don't keep Reno on your hand, but if you're facing a Warrior that changes. There is a lot of luck on the mulligan tho.
Try to think more than just one turn ahead, some plays may look good on a specific moment but if you think a bit further it may affect your gameplan a couple of turns later.
Watch yourself, not whole matches or anything just look for turns where you weren't sure if you did the right play and look on that. That will prevent future mistakes on similar situations.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
All right so, this might sound like a salt thread but I'm really not feeling salty. I'm feeling a little defeated. It's my second season, and earlier this season I hit rank 11. Then I dropped to around 14/15, and right now I'm sitting at rank 18. This is while using Jade Aggro Shaman. Last season I hit rank 10 as my highest rank.
So I mean if I can't even climb ranks using this deck, I'm clearly doing a lot wrong. The problem I'm having is I don't know what to look at to figure out where I'm going wrong.
I know part of the problem is the current meta - it has settled out now and we're seeing a lot of more refined decks. Decks like Reno Mage and Renolock are doing well, as are the cancerous Pirate and Jade Shaman decks. Last season this was not exactly the case, it was still settling and the more refined decks were not quite there yet, so I shouldn't be too surprised at my easy climb, especially using Pirate Warrior.
In these circumstances I come to this forum and I'm looking for some advice. I've done a lot of reading on newbie guides, as well as watching tons of videos. I watch pro players often, usually on stream. I've spent a lot of time trying to learn the best way to make plays and whatnot, but I'm falling short, obviously. Rank 18 with a deck that is capable of Legend is terrible. I'm obviously just not very good at this game (yet).
Where do I start? I guess I should ask, if you were in my position, what was it that took you to the next level? I'm really trying hard to learn the decks and how to use them in every situation, but it seems like every time I learn something, the next game I play a new opponent that counters my previous thinking. All of this constant shifting is really challenging - I'm sure as you can imagine, this meta is really tough for a newbie like me. I think Chess is an easier game than this!
Cards certainly aren't the problem. I have a healthy collection and plenty of different decks I can use. I think the real problem is I don't know what the heck I am doing, to put it bluntly. I want to push forward and climb ranks, that's my number one goal. But I can't seem to find anything that is giving me an "aha" moment, that will take me forward. I keep playing game after game, most of the time not understanding why I am losing, so it's challenging for me to learn from that. When I play Shaman I feel like my losses are draw dependent - if I don't have the right cards against the right opponent, I will lose. But when I play Renolock or Reno Mage I actually can see where I go wrong because I have so many more choices, but then I seem to face a lot of decks that counter it (like Druid for example, or mirror matchups), so I stick to Aggro, but then I lose a lot with that too. It seems like I can't win and I know it's because I'm not making the right choices, but I can't figure out how to learn to make the right choices with this difficult meta and trying to learn the game.
The other part of my confusion is my previous success. No Rank 10 or 11 is not that great, but for a new player I thought it was a worthy achievement. But now I've dropped quite a ways from that and I'm stuck and I can't seem to figure out why I am now losing so much more. I can't even remember the last time I had a win streak - but I can definitely remember how many losing streaks I've had.
I am using a deck tracker, which is depressing to say the least when almost every deck is below 50% win rate. I have also watched Trump's teachings which definitely helped, but aren't enough.
Any pointers or advice you can give would be really helpful! I'd love to see where I'm going wrong and correct my mistakes so I can start to make favourable decisions and climb the ladder, and ultimately, have fun with HS.
After reading your text, you're definitely not trying hard to play well and to learn decks. You're just one of the new players that are like "Oh wow I must get legend asap, so let's just play face shaman, where I don't need to think and can just SMOrc almost every time".
Srsly, hitting legend isn't really that important. I'm playing for 1.5 years by now and still haven't hit legend yet. Of course I want to at some point, but when the time isn't here yet, I'm not trying hard with stupid decks just to try to get there. You can learn a lot in arena and playing decks like old control priest for example (don't play this deck, it sucks now xD) or miracle rogue and of course, things like reno mage. Well I guess miracle rogue is a bit hard for a new player, but since you have a renomage deck I'd recommend that.
But you should follow my advice only if you wanna get better at the game, not for just getting legend, you're probably gonna get f*cked pretty hard with cool decks at the start, just as you mentioned ^.^
lol
If you want to get better at playing aggro shaman, you should watch life coach. He has some youtube videos and twitch vods where he explains the plays and card choices. You can watch other players as well to get multiple perspectives. In general terms however, an important part of getting better, is increasing your game knowlege. Knowing the possible card choices and what your opponents possible plays can significantly increase your game play. Playing around aoe, or playing around cards like reno will help you increase your winrate. There is also mechanical play such as trading correctly and knowing when to go face. Most players think they mechanically play correct, but as a rank 5 to legend player I can tell you that I make a lot of mechanical mistakes, and I am sure lots of others do too. The best way is to get better, is playing more. After your first 2 months, you can't expect to be top tier. Its a learning experience. I hope I could help you in anyway. GL on your ladder climb! :D Be patient and it will all work out.
Tracking your wins and losses with some kind of playback (I use HSReplay), playing with friends who will talk strategy or spectate and offer advice, and continued work are your best bets. I agree with Arena, but I never play ti because I like collecting cards more!
Also, don't forget that with the new expansion, the meta not only changed, but got much harder with the flood of pirate warrior decks and the continued power of midrange shaman (which is countered now, but not by much). On top of that, renolock is back in full force, along with handlock, and everyone has had plenty of time to perfect their miracle rogues and druids, so the changes only added ammo to their arsenals.
Best of luck!
Rage quitting: the best way to ensure your opponent knows they beat a giant baby.
Reaching legend requires not only knowing every little thing about your deck, but knowing every little thing about every deck you play against. You can't learn that until you have played every other deck. It may be frustrating to watch Gadgetzan Auctioneer tear through a thousand cards in miracle rogue for example, but until you've tried to do it yourself, you won't understand the choices they player has made up to that point and where he might be going.
In short - the long road to legend requires a tremendous amount of experience which can only be gained by playing. Unless you're some kind of prodigy, legend is not a realistic short-term goal for newcomers. So have fun! Mix up your decks frequently and ignore your rank.
Standard Legend - July '16 (Rank 56), June '17, Dec. '18, Apr. '19
Wild Legend - Mar. '18 (Rank 30), Apr. '18, Aug. '19
Twelve Arena Wins - Shaman, Warlock, Mage x2, Rogue, Priest (12-0), Druid, Hallow's End x2, Hunter, Taverns of Time x3 (Pa,D,WL), Paladin
Here is my advice man. I recently got into climbing for real. It's important to know that sometimes you climb, and sometimes you lose. If you are losing lots, it's time to change up decks, and probably deck archetypes.
For now, just focus on learning the decks by playing them yourself. Take the time to have fun with the game, and it will come eventually.
Also think about what is the worst the worst thing your opponent can do to you, and try and play around it, also try to notice the little things he does, in round 5/6 is that mage pinging your your 5 health minion, then he might be signaling that he have a flamestrike. Or are you playing vs. reno lock, and you have 3 minions on board, is he having a MC tech, and how will that affect you (if you only have 3 totems and patches, you might wanna ignore it, but if you have a 7/7 and 2 spirit wolves, you might not wanna use your hero power.
About lifecoach him and SuperJJ, have played a lot together and they are great at talking about their choices, specially because Superjj is mainly an aggresive player, where Lifecoach prefer control decks, so the talk they have about their choices plays are good.
An easy tip that probably has been made already, but can't be stressed enough is to take it slow. I started playing around the Grand Tournament, and still average around rank 10-5 (been doing really bad this season at rank 18 :P)
You say that you play mostly aggro shaman, but i say open your horizons, check other heroes and other styles of shaman, i played a lot of a single class myself when i first started(druid) and finally started opening up to other classes once the old gods expansion came out, before then i could never even get past rank 15, but the point is just try new things and find a deck(s) that fits you!
Golden legendary cards opened: Ragnaros the Firelord, Auctionmaster Beardo, Kalimos, Primal Lord
Check out my fun and innovative decks here:
Beat your opponent to a pulp with Revenant Warrior or outlast them with Demon Reno Warlock.
Wow, this is some really good advice! Thank you - this is exactly what I was looking for.
I feel better about things in general now. I guess I was focusing way too much on laddering when I should really just focus on the game itself. Ahh that sweet chest though! Haha. I think I'll be happy with my Rank 11 achievement so far if that's as far as I get. It's also reassuring to hear some people have been playing a while and haven't hit legend. It must really be a huge challenge to get that far.
Taking to heart the advice in this thread, I started to play some more tonight. First of all I think I am done using aggro decks for easy climbs. I don't really like them very much, easy to play and a bit mindless but also, boring. I really enjoy the strategy element of this game, that to me is what I like most. Control decks are where it's at. With that in mind, my favourite deck to use so far is Reno Mage. It has awesome board control cards and a solid late game. Although I'm missing some strong cards like Antonidas I'm making do with Medivh and Ragnaros. I also have Renolock but I don't like it as much, and Reno Mage is pretty strong.
I didn't even think about the fact that playing a deck I'm more comfortable with would improve my play, even if it isn't as strong a deck. While playing tonight I paid attention to that, and I slowed my plays down a lot as a result and also considered, hmm, what would be the best play here? Is there something I can do that would be more effective? And in turn it's causing me to think more about what my opponent might do. I have to admit it's taxing, but I hit a win streak tonight and I'm 5-2 in the 7 games I've played today. That's a good feeling. Although it's only one day and seven games, I think I am seeing the benefit of playing this deck over the other ones.
The other decks I've tried are Midrange Shaman, Evolve Shaman, Pirate Warrior, Dragon Warrior, Midrange Hunter, Reno Priest, Dragon Priest, Krul Renolock and Jade Druid. And most of them are complete or only missing a couple of pieces. Of them all Reno Mage for me is the most comfortable and enjoyable, so I am going to stick with that deck and learn it inside and out.
Also thank you for the pointers about thinking about potential plays, I always feel like the only way I'm going to really learn the opponent is by trying their deck. Rogue is one that I'm still not really familiar with, but it's not like I can't learn it without playing it. I should invest more time in looking at decklists and understanding the strategy more. But I have to admit the decks I've played, when I play against them I am much better equipped because I'm used to playing them. Though that doesn't mean I'm to know exactly what play they'll make since I likely haven't been playing them optimally.
Anyhow, this response is getting a little long in the tooth but thank you for taking the time to hear me out and to help me out. All the advice here is solid, really good stuff, I'm going to read it over again and keep moving forward.
If anyone is interested, here are some of the games I played tonight, feel free to take a look and comment and let me know what you think.
Aggro Shaman: https://hsreplay.net/replay/97VQGXah7KM6yfuYQ4rmmh (loss)
Renolock: https://hsreplay.net/replay/nnEfdej5CbgtcXXQ7ULRUk
Reno Mage: https://hsreplay.net/replay/gYCqXTq254rCNPEca8QBxU
Although I won the two Reno matches there, I know I made some critical mistakes. Especially that last one, I think I could have played that one quite a bit better. If I remember right I coined into a Fireball on turn 3 and that was something I shouldn't have done, I should have held it out because he eventually played Drakonid OP and that would have been a better target. I think the rest of the game went okay. The first one is where the opening post originated from.
Glad I could help dude. I checked out the first replay. For the most part he just drew better than you, which can often happen in aggro vs aggro. You did make one pivotal misplay though on turn 2. After pulling Patches from your deck, you sacrificed it needlessly into his Small Time Bucaneer. By taking that trade you allowed him the option of killing two minions with just one of his which is very inefficient for you so early in the game. If you had instead hit face with Patches, your opponent would have to choose which minion to kill with STB. Regardless of whether your opponent killed your 1/1 or your 2/1, you would have had an extra minion ready to use along side Jade Claws on the following turns. Remember that when you take unnecessary trades, you are effectively giving more options to your opponent.
Check out my fun and innovative decks here:
Beat your opponent to a pulp with Revenant Warrior or outlast them with Demon Reno Warlock.
Another very small thing is simply to go play the AI just for two little games.
It won't help you improve, but it'll at least make you feel a little better and more confident to see the opponent hero explode!
Well, there is been already a ton of advice.
A few useful tips,
Learn your matchups, if you know what's on your opponents decks predicting their plays becomes a lot easier.
Learn how to mulligan properly, you always have a game plan of your own but sometimes is better to look for something than is better for that matchup. Like if if you play Reno Mage you usually don't keep Reno on your hand, but if you're facing a Warrior that changes. There is a lot of luck on the mulligan tho.
Try to think more than just one turn ahead, some plays may look good on a specific moment but if you think a bit further it may affect your gameplan a couple of turns later.
Watch yourself, not whole matches or anything just look for turns where you weren't sure if you did the right play and look on that. That will prevent future mistakes on similar situations.