Since I discovered Standard was a thing, I have been regularly hitting R20. (I started playing around Old Gods but strictly casual.)
I have since tried to reach R15 on a regular basis and I kept struggling and struggling - part of the issue was trying to maximize everything. (i.e Holding onto spellstones to get more wolves when I should have laid something on board)
I have been working on these things, and it has helped. This morning I came across a quest priest who emoted after every card they stole. Whatever.
We get a few turns into the game, and I'm like, "You know what? This match is not fun, this opponent is annoying; this deck is annoying and I'm probably going to lose."
That is when I realized I was essentially blocking myself. I understand this is a me problem, and I don't have an issue with my opponents playing what is fun to them.
So, my question is are there any tips/tricks that can help me focus on the prize? Rather than just concede, I'd like to be a better player and a better opponent. I am open to constructive criticism.
I realize this is a "me" problem and I can't be the first to experience this.
Right now I'm stuck on Rank 15 and can't seem to make any progress, except for the initial winstreak that led me to 14. So, I've made the experience that when you have a losing streak (lost three in a row is my limit) you should take a little break from ladder. After that try to maximize the time, you have for a turn by thinking out every possibility what the opponent could play. And board control is very important aswell as concetration, if you are tired you should rest for a while and charge another time. Oh, and if the opponent is annoying like a Shudderwock player emoting good game you can mute him ;). Are you familiar with the most popular decklists?
Right now I'm stuck on Rank 15 and can't seem to make any progress, except for the initial winstreak that led me to 14. So, I've made the experience that when you have a losing streak (lost three in a row is my limit) you should take a little break from ladder. After that try to maximize the time, you have for a turn by thinking out every possibility what the opponent could play. And board control is very important aswell as concetration, if you are tired you should rest for a while and charge another time. Oh, and if the opponent is annoying like a Shudderwock player emoting good game you can mute him ;). Are you familiar with the most popular decklists?
I am using a mid range hunter deck. Since the dawn of time, people swear mid-range/zoo can get you to R15. However, I seem to be running into a lot of control decks. I also read that its best to stick with the same deck for a long time because deck switching can hurt your progress.
I don't get a lot of time to play; I usually wait until the end of season to hit R20. This month, I'm trying to squeeze in a few matches every single day.
I do analyze my plays, and see mistakes. I use arcane tracker and learned a lot. Also, I have a friend that likes to spectate and offer tips.
I did switch to MR Hunter after using Evenlock because I would get all my spells (even after mulligan/tapping) or draw minions that would have been a tempo-loss to lay down (because I had bigger ones to play.)
I regularly read the VS reports and counter what I can. I'm very familiar with both decks. (I have 300 ranked wins on Hunter.)
However, I sometimes concede matches if they are control. I honestly hate those matches but it seems like they are in abundance down here.
I'm not sure what you are asking, if you are asking how do I not be frustrated with this game, that's impossible. The game is consistently frustrating, for a variety of reasons, it's unavoidable. From the player base to just the way the game was designed, swingy turns, ridiculous decks, people playing things you aren't used to, it goes on and on.
Just try not to break anything in your room and don't play for that long of a stretch.
If you want to concede, concede, if you really don't think you'll win, maybe you will, but meh.
"The prize" in question isn't really that great if you're struggling so much. It's just some golden cards. If you really wanted random golden cards, the more efficient way to do it is spend more time at work and buy yourself some packs instead of spending the same amount of time on grinding ladder ...
IMO, the enjoyment of playing on ladder should be its own reward. I only play what I enjoy. Sometimes there's a deck I like to play a lot and I reach legend but I consider climbing high a happy coincidence rather than the reward in itself. Don't be like those people who reach legend just once for an ugly cardback with a "boring" deck and hated every moment of the climb. It's a game; if you're not enjoying it you're doing it wrong
If you do not like the deck or certain matchups of the deck, I suggest you find yourself something you like better. There's been a lot of metas where I couldn't find a deck that clicked with me and I go into a short hiatus but that's okay. There's always next meta. Since you mentioned there's lots of control in your ranks, I can recommend a few anti-control options; Miracle rogue, Recruit hunter, shudderwok shaman, cubelock. Certain druids can also be good depending on what kind of control you're specifically running into
I'm not sure what you are asking, if you are asking how do I not be frustrated with this game, that's impossible. The game is consistently frustrating, for a variety of reasons, it's unavoidable. From the player base to just the way the game was designed, swingy turns, ridiculous decks, people playing things you aren't used to, it goes on and on.
Just try not to break anything in your room and don't play for that long of a stretch.
If you want to concede, concede, if you really don't think you'll win, maybe you will, but meh.
Since the beginning, I've been referred to as an "R20 Scrub."
There is this rampant attitude of "you don't know anything because you're R20."
I just want to get to a respectable rank, is all. However, the ladder, especially control matches are just ick. I would like to reach R15 to prove that I can, and that I do take this game seriously. It's just easier for me to read articles than it is to watch streams. (I watch my own replays/spectate friends)
As for spending more time at work, labor laws won't let me and they have recently put a cap on how much over-time I can attain.
If you've played against similar decks several times in a day, maybe ~10 games or more, consider trying to tech against them or play decks that specifically counter them. Deck trackers can help with this if they show winrate against different matchups and what different decks you most commonly play against.
It's important to play things you find fun too, but that most often only works for me at the start of a new expansion when the meta is not settled, so I usually stop grinding two or three months in. There are some exceptions though.
Initial grinding is less tedious the faster the deck you play however (imo). That way you can play more games, and in lower ranks its going to be easier to win them. When you get to higher ranks it will be tedious either way, so at that point I would just choose the most consistent deck. My highest rank is still just rank 2 though because I find those last ranks really annoying to play (no win streaks for example).
This is what I personally find helpful. I usually tilt when I make mistakes, too. I need to remind myself to actually think while playing sometimes, but that also leads to really long turns :P Taking longer turns does have a noticeable effect for me though!
And finally, if you get annoyed by emotes you should just squelch the opponent. I personally don't get annoyed by emotes, unless I'm really tilted but at that point I should probably just take a break.
Try playing a deck where the win condition is having fun. I would recommend checking out WowHobbs for this, as he's a master of playing a deck that is amazingly fun and competitive. You're playing midrange hunter, that deck is very basic in terms of mental engagement, relatively speaking.
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If you thought you knew what you think I know, then you'd know I knew you knew I know.
If you're not focused to get to Rank 5/Legend then play it just like it's Casual: do whatever give you some fun and ignore the rank at all, who cares? Lots of people are so worried about their rank that they lose all the fun of the game itself.
Remember that some decks can be piloted by a bot to Legend, so... what really is the meaning of ranks? Nothing, unless you're a pro player or your target is hitting Legend every Season.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
For what profit is it to a man, if he gains the world and loses his own soul?
Start of Year: Provoke the failure of 3 expansions, force nerfs on otherwise balanced cards, bring deckbuilding to an all-time low and get rotated one year earlier for being such a threat to the game's health. - Genn and Baku's historical entry on the White Book of Shit Design, shortly before retiring unpunished
I don't see anything wrong with the decklist as a whole. But what are the specific matchups you struggle with the most?
Usually control matchups; I lose focus because I feel like a mouse that has been caught by a cat and now I'm being toyed with before I get eaten.
Nothing is worse than getting within lethal, just to have them drop big minions (obsidian statues/voidlords) or consistently tapping to find your acidic swamp ooze before Manari can give them a Voidlord, I think its called? (The 3/9 with summon 3 1/3 taunts deathrattle)
Not to mention, its a mirror match on top of that because by T3 they have half your deck anyway.
"Oh, Anduin? Sorry, I thought you were Valeera..."
Or having them heal almost to full health...
Its frustrating because I oftentimes HAVE the answer (teching decks I see a lot hasn't been an issue) but its drawing the tech when you need it that becomes the problem.
Sometimes I have to double check just to make sure it is in there, like, wth?
I think its frustrating for me because I invested so much time in an uphill battle. Aggro/midrange matches are easier to read and way faster so they don't stick out as much.
If you run into a lot of decks with mighty deathrattle effects, you could tech in a Spellbreaker. And if you have weapon removal, you should keep it on your starting hand against archetypes (Cube Lock, Odd Paladin and in some stranger cases Malygos Druid).
Just play for fun and forget about tanking in the ladder. Ranked doesnt translate to skill anymore, so a rank 5 and 20 player are likely almost identical in ability. Believe it or not.
I used to get to 5 regularly, but now I’m stuck st 15 because HS will only match me against my hard counters. So I play for fun with memes and haven’t looked back.
I put your deck together to check it out. It's a pretty basic deck. No epics. One Class Legendary, and only 2 neutral cards.
That's about as basic as you can get.
So my thoughts -
This deck is not going to do good against any Control deck. If you draw well you may get lucky but pretty much any control deck is going to out last your threats and play around your secrets.
Most people know how to play around Secrets. Especially if you're playing control. They just wont attack you and it becomes basically a card or turn wasted. So the Secrets need to be thought out better.
Aggro is going to be a good match up for you. Everything you have in the deck is setup to out value and tempo out wide boards. So how do we gain more wins against Control without losing too much of that Tempo? Secrets will be a start but what do we replace them with?
I used to play this deck with 2 spellbreakers for the Voidlord counter. We don't see enough of that deck anymore, so maybe something else needs to be added. What are the major control decks that clog up the ladder? Druid, Mage, and Shaman. The rest I don't really consider control decks since they are also mostly tempo based (Even Warlock, Recruit Hunter, Odd Rogue).
So I just named the top net decks that are out there. Now we need to find counters for them.
I think if you want this deck to have a chance against control you need to up your tempo. What I've noticed playing against the new Heal Warlock is that turn 4-5 is a killer. It's usually turn 4 Saronite Chain Gang into FungalMancer. It's almost game ending. If you own these cards I highly suggest adding them to your deck.
Outside of that I'd say add 1 more big threat just in case you don't draw Rexxar. Lich King, Leeroy Jenkins, The Black Knight. Those are all pretty good threats.
These are the changes I made -
Removed -
1 of each secret, 1 Spellstone, 1 bearshark, 2 Unleash the hounds, 1 kill command
So I went 11-9 at Rank 5 with the changes I made. Not bad for a cheap deck with 1 legendary and no epics. I'd give it a shot at 20, I'm sure you'd make it to 15 on win streaks alone.
I'm relieved to know I'm not alone! Thank you so much for the updated deck-list! I was also noticing the secret package was doing more harm than good...I will try out the updated list and let you know how it goes.
Thank you all for the advice and support; it really has been a great help, and you've all been so nice! <3
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Good Luck & Happy Gaming
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Since I discovered Standard was a thing, I have been regularly hitting R20. (I started playing around Old Gods but strictly casual.)
I have since tried to reach R15 on a regular basis and I kept struggling and struggling - part of the issue was trying to maximize everything. (i.e Holding onto spellstones to get more wolves when I should have laid something on board)
I have been working on these things, and it has helped. This morning I came across a quest priest who emoted after every card they stole. Whatever.
We get a few turns into the game, and I'm like, "You know what? This match is not fun, this opponent is annoying; this deck is annoying and I'm probably going to lose."
That is when I realized I was essentially blocking myself. I understand this is a me problem, and I don't have an issue with my opponents playing what is fun to them.
So, my question is are there any tips/tricks that can help me focus on the prize? Rather than just concede, I'd like to be a better player and a better opponent. I am open to constructive criticism.
I realize this is a "me" problem and I can't be the first to experience this.
Good Luck & Happy Gaming
Squelch?
Hey, got the same problem (I believe).
Right now I'm stuck on Rank 15 and can't seem to make any progress, except for the initial winstreak that led me to 14. So, I've made the experience that when you have a losing streak (lost three in a row is my limit) you should take a little break from ladder. After that try to maximize the time, you have for a turn by thinking out every possibility what the opponent could play. And board control is very important aswell as concetration, if you are tired you should rest for a while and charge another time. Oh, and if the opponent is annoying like a Shudderwock player emoting good game you can mute him ;). Are you familiar with the most popular decklists?
I am using a mid range hunter deck. Since the dawn of time, people swear mid-range/zoo can get you to R15. However, I seem to be running into a lot of control decks. I also read that its best to stick with the same deck for a long time because deck switching can hurt your progress.
I don't get a lot of time to play; I usually wait until the end of season to hit R20. This month, I'm trying to squeeze in a few matches every single day.
I do analyze my plays, and see mistakes. I use arcane tracker and learned a lot. Also, I have a friend that likes to spectate and offer tips.
I did switch to MR Hunter after using Evenlock because I would get all my spells (even after mulligan/tapping) or draw minions that would have been a tempo-loss to lay down (because I had bigger ones to play.)
I regularly read the VS reports and counter what I can. I'm very familiar with both decks. (I have 300 ranked wins on Hunter.)
However, I sometimes concede matches if they are control. I honestly hate those matches but it seems like they are in abundance down here.
Good Luck & Happy Gaming
What is your decklist ? That would be a start to see if you are using an optimized list for the archtype you wish to ladder with.
I'm not sure what you are asking, if you are asking how do I not be frustrated with this game, that's impossible. The game is consistently frustrating, for a variety of reasons, it's unavoidable. From the player base to just the way the game was designed, swingy turns, ridiculous decks, people playing things you aren't used to, it goes on and on.
Just try not to break anything in your room and don't play for that long of a stretch.
If you want to concede, concede, if you really don't think you'll win, maybe you will, but meh.
"The prize" in question isn't really that great if you're struggling so much. It's just some golden cards. If you really wanted random golden cards, the more efficient way to do it is spend more time at work and buy yourself some packs instead of spending the same amount of time on grinding ladder ...
IMO, the enjoyment of playing on ladder should be its own reward. I only play what I enjoy. Sometimes there's a deck I like to play a lot and I reach legend but I consider climbing high a happy coincidence rather than the reward in itself. Don't be like those people who reach legend just once for an ugly cardback with a "boring" deck and hated every moment of the climb. It's a game; if you're not enjoying it you're doing it wrong
If you do not like the deck or certain matchups of the deck, I suggest you find yourself something you like better. There's been a lot of metas where I couldn't find a deck that clicked with me and I go into a short hiatus but that's okay. There's always next meta. Since you mentioned there's lots of control in your ranks, I can recommend a few anti-control options; Miracle rogue, Recruit hunter, shudderwok shaman, cubelock. Certain druids can also be good depending on what kind of control you're specifically running into
Legend with : S65 Freeze Mage, S57 Maly Gonk Druid, S57 "Okay" Shaman, S53 Boom-zooka Hunter, S53 Maly Tog Druid, S52 Wild Tog Druid ft.Blingtron, S50 Quest Rogue, S49 Dead Man's Warrior, S41 Wild Clown Fiesta Druid, S41 Hadronox Jade Druid, S40 Wild OTK Dragon Druid, S35 SMOrc Shaman, S33 Jade Druid, S22 Control Priest, S19 Control Priest
Since the beginning, I've been referred to as an "R20 Scrub."
There is this rampant attitude of "you don't know anything because you're R20."
I just want to get to a respectable rank, is all. However, the ladder, especially control matches are just ick. I would like to reach R15 to prove that I can, and that I do take this game seriously. It's just easier for me to read articles than it is to watch streams. (I watch my own replays/spectate friends)
As for spending more time at work, labor laws won't let me and they have recently put a cap on how much over-time I can attain.
As for the decklist, and here is the website link; https://www.metabomb.net/hearthstone/deck-guides/midrange-hunter-deck-list-guide-hearthstone-53
1 x Deathstalker Rexxar
Good Luck & Happy Gaming
If you've played against similar decks several times in a day, maybe ~10 games or more, consider trying to tech against them or play decks that specifically counter them. Deck trackers can help with this if they show winrate against different matchups and what different decks you most commonly play against.
It's important to play things you find fun too, but that most often only works for me at the start of a new expansion when the meta is not settled, so I usually stop grinding two or three months in. There are some exceptions though.
Initial grinding is less tedious the faster the deck you play however (imo). That way you can play more games, and in lower ranks its going to be easier to win them. When you get to higher ranks it will be tedious either way, so at that point I would just choose the most consistent deck. My highest rank is still just rank 2 though because I find those last ranks really annoying to play (no win streaks for example).
This is what I personally find helpful. I usually tilt when I make mistakes, too. I need to remind myself to actually think while playing sometimes, but that also leads to really long turns :P Taking longer turns does have a noticeable effect for me though!
And finally, if you get annoyed by emotes you should just squelch the opponent. I personally don't get annoyed by emotes, unless I'm really tilted but at that point I should probably just take a break.
Hope that helps?
Try playing a deck where the win condition is having fun. I would recommend checking out WowHobbs for this, as he's a master of playing a deck that is amazingly fun and competitive. You're playing midrange hunter, that deck is very basic in terms of mental engagement, relatively speaking.
If you thought you knew what you think I know, then you'd know I knew you knew I know.
I don't see anything wrong with the decklist as a whole. But what are the specific matchups you struggle with the most?
If you're not focused to get to Rank 5/Legend then play it just like it's Casual: do whatever give you some fun and ignore the rank at all, who cares? Lots of people are so worried about their rank that they lose all the fun of the game itself.
Remember that some decks can be piloted by a bot to Legend, so... what really is the meaning of ranks? Nothing, unless you're a pro player or your target is hitting Legend every Season.
For what profit is it to a man, if he gains the world and loses his own soul?
If it's not fun, why bother?
Start of Year: Provoke the failure of 3 expansions, force nerfs on otherwise balanced cards, bring deckbuilding to an all-time low and get rotated one year earlier for being such a threat to the game's health.
- Genn and Baku's historical entry on the White Book of Shit Design, shortly before retiring unpunished
Usually control matchups; I lose focus because I feel like a mouse that has been caught by a cat and now I'm being toyed with before I get eaten.
Nothing is worse than getting within lethal, just to have them drop big minions (obsidian statues/voidlords) or consistently tapping to find your acidic swamp ooze before Manari can give them a Voidlord, I think its called? (The 3/9 with summon 3 1/3 taunts deathrattle)
Not to mention, its a mirror match on top of that because by T3 they have half your deck anyway.
"Oh, Anduin? Sorry, I thought you were Valeera..."
Or having them heal almost to full health...
Its frustrating because I oftentimes HAVE the answer (teching decks I see a lot hasn't been an issue) but its drawing the tech when you need it that becomes the problem.
Sometimes I have to double check just to make sure it is in there, like, wth?
I think its frustrating for me because I invested so much time in an uphill battle. Aggro/midrange matches are easier to read and way faster so they don't stick out as much.
But those control matchups are a total drag.
Good Luck & Happy Gaming
Do like everyone else ( NetDecking )
Aggro decks is the best choice for fast grind from 20 up ..
I recommend you to use the Cheap Heal ZooLock Deck it's the best aggro Deck at the moment . Once you used to it you can reach rank 5 with it .
If you run into a lot of decks with mighty deathrattle effects, you could tech in a Spellbreaker. And if you have weapon removal, you should keep it on your starting hand against archetypes (Cube Lock, Odd Paladin and in some stranger cases Malygos Druid).
Just play for fun and forget about tanking in the ladder. Ranked doesnt translate to skill anymore, so a rank 5 and 20 player are likely almost identical in ability. Believe it or not.
I used to get to 5 regularly, but now I’m stuck st 15 because HS will only match me against my hard counters. So I play for fun with memes and haven’t looked back.
I put your deck together to check it out. It's a pretty basic deck. No epics. One Class Legendary, and only 2 neutral cards.
That's about as basic as you can get.
So my thoughts -
This deck is not going to do good against any Control deck. If you draw well you may get lucky but pretty much any control deck is going to out last your threats and play around your secrets.
Most people know how to play around Secrets. Especially if you're playing control. They just wont attack you and it becomes basically a card or turn wasted. So the Secrets need to be thought out better.
Aggro is going to be a good match up for you. Everything you have in the deck is setup to out value and tempo out wide boards. So how do we gain more wins against Control without losing too much of that Tempo? Secrets will be a start but what do we replace them with?
I used to play this deck with 2 spellbreakers for the Voidlord counter. We don't see enough of that deck anymore, so maybe something else needs to be added. What are the major control decks that clog up the ladder? Druid, Mage, and Shaman. The rest I don't really consider control decks since they are also mostly tempo based (Even Warlock, Recruit Hunter, Odd Rogue).
So I just named the top net decks that are out there. Now we need to find counters for them.
I think if you want this deck to have a chance against control you need to up your tempo. What I've noticed playing against the new Heal Warlock is that turn 4-5 is a killer. It's usually turn 4 Saronite Chain Gang into FungalMancer. It's almost game ending. If you own these cards I highly suggest adding them to your deck.
Outside of that I'd say add 1 more big threat just in case you don't draw Rexxar. Lich King, Leeroy Jenkins, The Black Knight. Those are all pretty good threats.
These are the changes I made -
Removed -
1 of each secret, 1 Spellstone, 1 bearshark, 2 Unleash the hounds, 1 kill command
added -
2 Vicious Fledgling, 2 SpellBreaker, 2 Saronite Chain Gang, 2 Fungalmancer
I'm going to play it for a bit at rank 5 see how it does and what changes I think it needs.
Here's the deck -
So I went 11-9 at Rank 5 with the changes I made. Not bad for a cheap deck with 1 legendary and no epics. I'd give it a shot at 20, I'm sure you'd make it to 15 on win streaks alone.
I'm relieved to know I'm not alone! Thank you so much for the updated deck-list! I was also noticing the secret package was doing more harm than good...I will try out the updated list and let you know how it goes.
Thank you all for the advice and support; it really has been a great help, and you've all been so nice! <3
Good Luck & Happy Gaming