Hey y’all, quick backstory I recently started playing 2-3 weeks ago, started off liking mage and now warmed up to shaman quite a bit. I spent some money on classic card packs so I have a good amount of cards and dust, the problem is when I start to build/ fine-tune decks I literally feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cards, combinations, synergy, and the correct or “best” way to capitalize on those things.
Three big problems I have are:
1. Not knowing what ratio of lower (0-3) and higher (4-7+, just the way I think about it lol not even sure if that’s how pro’s look at it) mana cards to have
2. Not knowing whether to use an archetype, and if so which one works best (Murloc,mech,pirate, elemental, beast, dragon, etc.
3. Not knowing how many minions vs. spells/ secrets to have, what ratio of high mana minions and spells to low cost, if I should have duplicates of certain cards of not
On top of that I’m just starting to learn about the different deck types, like Tempo, Control, Aggro, Zoo and i just feel overwhelmed and like I have OCD when I start adjusting my decks lol. Is there a good guide/ video/ YouTube channel that you know of to learn the like, “meta basics” I guess? I understand the super-beginner basic stuff, but I feel like I’m drowning trying to get a good grasp on the higher level meta stuff. Any help greatly appreciated!!
Hi, I liked this guide (it's nearly two years old, so it uses some old cards, but the ideas last). https://www.icy-veins.com/hearthstone/how-to-build-a-deck-in-hearthstone I believe the most important thing is to set up a plan. Do I wanna agressively kill my oponent? Then I should have some low cost minions, some card draw (to not get out of steam too quickly) and some finishers for turn 5-6. Do I wanna control the game? Then i should have cards that stabilize the board at turns 1-5 and then introduce some big swing turns. And those decks would look totally different when it comes to mana curve..
ok my 2 cents.... dont read meta charts, dont stare at spread sheets filled with data on card overall play-ability. Craft legendarys and epics that look fun and build a deck around those cards. This is called the fun way. You will not win as much but you will learn a long forgotten art called " having fun and not bitching about winning". It's antiquated but there is beauty in its simplicity
However, if you are looking to build a sustainable long term commitment where each class is playable it can be alot of fun to deep dive into the stats of certain cards. Dive in but make sure you can swim.
Incoming opinion: I believe when you start getting competitive you lose some of the fun
Since you new you do not need to have top tier reno decks with 5 legendarys. Remember "comparison is the thief of joy"
I would be remiss if i did not mention the sheer value of Whizbang the Wonderful. However i do believe he is only in the standard set for 1 more year, so perhaps his value/cost ratio should be evaluated more thoroughly
Let me leave you with this, You must find your own way. The understanding of matchups win ratios, meta decks and the nuances that give top tier pros a competetive edge will all come in time,and quickly trust me, but the fundamentals you learn as a noob will determine your overall temperment for the psychological and mathmatic problems laid before you.You must use your cards to make your deck and play your game. The true rewards are in the journey, not the spoils at the end. Good luck you have my support :P
These are all very valid questions and i'll try to answer them as best as i can. But really, if i had a recommendation to give you on how to get the hang of the basics i would say to pick a straightforward budget deck that's out right now and getting to understand its game plan as a foundation. If you're building decks on your own right now it would be hard to ascertain if games were going south because of inefficient plays or because the deck wasn't built properly, so using something already established to be viable would let you focus on how you're playing the game. For instance, since you're saying shaman is a class that's interesting to you right now, murloc shaman is a good aggressive deck that is affordable and also easy to understand. I'm gonna try to use it as an example to answer the three problems you highlighted.
1. So, for mana cost, it's actually relative to the type of deck you are running but a general rule of thumb is to maintain a reliable curve, as in being able to play cards efficiently on most turns without bricking or doing something way too weak. in most decks, you want to be able to have a 1 cost minion first turn to establish board space, a 3 cost card on curve, and then a healthy balance of cards you can play together on later turns that synergize. However, it's most important to consider what it is your deck is trying to do, and whether higher cost or lower cost cards fit that game plan. Using murloc shaman as an example, it's a deck that runs a lot of low cost minions, more than a typical deck, to establish a big board early and close out the game with a finisher (Bloodlust) to hit the opponent directly with a ton of damage. Like, this is a deck who's dream scenario is closing the game out by turn 5 or 6. There are great cards that shaman has, such as the 8 cost Walking Fountain, that make sense in other late game shaman decks but don't fit in aggressive builds like murloc. So, your mana distribution is really just reliant on what the purpose of your deck is and whether it benefits from high or low cost plays.
2. Archetypes, although they're very common in the basic set, are actually not as relevant as they used to be. you'll see tribe based decks get popular every once in a while, but it's not a main focus per se. It's important not to fall into the trap of running bad cards just because they're a part of your archetype. Like, if you want to run beast hunter, even though Silverback Patriach is a beast, it's better to run literally any other 3 cost card because the card is so awful that it will lose you games even with all the synergy in the world. I would capitalize on effects that work off of one another before a tribe. However, murloc shaman is an exception to this, as it actually runs a lot of murlocs that aren't typically "good", and that's because Underbelly Angler is an insane card and it generates huge amounts of value in your hand off of 1 cost and 2 cost murlocs.
3. A spell to minion ratio is also something that depends on what the deck does, and where those terms you mentioned like zoo, control, etc. come into play. To explain it in very basic terms, there are decks like control, that want to remove all threats from the board as often as possible, so they run plenty of spells and removal in order to exhaust the opponent of their options. Aggro, on the other hand, wants to close out the game as early as they can, so they typically run more cheap minions and a low amount of spells in order to keep up the pressure and end things quickly. Really, what you want to do is make sure the spells you run are useful to you and are cohesive to the goal of your deck, as opposed to how many there are. Like in murloc shaman, you have the option of running great removal spells like Earthquake, Hex, etc. Now, earthquake obviously has a great effect, but it's also very expensive for an aggro deck. In fact, you really might want to run Earth Shock more than the other options because it's incredibly cheap and can silence a taunt and let you get back to hitting the opponent's face without sacrificing your whole turn, even if it doesn't actually remove the minion. Essentially, what you want be thinking is "which spell is giving me the best deal mana-wise to achieve what i need to do in this deck?" when picking your spells.
As far as duplicates, it's pretty simple: if the card has a fair mana cost and works really well for your deck, meaning you want to see it more often, put two copies in. You want to run two copies of your best 1 cost card and 2 copies of your key mid game cards in most decks. Like in murloc shaman, you need to see underbelly angler as often as possible, 100% if running 3 copies of that card was allowed people would do it. This only gets tricky when it comes to big late game cards, as you might still want to run just one so you don't see it too often in the early game and brick.
as a final note, i think the people above me make a good point in that reading all the meta terminology on this game is kind of unnecessarily confusing. I think the best way to get acquainted with decks is to face them in game and catch on to what they do as you see them being played. i didn't properly understand what combo was until i saw a priest bring me from 30 health to 0 in one turn, and i also didn't get what control meant until i saw a warrior wipe my board four times straight until i had nothing left to play. It's seeing them in action that really helps it click and tells you "oh THIS is what this deck does" but you also learn what you did wrong and how to counter their go-to strategies. It really just starts making a lot more sense when you face similar decks over time and see the common thread in what they do.
I would be remiss if i did not mention the sheer value of Whizbang the Wonderful. However i do believe he is only in the standard set for 1 more year, so perhaps his value/cost ratio should be evaluated more thoroughly
Unfortunately, Whizbang Is rotating March/April :(
Hey y’all, quick backstory I recently started playing 2-3 weeks ago, started off liking mage and now warmed up to shaman quite a bit. I spent some money on classic card packs so I have a good amount of cards and dust, the problem is when I start to build/ fine-tune decks I literally feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cards, combinations, synergy, and the correct or “best” way to capitalize on those things.
Three big problems I have are:
1. Not knowing what ratio of lower (0-3) and higher (4-7+, just the way I think about it lol not even sure if that’s how pro’s look at it) mana cards to have
2. Not knowing whether to use an archetype, and if so which one works best (Murloc,mech,pirate, elemental, beast, dragon, etc.
3. Not knowing how many minions vs. spells/ secrets to have, what ratio of high mana minions and spells to low cost, if I should have duplicates of certain cards of not
On top of that I’m just starting to learn about the different deck types, like Tempo, Control, Aggro, Zoo and i just feel overwhelmed and like I have OCD when I start adjusting my decks lol. Is there a good guide/ video/ YouTube channel that you know of to learn the like, “meta basics” I guess? I understand the super-beginner basic stuff, but I feel like I’m drowning trying to get a good grasp on the higher level meta stuff. Any help greatly appreciated!!
You might find it useful to watch a few of TrumpSC's YT videos. He's been one of the top educational HS streamers since 2013, and he has a few series called "Trump's Teachings".
Here's a link - he's got about 30-40 videos in two or three different series. The Basic Teachings series is what you should probably watch - the Deck Teachings are out-of-date.
Tysm man!! Yeah I stumbled across his vids last night after posting this but I didn’t watch cause the vid I saw was like 4 years old and from what ive seen there have been a ton of nerfs and changes so I wasn’t sure if info that old was still applicable. But I will definitely check them out, thank you!
Wow, I Love the wordage and overall message of what you said there. It is all about the journey, you’re right! I guess I was just starting not to enjoy the journey since I started feeling like I was losing way too often, and therefore like I was doing something fundamentally wrong with my deck building which made my OCD kick in and hyper-focus on cars combos to the point I want to pull my hair out when trying to put shot together lol. I did just find out about Whizbang, I think that’s an awesome idea that’d be perfect for me, letting me get a feel for a lot of different cards
Incoming opinion: I believe when you start getting competitive you lose some of the fun
Apart from everything else you said in your post, as most of it's actually decent advice, I do not agree with this statement at all. Yes, building decks will be challenging in a way where you will probably lose a lot of games before you made a deck that works, but even in deck-building, the goal should be to make a good deck. Competitive is not the same as being salty/mad when you lose; it's more about wanting to do the best thing possible, with the best results. Nothing wrong with that, and ranking up with homebrew decks is the most fun one can have.
As for the questions, let me first applaud your willingness to explore the game on your own. Too few people like you roll into a game like Hearthstone nowadays, making the whole game very meta-reliant. Too few people dare to experiment with deck-building, and jump into forums like this very one, searching for the 'best' decks, without ever touching the concept of homebrewing. That being said, I think everyone has a certain motivation to start playing a game like this, and you need to find out what yours is. Is it simply brewing your own decks and having fun with them? Or do you also like to win and rank up? Because as brave as homebrewing is, it's incredibly hard to see these two combined.
My first real advice would be to ensure knowing what archetype you like to play. You speak of tribes, like Murloc and Demons, but as someone said before, these really don't matter that much anymore. When I speak of archetypes however, I mean Aggro, Control, Combo or Midrange. Some can argue with me over these distinctions, but it's what taught me the game at first, and therefor are the types I live by.
Aggro: Despised by a good bunch of our fine forum-civilians, Aggro decks do one thing really well: closing out games as soon as possible. In Twitch-terms, they SMOrc. But there's a lot more to Aggro decks than meets the eye. It's about efficient trading, and knowing your enemy's powerplays during the match. For example, playing against a Control Mage, you know you should be careful going too wide going into turn 7 because of Flamestrike. Aggro decks have the clear advantage of being cheap, and if you like efficient laddering, it's a solid archetype. Classes that go well with this type: Hunter, Warlock, Shaman, Paladin and Rogue.
Control: My personal go-to archetype, Control is about, well... Controlling your opponent. You outgrind your opponent's resources, and find ways to reactively mess up their own strategy. If you face Aggro, you clear boards, over and over again, for example. The most common denominator in most Control decks is that they lack win-conditions. Instead, they tech against the most common threads on ladder. As far as deck-building goes, they're almost always the most expensive decks, which makes it most likely not suitable for a newcomer such as yourself.
Combo: You clear, you draw, you clear, and then you draw. And then you draw some more. Combo decks revolve around drawing your clear-cut win-condition, and surprisingly enough, do not care all that much about their opponent. They often get the remark that they are single-player experiences on ladder, because they run their own plan and that's it. Fitting about Combo-decks is saying that the gameplay might get repetitive, but that's not what Combo decks are about. They're about creating the whackiest combos, and providing the best deck to maintain control and excercise that win-condition. Combo Priest, Shirvallah Paladin and even Nomi decks fit the description. They often revolve around killing your opponent in one-turn, or two, if it requires more setup. While gameplay may seem repetitive, they're often the most tricky and challenging to play.
Midrange: Midrange, although most people might not consider it a loose archetype, I think it actually makes up most of the meta right now. Most of the prominent decks do not fit one bill or the other, and hence, I call them Midrange. Decks like Evolve Shaman, Quest Druid, Highlander Warrior, Highlander Paladin, Highlander Hunter, and so on. They're not clear-cut aggro decks, but they're definitely not Control either. I think it's here that deckbuilding can really shine. In fact, most Highlander decks, although some cards are just necessary, do not require a certain build to be successful. When I started making my own decks, they were all Highlander decks. I found them the most fun to make, and the most fun to play.
All in all, knowing which archetype you find most fun, will help you in knowing which decks to build, and which cards to craft for that. Most on this forum will say that having fun is the most important thing, you can also have fun while creating your own decks and making them viable enough to actually climb the ladder. If you ever need any help from here on out, slide into my DM's at any time.
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Dad, husband, gamer, fueled by coffee.
Currently playing Dragon Galakrond Priest, Dragon Galakrond Warrior and Highlander Dragon Hunter.
Thank you so much man!! I appreciate your 2 cents and your input. I’ve found out that the main thing I like is control, as I like to knock out the opponents board almost to like an OCD level lmao, and then to get to the point mid game where the game feels like it has like a “falling action” (to put it in writing terms, lol) where it slowly more and more becomes obvious I’m going to win. So I really like control, with maybe aspects of midrange or combo. My problem is that I just can’t for the life of me figure out how many spells, which spells, etc to put in. Like I feel like I look at what each spell does and feel like I need to have two of each one in my deck, but then I realize I can only have one of each, and then I realize that I can’t even have that LOL. I just played with a friend of mine for like an hour and a half, gave him my login so he can make me some decks. He made like eight within 20 minutes or so, whereas I’ll spend way more than 20 minutes On a deck trying to make it perfect and then I don’t even feel like satisfied or like I’ve accomplished anything whatsoever lol. I’d really like to make a good control shaman deck (don’t care whether it’s evolve, or quest, or anything else) I really just want something that works where I don’t feel like I’m running out of life, or cards, or that my cards never come up together where I can use the effects with each other to combo
Hats off to you, mate, for reaching out. The feelings you're describing as a new player (overwhelming number of cards, wanting to add every spell to your decks, not sure which archetype to go with, etc.) are all very common feelings when you first start out. Not to worry!
As some have mentioned before, definitely watch a lot of youtube videos. That's definitely how I got good at the game. Although a lot of the pro streamers/players are playing the Battlegrounds mode right now, I would check out semi-recent (i.e. before battlegrounds) episodes of players like Kibler, Trump, Thijs, RegisKillbin, Dekkster, and others. They often explain what they're thinking of as they play - which is super helpful.
As you get more pro, you'll start becoming familiar not just with the cards in your own deck, but what are all of the common decks currently being played (a great guide for current meta decks is VisciousSyndicate.com as well as HSreplay.net). Once you familiarize yourself with ALL the common decks being played, you'll understand what each deck's "win condition" is (i.e. draw all cards and then instant kill you with a Holy Wrath-Shirvallah combo (Holy Wrath Paladin), remove all your stuff with board clears, hard single removal, and taunts (Control Warrior), or develop super wide boards of small minions and then buff them up (Token Druid)). Then you can play your own deck accordingly to try and stop your opponent from achieving his/her win condition before you achieve yours.
Be patient, don't expect serious legend-level results for at least a few months as you develop your card collection, watch a lot of youtube videos, and - most importantly - have fun! (The single player Adventures in particular are great! Especially the Dalaran Heist, Tombs of Terror, and the original Dungeon Run).
Thank you so much brother! Your first paragraph hit the nail on the fucking head lmao!! Totally encapsulated how I’ve been feeling.
But duly noted, man. I’m gonna just keep plugging along, and just like with all other things in life I know it’ll feel way overwhelming at first, until one day it just doesn’t, and I realize that I have the experience to understand how the game/ cards/ meta works and feels second-nature. Right now I’m just trying to chip away at the rankings to hit 25 and craft Whizbang, I feel like that will help fast track my understanding of all the different deck styles (or at least a number of them) without having to break the bank on dust (or more importantly, the ol’ IRL bank! Lmao!).
I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond, period, but even more so for providing all of those youtubers & websites to check out. You’re the man!
Hey everyone- you all were super cool for going out of your way to post well thought our replies and advice to help me out; I really appreciate your time and energy spent doing that, so I wanted to post an update (not sure if me posting this will notify you guys since you posted here, so I’m assuming/ hoping it does xD).
I started playing one of my buddies who introduced me to and got me into the game, and after just messing around and trying some different things I ended up putting a deck together that does amazingly well! (at least, compared to before lol) After looking at popular deck builds online I realized that there are actually very similar ones out there, I do a quest/evolve shaman but with my own spin on it! ;) I got to the point where I was just like, I need to stop being so cautious with my dust and just take some chances making high-cost cards and trying then out, even if some don’t work out and end up being kind of a waste. Otherwise, I’ll end up being so focused on making every decision a perfect one and not wasting any dust, that in the long run I’ll just end up stunting my growth and learning of the game. So I did end up crafting a couple legendary’s that didn’t end up panning out, but I know (or at least, I hope xD) That I will find a use for them in a deck in the future. Right now I’m running Shudderwock, Barista Lynchen, and the Storm Bringer, as well as a couple epics and rare’s. I’m definitely still making adjustments as I go but I think the main thing that I took away from all of your guys’ help is to stop spending so much time on trying to make everything perfect before playing, and to just start actually PLAYING. Lol, seems obvious but I finally got a grasp on it xD My issue was that I felt like I didn’t even have a core or template that even remotely worked that I could start with and fine tune, now that I have that I feel way more confident and don’t feel so overwhelmed. It makes it a lot easier knowing that even if some cards need adjustment, at least I have something to work with and build on, rather than just feeling like I don’t even know if a single card in my deck should be in there or not haha.
Again everyone who posted, you rock, please feel free to add me and hit me up, I’d love to see that! I’m not sure how the different servers work yet or if you can play people in other servers, switch the server you’re in or anything like that, but my tag is iCloseDeals #1393 in the U.S. server
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Hey y’all, quick backstory I recently started playing 2-3 weeks ago, started off liking mage and now warmed up to shaman quite a bit. I spent some money on classic card packs so I have a good amount of cards and dust, the problem is when I start to build/ fine-tune decks I literally feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cards, combinations, synergy, and the correct or “best” way to capitalize on those things.
Three big problems I have are:
1. Not knowing what ratio of lower (0-3) and higher (4-7+, just the way I think about it lol not even sure if that’s how pro’s look at it) mana cards to have
2. Not knowing whether to use an archetype, and if so which one works best (Murloc,mech,pirate, elemental, beast, dragon, etc.
3. Not knowing how many minions vs. spells/ secrets to have, what ratio of high mana minions and spells to low cost, if I should have duplicates of certain cards of not
On top of that I’m just starting to learn about the different deck types, like Tempo, Control, Aggro, Zoo and i just feel overwhelmed and like I have OCD when I start adjusting my decks lol. Is there a good guide/ video/ YouTube channel that you know of to learn the like, “meta basics” I guess? I understand the super-beginner basic stuff, but I feel like I’m drowning trying to get a good grasp on the higher level meta stuff. Any help greatly appreciated!!
Hi, I liked this guide (it's nearly two years old, so it uses some old cards, but the ideas last).
https://www.icy-veins.com/hearthstone/how-to-build-a-deck-in-hearthstone
I believe the most important thing is to set up a plan.
Do I wanna agressively kill my oponent? Then I should have some low cost minions, some card draw (to not get out of steam too quickly) and some finishers for turn 5-6.
Do I wanna control the game? Then i should have cards that stabilize the board at turns 1-5 and then introduce some big swing turns.
And those decks would look totally different when it comes to mana curve..
ok my 2 cents.... dont read meta charts, dont stare at spread sheets filled with data on card overall play-ability. Craft legendarys and epics that look fun and build a deck around those cards. This is called the fun way. You will not win as much but you will learn a long forgotten art called " having fun and not bitching about winning". It's antiquated but there is beauty in its simplicity
However, if you are looking to build a sustainable long term commitment where each class is playable it can be alot of fun to deep dive into the stats of certain cards. Dive in but make sure you can swim.
Incoming opinion: I believe when you start getting competitive you lose some of the fun
Since you new you do not need to have top tier reno decks with 5 legendarys. Remember "comparison is the thief of joy"
I would be remiss if i did not mention the sheer value of Whizbang the Wonderful. However i do believe he is only in the standard set for 1 more year, so perhaps his value/cost ratio should be evaluated more thoroughly
Let me leave you with this, You must find your own way. The understanding of matchups win ratios, meta decks and the nuances that give top tier pros a competetive edge will all come in time,and quickly trust me, but the fundamentals you learn as a noob will determine your overall temperment for the psychological and mathmatic problems laid before you.You must use your cards to make your deck and play your game. The true rewards are in the journey, not the spoils at the end. Good luck you have my support :P
These are all very valid questions and i'll try to answer them as best as i can. But really, if i had a recommendation to give you on how to get the hang of the basics i would say to pick a straightforward budget deck that's out right now and getting to understand its game plan as a foundation. If you're building decks on your own right now it would be hard to ascertain if games were going south because of inefficient plays or because the deck wasn't built properly, so using something already established to be viable would let you focus on how you're playing the game. For instance, since you're saying shaman is a class that's interesting to you right now, murloc shaman is a good aggressive deck that is affordable and also easy to understand. I'm gonna try to use it as an example to answer the three problems you highlighted.
1. So, for mana cost, it's actually relative to the type of deck you are running but a general rule of thumb is to maintain a reliable curve, as in being able to play cards efficiently on most turns without bricking or doing something way too weak. in most decks, you want to be able to have a 1 cost minion first turn to establish board space, a 3 cost card on curve, and then a healthy balance of cards you can play together on later turns that synergize. However, it's most important to consider what it is your deck is trying to do, and whether higher cost or lower cost cards fit that game plan. Using murloc shaman as an example, it's a deck that runs a lot of low cost minions, more than a typical deck, to establish a big board early and close out the game with a finisher (Bloodlust) to hit the opponent directly with a ton of damage. Like, this is a deck who's dream scenario is closing the game out by turn 5 or 6. There are great cards that shaman has, such as the 8 cost Walking Fountain, that make sense in other late game shaman decks but don't fit in aggressive builds like murloc. So, your mana distribution is really just reliant on what the purpose of your deck is and whether it benefits from high or low cost plays.
2. Archetypes, although they're very common in the basic set, are actually not as relevant as they used to be. you'll see tribe based decks get popular every once in a while, but it's not a main focus per se. It's important not to fall into the trap of running bad cards just because they're a part of your archetype. Like, if you want to run beast hunter, even though Silverback Patriach is a beast, it's better to run literally any other 3 cost card because the card is so awful that it will lose you games even with all the synergy in the world. I would capitalize on effects that work off of one another before a tribe. However, murloc shaman is an exception to this, as it actually runs a lot of murlocs that aren't typically "good", and that's because Underbelly Angler is an insane card and it generates huge amounts of value in your hand off of 1 cost and 2 cost murlocs.
3. A spell to minion ratio is also something that depends on what the deck does, and where those terms you mentioned like zoo, control, etc. come into play. To explain it in very basic terms, there are decks like control, that want to remove all threats from the board as often as possible, so they run plenty of spells and removal in order to exhaust the opponent of their options. Aggro, on the other hand, wants to close out the game as early as they can, so they typically run more cheap minions and a low amount of spells in order to keep up the pressure and end things quickly. Really, what you want to do is make sure the spells you run are useful to you and are cohesive to the goal of your deck, as opposed to how many there are. Like in murloc shaman, you have the option of running great removal spells like Earthquake, Hex, etc. Now, earthquake obviously has a great effect, but it's also very expensive for an aggro deck. In fact, you really might want to run Earth Shock more than the other options because it's incredibly cheap and can silence a taunt and let you get back to hitting the opponent's face without sacrificing your whole turn, even if it doesn't actually remove the minion. Essentially, what you want be thinking is "which spell is giving me the best deal mana-wise to achieve what i need to do in this deck?" when picking your spells.
As far as duplicates, it's pretty simple: if the card has a fair mana cost and works really well for your deck, meaning you want to see it more often, put two copies in. You want to run two copies of your best 1 cost card and 2 copies of your key mid game cards in most decks. Like in murloc shaman, you need to see underbelly angler as often as possible, 100% if running 3 copies of that card was allowed people would do it. This only gets tricky when it comes to big late game cards, as you might still want to run just one so you don't see it too often in the early game and brick.
as a final note, i think the people above me make a good point in that reading all the meta terminology on this game is kind of unnecessarily confusing. I think the best way to get acquainted with decks is to face them in game and catch on to what they do as you see them being played. i didn't properly understand what combo was until i saw a priest bring me from 30 health to 0 in one turn, and i also didn't get what control meant until i saw a warrior wipe my board four times straight until i had nothing left to play. It's seeing them in action that really helps it click and tells you "oh THIS is what this deck does" but you also learn what you did wrong and how to counter their go-to strategies. It really just starts making a lot more sense when you face similar decks over time and see the common thread in what they do.
Unfortunately, Whizbang Is rotating March/April :(
You might find it useful to watch a few of TrumpSC's YT videos. He's been one of the top educational HS streamers since 2013, and he has a few series called "Trump's Teachings".
Here's a link - he's got about 30-40 videos in two or three different series. The Basic Teachings series is what you should probably watch - the Deck Teachings are out-of-date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KjtRokhpvM&list=PLvEIxIeBRKSjprrvlbAcbVjzHsnH9PjDX&index=2&t=0s
Tysm man!! Yeah I stumbled across his vids last night after posting this but I didn’t watch cause the vid I saw was like 4 years old and from what ive seen there have been a ton of nerfs and changes so I wasn’t sure if info that old was still applicable. But I will definitely check them out, thank you!
Wow, I Love the wordage and overall message of what you said there. It is all about the journey, you’re right! I guess I was just starting not to enjoy the journey since I started feeling like I was losing way too often, and therefore like I was doing something fundamentally wrong with my deck building which made my OCD kick in and hyper-focus on cars combos to the point I want to pull my hair out when trying to put shot together lol. I did just find out about Whizbang, I think that’s an awesome idea that’d be perfect for me, letting me get a feel for a lot of different cards
You’re the best man.. thank you so much for taking the time to write that!!
Apart from everything else you said in your post, as most of it's actually decent advice, I do not agree with this statement at all. Yes, building decks will be challenging in a way where you will probably lose a lot of games before you made a deck that works, but even in deck-building, the goal should be to make a good deck. Competitive is not the same as being salty/mad when you lose; it's more about wanting to do the best thing possible, with the best results. Nothing wrong with that, and ranking up with homebrew decks is the most fun one can have.
As for the questions, let me first applaud your willingness to explore the game on your own. Too few people like you roll into a game like Hearthstone nowadays, making the whole game very meta-reliant. Too few people dare to experiment with deck-building, and jump into forums like this very one, searching for the 'best' decks, without ever touching the concept of homebrewing. That being said, I think everyone has a certain motivation to start playing a game like this, and you need to find out what yours is. Is it simply brewing your own decks and having fun with them? Or do you also like to win and rank up? Because as brave as homebrewing is, it's incredibly hard to see these two combined.
My first real advice would be to ensure knowing what archetype you like to play. You speak of tribes, like Murloc and Demons, but as someone said before, these really don't matter that much anymore. When I speak of archetypes however, I mean Aggro, Control, Combo or Midrange. Some can argue with me over these distinctions, but it's what taught me the game at first, and therefor are the types I live by.
All in all, knowing which archetype you find most fun, will help you in knowing which decks to build, and which cards to craft for that. Most on this forum will say that having fun is the most important thing, you can also have fun while creating your own decks and making them viable enough to actually climb the ladder. If you ever need any help from here on out, slide into my DM's at any time.
Dad, husband, gamer, fueled by coffee.
Currently playing Dragon Galakrond Priest, Dragon Galakrond Warrior and Highlander Dragon Hunter.
Thank you so much man!! I appreciate your 2 cents and your input. I’ve found out that the main thing I like is control, as I like to knock out the opponents board almost to like an OCD level lmao, and then to get to the point mid game where the game feels like it has like a “falling action” (to put it in writing terms, lol) where it slowly more and more becomes obvious I’m going to win. So I really like control, with maybe aspects of midrange or combo. My problem is that I just can’t for the life of me figure out how many spells, which spells, etc to put in. Like I feel like I look at what each spell does and feel like I need to have two of each one in my deck, but then I realize I can only have one of each, and then I realize that I can’t even have that LOL. I just played with a friend of mine for like an hour and a half, gave him my login so he can make me some decks. He made like eight within 20 minutes or so, whereas I’ll spend way more than 20 minutes On a deck trying to make it perfect and then I don’t even feel like satisfied or like I’ve accomplished anything whatsoever lol. I’d really like to make a good control shaman deck (don’t care whether it’s evolve, or quest, or anything else) I really just want something that works where I don’t feel like I’m running out of life, or cards, or that my cards never come up together where I can use the effects with each other to combo
Hats off to you, mate, for reaching out. The feelings you're describing as a new player (overwhelming number of cards, wanting to add every spell to your decks, not sure which archetype to go with, etc.) are all very common feelings when you first start out. Not to worry!
As some have mentioned before, definitely watch a lot of youtube videos. That's definitely how I got good at the game. Although a lot of the pro streamers/players are playing the Battlegrounds mode right now, I would check out semi-recent (i.e. before battlegrounds) episodes of players like Kibler, Trump, Thijs, RegisKillbin, Dekkster, and others. They often explain what they're thinking of as they play - which is super helpful.
As you get more pro, you'll start becoming familiar not just with the cards in your own deck, but what are all of the common decks currently being played (a great guide for current meta decks is VisciousSyndicate.com as well as HSreplay.net). Once you familiarize yourself with ALL the common decks being played, you'll understand what each deck's "win condition" is (i.e. draw all cards and then instant kill you with a Holy Wrath-Shirvallah combo (Holy Wrath Paladin), remove all your stuff with board clears, hard single removal, and taunts (Control Warrior), or develop super wide boards of small minions and then buff them up (Token Druid)). Then you can play your own deck accordingly to try and stop your opponent from achieving his/her win condition before you achieve yours.
Be patient, don't expect serious legend-level results for at least a few months as you develop your card collection, watch a lot of youtube videos, and - most importantly - have fun! (The single player Adventures in particular are great! Especially the Dalaran Heist, Tombs of Terror, and the original Dungeon Run).
Good luck, bud!
Thank you so much brother! Your first paragraph hit the nail on the fucking head lmao!! Totally encapsulated how I’ve been feeling.
But duly noted, man. I’m gonna just keep plugging along, and just like with all other things in life I know it’ll feel way overwhelming at first, until one day it just doesn’t, and I realize that I have the experience to understand how the game/ cards/ meta works and feels second-nature. Right now I’m just trying to chip away at the rankings to hit 25 and craft Whizbang, I feel like that will help fast track my understanding of all the different deck styles (or at least a number of them) without having to break the bank on dust (or more importantly, the ol’ IRL bank! Lmao!).
I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond, period, but even more so for providing all of those youtubers & websites to check out. You’re the man!
Hey everyone- you all were super cool for going out of your way to post well thought our replies and advice to help me out; I really appreciate your time and energy spent doing that, so I wanted to post an update (not sure if me posting this will notify you guys since you posted here, so I’m assuming/ hoping it does xD).
I started playing one of my buddies who introduced me to and got me into the game, and after just messing around and trying some different things I ended up putting a deck together that does amazingly well! (at least, compared to before lol) After looking at popular deck builds online I realized that there are actually very similar ones out there, I do a quest/evolve shaman but with my own spin on it! ;) I got to the point where I was just like, I need to stop being so cautious with my dust and just take some chances making high-cost cards and trying then out, even if some don’t work out and end up being kind of a waste. Otherwise, I’ll end up being so focused on making every decision a perfect one and not wasting any dust, that in the long run I’ll just end up stunting my growth and learning of the game. So I did end up crafting a couple legendary’s that didn’t end up panning out, but I know (or at least, I hope xD) That I will find a use for them in a deck in the future. Right now I’m running Shudderwock, Barista Lynchen, and the Storm Bringer, as well as a couple epics and rare’s. I’m definitely still making adjustments as I go but I think the main thing that I took away from all of your guys’ help is to stop spending so much time on trying to make everything perfect before playing, and to just start actually PLAYING. Lol, seems obvious but I finally got a grasp on it xD My issue was that I felt like I didn’t even have a core or template that even remotely worked that I could start with and fine tune, now that I have that I feel way more confident and don’t feel so overwhelmed. It makes it a lot easier knowing that even if some cards need adjustment, at least I have something to work with and build on, rather than just feeling like I don’t even know if a single card in my deck should be in there or not haha.
Again everyone who posted, you rock, please feel free to add me and hit me up, I’d love to see that! I’m not sure how the different servers work yet or if you can play people in other servers, switch the server you’re in or anything like that, but my tag is iCloseDeals #1393 in the U.S. server