Hearthpwn

I have seen Paladin mentioned here and there as one of the best, if not the single best Arena class out there.  Meanwhile, I am really struggling with the class in my last half dozen or so runs.  I mean, really bad.  My combined record is probably something like 5-9 in my last 3 runs.

Last run, I picked up double Truesilver, double Kazdingo, single Yeti, and went 1-3.  No Consecration, no Equality.  I did not think my curve was that bad, a little bit heavy on the 4 slot, but otherwise fine.  It just seemed every game I would get behind on board very easily, then struggle to use Truesilver to trade with x/5's.

1) Is the class actually consistent in Arena as advertised?

2) If it's dependent on class-cards, which are the highest value and by how much?

Any tips appreciated.

Re: Innervate/Prep

Saying Black Lotus is better is really only saying that Mana is better in Magic than in HS, and secondly that having graveyards, responses, everything that Magic has that this game doesn't, is what makes Mana better in MtG.  No point in arguing that.  But Mana is really only as good as the card you use it on.  In MtG, a Tinker at 3 mana can win you the game immediately by itself.  If anything were remotely that strong in HS, Innervate/Prep would get banned.

They are still awesome, class-defining cards in HS.  Turn 2 Azure Drake or Van Cleef Combo is pretty game-breaking at the level I play at.  Turn 3 Druid of the Claw - Bear Mode is too.  These plays will only get better as the Drakes, Druids, Legends themselves get better with the power creep. 

#1 -

DF is somewhat conditional, but not really.  It's just such an obscenely powerful card all around.  Draw 3-5 cards in a game where every card is action.  No contest, really.

Second, I would say Preparation and Innervate.  Those cards are sick.  If Hearthstone survives maybe 4-5 expansions like other TCG's have, a card pool that deep would probably lead to them getting nerfed from the game.  Too much like Black Lotus in MtG.

Otherwise, Bloodmage is obviously one of the top, Leeroy gets played everywhere, and those cards are pretty defining of the game.  If you were measuring a card by metagame impact and not raw power, Leeroy would be #1.  If you ask me tho, Tirion Fordring is the most unconditionally powerful Legendary minion, albeit with a couple others a close second.  It's just so hard to lose to anything other than combo after being immune to at least 2 attacks, then getting a 3 for 1 weapon on the back end of it.      

Yeah, funny thing about Thoughtsteal is that it's only better than Arcane Intellect etc. if your opponent's cards are better than yours.  Which, I suppose, is quite often the case when you are playing Priest.  Still tho, no one ever says "OMG, opponent AI'd into Alextrasza/Leeroy/etc, wtf RNG."  But Mage playing those cards themselves has the same chance.  

Both in-game mechanics and out of game considerations pretty much guarantee this game will always have more aggro than its win-rate would indicate.

In game, it is so clearly much better to have a 2/1 one turn earlier than a 3/2, because you'll just do more damage with it.  Even if the 3/2 had taunt, it would be even.  But just being able to attack past any non-taunt minion into the opponent's face, clearly there's a lot more options for someone who gets on the ground first.  And lol at people saying it takes no skill.  Being faster than your opponent, you're the one who has to make the decision first about which minion eats which.  99% of the time someone says that such and such takes no skill, they're actually making dumb decisions like trading with anything you can kill as aggro, then assuming that's what everyone else must do because "it's obvious".

For out of game stuff, there sure is an incentive to play quick games on ladder, regardless of outcome.  That's been said.  Also though, just look at what game you're playing.  Its combat phase is about the same as other TCG's, but every single other aspect of it is simplified and streamlined.  There's no discard, no mana denial, no playing during an opponent's turn, no interaction with a "used pile" or "graveyard".  No multi-dimensional strategies, because there is only one dimension.  It's a Blizzard game, built for the masses.  That means that people who want in-depth deck construction, endless options, complex decision trees, and deep card pools (read: Control-minded players) are just playing another TCG.  A certain player demographic and playstyle will pre-dominate here because of the game's market position.

I personally expect the game to keep more or less 2/3 of the meta as aggro, regardless of how often it actually wins.  Instead of complaining though, it just makes it easier to predict the field and play the right deck. 

Quote from sevsick »

 

Thanks!

I'm still wondering though what the name "Zoo" is for.

The term "Zoo" came from the species of the users that use such decks. 

The term really originated in MTG.

"Zoo is an extremely aggressive aggro deck that utilizes low-cost, self-boosting creatures along with burn and utility spells. It's main strategy is to simply beat its opponents into submission before they can actually get anything going."

BDSorcerer explained it well.

So I guess from MTG, people called it Zoo because it was Lions, Apes, etc, and that convention just got picked up here?  Makes sense.

One thing I noticed looking at Zoo decklists were lots of Taunts like Voidwalker and Shieldbearer.  I thought the more all-out aggro would just use stuff like Merlocs.  Are Taunts necessary for grinding those Aggro matchups, or are they more for just the higher tiers? 

I am no expert, but I do think that Hearthstone is a more skill-intensive game than people give it credit for.

There are a lot of game-altering decisions to be made, mainly because unlike other TCG's such as Magic, the decision of what happens with minions is made by the person controlling the minions.  You don't put your minions at the mercy of your opponent during your turn and during your attack.  So, there are both good decisions and bad decisions in regards to whether you go for board control or for the opposing life total.  That decision needs to be made both on a deck by deck basis and a game by game basis.  But the decisions are all yours to make.  Being able to check for lethal and predict taunts two and three turns down the road reaps huge rewards playing as any deck. 

In Arena, the challenge is understanding who's in the beatdown role.  First, you're looking at your own deck, which is harder to get a handle on than one you build custom.  You're also assigning an opponent's deck as beatdown or board control, based on little more than the first two plays hero type.  So all told, it's much more about the game state than the deck matchup.  Also, people don't value early drops high enough in Arena, when the lack of a consistent Taunt and/or a kill spell from the opponent raises the value of getting a creature on board first.  Solid 2 drops like Faerie Dragons, Geomancers, etc should be picked up nearly always.   

Because in general, if you ask me, the number of players who go for board control when they shouldn't outnumber those making the opposite mistake by about 3 to 1.  A certain type of player will generally always kill a minion whenever they can get away with it, and will pass that up only on the condition that they can get lethal that very same turn instead.   Which explains the success of the Paladin class in Arena.  Board controll'ish Shaman and Druid playstyles fall victim to this.  At a much earlier point than most players currently do, you should switch up to throwing minions at your opponent's face.

Quote from BDSorcerer »

Take a look in this thread Justice.  http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/56646-season-two-legend-warlock-zoo

It will help point you in the right direction if you are wanting to build a modern zoo deck.  "Zoo" denotes a warlock deck that is full of low cost creatures.  It's a consistent and versatile deck, that doesn't cost much to craft.

 

Thanks!

I'm still wondering though what the name "Zoo" is for.

Thanks for suggestions.  Although, I am not sure if the term "Zoo" denotes some Zoo animal card like Direwolf Alpha, any aggro with early taunts, or just any non-Merloc aggro deck as Warlock.  I'm getting different decklists when I search.  Anyone have a link to a good Zoo deck?  Also, would you say Zoo has a good matchup versus Mage and other such middle-game aggro?  Those are what I see the most of, it seems like.

The Shockadin deck also looks cool, although I'd probably have to watch a few videos to get a handle on what it plays like.   

I'm a beginner who is just about done getting all classes to level 10, and I'm planning on getting into ranked play soon.  I don't have too much time for the game's daily quests, and I want to keep close to a $0 budget, so I'm looking for a deck that satisfies these conditions:

1) Plays out games quickly, win or lose.  Less time to grind.

2) Is good against the more transparent, easily played against decks, specifically Aggro.  I expect the very obvious games are the ones I can win, and I'm ok with losing the oddball test of wits.

3) Is not too expensive in regards to Legendaries.

I was thinking maybe a quick minion-based deck in a class with a hero ability that's typically good at handling Aggro, such as Mage, Paladin, Druid or Rogue.  I was looking at the "Shockadin" deck, and it seems pretty quick but I don't know how it does against Aggro.  Budget Mage maybe, but I'm not sure how quick it is.  I just don't want to play something like Warlock aggro because it seems very anti-control and matchup dependent.  I also want to play a bit unorthodox, while not needing to go through a very steep learning curve.

Suggestions?