Hearthpwn

I finally got a phone strong enough to run the game shortly after Mean Streets of Gadgetzan was released.

As a PC game, it felt shallow to me, but as a mobile game, it felt amazing. It was hard breaking through the entry barrier, but I enjoyed myself.

I've been playing since Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, and hit rank 15 for the first time last season.

I have trouble on Ranked mode mainly because I'm still having a hard time handling the intense pressure that comes with playing there. I was able to make strong Jade Druid, Pirate Warrior, and Evolve Shaman decks when Journey to Un'goro was active, but I would get emotionally exhausted after a few games and have to take a break. I've been getting better at handling myself emotionally as my collection grows and my experience increases, but my growth has been rather slow.

In short, I try to balance my desire to "have fun with the game" with my desire to "be good at the game," and it has been hard fitting raising my rank into that. I don't let it get me down, though, since success on Ranked mode comes as much from heavy time investment as it does from skill. I've never felt that I had to devote so much time to Ranked just for some golden cards and to prove myself a good player.

I got Prince Keleseth and Prince Valanar, and I'm not ready to write them off just yet, particularly Keleseth.

I faced a Zoo Warlock today that was able to play him on turn 1, and my Token Druid deck was unable to keep up with the strength of the minions he summoned. Once he played a boosted Defender of Argus, I was completely shut out. After experimenting with similar decks, I found that minions such as Tar Creeper, Darkshire Councilman (which can in turn curve into Grim Necromancer to make it a 5/6 on turn 4), and Patches the Pirate get pretty scary when buffed in this manner. The card also has good synergy with Warlock thanks to its hero power, which can pull the minions from the deck easily.

With the preorder, the free packs, the 1500 gold I had saved up, and the missions I obtained about 60 packs, from which I acquired the following:

• Arfus (gold)
• Scourgelord Garrosh
• Prince Keleseth
• Prince Valanar
• Uther of the Ebon Blade
• Malfurion the Pestilent (mission reward)

I just got Uther of the Ebon Blade, and though I was initially excited, my heart soon filled with despair at the realization that this is the only Paladin legendary card I have besides The Last Kaleidosaur. Since ALL 4 other paladin legendary cards are playable right now, and I only have enough dust for 3 right now,  I may have to make tough crafting decisions to make my new acquisition worthwhile should decks involving it prove viable. Since Paladin looks to be very strong right now, I suspect that playing this class may be in the cards for me, so I would like to at least consider it.

Although it's early, I'd like to at least get some ideas to work with if I decide to go through with playing Paladin, I'd like to consider Legendary cards first, since they are the biggest drain on my resources. Here are my current thoughts on each card, and how they could fit in:

• Tirion Fordring - This card has always been feared, it is strong in almost every Paladin deck, and once I get it, it will be mine to use in Standard for the life of Hearthstone. And yet, its effect of putting a weapon in your hand conflicts with Uther of the Ebon Blade, which also puts a weapon in your hand. I try to imagine a deck with both cards, and see many awkward situations arising from pairing these two.
• Ragnaros, Lightlord  - This card combined with Uther of the Ebon Blade could produce a combined 28 points of recovery minimum, so this option seems more appealing than Tirion
• Wickerflame Burnbristle - This fits in well with the Control archetype that Uther of the Ebon Blade is being considered for, and has great synergy with the new Corpsetaker. It is intimidating spending my dust on such a low cost minion, though.
• Sunkeeper Tarim - I have almost no knowledge about what kind of decks this card works in, though I have seen and fallen victim to some amazing plays from this guy.
• The Lich King - This could be used instead of Tirion, since it seems to mesh better with Uther of the Ebon Blade, and it is neutral, so there would be other decks I could potentially fit this into.

I want to know about the cards throughout Hearthstone's history people expected to be powerful before their release, and had their expectations proven right.

The only expansion release I've witnessed so far is Journey to Un'goro, and the only card I can remember that was acknowledged as strong both  before and after it's release being Tar Creeper. I'd like to hear about some others.

Yesterday, I, as a Jade Druid fought a Quest Mage who had finished her quest, and tried to do the One Turn Kill combo before Archmage Antonidas was in her hand.

Her move went like this:

Sorcerer's Apprentice, Molten Reflection, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Molten Reflection, Time Warp, Coldlight Oracle, Coldlight Oracle

She was evidently trying to get Archmage Antonidas into her hand with Coldlight Oracle, but failed.

On my turn, I used Wild Pyromancer to clear her side of the board, leaving her with no way to kill me, as I had over 40 points of health counting my armor as well as an infinite supply of Jade Idol, and her deck was nearly empty.

The reason it was a misplay is that she didn't have to try for the combo so early. She had played an excellent control game up to that point and had 15 health, still had her first Ice Block up, and had me with a near empty board. There was no urgency, and she could easily have waited the two extra turns it took her to draw Archmage Antonidas.

Thanks to her blunder, she lost the match that she by all other rights should have won, and my ranked win streak was preserved for three more games.

And the moral of the story is: there is a time to focus on killing and a time to focus on survival. Be sure you know which is which.

I want some more features to increase accessibility to new players.

I remember playing a Tavern Brawl called "A Peek to the Past" in which the players could only use Basic and Classic cards of Rare rarity and below, and thinking "it would be excellent to see a dedicated mode like this."

Speaking as someone who started playing during the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion, I can say it was very rough getting through the entry barrier; I would have loved a way to help me ease into the game.

I remember when Journey to Un'goro released and the success of The Caverns Below surprised everyone, while The Marsh Queen fell far short of expectations.

I've only been playing since after the release of Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, and don't yet have any other similar experiences, and want to hear from you all. Which cards have had the greatest disparity between expectation and reality for you?

I want to know if the introduction of new cards has ever made previously popular decks unplayable on the ladder. With Journey to Un'Goro, I saw Kabal legendary cards stop being used when Reno Jackson was lost, but I want to know if something like this can happen with the mere introduction of new cards.

Some context: I've only been playing this game since Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, so I've never witnessed the release of a new expansion where cards weren't dropped.