Hearthpwn

Quote from Kinkyjohnfowler >>

Legends of Runeterra is the obvious step up from Hearthstone. It offers almost everything that is good about Hearthstone and much more (if you’re like me anyway).

Gwent is another but it plays nothing like Hearthstone, it doesn’t have the same game feel but, from what I understand, it’s very technical. Both LoR and Gwent are very generous F2P games.

Hearthstone is inherently one dimensional for most players until you reach specific parts of a matchup. The first 4 or so turns generally play out themselves, and unless you know the matchups inside out spotting other lines of play is generally not going to happen during those turns. The complexities of the game are really only prevalent at the higher levels. 

With LoR, as big decisions get made earlier in the game (and more of them), often around turns 2-3, it relies far less on RNG and more on the lines of play each player has chosen, which means games between middling player (Platinum to Diamond in HS) are going to far more often feel like they were won due to player choice. There are clear areas of improvement to make when trying out new decks, where as in HS these improvements taper off after you’ve reached a certain level, and can really only be improved further by becoming a very good player if that makes sense.

Deck building os also fun and varied as decks are often reliant on Champions (of which only 6 are allowed in a deck), so middling players can easily identify synergies and test out cool things which aren’t seen on the meta.

There’s far more to get into tbh, I’d suggest you just try it, give it atleast a week or so to adjust, and I would be surprised if you don’t come to enjoy it.

 I second pretty much all Kinkyjohnfowler said and want to add some additional points regarding the OP's questions. 

1. Diversity: LoR is also a rather combat centric game, but the focus is more on the interactions of both players' boards during each turn. The field of decks is very diverse in terms of how spell- or minion-heavy they are, but spells HAVE to be a lot more monitored/restricted for balance's sake in LoR, due to the interactivity of the game, their "higher speed" of impact on the combat (due to many spells being somewhat 'faster' acting than minions) AND, in the case of spells that can target face, the lower hitpoint threshold of each player's "face" (called Nexus in LoR). In HS you have to balance cards only around one player's turn at a time, due to it basically being alternating turns of solitaire . In LoR cards have to be balanced for the situation, that both players can highly interact with each other during each player's attack turn, hence there are different cast speeds of spells and so on. Board clears are a little overprized for their efficiency in LoR, which means that there is no real attrition deck. There are a lot of reactive decks, but they all have a finisher in some way. In LoR it is very possible to be successful with experimental decks, cause the game offers a lot more 'hidden' synergistic possibilities (reason for that is, again, its interactivity during combat) over HS, where synergies are more obvious and therefore deckbuilding is easier. 

The combat system is very complex and involves a lot of possibilities for mindgames, bluffs and so on. For example it is possible to kinda 'burn' the opponents mana, by 'aggressive passing' of turns, offering him to either buy into your bluff or forfeit his mana and right to attack for that turn, returning the attack token to you in the process. While in HS curving out is the best thing to do in 90% of cases, in LoR you will see hardcore curving out only on lower ranks, cause simply always using all your mana at once will leave you prone to your opponents reaction, which he gets to make right after your play. Sometimes it is right to just curve out, but in higher leagues the art of passing turns becomes a lot more important. So, why is that, one may ask. This has to do with the fact that the spell (and also some units) system of LoR very often rewards the re-acting player over the one who made the pro-active move. This has to do with 2 facts: 1. simplified spoken (its too complicated to explain properly, but you will understand it when u play it) whenever a player takes an action, the other player gets to make an action thereafter and 2. Fast and Slow Spells (which are 2 of the 3 spell types) resolve in backward order of how they were cast. This means the spell of same speed that was cast by the re-acting player will resolve first. Which is basically the exact opposite of solitary based combat like in HS, cause there you can bluff so much (and also have to). Games where you have the mana to finish the opponent, but it is better to hold it for an upcoming turn OR for the case where he ventures out and makes a risky play, leaving him with either not enough mana to react to your coup-de-grace or simply beating him by the fact that your spell resolves first, are very common in higher leagues. 

2. How f2p friendly is it? Verrrry. :) I completed the whole collection after 3-4 months of play (but i played quite a lot). It is so darn generous. You wont need the whole collection tho, to build all strong decks. There are top masters accounts who have only 70% of the collection. And if you want to buy cards it is a lot more generous than HS as well. 

3. Community/popularity: For me, this is the only field, where HS is clearly better than LoR: LoR's chat system is a bit clunky and harder accessible than in HS, where you can chat and receive messages easily within any screen. This leads to players often reacting later to chat messages than for example in HS - simply because they weren't aware, somebody sent them a msg. Also, in LoR you can't add your most recent opponent in any play mode but one. BUT there is a trick if you want to do it anyway, that works about 70% of time for me. I added big parts of my friend list of now about 70 players this way. The final thing where LoR is worse than HS is that you can't observe your friends' ladder games. You can observe their tournament games tho, cause those are played in Friendly Challenge mode. You can also observe their casual games and expedition (same as arena in HS) games. For LoR in terms of community building i highly suggest that you visit the discord servers dedicated to the game. 

So, maybe this has tickled your interest. I am playing on EU in LoR, have played in masters (highest league) last season and am maybe doing again this season, if i overcome my ladder laziness. ;) If you decide to try the game i can supply you with answers to any question you have about it and will give you the 'fastest route' to getting the maximum amount of XP per day and therefore a full collection eventually. My in game tag is: a3b2c1 #5685

Edit: LoR is a lot more transparent than HS in terms of other players on the ladder (be it master players, whose profiles you can freely see in the game or players from your friend list). So there are quite some stats of other players to look at and also you can see their most recently played decklist, which is also very interesting. 

AQuote from Pr1ncipe4i20 >>

Quote from Heidegger11 >>

runeterra is better in several aspects, especially about deck balance. The mechanics are better and, currently, there are at least 20 high-ranking competitive decks. I'll mention the ones that come to mind: aggro noxus-targon, pirate aggro, fiora shen, endure, midrange frostbite, go hard, plaza scout, zoe lee, zoe fiora, fearsome, discard jinx, nox-pil burn, warmother, soraka tahm, teemo, scargrounds...

 Do you have any site to netdeck good runeterra decks? I'm always find horrible sites with horrible lists. I like the game but don't have the same patience to deckbuilding there like i have in years of HS and still has in HS.

 Sure thing! I use the following sites: 

https://mobile.twitter.com/<wbr />runeterradex
https://twitter.com/<wbr />runeterraccg
https://www.swimstrim.com/
https://teamleviathangaming.<wbr />com/category/lor-meta/
https://twitter.com/<wbr />lortopdecks

Also, check the following Youtube content creators, they are all very high Masters players (besides Swim, but if you play LoR you should watch Swim) and their vids are super instructional.

Alanzq

BruisedByGod

Swim

MajiinBae

Personally i prefer Alanzq over everyone else in terms of skill and how much you can learn from his vids. 

Also: Where are you playing? EU? NA? Gief tag plx :)

Not if you started recently. And in general: no. Expect to spend a lot of money on Hearthstone if you want to go beyond wood rank. Or just ditch the game completely from the get-go and switch to a better + f2p game, like LoR. Will save you lots of bucks and grey hair. Cheers 

Quote from Pherosizm >>

I like Hearthstone because I like Warcraft.

No other card game is going to help me get my nostalgia fix for Warcraft while simultaneously giving me a fun and easy to play card game. It's not about card balance, the economy, the community or the company's business practices.

If you play CCGs because you just like card games and nothing else specifically, then there are other products on the market you can try.

I'm probably not alone on this.

 Yeah, you're absolutely spot on with that first paragraph. That was the reason i sticked with it for so long.

Oh, right. My Riot tag under which you can add me in-game is 

a3b2c1   #5685       I play on Europe. Cheers.

If you're curious you can add me and i can explain you the basics and help you with your questions as good as i can (Admittedly there is quite a bit of stuff to learn in the beginning, before you can play a real game, which is a deterrence for many people, but if you like challenges and like learning new things, you will be rewarded greatly. As i said in terms of gameplay it blows HS out of the water easily, no competition at all)

Hey. guys. o/

Even tho i really loved HS for a long time, it got very stale for me the last 1-2 years. The whole terrible in-game economy situation combined with the fact that i had to start a new account was the finishing move. 

The reason why i sticked to the game for all the years was, that i assumed that it is just the best of the field gameplay-wise and cause i was a Blizz fanboy for the last decade or so. But boy, was i wrong...

About 2 weeks ago i reluctantly installed LoR, cause i was frustrated with HS. I was already biased towards LoR being way worse, cause i just didn't like what i saw from LoL.

So, i got into LoR with a really bias towards wanting to dislike it. I was so darn surprised that it blows HS out of the water in pretty much every aspect. And that EASILY..

In LoR there is almost no powercreep or pack filler cards. Almost every single card has its eligibility and can be implemented into some kind of strategy. There is no narrow meta game. Due to the fact that so many different decks are viable its super fresh. There are OTK decks, heavy control decks, midrange, aggro, attrition, mill, bomb warrior (haha) exactly like in HS. LoR is easier to balance, cause it is interactive: To every action of the opponent, you are allowed a reaction and vice versa. There is almost no RNG fiesta in LoR. It has secondary game modes with actual rewards! It has something like HS arena, which gives the most rewards and also another mode where you can build a highlander deck from own collection. It looks a lot nicer than HS, it's not weeby at all (which was one of my concerns beforehand). There is so much more calculation needed to play LoR optimally = high skillcap, which i love. HS on the other hand i can play to Legend while tabbing out to watch Youtube or similar. LoR is a PARADISE for deckbuilders! So many viable combos that one can explore and memes actually work. It is basically completely for free. The game gives tons of rewards, you dont have to buy anything. From my calculations i think i will have a full collection in the next month or so. The time needed to invest to reach the reward milestones is very little compared to HS. LoR resets the main reward once a week and i'm maxed out in terms of rewards already after 3 days of yes, intense, but compared to the time i spent in HS, moderate amount time. 

There is really only one area, where HS has an edge in my oppinion: The social system. In LoR so far you couldn't add opponents, but they will implement it within the next weeks i heard. Also i didn't find active communities for it like this here on hearthpwn so far. But that is really the only drawback for me. On anything else i'm not missing HS at all. 

So, my offer here is, if i sparked your interest i can answer your questions from the perspective of someone who is talented for card games but is still at the beginning/intermediate phase of learning LoR.

My request is, if anyone knows community sites like hearthpwn, but for LoR. Also, if you already play LoR, slide me your Riot tag and i will gladly add you. 

Cheers mates, looking forward to your answers. 

A better Arcane Giant for a class that got synergy. Great card.

2 Mana 2 Spell dmg with 1 more card to be activated is potentially nuts. the highest of feelings in terms of spell dmg/cost ratio is Maly with 0,55, followed by Evolved Kobold with  0,5. However in practical use Kobolds cheaper cost made it a lot better to use than Maly in a lot of my spell dmg decks in the past. This card here doubles those other 2 cards ratio. I foresee an effective niche deck abusing this within the next few sets.

This curving into Houndmaster could be terrifying.

Very strong vs zoo lock, even shaman and hunter.

Quote from a3b2c1 >>

AQuote from Pr1ncipe4i20 >>

Quote from Heidegger11 >>

runeterra is better in several aspects, especially about deck balance. The mechanics are better and, currently, there are at least 20 high-ranking competitive decks. I'll mention the ones that come to mind: aggro noxus-targon, pirate aggro, fiora shen, endure, midrange frostbite, go hard, plaza scout, zoe lee, zoe fiora, fearsome, discard jinx, nox-pil burn, warmother, soraka tahm, teemo, scargrounds...

 Do you have any site to netdeck good runeterra decks? I'm always find horrible sites with horrible lists. I like the game but don't have the same patience to deckbuilding there like i have in years of HS and still has in HS.

 Sure thing! I use the following sites: 

https://mobile.twitter.com/<wbr />runeterradex
https://twitter.com/<wbr />runeterraccg
https://www.swimstrim.com/
https://teamleviathangaming.<wbr />com/category/lor-meta/
https://twitter.com/<wbr />lortopdecks

Also, check the following Youtube content creators, they are all very high Masters players (besides Swim, but if you play LoR you should watch Swim) and their vids are super instructional.

Alanzq

BruisedByGod

Swim

MajiinBae

 

Personally i prefer Alanzq over everyone else in terms of skill and how much you can learn from his vids. 

 

Also: Where are you playing? EU? NA? Gief tag plx :)

 I play in Salty America
xD
I will see it some stuff...the swimstrim it's awesome thanks for the site.

It's just different. I'm not enjoy all that much when I need to take actions on my opponents turn and when my turn isn't fully mine, that's why HS or, let's say, TESL (RIP) would always be better games for me rather than LoR or MTGA. Also as a viewer it's way more easier to watch HS streams, I would never watch LoR stream.
Visually HS looks way better (except for the cute guys in the corner of a screen and champions level up animations). Sounds and voices are probably better in LoR (at least in russian version), but who cares about that, I play muted 90% of the time.
In terms of economy LoR is of course a lot more generous, but i'm F2P in HS since I started at GvG and still have no big problems with being F2P.
Game modes, I would say, equal - HS have an amazing arena mode (I know my opinion will be unpopular, but for me it's the best game mode in the game) and Runeterra's expedition mode forces players to have synergistic decks, and that totally ruins spirit of "everything can happen" and "find a way to make everything useful, even if its garbage". Runeterra, at the same time, have a tournament mode, which I want from HS for years.
I don't care about Warcraft as much as I don't care about LoL, so lore was never a factor for me.
Deckbuilding isn't important for me at all and it's nice that in Runeterra you can netdeck best players decks straight from the client.
Overall, I would play LoR instead of HS only if Blizzard made economy system so greedy that it would be impossible to be F2P for me or if they make games even longer, like control only meta or something like that. It's far from that point. It's nice that we have a game to keep Blizzard not relaxed though.
Both games have their pros and cons, but LoR should be compared with games of its subgenre, like MTGA, not with HS, or it will come down to subgenre preferences (and maybe the money aspect) every time.

runeterra is better in several aspects, especially about deck balance. The mechanics are better and, currently, there are at least 20 high-ranking competitive decks. I'll mention the ones that come to mind: aggro noxus-targon, pirate aggro, fiora shen, endure, midrange frostbite, go hard, plaza scout, zoe lee, zoe fiora, fearsome, discard jinx, nox-pil burn, warmother, soraka tahm, teemo, scargrounds...

Quote from SinAscendant >>

Quote from a3b2c1 >>

Quote from OverholtNA >>

Quote from sanchogrande >>

I think it's interesting that the one thing people seem to prefer with LoR is that they give away more stuff. Otherwise, it's basically the same game with a few slightly different mechanics/rules. It didn't take me long to port my HS strategies for aggro, combo, and control over to LoR. The ideas are very similar. So, yeah, I liked LoR just fine...just like I like HS. But why start from scratch in a new, similar card game when I already have a large collection in this one?

I notice the same thing. It's a little more nuanced here on hearthpwn where people have genuine gripes with the meta, but read the comments sections of any general gaming website and it's pretty clear that people just want free stuff. And the fact that other CCGs offer it doesn't speak to their benevolence; it's just the realization that they have to offer something to attract players because they're not providing a superior product.

 Yeah, that's how i thought of HS for over a decade. That it's by far the superior product. Then, the first time i check a concurring product, i realized that i was wrong (or at least, that HS WAS the very best indeed, but has fallen off now).

 Hearthstone has only existed for seven years buddy. Little hard to like something for over a decade when it wont reach a decade for another 3 years.

 

That aside, in LoR, the top 5 cards are all used in at least 70% of decks, and there are over 130 cards that see 2% play or less. That's over 20%. 

And if you think all decks are viable you arent playing at a very high rank. Most of Runeterra's meta is aggro bullshit.

 Guess "YOU" never reached that far in LOR - game is not aggro meta at all, it's just not stupid like HS with many cards that remove all boards and play by itself alone in their own turns. LOR has a health meta mixed with aggro /tempo and spells and many decks with a mix between both. I'm not also a Legend here but Master there too. you can't complain about aggro in  a card game dude, be smart.

I sent you an friend request. (Atery Mayx Noiz)

Wow what a coincidence, it was just yesterday when I was thinking "I hope Quest Shaman will get a 7 mana pyroblast this expansion!"

Thanks for the guide. This deck looks interesting

Buy two Mogu'shan Wardens and get a free Divine Shield! Limited time only.

This expansion is the most hyped one I think we have had in a long time. If you aren't excited for it, then maybe it's time for a break. The power levels on these cards are through the roof. Even the magnetic keyword which people keep shitting on is one of the most snow bally things I have ever seen in this game. I don't think a single class got dumped on this expansion. Every class has something to look forward too unless you are overly cynical.

As these are elementals this will lead to some surprise elementals from Hagatha generating this + Earthen Might