Hearthstone Players!

Had a cool game with my Druid quest vs. Mage quest. I was getting toasted then I plopped out fat boy and then drew 3 cards including 0 cost Kun. Huh, what to do with 10 free mana? Get 7 armor, get a12/12 with targeting immunity* and then copy it, etc. I can't remember all the plays but my winning turn I had four 12/12 non-targetable and a 5/5. Menagerie Warden is key for success. Maybe not the best deck but fun as hell.

Dunno about you guys but I'm having a good time with this stuff. Ask me in two months, maybe a different story.

*I can't remember card names for shit.

Just the straight up recommended Dinomancer deck. I had to craft a few things but I wasn't far off.

I'm playing all kinds of stuff, feeling out the format a little. The most consistent, by far, is Beast Hunter for me. Just Beasts and their face connecting in interesting ways. This is a classic Midrange build and can just go for it against Quest Rogues or play out a decent 5/6 damage per turn versus Control that they will eventually choke on. Any kind of deck that needs a set up turn and leaves my board alone is usually in for a pile of hurt. Just one Dinomancy here, don't need to rush that. Draws are from Stampede, and this works fine I have to say, given all the weenies.

Elemental Shaman (Midrange) is also very good, if kind of boring. Same idea, but here it's a little slower. More Taunts allow that loss of pace.

Working on Priest builds now (sans Lyra and the Quest) and they are tougher. Trying a Purify (!) build, but it's too delicate for me. One bad card from them and I choke.

Since I just can't keep from pulling Rogue class legendaries - first Xaril (x2!) and now Sherazin - I think I'm going to bite the bullet and craft Edwin and 2x Vilespine Slayer before working on a Plant Rogue deck. My combo and miracle fu are weak so I expect to get smacked around by the learning curve.

I've been messing around with a non-class legendary, non-quest Druid and it does okay but it's fun. I'm using Tortollan Forager for card draw and the LULs (I pulled Genzo (who?) and King Krush in successive games), Shellshifter curves nicely into Druid of the Claw, Elder Longneck is a good draw for when my opening hand screws me over with three 6+ cost minions, and Earthen Scales is amazing once big dudes start hitting the board.

Well, since I utterly failed at predicting anything about this expansion, I figured I'd try a few things with the classes that I thought would be on the downside: Paladin, Warlock, and, yes, Priest.

www.hearthpwn.com/decks/800942-recruits

That's the Paladin deck I've been playing the most of. I pulled the Tarim but I actually spent dust on a Voraxx, which I'm now regretting, because it was too slow to really have impact, especially when there aren't enough Taunts to protect it. You can compensate with getting the right adaptation on your Dudes, but they're so easily removed that the plant becomes vulnerable, too, and Spikeridged Steed is just too costly for the timing. If it cost 4 or 5 mana and was +2/+4, it would probably work better. Anyway, a lot of kinks to work out of this one. I've been trying a handbuff Elemental brew, as well, since the synergies there are pretty significant.

www.hearthpwn.com/decks/800978-zoo

Can Zoo work without PO? I don't know. That's why I'm trying. Devilsaurs are probably the best eggs ever, since they can do significant clean-up duty after being Argused and/or can turn Terrordax into a ridiculous threat for your opponent. 4 mana to create a 5/5 and a 7/7? Sure! Thanks! I still hate discard, but was tempted to try to make what actually turned out to be the worst of the quests, Lakkari Sacrifice, into a workable deck. But, no. I'll stick with the same old. Interestingly, I've actually had the most success with not only my Shaman Elemental deck (undefeated in 10 games) but also with the standard demon deck the game offers as a pre-built ("Demons of the Kabal"; also undefeated in six games.) Bloodfire Potion is the shit.

So, after finishing a Warlock quest on Saturday, I had enough gold for another pack and opened up Lyra Sunshard. My first thought, of course, was: 400 dust! But there's nothing that I really want to craft right now, so I thought I'd get some use out of her while I'm waiting to build up to the dust for something else.

www.hearthpwn.com/decks/800902-control

So, here it is: Un'Goro Control Priest. There are a few versions out there and I decided to try this one. Thankfully, I hadn't scrapped Medivh yet. Lyra may be too important to its function, though. OTOH, you always, always mulligan for SWP. Always. It doesn't matter what opposing class you're looking at, you need SWP to slow down Pirates, Beasts, and the Crystal Cave. But once you have things up and rolling with a PotF or Lyra, things can get pretty interesting. I should probably toss in Yogg somewhere, but I don't like the RNG that he creates and I scrapped him for the full dust when they nerfed him last year.

The last time I played Yogg he made me lose. The other few times the net effect was a wet fart. Even though I tend to like whimsy I'll stick to something more stable.

I discovered I actually had the rogue quest so I tried that. Pretty brutal but it can really stall if you don't get the wombo combo in time. I'm sure in the hands of a better player w/ a better build it's amazing. I'm still learning the ropes of Rogue, which to me is one of the two most difficult classes. NOw that I think about it I only lost one match after I got the quest done. So, yeah...

I had a weak moment and crafted the taunt dude that gets +5 defense/ elemental played. It's ok but I'm feeling the buyer's remorse now. Ah well. This guy dropped one at 5/25 and I'd wasted my removal so it was punishing. Had to have it at that point, heh...

Ozruk. I didn't even recognize that character's name until someone played it on me the other day and I heard his intro voice line. I instantly flashed back to the best weeder fight of Stonecore during Cataclysm. There was a pattern to when he could take damage and you had to to get it right (at least, before they nerfed it because too many people bitched about having to actually work to get through a 5-man...) or he'd just wreck you. I guess you ran into the CCG allegory of that.

There were a lot of things I didn't like about Cataclysm, but I LOVED the fact that you actually had to map out strategies and coordinate in the 5-mans. It brought back so many memories of step-by-step clearances of places like Razorfen Kraul. Good times. /WoW tangent.

Yeah, that's the guy. Like I said, I'm bad with remembering names.

I'm guessing I'm one of the few here that never played WoW. I played Everquest for a handful of years til I just had to bail. I'm the type that gets addicted to that stuff. I moved from EQ to becoming the worst Counterstrike player ever and that was just as addicting. I left online gaming after that.

Well, I solo'd LotRO for a bit but it wasn't that great and I hit the paywall.

This is your brain: hsreplay.net/replay/vVg3KohMVrtuKusMEqnqjf

This is your brain on drugs: hsreplay.net/replay/Q2wuqYmgwJahBKZR77efeh

See the difference? In one, you're slowly draining an Elemental Shaman of his will to live. In the next, you're showing a Mage quest deck what a fistful of spells really looks like.

Game 1: Starting with Medivh in hand is never really a positive thing, but this is a slow deck. I was a bit surprised when he dumped both Portal and Bolt to get rid of the Feast, but a lot of his minions are vulnerable to to a 3/6 and it keeps me alive way past the midrange point. Knowing that, my first Shadow Visions went for an SWP, because I know how many guys in that deck have attack of 3 or less, like Stoneshapers, for example, which he duly played a couple turns later and I removed. But Stormforged Axe! Haven't seen that in a long while. The Wrath totem hanging out for so long was irritating, but him filling his board for the swiped Lightning Storm was rather nice. SWP on the Jinyu was worth it as the best creature it could probably take out at that point, barring another Stoneshaper and I had TBK in hand for that. When he's down to 2 cards, Medivh to draw the Hex (which I was certain was one of them) is ideal, because the War Golem isn't important. It's Atiesh that really comes into play here. Once that started, the rest was academic.

Game 2: I figured it was a quest deck, so I kept the Radiant and the Talonpriest to try to get my machine going before his and knowing that SWP wasn't going to be overly useful, since he wasn't concerned about keeping his dudes on the board. First turn Cleric doesn't spawn either Fiery War Axe or Frostbolt; thus, we knew the game was bugged. Second turn Radiant means he has two targets for Frostbolt and has to pick one. But then the reason for SWP drops: Doomsayer. Meh. Oh, well. Then he puts a Secret up from the Glyph. Could be anything, but logical choices would be Ice Block, if he hadn't drawn it, or Counterspell, if he knew what my deck was, or Mirror Entity, if he was trying to get something good for him like a Tar Creeper. I figured I'd test it with a Visions, since it wasn't crucial right then, and then with the Talonpriest, since a 3/4 isn't that dangerous to me. Nothing. I figured it was Ice Block. I was going to PWS the Talonpriest just for the card, so I still got the card, even though the Spellbender took the +2 life. Unfortunately, Glimmerroot didn't give me Apprentice or Pyroblast or Fireball. I took Dragonfire off the second Visions because it was turn 7 and that means Portal, which he played, on cue. And I could have cleared the Tiger with the rest of the board, but that serves him, not me. So instead I played Arcane to prove that I could win the race and he got me with the Nova/Doomsayer.

Turn 11 was the key moment, I think. He's on 5/6 and drops the Shimmering as his avenue to quest completion. Potion of Madness says "No". And then Lyra arrived. Apologies to Mike Donais: Lyra is kind of insane. It's not like she filled my hand with anything amazing, but the options provided are what makes the card an apparent success. The Smite did allow me to trigger his Ice Block a turn earlier than he wanted, which is key in dealing with what is a Freeze Mage variant. But the truly amazing moment came with Free from Amber providing the ultimate answer to the Mage quest deck: Nozdormu. Taking an extra turn, huh? Make sure you can get both of'em done in less than 30 seconds. So, see, Jeb? There ya go. Craft yourself up a Nozdormu and the Mage deck is no longer your most hated. Fer reals. (Don't do this.)

Mike Donais, yo. I still think he was wrong with the "Is there a problem?" but he was so right about Lyra. In. Sane.

hsreplay.net/replay/Qo8Ecghkat3Vbzfem6Fw4Q

So, it's a non-quest Beast aggro deck. Opening hand is OK. I have the Creeper and PWS, so on turn 4 I can start moving, which is actually OK for this deck. But I know I'm going to take a ton of damage and, if the quest goes off, I'm in trouble unless I can pull more Novas and/or Dragonfires off of Lyra. Oh, and I know damn well there won't be any Taunting outside of Misha (and when does that happen? Always Huffer.), so TBK is a ridiculously overcosted Yeti. 1/5 of my life gone on turn 2. Face Hunter, ladies and gentlemen! The return of Scavenging Hyena is actually kind of disturbing. It is a really efficient creature and with so many 1-costs to take advantage of the quest, it can get dangerous real quick. Like a turn 3 8/5 quick. I so wanted the Bat's stupid firebomb to hit me. I was actually saying "Hit me! Hit me!" to the screen, because the Creeper would have still been on the board and saved me 8 life. Never lucky.

So, turn 4, I know he doesn't care about my dudes, so I drop the Radiant. I screw up, because I should have PWSed before healing myself, but I knew I was in treacherous waters and didn't have enough mana for the SWD, anyway. Always Huffer. And then was my real fuckup: I had PWS for 0 and was dropping the Dragonfire, regardless. I could have saved the Radiant and made later turns even easier. Stupid. Shadow Visions was a tough choice. I knew that the first large creature I put down would be almost game over if he didn't have the Kill Command, so Amber was tempting, but it was also 2 turns away. SWD was tempting for another Hyena or if he tossed out a Savannah. But Binding Heal was the choice at 14 life. Even so, I still PWSed the Talonpriest. At 6 mana, if he had the KC and another Companion, he could have killed me. But I was betting that if he had either, he would have played them a turn before, since he was Face Hunter. It was a risk, but not too huge of one, I think, since Companion, believe it or not, doesn't guarantee Huffer. And then, of course, he set up a frankly spectacular Holy Nova. And I was out of danger.

ALWAYS FUCKING HUFFER. Save me, jeebus. (I am a priest, after all.) And then he fucks up: With a Hyena in play, he continues going face (is the place!) when just by dumping Granny (and getting a 3/2, instead of a 1/1) and the Croc, he could have had a 6/4 in play to go with Huffer (i.e. beyond the ability of the Talonpriest to remove.) Playing around SWD? Maybe. Maybe he thought I'd be forced to choose between Huffer and the Hyena. That's no choice at all, considering how big that thing can get. I could have played Lyra on turn 8, but figured the Creeper gave me 1 or 2 more turns to really maximize her. It was risky, though, since the only spell in hand was SWD, and if I had no target, Lyra's just another 3/5. Leaving Granny was also weird. Force the issue, even if she only does 1 damage to the Talonpriest that I'm going to heal. So he has the board again. And then, Lyra arrived.

SWP > CoH > Binding > Mass Dispel in hand with board control, off 3 mana, taking me out of OTK range. His response was good, filling the board again, with a poisoned Ravasaur for Lyra (I hope), and more targets than I can hope to kill with anything but a Holy Nova or Dragonfire. Or Lyra. Mass Dispel > Potion of Madness > SWP > Smite > Potion of Madness and that was gonna be an Inner Fired Talonpriest knocking on the door for 6 while dropping an Arcane for free. I can't help it. I crack up every time I play this deck. And I'm not even playing Thoughtsteal or Mind Control or any of the shit that normally aggravates Priest opponents to no end. Just Lyra. So good. My friend, NappyD, who friended me after getting beat by this deck, tuned in to watch right before the first Lyra explosion. He messaged me after: "That guy probably smashed his keyboard." Yep. Maybe with his face?

I just played two games in a row where Rogue got their Quest on turn 3 so it's break time from HS for me.

They just got lucky Jeb, don't let them put Baby in a corner!

I can't seem to crack 15 right now. I'll fill up 16 and then just teeter on the edge.

I HATE Lyra. That almost sounds exactly like my Hunter vs. Priest game except with me Hulk smashing my desk.

Brewmiester wrote: They just got lucky Jeb, don't let them put Baby in a corner!

I can't seem to crack 15 right now. I'll fill up 16 and then just teeter on the edge.

I HATE Lyra. That almost sounds exactly like my Hunter vs. Priest game except with me Hulk smashing my desk.

It put me a bad mood, I'm not going to lie. It is the least skill intensive deck since Undertaker Hunter. "Did I draw Shadowstep x2 and Novice Engineer/Swashburgler?" Yes. "Did I draw a Youthful Brewmeister or Gadgetzan Ferryman by turn 2?" Yes. WELL WIN TARGET GAME THEN. It's just so ridiculous.

I can take it small doses. Folks get lucky. I get lucky. But it broke me to get home from work, have time to play a little, and lose two games in six turns. Two games. Six turns. According to the Internet, my recourse here is Dirty Rat, which I can hope fetches their bounced guy into play, and then make sure I kill it with some other thing before they get it back. That's the out for this.

//edit
I want to add, playing Zoo, I don't have Dirty Rat in my deck. So MY recourse is to race them—I need to just maximize Reach and rush them down, hoping I can get there. And this might be what bothers me most about this deck. It compels me to play my deck in a dumb way. All the skill is gone from their side by choice, and all the skill is gone from my side, by their choice.

So I normally play Arena-only but after my latest failed run (I am always terrible when a new meta starts) I opened a golden paladin quest. And suddenly I got excited about building a deck in Hearthstone, which never happens.

Part of that is there's actually no netdeck around it yet, probably because it's not very good. But damn if I don't want to make it work. I am thinking a slow controlly variant with a few big threats will be better than biltz-o-rama.

And then suddenly I wanted to craft the warlock quest even though it will also suck, and try to make it work.

iguanaDitty wrote: And then suddenly I wanted to craft the warlock quest even though it will also suck, and try to make it work.

I'm sorry to say that the Paladin quest, like the Warlock and Druid quests, kinda sucks. My experience playing with them, against them, and watching a couple pros play them is that they almost universally get completed just as their player is about to die. They also don't provide a win condition in the same way that the other quests because Galvadon is still subject to RNG and blocked by Taunts, the Druid still has to draw minions, and two 3/2 Imps every turn just aren't that dangerous in a meta designed to stall or stop pirates. As I've elaborated many times before, I HATE Hearthstone's discard mechanic, but I was tempted by Lakkari for the same reason you were: They printed this thing. It has to work somehow, right? But there are legendaries that don't look powerful but are crushing (Lyra) and then there are those that look awful and simply are (Volazj.) Quests are no different.

@Jeb: You're honestly doing yourself no favors by playing Zoo; again, because much of the meta is prepared to take on Pirate Warrior, which is far more dangerous. Plinking away at people with your Possessed Villager and hoping that your Councilman lasts long enough to become even a 3/5 is just asking for frustration. I love the Terrordax inclusion to the new version, but it's a nice blind on a broken window at this point. If you really want to play Warlock, I'd say do the Handlock thing with the new plant or, honestly, just swipe the demon decklist still in the game from Gadgetzan. It's remarkably durable.