One of the largest card-based competitive online experiences Hearthstone provides its player base with a large variety of cards and deck strategies. The game is one of the most popular online card games on the market now. Drawing its massive card list from the mythical World of Warcraft the title molds the various races and classes into a competitively deep card game experience for even avid fans of the genre. Combining both the nostalgic element of Blizzard's most popular IP with a card game system that is as technically solid as it is creative Hearthstone is a perfect entry point to enter the card game genre.
Even the best Hearthstone payers had to start from somewhere. Whether that be from playing World of Warcraft early in their life or playing a card game with their family or friends, even the masters of the genre did not come with the knowledge of how to build a deck or play their particular game. So to excel at Blizzard's take on the genre may provide some growing pains. But this guide will aim to ease the pain of developing as a beginner in Hearthstone. Providing the barebones basic of the card game giant to giving some good general strategies to grow your collection and your strategy.
Choosing a Class in Hearthstone
Hearthstone players are provided, 9 classes to choose from. These classes are inspired by the classic Blizzard IP World of Warcraft and include Shaman, Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Paladin, Druid, Warlock, Mage, and Priest. Each class excels at a particular style of play.
These classes all have access to a powerful Hero Art spell. A 2 Mana costing spell which performs powerful board impacting abilities. Each of these Hero Arts can be chosen by a player for a particular class and can be used to bolster or counter a given strategy.
Each of the given classes excels at a particular card game strategy. These range from aggressive playstyle decks, to board control decks, and a variety of different styles of play. Be sure to research some of the various card game deck styles and see which one sounds good to you. If you like to maintain card advantage and pick away at your enemy's set up than a control style deck would be right for you. If you prefer a style that dominates their enemies through a "swarm" tactic than maybe develop an aggro deck.
The beautiful thing about Hearthstone is that the title allows room for individual expression. Developing a deck is a symbolic extension of the player. Their preference, their ideal style, the way they wish to crush their enemy's spirit. All of these things can be manifested through a player's class and deck choice. So be creative and build the perfect deck for yourself.
The Basics of Hearthstone
So you have picked your class and now you want to start crushing people online. Well, the next step towards completing this goal is to understand the basics of how to play the game.
The match initiates with a coin flip to decide which player goes first. The goal is to decrease the enemy's hero's life points from 30 to 0 or to get them to forfeit. Each Hero draws their starting hand after the coin flip and begins their turn with one mana crystal. As the game goes on each player will gain access to an additional mana crystal until they reach a maximum of 10.
As players begin to play cards during the match each card costs a set amount of mana. Some creatures played cost anywhere from 2 to 8 mana crystals. As the game draws on players will be able to play stronger and stronger cards.
The cards a player can play during a match are either a Minion, a Spell, a Weapon or a Hero Art. Each card type has differing levels of utility, from the assist driven uses of weapons to the foundational applications of minions each card plays a specific role during a match. However, a player is only allowed 2 copies of the same card in a deck. That means a potentially overpowered card is hard-capped to two copies per deck and loses some of its oppressive qualities. Learn how to develop your deck to create synergies among your large selection of cards. This will allow your deck to have a large amount of versatility during competitive games and give you an edge over your enemies.
Building Your Collection in Hearthstone
As you begin to develop your collection of cards it is important you make use of the few short cuts available within Hearthstone. Each of these will allow you to add to your ever-growing roster of card and amass a collection of powerful legendaries and useful decks.
One tip to utilize during the quest to gain legendary cards is to understand the newly implemented first 10 card rule. It allows players to gain a guaranteed 7 legendaries from the first ten packs bought from a collection that a player has yet to buy packs from. This allows players to gain a large sum of powerful legendary cards.
Another important tip to know when developing your collection of cards within Hearthstone is to never purchase legendaries with dust. Dust is essential to developing powerful decks and is more cost-efficient than wasting the coveted material on legendaries. It is much more cost-efficient to save your dust to build the core foundation of a deck than it is to waste away the material on the expensive and at times underwhelming legendary cards in the title. Another reason to avoid crafting the expensive legendary cards is c0nnected to their hard 1 per deck limit connected to the rare cards.
Be wise when spending resources in Hearthstone unless you are an avid collector, it is important to be selective when purchasing packs. Wasting valuable materials on decks not connected to your competitive decks is a waste of resources and can be a waste.
Hearthstone is available on mobile stores and PC.