Alright guys it’s been a while since my last article but I’m back! With the new set coming out I decided it wouldn’t be relevant or helpful to anyone if I wrote something about a deck that would quickly become outdated. I did however think I could write some Hearthstone theory some of you may […]

Introduction

Alright guys it’s been a while since my last article but I’m back! With the new set coming out I decided it wouldn’t be relevant or helpful to anyone if I wrote something about a deck that would quickly become outdated. I did however think I could write some Hearthstone theory some of you may find useful about the game we love to hate. So I write this article from the experience I have from teaching people the game of Hearthstone and the common mistakes I see people making in your average game. So without further adieu, I present the 5 things every player should do when they first begin a game of Hearthstone.

Note: All examples given in this article are not analysis or strategy for a deck, they are specifically designed to be an example of Hearthstone theory and have no real game play strategy in mind.

1). Assessing Your Opening Hand and What You’re Playing Against

The first thing your going to do when you begin a game of Hearthstone is assess your hand. I know this may seem trivial but trust me it isn’t. Obviously we don’t live in “Rainbow Unicorn Land” where our decks are going to cooperate with us 100% of the time. Look at your hand, evaluate any vulnerabilities it has and what you need to do to correct it. The second part of assessing your hand is guessing what your playing against. Because it’s turn 1 and all information is unknown, you’re not going to know what your opponent is doing until they make their first play. Lets take for example this hand.



So for all intents and purposes this hand is fine. But more importantly we’re playing against Druid, and unless this guy is doing something crazy he is most likely Combo Druid or Taunt Druid. So what does that mean? Generally it means they’re a slow control/combo deck that will take quite a while to win the game. Now lets go back to my hand. It’s my turn, my opponent has passed on turn 1 so the likely hood of him being Mech Druid has gone down even more. The mistake I commonly see from people is coining a 2 drop with no play on turn 2 against these slower decks. As I said before Druid is a slower grindier deck, there is no reason for me to Coin + Armorsmith Armorsmith

What if I was playing against Hunter? Hunter is a much more aggressive deck banking on pressuring my life total the entire game. If I choose to Coin + Armorsmith Armorsmith

2). What is Your Opponent Playing?

Now that you’ve assessed your opening hand the second most important thing you need to do is figure out what your opponent is playing. Boys and girls the good ol’ days of only having to guess if they’re Handlock or Zoo are long gone. Every Hero seems to have multiple strategies these days, for example….

Midrange Shaman – Mech Rogue – Aggro, Oil Paladin – Aggro, Midrange Hunter – Face, Midrange Warlock – Zoo, Handlock, Maly-Lock Warrior – Control, Patron Priest – Control, Control, Control(Bad example) Mage – Mech, Tempo, Freeze Druid – Ramp, Midrange/Combo

So why is it important to figure out which deck your opponent is playing and why you want to find out as quickly as possible?

Proper resource usage. -If you don’t know what deck your opponent is playing you could use resources improperly. For example, lets say you’re playing Midrange Paladin and your opponent is playing Hunter. You decide to make a tempo play where you Aldor Peacekeeper his Knife Juggler for a value trade rather than a straight across trade. Well it turns out your opponent isn’t playing Face Hunter and is Midrange Hunter instead, and on turn 6 plays a Savannah Highmane. Whoops.

Playing around removal. – Take for example Patron and Control Warrior. You automatically think everyone is Patron now because of how much you have seen on streams, tournaments, and ladder. So lets say you’re playing Mech Mage and start slamming every minion you have as you think, “Patron doesn’t have any mass removal.” Well you forgot to think, what if he’s control? Whoops.

3). Knowing How You’re Going to Win the Game.

Alright, you’ve figured out what your opponent is playing and now you’re looking for a winning strategy. Some decks have simpler answers to this than others. If you’re Face Hunter the answer is usually go face, if you’re control Warrior the answer is usually grind them into oblivion, but what about the rest of us? Lets take for example our Druid vs Patron game from before. I as an experienced Patron player know that Druid has an almost impossible time recovering from a board full of Patrons. Lets look at this hand.

With 5 mana my opponent didn’t blow up my weapon, meaning he doesn’t have a way to. However, I am still multiple turns away from being able to Patron combo. If I choose to use my weapon this turn it means I will lose a Whirlwind Whirlwind

While tempo Frothing Berserker Frothing Berserker Armorsmith Armorsmith Piloted Shredder Piloted Shredder Inner Rage Inner Rage

I was able to keep my weapon, play Grim Patron Grim Patron Inner Rage Inner Rage Whirlwind Whirlwind I know this looks like a simple example and honestly it is. Patron gives the best examples on this concept which is why it’s also part of example 2.

Example 2

Lets flip it again. Now I’m playing Patron Vs. Control Priest. There are times when you can Yolo Patron combo and just hope they don’t have it especially if you can do it early and for a reasonable amount of resources. However, you constantly see people spending valuable resources to Patron combo and deal 12-18 damage to someones face. Why is this wrong? Priest has easy AOE, they can Lightbomb Lightbomb Circle of Healing Circle of Healing Auchenai Soulpriest Auchenai Soulpriest Frothing Berserker Frothing Berserker

4). How is Your Opponent Going to Kill You?

While trying to figure out how you’re going to kill your opponent you should also be thinking about how they’re are trying to kill you. Knowing this is going to let you figure out how to best use resources, how to best trade, when to go face, when to hold back, etc. Some of these are going to be easy; if your opponent is Combo Druid they’re going to try to maintain board control, get you low and combo you. If your opponent is Aggro pally they’re going to try and SMOrc your face. But it isn’t always easy. Everyone has played against Zoo a million times, and how does Zoo beat you? They try to take early board control, apply pressure, and end with some burst. But if you know their plan can you counter it? If you know Zoo, and I know Zoo, you know that they have a hard time regaining board control once its lost. You also know that Zoo contains almost zero burst besides Doomguard Doomguard Power Overwhelming Power Overwhelming

Lets take another example. We’re playing Midrange Paladin and we’re up against Freeze Mage, what’s their plan? Well, Freeze Mage is going to do Freeze Mage things. They’re going to Freeze the board, stall, set up secrets, Alexstrasza Alexstrasza Loatheb Loatheb

5). Know Your Role

In every game of Hearthstone you have to understand the role you’re playing, you may have gone in with the intention of being the aggressor but in Hearthstone nothing is certain. Lets take for example Handlock Vs. Patron. Normally the Handlock player is used to being on the back foot trying to control the game. However, in this particular matchup that isn’t true. As a handlock player you need to start dropping early game threats like Twilight Drake Twilight Drake Mountain Giant Mountain Giant Frothing Berserker Frothing Berserker Unleash the Hounds Unleash the Hounds Explosive Trap Explosive Trap

Closing

I hope this little tid bit into the game of Hearthstone was helpful for those players looking to better their game. I always look forward to hearing feedback from the community and will try to answer any questions I receive. So until next time, good luck on ladder and may the RNG gods be with you.

-RamPage