Off to Ranked Matches
The only game I've been playing lately is Hearthstone. I like that I can play a session for as long or as short as I like pretty much. Typical match takes 20 to 30 minutes depending.
Until recently, I was only playing in 'casual' mode where you play against other players but there's no progression ladder. I only have 4 legendaries and they're not appropriate for every deck I play. Depending on the class and deck build I’m using, it’s rare that all four are used.
Last night I was matched, once again, with a player whose WHOLE DECK was legendary. They didn't stomp me as much as they should have, so skill is a factor. If fact, I stole and/or obliterated several of their "I win" cards because I play taunt-less but heavy control decks to counter the onslaught of legendaries I sometimes encounter.
Even thought it took a while for them to whittle me down, it's a bit annoying. The incident prompted me to start doing ranked matches. If I'm going to be facing down legendaries I might as well have better reward options.
Less Legendaries in Ranked??
Interestingly enough, out of the 16 ranked matches I played, I didn't run into a single player with all legendary cards in their deck. Hmm, makes me wonder if some are using casual like 'level locked' PVP where they're all pimped out hoping to go up against players who'll be at a distinct disadvantage. In it for face roll match ups. And the fun in that is??
I'm not doing badly in the ranked ladder. So far, I have a 70% win rate. Either I'm lucky or I'm doing better with ranked because there are a large number of "not so casual" people proliferating casual matches. It could also be that the matching system in ranked is better. Either way, I accumulate gold faster with the higher win rate and may give arena a try.
Unless I'm attempting to complete a class specific daily, I prefer playing my Paladin Murloc deck and my Shadow Priest deck. Even then, I only add Druid and Shaman to the lineup. The rest I've tried but don't enjoy the play style.
Going it on my Own
There are plenty of websites with deck builders and forums on min/max setups. Meh, I prefer doing it myself. Finding my own combinations of synergies that match the pace I prefer. Experimenting and tweaking is part of the fun and game play for me.
I keep meaning to Fraps matches. I've come back from some near impossible odds on the Paladin. My 4 health to their 20+ and still beat them. Surviving a few turns with 4 health and no taunts certainly gets the blood rushin. I know they're as shocked as I am when that happen. It's one of the reasons I don't "concede" a match unless lethal numbers are on the board, I've drawn my cards for that turn and there's no point of recover. I have people concede before that if they don’t want to take the time to play out the highly likely death. But I don’t give into highly likely. *smile*
I probably watch more Hearthstone than I play some weeks. I've improved my counter measures watching people play classes that I don't. I'm in the clutches of a real MMORPG dry spell. Hearthstone is really good for play at your own pace but I miss questing, seeing content in new zones, crafting and playing new classes. I am looking forward to the PVE content recently announced that will add a W101-esk experience.
I'm rank 9.
My tip is to go for murlocs. You get the legendary as a freebie if you make the rares. I'm currently in love with my Mage Murloc deck which is doing really well. If I stuck to it and played more I'd be considerably higher rank, it wins a lot. It's just Murlocs and spell damage really. It's wonderful to get someone down to 10 life, see them erect a wall of impassable big taunters then simply pyro or double fireball them for game.
Posted by: Stabs | April 26, 2014 at 01:49 AM
Hi Stabs!
I was having really good success until Rank 12 but now I'm running into hunter beast builds which can be tricky. Lost a few so switched over to Priest and that has been working better. Need to check out some videos. Still having fun though.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | April 28, 2014 at 11:49 AM
Have you heard of or tried Wildstar? It has HOUSING! I played beta and it was really fun. It looks like the kind of game you would like. :)
Posted by: AnnaBella | May 21, 2014 at 11:09 AM
Yes, I did. Warrender was nice enough to let me know about it. I actually enjoyed it. I pre-ordered and expect it to be enough enjoyment to be worth the first free 30 days at least.
Posted by: Alysianah | May 24, 2014 at 03:55 PM