Hearthstone
I don't like aggro. Is hs the wrong game for me?
First of all, this is not a salt thread about aggro decks. I know everybody enjoys different types of decks and I am not the one to judge. However, I do not enjoy aggro decks. I don't want games to end on turn 5, I don't want my highest cost card to be a 4 mana card. I want to play expensive cards, I want to control the board, I want to assemble my win condition and I want big swing turns. I am a control/combo player, that is what I enjoy about hearthstone.
Last expansion was the first time I generally experienced fatigue and stopped playing for a couple of weeks. The introduction of demon hunter and how blatantly overpowerd basically all of their cards were and how it was a stupid strong deck even after 10+ cards got nerfed just tilted me so much that I could not enjoy the game anymore.
Then the new expansion came and I got excited again, so many cool new legendaries with unique effects, but also a lot of veeeeryyy strong tools for aggro(a better jeeves, really?). I jumped into the first day, opened my packs, crafted some exciting cards and went right in and it was so fun. I played highlander warrior and priest, ripper warrior, control-soulshard-warlock, paladin paladin and more. Druid seems stupid again with all the ramp but that is nothing new. Besides that I had a lot of fun the first couple of days. Paladin paladin also seems very strong but not op and I saw loads of different decks and archetypes. But after a couple of days, the thing that always happens happened. Aggro came through. Suddenly a majority of players started playing aggro rogue, hunter or druid, all petty much the same lists and they are very strong. The reload they gave rogue is insane(1 mana draw 5 seems like a good idea, right?) , token druids win condition has been savage roar for years and I am sick of it and even hunter has so much card draw and value generation, that it seems impossible to outvalue/outlive them with any type of control deck.
It just seems there is no place for control decks any more, and if you want to play a combo deck you better combo your opponent to death before turn 7 or you are just dead. Which means you gotta play druid and that just feels like tossing a coin to me.
I want to know how you feel, has anyone made similar experiences? What do you do to still enjoy the game? Or is hearthstone just not the right game for me anymore?
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First of all, this is not a salt thread about aggro decks. I know everybody enjoys different types of decks and I am not the one to judge. However, I do not enjoy aggro decks. I don't want games to end on turn 5, I don't want my highest cost card to be a 4 mana card. I want to play expensive cards, I want to control the board, I want to assemble my win condition and I want big swing turns. I am a control/combo player, that is what I enjoy about hearthstone.
Last expansion was the first time I generally experienced fatigue and stopped playing for a couple of weeks. The introduction of demon hunter and how blatantly overpowerd basically all of their cards were and how it was a stupid strong deck even after 10+ cards got nerfed just tilted me so much that I could not enjoy the game anymore.
Then the new expansion came and I got excited again, so many cool new legendaries with unique effects, but also a lot of veeeeryyy strong tools for aggro(a better jeeves, really?). I jumped into the first day, opened my packs, crafted some exciting cards and went right in and it was so fun. I played highlander warrior and priest, ripper warrior, control-soulshard-warlock, paladin paladin and more. Druid seems stupid again with all the ramp but that is nothing new. Besides that I had a lot of fun the first couple of days. Paladin paladin also seems very strong but not op and I saw loads of different decks and archetypes. But after a couple of days, the thing that always happens happened. Aggro came through. Suddenly a majority of players started playing aggro rogue, hunter or druid, all petty much the same lists and they are very strong. The reload they gave rogue is insane(1 mana draw 5 seems like a good idea, right?) , token druids win condition has been savage roar for years and I am sick of it and even hunter has so much card draw and value generation, that it seems impossible to outvalue/outlive them with any type of control deck.
It just seems there is no place for control decks any more, and if you want to play a combo deck you better combo your opponent to death before turn 7 or you are just dead. Which means you gotta play druid and that just feels like tossing a coin to me.
I want to know how you feel, has anyone made similar experiences? What do you do to still enjoy the game? Or is hearthstone just not the right game for me anymore?
I felt that way at the beginning of the year and i still do feel that way. I resigned myself to play wild where i see is the only viable way to play control anymore. Standard is a shit show. You can tell the game is infested with aggro netdecking when it even happens in casual mode instead of just ladder where they're supposed to be corralled off from the rest. And that is the issue with hearthstone always being aggro centric. Ladder. Ladder encourages and rewards aggro, the faster and sleazier the better. And lately they have not only not released cards for control, but they are starting to print tech cards against control, where normally all aggro had to do was tempo out a good control deck, or have enough threats to outlast some boardclears and not play too greedily, now they have high statted minions and massive draw that doesn't even exist in control decks outside of Battle Rage combos that cost like 4 cards from the control warrior.
Like i said i have been making the change to wild, where it's still aggro-centric but there are more tools to make control work, since they're not going to be printing more it seems in standard. If you already play wild and are already annoyed by the constant stream of aggro even in casual mode like i am, but can't take it anymore, i suggest instead a break from the game. Sure you'll miss out on some gold, but it's not worth playing something you hate just to worry about something like that. Come back when the new expansion hits, maybe they'll be some control tools then for standard, but i doubt it until lackeys rotate out at least.
Living like that.
In Wild there is always room for Control.
Ofc not any Control, and you can't always expect to smash the meta with a Control deck, but you should always get away with decent winrate, as long as you know your deck and you know your meta (I was able to build a Legend-viable Aggro Reno Paladin by adjusting the concept against the meta, so you can guess what you can do there).
Right now Priest got an additional tool with Mindrender Illucia and, and if I were a Control player I think I'd be drooling at Reno Priest (ft. Raise Dead to double your powerhouses and diminish the constrictions of Highlander) for how versatile it is and the depth in gameplay it can reach.
That said, I think gaming burnout has very little to do with the cyclical support to your favourite playstyle.
As the poster above says, Wild is a much better place for Control decks as they have access to all the early board clears that have existed over the years. The first week or so of a new expansion is all fast decks, people quickly jump on the fastest 'busted' meta deck and spam that. You always see a lot of face hunter straight after an expansion as people try to farm the players experimenting with their new cards.
I do have quite a good wild collection, I usually only play wild at the end of an expansion to catch a breath of fresh air, but maybe it is time to make the switch to wild completely. I will give it a try, I will also keep an eye on the standard meta but toying around in wild might just be the kind of mix up I need to really enjoy the game again. If that doesn't work out might be time for a longer break :/
Thx for your answers and suggestions!
Honestly, its not been completely doom and gloom for control in standard. Shaman, warrior, dhunter, and priest are viable classes for control, and well worth the while exploring if you've havent gave up on standard.
It takes a while for aggro to go away. Its typically everywhere because, much like myself, anyone that got screwed with their pack openings probably dont have the gold, dust, or real money to get the legendaries they would like/need, hence why aggro rogue, hunter, aggro dhunter, druids, and paladin are everywhere now.
Depending on your own goals, and if you dont really care much about ranking up, you can easily sit yourself near platinum 10 every season and just play decks that are fun to you.
Combo decks wont be returning to standard anytime soon. Sorcerer apprentice is being watched for a nerf in case mage can otk. There hasnt been a true control deck in standard since December despite ppl saying that gala priest was one.
Go to wild if u want combo or true control. Ive been playing last season with reno dragon priest and it shits on aggro. An elitist like u should love it
While i am not into playing OTK or large numbers of expensive cards i prefer tactical and resource managing gameplay. I don´t like cards that allow aggro to empty their hand and then draw 3 or more to fill back. I prefer flexible decks with tempo and loads of synergies. Often leaning to midrange/control.
Of course i also dislike heavy highroll cards or mana cheat that basically doesnt have counterplay.
I am currently testing such a warrior and while it can´t win all it looks like a playable control deck.
And i played no minion mage which is control style and worked 50:50. Currently listet in T4 but i think it´s better. Well not T1. Play paladin if you only care for winrates. I like playing against paladins with my warrior. :-)
Can you please eloborate why you think Galakrond Priest isn´t a control deck? I also would like to call Highlander Mage a control deck. With the latter being more value orientated and the former closer to a fatigue deck.
In my book a control desk needs to have ther gameplan laid out before the match in order to wipe aggro. Gala priest relies to much on randomness.
Highlander mage despite having some tools vs aggro loses to it more times than it should. And its mid to late game value relies again too much on random with stuff like box reno and the big dragon i cant remember the name that gives u a free spell cast.
Thats why pre nerf boom hero warrior was a true control deck despite the little rng on its hero power. Warlock with its reno versions or the guldan one when it was standard. Reno priest takes the cake now cause how it staves off aggro and has a pre determined late game win con
You should try Legends of Runeterra!
I like how it was just people discussing how aggro wasn't their prefered playstyle and they didn't mind if other people liked playing it, but it wasn't the way they enjoyed playing until this guy came in lmao. But sure we're the elitists lol
Living like that.
Elitist is for those that say im a rogue or shaman main and ppl that plain and simply refuse to play a certain type of deck style. I prefer control myself but i dont restrain my ability to play all types of decks. I want to try out everything the game has to offer. Same for classes. I prefer warlock above all but i dont main the class. In fact ive never hit legend with it.
Other thing that ticks me off is ppl saying playing a certain archetype is easy and brain dead. Aggro may seem like that when u face a heavily favoured matchup. Try the aggro mirrors or beat control decks after they play reno and u will experience the most skill intensive wins u ever had on HS.
2 seasons ago i experienced exactly that with pirate warrior in wild. And it took me a lot of games to reach legend. If it wasnt for farming odd demon hunter and quest mage it wouldnt be possible.
Last season i went with my own version of dragon reno priest tailored to beat only aggro. It was the easiest climb ive had from rank 5 to legend with only 3 losses and they were mirrors while they ran a combo oriented version unlike mine.
You see i went aggro pirate and the next season i played the exact opposite. Why? Cause i play the game to its fullest. Same for standard i played aggro murlocs to gala rogue and highlander mage and hunter and even went with a bit of quest warlock and libram paladin before the new expansion
Yes i prefer control yes i prefer warlock but damned if im restraining my range of playing the game. Dust is the only limit for me.
How is Galakrond more random than Dr. Boom, Mad Genius? Priest doesn't use Galakrond cards to beat aggro, just the control tools you put in the deck. 90% of the time, I never play Galakrond against an aggro deck unless it's for one final board clear. You use Penace, Breath of the Infinite, and Soul Mirror to control the board, and heal up with all your healing cards.
Galakrond is only there to beat other Control decks, because it gives you infinite value. Also, that's a gameplan. It doesn't matter if Galakrond gives you garbage, the hero power/Invoke still gives value, which is the gameplan of the deck. The hell are you talking about?
A man is lying on the street, some punks chopped off his head
I'm the only one who stops to see if he's dead.
Hmm. Turns out he's dead.
Thank you for elaborating, while I do not agree with your point of view I can see what you are coming from regarding the random factor. I do have to add, from the position of playing against Galakrond Priest, it feels a lot like playing against Dr Boom Control warrior. I have personally played a lot of Highlander Mage last month and greatly enjoy that deck and since I dislike playing the traditional fatigue style control decks, you might be right there that it is more of a very slow midrange deck ;)
Sorry I get it now, were not elitists because we play control we're elitists because we dont want to play the way you enjoy playing and were playing the game wrong, because it's not the way you play. Sorry I misunderstood....
Living like that.
People who are suggesting OP to play wild clearly haven't played wild constructed in a while.
It was bad enough for a control player in wild last expansion with Quest mage running rampant.
And now you've got Reno priest, which was already a top tier deck before, with a bunch of new cards AND druids with their regained innervate all over the place.
Wild is combo all around right now. Good luck playing a control deck there.
But as others have rightfully said already, there's plenty of viable control decks in standard right now.
Highlander mage, bomb/big warrior and galakrond priest (in order from most to least effective) are all more than serviceable decks.
Elitism is exactly that. Someone partition themselves into something not following the general thing. Choosing just a particular thing when u can experience the whole is what elitism means. Its not to be taken as a personal offense either which u seem to be taking. I apologize if u somehow find it offensive.
Because until the very last nerfs to DH gala priests lost consistently to aggro dh and for the late game win con vs other slow decks they relied on scamming hard their opponent with random steals and chaining random stuff with that epic minion that gets u lyra effect or getting good cards from invokes cause they had those too. How can a rng value be a gameplan tool? Boom might be RNG but it had 4 predetermined hero powers. Gaka priest is a clown fiesta of getting super high rolls or low rolls that lose u the game
¿Que?
An elitist is one who considers themselves and other enfranchised members of a group to be of greater merit than the disenfranchised.
A hearthstone elitist would be somebody who thinks, for example, that the game should be more monetised, to disincentivise "free-to-play"-ing.
There isn't a word for what you are referring to, because liking only a part of something is just knowing what you like and doing it.
Players don't have a moral obligation to play or like to play a broad variety of decks.
This post is discussing the wild format.
In Dungeons and Dragons, there are different "categories" of players, one of which is the "specialist". The specialist usually only plays one character. And if they have to make a new character it will probably be almost exactly the same as their old one. Maybe they always play a Elf Fighter, or a Halfling Wizard, but they always play their favorite type of character and nothing else, and there is nothing wrong with this type of player.
In Hearthstone, some people only play one class, or one archetype, or one theme of deck. There is nothing wrong with this, it is just one of many styles of play.
Carrion, my wayward grub.
While I love aggro decks a ton, I can definitely relate to trying to play in a meta that doesn't favor the type of decks I want to play. Probably the biggest example of this was when KFT launched and the only viable class was Druid for the most part. If the meta isn't something you enjoy, the best advice I can give is to take a break from the game for a bit and when nerfs happen or the meta shifts to being something different, try jumping back into the game. Taking breaks is perfectly fine in my opinion, especially when playing the game starts to feel like a chore instead of a fun activity.
As a quick sidenote, the meta still hasn't really stabilized yet either and there are a few decks more focused on control kicking around as well, such as Big Warrior which has been doing pretty decently at higher ranks. Not to mention both highlander priest and mage have been doing decent. Personally, I think it's too early to already pack in for this season, but ultimately its up to you to decide whether its worth your time or not.
Cardboard wizard and dog haver.
I am at the same boat as you, I don’t like playing aggro, But more than that: I am really BAD at playing them. I tried few times, but the most I will do are tempo decks.
My “cup of tea” are control / combo decks, and I LOVE this game.
don’t give up, find decks you like and play. You can climb with non-aggro decks and have fun!
“Legends never die,
They become a part of you.”
If you want to beat Reno Priest, just play Fatigue Warrior. It’s such an easy matchup you almost need to try to lose it to not win. Wins against aggro, and as long as you play Dirty Rat at the right time, you usually win against combo too
Who needs consistency when you could have fun?
In standard there will rarely be any control metas and when that is the case you should expect something really boring as Control Warrior mirrors.
In wild there is room for everything, really. I see people here saying that in wild control decks are good. They aren't. Combo decks are good, not control. All tier 1 decks are decks that stall the game by freezing or gaining armor until they get all the combo cards and kill you. This should have been a fun meta considering the combos, but the amount of discover bullshit that goes on is crazy and makes the game un-fun
Helios#22419
I don't have trouble countering the meta, don't worry.
Which deck do you classify as fatigue warrior? The only slow warrior decks that come to mind are odd warrior (instant loss versus mecha'thun because no combo disruption) and DMH warrior (inconsistent).
Yeah that sounds like the wild I remember from last season, quest mage and raza priest every where ^^
Is big warrior actually viable? I am missing rattlegore and am hesitant to craft it since it seems it doesn't have a place on any other deck. I thought big warrior was just one of the day one memes, maybe I should give it a try.
Clearly your absolutistic statements about Wild are BS.
I'm not even bothering to argue with one who comments like that, as it would be a waste of time.
Just pointing out for the others that Reno Priest is NOT a Combo deck, despite its optional pew pew package. Reno Priest stays a Control deck - it actually looks more and more like a Tech deck.
And while QMage and MalyDruid seem to be revamped, so are many Aggro decks, and by far the average meta population is NOT Combo, it's Aggro - which means that a good chunk of the meta can be countered with properly tuned Control decks.
It was when I played it. This was shortly after the expansion got released, however, so nearly everything was viable at that point.
I'd wait for viciousSyndicate's meta report tomorrow to see which control decks have the best success rates before crafting anything.