Hearthstone
Day One decks - common mistakes
With the new expansion this evening I thought now would be a good time to offer a few words of wisdom regarding deckbuilding in a new expansion meta. I'm sure to some of you this will all be old news - but I see the same mistakes repeated often enough during the first week of an expansion that I feel a reminder is warranted.
I should add, to be clear - I am not a big deckbuilder. What I am, however, is a deck critic. I may not be able to put together a high legend decklist from scratch, but I can certainly look at a decklist that already exists and tell you what's wrong with it! I will also add that this advice is intended only for people who actively want to win games on ladder during this period - if you're more interested in building a fun list than a good one, by all means, go for it. I won't tell you it's wrong to build a fun list and have fun with it - I will, however, tell you it's wrong to build a 'for fun' list and expect it to win. For my own amusement, I'm going to include a 'that guy' for every point. Remember - don't be that guy.
1. If you want to rise, play aggro. Early control lists tend to be phenomenally greedy as people try to pack in all the shiny new win-more legendaries they got. They skimp on both early board pressure and AoE. If you care more about winning games than about checking out new cards, lean towards aggressive archetypes - not only do these punish deckbuilding mistakes more reliably than other archetypes, they're also a lot harder to screw up! That means if you do want to try out new cards, you can - and if you do it inside an aggro shell you're less likely to lose games because of it. That guy - jams ten 8+ cost cards into one deck and plays one of them per game at most.
2. Don't be greedy. If you are playing control, don't fall into that trap. Pay due respect to the aggressive lists that will be floating around. Don't just throw in a couple of AoE clears and decide that's good enough - if a single on-curve board clear was enough to shut out aggro decks they'd never be played. Even if you've got a control deck, look to be contesting the board as early as turn 1 or 2, bring targeted removal (or weapons) as well as AoE, and only include as many late-game finishers as you'd reasonably need. That guy - builds a mage list with two cards of <5 mana cost and a single flamestrike as AoE. Then whines on every forum he can find about how aggro is stupid and takes no skill.
3. Alternatively, be greedy. If you really want to run a greed list - and let's be honest, who hasn't been tempted when a new expansion drops and there's a bunch of cool high-cost legendaries - then go all out. There's no point including two anti-aggro cards in an otherwise heavily greedy list, because they're never going to be enough to do the job. If you're going greed, go FULL greed and ensure no control deck you meet can even hope to match your value. That guy - includes a tiny amount of anti-aggro in a horribly greedy list, then complains about losing to other greed decks because they'd just lose to aggro. Also loses to aggro; doesn't see the irony in this. If I'm going to be a 'that guy', this is probably the one I'll wind up as.
4. Identify your win condition. I see a lot of post-expansion decks that basically amount to jamming a bunch of new cards into a box and hoping you wind up winning somehow. Unfortunately, that's not really how card games work these days. You will need to know what your win condition is - whether it's aggression, direct damage, tempo, value - and be working towards it as early as the deckbuilding stage. With each card you add, challenge yourself to identify how it's working towards your win condition - and, if you want to win games, don't accept 'because it's so cool' as an answer. In particular, be careful of trying to 'do it all' - don't add cards 'just in case' if they're not furthering your game plan in some way. To give a classic example - I saw a lot of people putting Elysiana in their lists at the start of her expansion, presumably 'just in case it goes to fatigue' - despite their game plan not being value-oriented at all. That guy - has what amounts to 20 tech cards in a 30 card list. Complains about his awful luck because his topdecks are always so bad.
5. Avoid tech cards. Tech cards are for targeting something you're expecting to face a lot of, or for swinging close matchups. Neither is something you can realistically evaluate at this stage with any real reliability. Instead, build a generalist list, but identify 1-4 cards that you can easily flex into tech choices as you get a feel for what you're seeing a lot of. Alternatively, if you want my guess - Dragonmaw Poacher is the obvious one due to all the dragons floating around. The next level, however, is to also tech Big Game Hunter as the on-curve counter to an on-curve Poacher. I strongly suspect anti-weapon tech will be valuable due to Pirate and Warrior both being favoured, as well as Galakrond's fully invoked 5/2. But realistically I'm just taking educated guesses - because that's all you can do right now. That guy - insists on including double Hungry Crab in every list he makes because he hates Murlocs. Last saw a Murloc in-game before the Wild cards rotated in.
6. Think probabilities. Remember that very few games will see you draw your entire deck, and a sizeable percentage won't even make it to turn 10. If your deck requires you to draw certain cards - the most obvious current example being Invokers - include more copies than you're going to need, to ensure you draw the required number. If your deck relies heavily on specific cards, include tutors for those cards. If you're building a combo deck, include a LOT of card draw - preferably low cost card draw, as the longer it takes you to assemble your combo the more likely you are to run out of resources. That guy - puts two copies of Corrupt Elementalist in his Galakrond Shaman list, with no other Invokers. Complains about never having a fully Invoked Galakrond. Alternatively, runs exactly 25 mana of Paladin spells alongside Shirvallah.
Good luck with your Day 1 deckbuilding, folks.
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With the new expansion this evening I thought now would be a good time to offer a few words of wisdom regarding deckbuilding in a new expansion meta. I'm sure to some of you this will all be old news - but I see the same mistakes repeated often enough during the first week of an expansion that I feel a reminder is warranted.
I should add, to be clear - I am not a big deckbuilder. What I am, however, is a deck critic. I may not be able to put together a high legend decklist from scratch, but I can certainly look at a decklist that already exists and tell you what's wrong with it! I will also add that this advice is intended only for people who actively want to win games on ladder during this period - if you're more interested in building a fun list than a good one, by all means, go for it. I won't tell you it's wrong to build a fun list and have fun with it - I will, however, tell you it's wrong to build a 'for fun' list and expect it to win. For my own amusement, I'm going to include a 'that guy' for every point. Remember - don't be that guy.
1. If you want to rise, play aggro. Early control lists tend to be phenomenally greedy as people try to pack in all the shiny new win-more legendaries they got. They skimp on both early board pressure and AoE. If you care more about winning games than about checking out new cards, lean towards aggressive archetypes - not only do these punish deckbuilding mistakes more reliably than other archetypes, they're also a lot harder to screw up! That means if you do want to try out new cards, you can - and if you do it inside an aggro shell you're less likely to lose games because of it. That guy - jams ten 8+ cost cards into one deck and plays one of them per game at most.
2. Don't be greedy. If you are playing control, don't fall into that trap. Pay due respect to the aggressive lists that will be floating around. Don't just throw in a couple of AoE clears and decide that's good enough - if a single on-curve board clear was enough to shut out aggro decks they'd never be played. Even if you've got a control deck, look to be contesting the board as early as turn 1 or 2, bring targeted removal (or weapons) as well as AoE, and only include as many late-game finishers as you'd reasonably need. That guy - builds a mage list with two cards of <5 mana cost and a single flamestrike as AoE. Then whines on every forum he can find about how aggro is stupid and takes no skill.
3. Alternatively, be greedy. If you really want to run a greed list - and let's be honest, who hasn't been tempted when a new expansion drops and there's a bunch of cool high-cost legendaries - then go all out. There's no point including two anti-aggro cards in an otherwise heavily greedy list, because they're never going to be enough to do the job. If you're going greed, go FULL greed and ensure no control deck you meet can even hope to match your value. That guy - includes a tiny amount of anti-aggro in a horribly greedy list, then complains about losing to other greed decks because they'd just lose to aggro. Also loses to aggro; doesn't see the irony in this. If I'm going to be a 'that guy', this is probably the one I'll wind up as.
4. Identify your win condition. I see a lot of post-expansion decks that basically amount to jamming a bunch of new cards into a box and hoping you wind up winning somehow. Unfortunately, that's not really how card games work these days. You will need to know what your win condition is - whether it's aggression, direct damage, tempo, value - and be working towards it as early as the deckbuilding stage. With each card you add, challenge yourself to identify how it's working towards your win condition - and, if you want to win games, don't accept 'because it's so cool' as an answer. In particular, be careful of trying to 'do it all' - don't add cards 'just in case' if they're not furthering your game plan in some way. To give a classic example - I saw a lot of people putting Elysiana in their lists at the start of her expansion, presumably 'just in case it goes to fatigue' - despite their game plan not being value-oriented at all. That guy - has what amounts to 20 tech cards in a 30 card list. Complains about his awful luck because his topdecks are always so bad.
5. Avoid tech cards. Tech cards are for targeting something you're expecting to face a lot of, or for swinging close matchups. Neither is something you can realistically evaluate at this stage with any real reliability. Instead, build a generalist list, but identify 1-4 cards that you can easily flex into tech choices as you get a feel for what you're seeing a lot of. Alternatively, if you want my guess - Dragonmaw Poacher is the obvious one due to all the dragons floating around. The next level, however, is to also tech Big Game Hunter as the on-curve counter to an on-curve Poacher. I strongly suspect anti-weapon tech will be valuable due to Pirate and Warrior both being favoured, as well as Galakrond's fully invoked 5/2. But realistically I'm just taking educated guesses - because that's all you can do right now. That guy - insists on including double Hungry Crab in every list he makes because he hates Murlocs. Last saw a Murloc in-game before the Wild cards rotated in.
6. Think probabilities. Remember that very few games will see you draw your entire deck, and a sizeable percentage won't even make it to turn 10. If your deck requires you to draw certain cards - the most obvious current example being Invokers - include more copies than you're going to need, to ensure you draw the required number. If your deck relies heavily on specific cards, include tutors for those cards. If you're building a combo deck, include a LOT of card draw - preferably low cost card draw, as the longer it takes you to assemble your combo the more likely you are to run out of resources. That guy - puts two copies of Corrupt Elementalist in his Galakrond Shaman list, with no other Invokers. Complains about never having a fully Invoked Galakrond. Alternatively, runs exactly 25 mana of Paladin spells alongside Shirvallah.
Good luck with your Day 1 deckbuilding, folks.
I see you when you're sleeping; I'm gone before you wake
I'm not as good as turn 4 Barnes; But I'm at least a Twilight Drake
No sir; I can't avoid Dragonmaw Poacher as a dragon-tech card at first day of Descent of Dragons !
Unpopular Opinion Incarnate
That's fair - if I was going to include any tech, it would be that plus 1-2 ASO. I maintain, however, that the BGH include is a next-level tech that will catch a lot of people out.
I see you when you're sleeping; I'm gone before you wake
I'm not as good as turn 4 Barnes; But I'm at least a Twilight Drake
I feel very attacked right now....
Kidding, but yeah I (and I expect a lot of people) have been guilty of most of these at some point so thanks for the reminder.
I will add my own: Be careful with your crafting. I feel like I've posted this 300 times in the last two months, but I crafted a lot to try and make Dragon Warrior work during RR and it never materialized. Just because Blizz is throwing out some vague idea of a deck (say Inspire Hunter or Treant Druid) doesn't mean there's a real place for it in the meta. If you're crafting for the memes then go nuts, but if you're a very focused ladder-climber who needs to spend dust carefully, I'd say wait at least a week or two to see how the early meta is shaking out before burning a bunch of dust.
My strategy: try out as much new cards as possible, but keep an eye on:
1. distribution (70% of your cards should be lower than 7 mana)
2. removal (single and AOE is needed, except when you go full aggro ofc)
3. silence/anti-weapon/ etc some of those will come in handy always.
4. Heals/armor will not hurt either.
5. Draw: without draw your new cards will not show up most of the time.
instructions unclear. Crafted Dragon-Gonk Druid immediately. I will make sure to run double Platebreaker and double Kobold Stickyfinger so I'm prepared to face every deck in the meta.
I tried having fun once.
It was awful.
Crafting will actually be even harder if they are going to release 35 new standard legal cards later on.....
All generalizations are false.
Is that confirmed? I thought they would be specifically used in the adventure.
Thank you for this unselfish writeup. :)
I really resonate with some of your points, nicely packed tips that could really help some people with experimenting. Deckbuilding is one of the main sources of fun to me, and still a lot of people quickly get discouraged to play with their collection, when nothing seems to work.
You have to develop a feeling of when a deck is 'clunky' and to make neccessary sacrifices to make it better. Those tips should provide a good starting guide, nice work.
I feel like they wouldn't just make 35 new cards only to be used in an Adventure...and if they did they'd specify that in the announcement.
It looks like they're trying to find new ways to shake up the mid-expansion meta (much like Doom in the Tomb did for Uldum)
I tried having fun once.
It was awful.
Omg, Abathur is that you !?
Unpopular Opinion Incarnate
Living like that.
Also to add to the thread i think the best plan(and this may seem kinda obvious to veterans but no really newer players) is always wait to craft anything. If you see a new deck you want to play and it's 90% new cards from the expansion, and it has a really high win rate and everyone is saying how good it is, and there is literally no way it can be beaten, it's a trap bro, it will be countered in the next two days and you spent all your dust on something that the new hotness beats very easily.
Living like that.
watcha gonna do about it, Raptorboy?
I tried having fun once.
It was awful.
Great tips. And just a small expansion on your first point - your control deck is probably not going to do well. You don't know what you're trying to control yet. If you can accept that and just love playing Galakrond priest, then go for it!
You win but your world is still doomed....
Living like that.
This is really awesome. I have been playing since Un'Goro and I am probably still doing some of these mistakes on day 1 of the xpac. I am addicted to trying everything. It's like making alts in world of warcraft. I make these alts which makes me a jack of all trades but master of none >.<
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
I'm guessing that isn't going to happen this expansion. I'm thinking something more along the lines for the Mech event when we got SN1P-SN4P. But that's just pure speculation at this point.
Very nice and well written post.
Deckbuilding mistake: not including Faceless Corruptor in your list.
I'm kidding; I haven't even played the guy yet myself. But it really is the Corridor Crawler of the set.
I'm glad this was useful to people, and hope people aren't playing warlock getting beat too bad ;)
I see you when you're sleeping; I'm gone before you wake
I'm not as good as turn 4 Barnes; But I'm at least a Twilight Drake
On Faceless Corruptor: that is a strong card for token decks. But in my experience I did not have a lot of problems with it since somehow I managed to clear fully a lot until now. And maybe also because Siamat or reno are such good counters. And it "only" cheats 5 mana, a little less even since one living minion is lost in the process. With conjurer's calling/khadgar I can cheat a lot more, not to mention galaxy spell which can now be cast at turn 5 with coin and a dragon in hand and no tempo loss. I have not lost a game when I could do this at turn 5.