Hearthstone
What Inspires You To Build A Deck?
Submitted 5 years, 8 months ago by
Chimera
Questions to those who enjoy building decks in Hearthstone:
- What sort of things lead you to construct the decks that you do?
- What are some common strategies and combinations that you really enjoy playing and iterating on?
- In the past, which mechanics or interactions really caught your attention and made you want to try them yourself?
- Do you prefer building new lists from the ground up, or iterating on existing archetypes?
- Has the meta ever influenced you to try building something new to counter it?
- When you get an idea, does it typically involve a particular strategy, or do you focus on a card you like to build around?
- Do you make use of tech cards often, or just play a particular list as is?
Questions to those who avoid deck building:
- What is it that you dislike about deck building, if anything?
- Has anything discouraged you from trying, or lead to you giving up at building a deck?
- What do you feel is the most intimidating or difficult part to building a viable deck?
- Do you find it more difficult to build decks in the constructed or arena game mode?
- What do you typically do when the weekly Tavern Brawl requires you to build a deck?
- What sort of tools or features do you think would motivate or allow you to build decks of your own design, if any?
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Questions to those who enjoy building decks in Hearthstone:
Questions to those who avoid deck building:
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Surprised there's not a lot of answers here.. ok here we go;
I do build decks- in fact it's what I like the most in the game:
-what leads me to make decks is often a random thought: "wait how would X-card work with the newly released Z-card?" ...
-since I always wanna try my combo out I often play control and try to get board instead of SMOrc-ing.
-I have lots of tools for deathrattles so that's my mechanic of choice (my latest successful experiment has been Recurring Villain + Explorer's Hat ) but I really go for whatever I wanna try.
-Bit of both.. if what I wanna try fits a list - good! Else I'll build a base and adjust through trial and error.
-I have a preference for deathrattle just cause I got the tools and experience for it but it's mostly about the card that piques my interest
- I start with little to no tech.. just taunts and life gains then adapt as needed. I love Stitched Tracker in hunter though..it's just better than Tracking -fight me!
ARES summons Erymanthian Huffer.
ARES declares attack with Huffer .
Adonis' hp reached 0. ARES wins!
For me, flavor is king, when homebrewing.
Typically, I start from a theme, as described by some cards (variable amount) that happen to fit the same deck, and have some potential to survive the meta in some deck.
It might be either a brand new concept, an old concept adapted, or the customisation of an existing deck, with the package of cards as above (with further tweaks if necessary).
I never start from current meta. Instead, I try to adjust and tweak my original plan accordingly, sometimes with techs, but rarely with hard-techs, more typically with cards that happen to counter the meta. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I actually love making decks... although so few work out for laddering. They are mostly trying to find uses for useless cards or ones that are typically only good for Area. I'm still trying to find a way to make Immortal Prelate worth playing in a tier 1-2 deck. Although with the buffs coming tomorrow, this may be more likely.
New cards, combos I see others pull off, the desire to be creative.
I like cycling draw effects. Lots of card plays that result in a big impact. Those tend to please me the most. I love combos, especially when a deck has lots of different synergies in it so it can go in many different directions.
I prefer doing it from the ground up, but folks are so creative they tend to beat me to the cool ideas so I often lift combos and mechanics from other decks and then tweak them to my own playstyle.
Oh yes. If a deck is really obnoxious I will almost always build counters for it even if they aren't that great overall in the meta.
Its usually for a given card. But sometimes I just try an old stand by and see how it works using the current card set. Some decks like spell damage druid are almost always fun to play around with due to the core card set supporting the archetype.
I tech for the meta somewhat. It sucks to have no answer to a popular deck.
Catch me Streaming at: SigTrent Plays Games
I look at cards that see zero play outside of very niche Tech options and build around those. For instance at the moment I'm trying to make a Big Spell Mage work with the Three Princes in it. So thats no 2,3 or 4 Cost Cards apart from those.
It's hard work....
But when it works it just feels soooo good!
Cocked, locked and ready to rock...
Quests. I don't like netdecking casual to complete quests so I'll usually try to build something from scratch using unpopular cards.
That said I really love putting Weaponized Pinata in every deck possible. :)
worst community ever
For me, my deck are born under the effect of a full night after having eaten Bagna Caoda.
More seriously, the idea come with some synergy that isn't a tier one deck (yet). For some like quest deck is easier, for some other like my evenrenomecha'thun is for looking for a cool win condition, while other are simply my own way to do... something. Anything.
I start with a combo, gimmick or card that I think is underrated, underplayed or otherwise has hidden potential... something that has rarely been done (or done right)
I always strive to build decks that are the best versions of themselves, no exceptions. If the deck is Gonk Druid, the other 29 cards are dedicated to make the deck win as often as possible, while still giving the star card a role. I never play with bad cards unless they're part of the gimmick; the fun lies in the challenge of making the existing oddity successful
Sometimes I take successful "shells" from existing decks to support my idea but I don't really netdeck. I learn what makes those decks good and take what I need to ensure each card added has a purpose in the new deck
And of course, adapting a deck to the meta (be it with techs, speed adjustments, etc) is an important part of making it competitive. In fact, sometimes the gimmick itself is thought up because it counters the meta in an interesting way
My primary impetus for building decks is the release of new content. I love to play around with new cards and see if they're up to snuff, even if it's fairly obvious from the card design and other available cards what the deck is going to look like. Hell, I even like playing around with cards that are pretty obviously bad (EG Pogo-hopper on release) to see if I can get the gimmick to work.
Other than that I also like to revisit cards that seem powerful but don't see too much play. Spirit of the Frog for example was a card that just seemed obviously broken, especially with Shaman's suite of burn spells, yet it was only seeing sporadic play in control shaman.
One thing that really discourages me from trying a new deck is when it's obvious from the outset that I'm going to need 3-6 legendaries that I don't have to build the deck. I'm fairly casual and mostly F2P so I don't really have mountains of dust to throw around.
Regarding Tech cards, I'm notoriously bad at keeping slots open for them. If there's a deck I play on ladder a lot I'll eventually come to the realisation that maybe adding weapon removal or a silence or w/e might be a bright idea, but most of my decks are initially built without tech cards included.
I'm always in a search for "the best undiscovered deck ever"!
99% of the time I fail, but when I discover something that hasn't been done before and it actually works, it is such a great feeling! I did this with another game and when it became a viable archtype I was so proud of me :D
I haven't been able to brew anything too original in Hearthstone to date and it has taken it's toll on me. Nowadays I rely more on netdecks, but I try to add something of my own in there every now and then. My biggest achievement (imo) was hitting legend back in the pre-nerf cubelock era when everyone was putting Doomguards in, but I stubbornly stuck with my my void daddy factory -mindset and got to legend with it!
I'm a decent guy. Sometimes my writings don't reflect that though!
One thing that highly motivates me to deck build are lesser known combos. For me it's much more refreshing to play decks that aren't being played by a large portion of the playerbase already and that most people can't predict will happen in most cases. Also, if I can make a couple of completely different strategies come together, even if it isn't a high win rate tier deck, you can bet I'll often try to do so.
N'Zoth is my favorite old god and was since WotOG first came out. So naturally I love putting it in plenty of decks (most often OTKs). There's just something very satisfying with dropping N'Zoth and spawning a wall of Sludge Belchers & Rotten Applebaums to stall for your big otk finish, especially in classes that generally have poor survivability (like rogue). I usually like start with the skeleton of a deck and then strip away what I'd rather see in it instead. Although, I'll occasionally make something memey and unique to me (such as my N'Zoth Deathrattle / Menagerie Warden OTK Druid).
Tech cards are typically something I play in the few control decks I use, but for the rest of my OTK/combo decks I generally only auto lose to Ice Block so I don't feel too concerned with teching against just one out of the nine classes when I could just roll with more stall/survivability.
1: Fun facter if it's not fun I don't want to play it. I.E. Fatigue Warrior, not for me because it's so slow.
2: I always try to find a way to make Spell Damage work but realistically it never happens.
3: Summoning Stone was crazy when Firelands Portal came out.
4: I like new decks entirely, a blank slate keeps it from feeling samey.
5: I don't actively try to counter the meta simply because match-ups are random and you're not guaranteed to go against the same deck twice or even three times in a row.
6: It mainly comes from connections of what cards I remember exist. When Augmented Elekk was announced I immediately thought of Archbishop Benedictus.
7: For me, Tech cards have a hard time finding a home because again, I'm not actively countering any type of deck so they kind of fall to the wayside.
Twitch for those of you who care.
I like to build decks myself at the very beginning of a xpack, then I try to refine them by playing and internet search for something similar.
There is one thing that is of utmost importance to me to like the idea of a deck - it MUST be build around 1 (sometimes more) cohesive and important for a given xpack theme. Also I play almost only shaman and mage as I don't like other classes that much.
So, since atm DoD is incoming I'm interested only in the following themes:
-singleton/dragon and elemental/tempo for mage
-galakron/whatvere works with him and elemental/overload for shaman.
I will try these and keep playing whatever works. I avoid many meta/teck picks as they often don't follow the theme of a deck.
waifus
I tried having fun once.
It was awful.
I'm not a very good player so play for fun mostly. To that ended I love deck worthy as many random card/minion/spell generators as possible. Last year I played a Lackey Rogue a fair bit having never liked that hero much in the past. Currently zero minion mage gives me my random itch, but would love to play a deck for a hero that isn't normally a go to for randomness. If anyone has tips.
Usually I find one card that interests me, doesn't matter the rarity, and I try to build a deck where it'll be a very nice inclusion.
Like in Descent of Dragons, Cobalt Spellkin and Hoard Pillager were the two cards I'd go back to since they fit in so many decks.
Or I'll try and come up with a nice synergy between cards and create a deck around them.
But those aren't the tier 1 decks so I only play them in casual
Often if I'm really building a deck from scratch I have one card I'm focusing on that I try to exploit. Right before saviors of uldum I remember making a "beast paladin" that utilized the power of untamed beastmaster with cheap card draw like crystology. I hadn't seen the deck before, but I was having a lot of fun with beastmaster in other decks and so it actually ended up being moderately strong. Recently I tried to use the new librams in conjunction with neutrals like vargoth and kaelthas. Haven't had success yet but I'll try to refine it further
If you like some randomness but also a coherent game plan I recommend Highlander priest. I just hit legend with it and it's a very fun deck if you like winning with value.
I 100% fall into the deck building category, so heres my answers.
Trying to make ideas work, normally based on Archetypes blizz half-heartedly supported at one time or another: e.g Freeze Shaman
I generally lean towards Midrange/Control, although I've had more success with Aggro, inserting Replicat-o-tron into a Mech Paladin list, and utilizing [Hearthstone Card (BEEEES!) Not Found], Corridor Creeper and Knight of the Wild in a swarming druid list.
Inspire. Always Inspire. I'd love to see it return. Also, overlooked interactions with cards like [Hearthstone Card (BEEES!) Not Found] in combination with Addled Grizzly or Knight of the Wild.
Generally something that has at least been pushed towards, even if it is by 2 or 3 cards, such as Freeze Shaman with Moorabi and Cryostasis.
Only time I've ever really done this was in the peak of Big Priest. Sometimes it's minor counters, like Hungry Dragon in a dragon priest, other times it's how many random minions can I summon for you. Lately, I've been playing a disruption priest that uses double Dirty Rat and Double Unseen Saboteur to shut down combo decks.
Generally Strategy. Focusing on one card without a reliable tutor is a fast track to frustration.
When called for. I ran Hungry Dragon in dragon lists when Big Priest was dominant. Secret Tech when Secret Mage ruled.
Trying wacky new stuff and making any card, no matter how bad it looks, work at least some times.
I really like murlocs and midrange/control. I don`t care much about wich class it is, but I like trying to get late into every game.
Deathrattle. I really liked the idea of a Deathrattle Shaman, (later added some evolve stuff and jades) but reiterated in the same idea every time
an interesting deathrattle card as the Ungoro turtle whose name I dont remember or the new one that kills everything and brings it back. Stalag and Feugen where to first that really captured me.
I always try to start from scratch every time a new expansion comes out, but then about 2 weeks in I try to modify what had been made.
Yes! I remember trying to outplay jade druid and right now, Demon Hunter in general.
Mostly focus on a card and build around it.
I almost never use tech cards, I try to not compromise my lists and get what I want out of it. Even ranked with an Even Legendary Paladin once. It is fun.
Lemushki - The one and only since the 2006 rebranding.
I'm very glad to find someone who is curious about how I build a deck. Netizens don't seem to be interested in deck-building. Some do, but they just modify an archetype that already exists. Original creators like me are the rarest among the rarest. It is sad to see only two pages here after your post a year and a month ago.
Yes, I enjoy building decks in Hearthstone, even more than actually play them.
New experiences. I love to explore new experiences from decks of different style. This is my goal. I won't build a deck that cannot bring me new, unique gameplay. I'm also interested in reproducing popular decks from the past that were nerfed and then seen little play. Old ideas getting picked up again, I combine them with new cards. Then old strategy reappears, but with chemical reaction with new sets and meta.
Baku and Genn decks. Hero Power is a permanent that we can make use of it from turn 2, but basic Hero Power generates low value. Baku makes it stronger and Genn makes it cost cheaper. They both seduce us to use Hero Power frequently, which creates distinguished game experience. Buffed basic Hero Power is an aura that changes our play significantly, like anomaly does in Adventure Mode.
Recently I've been playing Even Warrior and Even Druid. I had an idea to construct Even Warrior at first. Aggro decks(Odd DH, Secret Mage and Aggro Hunter) are popular in the current wild meta, so my intention is to make an anti-aggro deck that is dominant against aggros(but I intend it sucks against heavy control decks). Armoring up at a high frequency makes a good defender. My dream deck is like the "warriors" in MOBA games: melee class with both decent attack and defence, good at dealing with the "assassins"(aggro decks in HS). The winrate is ugly however, I lost to one Odd DH and two Secret Mages and only made it to Silver 10. So I abandoned it and made an Even Druid. Although Druid Hero Power gives less armor than Warrior's, Druid has Branching Paths and Oaken Summons. They grant heavy armor. I beat an Odd DH successfully and I won a bunch of games at Silver. I hope it'll go higher on ladder.
100% from the ground up. I feel greater sense of achievement by building original decks.
I'm a CN player and I play CN server. Everyday I read posts from two CN Hearthstone forums, NGA(bbs.nga.cn) and iyingdi(iyingdi.com/web). Whenever new cards are released, unless they include new mechanism by themselves on their card text, literally no one cares about how they can build a brand-new deck with these cards. Lonely me cares :(
Yes. Even Warrior and Druid I mentioned to counter Aggro decks. Winrate does influence my fun playing Hearthstone. If my decks have a very low WR(like 30% or less) and I fail to save them by any means in the meta, I probably will give them up(and I already did for some times). For example, I made a Rouge deck featuring Troublemaker early this month before AoO was launched. I put lots of cards that return my minions to hand in my deck, like Shadowstep. This deck really has its highlight moments. I once stole my opponent's Galakrond, the Nightmare. But this deck rarely won. When my opponent focus on my face, I get absolutely zero fun.
I have a variety of reasons to construct decks. Here are some of the decks I make in different meta: Token Paly with Justicar Trueheart to create a sustaining board offence and outnumber my opponent(ONK), C'Thun Shaman with Corrupt the Waters + Fencing Coach + C'Thun for an OTK synergy(SoU), Beast Druid with Invalid Deck ID for the meme!(late Rastakhan)
No, I don't usually put tech cards in my deck and I don't quite like them. Tech cards are compromise with strong decks in the meta. They adds incoherency to what I want to play. I like cards that both fit my deck strategy and favour certain matches, for example, Renew in Control Priest is a control-style healing card and it is also good against popular aggressive DH decks on ladder.
Never thanked you for this. Always avoided priest, but this has been great to play!
For me personally, usually the decks I play I make because I want to try to remake an old deck I loved (midrange Hunter, fatigue Warrior) using older cards, there’s some combo that seems fun (Gral and The Darkness, Hakkar Benedictus and Hemet), or there’s just some big card I want to play (Stalagg and Feugen are still favorites of mine).
Generally most of what I make tends to be heavier control decks, I don’t really try to make specifically good decks, sometimes I’ll just stumble upon something that works surprisingly well and rank up with that for a little while.
The only time I really pulled out a specific deck to counter the meta was when Raza was unnerfed. Fatigue Warrior is basically an unlosable matchup there if you draw Justicar. Dunno why that card doesn’t see play anymore, she honestly carries so many matchups, don’t think I’ve lost an aggro game where I drew her early
Who needs consistency when you could have fun?
Questions to those who enjoy building decks in Hearthstone:
Most of the time the decks im Building start to revolve around cards i like - or at least ideas i have about certain cards.
Most of the time i like to play fast decks , so therefor i try to build aggro / midrange decks that should be fast - but sometimes also enjoy control :)
Well, always tried to make some sort of Buff Priest work - i kinda like the buff mechanics
Both , have lots of homebrew decks i mess around with but also build existing lists - or try to change them to my flavour if i do not like them the way they are.
Yes, once build a deck solely to destroy one specific deck - even tough it wasn't that present in the meta :)
Mostly it focuses on certain cards - except im Building some sorte of ArcheType Deck like Murloc Paladin for example. Then i try to build a Murloc deck that suits me.
Yes but not all the time - depends on the meta! Right now i do not use any :)
Challenge me ... when you're ready to duel a god!
Two things for the most part. I either like to base it off of a dumb combo, then having every other card support that niche/help me draw into it, or when it comes to making a competitive deck, I focus primarily on taking a concept that is almost there/doing well and building off of that.
The biggest strategy I use a ton of is Packages, which is devoting a small subset of cards towards a group of highly synergistic cards. An example of this would be with Spirit of the Frog and including spells to curve out with it, or with slotting in Morag Artificers into literally any warlock deck under the sun as it synergizes heavily with the rest of the deck.
Interactions that have made me excited to build decks around them are with things that just let me obliterate the opponent, often with an OTK. This tends to extend to other games as well, considering my favorite MTG mechanic is Storm.
I start from the ground up, but often include existing archetypes if they are strong enough to justify running.
Yes, I like rolling people and playing anti-meta stuff rolls things.
I do a bit of both. Often an idea starts with a single card looking sweet, but if there aren't enough cards to support it I tend to just put it on the shelf for later.
If the meta requires a specific tech card, I'd try to shoehorn it in but most the time tech cards come last and I only get around to finely tuning a deck after playing it a ton.
Cardboard wizard and dog haver.
I just introduced a friend to Dominion and Clank!. After he shuffles his https://www.deckbuildersjacksonville.net/ deck, he doesn't draw from the top, but randomly takes cards as he sees fit. I can't find rules against this, does anyone else have this issue/pet peeve?
Thinking about how the opponent will react to it and how satisfying it would be to pull it off.
Ruler of the Multiverse, Lord of Time, The Twentieth Century belongs to Kang!
The hardest part of deckbuilding for me is that there are just so many cards, I always feel like i'm leaving important things out, and usually do, and then I can't seem to figure out what I need to cut. As a result, I end up playing the same decks over and over if they at least kinda work.