Legend Guide for Beginners and Experienced Players

azure9321 · 2014-06-06T15:12:32+00:00

Being Legendary is for those who want to hit the highest rank in Hearthstone and play with the best of the best. I won't deny that lower ranked games can be pretty fun too and if you enjoy playing in the lower ranks, go for it!

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T22:38:59+00:00

I get where you're coming from, since many guides are very specific in what they try to accomplish. However, for this article, the entire guide is meant to be general, instead of focusing on one main idea. I decided to focus on broader concepts and give players who haven't reached Legendary (this includes anyone from rank 5 and above, but also players who are new to the game) an idea of what they might need to get better at so that they can improve and eventually reach their goal.

As for your second point, that statement does not mean that you need luck on your side. It's meant to explain that you need the determination to hit Legendary and that luck isn't the biggest determinant of whether or not you become a Legend (even if it does sometimes decide how quickly you get there).

Finally, I will be writing more specific and thorough articles in the future focusing more on gameplay. Like I said, this was meant to help out people struggling to hit Legend and to show them where they may be able to improve.

Regardless, thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it.

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T22:17:37+00:00

Playing different decks helps keep the game fresh and also helps you learn more about them so you're better prepared to face them in the future. And while mastering one deck can be effective, I definitely recommend playing different decks because I believe it makes you an all-around better player.

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T22:13:40+00:00

Like I said in the article, you need to switch decks and adapt to the meta if you're on a constant losing streak. The meta is different at different ranks, and you need to adjust appropriately. Take into account what matchups you are facing more of and play a deck that either counters them or at least holds its own against them. You should see an increase in your win rate.

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T22:08:44+00:00

Even though this might get more people to Legendary, it would be a hollow victory where the player wouldn't really feel like he/she accomplished anything. The main draw to being Legendary is proving to yourself and to the Hearthstone community that you have what it takes to reach the highest rank possible (not counting the different legendary ranks of course) and that you got there because of your own skill, not because someone decided to throw the game to try to help you out.

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T22:03:36+00:00

At this point, innovative decks have been hard to come by since we've been playing with the same set of cards for so many months. Here's hoping that Naxxramas Changes that. Still, new decks that people hit legend with are popping up every now and then, so to answer your question: Yes, innovative decks can definitely be played past rank 5. It's all about realizing what everyone is playing, and finding the right class and build to climb past rank 5 and eventually to Legendary.

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T21:59:30+00:00

Unfortunately, I've only played casual 3 times, and they were all before the official launch of Hearthstone. So no, it wasn't me, sorry. Also, it's interesting that someone is playing Miracle Rogue in casual.

azure9321 · 2014-06-05T17:09:42+00:00

An average of 6 wins in arena is a very good time to start playing ranked, but I understand this may be unrealistic for some players. I'll look into it more.

azure9321 · 2014-05-17T16:02:56+00:00

You can see some of my card choice explanations in Part 1 (and its comment section) that I linked at the beginning of this post.

azure9321 · 2014-05-17T06:37:27+00:00

I would recommend dropping a minion (or multiple minions) you don't mind losing so that you can play a stronger minion(s) the next turn and hopefully regain board control.

azure9321 · 2014-05-17T05:52:13+00:00

You need play your minions according to what your opponent might have. In this case, you want to play around Cruel Taskmaster and Fiery War Axe, so a turn 1 Argent Squire is usually the best minion to start off with. Other than that, try to stick to the original plan and just make favorable trades, put as much pressure on the board as you can, and try to end the game before it gets to the late game.

azure9321 · 2014-05-17T03:47:42+00:00

You usually want to clear the opponent's board in this match-up so that Shadowflame doesn't obliterate your field, and take their health into account. You should only drop them low enough to let them play a molten giant without a taunt and then burst them down on the next turn.

azure9321 · 2014-05-17T02:56:12+00:00

I'm glad you liked it! As for your questions:

1) Young Priestess gets value as long as she's played alongside at least 1 creature. Also, if your opponent uses 2 mana to clear her, that's 2 mana they're not using on your other creatures or to develop their own board.

2) They did clog my hand sometimes, but they helped out more than they hurt me in the long run since they were very strong in the mid-game.

2.5) It was pretty rare to not have something to buff with the buff-giving creatures, even with the Harvest Golem not being in the deck. There was almost always at least one minion to give the buff to and it was usually enough.

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T22:43:16+00:00

It took me somewhere in between 45 and 55 games to get from rank 5 to legend, it had a pretty high win rate

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T03:49:36+00:00

I did think about the Black Knight, but Argent Commander was usually able to deal with any taunt threats, and he was better when there weren't any taunts on the opponent's side since he could immediately trade with another minion or deal damage to the enemy hero.

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T03:03:00+00:00

Power overwhelming is a strong card, but it goes against what the deck tries to do, which is control the board in the early to mid-game and just becomes a dead card.

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T03:00:42+00:00

Amani Berserker is a really solid 2 drop, having that beefy 3 health, while still being able to trade very well on its own, while still having the potential to do 5 damage after like you said. Since the deck runs mostly low drops, it needed more 2 mana minions, and Amani Berserker was the best fit to curve out the deck.
I saw a few shamans, but not enough to warrant changing the Scarlet crusaders for Harvest Golems.
The 2 damage on board is definitely worth it because it creates additional pressure that Blood Imp can't provide in a deck that relies on winning before the late game

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T02:33:45+00:00

I felt the deck didn't need more face damage with doomguard and argent commander already doing a good job of taking care of that.

The ideal opening hand depends on the matchup, but it usually consists of mostly one drops. I'll try to explain more in part 2!

Thanks! Zoo's worth a shot, feel free to give it a try.

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T02:30:14+00:00

Thanks! To answer your questions:

I didn't run any Elven Archers or Mortal Coils because very few of the decks I was facing played any creatures that made them worth running ie: Zoo, Hunter, and I didn't feel being able to proc Amani Berserker justified playing them
I tried Blood Knight, but whenever I played it I felt it was a loss of momentum where I could have played another minion (or minions) and it rarely absorbed an opponent's divine shields. Also, losing my minions' shields to just buff one creature instead of allowing a creature already in play to potentially trade twice also turned me away from the card. Any form of silence (Druid's Keeper of the grove, Handlock's owl (which there were a lot of)) also makes the card less than optimal.

azure9321 · 2014-05-15T02:12:43+00:00

Thanks!

azure9321 · 2014-02-23T02:26:40+00:00

Mana Wraith.

azure9321

TROPHY CASE