by JR Cook - 11 years ago     show comments

There is a saying in German, “Kleinvieh macht auch Mist”, which generally cautions that a large quantity of small critters can still leave behind an enormous pile of poop.

Learned that a boatload of crappy minions can be rather devastating. As they say: Kleinvieh macht auch Mist. (little critters, lots o’ poop)

— HearthPro Podcast (@HearthProShow) August 21, 2013

I liken this to a minion strategy I have recently come to appreciate. Before you get too excited, I won’t be wading to deep into the waters of Hearthstone strategy discussions. We’ll merely dip our big toe in it together.

If you are new to collectible card games like me, you may find yourself scoffing at low cost minions with limited abilities (like the Bloodfen Raptor, for example), especially late in the game. Don’t. I have learned the hard way that a swarm of minions, low in health and weak in attack as they might be, can win the game for you. If your opponent is running low on playable cards, it can be painful having to choose which minion to eliminate when four others still remain on the board. Four minions with 1-2 attack power can be just as devastating to a hero as a single high-damage card.

In addition, there are plenty of cards (Polymorph, Hex) that will turn your opponent’s towering minion into a fairly harmless critter that even a low quality minion can subsequently take on and eliminate.

Many hulking minions with heavy attack points don’t necessarily have a lot of health points either. Having multiple 1-2 attack minions on the board can allow you – if all else fails – to eliminate that one minion who could inflict a lot of damage by sacrificing a handful of low cost minions.

Especially in later rounds when mana crystals are plentiful, the ability to place many minions can be strategically important. With a few taunting minions sprinkled in, your opponent may be forced to spend a lot of attacks on a number of lesser cards in an effort to regain board control. This may leave a number of low cost minions on the board, who are free to subsequently deal attacks to your opponent’s hero, or simply continue to be a nuisance at the next turn. The situation can get especially hairy if your opponent feels the need to use their hero card to regain board control over minions, as any attack power will directly impact the hero when they strike against one. Small minions can spell death by a thousand little cuts.

The lesson of today’s tale: while big minions can be very impressive and very fun, don’t forget that sometime quantity over quality can win the match.

Are you playing the beta? Have you experienced a fairly impressive win or loss due to many low cost minions? Feel free to share your tale of triumph or woe in the comment section below.