by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

There’s this wonderful time when a game is brand new where people are left to their own devices. No guides on building proper macros, no optimum build orders, no detailed maps showing the best camping spots; it’s an uncharted wilderness to be navigated and discovered. However, it doesn’t take long for winning tactics to be discovered and soon every player that knows how to use google is using it. It’s the main reason why many games with seemingly in-depth customization options find themselves homogenized as using the optimum builds becomes expected and possibly required.

In the case of Hearthstone, this instance comes in the form of the heroes and particular cards. All it takes is for a player to crush the competition in a streamed tournament and soon everyone starts using the same hero. First it was rogues thanks to their insane combos and potential damage output, but then they were nerfed in the first major patch. Then it became priests because of their excellent crowd-control abilities which culminate in Mind Control. With the nerf bat pointed at them now, hunters seem to be the new hot flavor of the month thanks to Unleash the Hounds, a spell that gives all creatures Charge and +1 damage.

The nerf bat. Sometimes it’s truly necessary, but often people are too quick to call for its aid.

As a new player, you have three options when encountering these seemingly OP-heroes and cards. First, you might be tempted to quit outright and curse the developers for not making the game fair. Second, you can storm the forums and demand that the developers level the playing field immediately. The third option is to realize ways to beat the popular decks. Simply put, if everyone consistently uses rock, you should lean towards paper! Sticking to scissors and hoping for the best is a sure-fire way to keep yourself in the mid-tier brackets. It’s easy to find an example of this working out in the top-tier of competitive play. Take a look at Moon’s Aggro Mage Deck for example. This deck is strong for two reasons. First, it’s as good of a burn deck as we’ve seen out of the Mage. Pyroblast and the fireballs can nearly kill an opponent on their own, and there’s enough control in the deck to get the Mage to the point where they can use those cards. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it doesn’t use any big creatures that are major targets for a Priest’s Mind Control. This means that the deck can often kill a Priest before the game reaches the point where they can use Mind Control, but even if it does the Priest will likely hold on to Mind Control and hope that the Mage puts down something bigger.

This card is getting a small nerf in the next patch, but knowing how to beat it is still a priority against any priest.

As I said earlier, hunters seem to be the new popular choice that players must work around. The card that’s causing this is Unleash the Hounds, a one-cost card that gives all minions Charge and +1 attack. Hunters are now waiting for the late game and then dropping multiple cheap creatures, then using Unleash the Hounds to turn them into a potentially one-turn kill. The previously mentioned Mage deck is useless against this tactic, as the wave of damage comes instantly and gives no time for a reaction. Even if the deck can wipe the creatures off the deck next round, the first wave is often enough to put the opponent close enough to death for the Hunter to finish off with their activated ability. One possible response is to keep a decent supply of Taunt cards in your deck that can absorb a large portion of the incoming damage, or to burn the hunter down as quickly as possible.

I’m sure that players far better than myself will come up with better ways to get around Unleash the Hound, but the important thing is to keep experimenting. After all, any player can wait for someone else to come up with a counter or worse wait for the inevitable nerf. It’s players that come up with their own that find themselves winning consistently.

(Edit: Changed “Release the Hounds” to “Unleash the Hounds” because that’s what the card is actually called. Blame the white hot rage I feel when this card is used against me when I’m one turn away from winning and didn’t properly prepare for it. It’s hard to read when you’re that angry. Thanks to those that pointed this out!)