Arena Picks With Rongar – Part 1
by JR Cook - 10 years ago show comments
One aspect of Hearthstone I haven’t spent much time with is Arena mode. There are three good reasons for that: at first, I wanted to spend all available gold on card packs. Second, I wanted to get more comfortable with the game and deck building in general before jumping into Arena madness. Third, when I wasn’t paying attention, other family members would swoop in and go Arena wild with any gold I had stockpiled up to that point.
This week, I finally made the decision to play Arena on my own, and with my own deck. I decided to share my “pick three” adventures with you, along with the exciting conclusion at the end of this run. Then we can sit back and analyze disect make fun of me together.
For today, I’m picking the hero, and the first ten cards. For my choice of hero, I could choose between rogue, warlock and hunter. I went with the hunter, mainly because I’m terrible with warlocks, and not the biggest fan of the rogue’s play style. We also know that hunter are underrepresented in competitive play at the moment, and I was curious if they could do alright in Arena mode.
Here are the results of my first ten picks.
Round 1: Nat Pagle, Bloodmage Thalnos, Ragnaros
This being a hunter deck, I wasn’t too keen on the spell damage bonus provided by Thalnos. Nat Pagle has a nice ability for card draws, but I thought I could get better value elsewhere. Ragnaros is awesome, so I went with him.
Round 2: Flare, Arcane Golem, Questing Adventurer
The battlecry of Arcane Golem seemed iffy. The Questing Adventurer was incredibly tempting, but I had gotten victimized one too many times by stealthed minions. Had to be Flare.
Round 3: Savannah Highmane, Explosive Shot, Wild Pyromancer
Honestly, there was something nice about all of these cards. I opted for Explosive Shot for its board-clearning ability. Admittedly, if I had either the Savannah Highmane or the Pyromancer in my collection with some prior deck experience, I might have chosen either one of those. The deathrattle for the Highmane is fantastic, and Wild Pyromancer might be helpful with some board clearing of lower cost or damaged minions.
Round 4: Wolfrider, Venture Co. Mercenary, Freezing Trap
I truly dislike the gimmicky hunter spells like Freezing Trap, plus I was already two spells deep into my deck after three turns. Wolfrider is alright for an early pressure card, but the Venture Co. Mercenary – despite his obvious drawback – is a beast at turn five.
Round 5: Silvermoon Guardian, Raid Leader, Snipe
Easy pick, Silvermoon Guardian for me. A 3A/3H card for turn 4 with Divine Shield is nice. And no gimmicky spells!
Round 6: Bloodsail Raider, Goldshire Footman, Dark Iron Dwarf
Another easy pick. The Goldshire Footman is terrible, the Bloodsail Raider is dependent on whatever weapon I may have equipped. The Dark Iron Dwarf is beefy and buffs another minion.
Round 7: Core Hound, Animal Companion, Tundra Rhino
Core Hound isn’t particularly strong as a “big” minion. It does have some nice synergies in a hunter beast deck, but so far I haven’t picked any. Animal Companion is a low mana cost card that will help me get a minion on the board early (so far, most minions I have are 5 mana or more). Tundra Rhino is a card I normally like in constructed decks, but I don’t have the luxury to predict how many beasts will fall in my lap later. Animal Companion is my choice this round.
Round 8: Frostwolf Grunt, Silver Hand Knight, Bloodfen Raptor
I do have a bunch of 5 Mana minions already, but the Silver Hand Knight seems too good to pass up. Frostwolf Grunt I am not too excited about, at 2/2 he’s a pushover. The Bloodfen Raptor is a great low cost minion and a beast class, but I don’t want to pass on the Silver Hand Knight. This may come back to haunt me, but I’m going with it.
Round 9: Spellbreaker, Arcane Shot, Earthen Ring Farseer
The Arcane Shot is a nice spell card for hunters, but I am running behind on defensive, and especially silencing spells. Spellbreaker is my choice this round.
Round 10: Sunwalker, Imp Master, Wild Pyromancer
I needed a turn 3 card, and I have faced the Imp Master many times. This minion is no picnic, and my choice for round 10.
Recap: So far, I am pretty pleased with Ragnaros as my end game minion. I also feel there’s a solid selection of cards for the mid-game. Going forward, I may need to shore up my low-cost minions, and potentially more defensive minions. Card draw ability may also become an issue. The beauty is, that no one needs to rush their Arena selection. You can make a few selections, and let it simmer. I have some time to think about my next moves, and what to focus on. Later this week, I will share my next set of cards.
What are your thoughts? Where would you go from here with your selection priorities?
Hey Rongar, thanks for putting this together. I’m eager to see your last 20 picks. I’ve never played Hunter in arena because I hate playing them in constructed, which isn’t a good reason, so I should try as soon as I have a chance. I liked almost all of your picks. You’ll definitely want to start taking 2 drops, even if they’re not ideal. As much as I love Silver Hand Knight, I might have taken Bloodfen Raptor, as a first 2 drop and to help build beast synergy. I would have taken Questing Adventurer over Flare. Flare is just way situational. I *might* have taken Savannah Highmane over Explosive Shot. Both are good cards, and actually quite similar. Overall I prefer having 3 minions over a high-cost spell card.
Love the show!
Thank you! I appreciate your comments, and all the points you mention where the picks I wrestled with. Overall, it’s been a fun exercise, and I am looking forward to how the deck actually plays.
As far as hunters go in constructed, I am not a huge fan of the hunter when a lot of traps and tricks are part of the deck. I do like them a lot When you can run a very beast-heavy deck. They are definitely worth trying!
Hey Rongar, thanks for putting this together. I’m eager to see your last 20 picks. I’ve never played Hunter in arena because I hate playing them in constructed, which isn’t a good reason, so I should try as soon as I have a chance. I liked almost all of your picks. You’ll definitely want to start taking 2 drops, even if they’re not ideal. As much as I love Silver Hand Knight, I might have taken Bloodfen Raptor, as a first 2 drop and to help build beast synergy. I would have taken Questing Adventurer over Flare. Flare is just way situational. I *might* have taken Savannah Highmane over Explosive Shot. Both are good cards, and actually quite similar. Overall I prefer having 3 minions over a high-cost spell card.
Love the show!
Thank you! I appreciate your comments, and all the points you mention where the picks I wrestled with. Overall, it’s been a fun exercise, and I am looking forward to how the deck actually plays.
As far as hunters go in constructed, I am not a huge fan of the hunter when a lot of traps and tricks are part of the deck. I do like them a lot When you can run a very beast-heavy deck. They are definitely worth trying!
I must admit, you were faced with some really tough decision in the pack … Here is how I would have probably picked:
1. Pagle. Going second and being able to coin this guy Turn 1 is pretty awesome. I’ve never seen Ragnaros survive a full turn, either for myself or for my opponent, always eating a Poly/Hex/Assassinate etc. Card draw for a pressure Hunter deck is pretty massive.
2. Questing Adventurer. This guy gets nasty fast and forces your opponent to deal. Flare isn’t a bad pick, but in Arena play I rarely feel undone by Stealth.
3. Explosive Shot. Here is a bit of a coin flip. ES helps keep the weenie barrage rolling and Hunter decks generally lack AoE removal. The only downside to ES is that if an opponent gets to 3 minions, they will probably place them to minimize ES impact. While late pack, I’d probably take the Highmane if I was able to snag a couple Multi-shot, at this stage in the pack I’d go with the ES.
4. Freezing Trap. This thing ruins turns. It doesn’t matter if they are attacking you or your minions, POOF its gone. And unlikely to come back for a long time. Venture Co is never a bad pick, in fact most people will probably disagree with my pick, but in a deck trying to press, the last thing you want slowing you down is a Frozen minion slowing down the onslaught. That said you really can’t go wrong between these 2.
5. Snipe. I’d still be holding out for some kind of Beast synergy here and while the Silvermoon Guardian is a strong minion on its own, Hunter decks can really press by cutting off the opponent’s counter-moves.
6. Dark Iron Dwarf. No need to discuss. This guy is a clear pick.
7. Tundra Rhino. REALLY close call with Animal Companion, but the almost guaranteed 2 for 1 of the Tundra Rhino makes it a compelling pick. That and there are tons of really good 2-3 drops most likely coming later in the draft. Beast count – 1.
8. Bloodfen Raptor. Beast count – 2. Great 2 drop, especially if some Beast synergy can be established later in the draft. Silver Hand Knight is a beast and on his own a much better pick, so your pick makes total sense, especially on the heels of Silvermoon Guardian.
9. Spellbreaker. This guy is just too valuable to pass up.
10. Sunwalker. With the amount of Enrage minions running around the Arena Environment, Imp Master can actually be a liability. Having skipped the Venture Co and Highmane earlier, this also gives some 6-cost punch.
All in all, this was a really tough 10 picks. With Hunter you need to decide how much Synergy you’ll go for, and that’s what determines some first third picks.
My Mana curve so far:
1- 0
2- 3
3- 1
4- 2
5- 2
6- 1
7+ – 0
Not too bad. Some more 3’s would be nice, but nothing that needs specific attention in the next third.
Looking forward to seeing the next 10! (no I haven’t peeked!)
I must admit, you were faced with some really tough decision in the pack … Here is how I would have probably picked:
1. Pagle. Going second and being able to coin this guy Turn 1 is pretty awesome. I’ve never seen Ragnaros survive a full turn, either for myself or for my opponent, always eating a Poly/Hex/Assassinate etc. Card draw for a pressure Hunter deck is pretty massive.
2. Questing Adventurer. This guy gets nasty fast and forces your opponent to deal. Flare isn’t a bad pick, but in Arena play I rarely feel undone by Stealth.
3. Explosive Shot. Here is a bit of a coin flip. ES helps keep the weenie barrage rolling and Hunter decks generally lack AoE removal. The only downside to ES is that if an opponent gets to 3 minions, they will probably place them to minimize ES impact. While late pack, I’d probably take the Highmane if I was able to snag a couple Multi-shot, at this stage in the pack I’d go with the ES.
4. Freezing Trap. This thing ruins turns. It doesn’t matter if they are attacking you or your minions, POOF its gone. And unlikely to come back for a long time. Venture Co is never a bad pick, in fact most people will probably disagree with my pick, but in a deck trying to press, the last thing you want slowing you down is a Frozen minion slowing down the onslaught. That said you really can’t go wrong between these 2.
5. Snipe. I’d still be holding out for some kind of Beast synergy here and while the Silvermoon Guardian is a strong minion on its own, Hunter decks can really press by cutting off the opponent’s counter-moves.
6. Dark Iron Dwarf. No need to discuss. This guy is a clear pick.
7. Tundra Rhino. REALLY close call with Animal Companion, but the almost guaranteed 2 for 1 of the Tundra Rhino makes it a compelling pick. That and there are tons of really good 2-3 drops most likely coming later in the draft. Beast count – 1.
8. Bloodfen Raptor. Beast count – 2. Great 2 drop, especially if some Beast synergy can be established later in the draft. Silver Hand Knight is a beast and on his own a much better pick, so your pick makes total sense, especially on the heels of Silvermoon Guardian.
9. Spellbreaker. This guy is just too valuable to pass up.
10. Sunwalker. With the amount of Enrage minions running around the Arena Environment, Imp Master can actually be a liability. Having skipped the Venture Co and Highmane earlier, this also gives some 6-cost punch.
All in all, this was a really tough 10 picks. With Hunter you need to decide how much Synergy you’ll go for, and that’s what determines some first third picks.
My Mana curve so far:
1- 0
2- 3
3- 1
4- 2
5- 2
6- 1
7+ – 0
Not too bad. Some more 3’s would be nice, but nothing that needs specific attention in the next third.
Looking forward to seeing the next 10! (no I haven’t peeked!)