# The Hearthstone Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 28, 2014, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172 "2014-04-28T07:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 87
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1721 "2016-05-28T11:14:02Z")
> [@The\_Lurker\_Above](#): > > I don’t have to craft Yogg, since I managed to pull one. I’m very, very tempted to craft two Renounce Darkness, add my Yogg and have the most RNG deck ever. Since I’ve already hit Rank 5 for the chest (and have zero plans on going for legend this month) maybe, just maybe I’ll try it. OK, I couldn’t sleep so I went and did it. I crafted a pair of Renounce Darkness and then made my deck. The deck is not Renounce Darkness-Yogg, I went all in on a _Reno_-Renounce Darkness-Yogg 😃 And it is every bit a nuts as that sounds. Decklist in the spoiler to save space Unlike a traditional Reno I have a lot of 2 ofs; the point is to exchange em all for random cards after all. 2x Forbidden Ritual 2x Mortal Coil 2x Power Overwhelming 2x Flame Imp 2x Renounce Darkness 2x Dark Peddler 2x Demonwrath 2x Sense Demons 1x Shadowbolt 2x Imp Gang Boss 2x Hellfire 1x Shadowflame 2x Bane of Doom (More randomness is good, right?) 1x Siphon Soul 2x Dread Infernal 1x Reno Jackson 1x Sylvanas Windrunner 1x Yogg-Saron This is about the 3rd variation on the deck I’ve tried. I started with a more traditional zoo shell with most of the neutrals removed. I found that without the Abusive Sergeants, Dire Wolf Alphas, etc I could not grab the board and would die quite quickly. Adding the neutrals back in made my post-Renounce turns fairly bad. I yanked out the minions that didn’t seem to work without the activators and went with a more reactive, removal based survival strategy. I may replace the Flame Imps since I’m taking a lot of damage before I can Renouce most games. And the Sense Demons may be a bit too greedy. So far, from my small sample size I’m able to run at about a 40% winrate at Rank 5. Some of the wins have come, I’m sure, from the sheer WTF reaction from my opponents. I’ve never chatted with so many opponents post-game before (and no one has been salty!). I’m still figuring out the details on how to pilot the deck. It’s a real balancing act between how low you can go, HP wise while trying to build a decent handsize for your Renounce turn. Some highlights so far: [ul][li]Very first game is against a Tempo Warrior. I managed to play _3_ Yoggs. I lost to a 6 damage fatigue draw (overkilled me by one) with my opponent at 1 health and an empty board vs my 2 minions and half-depleted Gorehowl. [/li][li]A C’Thun Warrior lost to my 3 turn combo, Wisps of the Old Gods into Cenarius into double Savage Roar.[/li][li]N’Zoth Priest lost in a game where I Renounced into Paladin, got Equality/Consecrate in my hand, cleared the board and played a Murloc Knight. My opponent Thoughtstole another Murloc Knight. I draw Anyfin Can Happen and for the next two turns every Murloc Knight spawns another Murloc Knight:eek:. Yogg manages to Thistle tea me 3 Redemptions and my next draw is Tirion. You can imagine how that worked out for the Priest.[/li][/ul] If anyone wants to spectate add LurkerAbove#1580. I think I’m going to be playing this for the rest of the season (apart from quests). ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1722 "2016-05-29T14:56:38Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Incredible. One of the best mage cards in the set, works in all but the fastest mage archetypes, and even there I’d consider running it for some lategame push. You’re essentially trading the 6/3 body on Ethereal Conjurer (which often isn’t worth very much, as it dies to Quick Shot, Excavate Evil, Wrath, Frostbolt, Backstab+Azure Drake, etc.) for the other two spells you wouldn’t have picked on the discover. That’s _awesome_. I can’t be certain, because I wasn’t paying that close attention, but I’m pretty sure my opponent last night discovered a Cabalist’s Tome with his Cabalist’s tome. At any rate, the combo of two of those turned what was a tenuous victory for me into a through trouncing almost immediately afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1723 "2016-05-30T00:51:52Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Talk me into or out of crafting Yogg Saron for tempo mage and maybe some sort of control priest. > I mostly play goofy decks now rather than seriously try to climb the ladder so it seems like it could make some fun novelty decks. Someone did a Monte Carlo Simulation of Yogg, and basically the conclusion is that it’s most likely to be a board reset and draw cards. It’s most likely compared to Deathwing. It is a card that can bring you back into a game like no other, and for that reason, I think it’s reasonable to craft it. It’s certainly not going to be in a Tier 1 deck, but sometimes, you need the chance to flip the table, and Yogg is it. Plus, it’s fun! It’s like playing slots. [https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveHS/comments/4i5fl9/what\_does\_yoggsaron\_do\_and\_is\_that\_good\_a\_short/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveHS/comments/4i5fl9/what_does_yoggsaron_do_and_is_that_good_a_short/) ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1724 "2016-06-01T13:56:45Z")
Yogg n Load looks like a lot of fun, but I think it requires too many epics for me to craft. I’d probably have to put about 4000 dust into the deck including Yogg. How far can you go with a deck like that on the ladder? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1725 "2016-06-01T14:46:34Z")
People have taken Yogg n Load to legend, so it certainly is possible. What epics are you lacking, though? I would rather run a budget version for a while before spending that much dust - this deck is like no other, and you might regret it if you pull the trigger on Yogg and hate the deck. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1726 "2016-06-01T14:56:48Z")
I’d need to craft 2 Lock n Load and 2 Call of the Wild. A few rares too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1727 "2016-06-01T15:22:03Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I’d need to craft 2 Lock n Load and 2 Call of the Wild. A few rares too. Well, I don’t see Call of the Wild _not_ going into any hunter decks for the next two years, so that’s probably a safe craft. Yogg is usable in a lot of spell heavy decks as a last ditch ‘nothing else can save me’ play at the very least. So the big cost is going to be 2 Lock n Loads. And it doesn’t really look like you could run a budget version without those two. So I guess watch a stream or two of someone playing the deck and see if you like it before pulling the trigger? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1728 "2016-06-01T17:31:18Z")
Ah Hearthstone … it loves to torture me. Good news! An [11 win run](http://www.heartharena.com/arena-run/442646). Bad news! We’re giving you a golden common and non-golden rare (plus 205g and a pack) as your reward! ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1729 "2016-06-01T17:43:48Z")
Agree 100% with what **Lurker** says about the Hunter cards. I’ll add that if you haven’t yet crafted Yog that it doesn’t appear so far to be a “must craft” card; I think there are many others that should take priority. You wanna talk torture … try the new Tavern Brawl. My quest today is “Win 5 Tavern Brawls”. I am now 2-12. Damn thing reminds me of playing Arena … and I suck at arena – never play it. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1730 "2016-06-02T02:05:45Z")
The RNG on this Tavern Brawl is the suck. Played 9 games, three each of Warrior/Mage, Warrior/Priest and Warrior/Hunter. Lost all 9 games badly. Only got the hero of two games below 20. About 4 games I got all high mana cards to start with and the first couple of rounds the draw was 5+ mana. So I get smacked for 3-4 turns with nothing to counter, except buffs but since I had no minions out they were useless. I like the idea but the mana curve is sucking for me. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1731 "2016-06-02T02:17:13Z")
And of course as soon as I complain I crushed the next guy with Warrior/Hunter. They conceded when they were down to 3 HP and I still had 27. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1732 "2016-06-02T13:18:55Z")
My wife got stuck with a brawl last night where all she had was a hand full of heals and her opponent seemed to have a deck of nothing but legendaries. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1733 "2016-06-04T16:34:10Z")
Got my first 12-win today with this deck: Warlock Forbidden Ritual Power Overwhelming Possessed Villager Zombie Chow Darkbomb Annoy-o-Tron Darkshire Librarian Mana Addict Murloc Tidehunter Imp Gang Boss Mind Control Tech Scarlet Crusader Shattered Sun Cleric Spawn of N’Zoth Shadowflame Burly Rockjaw Trogg Gorillabot A-3 Spellbreaker Bane of Doom Antique Healbot x 2 Kvaldir Raider Sludge Belcher Spectral Knight Corrupted Seer Nerubian Prophet Sunwalker Bog Creeper x 3 It can struggle a little in the early game, but I got really lucky curving out most of the time, and if I survive to endgame, I have a fairly large amount of beef and some really nifty board clears (I got _so_ much mileage out of Shadowflame), as well as the advantage of two cards per turn instead of one. My 10-2 game was actually against a Shaman with an absolutely _insane_ start - Flame Juggler, Flametongue Totem, Tuskarr Totemic into second Flametongue, third Flametongue, Feral Spirits… I won because I managed to pull off Power Overwhelming into Shadowflame, followed up by a healbot to get out of burst range. Shit was pretty great. 😃 Oh, and some games were just won on the strength of a single Bane of Doom. So that was nifty. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1734 "2016-06-04T22:12:41Z")
Grats. It’s all I can do to scrape out 3 wins. I thought I got smart after a few 3 or 4 win runs where i drafted myself, and used HearthArena’s drafting tool, promptly went 0-3. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1735 "2016-06-04T23:12:55Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > Grats. It’s all I can do to scrape out 3 wins. I thought I got smart after a few 3 or 4 win runs where i drafted myself, and used HearthArena’s drafting tool, promptly went 0-3. ☹ 3 wins isn’t bad (it’s actually pretty much spot on for the average run), but you can’t go too horribly wrong just blindly following HearthArena’s advice. Ss you get better you’ll know when to go against it (and any difference of ~10 points may as well be a tie). For play improvement I found watching videos of co-op runs (ADWCTA/Murps has some good ones) where they discuss their picks/plays helpful. Ratsmah had(has?) a good series where he’d coach a subscriber through a draft/run. I started about where you are and I’ve brought average up to 6 wins over the last 17 runs. I had a bad start to WotOG where I was still completely focused on tempo, but I changed my drafting and strategy to include some more value and did way better. Overall WotOG average is at 4.97 now. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1736 "2016-06-05T01:36:26Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > Grats. It’s all I can do to scrape out 3 wins. I thought I got smart after a few 3 or 4 win runs where i drafted myself, and used HearthArena’s drafting tool, promptly went 0-3. ☹ HearthArena helps a lot. You know what’s also really useful? Kripp’s videos. Kripparian is pretty much _the_ authority on competitive arena, and he has _so_ much useful information on how to play the mode. By watching him play, you can get a really good idea of how it works, how to win, pitfalls to avoid, etc. It’s just all-around great stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1737 "2016-06-05T03:39:29Z")
I’m familiar with Kripp; my wife has his videos on the TV anytime she’s nursing the baby. I’ve learned a bit from them I just have trouble translating that when the rope is burning. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1738 "2016-06-06T00:00:27Z")
Well, Heartharena and I drafted the following. We’ll see how it goes. 1Noble Sacrifice 2A Light in the Darkness 2Argent Lance 2Loot Hoarder x2 2Ship’s Cannon 3Aldor Peacekeeper x2 3Harvest Golem 3Shade of Naxxramas 3Shattered Sun Cleric 3Steward of Darkshire 4Arcane Nullifier X-21 4Blessing of Kings 4Dark Iron Dwarf x2 4Dread Corsair 4Hammer of Wrath 4Keeper of Uldaman 4Tomb Spider 4Truesilver Champion 5Clockwork Knight 5Corrupted Healbot 5Mukla’s Champion 5Stand Against Darkness 6Argent Commander 6Drakonid Crusher 6Frost Elemental 7Bog Creeper 7Hogger, Doom of Elwynn ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1739 "2016-06-06T06:54:05Z")
No AOE, not a great early game. That’s a tough combo. Your midrange is kinda nutty though, so that might save you. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172/1740 "2016-06-06T12:47:45Z")
I won’t say it’s easy to play. HA has this to say: > [@HearthArena](#): > > Attrition > Paladin > An Attrition deck has one simple goal: outlast our opponent. This deck is filled with large minions, card draws, and likely a couple of large/mass removals to ensure that our opponent will run out of cards to play before we do. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to play this deck is _not_ to play for value, but rather to push the tempo. We don’t need to get value out of our cards because we will simply have more cards and bigger cards than our opponents. The key to success with this deck is to not die. Despite our best efforts, we will likely not be able to consistently deny our opponent’s board, and will likely be playing one step behind the entire game. Therefore, our life is our most precious resource and we must protect it at all costs. Play heals and taunts strategically and save them for when they will have the largest impact. > > Strong against: Classic Control > Weak against: Aggro-Control I played a game with it last night and won (against a shaman), and much like the description says, I was doing what I could to stay alive until Bog Creeper and Hogger turned the board around for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172.md?page=86) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hearthstone-thread/687172.md?page=88)