Hearthstone

[sunrise089]

What is Arena mode?

[Sir Bruce]

Went 9/1 after reaching 8/0. The game I lost was due to double Pyroblast... I had complete control of the board and could have won next turn, but getting hit by 20 damage is just too much...

Unfortunately, I though I could screenshot my deck after finishing the games, but they disappear from the interface...

Congrats! I understand the best way to earn gold is to retire after 8 but I'd have a hard time doing that. Maybe if I can regularly hit 8 wins...

What is Arena mode?

Arena mode lets you draft a deck from a random set of cards. You first can choose between 3 heroes and then you are presented with 30 different choices of 3 cards. You select one at a time, and as far as anyone can tell, the types of cards are completely random (but limited to general + class cards). The only guarantee is that you will be given at least 4 chances at rare cards on draft turns 1,10,20,30. See the spoilers in my post on Page 4 for an example of how the draft process works.

Once you draft 30 cards you can play other people who have done a similar process of random drafting. You play until you hit 9 wins (or retire) or 3 losses. There's not persistent matchmaking/MMR - instead the game tries to match you with people with similar Arena rankings.

It costs 150 gold (1.5X a pack) to enter or a couple real dollars. Rewards are random but improve dramatically with your record. You'll always get a pack as a reward but the total gold value of the reward can range from 115 to 250-300. The breakeven point is between 5 and 6 wins so if you can regularly win 6 or more you will make gold by playing Arena.

It's also more fun to play IMO than constructed (where you choose all the cards in your deck) because the randomness of every deck you face adds a lot of variety to the gameplay.

[Sian]

decided to report on a Arena Deck

Coldlight Seer, Shadowflame, Defender of Argus
Shadowflame is nice if you have the right cards, but as a first pick at all, nah ... Defender of Argus is on the other hand always useful

Mortal Coil, Deamonfire, Dread Infernal
Ugh ... tough call ... all of them is good in the right conditions ...
Mortal Coil it is ...

Shadow Bolt, Summoning Portal, Power Overwhelming
Summoning Portal ... even if its up for 1 full turn its done its duty

Succubus, Drain Life, Mogu'Shan Warden
It's a wee bit like a lottery ticket if Succubus doesn't discard a critical card, but that can most likely be worked around ... and its a stupidly strong coined card in t1

Faerie Dragon, Earthen Ring Farseer, Murloc Raider
Murloc Raider isn't my cup of tea, so its between the Dragon (2mana 3/2 can't be targeted by spells or hero powers) or the Farseer (3mana 3/3 targeted heal 3) ... given that i'm a 'Lock and my Life might be precious, i'm going to take the Farseer ... it's worth 1½ Draw card at its worst

Southsea Deckhand, Iron Grizzly, Abusive Sergeant
Deckhand is obviously not getting picked so the choice is between the Sergeant and the Grizzly ... I'll pick Sergeant since i have an Defender of Argus allready which can beef up my taunt a bit

Sacrificial Pact, Dread Infernal, Acolyte of Pain
If i had some more lowcost Demons i would probably have picked Sacrificial pact, Acolyte of Pain is a bit to weak to being worth it IMO, when i can't buff it (by being Paladin or Priest most likely)

Mortal Coil, Flame Imp, Soulfire
now we're talking ... Flame Imp is a stupidly good 1mana cost creature even if it deals 2damage to myself

Bluegill Warrior, Dread Infernal, Mad Bomber
Allready got a Dread so it's going to be a Mad Bomber ... a bit RNG to be said, but still quite decent

Crazed Alchemist, Stampeding Kodo, Argent Commander
goint to be a pick between the Kodo and the Commander ... Kodo wins it because its more beefy and it kills a enemy minion on placement

Silverback Partiach, Soulfire, Corruption
Soulfire is a nice emergency damage if you're short on Mana and/or the opponent throws a big creature

Scarlet Crusader, Succubus, Oasis Snapjaw
Another Succubus to the collection, since i have Defender, Snapjaw might be viable, but thats probably too RNG

Darkscale Healer, Flame Imp, Harvest Golem
thats a toughie ... all of them is quite decent, but in the end i think Harvest Golem wins out

Mogu'Shan Warden, Elven Archer, Frostwolf Warlord
Warlord have the protential to be very deadly very fast with Warlock Decks

Ironforge Rifleman, Murloc Raider, Flame Imp
the Rifleman is to whimpy for his cost, while as mentioned Murloc Raider aren't my beloved card ... Flame Imp on the other hand ...

Earthen Ring Farseer, Young Dragonhawk, Reckless Rocketeer
Young Dragonhawk is only really good for Hunters, Priests and Paladins (ability to buff the crap out of it) ... was nearly taking the Farseer but i think the Rocketeer only just wins this one

Ogre Magi, Dalaran Mage, Silverback Patriach
intended to pick Silverback since i don't really have any spells nor taunt creatures, but of cause, i misclicked and got Dalaran Mage, probably the weakest of the set

Novice Engineer, Nightblade, Booty Bay Bodyguard
While the Bodyguard is a stong attacker, as a taunt creature it really aren't anything to write home about ... and Nightblade right out sucks for its cost so Engineer it is

Hellfire, Succubus, Sense Demons
Hellfire, Boardclear 'nough said

Questing adventurer, Crazed Alchemist, Wild Pyromancer
Questing Adventurer is stupidly good if you can get a couple of cards off quickly ... with Summoning portal and a good bit of cheap stuff i might be able to pull that off, and still ... it forces the opponent to throw something heavy at it

Gurubashi Berserker, Corruption, Thallmar Seer
Gurubashi is only really worthwhile (IMO) as a Priest and prehaps a Paladin or Mage, since it'll otherwise deal to little damage before its toast (Mage's can to some degree control them with Fireblast making the most of it ... not that hot on Thallmar Seer either

Soulfire, Archmage, Dalaran Mage
have 3 damage dealing spells, which is not quite enough for justifying getting +spelldam ... Soulfire it is

Sen'Jin Shieldmasta, Flame Imp, Ironforge Rifleman
Finally some good taunt

Soulfire, Voodoo Doctor, Jungle Panther
the good doctor is picked ... able to heal both me (effectively worth a carddraw then due to lifetap) or one of my minions

Demonfire, Frostwolf Warlord, Archmage
I have quite a bit of Demons so Demonfire it is, worst case i can still use it to damage something

Sacrificial Pact, Loothoarder, War Golem
Since i have ample Carddraw Loothoarder is probably not the best pick up the litter ... War Golem feels a bit to expensive for what its able to do, and as said i have enough Demons ... SacPact can be used if i can see one of them is going to die anyhows

Drain Life, Ironforge Rifleman, Harvest Golem
Damage AND healing? ... sure its prehaps slightly steep manacost wise, but Warlocks dig it

Corruption, Dark Iron Dwarf, Summoning Portal
as i allready have a summoning Portal in my deck there aren't really any contest here

Shieldbearer, Venture co Mercenary, Soulfire
ugh ... allready got 2 soulfires, so 3 might be overdoing it ... Venture co makes everything else cost more (although its to some degree negated by Summoning Portal) and Shieldbearer is quite a whimpy Taunter ... lets go with the Mercenary as its strong for what it is

Angry Chicken, Bloodsail Cursair, Ancient Watcher
Angry Chicken is only really strong in the hands of someone that can rutinely buff its health, Ancient watcher is only good if you have enough silence or you can use it to buff something (say, shadowflame, or Void Terror) ... Bloodsail Cursair on the other hand just might dent some plans for opponent Warriors/Rogues/Paladins

Might just be me, but it feels like its a bit lightweight on top (most expensive cards are Reckless rocketeer and Dread Infernal), heres to hoping that it got enough Nuke (Succubus, Flame Imp and Soulfire in peticular) to win early, because if it turns into a long runner it could get ugly.

[Ichabod]

Went 9/1 after reaching 8/0. The game I lost was due to double Pyroblast... I had complete control of the board and could have won next turn, but getting hit by 20 damage is just too much...

Unfortunately, I though I could screenshot my deck after finishing the games, but they disappear from the interface...

Congrats! I understand the best way to earn gold is to retire after 8 but I'd have a hard time doing that. Maybe if I can regularly hit 8 wins...

Thanks. The draft was very lucky, so it helped me a lot. Usually I manage 3 or 4 victories in Arena. For some reason, my best results are always with rogue (I always get massacred while playing Priest, even if its supposed to be a top Arena class - I miss not having any sort of reliable damage).

I'm not too fussed about gold or cards. I just need the gold to play Arena (which is by far the most fun I can have with the game - I don't like constructed), and that's easy to do only completing the missions from time to time, considering I can't really play that much.

[Jowy]

I've been too busy IRL to play much but a quick update on my Arena deck: I'm currently sitting at 4-1. The early game is really weak/scary but if I can get over that without losing too much tempo it's really strong. So pretty much as expected.

I'll write-up some more details when I finish but here's a highlight from Game 3 against a Mage:

My early game was absolute trash but I manage to hold on to late game, where in two consecutive turns I Mind Control a 5/3 Mana Wyrm and then Archmage Antonidas. For those who don't know, the Mana Wyrm's attack grows by 1 every time I cast a spell and Archmage Antonidas has a special ability where I gain a Fireball spell in hand every time I cast a spell. Next turn I cast Thoughtsteal (spell 1) and copy a Mirror Images (spell 2) and Arcane Missiles (spell 3) from the Mage's deck. Now I have a 9/3 Mana Wyrm and 3 Fireball spells in my hand! And the fireballs replace themselves and grow the Wyrm!

The Mage is at 38 health (Ice Barrier) and I'm at 8 health but I win two turns later. Basically the only way I could have lost was the Mage topdecking a Pyroblast.

Wow that's a pretty epic play! Thoughtsteal still too RNG though

[Sir Bruce]

decided to report on a Arena Deck

A few places I would have drafted differently:

- Shadow Bolt, Summoning Portal, Power Overwhelming
Power Overwhelming is one of your best nukes. Summoning Portal isn't very good imo.

- Faerie Dragon, Earthen Ring Farseer, Murloc Raider
Faerie Dragon is one of the best 2-drops and Farseer is a merely okay 3-drop. And 2-drops are better than 3-drops.

- Crazed Alchemist, Stampeding Kodo, Argent Commander
IMO Argent Commander is the single best card in Arena. Kodo is solid but not guaranteed to hit its battle-cry. AC will 95% of the time give you a 2 for 1.

- Soulfire, Voodoo Doctor, Jungle Panther
Jungle Panther is much better than Voodoo Doctor, who dies too easily, is often used without his battlecry, and 2 health is only situationally useful.

- Sacrificial Pact, Loothoarder, War Golem
You can't have enough low-drop minions and card-draw in Arena. And Sacrificial Pact is a terrible card. Sacrificing your own board for 5 health is almost always a bad trade. I would have even taken War Golem over it.

As a whole you do have a lot of early presence and that's the way to play Warlocks. Just keep throwing cheap minions on the board and tapping for more cards.

[Sir Bruce]

Wow that's a pretty epic play! Thoughtsteal still too RNG though

That wasn't even my best Thoughtsteal! I stole a Truesilver Champion and an Argent Protector on Turn 9 against a Pally.

This run has actually made me revise up my opinion on Thoughtsteal in Arena. The problem with Thoughtsteal in constructed decks is that the cards in you opponent's deck are unlikely to work well with your own cards. But in Arena people tend to pick all-around value cards that work in every deck. Thoughtsteal is much better in that environment!

[Ichabod]

Definetely agree with Sir Bruce regarding Argent Commander. It's an incredible card. The main strenght of it, as I see it, is that most of its value is uncounterable - you drop it in your turn and usually kill a minion without taking any damage. So, you are still left with a decent 4/3 minion for the other turn, but it usually already payed for itself on the turn in which it was played. You are at no risk of being owned by a mind control or another such card (which is a common thing with other high cost minions). For instance, compare AC with Sunwalker, which is a pretty similar minion. Sunwalker is also powerful, but you are at mercy of the opponent before you can get any value out of it - he may silence it in his turn, ping it and fireball it, mind control it.

I think Arena play should always focus on minions that can get value on the same turn they are played, so that the opponent can't react against them. That's why minions like Shattered Sun Cleric are so good, because that +1/+1 allow you to do a thing your opponent can't react against - killing a minion without trading your own being the most common result (like in a 2/3 vs. 2/3 situation). Dark Iron Dwarf, Defender of Argus, Argent Protector work in a similar way. Of course, this minions are also good because they can stand on their own - Direwolf Alpha and Raid Leader also have an effect when they come into play, but they are weak cards for their cost and the effect goes away when they die.

That's the same reason (or rather one of the reasons) why weapons are awesome. The charge minions also work similarly, but often the case is that they are weak for they cost, which takes a bit of the value away - very often stealth minions (Jungle Panther is one of them, like Sir Bruce pointed out) are better for guaranteeing some value, even if they can be countered by "AOE" spells.

That's my opinion at least.

[Sian]

- Sacrificial Pact, Loothoarder, War Golem
You can't have enough low-drop minions and card-draw in Arena. And Sacrificial Pact is a terrible card. Sacrificing your own board for 5 health is almost always a bad trade. I would have even taken War Golem over it.

The card doesn't say it have to be YOUR Demons ... if the opponent is a Warlock himself, or happens to have Imp Master (there's certainly classes for which it would make sense) you can sack their Demons, bit gimmicky I admit, but worthwhile to remember

[Merovech]

It's not like magic, you can't sideboard cards for specific situations in Arena. A lot of the time, sacrificial pact is just going to sit in your hand in a lot of games. Drawing it is like skipping a draw. There is a place for it, bu I would not pick it in arena, and certainly not above loothoarder, which is basically a minimum 1 for 1 and has a high chance of giving card advantage. Remember, board control and card advantage are much more important than life advantage in the vast majority of situations.

Also, summoning portal sucks. You're partially wrong about it paying itself back after one turn. It does pay back it's mana cost most of the time, but it does not pay back the lost opportunity from not having a different card in its place. Again, this is not mtg, and becuase of the super structured mana system, mana ramp is less effective, and turn four mana ramp is pretty bad even in mtg. Sure, there are certain situations where it is worthwhile, like a turn 7 Jaraxxus or Ysera or a turn six Tirion if your opponemt had a low board presence, but make sure that getting that card out two turns early is worth hurting early board control. The reason the earth elementals and Venture Co. Mercenaries are so good is that their drawbacks that compensate for their big bodies and their cheap mana costs affect the turn(s) after they are played, not beforehand, and they've already made their effect by then.

Actually, I agree with Sir Bruce on all of his points.