So I watched Patrick's stream of Hearthstone earlier today. It's pretty plain he needs some pointers. Others might too for what it's worth. I think we as a community could have a topic here and just assemble some good basic tips and tricks so that he might learn.
Personally I was as new as Patrick to CCGs more or less. Hearthstone was the first DIgital CCG to hook me and for good reason since it's super polished, super accessible and super smart. Anyway for me the best thing for learning was watching others play. This is true on many levels. On the simplest level it's good to watch people and see how they make choices and weigh their options. Think about what you would've done and see if their move works out better for them. Think harder about each move so you don't make simple mistakes and, once you get a firmer grasp of the game, match up specific ones.
It also works on another level entirely because Hearthstone is vaguely Fez like in a really weird way. No one plays the game in a vacuum. It'd be impossible as there's no air. Everyone's looking at what's been done, what's popular, and adjusting. There are popular decks you see everywhere. New decks are created that beat the popular decks. Those decks become popular. Rinse repeat. Use the knowledge out there to work out what's best for you. You could simply only look to the internet to find out if a card, like the Raid Leader, is any good (it isn't) or you could mimic popular decks as best as you can with what cards you have.
To end the watching bit I'd suggest looking at Trump's Arena videos or his Free To Play videos where he hits legendary rank with a new account without paying any money. He's done that with Mage, Shaman and Warlock so far. That's probably exactly what you need to start out.
I'm just going to throw out basic tips too.
Trade your minions. It's tempting to go for the face all the time but sometimes it's better to trade your minions for your enemies. This is good because you get to decide which minions attack which. You can make trades that favor you like trading a 2 1 (2 attack 1 health) for a 5 2 (5 attack 2 health). Good rules of thumb include: Never make a trade your enemy is going to make. Always make a trade where your minion doesn't die. Trade if he can kill you if you don't. Make good trades.
Getting a curve is more than mana. You don't just want a 3 mana card to play on turn 3, you want a 3 mana card that would make for a good turn 3. Typically this means you want 1-3 mana minions in your opening hand. You probably want to throw back an Arcane Intellect then as drawing 2 cards does not a productive turn 3 make.
Check for lethal. Very important little bit, see if you can kill the enemy in this turn. In Hearthstone once it's your turn you're in full control baring secrets. If you see a way to kill your enemy breath a sigh of relief and execute on it. This involves counting all your damage on board as well as what you could do with your hand. Once you have lethal you can forget trading and all that because you've won.
Surrender when your enemy has lethal on the board and you're powerless to stop it. Say well played of course but do it. Pointless not to, just a waste of time to let it play out. It's not rude when the game is already over and both of you know it. This isn't to say one should surrender before that. You can say things like "if he has 1 direct damage I lose" and still win. Sometimes it's super close you know.
Anyway that's a few tips. Hope Patrick takes note of some. Do you guys have any tips for Patrick or any other new players?
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