Episodes
Monday Jul 20, 2015
How to Win Arena - Episode 52
Monday Jul 20, 2015
Monday Jul 20, 2015
Hello!
- Ryan is on the show this week
- Topic: Arena Tips!
- Reasons to be happy this week
- News: Tavern Brawl, Argent Tournament Announcement
Arena Basics
Arena is fundamentally different from constructed play in that you don’t build your deck from your personal collection, but rather choose cards one at a time from three options drawn from the entire card pool. Because of this, you’ll encounter cards not commonly played in constructed and be able to pick cards you don’t personally own.
This means the strategies and tactics here are different, which calls for different tactics! Removal is generally scarcer and the powerful finisher combos seen in constructed cannot usually be drafted. This usually leads to a slower game in which value plays leading to card advantage are often the deciding factor in winning.
Tip #1: Getting Ready for Arena
- Get all classes to level 10. If you don’t have a basic understanding of the classes, you will be surprised by your opponent’s play and will play into board clears like Consecration (4) or Flamestrike (7).
- Buying packs (100g) vs. buying Arena (150g)
- Arena currently only offers Goblins vs Gnomes packs as a reward, so buying classic packs is better if your goal is to build decks for constructed.
- If your classic collection is mostly fleshed out, Arena is better value. For 50 more gold, you have a chance to earn additional gold, dust, cards, even an extra pack!
- 7 wins gives at least 150g (infinite arena), 3-5 wins is break even point, rewarding a pack plus around 50 gold on average.
Tip #2: Choosing the right Hero!
- Your most comfortable class
- when in doubt: Mage, Paladin, Priest
- All are viable with decent drafts and good play (I have 12 wins with Warrior, Rogue and Hunter)
Tip #3: The Lingo We Use
- Value: Cards that are independently good (Spider Tank) or affect the board state (Stormpike Commando/Frostbolt).
- Win more: Cards that are reliant on synergy or specific board states to be used effectively (Enhance-o Mechano/Bloodlust)
- Curve: How many cards in total you have in each Mana cost. Why it matters – If you have something to play on curve every turn and your opponent does not, you will be ahead on the board. Missing turn 2 or 3 gives the initiative to the opponent.
- Drop: A minion card that can be played onto an empty board the turn that matches its mana cost. Like Senjin Shieldmasta. A Fireball for 4 mana is ideally not played on turn 4. So when talking about how many “drops” you have at a given mana slot, you don’t count situational spells or minions (Big Game Hunter is not a 3 drop).
Tip #4: Drafting 101
- Start by picking “best” cards regardless of mana cost for the first 10 picks.
- Re-evaluate at 10/15/20/25 picks in. When you have a tough decision, choose the one that fills a hole in your curve. Towards the end of the draft you might pick a mediocre card over a “better” one if you are lacking early or late game.
- Currently the Arena meta is rather aggressive. One and Two drops are very powerful so draft them or have way to slow them down. This is because you are guaranteed the early game but not late. You might not live until Turn 8 to play your Ironbark Protector.
- How many spells ideally, compared to minions? It depends on what spells (weapons are basically spells). Can you have too many Fireballs or Flamestrikes? Probably not, but it depends what the other options are. You want at least 1 or 2 AOE spells and a few big target removal spells, if they can also be used for burst finishing, that’s a bonus.
- Know which type of deck you drafted: Fast, mid, or slow
Tip #5: Mulligan
- Do you have the Coin?
- You want a turn-two drop! Turn-one drop also, if you drafted enough. Take the board or fall behind.
- Curve out. ex: (1-2-3) | (2-3-4) w/coin: (2-2-3) | (2-4-4) |(3-3-4)
- Keep removal? Watch opponent’s mulligan, also depends if you already have 1 or 2 drop.
Tip #6: Early game
- o coin or not to coin, that is the question… Coin on turn 1 only if you have a turn 2 play to follow it up or to remove a snowballing minion like Whirling Zap-o-Matic.
- Obtain board control without playing into AOE board clear
- Play value minion each turn
Tip #7: Face vs. Board Control
- What is the win condition of your deck? Can you win a control (slow) game?
- Just because you or opponent are below 10 health doesn’t necessarily mean it’s over!
- Play to win vs. play to not lose: If playing against a slower deck and you are running out of cards, you probably need to try to finish the game, otherwise their bigger minions will crush you. The longer the game goes on, the more likely you will lose. When playing a against faster deck, if you can stall the game out, they will run out of cards and your big minions will be uncontested. You will gain a feel for this as you play more games.
Tip #8 More Resources
- Drafting/Statistics: Hearth Arena
- In-Depth Guide: Icy Veins
- Watch Streamers: Trump, Kripp
Community
- Donations: Jayme ($30), Falana ($5/month)
- Question: Which cards to dust?
- iTunes Reviews: We read German (terribly)
Card of the Week
Farewell
- Send Ryan a message on Twitter and listen to his friend’s WoW podcast (Explicit)
- What you want to see in future episodes
- What hosts you want to visit the showp=
Friday Jul 10, 2015
The Warrior Mech Grim Patron Deck - Episode 51
Friday Jul 10, 2015
Friday Jul 10, 2015
Hello!
- Jayme is on the show this week
- Topic: Warrior Mech Grim Patron Deck Battle!
- Reasons to be happy this week
- News: Tavern Brawls
What is a Deck Battle?
Once a month, a guest host brings their favorite deck onto the show to battle the current reigning champion deck for control of the Happy Hearthstone Deck Battle Throne!
If the challenger wins the best-of-3 series, their deck becomes the new Reigning Champion Deck and will fight off future challengers until it loses, or until it’s earned its place in the Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame!
View the Deck Battle Archive + The Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame
Defending Deck: Andrew’s Warlock Demon Zoo deck has reigned supreme for 1 month, and has beaten 1 deck before this episode.
Challenger Deck: Jayme’s Warrior Mech Grim Patron deck combines the best of mech consistency with the explosive Grim Patron combo Warrior is famous for right now.
The Deck
Creatures
- x 2x Warbot (1 mana)
- x 2x Cruel Taskmaster (2 mana)
- x 2x Mechwarper (2 mana)
- x 2x Harvest Golem (3 mana)
- x 2x Spider Tank (3 mana)
- x 2x Warsong Commander (3 mana)
- x 2x Screwjacnk Clunker (4 mana)
- x 2x Piloted Shredder (4 mana)
- x 2x Antique Healbot (5 mana)
- x 2x Grim Patron (5 mana)
- x 1x Grommash Hellscream (8 mana)
Spells
- x 2x Execute (1 mana)
- x 2x Fiery War Axe (2 mana)
- x 1x Commanding Shout (2 mana)
- x 2x Revenge (2 mana)
- x 2x Death`s Bite (4 mana)
Sideboard
In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back ups and alterations you can make that keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck.
- x Gnomish Inventor (4 mana)
- x Tinkertown Technician (3 mana)
- x Mechanical Yeti (4 mana)
- x Whirlwind (1 mana)
Post-Duel Commentary
- Who won
- Obligatory bragging session
- Challenger Deck: How well did it perform?
- Defending Deck: How well did it perform?
- Best moments in the matches
- The Happy Hearthstone Champion Ceremony(tm)
Community
- No donations
- No questions
- iTunes Reviews
Card of the Week
Farewell
- Send Josh your comments/questions for the elusive, mysterious Jayme!
- What you want to see in future episodes
- What hosts you want to visit the show
DECK GUIDE:
What do you get when you merge the spontaneous chaos of a Grim Patron deck with the stability and early pressure of a mech deck? Pissed robots looking for a fight!
Note from Josh: The rest of this article was written by Jayme. Thanks, Jayme!
Mech Patron
At its core, this is a Grim Patron Warrior combo deck that uses Warsong Commander to deploy Patrons in a quick and surprising way. However, the combo is hidden into a standard Mech deck, which has great tempo plays on the early turns to gain you some board control or just flat out win before needing the Patron combo.
Let’s get straight into the cards I used in my deck for the mighty showdown with Josh. You can find the simple Mech Patron deck list on the podcast episode. Here, I’ll provide additional commentary where I feel it’s helpful or necessary.
2x Execute
Super cheap removal that I use for large Taunt minions, or pesky Legendaries that need instant answering. Fairly easy to trigger the damaged condition with the cards in the deck.
2x Warbot
Best played on turn 1. He’s not going to do too much damage, but he’ll be great for knocking out early minions, and at 3 health, he’s resistant to enemy hero powers.
One of the best turn 2 plays, you`ll get enemy minion removal out of this card. Worthy mulligan target.
This card is something that not a lot of other Patron Warrior decks run, but I think it`s potential outweighs the risk of it becoming a dead card in your hand. You`ll almost always gain board advantage for using it and, at the very least, it draws a card to replace itself.
2x Revenge
While other Warriors may prefer the cheaper Whirlwind, I find the extra mana investment in Revenge allows us to use it as a board-clear in late game losing situations as well. Due to our lack of AOE, Revenge fills that critical role.
This guy is perfect for activating Patrons, removing 1-health enemy minions, or triggering your Grom Hellscream. He`s also decent when paired with an Acolyte of Pain or a Warbot.
The linchpin to making this deck a credible threat. Never deploy her on a board without a combo piece. She`s just too valuable and vulnerable.
2x Death`s Bite
Great turn 4 play as it can take care of any midrange threats you may be up against. Time the Deathrattle effect to take maximum advantage with Patrons, Acolytes, or Grommash.
His surprising Battlecry will almost always allow your early Mech drops to trade up and take out higher cost enemy minions. A 2/5 body is also good at two-for-one’s against early minions or removal as well.
The big finisher, when you need it. 10 damage to the face is pretty much where you want to be, with this guy. 12 damage when paired with a Taskmaster. Boom!
2x Mechwarper
The key to an accelerated opening, Mechwarper is incredible for his cost, and can let you drop your midrange minions early and often. Mulligan target.
One of the best 3-drops in the game, for similar reasons to the Piloted Shredder. Having minions stick on board after they’ve been killed gains you tempo on an opponent’s turn, and that is great value.
2x Spider Tank
Great stats for this Mech, his big body means he’s usually taking out opposing 3-drops with ease, and living to fight again. 4 health takes him out of range of Frostbolt, Quick Shot and a lot of the early removal spells that are popular.
One of the best 4-drops in the game, this guy is a credible threat with staying power as he phones in a friend when he’s kaput.
His sole job is to keep you alive long enough to combo. But at best, he Charges into battle off a Warsong for a trade.
2x Grim Patron
The secret weapon of the deck. Play him with a combo, or don`t play him at all. Simply, losing a 5-cost 3/3 to a Frostbolt is your worst nightmare.
Possible Additions
I also used these cards while testing the deck. Go ahead and try swapping some of these in there, if you have them. See if they work better for you than they did for me.
In theory, this card should totally work in this combo style deck. However, I found it’s complete randomness to be more of a pain than a boon. It combos extremely well with Commanding Shout and Grim Patrons though. And against a big solo drop, it will kill pretty much anything. This is more of a sideboard than a substitution card.
Great value with the Mech ability trigger. However, I prefer the Spider Tank as it doesn’t require the set up cost.
Swap him in for Screwjank Clanker if you don’t have them. He’s a great body for the cost, with some Spare Parts upside that makes him better than a Chillwind Yeti.
I think most standard Patron Warrior lists run this in favor of Revenge, but I opted for the latter for it’s more toolbox ability of getting me out of a jam. Swap out for Revenge if you don’t have them, though. Essential to have this sort of effect.
Final Thoughts
If you like surprising combos that result in almost unbeatable board-states, then you should consider my Mech Patron decklist. It can be vulnerable to board clears, like all minion-heavy decks. But the steady tempo backbone will build you some good early control through profitable trades, and can help survive until you can unleash your combo. I’m not even a Warrior player, as I primarily play Shaman, Priest, Druid. But this Grim Patron card came out in Blackrock Mountain expansion and I just had to make this deck. It’s super fun, very powerful and it’s really funny when the “Everyone, get in here!” chains off a bunch of times.