Jump to content
FORUMS
Zadina

The Dalaran Heist Review: Even the Best Adventure Can Get Tiring

Recommended Posts

43840-hearthstone-patch-144-known-issues

With Dalaran Heist being out for almost two months now and its final wing released a month ago, it is time to share our thoughts on the latest Hearthstone Adventure.

The Dalaran Heist is one of the many hyped-up features of the Year of the Dragon. It was introduced as an “evolution of all the PvE material Team 5 has released to date”. Based on the successful format of the Dungeon Run, the developers expanded on it by adding more customization, more bosses, multiple chapters with different twists and three game modes.

In contrast to the single player content of the Year of the Raven, all that additional content came behind a paywall of either real money or ingame Gold. The content was also released in parts: one chapter each week with two extra classes accompanying each chapter.

AE3I61NHVPPQ1551306604187.jpg

Without a doubt, the Dalaran Heist has been mostly successful. However, it has its shortcomings. No matter how novel the content was presented to be, apart from the extra customisations, the basis was still the same: the roguelike, build-as-you-go format with the random boss order and random card buckets was still the foundation of the Dalaran Heist and this is nothing new.The Chapter format also proved very problematic.

Let's cut short this introduction and go into the specifics.

Hero Powers & Starting Decks

One of the features that distinguishes the Dalaran Heist from previous Adventures is the additional Hero Powers and starting decks. It was refreshing to get a choice between the two, and unlike Shrines in Rastakhan's Rumble its nice that you have the flexibility to mix and match.

Other than that I feel that the extra Hero Powers weren’t that impactful. The 1-mana ones were good – no surprise there and the classes that had them can be considered lucky. The rest of them, though, apart from the Evolve one for Shaman, felt gimmicky at best: Warlock and Warrior in particular had borderline useless alternative Hero Powers. Still, it was good to have the flexibility as especially on Heroic, certain Hero Powers were better for some wings.

UETMXADEQFSR1559690069303.jpg

Totally random example of a class that could work in the Dalaran Heist without ever using Hero Power.

As far as the starting decks are concerned, I would only like to focus on the random deck feature. In the announcement video for Dalaran Heist, Giovanni Scarpati said that the random decks are truly random, but there’s at least some sort of curve. That last part is mostly true from my experience.

I know the option is called “random” for a reason but I would have appreciated if there was at least one class card in these 10 starting cards. I also didn’t enjoy seeing cards like Ancient Watcher in the mix, they could have banned cards like that the same way the did in Arena. I guess you could amend that by removing unnecessary cards during the Tavern Encounters, but that’s if you were lucky enough.

How the Chapter system made the whole Adventure feel repeatable

The concept of chapters was probably the most underwhelming aspect of the Dalaran Heist. Obviously, their purpose was to make the Adventure longer, but that wasn’t exactly enough due to how much content was reused between each Chapter. On average, you would face 1 unique encounter per specific Chapter (disregarding the final boss). Sometimes, you even faced the same boss twice in a row, a bug that was only fixed this week (despite a previous hotfix patch).

Even if you just want to clear the Adventure once with a single class, this repeatability can be very disheartening.

Now think about the people who actually want to get the winning crowns with all 9 nine classes in each wing (or if you want to take it even further, with all Hero Powers and all starting decks).  Each week you started from scratch and had to go through the same process to unlock each Class’s starting decks and Hero Powers.

ij784PM.png

Two weeks ago, u/Maiestus announced on Reddit that he completed Heroic Dalaran Heist with all Classes, Hero Powers and starting decks - 180 successful runs and 3149 bosses defeated.

At some point, the Heist starts feeling like a repeatable grind. I get that it’s meant to last longer than your typical Adventure, but – as a typical Hearthstone phrase goes – how long can this go on? The Saviors of Uldum Adventure will be released in less than two months from now. Does Blizzard want me to keep playing the Heist or spend the big bucks/waste my hard-earned Gold on the new shiny thing? Because I am pretty sure I won’t be done Heisting by then, unless I really go hardcore.

Gating the Chapters added to the above frustrations. “Oh great, 2 more Heroes that I have to take back to Chapters 1 & 2” is a thought that popped up on my mind quite often. Players who paid real money for the Dalaran Heist also had a valid complaint in not wanting to wait for content for something they have actually paid for.

Moreover, each Chapter had its own Twist – usually mechanics that weren’t very fun to deal with. I didn’t see a single comment praising Chapter 3, where you only had 4 spots in your board. The repetitiveness intensified with the extra bosses in Chapter 5.

And don’t forget: you have to unlock progress (starting decks and Hero Powers) again on Heroic mode.

What’s the story of the Dalaran Heist?

Closely related to the Chapter issue is the fact that the story of the Dalaran Heist felt quite disconnected. I will try to make this section as short as possible because I know not many people find lore important, but it still bugged me.

It is quite disappointing not only from a gameplay point of view, but from a story perspective to encounter Linzi at the Dalaran Bank and then find her again in your way in the Violet Hold. Did she magically resurrect?

This Adventure has been presented as a whole story in which the players are attempting to steal the city of Dalaran, it’s presented in the form of a storybook with “chapters”, and yet there seems to be no reason as to why we’re fighting certain characters, and no logic as to why what we’re doing is helping to achieve the goal of that chapter. The dialogue was definitely not enlightening, either.

The Bank felt like a heist, but the Violet Hold didn’t feel like a jailbreak. Since we are in the League of EVIL, why didn’t we just team up with the bad guys in the jail and we have to fight them instead? One could argue that the League of EVIL is selfish and doesn’t want to share the big prize with the other baddies; but then again why go to the jail in the first place, since it just creates chaos for both the defenders of Dalaran and for us. The frequent Tavern stops also make zero sense: oh yeah, I am doing a hostile takeover in this city, but I would also like a cold beer, kind barkeeper.

Overall, I think there has been a step taken in the wrong direction in terms of narrative.

Balance or its lack of: RNG in Adventures

Even before the roguelike format was introduced, PvE Adventures weren’t exactly famous for how balanced they were. Scripted bosses would be too easy to beat, but sometimes the perfect AI topdeck at the right moment could take you back to the drawing board. The RNG element in the deck building process is also extremely high.

This was multiplied in the Dalaran Heist, whose balance was frankly terrible. As it happened with the Year of the Raven Adventures, there still is very little synergy between the starting deck and Hero Power you choose, and the subsequent card buckets you get.

Robes-of-Gaudiness.png

*Balanced* treasure (Image by HS Top Decks)

Add to that the Treasures, the Tavern encounters, the Chapter Twists and the Anomalies and you have a nightmare. There’s literally too many moving parts to balance, meaning most runs are a case of lucking out on picking up a broken combo.

Since I mentioned the Treasures, I want to make a small paragraph dedicated to them. It was refreshing to see mostly new/different Treasures this time, with only like 3-4 of the old ones being reused. Some of them, like the Robe of Gaudiness, were pretty broken and they could make your life a lot easier. On a vacuum, Treasures are fine but added to all the other aspects of the Dalaran Heist, they are obviously game-changing. It’s not surprising that a lot of people restart their Heroic runs from the very beginning if the first set of Treasures they are offered is disappointing.

Difficulty

I’d like to follow up the Balance section with the Difficulty one, because I feel that they are closely related. Compared to previous content, Normal is super easy. The difficulty curve between Chapters was quite smooth, with Chapter 5 being slightly less harder than the rest.

The new Heroic addition is much harder than previous content. However, I feel that the difficulty factor is mostly connected to RNG than to actual skill.

With the aforementioned hardships of getting the proper card buckets, Treasures etc., even experienced players can have some trouble. Chapter 5 has a specific set of last bosses, which at least allows you to prepare for it (granted that you managed to survive from the extra bosses). But the rest of the Chapters can have two different final bosses. You can make the perfect deck to finally beat Jepetto (I hate him so much btw) and end up running into Captain Hannigan.

dnqvc3jyiu031.png

Jepetto shennanigans (image found on Reddit)

Enemy AI can still pull off all kinds of BS combo in one turn, so the game forces you to kill them as quickly as possible; the longer the game runs the more likely you run into one of these combos. Because of that, early game draws become extremely important; sometimes one bad early draw can cost you the entire game. Haro Setting-Sun had to be nerfed twice, while Linzi and Chomper could stop your run from its very beginning.

On the other hand, there were also several bugs where the AI just didn’t attack you or made some nonsense plays which resulted in the boss taking unnecessary face damage that could make your run easier.

*drum roll* Let’s talk about the paywall

Oh boy, this is going to be interesting. Let’s start with a summary of the rewards for purchasing the whole Adventure: well, you get to play all the Chapters obviously, plus a total of 15 Rise of Shadows card packs, a Golden Classic card pack, the Golden Legendary Zayle, Shadow Cloak and two card backs. For that, you have to pay a total of 20 euros/bucks or 2800 Gold.

There is merit in saying that it’s an alright deal, that many people were happy to pay for. Team 5 was pretty blunt, after all, about solo content hurting their bottom line in KnC.

Overall, it’s an okay trade-off for a Dungeon Run that feels like it has two or three times as many bosses, wonky hero powers, and some pretty ridiculous treasures and passives to build around. It’s also pretty obvious from playing the Dalaran Heist that a lot more care went into this than the previous solo content and that it’s going to last twice as long.

dfa87df720133279cc235d04342106f5.jpg

The last time PvE content was gated behind a paywall was in 2016 with One Night in Karazhan.

However, this is where I draw the line. The Year of the Raven was literally last year and I am pretty sure the playerbase doesn’t have a faulty memory. We all remember that last year we got PvE content and some rewards for completing it and we got all that for free. Sure, we didn’t get the same amount of content (although quantity isn’t exactly the Heist’s strong suit, if the previous paragraphs of this article were convincing enough) and Monster Hunt and the Rumble Run weren’t as successful as the Dungeon Run, but the package deal (PvE content + rewards) is in essence the same.

So, why do we have to pay this time? Blizzard never gave any clear response to that, apart from the fact that they “evolved single-player-content” and they revamped the whole thing with customisation, deck manipulating and progress tracking. These very 3 aspects are what make the Dalaran Heist good, but are they really worth paying for? It’s pretty obvious they could already do all these things, judging by the fact that the Dungeon Run outshined all other game modes when it was first released (and it wasn’t just because of the novelty factor).

If we go back a trip to memory lane, Hearthstone’s first Adventures also had a paywall. They also had a big difference: you unlocked actual cards that you added to your collection and used in the main PvP modes of the game. Now, I am not saying I liked this system (it was pretty unpopular) but at least it made sense: just as you give money or Gold to get packs, you give some money to get a few key cards (most of them were pretty decent if you remember), plus you got to unlock the respective PvE content.

yx8db3fwaox11.jpg

Remember me?

Even if you are a f2p player that enjoys both PvP and PvE and fund the Dalaran Heist entirely with Gold, it is kind of a Catch 22. Taking a 2800 Gold hit is a huge setback, especially when you have to save for the upcoming expansion and the next Adventure that will come with it. At some point, you won’t be able to keep up with sinking Gold into these Adventures.

It is actually quite sad how many people didn’t get to play the Dalaran Heist this time. I know so many people – some I actually advised them myself – that didn’t buy this Adventure, even though they had all previous ones (even the old ones).

And here lies another problem: Blizzard were gracious enough to give the first Chapter for free to everyone. How generous was this move though? If you don’t buy anything else, you are stuck with Chapter 1 on Normal and Heroic mode and only the Mage Hero, with its starting decks and Hero Powers. Compare that to the deal you got for the Year of the Raven Adventures: Monster Hunt and Rumble Run aren’t as replayable as the Dungeon Run, but all three of them are complete Adventures with a full set of Heroes (the Rumble Run has the added gimmick of the Shrines).

Anyway, I am getting a bit carried away here. My overall point is that I would appreciate some clarity as to why the paywall returned for the Dalaran Heist. We know from various interviews that the Hearthstone team in general has grown a lot and that the Missions team has around 5-10 members. I would appreciate if they were honest about the actual needs of that team. I am also sure no-one would mind if we got better rewards for our money's/gold's worth.

A (purposefully?) missed opportunity: New players

Before I finish, there is a point that one of my colleagues here in Icy Veins brought to my attention. This colleague doesn’t play Hearthstone but he saw the Dalaran Heist announcement and he was very keen on trying it out.

I thought he would only have to go through the initial 5-boss tutorial. Alas, to play any kind of Adventure you actually need to beat the Innkeeper with all classes and unlock all their cards.

How-to-Play-Hearthstone-on-Linux-Updated

New player experience in 2k19 lul (image found in Google)

OK, PvE content has crazy stuff like Treasures and Wild cards that aren’t available in Standard gameplay, but isn’t the Dalaran Heist (or the Year of the Raven Adventures) a good opportunity for players to learn the cards and the mechanics of the game, while testing themselves in a deck building challenge in a no-pressure environment of playing against AI?

One would think that someone is trying on purpose to keep new players away from spending a lot of time on the PvE mode – that happens to be free…

Conclusion and Suggestions

The Dalaran Heist is undoubtedly the biggest and best PvE Adventure that Team 5 has released. With it, the developers of the Missions team have reached the pinnacle of the roguelike format, first introduced with the Dungeon Run. Progress tracking, the Tavern Encounters, the Anomalies and to some extent the customisation were the best things to come out of the Heist.

However, I think it’s time that Blizzard slowly moved away from this format: players have tried and tested and grown tired of it. The length, randomness and repetitiveness of the Dalaran Heist are proof that even a good idea gets old after the recipe is tried for the fourth time.

43837-dalaran-heist-chapter-5-anomaly-mo

I hope after this long read, you didn't forget who you are like George/Karl did! We never actually got to learn his story...

The Puzzle Labs were clever but they aren’t as replayable. I think players wouldn’t mind the deck building challenge that older Adventures had: stuff like The Lich King encounter are proof that there can be a somewhat better mix of RNG and deck building skill. I don’t claim to know how their financials work, but perhaps Blizzard could benefit from going back to that format since players might need to buy packs if they really want to beat a specific encounter. Other than that, they can expand on ideas that they’ve used in Tavern Brawls for single players content, like co-operative bosses, deck building restrictions and effects like the Anomalies.

If the roguelike format were to return, perhaps the Tavern Encounters could work as “save points” so you don’t have to go through the process of starting over again and again. Add to that the ability to further manipulate your deck, so you can see what went wrong, perhaps remove useless cards and get more useful ones and start fresh and not anew. Better AI and more card bucket consistency are also much needed.

Finally, it will be interesting to see what pay model will be followed in the next Adventures to come.

I'd like to thank Kat for the useful insight she provided me with for this article.

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The free first chapter was clearly only to let players try and see if they want to buy the whole thing. It was not meant to be played more than a couple times.

As a player who never had much success in Dungeon Run and Monster Hunt, I appreciated that the difficulty level was lower this time so I could actually complete the first chapter quickly enough to get the reward at a time it is still valuable. However I think it would have made sense to split the rewards. For example 1 pack for the first run won with each of the 3 hero powers (or starting decks). Without that, there's little reason to try (in my opinion) weaker hero powers.

Also I think I would prefer a slightly higher difficulty level but less random involved. My feeling about Dungeon Run and Monster Hunt is that you had to be really lucky with your picks and battles in order to win (in addition to being skilled enough to not miss the opportunity when it arose) so it was basically down to trying again and again until the stars aligned. They solved it in Dalaran Heist by lowering the overall difficulty level significantly, so you no longer need to wait for the stars to align. But it also means that if the stars align then your run becomes super easy and not so interesting. I'd rather have medium difficulty and more control so that I actually deserve my victories and defeats.

Overall I fully agree with you that the overall adventure feeling wasn't up to the level of hype Blizzard sold us. In the end it was just more of the same. I really expected something more immersive with a real story, cutscenes, decisions to make beyond picking card buckets (for example making moves on an actual map and/or choosing which encounter to fight next - like in MMHO's Forgotten Sites). You may argue that these are only details, but that's exactly the kind of details that made great adventure games in the past. Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle were not only about using items on other items and characters. It was also about moving around, looking around, talking to characters and extracting useful information from all that environment. If Blizzard wants to keep claiming that solo content in Hearthstone is "adventures" then they have to pick these elements too.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

I always said that I thought 2800 gold a fair price - because the stuff you got in return equaled roughly the same number of dust.

However, the whole adventure was a huge dissapointment to me.

It was - like everything Blizzard does - hyped and sold to us as something nearly as good as the cure of cancer. Well, I am exaggerating of course, but I use the same tactic as Blizzard. That's why I hope you will forgive me^^

The first chapter was indeed fun to play. However, I had absolutly no idea what I was doing. I killed some bosses, but there wasn't any story, characters...

Chapter two was fine too, but then it got repetitive and boring. The last two chapters I just did to get my rewards. Because if I wouldn't finish the last chapter I wouldn't get 1600 dust + the golden pack -> I would have waisted lot's of gold.

I never bothered with new classes after the second wing, I never cared about new hero-powers, the different startingdecks couldn't be less exciting.

Why care about stuff like this if it has close to 0 impact on the board? It's like you claim you have millions of possibiliets, if in fact all you do is change the color of your hat. Yes, there are (32bit) 16 Million colors. But if your hat is red or green or another shade of red - who cares?

The whole adventure was a sum up of what Blizzard has become.

Huge talk about how awesome and great everything would be.

A whole big of nothing is the result you get.

And Blizzard's only goal seems to be to grab as much money as possible.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks to Sadina for a good (and long) review of the Dalaran Heist. It more or less covers my experience of it. I think it is the best of the "adventure runs" up til now. I like the new features. But it is also fast becomes very repetitive.  The normal mode is to easy. The heroic mode requires "Star alignment" as Smorod puts it. (= A lot of restarts until you get the right passives and treasures) 

I use it to cure tilt when I get to angry over my own medicore performance playing ranked. There is no penalty for failing in single player mode. Or when I expect to be interrupted 3 times the next 15 minutes (also not compatible with ranked play).

I have payed real money for the full adventure.  If you ask me if I could have gotten a better game for my 19.95 EUR the answer is yes.  But if you add the fun of playing it to the packs and dust I got from it I have not been cheated by Blizzard.

Do I think it was hyped to much by Blizzard. Yes. But not any more than a lot of other product have been hyped by their corrosponding sales department.

I do not quite think as WedgeAntilles that Bilzzards only goal is to grab as much money as possible. At least not without dellivering something back. Repeating customers are the best ones. People that feel cheated tend not to buy again.

But I am afraid that Blizzard will change what they deliver because the customer segment I am part of is way smaller than the number of Chinese people with mobile phones    

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Do you guys plan to a more comprehensive Heroic guide for the Heist?  In particular, suggested class/hero power/deck combos that are more likely to produce broken results in particular wings.  I realize that the high variance outlined in this article make that more challenging than the old scripted heroic PVE encounters, but there at least must be some emerging wing-specific strategies.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • By HSEnthusiast
      Today, we're recapping the four Shaman cards revealed by Gamespot. We also have some dev clarifications on how they work.
      If you missed our previous Warrior recap, you will find it here.

       
      What a way to kick things off; this card looks insane! The dream is that Drakuru takes out two of your opponent’s minions, resurrects them on your side, and survives combat somehow. You’re looking at a 5-for-1 exchange on board.
      In the more likely scenario that it doesn’t survive, that’s still a complete flip of the board state. Even if it’s trading into a single big minion on the opponent’s side, that’s still a 2-for-1, with that 1 on your side being a big tough-to-kill minion. The only worry is that there will sometimes be late-game scenarios where the 6/8 stat line won’t be enough to get you any resurrections, but I’m hopeful those are few and far between.
      Still, even if the Big Shaman archetype doesn’t catch on for Shaman, I expect this card, in particular, to find a home in Renathal Control Shaman lists. This card is doing much of the same work that Sylvanas and Insatiable Devourer are without having to run through the trouble of infusing first.

      Once again, another big expensive card and a solid showy effect to go along with it. Obvious deathrattle/reborn synergy, as well as good with big minions in general. At 10 cost, it will take up your entire mana pool for the turn, though there are things you can do to play around that as a shaman.
      We’ve gotten some clarification from the devs on the mechanics of this one:
      All the copies summoned die at the end of the effect trigger after having attacked. Unfortunately, it won’t be some corruption-style aura effect that a cheeky Showstopper effect can silence off. Your copies are made from your hand from left to right until no more board spaces are available. Beware that Colossals will summon their appendages and take up potential board space from your other copies. Windfury minions will only attack. Sorry Drakuru, no double freebies for you ? Minions that enter Dormant won’t attack, but they won’t die either! The interaction of getting free dormant minion copies on board is interesting, but is there enough to build a deck around? In standard, there is Gangplank, Slimescale, and Pelican Divers, but outside of From De Other Side “synergy,” they might not be worth it. In Wild, at the very least, there is meme potential with getting Magtheridion and The Darkness out with this and getting their battlecries to awaken both copies when you play them out the turn after.
      There’s obvious synergy with the other big cards revealed here, with Prescience loading up your hand with some beefy bois, getting get off reborn, lifesteal and deathrattle value, summon a minion from Overlord Drakuru.

      That’s a lot of keywords for a single card, but they work together to become the stuff of nightmares for any board-based aggro deck. Taunt and lifesteal make this a nightmare to trade into, and even with enough removal to clear the main body and the reborn one, the deathrattle effect still will hit for 3 twice and heal you for 6. So while the 3 attack won’t be anything to write home about, plopping this down will buy you a good deal of time. There’s also the possibility to make use of the leftover reborn 3/1 body to evolve into a 9 or 10 drop.

      This card will get you 2 Mana 2/3 Ghostly Apparitions with the Undead minion type, which can matter for cards like Unliving Champion, or Invincible, for instance. Suppose you trigger the secondary ability here both times. In that case, that’s a pretty sweet deal right there, advancing a Big Shaman win con in 2 ways: The taunt on the Ghostly Apparitions advances your gameplan of stalling the game out until you can stabilize on board enough to play the 5+ Mana minions you’ve tutored out of the deck.
      We’ve theory crafted 3 potential builds that can use this package of Shaman cards.
      First, consider diving head first into the Big Shaman theme, bringing in Vanndar Stormpike and forgoing all other sub-5 cost minions to get max value out of Prescience and From De Other Side. We’re also going to run with the evolve subtheme to take advantage of any leftover bodies that we might get from Stoneborn General, Overlord Drakuru, or Blighblood Berserkers. The departure of the Knights of the Frozen Throne set will make evolving 10 drops better again now that there are no more Snowfury Giants in the Evolve pool, and we get to re-roll for the generally better bodies from the 10 costs. We’re adding in some early-game removal to compensate for the lack of early drops so we can better survive the early game.
      Deck code / link: 
      AAECAaoICunQBMORBKeNBK/ZBNnsA/rsA4qSBfuRBYfUBKrZBArG+QOs7QS12QTgtQS22QTblATGzgTj9gOGoQX4oAUA
      Next, let’s try to use the standard Renathal Control Shaman archetype that’s doing rather well in the meta as a starting point. One safe idea is to look at slotting Overlord Drakuru and potentially Brightblood Berskerker and From De Other Side into this standard XL Renathal Control Shaman as ways of fighting back on board while getting your infuse cards stacked up.
      Deck code / link: 
      AAECAaoIFKjuA6bvA4b6A6SBBMORBMeyBOm2BOnQBJjUBLjZBJfvBKTvBNWyBODtBIqSBdWyBPuRBfSgBbzwBODtBArG+QPTgASVkgTblATgtQSWtwSywQTFzgS12QS22QQA
      We could instead also try and drop all the duplicates from the list and convert it into a Reno deck, as the deck was already playing a lot of one-offs. That gives us just enough room for one of each of these bad boys, which together with Reno will up the turnaround potential of the deck at the cost of a little bit of consistency. Doing so we can end up with this list:
      Deck code / link: 
      AECAaoICunQBMORBKeNBK/ZBNnsA/rsA4qSBfuRBYfUBKrZBArG+QOs7QS12QTgtQS22QTblATGzgTj9gOGoQX4oAUA
      Why not use both and make it a Reno-thal deck? Prescience and Windchill will try to compensate for the loss of card draw from droping one copy of Gorloc Ravager and Famished fool. We are adding in Convincing Disguise to have still enough evolve effects around. The idea of including Bracing Cold and Far Sight is to hopefully discount From De Other Side or the evolve cards so we make use of any leftover bodies in the same turn. Ozumat’s in here not just to get us up to 40 cards, but because it’s a near guaranteed board clear combo with From De Other side, if you manage your hand and board space just right, that leaves you with all its appendages afterward.
      Deck code / link: 
      AAECAaoIKKjuA6bvA6SBBMORBMeyBOm2BOnQBJjUBLjZBJfvBKTvBMb5A9OABJWSBNuUBNWyBOC1BJa3BLLBBMXOBMbOBLXZBLbZBODtBLzwBIb6A6/ZBPrsA/SgBcSsBNnsA4fUBIXUBLGwBJrUBLzOBIahBfigBYqSBfuRBQAA
       
    • By HSEnthusiast
      March of the Lich King, set to release on December 6th, is Hearthstone's third expansion in the Year of the Hydra. Blizzard gave us an early sneak peek at some of the Warrior cards revealed today that we discuss in our latest post.
      Today, we'd like to dive into the Warrior cards revealed by Inven Global.

      Pretty straightforward card. The effect gives us much more value the larger the minion is. It gets really scary with the potential follow-up with Bulk Up giving you this massively overstated minion in hand twice. Or If you can get this on Mor’shan Elite, that’s another nice double dip of value.

      Honestly, this feels like it was tailor-made to be the ideal target of Last Stand, as your opponent can’t easily get rid of it with cheap removal. It lets you use your stats immediately by letting you trade in and stabilize with a big taunt. It might not be too shabby on its own, as the 3 effects make it an annoying wall most opponents will be forced to trade into.

      Wow, they’re really not holding back with hand disruption this set. One (nearly) guaranteed discard is pretty impactful and becomes a must-remove card in any control matchup. This card will absolutely crush the hearts of some Big Spell Mages in the coming months, that’s for sure.
      It should be noted that this discard, the devs have confirmed to us that it will trigger your opponent’s “Whenever you discard a card” effects. So try and clear a Discard Warlock's Tiny Knight of Evil and perhaps try to play around having Suffocating Shadows or Soul Barrage trigger in that matchup. 

      To round off the control toolbox from this expansion, we’ve got a pretty unique effect here. Hopefully, this doesn’t end up being too easy to play around for savvy opponents. You could pre-empt this by running out a Blademaster Okani first and baiting out your opponent into playing a small spell first. But still, while the effect will only be as game-changing as your opponent’s last spell, getting any meaningful spell off seems pretty nice.
      Putting it all together, we have put together an interesting Taunt Control Warrior decklist to try out:  AAECAQcMmu0D784EvIoE2fkDqIoEiN8E784E0qwEmu0DlJUEzJIFiKAECcWSBZTtA47tA5+fBImgBIagBJDUBMSSBcuSBQA= . Slotting in Varian seems like a natural addition to any deck with Silverfury Stalwart and Tealan hops along to be the one divine shield minion you might want to have in your control deck. Rokara and Remornia are just good cards and they’ll go a long way to having your Mor’shan Elite’s active. The rest of the deck is the classic Control Warrior shell that will hopefully give you the armor and removal needed to live long enough to throw down your double-stated taunted win conditions.
      https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/deckbuilder?deckcode=AAECAQcMmu0D784EvIoE2fkDqIoEiN8E784E0qwEmu0DlJUEzJIFiKAECcWSBZTtA47tA5%2BfBImgBIagBJDUBMSSBcuSBQA%3D
    • By Staff
      Murder at Castle Nathria is Hearthstone's latest expansion. It adds a new Infuse keyword that absorbs anima from your friendly minions, a new card type named Locations, and more.  
      (Source)
      .blog-detail .gallery figure { width: 100%; max-width: calc((100% / 3) - 6px); } @media screen and (max-width: 600px){ .blog-detail .gallery { justify-content: center; } .blog-detail .gallery figure { width: 100%; max-width: 250px; } .blog-detail h4 { text-align: center; } } Announcing
      Murder at Castle Nathria
      Hearthstone’s Newest Expansion

      The Shadowlands is normally where souls go after they die, so when someone dies in the Shadowlands, that’s a special kind of mystery. Sire Denathrius invited 10 of his counterparts and enemies to Castle Nathria for a dinner party so that he could address the malicious rumors that he is hoarding anima, the life-energy that is drained from tortured souls and used to power the Shadowlands. But just after the festivities started, Sire Denathrius was found dead! It seems a gaggle of enemies does not a good dinner party make. Now the illustrious Murloc Holmes, and his trusty sidekick Watfin, have been called to solve the case. Scour new Location cards, follow the trail of Infused minions, question the 10 Legendary suspects, and help determine who committed Murder at Castle Nathria!   

      Murder at Castle Nathria will launch worldwide on August 2 with 135 new collectible cards! You can find the full Murder at Castle Nathria reveal schedule, and all cards that have already been revealed, by visiting the card library here. Check back frequently—the list will be updated with new cards as they’re revealed!
      Ten Suspicious Suspects
      Sire Denathrius had a lot of enemies. And it just so happens that 10 of them were under his roof at the time of his demise! Each class will have a Legendary minion that is a prime suspect in Sire Denathrius’s murder. They all have the means and the motive, but it is up to you and Murloc Holmes to determine who is guilty.



      New Keyword: Infuse
      Anima, drawn from wayward souls, powers all the Shadowlands—and those who consume it! Cards with the Infuse keyword sit in your hand and absorb anima from your friendly minions as they die. After the specified number of friendly minions die while the Infuse card is in your hand, the Infuse card transforms into a more powerful version. Infuse your cards to unlock their full power!

      New Card Type: Locations
      Castle Nathria is like no place Hearthstone has ever been before. Explore the castle grounds through the all-new Location card type! Locations are played onto the battlefield for an initial cost, and then have an ability that can be activated for free on your turns, each time for a powerful effect. Each activation costs 1 Durability and has a 1-turn Cooldown. Every class gets their own Location card in Castle Nathria which represents where they claim their suspect was at the time of the murder, and synergizes with the themes of the class.

       
      Locations Gameplay Preview with Brian Kibler and Designer Leo Robles Gonzalez
      Want to get a longer look at the new Location card type? Join Brian Kibler and Game Designer Leo Robles Gonzalez as they explore the new Location card type, try them out in a couple games, and reveal some more new cards! Join them on Friday, July 1, at 11 a.m. (Pacific) on Twitch and Youtube!

      Prince Renathal Login Reward Available Now!
      Log in to Hearthstone to get your first hint at what Castle Nathria holds with the complimentary Prince Renathal Legendary minion!* Grow more powerful as you draw more souls to your cause with 40 life and a 40-card starting deck! Add him to your collection and see what you can do when you have more space to work with.

      * Limited one per account. After Patch 24.6, Prince Renathal will be granted upon opening your first Murder at Castle Nathria card pack instead of upon logging in.
      Pre-Purchase Murder at Castle Nathria
      The Murder at Castle Nathria Mega Bundle includes 80 Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, 5 Golden Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, two random Murder at Castle Nathria Legendary cards, the Sire Denathrius Warrior hero skin, the Denathrius card back, the Sandy Shores Battlegrounds Board, and 10 Mercenaries Packs!*

      The Murder at Castle Nathria Bundle includes 60 Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, 2 random Murder at Castle Nathria Legendary cards, and the Denathrius card back!

      Pre-purchase
      * Battleground Perks are not included in the Mega Bundle pre-purchase this time. We’re reworking how Battlegrounds Perks and rewards work for next Battlegrounds season. Until then, some of the current Perks are being extended. Check out the Patch Notes and stay tuned for more details.

    • By Damien
      This thread is for comments about our Handbuff Paladin Deck.
    • By Staff
      A new Hearthstone update prepares the Tavern for United in Stormwind, launching August 3. Here are the official patch notes.
      (Source)
      The 21.0 patch prepares the Tavern for United in Stormwind, launching August 3. It also brings a new Hero and cosmetics for Battlegrounds, a major update for Duels, an Arena rotation, and more.
      You can check out all 135 new cards included in United in Stormwind on the card library here.
      Battlegrounds Updates
      NEW HERO
      Galewing Dungar’s Gryphon Choose a flightpath. Complete it to get a bonus!
      Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Galewing before it's formally released on August 10.
      Duels Updates
      When the 21.0 patch goes live on July 27, all players’ Duels ratings will be reset and the pool of eligible cards you can use to build your 15-card start deck will be updated as follows:
      (NEW) United in Stormwind Wailing Caverns Mini-Set Forged in the Barrens The Darkmoon Races Mini-Set Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy (NEW) Kobolds & Catacombs Journey to Un’Goro One Night in Kharazan Whispers of the Old Gods Curse of Naxxramas Legacy (Basic/Classic) Core NEW PASSIVE TREASURES
      Party Replacement At the start of your turn, summon a 2/2 Adventurer with a random bonus effect.
      Inspiring Presence After you play a Legendary minion, reduce the cost of a random minion in your hand by (1).
      Greedy Gains Your minions have +2/+2 but cost (2) more (up to 10).
      Meek Mastery Your Neutral minions cost (1) less and have +1/+1.
      Legendary Loot At the start of the game, equip a random Legendary weapon.
      Deathly Death! After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, destroy the minion with the lowest Health.
      Ooops, All Spells! At the start of the game, destroy all minions in your deck. Your spells cost (1) less and gain +2 Spell Damage.
      BANNED CARDS & BUCKETS
      The following cards have been banned from between-game card buckets and will not be Discoverable:
      Final Showdown              Lost in the Park Defend the Dwarven District       Sorcerer's Gambit            Rise to the Occasion        Seek Guidance  Find the Imposter            Command the Elements The Demon Seed             Raid the Docks  Other Banned cards:
      Unstable Evolution is banned from card buckets but will still be Discoverable. Maestra of the Masquerade is banned from deckbuilding, card buckets, and will not be Discoverable. Seven new designer card buckets have been added as well:
      Furious Fel (Demon Hunter) AHHHH RATS!!!! (Hunter) Fire!!! (Mage) SI:7 (Rogue) ARRRRRRG! (Warrior) Auction House (Neutral) Live to Win (Neutral) Smart buckets have also been updated to include the two new card sets, and two previously missed card sets: Legacy (Classic/Basic) and Demon Hunter Initiate. Lastly, you’ll be able to find United in Stormwind cards in Duels card buckets after the patch goes live and before the expansion launches.
      Arena Rotation

      When United in Stormwind launches on August 3, the Arena will include cards from the following sets:
      United in Stormwind Forged in the Barrens Wailing Caverns Mini-Set Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Darkmoon Races Mini-Set The Witchwood Saviors of Uldum Rastakhan's Rumble Core Book of Heroes Illidan – Coming August 10

      After regaining his freedom, Illidan was eager to prove himself once and for all. But even as he journeyed far from his homeland and joined forces with new allies, the thirst for power never left him. It was only a matter of time before it interfered with his judgment, resulting in more dire consequences than ever before…Defeating all 8 bosses in this linear adventure will reward 1 Demon Hunter pack, containing only Demon Hunter cards from Standard.
      United in Stormwind Rewards Track & Tavern Pass
      When the Rewards Track refreshes when United in Stormwind launches, all players will automatically be granted any unclaimed rewards on both the free track and the Tavern Pass track (if purchased), and a completely new Rewards Track of unlockable loot will take its place.

      The Forged in the Barrens Tavern Pass will expire with the launch of United in Stormwind and a new Tavern Pass will be made available for purchase—offering a host of brand-new cosmetic rewards and XP boosts.

      Learn more about the United in Stormwind Rewards Track and Tavern Pass here.
      As a reminder, Battlegrounds Perks are now available as a standalone purchase, separate from the Tavern Pass.
      New Cosmetic Coins
      Two new Cosmetic Coins are being added with United in Stormwind, the Stormwind coin and the Lordaeron coin. The Stormwind coin is obtainable by completing the first 90 levels of the Rewards Track with the Tavern Pass. The Lordaeron coin is obtainable by collecting 135 unique United in Stormwind cards.

      Keep in mind that United in Stormwind will have a 35-card Mini-Set that will make it easier to reach both the 25 total United in Stormwind Legendary cards for the Archbishop Benedictus Diamond card reward and the 135 total United in Stormwind cards for the Lordaeron Cosmetic Coin. We’ll have more information to share about the United in Stormwind Mini-Set in the coming months.
      Bug Fixes & Game Improvements
      Fixed a bug where Shenanigans would not transform Soul Fragments into Bananas. Fixed a bug where Wicked Stab could be upgraded by cards that temporarily increase mana. Fixed a bug where Shan’do Wildclaw would not lay flat on the board. Fixed a bug where Defender would not play its VO when summoned by Noble Sacrifice. Fixed a bug where golden Soul of the Forest would not summon golden Treants. Fixed a bug where golden Ancestral Spirit would not summon a golden minion. Fixed a bug where golden Grave Rune would not summon golden minions. Fixed a bug where golden Primal Talisman would not summon golden minions. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Y’shaarj’s Battlegrounds Hero Power would not take its newly summoned minion into account when deciding which warband attacked first. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Baron Rivendare was causing visual issues when in a warband with golden Kaboom Bot. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Galakrond’s Greed was missing a tooltip for Discover. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Come One, Come All! Was missing a tooltip for Discover. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Avatar of N’Zoth was missing a tooltip for Deathrattle. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Sprout It Out! Was missing a tooltip for Taunt. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Hero Powers for Aranna Starseeker, Infinite Toki, Millhouse Manastorm, Nozdormu, and Tess Greymane were missing a tooltip for Refresh. Fixed a Duels bug where Diamond cards would only be Diamond in appearance for the first game of a run. Fixed a Duels bug where Lone Champion and minions summoned by Gift of Luminance were not buffed by Hold the Line. Updated the description of the Roguish Maneuvers Hero Power in Duels to be more accurate. Fixed a bug with Book of Mercenaries Guff where A Party of Adventurers will cast Against All Odds, even if they have board control. Fixed a bug where one of Lady Katrana Prestor’s emotes was showing incorrect text. Searching “Refund” in the Collection will now populate with cards eligible for a dust refund. Pressing and holding on the Rewards Track page arrows will now flip through the pages quickly. Fixed a bug where if a player disconnected from a ranked match, they’d get a message stating they won their last ranked game upon relogging.  


×
×
  • Create New...