Hearthstone 20: What is your Quest?

[Zevox]

*shrug* I haven't even been to rank 5 in quite a number of months. I'll play a handful of games per week at this point, partly to do quests, partly for Brawl, partly just for fun, and that's about it. I haven't thought much about my rank ever since I decided that it would take too long to reach legend, and even reaching rank 5 for the end-of-month golden epic hasn't felt worth it since maybe the second month after that reward system was introduced.

I do play ranked when I play, but basically because I don't have a reason not to. Ranked offers minor rewards, but casual offers none.

[Joran]

Warning: Random jumble of thoughts

Anyone else get really bored because of the rank system? I know climbing to legend is pointless because it's many hours of my life that go away at the end of every month, so I just go up to rank 5 because that's a reasonable amount of playtime for one month. I'd feel way more incentivized to climb the ladder if I didn't feel like it was just running up the down escalators. Sure, each month I can make progress, but Hearthstone isn't a deep or rewarding enough game to justify the amount of time it would take to go from rank 5 to legend.

I hit Legend once to prove that I could. Other than that, I hit Rank 5 regularly for the reward and don't really have to play more than what's necessary for daily quests. Any decks I don't feel are top tier or I don't know how to play well I play in Casual until I master it so I don't disturb the win streaks I build up.

I know there's a level of Hearthstone that I haven't hit in that I don't play Control decks or Combo decks particularly well; I'm more of a tempo/aggro player. Whenever I see streamers play something like Miracle Rogue or Quest Rogue, they often make lines of play that I don't see or wouldn't do.

The monthly ladder reset does feel like bad, especially for people who have to grind all the way to Legend every month.

P.S. Here's decklists for everybody playing in the HCT tournament so you can pick someone based on more than "hey, I like that guy!"

http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/h...s-information/

[Haruspex_Pariah]

I only play ranked, even if it's with a terrible daily quest deck (75 Murlocs? Challenge accepted!). I feel that Casual tends to have too many surprisingly serious decks, so it's not that much easier than Ranked. Unless you're high up the ladder, I suppose. The last time I went super try hard (as in, only playing my best deck in Ranked) I reached rank 10 and then realized you need rank 5 to get the epic at the end of the month. Then I stopped trying. So it's just Tavern Brawls and daily quests for the most part.

Inching closer to golden heroes is a motivating factor as well.

[Seerow]

I only play ranked, even if it's with a terrible daily quest deck (75 Murlocs? Challenge accepted!). I feel that Casual tends to have too many surprisingly serious decks, so it's not that much easier than Ranked. Unless you're high up the ladder, I suppose. The last time I went super try hard (as in, only playing my best deck in Ranked) I reached rank 10 and then realized you need rank 5 to get the epic at the end of the month. Then I stopped trying. So it's just Tavern Brawls and daily quests for the most part.

Inching closer to golden heroes is a motivating factor as well.

I am finally getting close to my first golden heroes. Both Warrior and Priest are now over 400, so working my way there slowly but surely.

But yeah I'm in the same boat as everyone else, basically playing enough to complete my daily quests, plus maybe a handful of extra games if I am having fun by the time the quest finishes (sometimes the quest is just such a drag I lose all interest, other times I'm on a roll and keep going for another 5-10 games). Highest I've pushed so far this way was rank 3. This month I'm currently hovering around rank 10, I kind of want to push towards 5 for the improved chest, but don't know where I will find the time in the next day and probably will not unless I get an awesome win streak during my playtime tonight.

[Destro_Yersul]

I generally get up to around rank 10, just from doing the quests and playing here and there for fun. The free stuff is a nice bonus, but getting to rank 5 is almost too much of a bother.

[Spore]

Dropped down to a safe 10 because people seem to only play Tier 1 decks in the last week of a season.

But I shall enjoy a laddering binge tomorrow during the saturday morning. Will prob a bly push my last hero to gold and will hace to resort to Quest Rogue before they rightfully nerf it. Alas 31 to go.

[The Glyphstone]

I climb up to 20 every month to get the card back, and that's it.

[Seerow]

Last night's win record was a bit under 50/50, so looks like I am ending the season at rank 10 with 0 stars. Ah well, I will live without the extra dust.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I climb up to 20 every month to get the card back, and that's it.

That's pretty much it for me too, but that's because I've mostly fallen out of the game in favor of other competitive games.

[Techwarrior]

So.... Is ice block any good in this brawl? As your card?

[PsyBomb]

So.... Is ice block any good in this brawl? As your card?

Not so much, TBH. You still die to fatigue, and it takes FOREVER.

[tonberrian]

I'm not sure you could reliably trigger Ice Block before you fill up your hand with ice blocks you can't use.

[Rodin]

Barring the 8 cards giving you something, you also have no way to kill your opponent. You just...sit there. The Iceblock decks worked in the Pick 2 because you had a burn spell to accompany it. Sooner or later, you just burned your opponent to death. To win with pure Ice Blocks, you have to ping 30 times. And thanks to fatigue, that simply isn't possible even if you don't consider only having 22 Iceblocks a hindrance to that plan.

[Mando Knight]

I'm not sure you could reliably trigger Ice Block before you fill up your hand with ice blocks you can't use.

With Patches anything, Jade Idol Druid, and Mind Blast Priest knocking on your door starting around turn 4-5, burning ice blocks that aren't triggering won't be the problem. Drawing one of the 8 other cards in your deck instead is.

[Togath]

So they're gonna be selling old packs and adventures again. Though they haven't confirmed(nor stated otherwise) if gold will be usable.

[tonberrian]

So they're gonna be selling old packs and adventures again. Though they haven't confirmed(nor stated otherwise) if gold will be usable.

About time.

[Spore]

All heroes in gold. Now I can finally ignore all classes except Mage. =)

[Joran]

All heroes in gold. Now I can finally ignore all classes except Mage. =)

Congrats! I'm still not level 60 in all classes. Currently gold in Warlock, Hunter, Warrior, and about 20 wins away from Mage.

[Anarion]

All heroes in gold. Now I can finally ignore all classes except Mage. =)

That is a ton of ranked games. Wow. Especially with random classes. I play the meta, but way fewer games than are necessary to get gold heroes in most classes, even after years of consistent play. I think I'm maybe halfway there at best.

[Zevox]

Yeah, I've been playing since the beta (before golden heroes were a thing), and still no golden heroes here. Heck, I'm still not even to level 60 on my Rogue, since that class just hasn't had a competitive deck that I've liked yet, and my attempts at Rogue decks don't generally result in anything I play a ton of.

(Not to 60 on Hunter either, but I'll never be much higher than I am now on that, since I don't play it except when Brawl gives me no other choice, which I think has only happened once.)

[Spore]

That is a ton of ranked games. Wow. Especially with random classes. I play the meta, but way fewer games than are necessary to get gold heroes in most classes, even after years of consistent play. I think I'm maybe halfway there at best.

And of all those times I never hit legendary. =/ It's really not THAT hard over the course of years.

GvG Tempo Mage, Zoolock and Midrange Hunters sort of played themselves towards gold.
Shaman was my first golden hero (back in 2015 me thinks so before the whole Tunnel Trogg aggro thingie) because I REALLY love the fact that classic Shaman lives and dies with board control. Old Paladin lends itself to Midrange (my favorite playstyle) and Druid has a few interesting archetypes and aggro beast druid was and is disgusting. :D Priest and Rogue were a [female dog] to level though. Warrior was very enjoyable (first 350ish games were controlish, last 150ish were Midrange Dragon Warrior).

Yeah, I've been playing since the beta (before golden heroes were a thing), and still no golden heroes here.

If I hadn't found Black Desert Online as my new time sink in gaming, I would probably go for Legend this season. Because I like the cardback and also I want the validation. But alas, I am VERY driven by cosmetic unlocks such as this. It still makes me mad that I couldn't buy Khadgar due to not having an Apple device. I have probably spent 500-800 Euros on HS over the course of the years. And different than buying HotS heroes and WoW subscriptions/expansions I do not regret the money spent here.

Just saying: I am probably a far more aggressive nerd than you. I am one of those netdecking try-hards. =)

[Lord Raziere]

I've got Rogue Quest card and I've looked up a budget rogue quest deck and put ti together best I can um......tried it some and I want to be good with it but I kept losing, any advice on how to do it better? Because other decks keep outpacing me and buffing up their monsters too fast for me to respond or control the situation effectively.

[Spore]

I've got Rogue Quest card and I've looked up a budget rogue quest deck and put ti together best I can um......tried it some and I want to be good with it but I kept losing, any advice on how to do it better? Because other decks keep outpacing me and buffing up their monsters too fast for me to respond or control the situation effectively.

Many decks run counter cards or entire strategies to counter Quest Rogues. You have to play....patiently. Always have your duplicating card in hand. Know which card you want the counter to go to 4 with. As all rush decks the mulligan is extremely important.

[Anarion]

I've got Rogue Quest card and I've looked up a budget rogue quest deck and put ti together best I can um......tried it some and I want to be good with it but I kept losing, any advice on how to do it better? Because other decks keep outpacing me and buffing up their monsters too fast for me to respond or control the situation effectively.

Share your list? The deck is pretty budget generally, but if you're making substitutions, it could really be hurting you. The difference between getting 3/4 and 4/4 a turn earlier is huge for quest Rogue.

As some general advice, mulligan for the things that give you extra cards, return to hand effects, or flame elementals. A starting hand with quest, shadowstep, apprentice brewmaster is great. So is one with 2x Fire Fly, or even Fire Fly and Novice Engineer. What you don't want are boars and pirates clogging up your hand right away. Those are 5/5s later, but if you've got nothing else, you'll have to waste them to help keep the board clear.

You want to aim to complete the quest quickly, but not at the expense of screwing yourself. If you need to return something to your hand to complete the quest, don't leave it naked on the board to get killed, hold it for another turn. Making a dagger turn 2 because you don't want to play your novice engineer yet is fine if you're holding 3 ways to return that novice engineer to hand. On the other hand, if you've got 2 novice engineers in hand, play the first one immediately and pressure the opponent to kill it.

Once you complete the quest, never play it into an unknown mage secret. Try to hold onto a prep to check for counterspell. Once you've played it, think about what removal the other person has. Against priest, who has dragonfire potion, you don't flood the board. Instead, you play 2-4 guys, just enough to put heavy pressure on them. Especially since you can have a couple charge guys in hand (or charge guy plus bounce) to turn 3 cards on board into a one turn kill. Against Mage, do not choke your board with more than 5 cards. They'll frost nova and you'll wind up dying with a bunch of charge guys in hand that you can't play because your board is full. Against warrior, don't overcommit into brawl. Against druid, play everything you have as fast as you can.

Hope that helps.

[Neon Knight]

I've got Rogue Quest card and I've looked up a budget rogue quest deck and put ti together best I can um......tried it some and I want to be good with it but I kept losing, any advice on how to do it better? Because other decks keep outpacing me and buffing up their monsters too fast for me to respond or control the situation effectively.

From a more cynical perspective, it sounds like you might be queuing into Aggro decks like Aggro Druid, faster Token Shamans, Aggro Murloc Paladin, and Pirate Warrior. These decks have extremely favorable matchups against Quest Rogue, which is noted for its heavily polarized matchups. These Aggro decks are in fact a big part of the meta because of their strong performance against Quest Rogue. There is only a limited amount you can do to improve your deck's chances against these fast aggressive decks.

If you aren't playing it, put 2 copies of the 1 mana 2/1 battlecry freeze a minion elementals into your deck and mulligan for them against decks you suspect will be aggressive, especially those that are likely to rely on mid-sized minions or giant weapons to deal their damage. Bouncing this minion several times can prevent damage while advancing your quest completion. This is less useful against decks that kill you with wide boards + buffs like Token Shaman and Aggro Druid.

[Zevox]

Just saying: I am probably a far more aggressive nerd than you. I am one of those netdecking try-hards. =)

Depending on what exactly you mean by that, I may be too. I do typically use deck lists taken from what's known to be effective in the current meta - I find I like playing the matches, not so much building decks, so I'd rather have something that I know works than something that I made myself. And I certainly try to play as well as possible at any given time.

That said, I'm neither super-competitive nor a completionist - I gave up on getting to legend a long time ago simply because of how much time I would have to put into the game in a single month to get there, and I don't try to collect all of anything, whether that's cards, golden heroes, alternate heroes, card backs, whatever.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I've got Rogue Quest card and I've looked up a budget rogue quest deck and put ti together best I can um......tried it some and I want to be good with it but I kept losing, any advice on how to do it better? Because other decks keep outpacing me and buffing up their monsters too fast for me to respond or control the situation effectively.

Is it the nerfed version yet?

You're basically playing as much stall as possible until you get your bounce combo together, which is usually a pair of identical minions plus enough bounces to get your total plays together. At that point, you aim to overwhelm their board with your board, using chargers (Southsea Deckhand and Stonetusk Boar) to remove enemy minions and deal bursty face damage.

[Joran]

Is it the nerfed version yet?

You're basically playing as much stall as possible until you get your bounce combo together, which is usually a pair of identical minions plus enough bounces to get your total plays together. At that point, you aim to overwhelm their board with your board, using chargers (Southsea Deckhand and Stonetusk Boar) to remove enemy minions and deal bursty face damage.

No, the nerf isn't out yet. We're waiting until at least after HCT, which is this weekend, because some of the players have brought quest rogue.

[Togath]

You know... I actually really like that stonetusk is finally seeing play, even if it's in a niche/gimicky deck.

[Lord Raziere]

Is it the nerfed version yet?

You're basically playing as much stall as possible until you get your bounce combo together, which is usually a pair of identical minions plus enough bounces to get your total plays together. At that point, you aim to overwhelm their board with your board, using chargers (Southsea Deckhand and Stonetusk Boar) to remove enemy minions and deal bursty face damage.

Oh hm. I'll need more taunts then. as for list:

Spoiler

Show

Rogue:
Backstab × 2
Preparation × 1
Swashburglar × 2
The Caverns Below × 1
Eviscerate × 2
Gadgetzan Ferryman × 2
Fan of Knives × 2
Mimic Pod × 2
Assassinate x 2
Hallucination x 2
Vanish x 2

Neutral:
Fire Fly × 2
Stonetusk Boar × 2
Youthful Brewmaster × 2
Coldlight Oracle × 2
Igneous Elemental × 2

Total: 30 cards