/hsg/ guide to arena

Background: I've been playing MTG draft tournaments for the last seven years and have set up and run some of my own. I usually come in first or second, though I've never gone into a Pro Tour or anything because must go to school become doctor ect ect. I hit Masters 3 in under 50 games before the ranking system change, and I average 5-3 in Arena over 40+ runs.

With that in mind, I've seen a lot of butthurt about Arena - I can't get good cards, fuck [INSERT FOTM], drafting is hard ect ect. So I've come up with a small guide.

HOW TO PICK CARDS IN ARENA: THE NOT A TIER LIST

(examples are not exhaustive)

In any draft mode, you should be aware of the five basic kinds of cards, ranked in order of importance:

1. Bombs
A bomb is any card that can win a game by itself. This is always a big, usually late-game threat that screams "remove me or die". Bombs usually do not require other cards to do well, and most bombs will fit into any deck regardless of an overarching theme (especially in Hearthstone due to the sheer amount of neutral cards and bombs). A bomb does not require setup or a specific interaction with other cards - it just gets on the field and lays a beatdown.
>Examples: Illidan Stormrage, Alexstraza, Ysera, Onyxia, Molten Giant, Sea Giant

CAVEAT LECTOR: In Hearthstone, damage is permanent. It does not go away at the end of your turn. This makes it MUCH EASIER to kill a big creatures with several small creatures or over a few turns - or your opponent can just ignore it and go for your face. As a result, BIG BOMBS ARE NOT AS AUTO-WIN IN ARENA.

That being said, if you see Ragnaros, FUCKING PICK IT. Ask yourself: can this card can win a game by itself? If yes, it's a bomb.

2. Removal
This is where /tg/'s favorite MtG phrase, "its shit it dies to removal" comes from. Removal is any card that would be used to take out a threat (typically a bomb). Removal is gold in draft mode - if you can get it, get it. Note that removal is not necessarily "Target minion dies" - Polymorphing that 11/11 Questing Adventurer almost as good as killing it.
In Hearthstone, virtually all removal is class-specific.
>Examples: Shadow Word Death, Mind Control, Polymorph, Execute, Naturalize, Deadly Shot, Kill Command, Hammer of Wrath, Assassinate, Sap, Hex, Lava Burst, Big Game Hunter, Acidic Swamp Ooze

2.A AoE Removal
Due to Hearthstone's emphasis on minions over spells, Area of Effect removal is usually even more valuable than single target removal. That being said, only three spells are guaranteed AoE board wipes - Brawl (Warrior), Vanish (Rogue) and Twisting Nether (Warlock), with everything else being damage-based; however, both of these affect both sides of the board.
>Examples: Holy Nova, Consecration, Hellfire, Flamestrike, Blizzard, Swipe, Fan of Knives, Explosive Shot
>>OF NOTE: Abomination has a Deathrattle that deals two damage to everything when it dies. Notable for being an AoE removal option for all classes, albeit a limited one that can backfire if used improperly.
>>OF NOTE: Flamestrike is the strongest common AoE in the game, at 4 damage to enemy minions for 7. This is a card that you NEED to think about when drafting your deck, and expect a Mage to have AT LEAST one if not two. Play intelligently against AoE, don't just spam weenies because you have the mana to do so. If you can bait out a Flamestrike for two of your minions, or a Harvest Golem and a Yeti, or your creatures all have useful Deathrattles, it's not so bad - but if you're regularly getting 3 for 1'd or 4 for 1'd by Flamestrikes you need to think about how you play.

3. Efficient cards
These are cards that aren't just good by themselves, they're better together with others. They won't win games or save your hide by themselves, but they're frequently the building blocks for decks built around a specific card or interaction. How valuable these are depends a lot on your hero power - Gurubashi Berserker is much stronger if you have a heal effect to keep him fighting, and therefore gaining even more attack, making him synergize naturally with Priest.

Note that when you find a strong card that you know has a neat interaction with others, seek out cards that synergize with it. A perfect example is Blood Knight - if you find Blood Knight in your first few rounds, pick up every Divine Shield you can find.
>Examples: Northshire Cleric, Blood Knight, Azure Drake, Deadly Poison, Ironbeak Owl, Shattered Sun Cleric, Harvest Golem, Dark Iron Dwarf, Defender of Argus

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SYNERGY AND DEPENDENCE! Ancient Watcher and Ironbeak Owl have great synergy - a potential 4/5 attacking on turn 3? Sign me up! - but don't pick that Ancient Watcher early hoping for an Ironbeak Owl. If you don't get one, that Watcher is a waste of a slot.

4. Aggro
Bread and butter, these are the staples that make up your early curve and give you critical early tempo. This is where you start looking at your mana curve, helpfully located below your card choices. Don't have any 1-drops? Grab that Goldshire Footman! Need a two-drop? There's a Novice Engineer! Dip at four? Sen'Jin Shieldmasta! These are drops that will establish early tempo - either you'll get some fast early damage before your opponent can stabilize with Taunt minions/removal, or the board will be a stalemate as neither one of you can get around each other's cheap minions. Or you've both wiped the board with early minion trades. Either way it's better than getting your face beaten in by two Raptors for three turns straight, while you pray to your chosen deity that you topdeck a Swipe.
>Examples: Knife Juggler, Argent Squire, Chillwind Yeti, Harvest Golem, Faerie Dragon, Loot Hoarder, Shattered Sun Cleric

5. Dregs + Dependents
Dregs are bad cards. They're just bad. You didn't have any option but to choose it because the other options were worse. This is much less of a problem in Hearthstone, both because there are far less 'absolute shit' cards than in MtG and because of how differently draft works. (in MtG you're pretty much guaranteed at least 15 of your 45 cards will be unplayable shit, though most of the time you won't use them in the deck anyway due to 40 card deck sizes and undrafted lands taking up a third of your deck) Dregs aren't a card you really see in Hearthstone Arena - every card is either useful or can be made useful.

That being said, Hearthstone has Dependents. Tying in with point 3, Ancient Watcher is, frankly, a shit card that can become very good in a specific situation. If you do not draft cards that would lead to that situation (no Silence/Mass Dispel/Ironbeak Owl/Spellbreaker), you have wasted one of your thirty precious card slots. Basically, don't pick these cards early - but if you see one late and see that you have the right cards to make them work, go for it.
>Examples: Oasis Snapjaw (without Inner Fire or ways to give it Taunt), Shieldbearer (very weak without an attack buff; put it next to a Dire Wolf Alpha or get a Raid Leader and suddenly you have a very efficient card), Hungry Crab (without Murlocs, you've just thrown away your other two possible Epic cards in favor of a Beast Goldshire Footman without Taunt)

In an acronym: BREAD. Bombs, Removal, Efficient, Aggro, Dependents. Those are your priorities when drafting in Arena.

>COSBY WHY NO TIER LIST

Because the cards you pick depend on the cards you already have. If you want a tier list go ask Trump, but even he'll tell you that there are situations where another Harvest Golem or Yeti can be a bad pick.

6. DOGS LIKE BONES, REAL MEN LIKE GOOD LOOKING MANA CURVES
Your mana curve is displayed under your potential card picks. It will show you how many cards you have of each mana cost, from 0 to 7+.

Your mana curve should be skewed to the left. I think of a general 15/10/3 rule when drafting:

At least 15 of my cards should fall between 0-3.

Around 10 of my cards should fall between 4-6.

No more than 5 of my cards should be 7+.

This should keep you from having early mana problems, while still giving you leeway for choice picks.

The mana curve is directly related to another variable: card draw. The faster you'll draw, the more left-skewed your curve should be. Card draw is, of course, related to cards like Northshire Cleric and Arcane Brilliance, but don't underestimate the impact of cantrips (cards that say "Draw a card" in addition to another effect) in accelerating your draw speed. Conversely, mana growth means you can have a more relaxed, center-oriented curve, though this really only applies to Druids (Nourish and Wild Growth) and Warlocks (Summoning Portal).

Unless you're playing Priest (LOLMINDCONTROL) or Mage (LOLFLAMESTRIKE), 7+ should be bombs only and an easy way to tell "Hey, do I have any bombs?"

7. YOU ARE NOT YOUR FUCKING DECK

>OMG A MAGE FLAMESTRIKED ME AND KILLED 7 MINIONS HOW IS THIS BALANCED

NO, SHUT THE FUCK UP. You don't even FUCKING KNOW IT but you misplayed the shit out of that.

If you want to git gud at arena and be like bitch daddy Kripp, his sugar mama Hafu, and his socially inept nephew Trump, you need to learn what classes have for AoE. Minions and board control is everything in Hearthstone, and you need to avoid overextension or else you'll get 5 for 1'd by Flamestrike and bitch about it on /hsg/.

COMMON AOE'S: ALWAYS ASSUME YOUR OPPONENT HAS TWO. IF HE HAS MORE, HE GOT LUCKY WITH HIS DRAFT; IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANY YET, PLAY AROUND THEM.

DRUID: SWIPE (4 MANA)
HUNTER: EXPLOSIVE TRAP (2 MANA), MULTI-SHOT (4 MANA)
MAGE: ARCANE EXPLOSION (2 MANA), CONE OF COLD (4 MANA), FLAMESTRIKE (7 MANA)
PALADIN: CONSECRATION (4 MANA)
PRIEST: HOLY NOVA (5 MANA)
ROGUE: FAN OF KNIVES (3 MANA), VANISH (6 MANA)
SHAMAN: FORKED LIGHTNING (1 MANA)
WARLOCK: HELLFIRE (3 MANA), DREAD INFERNAL (6 MANA)
WARRIOR: WHIRLWIND (1 MANA), CLEAVE (2 MANA)

>but cosby a lot of these suck

YES THEY DO, BUT THEY'RE COMMON AS ALL HELL. WHILE YOU USUALLY WON'T SEE A FAN OF KNIVES OR AN ARCANE EXPLOSION IN ARENA (BECAUSE THEY'RE SHIT CARDS), YOU WILL FUCKING SEE FLAMESTRIKES, CONSECRATIONS, AND SWIPES GALORE. KNOWING YOUR ENEMY IS HALF THE BATTLE.

RARE AOE'S: EXPECT ONE OF THESE AT MOST IN YOUR OPPONENT'S DECK. IF YOU'RE 5+ WINS EXPECT MORE OF THEM.

NEUTRAL: ABOMINATION (5 MANA), WILD PYROMANCER (2 MANA)
DRUID: STARFALL (5 MANA)
HUNTER: EXPLOSIVE SHOT (5 MANA)
MAGE: BLIZZARD (6 MANA)
PALADIN: EQUALITY (2 MANA)
ROGUE: BLADE FLURRY (2 MANA)
SHAMAN: LIGHTNING STORM (3 MANA)
WARLOCK: SHADOWFLAME (4 MANA)

EPIC AOE'S: EXPECT ONE OF THESE EVERY GAME AT 7+ WINS AND UP AND PLAY AROUND THEM.

NEUTRAL: DOOMSAYER (2 MANA)
PALADIN: AVENGING WRATH (6 MANA)
WARLOCK: TWISTING NETHER (8 MANA) (IF HE'S NOT PLAYING ANY MINIONS ON TURN 6 OR 7 IT'S A DEAD GIVEAWAY)
WARRIOR: BRAWL (5 MANA)

LEGENDARY AOE'S: THE ONLY COUNTERPLAY IS NOT TO PLAY. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO EXPECT THESE; JUST TRY TO SALVAGE WHAT YOU CAN WHEN IT'S OVER.

NEUTRAL: BARON GEDDON (7), DEATHWING (10), YSERA AWAKENS (5, REQUIRES YSERA); BLOODMAGE THALNOS (2) AND OTHER SPELLPOWER CARDS ARE VERY STRONG WITH AOE. IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY A LOT OF MINIONS, KILL YOUR OPPONENT'S SPELLPOWER.

AOE CARDS ARE VERY POWERFUL AND SHOULD BE SAVED FOR SITUATIONS WHERE THEY WILL TRADE BETTER THAN 1 FOR 1 - IF ONLY BECAUSE IT IS SO EASY TO DO SO. 2 FOR 1 IS THE BARE MINIMUM UNLESS THAT MINION NEEDS TO DIE NOW OR ELSE YOU LOSE (e.g.: he has lethal). ALWAYS ASSUME YOUR OPPONENT HAS A COMMON AOE IN HIS HAND. DON'T GET FLAMESTRIKED LIKE A BITCH.

8. REWARDS?

You may have heard that you should retire at 8 because you'll get more gold. THIS IS NO LONGER TRUE SINCE THE CHANGE TO 12 STREAKS. There is no longer ANY reason to retire with a deck.

All arena runs end with a card pack and the following rewards, based on what I've seen:
0-3 wins: Two boxes, each containing either 50 or less gold, 50 or less dust, or a random card.
4-6 wins: Two boxes, each containing either 100-40 gold, 100-40 dust, or a random card.
7-9 wins: Three boxes; one WILL have 150+ gold and the other two will be 4-6 quality. 9 may have a extra pack.
10-12 wins: Four boxes; guaranteed 150+ gold, others can range from 300-100 gold/dust, golden cards, extra packs.

A NOTE ON GOING INFINITE:

First of all, if you can go infinite just based off arena winnings, you shouldn't be reading this guide. You're already gud. Go have fun.

For the rest of us, there are some simple steps to making the most of an arena run. Remember that you need a 7+ to guarantee a gold profit. To circumvent this, do quests while in arena - things like "3 victories" or "Destroy 40 minions" can be accomplished in one run for easy gold. Don't pay for Arena with real money unless you really like Arena - you get more packs per dollar by buying from the shop. Conversely, if you get more than 50 gold from the bonus boxes, you have saved gold (as opposed to buying a pack for 100 gold).

9. TOOLS AND LINKS

an absurd amount of this guide is modified straight from  http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/12549_Learning_How_To_Draft.html While it applies to MtG and not Hearthstone, and is 7 fucking years old (fuck I'm old) the fundamentals of a draft mode stay the same. While people who haven't touched MtG probably won't understand 90% of what he's saying, I'm including it because some nerd from /tg/ will probably throw a bitchfit about it.

http://hearthhead.com/arena - scared of losing 150 gold because you still don't know what you're doing? Try this out to help learn you good. Post your results in the /hsg/ thread and we'll bitch at you for picking Captain Greenskin over Archmage Antonidas in a Mage deck, and you might just learn something.

QUESTIONS? FITE ME FGT?

send me questions about the guide at sagedreportedfiltered@gmail.com, or add me ingame (Billcosby#1889). Send me dick pics at Iseriouslyhopeyouguysd@ntdo.this