Why Classic Hearthstone’s metagame still stands as one of the game’s best

What world of warcraft, hearth stone We also offer a special game mode that restores the vanilla experience: no new cards, no fancy expansions, like before. Comparing it to the current standard build clown party with mega imps, infinite skeletons, Sire Denathrius OTK, and nasty mana traps is a breath of fresh air.

“Created By” is a super rare keyword, Discover is not in the game, individual card power levels are significantly lower than in 2022, neutrals are stronger and more viable, and all classes (except Priest ) have multiplayer. Legend level decks. There are even some interesting innovations that take place eight years after the original game was released.

In many ways, Team 5 has yet to do better creatively. hearth stone metagame than at that time. This is why.

All archetypes and classes are represented.

Today, the standard is a long game. hearth stoneDespite a much more regular cadence of updates where you simply can’t play any combo, control, or aggro decks competitively.

All three main archetypes in Classic are viable at the highest levels of play, with mid-level options available to you as well. Taking the temperature of the standard after release Murder in Natria PrisonThree of the ten classes were completely unplayable, and two remained unplayable after a massive balance overhaul. It would be hard to name a metagame with more viable options than Classic, and that has held up even as the experienced player base has returned many years later.

Not only are all classes present, but you can play multiple decks at a high legend level in all of them. Of course, Priest only has a healthy control structure, but even he occasionally appears in the top 100. The Paladin’s Control archetype can be very sketchy, but Shockadin is an excellent counter option, as is Aggro Rogue as an alternative to Miracle.

Moving further down the list, Warlock has Zoo and Handlock, Hunter has Midrange and Face decks, Druids has multiple modular builds from Token to Ramp, Mage has Freeze and a second-tier aggressive build, as well as Control Warrior and Aggro Warrior, and how are shamans It can be medium or aggressive depending on what kind of collision you want.

And what do you know, having so many potential matchups, even at high levels of play, gives you more impactful deckbuilding options, even when the main archetypes are mostly exposed.

Additionally, the many flexible and powerful neutrals make it easy to build multiple decks even with a limited collection, since there are fewer class-specific cards to activate an archetype.

No card generation offers a wider range of play

Card advantage still matters in Classic hearth stone.

Three cards in the opponent’s hand represent a tool worth about three cards to play. Sounds like a simple phrase, right? In modern times, this is no longer the case. hearth stone, Where transformation effects like Corruption and Infusion, or individual cards that produce multiple resources at once, are very common, and that doesn’t even include bombs like hero cards or other near-infinite sources like Quest rewards.

Even in a limited game mode like Arena, you’re regularly dealing with discovery chains and other resource generation, so it’s almost impossible to say that your three extra cards in hand will give you a real advantage.

If this aspect of card games isn’t important to you, then that’s fine, but as the value of individual cards decreases and melds increase, decision making changes significantly.

In Classic, you have to make suboptimal plays more often so you don’t fall behind your opponent, either in time or value, and because you don’t have to wait for the third or fourth copy of the card to appear. force. Key cards can significantly change the tempo of the game.

This means that no deck can be a single pony with a single finisher. Even Miracle Rogue is forced to remove the burn from him as the game progresses, either using Eviscerate to remove a minion or using Shadowstep on an Earthen Ring Farseer to protect his full health.

in modern hearth stone, tries to execute its own strategy as efficiently as possible, with additional resources generated along the way. In Classic, everyone’s resources are finite, you have a much better idea of ​​what your opponent has and what he’s doing, and even with fewer disruption tools, you still have more ways to influence his strategy. It’s just a different experience: there are no game-breaking moves on the fourth turn.

Eight years later, there is still room for innovation

There’s still a large enough player base to get games quickly, though wait times get a bit sketchy in the top 100 pool (as they should). At this level, there are still interesting builds and card options that we didn’t see in 2014.

Of course, the innovations are marginal and won’t necessarily satisfy the cravings of most mobile gamers looking for a regular metagame shakeup. However, there is still room for innovation. Builds Oddball Midrange Mage, Tinkmaster Unexpected Oversparks and other things to find perks and change matchmaking percentages.

In many ways a classic hearth stone Like chess, with opening moves clearly planned and understood by both sides, the deliberately chosen variations deviate from standard game plans based on hands, tables, and matches. Power spikes come late enough that there is room for planning and adjustment in most cases (except maybe aggressive mirrors) – the overall low power level allows you to stay in the game even with imperfect draws.

Unfortunately, the regime will not last forever.

Game Director August Dean “Ixar” Ayala already confirmed A rotating set or a switch to other previous metagames is probably the future of the game mode.

It’s unlikely they want to further divide the nostalgia-obsessed among us in multiple ways, but when they do, it’s going to be a sad day when we can’t return to the holy grail of 2014. hearth stone experience whenever we want.