The Happy Hearthstone Podcast

Hello! Ben is on the show this week Topic: Strategy Potluck!/li> Reasons to be happy News! BlizzCon happens Nov 4-5! Josh will be on the Con Before the Storm Hearthstone podcasts panel! Scott Lantz’s card game launched on Android and iOS this week! Go play Plants vs. Zombies Heroes RIGHT NOW! Win free card packs from Blizzard By Choosing Your Champion! Heroic Tavern Brawl is coming soon. Here are the rewards! Thailand Facebook group with amazing infographics In Your Back Pocket: Preparing for the Game Mastermind: Ben First and foremost, remember it is a game so have fun. If you are not having fun maybe try a different deck or class or even mode. If you are still not having a good time maybe play a different game. Limit distractions. Especially visual. Music should be fine. This guide isn’t going to be about how to ladder. If it was, I would be telling you to play face shaman and concede early and concede often to keep your win ratio to time ration high. This has been more of a guide to get better. The Element of Surprise Mastermind: Jayme“Information warfare. Sun Tzu states that all war is based on deception. Control the battle by only playing cards as necessary and you will maximize your card’s potential! For example, it’s generally a bad idea to play an Arcanite Reaper and then not attack with it that turn. In theory, you’re following the advice above of keeping weapons for killing minions. But if they know that it’s coming, they’re never going to play good minions onto this board. Or worse, they’ll destroy your weapon before you get any value from it. Save your threats for the opportune time to strike to maximum effectiveness.” In Your Back Pocket: Knowing Which Mode to Play Mastermind: Ben What environment, mindset, situation are you looking for when you choose to play Ladder? What about for Arena? When do you choose to play Wild over Standard? The age-old question — Do you play more than 1 win of Tavern Brawl? Tournament Modes Mastermind: Matt Thomas“What do you and *insert guest host here* want to see from any tournament functionality that is implemented in the game? In my mind there are actually two different things that are being asked for when the internet hive mind shouts about a tournament mode… 1) In game client tournaments instigated by Blizzard, they would set the rules for entry, any cost required, prizes etc. In my mind this would function in a similar way to Arena, you join a tournament make a deck that follows it’s rules and start playing. Obviously the issues here would revolve around how many people are in the bracket and the time constraints that could cause when matching up with people. 2) A tournament organising tool which allows the members of the public to organise their own competitions, with their own sets of rules.The comparison I keep thinking of when mulling this part over is when I used to create custom games in Halo. You could set all manner of different parameters, not just the basic number of kills etc, and then play that with your friends.In hearthstone this would end up allowing you to customise things like tournament type, bans, number of people, wild/standard, and what ever else you can think off. What do you guys think? What would you like implemented in game?” In Your Back Pocket: Picking Your Deck Type Mastermind: Ben First, you should have a look around and see what other people are playing. It’s no shame jumping on Youtube or Twitch to watch a streamer play or even going Hearthhead or Tempostorm or even Reddit to see what everyone is playing. What are good counters or tech choices? You don’t have to use those decks if you don’t want to and if you find a deck that looks fun or good you don’t have to copy the deck card for card. Pick a class you know or want to know and work out what kind of deck you want. Aggro: Face Hunter, Face Shaman, and some warlock zoo decks. Midrange: Midrange Shaman or Totem Shaman, some Dragon Warriors, and quite a few Paladins. Control: Control Warrior, Dragon or N’zoth Priest, N’zoth Paladin, and Anyfin Paladin Combo: Miracle Rogue, OTK Priest, Freeze Mage Casino Decks Mastermind: Matt“Casino decks – I’ve seen a few of these Casino-style decks lately. @jaugustine, we should build some and have some fun!” In Your Back Pocket: Picking Cards For Your Deck Mastermind: Ben Right once you have a deck type idea have a play around with it work out what cards you want to put in it. What’s fun and what’s vital? Always have rotating cards in a deck. Try and leave 1 or 2 card spots for wiggle room for Tech Cards. Tech Cards usually refer to cards that specifically combat the current meta. Playing a lot of Warriors and Rogues? Throw in an Acidic Swamp Ooze or Harrison Jones. Lots of Taunt Druids? Play The Black Knight. Lots of Secret Hunters or Freeze Mages? Pop in a Secret Eater or Kezan in Wild. Getting run down too quickly? Pop in a Sunwalker or Shieldmasta or another AOE spell. If it’s feeling slow today, add Ragnaros or a few heavy-mana cards. Remember you deck is not set in stone when you press the finish deck button. You can adapt and amend it as much as you want and if it isnt working you can always chuck it out and start anew. Tech cards are mostly to your own discretion how you feel the game is when you play. I currently have 11 priest decks some are very similar with only 2 or 3 cards different depending on how the meta feels while others have 28 cardes different from the others. As stated before about meta decks, it is important to have a basic grasp on them. How they work and more importantly how they kill you. Most classes have a few archetypes. Try and learn them or at least the popular ones and know the telltale signs of them. In Your Back Pocket: Turn By Turn Mastermind: Ben Turn 1: Watch out for Warriors here. Either they have mulliganed their whole hand and seen 6 to 8 of their cards, or they kept them all they will probably have Fiery War Axe.Maybe you don’t want to drop that Mana Wyrm or Northshire Cleric Turn 2: Priest will almost always heal your face this turn then say “the light will burn you”. It’s their way of saying they’re probably not playing dragon priest or they just had really bad draw. Watch out for Shamans. This is where they start snowballing, so try to clear as fast as you can and hold board. Hunter will try and Coin Cloaked Hunter and dump their Secrets this turn too. Have a system prepared to check for their traps. I usually attack a minion first to check for Freezing and Snake, then go face to check for Explosive and Bear. The new Cat trap is in the mix, but you cant really play around it except by not playing spells. Turn 3 + 4: You need to be careful of Innovate here against Druids. You have to be careful of it always, of courrse, but they’re now in range of their good cards. They can Coin Innovate to get Druid of the Claw or Savage Combatant and Hero Power or even Violet Teacher, Innovate, then a multitude of cheap spells to build a massive board out of thin air. Hold your AOE if you feel like they’re holding back. Sometimes taking 8 face damage this turn is worth it, if they empty their hand next turn and you get a full clear. They also have Swipe here. Turn 5: This is the time AOE shows up usually. Watch out for Brawl, Holy Nova, and Excavated Evil. They’re all pretty good AOE and is especially brutal if they have spell power down from Bloodmage or a Coin Azure Drake. Turn 6: Some mages will drop Blizzard here. It’s not super common, but Coin Flame Strike is bread-and-butter. Gadgetzan Auctioneer appears this turn followed by usually Coin Conceal. Only Flame Strike or Bomb Lobber can kill him at this point, without some big-luck random damage. This is the turn to prepare for a massive turn next from both Rogues and Druids. Bloodmage and Swipe is a strong clear this turn from druid too. Sylvanas also come down this turn and so does Entomb. Try to bait these cards early to protect your better ones later. Turn 7: Hello, Flamestrike. The amount of times I’ve played into it is shameful. It will decimate Shaman, Hunter, and Warlock. It can singlehandedly win some matches. Try to make them play it on a turn where they can’t spend their mana efficiently, like turn 8 or 10. Also Coin into top Legendaries (most 8-cost) is here. A well-placed Ragnaros can spoil everything for you. Turn 8: The Legendary level! If you’re playing Forbidden Shaping, play it now or Hero Power and play it on Turn 10. 8 mana is the most consistent to get a good minion. Also Tirion Fordring comes out now, so hold your Entomb or Silence to be able to keep going face. Turn 9: Most Dragons pop up here, like Nefarion and Ysera. Turn 10: Anyfin can happen! I hope you’ve been keeping track of slimy swarmers. If a Paladin has played any murlocs, they will have this and they can do mammoth amounts of damage instantly. It can also be pulled off of Ivory Knight to to heal a lot. Deathwing Dragonlord in some Priest or Warrior decks may show up. Try to silence it or don’t kill it if they have a big hand (or, on the very outside chance that you have a Mind Control, use it!). No one expects it, so mabye pop one in for fun! Favorite Character Art/Voice/Spell FX Mastermind: Jellybone“Your “Best/Worst” animation reminded me of a topic I’ve been meaning to suggest; the “Aesthetics of Hearthstone” episode! Which class has the best/worst card art? Character art vs. Spell art. Best card voice acting/dialogue/sound fx. Best in-game animation/fx. Best flavor text. Maybe not episode caliber but maybe enough for a segment. Best wishes, Jellybone.” In Your Back Pocket: After the Match Mastermind: Ben Take a breath, take a break! Were there any cards in your deck that were dead in your hand? Were there any cards that you wish you had? Are there any single copies in your deck that you want to change to a double? Did the opponent obliterated you and you don’t know why? Try to make their deck. Reconstruct it from your notes and memories. An old music teacher told me practice does not make perfect it makes permanent if you practice wrong you will not get better. Watch people who are better than you. Don’t get salty. Learn from losses! Accept every friend request you get and send them to everyone you have fun playing with. Reddit: CompetitiveHS Thailand Facebook group with amazing infographics Community Questions: N/A iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. You can find more of my made-up cards on Twitter.  Farewell Follow Ben on Twitter! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Drew is on the show this week Topic: Deck Battle! Reasons to be happy this week News: Cards got nerfed, Josh will be on the Con Before the Storm Hearthstone podcasts panel! 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: Craig’s Dragon Priest deck puts an aggressive twist on the standard control class.Challenger Deck: Drew’s Pickpocket Rogue uses the element of surprise and a few key combos to outsmart and outvalue opponents. Pickpocket Rogue Creatures 2x Swashburglar: Don’t use on Turn 1 — this is a combo piece. Best with Brann or Gang Up in faster matchups. Shadowcaster works well too. 1x Bloodmage Thalnos: Early game draw, late game board clear with Fan of Knives, or used to bump up damage from Backstab, Eviscerate, or Shadowstrike. In most match-ups right now, use as an extra Loot Hoarder. 2x Loot Hoarder: Mulligan for this, you want card draw and early game board presence. 2x Undercity Huckster: Mulligan for this, starts your combos, provides good board presence early on. 1x Brann Bronzebeard: Combo with Earthen Ring Farseer, Swashburglar, Ethereal Peddler, Defender of Argus, Shadowcaster, Azure Drake, and even Nefarian. 2x Earthen Ring Farseer: Heal face for 3, combo with Brann for 6 healing. Keeps play going with a solid body for the board. 2x SI:7 Agent: Keep in mulligan if you have Coin or Backstab. Play as a tempo 3 drop. Rogue staple. 2x Defender of Argus: Turns a board into a wall. Wonderful target for Shadowcaster, because you can have a 3/4 taunt, a 4/4 taunt for 6 mana since you would already have the Defender of Argus on the board as a target. Amazing with Brann too. 2x Azure Drake: Draws a card, boosts spell damage, great with Brann and removal spells. Almost never a bad Turn 5 play. 2x Ethereal Peddler: The reason this deck works. It turns a bad concept (filling your hand with cards with no synergy) into a working archetype. You lose tempo by using substandard cards, but the cost reduction from this makes it the tempo swing in your favor again. Use with Brann for even more shenanigans. 2x Shadowcaster: The ultimate shenanigan. With all of the battlecry effects, this card makes them more work even more often. Use on Brann to get two Branns that only cost 1 mana to use with other battlecries. Use with Defender of Argus for even more taunts and buffs. Use with Swashburglar to steal even more cards (it essentially just gives you another Swashburglar, so not incredible value, but still value). Note that since Brann makes battlecries trigger “twice” not “double,” it doesn’t help to have more than one Brann on the board at a time. 1x Nefarian: Gives two spells, which are usually pretty good. Good as a late game threat too, which is nice against control decks. If it survives for a Shadowcaster the next turn, you can get some insane value. Spells 2x Backstab: Mulligan for this. Early game removal. Rogue decks start with this and then start building a new deck. 2x Eviscerate: Mulligan for this. Early game removal. Don’t be afraid to use it as 2 damage if needed. 1x Gang Up: Use on really good minion steal or on Swashburglar for faster matchups. Can also use it if an opponent plays a great card to copy before you kill it. Don’t use it on Reno Jackson unless you are literally at the end of your deck. 1x Sap: Good for getting rid of Barnes-products, taunts, Flamewreathed Faceless tempo shifts, pesky deathrattles that threaten to go off, or just to prolong your life through tempo. Good against Druid’s Innervate shenanigans too. 1x Fan of Knives: Good against Zoo. It at least cycles, even better when combined with Bloodmage Thalnos and Azure Drake. 2x Shadow Strike: This plus Loot Hoarder can kill a certain 4 mana 7/7. Great against Darkshire Councilman, and anything else with 5-6 health. Can even get the party started on the enemy’s face (though I would generally save this for removal). Substitutes In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back-ups and alterations you can use, which all keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck. Grand Crusader: This is a battlecry card that gives Paladin cards, which is great, but it is a 6 mana 5/5 which I think is too slow in this deck. Perhaps it is better in a more controlling deck. Nexus-Champion Saraad: Alternative to Nefarian. A bit slow, requires a hero power to be useful, and has substandard stats at 5 mana 4/5. That being said, if you can get him to stick, he will be consistently giving you cards to use. Might pair him with Sir Finley Mrrgglton to get a more useful hero power for the kinds of matchups that this card would struggle in. Shifter Zerus: How about some randomness with your randomness? Does maintain cost decreases from previous Ethereal Peddlers. Tomb Pillager: This card is even better than it looks as a tempo card. It trades up, it has the potential to draw out removal like Shadow Word: Death, and it gives a coin back for even more tempo. Swap it in for Defender of Argus if larger, slower decks are in the meta. Crazed Alchemist: Alternative for Bloodmage Thalnos. Weird as it sounds, this is helpful to remove enemy minions, as it makes trades more favorable sometimes, and anytime you swap a damaged minion’s health, it is no longer damaged, allowing the use of Backstab or Shadow Strike. The Duel CONGRATULATION TO CRAIG’S DRAGON PRIEST DECK, WHICH EARNED ITS SPOT IN THE HALL OF FAME ON THIS EPISODE! Strategy Advice for Playing the Pickpocket Rogue Deck (Meta comments are current as of Sept. 2016. This was written by Drew.) You have to know how to play other classes at least in theory to play this archetype, because you want to be looking for common combos, such as Divine Spirit and Inner Fire from Priest. Your worst matchups are going to be Priest, Shaman, and Warlock. They have incredibly wide variance in their selection of good vs. bad cards. The best matchups are probably Warrior, Druid, and Mage, because they have really good standalone cards. You are never disappointed to steal Bash or Shield Block. Druid has a lot of large minions, but the Ethereal Peddler discount makes them so you can play multiple large minions in one turn. Mage secrets are nice to play because they have no idea what to do, and their thinking is sometimes biased towards what secrets they actually have in their deck, instead of the full range of Standard secrets. Playing Against Priest Priest has cards that only have healing triggers, really bad cards like Power Word: Glory, and other extremely situational cards that might be entirely useless. Weirdly enough, Purify isn’t terrible, since it allows you to get rid of a terrible Priest card and to draw one of the cards from your deck, which is probably much better. In all seriousness, Purify is actually pretty good, because a Shadowcastered 1/1 minion can be silenced to be full-sized again. And I will say that Priests that are built to Thoughtsteal and other things like that are hilarious to play this deck against. I mean, you’re probably going to lose, since they get Rogue cards and you get Priest cards, but it is pretty funny when you have a bunch of Priest minions on your side and they have a bunch of Rogue minions on their side. Right now, the most prominent deck is the Barnes-silence deck. You want Sap if it comes to your hand, as well as your standard early game removal. Don’t waste it on small damage (like Northshire Cleric, unless you want to play a minion, so it can’t ping, heal, and draw off of it). Playing Against Shaman Shamans give overload cards that screw up your curve and are sometimes so cheap that Ethereal Peddler can’t reduce their cost that much, since a lot of the mana cost is in the overload. A LOT of cards require totems too. Get early game removal. If you don’t, and they curve out, you will lose by turn 6. Sap isn’t bad, especially against Flamewreathed Faceless. At this point in the meta, Flamewreathed Faceless isn’t a standard include, but Sap can also be used to get rid of a buffed Tunnel Trogg, a Thing from Below, and so forth. Later in the game, don’t feel bad about playing a Defender of Argus on one minion to save some health. Playing Against Warlock Warlocks have terrible downsides to their cards unless they synergize, which is not likely (such as discarding cards, destroying your own minions, hurting yourself, destroying mana crystals). In fact, the best card you can probably get from Warlock is Renounce Darkness, because the discounts stack, and they’re random cards anyway. Early game removal is necessary against Zoo, and the two-health minions are more valuable than the one-health minions, to deny card draw from Mortal Coil. Fan of Knives is also great in the Zoo matchup. The current meta deck for Renolock isn’t as strong, but it has some dragon synergy, so if you think you are playing against dragon Renolock, save Gang Up for Twilight Guardian if you have Nefarian in hand. Playing Against Warrior The tier 1 deck is Dragon Warrior right now, so you should try to keep a low curve minion as well as Eviscerate or Backstab. If you keep Backstab, do keep Bloodmage Thalnos as well. The reason for the low curve minion is Faerie Dragon can’t be killed with a spell, and it is really inconvenient to hit it with your face if you don’t have an early minion. Coin + SI:7 Agent is ideal. Don’t keep Fan of Knives, as the other Warrior decks (Control, Worgen OTK, C’thun, Patron) are usually trying to draw with Acolyte of Pain and things like that anyway. Your best use of Fan is on a blank enemy board for cycle probably. If you see Emperor Thaurissan, you are probably facing Worgen OTK, and you need to create a taunt wall, so use Shadowcaster on Defender of Argus and start taunting as many minions as possible. It is very hard for it to win if you have a bunch of taunts. Playing Against Druid The top tier deck is Malygos right now, and the problem with this one is its reach usually exceeds what you can keep your health above. It also has Yogg-Saron, so just expect a weird and fun game. There is also Token Druid, and that one you’ll want to save your Fan of Knives + Azure Drake or Bloodmage Thalnos to clear the board. It has several reset options too, though, so you might just hope for a stolen Swipe or Starfall. Playing Against Mage The main deck right now is Tempo mage, and it is going to be a more consistent tempo game than you can probably play, unless you are lucky with your steals. Save your Eviscerates for Flamewaker. Playing Against Paladin Paladins are hit-or-miss, because while the cards you get are good, there are two distinct types of cards you get for Paladin, control and token. Sometimes you get too much of a mix, and the synergy just isn’t there. Luckily, the cards are pretty good, so something usually works, and Paladins have the best legendaries in the game, probably. Tirion Fordring for 6 mana? Yes, please. Gang Up on him and you win. Murloc Paladin and N’zoth Paladin are the dominant types, and the key for both of these will be to win before they do. Tempo out, but don’t overcommit or your board will be cleared with Equality. If you can Gang Up a really good minion of theirs, do it, but one note: Ivory Knight is not as good as you think, because it gives you Rogue spells, not Paladin spells, and that means you won’t heal for much because we have really low-cost spells. Playing Against Hunter Hunters are similar to Paladins in that they can be very hit-or-miss. A Call of the Wild for 6 mana is amazing, though. And then sometimes you get a Ram Wrangler and a bunch of spells with no beasts to trigger them. I actually think Hunter is one of our best matchups with regards to tempo right now, since we can basically out tempo most of their decks. Sap on a Savannah Highmane is a huge setback, but be aware that turn 8 Call of the Wild is a serious problem and can end you if you leave any minions on the board on turn 7. Mulligan for early game removal and keep Shadow Strike if you get it. Playing Against Rogue Finally, there is Rogue. This is a pretty bad match-up, because Ethereal Peddler doesn’t work on Rogue cards, obviously. That being said, you often get good cards when you steal, because you’re playing Rogue for a reason. I don’t mind having more Rogue cards to use, because I love Rogue. Rogue cards don’t exactly have synergy with each other, they just have efficient, tempo-based cards, so it isn’t the worst scenario. I’ve won some of the matchups just because this deck has a decent tempo backbone. Short story, long: I don’t think that the Rogue mirror problems are a reason to NOT play this deck. The usual archetypes that are played right now (Fall 2016) are Miracle (usually with Leeroy, though an Arcane Giant variant has shown up recently), N’Zoth (sometimes combined with Pickpocket-style), Malygos, and some variant of this pickpocket deck type. Because of all the taunt-possibilities, Miracle is often stymied. Gadgetzan Auctioneer is a good clue you are playing a Miracle Rogue, though the Malygos Rogue also runs Auctioneer, so you might look out for Shiv, which is only in the Malygos variant usually. N’Zoth is a problem, but it is really just a type of tempo deck, so sometimes you can out-tempo them if you get a good draw. If they land N’Zoth and you weren’t lucky enough to steal Vanish, it is probably over. The pickpocket archetype is having the same problems you are, so it is really up to luck. That being said, focus on drawing cards, because you’ll need the card advantage. Keep Loot Hoarder and Undercity Huckster. You want to make them take some initial damage while keeping the cards flowing to your hand. Other Variations of this Deck You Can Try (In order of Drew’s opinion of viability) Brian Kibler’s: Best pacing and balance of value and tempo. Not too greedy on stealing, just solid cards. Pretty consistent. Trump’s: Super aggro. Can sometimes run out of gas, but solid curve with good cards Drew’s (This one!): More fun than the others because of craziness. Definitely less consistent against aggro, but wins most control matchups. Kripparian’s: Really greedy, as this includes literally every way you have to gain cards from opponent’s class. Less consistent. Day9’s: Could be good in certain matchups, but suffers from worst of both worlds of aggro and greedy. Runs out of gas and is very inconsistent. Community Questions: Wild and Crazy Predictions for Hearthstone at BlizzCon iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) The Dust Bowl Card of the Week This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. You can find more of my made-up cards on Twitter. Farewell Follow Drew on Twitter! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Scott is on the show this week Topic: Karazhan Class Card reviews! Reasons to be happy this week News: Buy the Welcome Bundle, Big Arena Changes, Regional Championships starting, Read Josh’s articles on Red Bull Esports Review Scoring Guide (NEW!) 0 = Awful, unplayable (Runic Egg, Poison Seeds) 1 = Underpowered, but it could work out (Dust Devil, Corruption) 2 = Acceptable backup plan or niche filler (Crazed Alchemist, Shadow Bolt) 3 = Solid value (Senjin Shieldmasta, Assassinate) 4 = Great, with lots of upside (Animal Companion, Fireball) 5 = So good you always have to play it (Tirion Fordring, Call of the Wild) Druid Cards Enchanted Raven Scott says: I’m less excited about this card than most people. I don’t agree w/ the hype. But I can sit over on the side with my hipster glasses eschewing the zeitgeist. Josh says: Very good. Pre-emptively trumps every 3/2 and will keep them from playing them. Also gives a 1-cost Beast card that’s not bad, which combos great in druid Beast deck. Arena Score: 4 Constructed Score: 3 Menagerie Warden Scott says: Hoo boy. Now we’re talking. I already liked Beast Druid, though it wasn’t Tier 1 or anything. This will be a nice addition. The cost premium is a bargain, but being attached to a big body gives it a big enough cost that it’ll only come out late-game and will be hard to combo. Compares well to Ram Wrangler — this has more control (good and bad) but also charges 1 mana less for ability. Josh says: Borderline Bonkers (BB?) when it happens. Blizz is determined to make Beast druid good and this card is blatant in its intentions. Only trouble is finding sticky beasts for the earlier turn, but is reasonable to expect that to happen. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 4 Moonglade Portal Scott says: I’m not a fan of most of these portals. The health is fine, and the minion is fine, I guess. But meh. Josh says: The “free” health is nice when you’re getting rushed down, but doesn’t usually help you win. That summoned minion is same-cost, randomized, and doesn’t trigger Battlecry effects. I’m not excited. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 2 Hunter Cards Cat Trick Josh says: Interesting to see all the classes slowly get all of the triggers. Seems like this will be more likely to proc in the upcoming spell-heavy meta. Scott says: Not sure how I feel about this, as it saves you a mana, but at the loss of control and determinism. It does have a ‘mind games’ factor though. I think I’d rather have a 3/3 taunt as a secret trigger in many cases than the 4/2 stealth, as the 3/3 taunt can more actively disrupt their plans. Seems like this most wants to be in an aggro deck. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 3 Cloaked Huntress Josh says: Secret Paladin’s baby sister isn’t going to win awards like her big bro. Dumping secrets out of your hand isn’t always a smart move. They don’t combo as well as Paladin or Mage secrets. Scott says: Sure it synergizes with secrets, but I’d usually rather have more oomph than cheaper secret cost. This really only buys you tempo, so it implies it wants to be in a faster-paced deck. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Kindly Grandmother Josh says: I really doubt this card’s longterm appeal. Twilight Summoner gave you 5/5 for 4 to make up for the slowness. Here, you’re just waiting to get less than what you paid for in the first place. Scott says: Yeah, this isn’t great. Both forms are beasts, so that’s something. Seems like it wants to be in a horde and/or beast deck. Seems a bit better than a 3/2 on its own, plus it’s got synergy potential. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Mage Cards Babbling Book Scott says: Josh has a good bead on this. It may be possible to leverage synergies somehow, but by default, you shouldn’t be sacrificing control of the cards in your deck just so you can cast a 1/1 for 1. Josh says: This seems like a trap. If you want mage spells, put one in your deck instead of this card. The 1/1 won’t do much and you’re likely to get a sub-optimal spell. Not much else for Mage to do on Turn 1 atm, but that doesn’t make this card good — it just means it’s likely to get replaced when good Turn-1 options exist. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 2 Medivh’s Valet Scott says: Again, I find myself agreeing with Josh. 3 targeted damage is very good, but it means you’ll need to wait until later in the game to cast this. You can always cast it early in a pinch, but how often will you know you’re in a pinch on turn 2? Josh says: Interesting. Obviously this guy wants to get played on Not-Turn-2. Insane value, but do cards like this typically win out over just a solid card that uses the full mana of the turn it’s meant to be played on? Seems like maybe it works well in spell Mage, who wants to have some mana leftover for a spell each turn? Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 4 Firelands Portal Scott says: Probably my favorite of the portals, but that’s not saying much. Feels especially good in arena. Josh says: Tempo king. It’s slow, but it’s worth the wait. It counts as a spell in decks that want only spells, and provides a solid minion option to that deck. Unlike healing, this is almost a guaranteed 2-for-1 with the flexibility to go face if needed. Arena Score: 4 Constructed Score: 4 Paladin Cards Nightbane Templar Scott says: If you’re in a dragon deck, it’s pretty good. Otherwise it’s not. Probably fine. Works in a menagerie deck. Josh says: Haha “Probably fine” is the perfect phrase for this. Standard risk-reward payoffs. Nothing special here. Could replace the Blackwing Technician (once it cycles out). Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 3 Silvermoon Portal Scott says: I’d much rather have Blessing of Kings. Josh says: No thanks. You’re breaking even on vanilla stats. +2/2 gets “charge” BUT the summoned minion gets no battlecry — seems like a wash, leaving it as a randomized Chillwind Yeti. I want more nowadays. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 1 Ivory Knight Scott says: This one has found a home in control paladin decks. A very solid mana sink near the end of the game, where the player with the biggest punches left in their hand often take control of the game. Josh says: I was fairly confident this card is bad — just like a lot of Paladin spells, but I have to admit it’s looking good in practice. Discover is significantly better than a random card, and I underestimated how often you’ll get at least one good option offered to you. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 4 Priest Cards Purify Josh says: I don’t think this card is quite as bad as the ragers are saying, but I agree it’s weak. I would love to see this at 1-cost, but there are some fun synergies! Scott says: Agreed — cost should be 1. Does nothing on its own and has limited, very specific targets (who suffer if they don’t get this card comboed with them). Not sure why anyone would add this to a deck they want to win with. Arena Score: NOT DRAFTABLE Constructed Score: 2 Priest of the Feast Josh says: Sub-par vanilla stats and a lame effect. Pass! Scott says: Good vanilla stats and a decent effect for free! Take! Arena Score: 4 Constructed Score: 3 Onyx Bishop Josh says: I think this effect is EXTREMELY underrated (second-most underrated in the game). This guy’s a little clunky because he actually works against his own effect (the strength of spell cards like this is that they don’t dilute the pool of targets when played). Still, very solid. Only needs to grab a vanilla 2/2 to break even on stats. Needs to only get a 2/3 to be “good” — in the right decks, should almost always get WAY more than that. Scott says: This effect generally gets better when cast later in the game, since you can get back more expensive minions. Isn’t great on minions w/ Battlecry. Seems solid. Arena Score: 4 Constructed Score: 5 Rogue Cards Swashburglar Scott says: Great fun factor, but not great value. It’s nearly impossible to synergize w/ a random card, though class cards are above-average. Still, I think a random mage spell (in a mage deck) is better than a random class card in a rogue deck. Pirate synergy may help a little. Josh says: I inititally liked this card more than Babbling Book, because this at least lets you do something you can’t at deck-creation. But I think you’re right. Combo synergy helps some, especially in Arena. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 1 Deadly Fork Scott says: 2 overcosted cards in 1. Has some synergy potential, but not great. Josh says: The 3-cost on the weapon that goes into your hand killed my enthusiasm for this guy. Still cool idea, but demands both your Turns 3 and 4. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 2 Ethereal Peddler Scott says: I love the idea, and I hope it’s fleshed out more soon. But right there I just don’t think there’s enough synergy to warrant this, and that cards that give you random class cards just aren’t very good on their own. So this is really just a vanilla card with minor added value in a bad deck archetype. Josh says: I have many conflicting emotions. It looks bad, but Blizzard is pushing the Burgle archetype pretty heavily. Maybe they seem some potential that I’m missing?. At its worst, it at least has solid vanilla stats. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Shaman Cards Spirit Claws Scott says: 3/3 weapon for 1 is seriously intense. But folks don’t generally play spell damage anymore. So this is pushed to encourage that. And Shaman is a place where spell damage is better than most anyway. Josh says: Heart attack. I’m in love. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 5 Maelstrom Portal Scott says: They just out-maged mages. Weird. A good value, but low impact. Gets much better in the spell damage deck they’re trying to promote. Josh says: I think this up for debate as the best portal in the set, with Firelands Portal. Shaman will have a kickass spell power deck, and this is a key part. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 4 Wicked Witchdoctor Scott says: Works well in totem or hoard decks, or any deck w/ Thing from Below. Might also be good in heavy spell (and spell damage?) decks, as you could get extra air totems. Basic totems generally aren’t very good, and these could clog your board for better or worse. Josh says: Plays well in the totem deck, for sure. Allowing duplicates of basic totems is a unique feature that does have some potential. Only needs one proc to pay for itself. Seems good. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 4 Warlock Cards Malchezaar’s Imp Josh says: I want to believe in this caryou can’t expect to get more than one turn with it. Seems like it could trick you into putting sub-optimal cards in your deck, so have to be smart when deckbuilding. That said, opens some cool Zoo variants and only asks for 1 mana. Scott says: Is this effect better than taunt? Maybe in a discard deck, if that’s actually a thing. And it seems it might be. Discard Warlock could always hit fast and hard, but ran out of juice quickly. Effects like this may dampen that. A turn 2 Darkshire Librarian or Succubus after a Turn 1 Malchezaar’s Imp seems pretty good. And if you discard a Silverware Golem, fuggetaboutit. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 4 Silverware Golem Josh says: I have a hard time coming up with reasons to need this in my discard deck that aren’t best-case scenarios relying on some good RNG. Discard deck has me nervous, and the payoff doesn’t seem that huge to me. Maybe in zoo? Scott says: Hard to say how often this will proc. Clearly it only wants to be in a discard deck, but even then, how often will it do what it’s trying to do? Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 3 Kara Khazam Josh says: Sometimes I confused “bad” with “boring”. This card isn’t bad, right? It’s just sooo boring. Scott says: Seems pretty solid to me. 6/6 of stats for 5 mana across 3 bodies. If you’re playing Hordelock or maybe even zoo, this seems like a good addition. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Warrior Cards Protect the King! Josh says: I’ve had a rollercoaster of emotions with this one. Seemed great at first. Lots of stats. But can never outpace the opponent, is constrained by board limit, and will likely give them great trade opportunities. I think it’s bad? Scott says: I want to live the Bolster dream! Outside of that, though, I’m not sure it does what Warrior is trying to do. You can’t put this in a deck w/ whirlwind effects. Has some good synergies w/ cards like Frothing Berserker, Cult Master, King’s Defender, etc. Maybe would go well in an aggro deck if you want to protect your charge guys for another turn? Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Fool’s Bane Josh says: Violet Illusionist’s BFF. That turn-8 combo is going to be SOOOO FUN. Outside of that synergy, This is a dangerous weapon in reckless hands. Perfect name! Scott says: I think I’d rather have an Arcanite Reaper? This is clearly good for control, but I’m not sure it’s great if you’re behind (unless you have Violet Illusionist.) Upgrade is pretty solid on this one! Arena Score: 5 Constructed Score: 3 Ironforge Portal Josh says: I’m bored. This is boring. You’re boring, Zoidberg! Scott says: Boo this card! Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 1 Community Questions: Buying the new Adventure iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. We talk about it on the show.  Farewell Follow Scott on Twitter! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Scott is on the show this week Topic: Karazhan Neutral Card reviews! Reasons to be happy this week News: Karazhan is out! Review Scoring Guide (NEW!) 0 = Awful, unplayable (Runic Egg, Poison Seeds) 1 = Underpowered, but it could work out (Dust Devil, Corruption) 2 = Acceptable backup plan or niche filler (Crazed Alchemist, Shadow Bolt) 3 = Solid value (Senjin Shieldmasta, Assassinate) 4 = Great, with lots of upside (Animal Companion, Fireball) 5 = So good you always have to play it (Tirion Fordring, Call of the Wild) Neutral Cards – Common Arcane Anomaly Scott says: Low-impact. If I’m going to play a 1-drop minion, I want it to have more impact or at least some synergy. A (very) poor man’s Mana Wyrm Josh says: I’ll go one step further: this is bad. Very high-risk (dies to half the hero powers), very low-reward (2-damage yawn). Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 3 Runic Egg Josh says: I wouldn’t play this for 0 mana, and would have to think about it at -1 mana. Scott says: I don’t get it. At best, I work hard to get it to… Almost break even? I get my card back, but not my mana or those few minutes of my life. Arena Score: 0 Constructed Score: 0 Netherspite Historian Scott says: In a dragon deck, seems really good. Small mana premium for the ability, but huge upside. And a Neutral! This feels pushed to keep Dragon decks relevant. Josh says: Deceptively strong. Always have to think about what you’re drawing with Discover. Dragons tend to be big, very strong, and often unique. Late-game gold. Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 4 Pompous Thespian Josh says: Can trade up, but will most often just break even or a little under. Seems like solid vanilla. Scott says: Agreed. Solid vanilla. From a strictly stats perspective, I feel like it’s a good value. But from a configuration perspective, not as much. Less than the sum of its parts. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 1 Pantry Spider Scott says: Beast keyword helps it. Some decks just want lots of minions, and this gets there. Low-impact, but good for beast and/or swarm decks. Josh says: I can’t follow you into this charge, Scott. 1-attack is just so underwhelming. You’ll likely trade both into the same minion just to deal 2 damage. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Violet Illusionist Josh says: Extremely interesting in Warrior control/attrition. Guaranteed one effect, and that’s all it takes to make it worthwhile. Lots of upside. Scott says: Agreed. Warlock can get some mileage from him too. In a self-harm warlock deck, he might actually make a big difference. Not sure it’ll see much play, but should always prevent a few damage over the course of a game in the right deck. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 3 Zoobot Scott says: This card may skate under the radar, but has the potential to provide the overlooked value of a card like Houndmaster. It is a bit win-more, as you’re more likely to have more minions when you’re ahead. Feels like a rare case of a strong archetype anchor in neutral. It’s hilarious that it’s a mech. Josh says: Deceptively strong. Think it will do well in any murloc, Dragon, or beast deck — particular zoo/aggro. One proc is good enough. Shattered Sun Cleric for the modern meta. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 4 Arcanosmith Josh says: Am I wrong for preferring to just get a 3/5 body with taunt at this cost(Sen’jin Shieldmasta)? The 0/5 taunt feels like a throwaway. Scott says: Hard to know how to judge this. Decks that want lots of minions will likely prefer this. And while the 0/5 will fall over quickly, the 3/2 can survive to attack. Strangely, I think this is an aggro-leaning taunt card. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 2 Menagerie Magician Scott says: This is hard to evaluate. If you have coverage of 2 of the types, this is really, really good. But that’s a pretty tall order. Getting coverage of 1 type will be the most common scenario, and you may need to work a bit to even get that. Higher cost also means harder to combo. It’s also a little bit of a win-more card, since you’re more likely to have more cards on the table if you’re ahead. Josh says: I agree. This sort of effect has diminishing effects as you get higher up the cost scale. Getting 2 bonus stats is less impressive when you paid 5 instead of 3. The penalty for whiffing is higher, AND you’re going to run into a lot of competition for top-notch dragons and beasts up in this cost range! Zoobot is better. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 2 Neutral Cards – Rare Avian Watcher Scott says: You’d better be playing a secret-heavy deck if you’re playing this card. Just plain bad if it doesn’t trigger. Josh says: Seems like a really low payoff (slightly above vanilla) for something that’s hard to guarantee outside of Ice Block. Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 3 Book Wyrm Josh says: As a rule, I generally dislike cards with 2 conditionals — especially if you can’t control one of them. That said, it’s similar to Stampeding Kodo, which saw high-level play despite hitting smaller targets and being random. There’s gotta be more potential here than I’m seeing. Scott says: This charges you 2 mana for the ability, so it’d better fire with a worthwhile target to be worth it. Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 3 Moat Lurker Scott says: I love the versatility of this ability, but it comes at a huuuuge cost premium (3.5 mana). Most at home with deathrattle minions and shenanigans. (Cairne, Sylvanas, N’Zoth, Ancestral Spirit, Princess Huhuran.) Dat cost premium tho. Josh says: Brilliant fun. So many potential uses for defense and offense. Works as a “heal” like Evolve does. But I agree that it’s too risky. It’s easy for me to best-case-scenario this, but when it comes to actually building a deck, I’ve found that I’m consistently avoiding it. Arena Score: 2 Constructed Score: 3 Neutral Cards – Epic Arcane Giant Scott says: Requires a very high spell density to be good, and even then, only in the later game. Can’t really be cheated out early like some other minions. You’re casting it late no matter what — the only question is whether you saved some mana. Josh says: Mages just got a little more obnoxious. This guy is a powerhouse minion that gives massive late-game oomf to the spell-heavy decks like mage. The big difference between this and other big 8/8s is that you can cast a bunch of spells AND play this for 0 on the same turn to keep up tempo. Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 4 Neutral Cards – Legendary Moroes Scott says: I really want to like this guy, but he’s got a lot going against him. Must survive 3+ turns to turn a profit, and that’s a bit of a danger sign. Good luck playing against warrior. Josh says: Fun idea, but there are enough AOE/randomized pings to make me steer clear. (Fun fact: he was undead in the raid, but alive here. WHAT HAPPENED?) Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 1 Barnes Josh says: Worst case: 4/5 for 4 across 2 bodies. Best case is near-instant-win. Sylvanas, Tirion, Northshire Cleric. Grabbing anything with deathrattle or a passive effect makes this card insane value. There is so much strategy and fun packed into this card, I think it’s the high-water mark for design in this set. Scott says: Priest and Rogue both have fun decks that work well with it. You need to be careful about what you put into the deck, though. Lots of room for fun shenanigans. And maybe a use for Purify since you can silence these to restore their full stats? Arena Score: 4 Constructed Score: 5 Prince Malchezaar Scott says: Pure vanilla stats, so his ability is ‘free’. The question is: Is the ability a net positive? In Arena, likely yes. In Constructed, likely no. I will say, if people like Elise so much, why wouldn’t Machezaar be better? (I think neither is good.) Josh says: Awful. Dilutes the card pool, and there are a LOT of bad Legendaries. This card is for the dust-poor who simply must play every Legendary before they die. Elise doesn’t dilute your card pool or strip out your chosen cards until AFTER the payoff hits with the giant taunt monkey idol gold thingy. This guy sabotages your deck before the game even starts. It has all the downsides of Elise without any reliable upside. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 1 The Curator Josh says: How many does he have to draw before you’re happy? I could see a two-tribe deck working well (beast druid with some high-end dragons?) and loving this card. Gotta use it like King’s Elekk in Yogg’n’Load to draw specific targets from a very limited pool of options in your deck. Scott says: 2 mana premium for the ability. Agreed that 2-tribe is probably enough. I could see putting Murloc Knights or Sir Finley in the right deck too. I wonder how much natural coverage you’d get in an average arena deck without trying. Arena Score: 1 Constructed Score: 3 Medivh, the Guardian Scott says: The staff is pretty cool, and I love that they finally gave non-weapon classes something to do with their weapon slot. Could work well in Rogue? Not sure how good it’ll be. Seems much better in Arena. Josh says: Cool effect, but is definitely slow. Can tempo mage afford to take a slow turn after they’ve built up an advantage in the early and mid game? With Arcane Golem, there are some fun incentives for something like Freeze mage to try to end via huge creatures at the end. Arena Score: 3 Constructed Score: 4 Community Questions: Buying the new Adventure iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. We talk about it on the show. Farewell Follow Scott on Twitter! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Ryan is on the show this week Topic: How to win Arena Reasons to be happy this week News: One Night in Karazhan!!! Our Previous Arena Guide Episode 52, almost exactly one year ago Was focused on basic tips and general strategy and advice. Most of it is still extremely relevant today. 7 wins let you play infinitely for free. Choose your most comfortable class (when in doubt: Mage, Paladin, Priest) For your first 10 picks, just take the best cards regardless of mana Arena meta was aggressive, so 1-drop and 2-drops were very important You can’t have too many removal spells, and you always want 2-3 AOEs Watch your opponent’s mulligan to make better choices with yours How to use the Coin in early-game When to face and when to trade State of the Arena in 2016 Releases since the last update: The Grand Tournament, League of Explorers, Whispers of the Old Gods Mechanics since the last update: Inspire, Joust, Discover. C’thun and his cultists are excluded from Arena. Game system updates: Reveal of the increased chance to be offered class cards and cards for the newest set. Your newest class cards will always be offered most. Draft guarantees Rare or better on picks 1/10/20/30. The odds of being offered Epic or Legendary choices are very low (10%/2%). Meta Report: Meta is shaped by newest Neutral Commons and Class Commons. Old Gods meta is SLOW b/c of addition of good neutral taunts (Infested Tauren, Psychotron, Bog Creeper). One or two of these will usually stall out aggro decks. Additionally, OG neutral cards aren’t that aggressive in nature. Meta will naturally become faster in next Adventure by removal of OG offering bonus. Enchanted Raven may be enough to move Druid to top 3. Best classes right now: Mage and Rogue. Consistency is why: they have the best hero powers and best basic class cards and OG common class cards. Mage: Twilight Flamecallerand Faceless Summoner. Rogue: Shadow Strike and Southsea Squidface. Worst classes right now: Priest and Hunter. Worst hero powers (along with Warrior), in that they don’t impact the board directly. Their strong cards are too reliant on synergy to succeed. OG common class cards. Priest: Darkshire Alchemist and Hooded Acolyte is N/A because it’s a C’thun card. Hunter: Fiery Bat and Carrion Grub Arena Warriors got big love after being in an awful place for a long time, with N’zoth’s First Mate and Ravaging Ghoul. The Best Classes in Arena From best (Mage) to worst (Priest). You should pick the highest class on this list, if you feel comfortable playing all of them. Mage Rogue Warlock Shaman Warrior Paladin Druid Hunter Priest The Best Arena Strategies for Each Class Druid: Tempo/Mid, Removal, Buffs, Beasts Hunter: Aggro/Tempo, Charge, Damage, Beasts Mage: Tempo/Mid/Control, Removal, MOST FLEXIBLE Paladin: Mid/Tempo/Control, Weapons, Buffs Priest: Tempo/Control, Removal, Buffs, Taunts Rogue: Tempo/Mid, Removal, VERY FLEXIBLE Shaman: Tempo/Mid, Removal, Totem, Buff, Evolve Warlock: Aggro/Tempo, ZOO! Warrior: Mid/Control, Weapons, Taunts, Removal The Best Arena Cards for Each Class If every class card was offered on pick 1, which card should you take? Druid Basic/Common: Swipe Rare: Savage Combatant Hunter Basic/Common: Glaivezooka Rare: Savannah Highmane Mage Basic/Common: Ethereal Conjurer or Flamestrike Rare: Flamewaker Paladin Basic/Common: Keeper of Uldaman Rare: Muster for Battle Priest Basic/Common: Velen’s Chosen Rare: Auchenai Soulpriest Rogue Basic/Common: Sap Rare: SI:7 Agent or Dark Iron Skulker Shaman Basic/Common: Fire Elemental Rare: Master of Evolution or Lightning Storm Warlock Basic/Common: Imp Gang Boss Rare: Imp-losion Warrior Basic/Common: Fiery War Axe Rare: Frothing Berserker The Best Neutral Arena Cards If every neutral card was offered to you on Turn 1, and you only know what type of deck you hope to make, which do you take? Aggro Basic/Common: Bog Creeper Rare: Sludge Belcher Mid-Range Basic/Common: Dark Iron Dwarf Rare: Bomb Lobber Control Basic/Common: Haunted Creeper Rare: Defender of Argus Attrition Basic/Common: North Sea Kraken Rare: Sunwalker Bonus Arena Tips Draw first. Always. When to face and when to trade: “Once you run out of good trades, go face” – Merps 2016 Dilution of the card pool over time and the lessening likelihood of removal. (Lots of good stuff that’d take way to long to type up here — listen to the show!) Check out the Lightforge Tier List Listen to the Lightforge podcast! Community Questions: Buying the new Adventure iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week Farewell Follow Ryan on Twitter! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Tony is on the show this week Topic: Deck battle! Reasons to be happy this week News: None. There is no news. Nothing happened. At all. What is a Deck Challenge? 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 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: Craig’s Dragon Priest deck puts an aggressive twist on the standard control class.Challenger Deck: Tony’s Yogg-Saron Hunter goes for the unconventional win. Tony’s Yogg-Saron Hunter Deck Creatures 1x King’s Elekk: Effectively doubles your chance of drawing Yogg-Saron and gives some minor Beast synergy. 1x Yogg Saron, Hope’s End: Saves your bacon in unwinnable games. The king of RNG. Spells 2x Hunter’s Mark: Efficient removal, combos nicely with On the Hunt, Explosive Trap, and Quick Shot. 2x On the Hunt: A bit of removal, a Beast, and Hunter’s Mark’s best friend. 2x Bear Trap: Gives you a minion, pumps up Eaglehorn Bow, and has Beast synergy. 2x Explosive Trap: The only AoE spell in the deck, necessary to hold Aggro decks at bay. 2x Freezing Trap: Great for eliminating beefy minions, especially 9 and 10 mana minions. 2x Lock and Load: Card draw AND gives you minions, usually Beasts. 2x Quick Shot: Removal. Basically Hunter’s version of Frostbolt. 2x Snipe: More removal, almost always a surprise, and it pumps Eaglehorn Bow. Hunter’s version of Flame Cannon. 2x Eaglehorn Bow: The key to the deck and your most efficient way to control the board and hit an opponent. 2x Animal Companion: Gives you a Beast, but doesn’t impact Elekk’s search effect and pumps up Yogg-Saron. 2x Deadly Shot: Usually kills any minion, especially with other removal in the deck. 2x Kill Command: Hunter’s Fireball and great removal with 1 Beast and 10 spells that generate Beasts. 2x Unleash the Hounds: Not exactly AoE, but close; good counter to Zoo. 2x Call of the Wild: The deck’s true finisher. Substitutes In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back-ups and alterations you can use, which all keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck. Tracking: Almost, sorta card draw in Hunter. Not in the deck because it could get rid of Yogg, Call of the Wild, or Eaglehorn Bow. Maybe include one. Multi-Shot: Very situational, but can be a game breaker. Not great with tons of removal. Gladiator’s Longbow: A great control card, a bit pricey and can conflict with lots of extra durability on Eaglehorn Bow. Emperor Thaurissan: Probably should be in the deck; makes Lock and Load better. Makes Elekk worse. Harrison Jones: In a weapon heavy meta, quite good but adds inconsistency. Arcane Shot: More removal, good with Lock and Load. Snake Trap: So many beasts packed into one spell! The Duel Community The awesome stats site that Tony mentioned on the show, Vicious Syndicate Questions: Emotes, Tavern Brawls iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week Farewell Follow Tony on YouTube, listen to his podcast, and check out his blog! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Zerotio is on the show this week Topic: How to adjust to the meta Reasons to be happy this week News: None. There is no news. Nothing happened. At all. What is the Meta? Definition of Meta What makes the meta change? Why is it important to adapt to the meta? Do you HAVE to adapt to the meta? Casual vs. Ranked play vs. Pro play How do you Identify What the Meta Is Currently? Sites like TempoStorm Meta Snapshot and Hearthpwn What you’re facing most often in game Is the Meta what’s popular or what’s strong? (Is there a difference? Example: Cthun decks right after release) Does this mean that Ranked 20s have a different meta than Legendaries? Adapt: Beat Em’ or Join Em? Knowing when to join the Meta and when to counter it Identifying how to Counter the meta Adapt: Identifying Burn Out and Tilt Knowing when to take a break or modify your deck for the Meta Finding a way to handle Burn Out Deciding if a Play Schedule is right for you Identifying if you are making misplays or just getting bad match ups Tips for identifying Misplays or Bad Matchup Adapt: Keep the game fun by creating your own Meta Design unexpected decks to play on the ladder. The element of surprise can be fun and profitable on the ladder Note: These decks usually don’t hold a win streak, once people realize the “Win Condition”. Keep it ever changing and unpredictable Priest is a good Class for this type of deck. Community Questions: Deck trackers, Deck recipes iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week Farewell Follow Zerotio on Twitter and listen to his amazing podcast, Hero Power! What do you want to see in future episodes?

Hello! Craig is on the show this week Topic: Deck Battle! Reasons to be happy this week News: Dreamhack 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: Chris’ Warlock Dreadsteed deck just earned its spot on the throne in the previous episode and faces its first challenger today! Challenger Deck: Craig’s Dragon Priest Deck puts an aggressive twist on the standard control class. Creatures 2x Northshire Cleric 2x Twilight Whelp 1x Museum Curator 2x Wyrmrest Agent 1x Blackwing Technician 2x Auchenai Soulpriest 2x Twilight Guardian 2x Azure Drake 2x Blackwing Corruptor 1x Justicar Trueheart 1x Sylvanas Windrunner 1x Chromaggus 1x Ysera Spells 2x Circle of Healing 2x Power Word: Shield 2x Shadow Word: Pain 1x Shadow Word: Death 1x Shadow Madness 1x Holy Nova 1x Entomb Substitutes In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back-ups and alterations you can use, which all keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck. Mass Dispell Holy smite Thoughtsteal Elise Starseeker Shifting shade Excavated Evil Harrison Jones Nefarian Cabal Shadow Priest The Duel Josh’s Perspective Craig’s Perspective (No Audio) Community Questions: Classic Legendaries, Wild Mode iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week Farewell Contact Craig and get inspired by his fitness journey on his blog! What do you want to see in future episodes?   DECK GUIDE: Are you ready to have your face mauled by angry dragons? Doesn’t sound pleasant, does it? Maybe you should just play this deck so you’re the one doing the face-mauling! Note from Josh: The rest of this article was written by Craig. Thanks! Dragon Priest A lot of Priest decks tend towards the control side of the spectrum, but I like decks that get started quickly. So this Dragon Priest deck has a hint of aggro in it that lets it race out against control and out-punch another aggro deck thanks to its Taunts and heals. Minions Northshire Cleric: Decent stats for a 1-drop, and the incredible potential of the card-draw effect that even your opponents can unwillingly trigger makes this card high value. Twilight Whelp: Sometimes Zombie chow, sometimes Worgen Infiltrator, many times best held to enable dragon synergy in mid to late game. Museum Curator: The discover mechanic is great for Hearthstone. Giving a random choice allows you to mold each game according to your needs. I swap between this card and Shadow Word: Pain based on the relative speed of the meta. Wyrmrest Agent: The best proactive turn-2 play in any priest deck, this card enables the deck to show presence early and compete against zoo and aggro for board control. Blackwing Technician: Playing a 3/5 on turn 3 is better than playing one on turn 4, this is an “it’ll do” card not so much a strong contributor in this slot. Auchenai Soulpriest: Here to make up for the loss of Light Bomb, Auchenai offers AoE, unexpected burst potential and increased potency for board control. Twilight Guardian: A 3/6 with taunt is a good friend to any priest. Azure Drake: 3 damage Holy Novas are really strong. Keep in mind that when healing is converted to damage, spell damage is also included. Auchenei Soulpriest + Azure Drake + Circle of Healing does 5 damage. Blackwing Corruptor: Cheaper, slightly weaker Fire Elemental? Yes please. Justicar Trueheart: When the game goes into extra innings, the increased healing on your basic hero power is a great way to keep your minions and yourself in the mix. Sylvanas Windrunner: Make their late game into YOUR late game! A pro-active option to confuse the board for your opponent and much stronger in a meta with less silence options. Chromaggus: A refuelling tool for slower match ups. Ysera: The strongest dragon in the deck. Many games she’ll just activate your other options, but sometimes she’s your only option for a chance to win and the ruler of the dreamworld delivers. Spells Circle of Healing: This is here to replace Velen’s Chosen by restoring lost stats instead of buffing. Great synergy with Northshire and Auchenei. Power Word: Shield: Excellent card that allows cycle and draw in one step. Shadow Word: Pain: The flexible nature and low cost of this removal card is great, there are very few decks that avoid providing worthy targets. Shadow Word: Death: BGH without the minion, flexible removal. This is a strong card. Shadow Madness: An interesting removal tool that uses the priest mechanic of turning your opponent’s strength against them. Holy Nova: When your minions take a bruising early, this spell and Circle of Healing keeps them going, and can keep your hand filled with Northshire Cleric. Entomb: Make their late game, YOUR late game (again)! The Substitutes Mass Dispell: A subjective inclusion. AoE silence can be very strong for maintaining or establishing board control against sticky creatures. Holy Smite: Flexible as damage or removal of early minions. Shadow word pain is more flexible, so slot this in when having trouble with fast starts Thoughtsteal: For a meta of slower opponents, “borrowing” resources from your opponent can give you insight into their strategies, and add more value to your deck. Elise Starseeker: Useful against much slower decks to provide more threats in heavier control matches Shifting shade: Like Thoughtsteal, this card gets you a peek in your opponents deck and value to add to your list. Excavated Evil: Great against “flood” decks, a reasonable alternative to the Auchenai circle combo. Harrison Jones: An excellent tool against Shamans and Warriors, less consistent against Hunters. Try to aim for buffed weapons with Rogues. Nefarian: A Ysera alternate. Nefarian produces immediate value with the spells, while being a threatening minion. Cabal Shadow Priest: With the nerf to Keeper of the Grove, and loss of Shrinkmeister, there are less minds to change these days, but Cabal is still a great value when you land the battle cry on a good minion.  

Hello! Scott is on the show this week Topic: Whispers of the Old Gods Review (Neutral) Reasons to be happy this week News: Whispers of the Old Gods! The Review Format We want to give real, valuable insight into the cards we talk about, but there are too many cards in an expansion to do that for every one. So we picked the ones that we think are most important to talk about. This week we’re covering all of the neutral cards Look at each rarity level separately: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary For each tier, each host chooses: The best card to CRAFT, DRAFT, and DUST Next episode: Class cards! Druid Best to Craft Fandral Staghelm Scott says: Druid did really well in this set, but Fandral is a really fun card that can be quite good. It was fun using Raven Idols to discover a minion and draw another Raven Idol for one mana! Power of the Wild gives you a 4/3 panther and +1/+1 to all your other minions for 2 mana. Wisps of the Old Gods fills your boards with 3/3s and buffs existing minions for 7 mana. Ancient of War becomes a 10/10 taunt for 7. And so on. Josh says: Yeah, so many of the choose one cards are high-cost, which means you’re getting a lot for free. You only need one proc for this guy to be insane value. Best to Draft Mire Keeper Scott says: I usually chose the 2/2 token, giving me 5/5 across 2 bodies for 4 mana. But if I have an expensive hand, I can always ramp myself by giving me an extra crystal instead. Good options, good efficiency, and good versatility. Josh says: Yeah, one of the prized Choose-One cards where both options are actually above-value. You’ll always be happy to play one of them. Best to Dust Feral Rage Scott says: I wouldn’t put a 4/1 weapon for 3 in my deck, nor an 8 armor spell for 3 in a class w/ no armor synergy. Giving myself the choice between them doesn’t help. Josh says: My ELO is pretty garbage, but I got super confused when I kept seeing this card played against me. Thank you for making me feel less crazy and confirming that this is just an awful card. Hunter Best to Craft Princess Huhuran Josh says: I opened it. I love it. Already a top-notch body (seems 6/5 is more popular than 5/6 right now), and the proc is incredibly unexpected and powerful. Scott says: Yeah, it’s a pretty cool effect, though its cost means most of the time you’ll need the card you’re activating to have lived a turn. With Feign Death gone, this is the next best thing. Best to Draft Giant Sand Worm Josh says: Gobble gobble gobble. All these minions taste so good! Combo with charge for an instant AOE. Guaranteed 2-for-1 if they don’t have hard removal. Scott says: Kill the small stuff first, adding up to 7 attack, then attack their biggest minion last for maximum control impact. Or maybe do some select removal, then punch face making your opponent kill it on their turn. Helps a bit that it’s a beast — this and Princess Huhuran are a big buff to Ram Wrangler. Best to Dust Carrion Grub Josh says: Hunter got great cards this time around. I’d happily take any of them. The worst thing about this guy is that he’s boring. He’ll do fine in a control deck, but I’d rather take something similar with Taunt in that case. Scott says: Agreed. Stats are fine, but it’s a class card so I’d expect more. By that measure, it’s fairly bad. I don’t know why anyone would put this in a deck, other than to target w/ Houndmaster. Mage Best to Craft Faceless Summoner Josh says: 8 mana value in two bodies for only 6 mana? I think the two-bodies part immediately off-sets the random downside, so this is pure mathematical value. Scott says: Not bad, and good if you want multiple bodies. But you don’t really know where your 3 mana is going to go. Could be invested in Battlecry or synergy effects you don’t support. Best to Draft Cabalist’s Tome Josh says: Fact: Every mage loves spells. This card gives you so many spells you’ll weep with joy. BlizzPro put together an awesome infographic about this card that explains what you’re likely to get out of it: http://hearthstone.blizzpro.com/2016/05/05/cabalists-tome-infographic/ . It’s particularly good in Arena, where it’ll give you a second chance to get the high-rarity spells you were never offered during the draft. Scott says: Agreed, Arena’s the place it’s most likely to shine. 10% chance you’ll get a specific named card, including Cabalist’s Tome. Just sayin’. Best to Dust Servant of Yogg-Saron Josh says: Mage might’ve gotten the best class cards in the whole expansion. I mean this card isn’t even ALWAYS bad, but it’s the worst option here. It will often be a good value, but the uncertainty puts it below all of the other always-great cards Mages got. Scott says: You’re paying 1 extra mana for a random not-huge spell with a random target. Some spells (secrets, Arcane Intellect) will always benefit you. Others could hurt you. Lots of fun will ensue, but isn’t necessarily good. Paladin Best to Craft Ragnaros, Lightlord Scott says: He’s no Tirion, but then again, who is? An 8/8 for 8 that heals for 8 each turn isn’t bad. And unlike the original Ragnaros, you can attack the target of your choice with him. Josh says: This card blew my mind when it first dropped on the board against me. He’s a huge body that throws out huge heals AND he can attack? Out of control! Best to Draft Steward of Darkshire Scott says: The key word here is “summon.” This doesn’t just apply to minions you cast directly — it applies to tokens created from your hero power, spells, and other minions. Combine with Stand Against Darkness (a latest-set common) for good effect! Josh says: You and your crazy token decks! And don’t pretend you’re not salivating over the combo with Redemption — I know you love that card! Best to Dust Forbidden Healing Scott says: Pure healing cards are always a hard sell. This isn’t really any different. Josh says: In the right meta (aka molasses-slow like our current one) I really like running one copy of this card. It fills the mana curve if you’re desperate early and is a 20-health heal late game if you’re desperate late. Priest Best to Craft Darkshire Alchemist Josh says: Healing on Priest cards is like Armor on Warrior cards — it’s actually stronger than you’d judge it on a neutral minion because of all the potential synergy the class has with it. No caveats, no conditions. This is just a great, always-decent value card for priest control decks. Scott says: Yup. Also goes well in an Auchenai deck since you can target friendly stuff or enemy stuff as appropriate. This is like casting 1.4 Earthen Ring Farseers at once (minus one stat point). Best to Draft Shifting Shade Josh says: The health is a liability and he’s likely to trade with a 2-cost or 3-cost minion if the board isn’t empty when you play him, but I’ve paid higher prices for a cantrip effect. I look at this as a more pro-active Thoughtsteal (will likely trade for 1 card to make up for the loss of 2nd card drawn). Scott says: This card seems fine, especially in Arena where people generally aren’t picking synergy-related cards. My biggest complaint is that I can’t figure out any way to get synergy out of these effects. Best to Dust Power Word: Tentacles Josh says: There’s like 4 cards in the game that make this spell worthwhile, and most good decks aren’t running any of them. Velen’s Chosen spoiled us with 6 stats and a perk for 3 mana, so maybe I’m over-hating on this one. Scott says: Velen’s Chosen was definitely above curve. This is definitely below curve. But I’d still happily throw it on a Northshire Cleric or Holy Champion. Not sure I like combining it w/ a minion and another spell, as 3-card combos are asking a bit much. Rogue Best to Craft Xaril, Poisoned Mind Josh says: Hope you like spending dust, because Miracle Rogue just got another must-have Legendary! Paying 1 mana and some change for the Toxin card, but the cards are all so good! And they proc Combo! Scott says: Overall, the poisons are definitely better than Spare Parts. But they’re more expensive, since you’re also paying a premium for them on Xaril’s cost as well. While there are Battlecry and Deathrattle shenanigans you can pull, you only get one poison each for doing them, so the stakes are low. Best to Draft Shadow Strike Josh says: This removal has a lot of drawbacks, but you’re getting it at an insanely cheap price. In Arena, you’ll have no problem finding targets for this. And since it’s common, you’ll definitely see it! Scott says: Agreed that you’ll generally not have a problem finding a target, but you will sometimes not be able to kill what you want. It’s worth noting that it can hit your opponent’s face too, but face-damage spells when the enemy is at full hp often isn’t great. Best to Dust Bladed Cultist Josh says: Rogue has a lot of strong cards, so this is an easy pick to dust for me. If you want an early game combo trick, you already have Defias Bandit — which is a flat-out better version of this card. Scott says: Too low-impact. Its dream scenario is 2 in-hand w/ coin on turn 1. That’s not worth playing it for. Shaman Best to Craft Master of Evolution Scott says: There were a few good options, but I chose Master of Evolution. At worst, he’s a Chillwind Yeti. At best, he can heal and upgrade a giant minion while still being a Chillwind Yeti. He’s especially useful with cost-reduced minions like Thing from Below or Nerubian Prophet or Giants. Josh says: I see this guy get used on totems all the time to turn them into a real 2-mana minion. The heal effect is the most underrated aspect of this card, I think. Lots of cool synergy here — and like you said, it’s all gravy. You don’t HAVE to get a big combo for this card to pull its weight. Best to Draft Flamewreathed Faceless Scott says: This is an insanely strong card in any deck, but in arena it’s even better. No synergy necessary, though it does work well with cards that leverage and/or remove your overload. This card feels like a design mistake in that it’s just blatantly overpowered. Josh says: This guy makes me not-so-happy-hearthstone. Who thought this was okay? Those stats are absolutely bonkers. Every shaman deck simply has to run 2 copies — no excuses. Best to Dust Hallazeal the Ascended Scott says: It says something when the worst card in a class is still totally fine. Hallazeal only wants to be in spell-heavy decks. The turn he comes out he probably won’t heal you for much, but he’s a lightning rod that will probably heal for a ton the next turn if he survives. Josh says: Yeah, if you go into this card just trusting in the lightning-rod effect, I think he’s still solid, just like you said. I think he’s a bit of a trap if you’re dreaming of bigger combos. Shaman did insanely well if this is the worst they have! Warlock Best to Craft Darkshire Councilman Scott says: Wow. Only needs one activation to be balanced, and in Warlock it’s easy to massively exceed that. Works on summons, not just minions played from hand. Insanely strong. Another “What were they thinking?” card. Josh says: Yeah, this card is the scariest thing Warlocks can drop onto the board right now. I suspect we’ll get a nerf to require “playing” the unit. Best to Draft Forbidden Ritual Scott says: Paladin has Stand Against Darkness, which is 5 for 5 1/1s. This is a clear upgrade to that card as it’s configurable. Also has lots of good synergy in Warlock decks, including Darkshire Councilman. Josh says: Without Darkshire Councilman, I’d be a lot less interested in this card. Warlock doesn’t have ways to do mass buffs like Paladins do — in fact, they’re more likely to do mass AoEs that kill these little guys — so I think it’s a lot less useful in Warlock. Still, the flexibility is great. Best to Dust DOOM! Scott says: Too expensive, and your opponent gets a head start filling the board. You’ll have a ton of cards, but will you still be alive? Josh says: But I opened 3 of them, so I need it to be good! I think this card works in the right deck (lots of removal) and the right meta (uuuuber slow). I think the meta is only going to speed up from here though. Tough sell at the 10 cost, but I love the effect. They’re only playing 1 card next turn, and you’ll have 3+ to deal with it and put your own body down — I actually like those chances. Warrior Best to Craft Ancient Shieldbearer Josh says: Yes please. Shield Slam has a new best friend in C’thun decks. There’s a lot of competition for high-cost slots in the C’Thun deck, but the 7 slot is one of the most wide-open. Huge heal for 3 stats and it comes with bonus utility thanks to Warrior’s ability to combo off armor. Scott says: As pointed out last episode, survivability in C’Thun decks helps bide time until C’Thun arrives. You should have given C’Thun +4/+4 by turn 7 in a C’Thun deck, so this should pretty much always proc. Best to Draft Bloodhoof Brave Josh says: Aww, look at Tauren Warrior all grown up. I think this archetype found its sweet spot at this cost. The opponent will need to use premium removal to deal with his huge health pool. This guy will be an easy 2-for-1 against most decks in arena. Scott says: Unless he’s hit by a 6/6 or bigger, he’s a blatant upgrade to Sen’jin Shieldmasta, which is already a fine card. Gets even better with Warrior-specific Taunt and Enrage synergies. Best to Dust Tentacles for Arms Josh says: Flavor win, value loss. This card is just plain awful. I woudn’t say no to dusting that Legendary either to get 800 dust! Or those Blood Brothers… or that 1-cost bug… Geeze, Warrior actually got a lot of weak cards! Scott says: If you’re playing an extreme long-game control warrior deck, this can help you deal damage each turn, like Head Crack. It’s less expensive, too. Class Cards – Guilty Pleasures Addled Grizzly Scott says: I want to like him, but I just haven’t had very good luck w/ him. Best played on the same turn as other minions. You need to summon 2 other minions before he dies to make him profitable. At least it’s “summon” and not “play!” Josh says: The only time I’ve seen him work out is when I played against you, but I haven’t seen him much. It feels like he’ll be a key part of a token druid deck later this year. Bloodsail Cultist Josh says: She’s not my cup of tea, but we’ve got to talk about her. Instantly created a new deck type overnight. Scott says: Keep in mind it has 2 conditions: You need both a pirate and a weapon for her to do her thing. Not sure if it’s worth the effort for a free 1-cost spell or not. Forbidden Flame Josh says: I love these flexible-mana cards and even though you may sometimes be forced to overkill with this card, it’s ability to usually be exactly as powerful as you need it to makes me love it. Scott says: Hard to say how powerful this is. There will certainly be situations where it’s exactly what you want, but how many situations will you just be staring at it in your hand as an unwanted card? Eternal Sentinel Josh says: Especially after Knife Juggler got nerfed, it seems like you’d be hard-pressed to find a better 2-cost minion in Shaman tempo. Even has solid value drawn later. Scott says: Not bad, but not good either. Can sometimes have a negative cost, which is nice. You can also just play it on curve if you start the game under pressure. Undercity Huckster Josh says: I just love this card. Couldn’t beat out Xaril for the rogue craft spot, but it’s pure value and lots of fun. No deck needs him, every deck wants him — that’s my kind of card. Scott says: A good value, assuming the card you get isn’t horrible. Community Question: Should Brawls be fun and could some be permanent? iTunes Reviews Donations More info on our Donate page Bert: $50 Dan: $25 The Dust Bowl Bert: 50 Packs (Hogger Doom of Elwynn, Yogg-Saron Hope’s End, Twin Emperors) Dan: 25 Packs (Ragnaros Lightlord) Card of the Week Farewell Contact Scott on Twitter and check out his upcoming game, Plants vs. Zombies: Heroes! What you want to see in future episodes What hosts you want to visit the show

Hello! Scott is on the show this week Topic: Whispers of the Old Gods Review (Neutral) Reasons to be happy this week News: Whispers of the Old Gods! The Review Format We want to give real, valuable insight into the cards we talk about, but there are too many cards in an expansion to do that for every one. So we picked the ones that we think are most important to talk about. This week we’re covering all of the neutral cards Look at each rarity level separately: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary For each tier, each host chooses: The best card to CRAFT, DRAFT, and DUST Next episode: Class cards! Neutral Cards – Common Best to Craft Twilight Elder Josh says: Spider Tank with perks. This guy isn’t great because he’ll buff C’thun massively. He’s great because he’ll either trade well and add a few points to C’thun as gravy or (even better) draw out premium removal. The key to the late-game C’thun deck, in my experience, is to make the opponent dump their removal by the time turn 9 rolls around, leaving them with no more answers for your real threats. This guy is key to getting that started early. Scott says: A fine card, and certainly a good choice in a C’Thun deck. But this is a great example of what bores me about C’Thun decks. I wish there was more diversity in the C’Thun enablers. Psych-o-Tron Scott says: Many people have said Infested Tauren is the new Sludge Belcher, but I disagree — this card is. The whole reason Sludge Belcher was good is that he could intercept 2 attacks, regardless of how big they were. Same here. He acts like a 3/1 Taunt when his Divine shield is up, and I’m thinking having a 3/1 Taunt and a 3/4 Taunt may even be slightly better than a 3/5 Taunt and a 1/2 Taunt. Sludge Belcher isn’t gone! Josh says:I haven’t seen this card played much, but your math checks out. Do you think this is a sleeper that’ll get more popular over time? He’s definitely living up to his family’s legacy of annoying the heck out of me! Best to Draft Cult Apothecary Josh says: Solid heals in Arena at a very low premium. You’re paying 3 combat stats for a 4+ heal that only gets better as you fall behind. Scott says: Antique Healbot charged a premium of 5 stats (or 2.5 mana) for 8 heal, so you’re right — this stacks up fairly well. It will tend to be better when you’re behind and less good when you’re ahead, but that’s certainly better than the alternative. Nerubian Prophet Scott says: I think this is a deceptively good card. It thrives most in decks that are using all their mana every turn. Shaman is a prime example, as it’s full of big guys and overload. Bonus points for Evolution synergy, since his cost reverts to the full 6 mana once he’s on the board. And it’s fine even if you top-deck it in the late game, because at that point you should have the mana to spare. Josh says: I’m so glad you picked this card. I had him down in my guilty pleasures picks because I love playing him, but haven’t seen him used much. The flexibility is amazing and when you start with him in hand, it’s glorious. Best to Dust Twilight Geomancer Josh says: I’m officially over minions with 1 attack. And who wants to give C’thun Taunt anyways? The enemy board should be empty after he lands and this barely functions as a “heal 4 health” spell. Bleh. Scott says: I think it’s much better than you’re giving it credit for. It’s strictly better than Silverback Patriarch and gives C’Thun a unique ability that makes a huge difference. It’s a low-impact card, but you can’t expect that much for 2 mana. Am’gam Rager Scott says: Oh, I get it. It’s a Magma Rager backwards. Cute. But I’m still not playing it. Twilight Geomancer looks like a gold-plated MVP compared to this guy. Blizzard just threw away a card slot on this guy as a joke. Even the flavor text is in on the joke. Josh says: The only good thing I can say is that it’s probably the safest way to guarantee you have a body on your side of the board next turn, which Priest and Paladin sometimes care about. But there are soooooooo many better options for that. Neutral Cards – Rare Best to Craft Skeram Cultist Josh says: This is the perfect always-ready 6-drop in a C’thun deck. The other 6 drops like Sylvanas are a bit more situational, but this guy will always pave the way for your big boss by buffing him and demanding premium removal immediately. They can only have 2 Shadow Word: Deaths. Scott says: Hey look, a vanilla card with a C’Thun ability! Haven’t seen one of those in a while! Snark aside, certainly a fine card. I just find it bor…. zzzzzz…. Blackwater Pirate Scott says: A decent addition for pirate decks. Not great to cast on her own, but flips from being 1 mana overcosted to a 1 mana savings if you bring out a weapon right after you summon her. Pirate synergy is a bonus. Josh says: I haven’t played much Pirate Warrior because I’m missing a few cards for it, but it seems like the deck revolves around keeping one weapon on and then just continually buffing it. Her perk is too situational for me. I think a lot of times you won’t even want to equip a new weapon right away. And 2/5 is such a lackluster stat allocation for a deck that wants to go face. Best to Draft Midnight Drake Josh says: Much less risky than his cousin, and a nice body that can trade up for any slow Arena deck. Top decking will suck, like always. Scott says: You’d better have at least 4 cards in your hand after you cast this guy, and/or be in a Dragon synergy deck. Will tend to be better in a warlock deck because of the card draw. Eater of Secrets Scott says: Slim pickins left, since 3 of the 9 cards are C’Thun cards and those can’t show up in Arena. So…. Eater of Secrets? Congrats buddy, you got there. Let’s hope our opponent is playing a secret class! Too bad Hearthstone doesn’t have sideboards. Josh says: Another of my guilty pleasure cards you’ve turned into a real pick! At least you won’t lose to Secret Paladin if someone magically makes it happen. Best to Dust Corrupted Healbot Josh says: I may be missing something here, but gaining *1* bonus combat stat isn’t worth healing 8 to the enemy. (You’d have to hit them in the face 8 times to break even on that tradeoff!) Scott says: I think the trick is combining it with something like Embrace the Shadow or Auchenai Soulpriest so the heal becomes damaging. When that happens, it’s a 6/6 mech that does 8 face damage for 5 mana. So in that deck, it’s a rock star, but I can’t tell you yet whether that deck is any good. Silithid Swarmer Scott says: No. Just… no. Has me reconsidering my “don’t dust any cards in my playable set” rule. Josh says: I don’t think anyone falls for these cards that give you one bonus stat for a HUGE drawback… right? Right? Please, if you’re reading this, don’t fall for this trap. He doesn’t even look cool! Neutral Cards – Epic Best to Craft Crazed Worshipper Josh says: An absolute pinnacle in C’thun decks, which need time to grow. You simply can’t have enough early Taunt and he’s often worth it regardless of C’thun. Scott says: On paper he looks like he isn’t as efficient as most of the other C’Thun cards, but in practice he’s shown himself to be just fine, thankyouverymuch. This guy has more personality than most of the other neutral C’Thun minions, so he gets a thumbs up for that too. Twilight Summoner Scott says: He’s actually a great value, though don’t expect your opponent to attack him on their turn. That means your 5/5 will take an extra turn to come out and become useful. Still, he’s a strong contributor, and is one of the better ‘sticky’ minions. Just don’t let him get silenced. Josh says: “Don’t let him get silenced” is much easier said than done, even after the nerfs. There are so many good stat-pile minions in this set that you’d have to do some serious convincing to get me to toss this guy in my deck. Best to Draft Cyclopian Horror Josh says: Only needs 2 enemies to break even. Will often get more than that. Not great while ahead, but gets stronger as you fall behind. Scott says: Yeah, seems pretty decent. Basically a variable Sen’jin Shieldmasta that you can get a little extra mileage out of in the right circumstances. Worth noting that at 3 enemies on board, he has the same stats as the Crazed Worshipper we just discussed, minus the C’Thun buff. Scaled Nightmare Scott says: Takes a little while to get going, but after 2 turns, watch out! In arena where things are awkward and slow, he has a better chance of living longer. Josh says: Yeah, I’m worried about this guy’s weaknesses in constructed, but I’m totally on board for Arena. If they were able to snatch any premium removal, they better pray they draw it by Turn 8, or this guy is going to be out of control. He’ll almost certainly be a 2-for-1 at least. Best to Dust Darkspeaker Josh says: You need some serious combo synergy to make this underpowered pile of stats break even. Scott says: Agreed — not sure what you’d be playing this on. Mana Tide Totem? Northshire Cleric? Oooh, I’ve got it: Angry Chicken! Blood of The Ancient One Scott says: It’s not going to happen. Okay, maybe it’ll happen once, if you try really hard and lose a bunch of games on the way. But that’s not a journey I plan on taking. Josh says: The “end of your turn” is just adding insult to injury. This dream-big combo isn’t even fun like the other ones (Thaddius or Voltron). Neutral Cards – Legendary Best to Craft Mukla, Tyrant of the Vale Josh says: It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the value here. Do you include the cost of the bananas into the value comparison? If so, he’s a loser at 8 mana for a 7/7. But he lets you give 4 of those stats anywhere you want at any time. Bananas have tons of great synergy with mage cards and minions that like being targeted. Ultimately this is a fun card with a unique effect that’ll have synergy with a lot of decks. And he’s not 10 mana. Scott says: Yeah, you summed it up well. Not an amazing value on his own, but does come with flexibility and can add bonus synergy in some decks. Twin Emperor Veklor Scott says: C’Thun decks bore me, but if I’m going to build one, you bet your bottom dollar this guy’s in there. 11/11 across 2 bodies with taunt for 7 mana? That’s so bananas that Mukla’s jealous. This guy might be a bigger payoff for a C’Thun deck than C’Thun himself. I don’t see how you won’t have a 10 attack C’Thun by turn 7 in a deck that’s trying. Josh says: I love C’thun decks, so let me stop you right there and say that C’thun is the best tentacle monster I’ve ever pledged allegiance to. But I haven’t seen this guy played in-game yet, so I didn’t actually realize his twin came with Taunt! Yeah, that’s just insane value for 7 mana. Like, my brain hurts this makes no sense value. Want. Best to Draft Y’Shaarj, Rage Unbound Josh says: Love this guy. Think he’s severely underrated. Guaranteed to happen once. Even better in Arena where you’ve got decks stuffed with minions. Scott says: 10 mana’s a lot to ask, but agreed that this is a pretty good ability. And doesn’t ask you to dedicate half your deck to making it useful. (I’m looking at you, C’Thun.) Hogger, Doom of Elwynn Scott says: Hogger’s back! He’s basically 1.5 mana overcosted, but generates 2.5 in value every time he takes damage. In arena where creature sizes are so variable, you’ll often have smaller guys to choose for him to tussle with. Not a fast card, but a strong value play and doesn’t require the babysitting that the original Hogger required. Josh says: Some cool synergy in mage and warrior too that can easily ping him for the effect when needed. This is a great example of ways that Blizzard can put fun twists on old cards with this new Standard format. Best to Dust Shifter Zerus Josh says: Get a life, Zerus. And stop leeching off of everyone else’s successes. You disgust me. Scott says: I actually think he’s a decent card. Okay, well, maybe that’s too strong a statement. But he’s cool. I’d definitely invite him to a party. Nat, the Darkfisher Scott says: Oh Nat. Even when you’re given the Davey Jones treatment, you’re still not good. A least you’ll have a home in mill decks, but that’s not exactly catapulting you into the big leagues. Josh says: Yeah, I mean you’re gaining one stat for giving your opponent a card every two turns? If the stats were at least reversed, it could have its uses as an up-trader (is that a word?) Neutral Cards – Guilty Pleasures Twisted Worgen Scott says: I

Hello! Matt is on the show this week Topic: How to have fun in the new game modes Reasons to be happy this week News: Whispers of the Old Gods! Standard vs. Wild: What’s Right For You? The basics of the new game modes Sets going away, Classic/Basic cards, nerfs! Why have two modes? Casual + Ranked: Both Tavern Brawl: Wild Adventure: Wild Arena: Wild (Cool Ben Brode interview related to Arena) Pro Play: Standard Reasons to Play Standard Reasons to Play Wild New players will only see Standard until they craft a Wild card What cards are you sad to see go into Wild? Sludge Belcher, Voidcaller Iron Sensei, Crush, Feugen/Stalagg, Vol’jin Fel Reaver, Feign Death Kel’Thuzad, Mal’Ganis What cards are you happy to see go into Wild? Mogor the Ogre, Iron Juggernaut Mal’Ganis, Hemet Nesingwary, Flamecannon Piloted Shredder, Sludge Belcher What deck are you going to miss playing the most? Josh: Demon Warlock Matt: Mech Mage Rapid-Fire Advice Should you disenchant nerfed/Wild-only cards? Should you craft Old Gods cards? Use Matt’s spreadsheet to figure out what to craft next! What are new UI changes? What Old Gods are we most excited about? What’s going to be the next big class that people aren’t expecting? Community iTunes Reviews Donations Craig: $25 The Dust Bowl We need more supporters to sponsor our Old Gods packs! More info on our Donate page. Craig: 25 Packs Card of the Week Farewell Contact Matt’s Hearthstarter account on Twitter for casual news and tips! What you want to see in future episodes What hosts you want to visit the show

Hello! Aaron is on the show this week Topic: Deck battle! Reasons to be happy this week News: Whispers of the Old Gods! Weapons = Card Advantage Mastermind: Jayme Most weapons allow at least 2 attacks. Decent weapons are loaded for potential card advantage scenarios. Examples: Powermace, Fiery War Axe Counterpoints: Health cost, best-case scenarios, Taunt minions, late-game draw, only one weapon slot Best/Worst Gold Card Animations Mastermind: Zorin Oasis Snapjaw Huge Toad Target Dummy Demonheart Defias Ringleader Abusive Sergeant The Joys of Deckbuilding Mastermind: Josh Experimental deckbuilding is fun! Not everyone loves it long-term, but I encourage you to try it at least once if you haven’t yet. Follow the basic formula we did with Dreadsteed in the previous 2 episodes 1) Find an interesting unique card that could be a win condition that you want to try building around. 2) Guess what some of the best synergies with that card might be. 3) Guess what some of the worst counters to your card/win condition might be. Include cards that counter that counter. 4) Playtest it and make changes as you see what cards don’t pull their weight or what decks you’re losing to often. There are many ways to have fun in Hearthstone: Adventures, Heroics, Tavern Brawls, Duels, Normals, Wild, Arena. The next time you get frustrated in ranked, take a break. Dig through your collection and find a fun card you haven’t built a deck around yet and give it a try Just enjoy the feeling of seeing a combo you thought of all by yourself pay off in a game — even if it doesn’t work in every game. Murlocs Gone for Good? Mastermind: Zorin Nothing is ever “gone for good” in TCGs. Swarm decks in general: Token Paladin, Mech Mage, Beast Hunter. Paladin and Shaman both got huge murloc cards, and yet they didn’t last for more than a couple weeks. Aaron watched a murloc deck against Kolento today on stream at rank play. Except maybe during the first few seasons some people were using a murloc deck to get to legend. But it never was a consistent ladder deck. Lots of fun to play and I am sure Team 5 will be keeping us supplied with Murlocs

Hello! Chris is on the show this week Topic: Deck battle! Reasons to be happy this week News: Whispers of the Old Gods! 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 entered the Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame last episode, so this week, the Challenger deck must battle through a gauntlet of all the previous Hall of Fame decks before ascending to the throne! Challenger Deck: Chris’s Dreadsteed deck is all about delaying as long as possible and eventually overwhelming the enemy with unkillable minions. Creatures 1x Sir Finley Mrrgglton 1x Zombie Chow 1x Dark Peddler 1x Doomsayer 1x Explosive Sheep 1x Ironbeak Owl 1x Nerubian Egg 1x Big Game Hunter 1x Deathlord 1x Imp Gang Boss 1x Baron Rivendare 1x Defender of Argus 2x Dreadsteed 1x Refreshment Vendor 1x Antique Healbot 1x Sludge Belcher 1x Justicar Trueheart 1x Reno Jackson 1x Lord Jaraxxus 1x Mal’Ganis Spells 1x Sacrificial Pact 1x Mortal Coil 1x Power Overwhelming 1x Darkbomb 1x Demonwrath 1x Hellfire 1x Imp-losion 1x Siphon Soul 1x Twisting Nether 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. 1x Stormwind Champion 1x Raid Leader 1x Faceless Manipulator 1x Sense Demons 1x Shadowflame 1x Sideshow Spelleater The Duel Community Question: None this week! iTunes Reviews Donations Corey (Gainsdalf) – $20 Card of the Week Farewell Contact Chris on Twitter and check out his photography! What you want to see in future episodes What hosts you want to visit the show DECK GUIDE: You can’t stop the demon horse from Xoroth! Chris walks us through the awesome Dreadsteed deck that uses Reno Jackson and plenty of removal to stall and swarm down the enemy with Dreadsteeds! Note from Josh: The rest of this article was written by Chris. Thanks! Reno Dreadlock Since this is a Reno deck, there are a lot of cards to cover (because Reno requires you to not have duplicate cards), so let’s dive right in! You can find a completely plain deck list on the podcast episode. If you want a breakdown of the cards I’ve included in this deck, and the strategy behind them, read on. The main goal of this deck is to trade early with small minions and use AOE to control the board; then lay down Dreadsteeds with Baron Rivendare to keep your opponent off the board; and finish them off with Mal’Ganis, buffing your Dreadsteeds to 3/3s. There are a couple alternative win conditions in the deck as well, including Jaraxxus, and some tools to help you win the fatigue game. 1x Sir Finley Mrrgglton One of the win conditions of this deck is to simply outlast your opponent’s deck (sometimes in fatigue). Unfortunately, the Warlock’s hero power hinders that ability. Sir Finley Mrrglton comes to the rescue. In matchups where going the distance matters, you are looking for Armor Up, Lesser Heal, or even Shapeshift. If you aren’t offered any of those, at least you’re changing your power up, which will allow you to keep hero powering after you don’t want to draw more cards or take any more damage. X1 Justicar Trueheart Never drop Justicar before dropping Sir Finley Mrrgglton. Justicar is here to improve your survivability in fatigue matchups. I’ve had games where I’ve ended up with 40+ armor vs. Control Warrior, who will be unable to answer your board presence. x2 Dreadsteed The deck is built around this guy. Priests aside, the only way to deal with this guy is silence. Most decks only have one silence, and it feels pretty bad silencing a 1/1, so it rarely gets silenced. Once you get a Dreadsteed on the board, it’s there for good, and can be used as a ping every turn. This is the only card that there are 2 copies of in this deck. x1 Baron Rivendare Once Dreadsteed is on the board, Baron Rivendare will multiply your Dreadsteed. I usually try to wait to drop Baron Rivendare until I have a couple complementary spells in hand, such as Mortal Coil, and Sacrificial Pact. But once you have 4-5 Dreadsteeds, remove Baron as soon as you can. Having six Dreadsteeds on board slows down your ability to close out the game because you’re only able to have one additional minion on the board at a time. x1 Mal’Ganis Mal’Ganis buffs all your demons +2/+2, and makes your hero invincible. Once he’s on the board, your opponent has to deal with him, or he just loses the game. But, if all has gone according to plan, once Mal’Ganis gets on the board, your opponent will never be able to keep anything on the board again. If you have 5 Dreadsteeds on board, that’s 15 damage on the turn you play Mal’Ganis. x1 Lord Jaraxxus Jaraxxus is one of your win conditions in control matchups. The pressure he puts on your opponent is insane. 2 mana for a 6/6 demon every turn?! That’s unreal! He can also be used to heal you back up to 15 in some situations, though that’s far less successful and will usually only buy you a turn or two; but if it comes down to it, do it. It’s better than dying. x1 Sacrificial Pact Healing is good, right? Sacrificing your minions usually isn’t. However, when your minions come back infinitely, sacrificing one is a win-win, especially when Baron Rivendare is on the board, duplicating your Dreadsteeds every time they die. It also has the benefit of killing your opponent’s Jaraxxus instantly. When facing Renolocks, if you can avoid playing any Dreadsteeds, giving away that you have Sacrifical Pact (it’s a common card in Dreadlock decks), you can sometimes kill them instantly the turn after they play their Jaraxxus. x1 Reno Jackson Has your opponent gotten you a little low on health? Well, as long as you’ve drawn at least one of your Dreadsteeds, this guy has you covered. Aggro decks will straight up concede after you play Reno. And plus, he takes away the downside of Life Tap. Reno is the reason there is only one copy of every card except for Dreadsteed in this deck. His heal only works if there is only one copy of each card left in your deck when you play him, but getting healed back to full health is worth the trade off. Those are the most important cards. Now I’ll go over the rest of the cards briefly. 1x Mortal Coil This card can be used on a Dreadsteed when Baron Rivendare is on board, or to kill off an enemy minion. Either way, it will draw you a card if it killed a minion. 1x Power Overwhelming Use this to remove a problem minion by buffing one of your guys to be able to deal with it. Works great with Dreadsteed to give it more oomph. 1x Zombie Chow Since we don’t care about our opponent’s health at the beginning of the game, this guy is great! One mana for a 2 / 3 is a great deal, and helps you win the board early on. 1x Darkbomb Just a simple, three damage removal spell. It’s a good card. 1x Dark Peddler With this being a Reno deck, sometimes, you just want a chance at a second Mortal Coil, another Zombie Chow, maybe you want some more removal in Soulfire, whatever you need, there’s a good chance you’ll be offered something that can answer the board state with this card. 1x Doomsayer Great removal. Great stall tactic. Most of the time, your opponent will just have to skip their turn, or waste removal getting rid of it. And in the Renolock matchup, playing this after Twisting Nether is a very tempting turn for your opponent to play Lord Jaraxxus, setting you up for lethal if you have Sacrificial Pact in your hand. 1x Explosive Sheep Pair this with Hellfire or Demonwrath to clear your opponent’s board. This can also be paired with Baron Rivendare and something like Mortal Coil for a 4 damage board clear, which will also give you a lot of Dreadsteeds. 1x Ironbeak Owl Every deck can use a silence. Whether it’s to get through a taunt (not too common a concern with this deck, silence a pesky deathrattle (I probably use it on Sylvanas more than anything), or even getting rid of one of your Dreadsteeds when you have one too many, you’re going to want a silence. 1x Nerubian Egg With the way Warlock AOE works, damaging all minions (or all characters) equally, Nerubian Egg is going to break giving you a 4/4 Nerubian that can be used to trade. 1x Big Game Hunter Since almost every deck runs Dr. Boom, this card is a necessity. Even if there isn’t a Dr. Boom, there may very well be a large minion that BGH can remove for you. 1x Deathlord Your opponent is almost always going to be the one removing this, which means you have the first crack at the minion that he gets out of it, and will often be able to get rid of it before it can threaten you. You’ll also often deny your opponent a crucial battlecry. You also put them down a card, which can be pivotal in the fatigue game. 1x Demonwrath This is an interesting AOE spell. It does damage to all minions except for demons, so it works great after Imp-plosion to finish clearing your opponent’s board without eliminating the minions you just put on the board, or lets you take some minions out without killing off your Dreadsteeds for that turn, letting them get past a taunt and hit a more important minion. 1x Imp Gang Boss Imp Gang Boss is Warlock’s best 3 drop. Any time it takes damage, it puts an imp on the board. More board presence will help you from being overrun until you get your Dreasteeds set up. 1x Defender of Argus At some point, you’re going to need some taunts to keep the pressure off, or more commonly, you’ll need to buff your Dreadsteeds to deal with what your opponent put on the board. Either way, Defender is great. 1x Hellfire It took me a long time to understand that this is actually a good card. It may hurt you equally, but that’s not the point. It’s used to get threats off the board, and can sometimes help you get rid of Baron Rivendare while getting the remaining Dreadsteeds you wanted on the board. 1x Imp-losion Do 2-4 damage to a minion and put the corresponding number of imps on the board? Yes, please! It feels so good to roll a four with this card. 1x Refreshment Vendor Since you’re not concerned with your opponent’s health until the late game, giving your opponent 4 health is of little consequence, but it can help out a lot for you. 1x Antique Healbot The Anti-kill Bot. Second only to Reno Jackson in the healing department. This guy is another lifesaver. x1 Sludge Belcher Best taunt in the game. Unless silenced, it will never take fewer than two attacks to kill Sludge Belcher. 1x Siphon Soul Use this as large target removal. Has the added bonus of healing you for three. 1x Twisting Nether When the board needs to be reset (except for your Dreadsteeds, of course) this card is guaranteed to get the job done. And it has one of the prettiest animations in the game. Possible Additions Since this is a Reno deck, there’s some wiggle room for cards included in the deck, keeping in mind that at some point you’re going to want to buff your Dreadsteeds to deliver more damage, and finish off your opponent more quickly, or trade with larger minions. 1x Stormwind Champion If you don’t have Mal’Ganis, Stormwind Champion can still give you a pretty large body, while still giving your minions a boost. 1x Raid Leader Because Mal’Ganis gives your minions +2/+2, you might need another minion to help buff them. 1x Faceless Manipulator Didn’t get enough Dreadsteeds from Baron Rivendare? Want to further buff your minions by copying Stormwind Champion, or does your opponent have something you could use? Faceless Manipulator can serve a lot of purposes. 1x Sense Demons If you want to make sure you get your Dreadsteeds into your hand so you can heal up with Reno, this card can really help with that. It draws 2 demon cards from your deck and puts them in your hand. 1x Shadowflame If you’re facing a lot of warlocks with demons, Demonwrath isn’t going to do much for you. Shadowflame is a fantastic replacement. It also synergizes really well with Power Overwhelming. Trade with a minion, or go face with a minion you’ve cast Power Overwhelming on, and then hit it with Shadowflame to deal its attack to all enemy minions. That’s pretty dang good. 1x Sideshow Spelleater If you don’t have Justicar or Sir Finley, or you just want to have one of those spaces for another card, this card is a good replacement for them. It still replaces your hero power (unless you’re facing another Warlock), and in the Control Warrior matchup, you can wait for them to play their Justicar, and then you can gain 4 armor per turn as well. Final Thoughts If you like controlling the board, infinite value (true infinite value), and a variety of cool interactions, try out this deck! The fun of watching Dreadsteeds infinitely stampeding onto your board is worth it by itself.

Hello! Chris is on the show this week Topic: Dreadsteeds all day, every day! Reasons to be happy this week News: Normal/Wild FAQ updated (Note, we list some names of the murloc/pirate cards needed on the show and not all of them are correct. You just need the classic cards to unlock the special cards!) The Dreadsteed Why makes this card special and interesting Synergies and class flavor The Lore of the Dreadsteed Crescendo and the flavor text Warlock mount in WoW Xoroth homeworld Headless Horseman Halloween event Behind-the-scenes Dev Story BFFs of the Dreadsteed Mal’Ganis Raid Leader Mortal Coil Power Overwhelming Sacrificial Pact Baron Rivendare Kel’Thuzad Others on the show! Natural Predators of the Dreadsteed Keeper of the Grove Ironbeak Owl Mass Dispel Others on the show! War Stories of the Dreadsteed We share some of his favorite moments playing with and against this card. Dreaming of the Dreadsteed We think up some potential new card ideas that would be fun to combo with Dreadsteed. Power of the Ages: Give a minion +1 attack and Deathrattle, pass this effect onto minions summoned from its Deathrattle. Endless Service: Sacrifice a minion. Add 2 copies of that minion to your hand. Community Question: None this week! iTunes Reviews Donations Jake: 7 card packs Card of the Week Farewell Contact Chris on Twitter and check out his photography! What you want to see in future episodes What hosts you want to visit the show

Hello! Kevin is on the show this week Topic: Deck battle! Reasons to be happy this week News: We updated our show notes for the previous episode 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 8 months, and has beaten 6 decks before this episode. Challenger Deck: Kevin’s Secret Paladin deck relies on flooding the board with sercets and minions for a sudden mid-game kill. The Deck Creatures 2x Secret Kepper 1x Haunted Creeper 1x Ironbeak Owl 2x Knife Juggler 2x Shielded Minibot 2x Murloc Knight 2x Mysterious Challenger 1x Dr. Boom 1x Eadric The Pure Spells 2x Avenge 2x Competitive Spirit 2x Noble Sacrifice 1x Redemption 1x Repentance 1x Coghammer 1x Divine Favor 2x Muster for Battle 2x Blessing of Kings 1x Consecration 1x Truesilver Champion 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. 2x Stormwind Champion 2x Mukla’s Champion 2x Grand Crusader 2x Raid Leader The Duel Community Question: None this week! iTunes Reviews Donations None Card of the Week Farewell Contact Kevin on Twitter and listen to his WoW podcast Darkmoon Herald What you want to see in future episodes What hosts you want to visit the show DECK GUIDE: You’ve seen it. You’ve hated it. You may have even played it. Kevin’s own take on the infamous Secret Paladin deck makes some interesting changes to keep it fresh and add a few other threats to the deck. But the core of the deck — that wonderful Christmas-tree-building Mysterious Challenger — is still here and ready to rock. Check out how this deck did in our deck battle on our latest episode of Happy Hearthstone! Note from Josh: The rest of this article was written by Kevin. Thanks! Secret Paladin The Secret Paladin is a low-cost, low-skill-cap deck that’s incredibly diverse in its win conditions and ability to counter many popular deck on the ladder. It’s not a “cheater” deck like everyone on the forums would like you to believe and it’s been used at the World Championship levels of gameplay. It’s a fun and fast deck to play and there are some mind games involved in getting your opponent to waste cards in bad trades because of what you might have in your hand. Let’s get straight into the cards I used in my deck for the mighty showdown with Josh. You can find a completely plain deck list on the podcast episode. Here, I’ll provide additional commentary where I feel it’s helpful or necessary. Minions 2x Secret Keeper This card is a great opener and is the main defense to early aggro aggression. Drop this card and watch it attract top-tier removal from the enemy’s hand. If they don’t remove it, it can be buffed significantly by the secrets. 1x Haunted Creeper Tough little minion that likes to stick around and make your opponent make bad decisions on how to clear it. 1x Iron Beak Iron beak owl is a great card to have in your pocket. You never know when you might need a Silence effect. 2x Knife Juggler A staple for most paladin decks. It helps with board control and combos with many other cards like Muster for Battle, Noble Sacrifice, and Murloc Knight. 2x Shielded Minibot Best two drop for Paladins with plenty of staying power, which means it’ll stay on the board for awhile to buy you time. 2x Murloc Knight Murloc isn’t the theme of the deck, but this card plays two big parts in our strategy. It will either: 1) Fill your board with minions and you win the game. or 2) Be a lightning rod for your opponent to use all of their removal on and clear the way for more powerful cards like Dr. Boom or Mysterious Challenger to remain unscathed. 2x Mysterious Challenger One of the greatest (but not the only) win condition to this deck. If you have 2-3 minions on the board and drop this card on turn 5-6 you will most likely win the game. 1x Eadric the Pure I love the lore and WoW-reference with this Legendary. If three or more minions are affected by Eadric’s battle cry you got value from it (his own stats are 5 below the Vanilla test, so you want to reduce enemy minions by at least that many). There’s also the fun of playing this card at a face to face tournament and seeing their reaction, since it’s so unexpected. 1x Dr. Boom Need I say more?! He’s just awesome! Spells + Weapons 2x Avenge The strongest of the Paladin secrets, this is used to make your opponent think about who they must kill and in what order and anything it lands on, even a 1/1, becomes a real threat. 2x Competitive Spirit This secret takes your minions from good to great! As long as you have more than one minion on the board when this secret activates you get your value for it. It’s important to note that if you don’t have any minions on the board, the secret will not activate — so it will never be wasted. 2x Noble Sacrifice This secret lets you keep the most precious minions and yourself alive. Drop this secret with a Murloc Knight or Knife Juggler to keep them on the board and get a combo or two off. 1x Repentance This secret is a late-game game-changer. When their Dr. Boom turns into an 7/1 and is killed by a silver hand recruit, you get your value! 1x Redemption This secret is the best for backing up your value minions, Dr. Boom, Murloc Knight, and Mysterious Challenger 1x Coghammer Gives you a decent amount of board control and minion buffing early on. 1x Divine Favor Can be incredibly powerful when playing against a Handlock deck. Use in early game if the opportunity presents itself to try to get Mysterious Challenger in hand by Turn 5/6. 2x Muster for Battle The greatest anti-aggro card out there (besides Consecrate). You can combo with Competitive Spirit to get 2/2s on the board or Knife Juggler to deal 3 bonus damage right away. 1x Truesilver Champion The gold standard in Paladin weapons, must include one in every deck  2x Blessing of Kings A huge buff to a small minion = huge board presence. If you can get your opponent to trade 4 or 5 mana worth of cards to get rid of it, it has value. 1x Consecrate Another amazing Paladin card that helps you handle early aggression decks Possible Additions There are many win conditions with this deck which is what makes it a strong ladder deck. You can build it on the cheap cheap or throw in your strongest Paladin or Neutral Legendary Cards. Even Hogger has a home in this deck! Mukla’s Champion This card is a fantastic minion buffer and lightning rod all in one. Plus it’s common quality but gives you epic-level value. Stormwind Champion Since the main purpose of the deck is to gain board control, Stormwind Champion is a perfect substitute card. It’s a major body on the board and makes your hero power, Muster for Battle, and Murloc Knights way, way more powerful Final Thoughts Secret Paladin is a easy to learn, cheap (cost) deck to build and is very competitive in the current ladder whether you have the legendaries or not. It is fun to make your opponent play around your secrets that you are almost guaranteed value from. An excellent staple deck for anyone’s library!