Note: If you want my first thoughts and opinions on Hearthstone as a
whole please check out my guest post over on Cold’s
Gold Factory: Play Hearthstone Overview & First Thoughts
Now, before watching the video above I’d like to start by explaining
the different resources you have at play in Hearthstone. Much like Magic or
other card games you have three main areas of concern during the match.
First: Life Total
Second: Card advantage
Third: Board advantage
Life total is simple to
understand and as always the simplest things can confound people the easiest. You
start with 30 and you lose the game if you ever hit 0. You must think of this
as a limited resource and not be afraid to spend a couple of life in exchange
for an advantage in the game – remember you can ‘spend’ 29 life [before heals]
and still win the game. Card advantage
refers to the number of cards or potential cards you have at your disposal
through your hand, card draw mechanics, and open mana. The player that has the most choices open to
them holds the power to control the game. Lastly, Board advantage is your presence on the board in the form of
weapons and minions. This doesn’t only include just having more stuff on the
board, but also setting the tempo and being ‘on the attack’ meaning you are
beating your opponent to minion drops and being able to attack first – the player
that attacks first can often put their opponent on the defensive where they are
just laying minions each turn that get destroyed before they are useful.
Knowing these concepts I’ll explain things using the video as an
outline…
