Climbing Hearthstone Ranks

All journeys start with a single step

With the start of the first official season and welcoming in Hearthstone’s official release, I have decided to try and climb the ranks and attempt to obtain the elusive legendary Hearthstone rank. The following article covers the trials and tribulations, deck changes and personal challenges I have endured thus far. Currently, I have managed to claw my way to rank 12 and plan to continue climbing the rest of the season. Hopefully my experience will help others on their way to the higher ranks and (with any luck) to the golden place of legendary status.


The first deck I used to climb to rank 14 was a tempo Rogue deck. After various changes and tweaks the final variation that got me to here is listed below. The utility offered by shadow step proved to be very handy either for bursting through extra damage with Leeroy Jenkins, or simply bouncing a Defender of Argus for some more taunters and increased attack/health. The other handy little trick I found myself often relying on, was dropping a Novice Engineer to draw, then bouncing it back to my hand to have a reliable 0 drop to aid in the triggering of combo cards. This deck may well have the potential to climb higher than I have obtained with it, but I have been struggling to deal with the vast amount of control Warriors I ran into around at the rank 15-16 mark, so I switched things up.

What the tempo deck deals well with is aggro, by removing a lot of the threats efficiently with backstab and SI:7 Agent before they get off the ground, the deck works well against Zoo Lock, Murlocs and the other various forms of aggro.

The problem is control Warriors, Hand Lock and even Paladin control, these decks give Tempo rogue some real problems. With Hand Lock you have to try and play a fast and aggressive game, as you're only answers to their giants are Sap and Big Game Hunter. Although Big Game Hunter can be Shadow Stepped to hit twice in a tight spot.

Tips and Tricks Tempo Rogue

This deck requires a lot of planning ahead, whether to hold back in order to trigger a combo, or to try and get some board presence. A common problem I encountered was the decision whether or not to drop Defias Ringleader on turn 2 if I couldn't trigger him with the coin. This again comes down to your opponent, if they are running aggro, sometimes you’ve got to bite the bullet and drop him anyway. However, if your opponent is playing the slow control game, it can be beneficial to wait and have two creatures instead of one. This can is a difficult decision to make, but you will begin to get a feel for it when playing this deck enough. It's also important to note that in times of need, don't desperately be looking to always combo. While the combos are nice, board presence or removal can be more viable than waiting on a trigger.

Hitting A Plateau

It was at this point at rank 15 I hit a rather hard losing streak, with my tempo Rogue pushing me back down to rank 16. After pretty much chaining wins to get to this rank it was more than a little bit disheartening to suddenly be beaten back down. It got to the point where I was becoming worried to even play again for fear of losing more rating and plummeting further, but after reading up a bit on other peoples experiences on Reddit and various guides around the hearthstone community, I decided to grit my teeth and try again.

I continued to lose, but kept a positive attitude making small notes on difficult decisions and misplays I had made. After making some adjustments to my play style and slowing down my plays, I was able to climb again to rank 14. Unfortunately loosing is part of learning, even if you lose a game make sure you try to take something from it. Think about it constructively, as it's easy to blame bad luck, money cards, cheap tactics, etc - while these may well have been a factor, there is something to be taken from every game. So even if you lose, you're still getting match experience.

On my journey to Rank 14 once more the amount of control Warriors continued to pour in, with this current meta I decided to look into what was strong against a control Warrior. This is when I stumbled upon the controversial and often despised ‘Zoo Lock’. I had found after a little research, not only was this an exceptionally strong deck, but one that could be built on a small budget not requiring vast amounts of legendary's. So after looking at a few examples that other people had constructed, I decided to piece together a version of it below.

Whilst I'm still not completely happy with the deck, I managed to climb comfortably from rank 14 to rank 12 where I'm currently sat. During these games I came across a fair amount of Ramp Druid, ‘Hand Lock’ and other control decks. The aggro decks I faced ranged from Face Hunter to Murlocs (and even the odd mirror match). So with a bit of deck tweaking, I found a single copy of Mind Control Tech and a single copy of Big Game Hunter to often be handy when facing off against the current meta.

Tips and Tricks Zoolock

A common problem with this deck is that you will often end up with Soulfire and Doomgaurd in your hand, two cards which both force you to sacrifice. More often than not, it's rare that Soulfire will be better value than a Doomgaurd, as he provides a lot of health and is a step up of 1 damage compared to a Soulfire. Either way, this deck can require some serious risk taking - but with potentially big pay off's.

Playing around the discards and dropping your creatures carefully isn't easy, and will take some practice to get right. While the deck can definitely be played as a face rush deck, this will only get you so far before you need to play more tactically. Overextending your reach and dumping your hand into a sweeper like Flamestrike will quickly spell your doom. Likewise, in a mirror match up you have to decide what it is you're going to trade and what will hit your opponent as you need to keep pressure on your opponent, as well as attempt to keep board dominance.

It will also pay off to try and keep track of how many sources of burst you have left in your deck and the total amount of cards left, this can help you gauge when to attempt to put pressure on and reduce the opponents health to a point where your deck can produce the burst needed to win. The only problem is drawing into two sources of burst that require discard, it's always a gamble but sometimes it's better to just dump your Soulfire into the enemy instead of waiting and drawing into another discard burst card, as it will lead to in efficient use of your cards.

Zoolock

Tempo Rogue

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Hearthstone Legendary Spotlight: Bloodmage Thalnos

We hunger for vengeance! 

On first glance, the power of Bloodmage Thalnos can be extremely underestimated. Although he is a 1/1 with little chance of surviving more than one turn, he is without a doubt, one of the most powerful cards in the game. As he only costs 2 mana, his +1 spell damage ability makes him a must have in any spell heavy deck, especially Mage and Druid. In a Mage deck he combines well with Mana Wyrm and Arcane Missiles for quick spell damage and early creature presence. He is generally a great pick for arena decks too, as he fits in well with most classes. Even if you don’t manage to draft many spells, his draw mechanic will make up for this.

He can also help you out early on to get rid of big creatures such as the Chillwind Yeti ,who’s 5 health normally cause a bit of a problem. For example, the Druid spell Swipe can suddenly deal 5 damage to one creature and 2 damage to all other creatures. Or you can use Starfall to deal 6 damage to one creature, or 3 damage to all creatures. He can be combined with many other sweeper spells such as Arcane Explosion, to take out any waves of small creatures which you normally face against aggro decks (or combined with Flamestrike for bigger creatures). He is also a massive damage dealer in the Warlock deck when combined with Soulfire, giving you 5 damage for only 2 mana !!

Not only does he help with spell damage, but his deathrattle ability allows you to draw a card. This means that even if you play him early on in the game, you will have a creature and the chance to draw. Although this will mean you can’t take advantage of the extra spell damage later on. He is a great replacement for the Novice Engineer and Loot Hoarder, as your opponent will always have a sense of urgency to get rid of him. Leaving a creature with +1 spell damage on the board for too long is never a good idea. And if he manages to stick on the field somehow, you could follow up with a Kobold Geomancer giving yourself +3 spell damage total.

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Kick, Lick and Baa

Have you ever wanted to be a little furry bi-pedal whirlwind of destruction? I know I have, and my dreams have now be realised in this completely pointless and hilarious game. You will spend your time in goat simulator running around head butting people, cars, shops, bbq's and even other goats! In this gloriously buggy and broken virtual town.

What started out as a 'joke' at an indie game jam has turned into a phenomenon, when they showed a broken buggy game that was only made as a bit of fun, the developers had no idea how popular it would become.  The initial videos showed a goat running around and glitching into walls, causing it's head to stretch all over the place and generally causing carnage. The internet loved it and demanded that it was released for all to play and waste time on. After a lot of pressure, the game company caved and made Goat Simulator into a full title (side-splitting funny bugs and game breaking moments intact). 

The game developers themselves have described the game as follows: “Goat Simulator is a small, broken and stupid game. It was made in a couple of weeks so don’t expect a game in the size and scope of GTA with goats. In fact, you’re better off not expecting anything at all actually. To be completely honest, it would be best if you’d spend your $10 on a hula hoop, a pile of bricks, or maybe a real-life goat.”

With no heirs or graces taken, let alone pride in the product they have produced, they have managed to make a truly unique hilarious and genuinely fun game. In a game industry where grey pallets and knee high wall covered based shooters are your AAA bread and butter and about as bland as it comes. This game goes to show that you don't need the best graphics and your game doesn't even need to work properly! For all those sat on the fence about whether to buy goat simulator or not, we highly recommend this title! Take that money you were going to spend on your Call of Duty map pack, or that fancy hat you want in Team Fortress 2 and buy this game. Probably the most retarded fun you will have, and a great way to relieve stress.

Watch Durr play this disgracefully fun title below:

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