Hearthstone May 2020 Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Achieving Legend Status

Now is an excellent opportunity to dive into Hearthstone, as new players can receive a free, top-tier competitive deck simply by signing up and finishing the Apprentice League. This offer is also available to those who haven’t actively played since November 2019. The game has undergone substantial updates that facilitate the onboarding process, including a duplicate protection feature, which ensures that when you open a pack, you won’t receive a card you already own two copies of. I began my Hearthstone journey two weeks ago and quickly reached the legend rank with relative ease. I felt compelled to create this guide since I made several common beginner mistakes that can easily be avoided, and there is a lack of comprehensive resources for new players available online.

Step 1: Finish the Solo Adventure of Ashes of Outland.

Since its inception, Hearthstone has featured nine distinct classes, such as Rogue and Mage, but in April 2020, a tenth class was introduced. For those with a limited card collection, this new class is incredibly powerful and outperforms all other decks. The reason lies in the fact that, unlike the other classes that possess some subpar basic cards, the Demon Hunter class boasts an impressive initial card set. We will be utilizing this deck in the next phase.

Step 1.5: Optionally, elevate each hero to Level 10.

While it’s not mandatory, gaining access to the Arena game mode requires completing this step eventually. In my opinion, it’s not essential, so I postponed it until after I finished step 2. However, if you plan to play for an extended period, it might be best to tackle this step now. This is because the game pairs you with other beginners, making it simpler to secure victories and enhance your heroes.

Enhancing your heroes is quite straightforward: simply engage in matches with other players. Below is the experience points (EXP) formula:

• For playing a card (3 experience points) [spawns do not grant experience points]
• Eliminating an enemy minion grants 3 experience points (3 xp) [defeating minions results in experience rewards].
• For achieving victory (30 xp)

Remember that you earn bonus XP simply by participating in a game during levels 1-5. To qualify for the bonus XP, you must complete a minimum of 3 turns, and you can only level up a single time in each game.

Winning provides a significant experience points advantage, so it’s important to build powerful decks. This article outlines the decks I utilized. If you complete step 2 prior to this, you might want to opt for “casual” play, as the competition tends to be less challenging.

Step 2: Exit the Apprentice League.

It’s true that this can be quite a grind. Expect to need around 70 to 80 victories, and you will likely face a few losses along the way. However, thanks to the incredibly powerful deck you obtained in the first step, defeating most opponents should be relatively easy. Feel free to adjust your deck to match your personal playstyle, but keep in mind that the Demon Hunter excels as an aggressive deck. This is advantageous, as it will help you secure victories more quickly! Make sure to hold onto your Twin Slice to activate the Satyr Overseer’s ability to summon a token. Many of your cards feature “outcast” abilities, which grant bonuses when they are positioned at the far left or far right of your hand. It’s often beneficial to play cards from the left side of your hand first, allowing you to play your outcast cards in subsequent turns. Be cautious, as drawn cards will fill the right side of your hand, which can disrupt this strategy if you are trying to play from the right.

Step 3: Acquire the complimentary Rogue deck.

I have this deck, and I strongly suggest you consider getting it. While it’s true that the mage deck features some costly and rare cards, making it generally more valuable, if you’re playing Hearthstone on a budget, it’s far better to have one excellent deck than three that are just average. Among the free decks, the rogue deck stands out as the most powerful, and with a few tweaks, it’s currently the top deck in the game.

However, mastering it can be quite challenging. When I initially began using this deck, I found myself losing consistently. I’ll share some helpful tips once I present the revised deck list.

Step 4: Acquire Shadowjeweler Hanar.

To create this card, you’ll require 1600 dust, which can be obtained by disenchanting other cards. If you manage your resources wisely, this shouldn’t be too challenging, especially since you likely received a significant number of cards upon leaving the Apprentice League. Additionally, you should have a decent amount of gold. I suggest purchasing Ashes of Outland packs, as you’ll quickly acquire the cards necessary for your rogue deck, and you might even have the opportunity to obtain Shadowjeweler Hanar.

After purchasing all available packs, proceed to open them. Next, disenchant all your Golden cards. This is beneficial because disenchanting a Golden card provides you with dust equivalent to its crafting cost. In contrast, disenchanting regular cards only yields a quarter of the dust required to create them, making this method the most efficient for acquiring dust. To disenchant, navigate to your collection and use the search bar to look for “golden.” Note that you cannot disenchant Golden cards earned through leveling up, but you can disenchant any cards obtained from packs.

Are you short on dust? If so, you might consider yourself a bit unfortunate. I managed to pull a Golden legendary from a pack, which I disenchanted for 1600 dust. Even without that stroke of luck, I still earned an additional 1400 dust by disenchanting my other Golden cards. To accumulate more dust, you’ll need to continue earning packs, which involves farming for gold.

The most effective method to achieve this is by finishing quests. Each day, you receive a new quest, and you can hold a maximum of three at a time. Typically, completing a quest rewards you with 50 gold, and they generally demand minimal effort to accomplish. If a quest doesn’t appeal to you or doesn’t offer a sufficient gold reward, you have the option to refresh it.

You can earn 10 gold for every 3 victories, with a maximum of 100 gold available each day. This is an excellent method for accumulating gold, especially since your Rogue or Demon Hunter deck is capable of competing effectively at the lower tiers of ranked or casual play, allowing you to gain valuable experience with these heroes.

One of the final methods to earn gold is by participating in the arena. This game mode requires an entry fee of 150 gold and allows players to select cards one by one from groups of three randomly generated options. You can continue to compete in matches until you incur three losses, after which you receive rewards based on the number of victories you secured. However, I would advise against this mode, as it can be quite time-consuming and may not be as enjoyable. Additionally, the rewards may not be the best: an average player will typically “break even” after achieving three wins, which usually nets a pack and around 50 gold. Even if you perform slightly better than average, the gains may not significantly surpass the rewards from simply purchasing packs. Furthermore, there is the opportunity cost of engaging in the arena instead of regular matches, which yield 10 gold for every three wins. Nonetheless, if you find this format enjoyable and have the time to spare, I recommend utilizing a tier list to assist you during the drafting process.

Step 5: Create a Stealthy Galakrond Rogue

The complimentary deck you received is impressive, but it has the potential to be even more outstanding with some modifications.

-2 Sap, +2 Blackjack Stunner-2 Bloodsail Flybooter, +2 Ambush-2 SI:7 Agent, +2 Dirty Tricks-1 Eviscerate, +1 Frozen Shadoweaver-1 Faceless Corrupter, +1 Shadowjeweler Hanar

This is the deck I used to reach Legend. However, if you possess the necessary cards, you can find a more efficient version available online.

This deck presents a challenge to play effectively. During the mulligan phase, it’s advisable to retain Pharaoh Cat and Backstab, as these low-cost cards are valuable in the early stages of the game. Shadowjeweler Hanar is also a strong choice to hold onto, particularly if you already possess a secret, as it can be tough to eliminate and can create a continuous advantage in cards. If you are going second, keeping Edwin is a smart move (and occasionally a good idea when going first, provided you have Shadowstep and a method to play a 1-cost minion), as it gains +2/+2 for each card you play, allowing you to potentially create an 8/8 early in the game. Few decks can effectively counter this, and you are likely to secure numerous victories this way.

In the early stages of the game, Galakrond Rogue typically adopts a reactive strategy. It’s important to observe your opponent’s moves and aim to disrupt their strategy. Additionally, you should focus on invoking Galakrond whenever you can, as this enhances the power of Galakrond, the Nightmare when you eventually summon him. You can invoke Galakrond by utilizing cards such as Praise Galakrond! and Seal Fate. One crucial card to keep an eye on is EVIL Miscreant, which provides a +2 card advantage when played after another card, making it especially advantageous when you go second, as you can use the coin to activate his ability. While you can play him on turn 2, a preferable strategy is to play a secret or use your dagger on turn 2, then use the coin to play Miscreant on turn 3, followed by one of the lackeys he generates. This approach is beneficial because turn 3 can be a bit lackluster for this deck, particularly if you lack a target for Seal Fate.

When your allies take damage, it’s important to maximize their potential. One effective strategy is to use Shadowstep on them, which lets you return the card to your hand and replay it for a reduced cost of -2. This is particularly beneficial for cards with Battlecry effects. Additionally, you can employ the Witchy Lackey to “enhance” an ally, transforming it into a random ally that has a cost of 1 more.

To secure victory against your opponent, you’ll want to finish them off using either Heistbaron Togwaggle or Galakrond, the Nightmare. Heistbaron Togwaggle grants you a treasure if you have a Lackey in play, allowing you to choose between either the Wondrous Wand (which lets you draw 3 cards at no cost) or Zarog’s Crown (which lets you discover a legendary minion and summon 2 copies of it). While many players tend to favor the Wondrous Wand, it can sometimes lead to unfavorable outcomes, especially since your deck likely contains many low-cost cards. Additionally, it decreases the total number of cards in your deck, which can impact your long-term survivability. Personally, I prefer the Wondrous Wand if I still have several high-cost cards in my deck and need to play something urgently or secure a win. Conversely, I often choose Zarog’s Crown if my deck is filled with low-cost cards and I want to summon some powerful allies immediately. Galakrond, the Nightmare is the deck’s centerpiece, and you should play him once you have fully invoked him. This grants you a 5/2 claw and allows you to draw 4 cards at no cost, often leading to the creation of a formidable board, especially in combination with cards like Edwin. After summoning Galakrond, you can play Kronx Dragonhoof to activate one of four powerful abilities.

Step 6: Continue playing games until you reach the Legend rank.

In truth, it wasn’t particularly challenging, but I found myself struggling the most against Warrior decks. They often deployed damaged allies that were immune to Backstab or Sealed Fate, which would often lead to my defeat in the early stages of the game.

Obtain Hearthstone.

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide! I trust you found the information helpful. If you’re interested in playing Hearthstone, you might want to check out this link for a complimentary pack.