A few weeks have passed since the first major expansion for Hearthstone “Goblins vs. Gnomes” was released. I had ample time to splurge my hard-earned gold in the Arena and to try out many new decks with the new cards in ranked mode.
Of course, Hearthstone hasn’t magically transformed into a completely new game, but the changes and possibilities should definitely be mentioned.
The new cards: Spare Parts, Mechs, and Ogres
Spare Parts – The little extra something
Almost 120 new cards have been added to the game, and as expected, each one is unique in its own way. There are a lot of value combinations that have existed before in the game, but now they are often combined with new keywords or old keywords with new value combinations.
Particularly noteworthy is the new mechanic of “Spare Parts”, mainly obtained through Mech cards, which all count as 1-mana spells. They have only a single, relatively weak effect like “Freezes a minion” or “Gives a minion +1 Health”, but these small differences can often tip the balance of victory, especially since they count as spells and thus work wonderfully with well-known cards like “Archmage Antonidas”, “Wild Pyromancer”, or “Goblin Auctioneer”.
Mechs – Synergies galore
The second major innovation is the introduction of the card type “Mech”. Logically, these are exclusively minions and mostly some crazy inventions from Goblins/Gnomes. Many of these small combat robots enhance each other, and the longer time goes on, the more threatening the metal army can become. Notably, the three “Shredders” that have made it into the game should be mentioned here. They come in three mana classes, either for 4, 6, or 8 mana, although their stats fall a bit short of expectations.
What makes them so special is their death rattle effect, where a random minion is summoned when you scrap them. The funniest rounds are definitely those in which a Mech summons the “Grim Patron”, which then wipes out the entire board in the next moment. While this is quite unlikely, when it happens, it is memorable.
Ogres – Of ninjas and two-headed giants
The last “larger group” is probably the Ogres, even though there are only a handful of cards of them. They almost always have quite high stats for their mana cost (like 4/4 for 3 mana) and a card text of “50% chance to attack another enemy”.
What initially looks like a disadvantage can ultimately turn into an advantage! Because this chance also means that enemy minions with “Taunt” are ignored in half of the cases, allowing you to hit a much more important target instead. But aside from that, it presents the player with the tricky question: “Should I attack the enemy directly? Or should I attack a minion and hope the Ogre changes targets?” Of course, this is a difficult-to-calculate random factor – but more on that later.
An adjustment in philosophy
The expansion also brought some changes to the gameplay. While a year ago it was still said that they wanted to pay close attention to certain things in Hearthstone to avoid frustrating players, they have now somewhat abandoned this. A core point was that both players should always have full visibility of the gameplay and that nothing should happen that couldn’t be immediately understood. A few cards now break this rule, such as the “Flame Leviathan” of the mage. When it is drawn, all characters on the board take 2 damage – and the mage’s opponent has no idea why this has happened if they do not know this card yet.
Another point was that players should never “interfere” with other players’ hands – they could add cards or copy them from hand, but never force something specific to be played. The card “Call of the Ancestors” now allows both players to discard a minion – this can certainly backfire, but it is still a new mechanic that was previously avoided.
Although they are loosening old promises and relaxing them (if only in limited cases), I find these steps interesting and immensely fun. A card game like Hearthstone can only remain engaging over many years by introducing new mechanics, and the developers have succeeded in doing this in a careful manner. Even if these effects turn out to be completely disadvantageous for me, the outcomes have always been funny and immensely entertaining. Fun remains paramount in Hearthstone, even above victory – and I can rarely laugh off defeats as well as in this game.
Chance against skill – A contradiction?
One of the biggest criticisms beforehand was the often occurring keyword “random” on many of the new cards.
– “Deals 1-4 damage to a random minion.”
– “Summons a random minion for 2 mana.”
– “Gives a random friendly minion Taunt and Divine Shield.”
A large portion of the cards indeed feature some component that cannot be 100% predicted in many situations, and that is a thorn in the side of many players. Here I can only refer to a statement from this year’s BlizzCon: If everything depends so heavily on luck and chance, why do the same players always win? Why are Trump and other well-known streamers the ones who win every tournament and continue to win despite these “terrible” random components?
The answer is actually frighteningly simple: Part of the “skill” in Hearthstone involves calculating the random factor and planning for all possible scenarios – often involving a bit of mathematics, but this “control of randomness” often distinguishes an average player from a very good one.
Chance and skill do not stand in opposition in Hearthstone – at least not more than in most other collectible card games. Whoever manages to master randomness will continue to find success in Hearthstone – that hasn’t changed.
Moments you won’t forget
A brief example should illustrate how great the moments are that will stick with you in Hearthstone for a long time.
I already told you in my preview of favorite cards that the “Mistress of Pain” definitely belongs to the underrated cards in the game! She is particularly clever because in a very specific game situation, she still obeys the warlock even if an opposing priest has taken control of her via Mind Control.
But let me explain the card first: The “Mistress of Pain” only deals one damage, but has the card text “Restores that much Health to your hero whenever this minion deals damage.” If the enemy priest has taken over such a succubus and also has an “Auchenai Soulpriest” on the board with the text “Your healing cards and abilities deal damage instead”, you just have to let something run into the succubus – and watch the crazy result.
The succubus deals damage to the minion, so she heals the enemy priest for 1. Since the Auchenai Soulpriest is on the board, this healing is converted into damage. Since the Auchenai Soulpriest caused the succubus to deal damage again, she heals the priest again for 1, and that too is converted into damage… and so on, and so forth. This chain now repeats endlessly until the priest dies.
This is just one example of many that make “Goblins vs Gnomes” so memorable.
New decks are strong, old decks even stronger
While many new decks have emerged in recent weeks that can be played very effectively, such as Reynad’s Tempo Mage, it is slowly becoming clear that especially the tried-and-true decks benefit the most from the new cards. The Control Warrior, Handlock Warlock, and Face Hunter are particularly popular. At least at the mid-ranks, there are hardly any games where you actually see players’ own creations, and I find that a bit of a shame.
Even though the new cards offer countless new options, most players still rely only on what they have seen in a stream – which is unfortunate and somewhat boring. It is to be hoped that in the coming weeks a little more willingness to experiment spreads in the community – Blizzard has provided the tools, now it just needs to be used.
A little extra: The spectator mode
Especially tournament organizers are of course delighted with the new feature, as Hearthstone has finally received the long-awaited spectator mode. With just one click, it is possible to watch the games of friends in real-time and then throw them valuable tips or sarcastic comments through Skype or chat – in any case, it is tremendously amusing and adds a whole new social component to the game.
Experienced players can thus support newcomers more easily and help them in their first games, so they are not always overwhelmed by a Zoo Lock Warlock. I particularly like the fact that you can see both players’ cards as long as you have both players on your friends list – the annoying editing of images for tournaments is now a thing of the past.
You can, of course, kick all spectators out of your own game if you don’t feel like curious eyes.
Conclusion – More of the good
In summary, the expansion should completely satisfy all fans of the card game. The new cards complement the existing ones excellently and there is definitely potential for many, many creative deck creations.
The “GvG” card packs also cost the same as the old ones and can be earned through the Arena mode – there is hardly a fairer pricing model. Hearthstone remains one of the very few games where “Free2Play” is not a negative aspect, and those who have yet to check out Blizzard’s card game should do so as soon as possible – because three free card packs and, of course, an incredibly motivating, entertaining, and fast-paced game await.
