I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
Duelyst doesn't have an iOS app. or maybe I would.
I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
Duelyst doesn't have an iOS app. or maybe I would.
Think that's a big reason Hearthstone can afford to do what they do.
I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
I just want to have fun and while I can play fun decks in hearthstone myself I just get rekt by pirate warrior and shaman. I'm going to check out Duelyst soon, I've played Faeria and ES:L.
BattleTag: MetalJared#1756
PSN: SoulCrusherJared
0
The JudgeThe Terwilliger CurvesRegistered Userregular
After reading a few articles and reviewing the last thread and slowly picking up on deck construction over the last few weeks . . . I seem to have picked a weird time to start playing this game.
Last pint: Turmoil CDA / Barley Brown's - Untappd: TheJudge_PDX
I'm on my third (second non-free) arena run. Been using a guide by a guy named Sheng to build my deck. First one went bad, 1 win. Second one, I'm at 2 wins and no losses so far. Woop woop.
Out of interest does anyone see a way to make a digital card game without the limitation of needing to grind/pay for cards but still with potential for profit? A flat fee seems like a tough ask.
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
Duelyst doesn't have an iOS app. or maybe I would.
I just installed Eternal CCG on my android phone. Might be an iPhone app too? Seems pretty cool but I'm only past the very first tutorial battle. I got turned off by Shadowverses art style otherwise that is an alternative as well.
Don't think I will give up my considerable HS collection fully but it's nice with change
0
Metal JaredMulligan WizardRhode IslandRegistered Userregular
Out of interest does anyone see a way to make a digital card game without the limitation of needing to grind/pay for cards but still with potential for profit? A flat fee seems like a tough ask.
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I think Faeria charges $50 for all the cards in a set. You could always charge a subscription fee? "Pay $x a month and you get to play our game with all the cards" Seems like a reasonable way to not have to pay for cards and only pay when you're actually playing the game
BattleTag: MetalJared#1756
PSN: SoulCrusherJared
0
AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
Duelyst doesn't have an iOS app. or maybe I would.
I just installed Eternal CCG on my android phone. Might be an iPhone app too? Seems pretty cool but I'm only past the very first tutorial battle. I got turned off by Shadowverses art style otherwise that is an alternative as well.
Don't think I will give up my considerable HS collection fully but it's nice with change
Eternal's solid, but the Magic-style resources and need for 75 card decks creates some real weird variance.
I have 3 warrior quests right now and I really don't want to play pirate warrior. Is any other warrior list capable of scraping up wins?
I was playing C'Thun Warrior last night, floating around 15 without much effort. I haven't even modified the list since Whispers, so I'm sure there's better versions of it than what I'm playing. Only thing I don't like about this list is that it pretty much always goes to fatigue against other control decks, which I just find obnoxious.
3DS: 4098-4243-6127
+2
VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
I think it's more assumed than confirmed right now.
They actually did explicitly announce an announcement of a balance patch at the end of this month.
I'm so glad they're announcing something at the end of the month when so many people hate the game right now. That's a super great way to run a business.
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
yeah this is what is keeping me from each game listed. I really particularly like the approach of duelyst and I think faeria but. just a lot of time to spend.
Out of interest does anyone see a way to make a digital card game without the limitation of needing to grind/pay for cards but still with potential for profit? A flat fee seems like a tough ask.
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I think Faeria charges $50 for all the cards in a set. You could always charge a subscription fee? "Pay $x a month and you get to play our game with all the cards" Seems like a reasonable way to not have to pay for cards and only pay when you're actually playing the game
I think one of the main problems with giving everyone all the cards is then you've got to come up with another reason for your players to play. Online games are all about progression nowadays and I'm not sure a ladder system by itself would be a compelling enough reason for many players to want to play much. Speaking just for myself, one of the main reasons I play HS so much is for the progression/card collection aspect.
Out of interest does anyone see a way to make a digital card game without the limitation of needing to grind/pay for cards but still with potential for profit? A flat fee seems like a tough ask.
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I think Faeria charges $50 for all the cards in a set. You could always charge a subscription fee? "Pay $x a month and you get to play our game with all the cards" Seems like a reasonable way to not have to pay for cards and only pay when you're actually playing the game
I think one of the main problems with giving everyone all the cards is then you've got to come up with another reason for your players to play. Online games are all about progression nowadays and I'm not sure a ladder system by itself would be a compelling enough reason for many players to want to play much. Speaking just for myself, one of the main reasons I play HS so much is for the progression/card collection aspect.
Agreed I think the reward needs to be considered. Comparing to say Overwatch, you can certainly use rank for motivation but cosmetics just aren't as valuable to the Hearthstone playerbase as they are to the Overwatch player base so thats not much of an option.
Out of interest does anyone see a way to make a digital card game without the limitation of needing to grind/pay for cards but still with potential for profit? A flat fee seems like a tough ask.
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I think Faeria charges $50 for all the cards in a set. You could always charge a subscription fee? "Pay $x a month and you get to play our game with all the cards" Seems like a reasonable way to not have to pay for cards and only pay when you're actually playing the game
I think one of the main problems with giving everyone all the cards is then you've got to come up with another reason for your players to play. Online games are all about progression nowadays and I'm not sure a ladder system by itself would be a compelling enough reason for many players to want to play much. Speaking just for myself, one of the main reasons I play HS so much is for the progression/card collection aspect.
Agreed I think the reward needs to be considered. Comparing to say Overwatch, you can certainly use rank for motivation but cosmetics just aren't as valuable to the Hearthstone playerbase as they are to the Overwatch player base so thats not much of an option.
well maybe they should make good cosmetics for once
0
Metal JaredMulligan WizardRhode IslandRegistered Userregular
Out of interest does anyone see a way to make a digital card game without the limitation of needing to grind/pay for cards but still with potential for profit? A flat fee seems like a tough ask.
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I think Faeria charges $50 for all the cards in a set. You could always charge a subscription fee? "Pay $x a month and you get to play our game with all the cards" Seems like a reasonable way to not have to pay for cards and only pay when you're actually playing the game
I think one of the main problems with giving everyone all the cards is then you've got to come up with another reason for your players to play. Online games are all about progression nowadays and I'm not sure a ladder system by itself would be a compelling enough reason for many players to want to play much. Speaking just for myself, one of the main reasons I play HS so much is for the progression/card collection aspect.
I tend to agree, part of the thing I enjoy about card games in general is opening packs and I still do my best to grind my quests to get gold to get free packs. I don't think a card game has many options on the cost to play. I actually thing the separation between Adventures giving fixed cards and expansions giving packs is a really smart way to monetize a card game.
@cog duelyst will have an iOS version eventually, and Android. Both mobile and console is on the roadmap. The former I expect, the latter is a surprise.
@Road Block personally I see tournaments and a little in game trophy case as a way to keep people playing. Let people go "infinite" for doing well but have a fee to buy back in. Not unlike how arena works (not necessarily that structure). Personally I played magic for years after I stopped enjoying it simply because of tournaments.
I'd like to see someone try the lcg model, but after X years old cards get rolled into the new player "base set" for free. So after 2 years everyone gets every card that's older than whatever the cutoff is. You'd need another revenue stream, but hearthstone kind of cut off a lot of that since cards already have animations and sounds. I guess alternate ones in a greater variety work just like other f2p offerings.
I have 3 warrior quests right now and I really don't want to play pirate warrior. Is any other warrior list capable of scraping up wins?
Control Warrior is dominating at higher ranks, so yes.
0
ani_game_bumOptimistic, Rule-Breaking Nice GuyThe Final World/DestinationRegistered Userregular
Getting a phone upgrade this Christmas (4s to SE) has rekindled my interest in the game so I am back (since August 2015, around when Grand Tournament just came out) playing more regularly and catching up on the new card and formats. I am running a poor man's version of Aggro Shaman and Demon Zoolock for Standard and Tempo Mage for Wild (because I love me some Unstable Portal and will never let go of it) and winning more that losing with those decks. I have not had much luck with Arena (my best is going 3-3 out of a handful of attempts so far) but haven't tried to sit down with a build guide yet and get serious.
Had a question, though: One of my daily quests is the Challenge a Friend quest. Do I just look to see who is available on my list and say "Let's Duel!" or is there some kind of courtesy process to request a game?
Getting a phone upgrade this Christmas (4s to SE) has rekindled my interest in the game so I am back (since August 2015, around when Grand Tournament just came out) playing more regularly and catching up on the new card and formats. I am running a poor man's version of Aggro Shaman and Demon Zoolock for Standard and Tempo Mage for Wild (because I love me some Unstable Portal and will never let go of it) and winning more that losing with those decks. I have not had much luck with Arena (my best is going 3-3 out of a handful of attempts so far) but haven't tried to sit down with a build guide yet and get serious.
Had a question, though: One of my daily quests is the Challenge a Friend quest. Do I just look to see who is available on my list and say "Let's Duel!" or is there some kind of courtesy process to request a game?
Most people ask first before challenging, but it's mostly a formality to make sure they aren't about to get off or something. It's 80 free gold for the other person too, so they rarely decline
Getting a phone upgrade this Christmas (4s to SE) has rekindled my interest in the game so I am back (since August 2015, around when Grand Tournament just came out) playing more regularly and catching up on the new card and formats. I am running a poor man's version of Aggro Shaman and Demon Zoolock for Standard and Tempo Mage for Wild (because I love me some Unstable Portal and will never let go of it) and winning more that losing with those decks. I have not had much luck with Arena (my best is going 3-3 out of a handful of attempts so far) but haven't tried to sit down with a build guide yet and get serious.
Had a question, though: One of my daily quests is the Challenge a Friend quest. Do I just look to see who is available on my list and say "Let's Duel!" or is there some kind of courtesy process to request a game?
Most people ask first before challenging, but it's mostly a formality to make sure they aren't about to get off or something. It's 80 free gold for the other person too, so they rarely decline
Also you can only challenge people when they're on menu screens, so being able to hit someone up and have them respond (i.e. not be afk) is rare anyways.
i find the state of cosmetics in hearthstone irritating enough that i am going to make a post about it
So there's two reasons to use a cosmetic item in any game, and if someone uses them it is for one of those reasons (or both): Aesthetic, and Prestige. Aesthetic is simple, it's whether someone likes how a thing looks. Someone choosing cosmetic items for aesthetics doesn't care if it's an ultra limited edition, or if it's given away for free to any new player. Prestige is something that can be broken down into a few categories: Difficulty of Task, Time Investment, or straight Rarity. Someone who is choosing to wear the gear from the hardest endgame raid in WoW is choosing that out of the task difficulty. Likewise someone who is wearing a seasonal item from Overwatch's holidays may be wearing it out of an appreciation of its rarity, as it was only available for a limited time.
Hearthstone is fairly light on Prestige rewards. There's the Legend cardback, the golden hero portraits, a few varied limited time availability card backs, and the golden cards from adventures that you can only craft once you've beaten Heroic mode. I generally think these are poor rewards.
Card backs, for starters, exist in that awkward cosmetic space of "thing your opponent sees more than you do" and even then they don't really see it that much outside of Discover effects. It's a cosmetic that's tangentially off to the side, quiet and pronounced. There's room for cosmetics that the player barely sees - every first person shooter has the player basically unable to see every cosmetic they've spent money on - but it should be a meaningful and common sight to the opponent.
Golden rewards are tricky in that gold is not uniformly regarded as a positive. While some people enjoy the glamour associated with gold many people also find it garish and unappealing (though some like it for that garishness). Thankfully the golden frames are only a small part of gold rewards...unfortunately, if you want to talk about garish and unappealing? Personally, the "animation" that many golden rewards have is ugly - particle and photoshop effects applied to artwork that was not drawn with the intention of being animated. I've said before that the Bomb Squad from MSoG is the only good golden card, and that's because her shaking knees have a fun visible nature that many golden cards don't. This is, of course, a matter of taste - but I wouldn't call this an uncommon opinion. Things are improving over time, as it's understood by more and more artists that golden cards have basic animation effects, but generally speaking it's just a situation where they're less garish, as opposed to not garish.
There's another catch with golden cards as well: pursuing golden cards as a reward is at odds with expanding your collection. When giving one of your decks a bunch of flair comes at the cost of dust that could go towards two, three other decks? You're sacrificing variety of play experience for bling, and that's a much harder sacrifice to make than money or time for bling. Sure, technically the money I spend on say a hero skin could have gone towards boosters that would've been cards but that's not really how people compartmentalize that. If you're not a hella whale, dust is kind of at a premium.
Then there's the final cosmetic in Hearthstone, which should be a home run, but isn't. Hero skins. This should be The Thing, because your hero is who you're playing, it's what your opponents see. The fact that after the initial batch of heroes only one has been for sale instead of a promotion (and Khadgar was only on sale for a limited time) says a lot about the success of this product. All of the heroes are so fucking boring. Why would I pay $10 to have a picture of Some Random Elf who says "Masterful. I concede." like she's reading it off a piece of paper? There's a reason even whales who play "Wallet Warrior" usually play Garrosh and it's because he says things like "Heh. 'Greetings'." Now, a lot of the base heroes are just as boring as the bonus ones, but there's just nothin' going on! You also have the problem where a lot of the heroes are dudes that no one's heard of if they're not knee deep in the Warcraft lore. To most people, Khadgar and Medivh are Just Dudes. The most recent hero release with the shaman murloc is finally them breaking from this devotion to the existing Warcraft brand to create a new character but there needs to be so much more than that. Sure, just because there's no important worgen warlock in WoW doesn't mean players wouldn't play to be the sick wolfman warlock in Hearthstone if he had all these cool sinister lines.
And for god's sake, don't pair them with a card back! I touched on the problems with card backs before, and it's just as true when you include them as a "pack-in" with alternate hero art. Do something cool instead. Imagine if instead of Some Random Shitty Elf hunter players could pay to be Sylvanas, and get a bunch of cool undead versions of some of their cards! Depending on how many alt-arts you include you can ask 20, 30$ for that premium stuff easy!
On top of all that, the final thing I have to say is that it's disappointing to see digital card games often offer less customization than their physical counterparts. When I play Magic I have hundreds of different basic lands to choose from. If I'm going to put Plains in my deck, I can use some of the basic fields that most sets have, or I can track down some of the more unique takes on the design:
I have custom tokens for my cards that generate tokens, I have a custom playmat that I play on. I have custom dice with unique designs and colours that I picked out of a wall of dice for fuck's sake. I have a custom box that I carry my deck in, and a custom box that I carry that in along with the other things I need to play with. I can choose any colour under the sun to sleeve my deck in, and I can get sleeves with art on the back of them if I want. Some of the cards in my deck can be promo alt-arts. How on earth is a digital game without the limitations of physical media so far behind?
+8
Tynnanseldom correct, never unsureRegistered Userregular
i think it is a super bummer that zendikar has been the only source for full-art lands because i find the zendikar aesthetic of "floatin' stuff and hedrons" super boring
0
Tynnanseldom correct, never unsureRegistered Userregular
I thought Tarkir had some of the most gorgeous land art concepts for a world in a long time. Would have been cool to see those full size.
0
The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
how much do I have to pay blizz to get my wow oc as an alt hero
and then make hunter playable so I can actually do something with her
how much do I have to pay blizz to get my wow oc as an alt hero
and then make hunter playable so I can actually do something with her
when blizzard announced they were taking the wow tcg license in-house and no longer publishing the card game, i legit thought it was gonna be like their pokemon game in WoW and just be an in-game card game where you play yourself
i'm actually shocked there's no way to play hearthstone in wow yet tbh
0
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
how much do I have to pay blizz to get my wow oc as an alt hero
and then make hunter playable so I can actually do something with her
when blizzard announced they were taking the wow tcg license in-house and no longer publishing the card game, i legit thought it was gonna be like their pokemon game in WoW and just be an in-game card game where you play yourself
i'm actually shocked there's no way to play hearthstone in wow yet tbh
WoW's code is a spaghetti monster, I doubt they could implement something that complex into it now.
+3
The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
Thinking about the Meta today and made me realize that I miss Oil-Rogue. That was a fun deck that always felt like it had options on every turn where you could never be sure you were playing it right. I've mostly been playing Reno/Karzakus decks lately which are fun but have gotten fairly stale. I hope the next expansion is able to create some more interesting archetypes.
0
AegisFear My DanceOvershot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered Userregular
I miss Patron Warrior. In part because I played classes that could deal with it, but mostly because even at Legend, the deck was fucking hard to pilot.
Thinking about the Meta today and made me realize that I miss Oil-Rogue. That was a fun deck that always felt like it had options on every turn where you could never be sure you were playing it right. I've mostly been playing Reno/Karzakus decks lately which are fun but have gotten fairly stale. I hope the next expansion is able to create some more interesting archetypes.
Playing oil always stressed me out. Like more than Miracle. As much as Patron.
Thinking about the Meta today and made me realize that I miss Oil-Rogue. That was a fun deck that always felt like it had options on every turn where you could never be sure you were playing it right. I've mostly been playing Reno/Karzakus decks lately which are fun but have gotten fairly stale. I hope the next expansion is able to create some more interesting archetypes.
Playing oil always stressed me out. Like more than Miracle. As much as Patron.
I always enjoyed both of those decks (Oil and Patron) though Paron was definitely OP. I did play that a bit during OG-meta where it could still do alright but it's just too slow to play now. I just like feeling like there are a lot of options on your turn I think, even if that means you'll screw up.
Posts
I'm sure most hearthstone players don't want to go through the f2p card grind again in another game. I got like a quarter of the way to a decent duelyst collection and gave up.
Duelyst doesn't have an iOS app. or maybe I would.
Think that's a big reason Hearthstone can afford to do what they do.
Edit: Wrong words.
Steam: betsuni7
All according to keikaku*
*Translator's note: keikaku means plan but is way more subtle than plan so we left it as keikaku
I just want to have fun and while I can play fun decks in hearthstone myself I just get rekt by pirate warrior and shaman. I'm going to check out Duelyst soon, I've played Faeria and ES:L.
PSN: SoulCrusherJared
There are people who only play arena and have no interest in packs so the idea isn't completely infeasible but casual players would probably not want to pay per match.
I just installed Eternal CCG on my android phone. Might be an iPhone app too? Seems pretty cool but I'm only past the very first tutorial battle. I got turned off by Shadowverses art style otherwise that is an alternative as well.
Don't think I will give up my considerable HS collection fully but it's nice with change
I think Faeria charges $50 for all the cards in a set. You could always charge a subscription fee? "Pay $x a month and you get to play our game with all the cards" Seems like a reasonable way to not have to pay for cards and only pay when you're actually playing the game
PSN: SoulCrusherJared
Eternal's solid, but the Magic-style resources and need for 75 card decks creates some real weird variance.
The draft formats are fun, however!
I was playing C'Thun Warrior last night, floating around 15 without much effort. I haven't even modified the list since Whispers, so I'm sure there's better versions of it than what I'm playing. Only thing I don't like about this list is that it pretty much always goes to fatigue against other control decks, which I just find obnoxious.
yeah this is what is keeping me from each game listed. I really particularly like the approach of duelyst and I think faeria but. just a lot of time to spend.
I think one of the main problems with giving everyone all the cards is then you've got to come up with another reason for your players to play. Online games are all about progression nowadays and I'm not sure a ladder system by itself would be a compelling enough reason for many players to want to play much. Speaking just for myself, one of the main reasons I play HS so much is for the progression/card collection aspect.
Agreed I think the reward needs to be considered. Comparing to say Overwatch, you can certainly use rank for motivation but cosmetics just aren't as valuable to the Hearthstone playerbase as they are to the Overwatch player base so thats not much of an option.
well maybe they should make good cosmetics for once
I tend to agree, part of the thing I enjoy about card games in general is opening packs and I still do my best to grind my quests to get gold to get free packs. I don't think a card game has many options on the cost to play. I actually thing the separation between Adventures giving fixed cards and expansions giving packs is a really smart way to monetize a card game.
PSN: SoulCrusherJared
@Road Block personally I see tournaments and a little in game trophy case as a way to keep people playing. Let people go "infinite" for doing well but have a fee to buy back in. Not unlike how arena works (not necessarily that structure). Personally I played magic for years after I stopped enjoying it simply because of tournaments.
I'd like to see someone try the lcg model, but after X years old cards get rolled into the new player "base set" for free. So after 2 years everyone gets every card that's older than whatever the cutoff is. You'd need another revenue stream, but hearthstone kind of cut off a lot of that since cards already have animations and sounds. I guess alternate ones in a greater variety work just like other f2p offerings.
WoWtcg and general gaming podcast
WoWtcg and gaming website
Control Warrior is dominating at higher ranks, so yes.
Had a question, though: One of my daily quests is the Challenge a Friend quest. Do I just look to see who is available on my list and say "Let's Duel!" or is there some kind of courtesy process to request a game?
Most people ask first before challenging, but it's mostly a formality to make sure they aren't about to get off or something. It's 80 free gold for the other person too, so they rarely decline
Also you can only challenge people when they're on menu screens, so being able to hit someone up and have them respond (i.e. not be afk) is rare anyways.
Any particular list?
So there's two reasons to use a cosmetic item in any game, and if someone uses them it is for one of those reasons (or both): Aesthetic, and Prestige. Aesthetic is simple, it's whether someone likes how a thing looks. Someone choosing cosmetic items for aesthetics doesn't care if it's an ultra limited edition, or if it's given away for free to any new player. Prestige is something that can be broken down into a few categories: Difficulty of Task, Time Investment, or straight Rarity. Someone who is choosing to wear the gear from the hardest endgame raid in WoW is choosing that out of the task difficulty. Likewise someone who is wearing a seasonal item from Overwatch's holidays may be wearing it out of an appreciation of its rarity, as it was only available for a limited time.
Hearthstone is fairly light on Prestige rewards. There's the Legend cardback, the golden hero portraits, a few varied limited time availability card backs, and the golden cards from adventures that you can only craft once you've beaten Heroic mode. I generally think these are poor rewards.
Card backs, for starters, exist in that awkward cosmetic space of "thing your opponent sees more than you do" and even then they don't really see it that much outside of Discover effects. It's a cosmetic that's tangentially off to the side, quiet and pronounced. There's room for cosmetics that the player barely sees - every first person shooter has the player basically unable to see every cosmetic they've spent money on - but it should be a meaningful and common sight to the opponent.
Golden rewards are tricky in that gold is not uniformly regarded as a positive. While some people enjoy the glamour associated with gold many people also find it garish and unappealing (though some like it for that garishness). Thankfully the golden frames are only a small part of gold rewards...unfortunately, if you want to talk about garish and unappealing? Personally, the "animation" that many golden rewards have is ugly - particle and photoshop effects applied to artwork that was not drawn with the intention of being animated. I've said before that the Bomb Squad from MSoG is the only good golden card, and that's because her shaking knees have a fun visible nature that many golden cards don't. This is, of course, a matter of taste - but I wouldn't call this an uncommon opinion. Things are improving over time, as it's understood by more and more artists that golden cards have basic animation effects, but generally speaking it's just a situation where they're less garish, as opposed to not garish.
There's another catch with golden cards as well: pursuing golden cards as a reward is at odds with expanding your collection. When giving one of your decks a bunch of flair comes at the cost of dust that could go towards two, three other decks? You're sacrificing variety of play experience for bling, and that's a much harder sacrifice to make than money or time for bling. Sure, technically the money I spend on say a hero skin could have gone towards boosters that would've been cards but that's not really how people compartmentalize that. If you're not a hella whale, dust is kind of at a premium.
Then there's the final cosmetic in Hearthstone, which should be a home run, but isn't. Hero skins. This should be The Thing, because your hero is who you're playing, it's what your opponents see. The fact that after the initial batch of heroes only one has been for sale instead of a promotion (and Khadgar was only on sale for a limited time) says a lot about the success of this product. All of the heroes are so fucking boring. Why would I pay $10 to have a picture of Some Random Elf who says "Masterful. I concede." like she's reading it off a piece of paper? There's a reason even whales who play "Wallet Warrior" usually play Garrosh and it's because he says things like "Heh. 'Greetings'." Now, a lot of the base heroes are just as boring as the bonus ones, but there's just nothin' going on! You also have the problem where a lot of the heroes are dudes that no one's heard of if they're not knee deep in the Warcraft lore. To most people, Khadgar and Medivh are Just Dudes. The most recent hero release with the shaman murloc is finally them breaking from this devotion to the existing Warcraft brand to create a new character but there needs to be so much more than that. Sure, just because there's no important worgen warlock in WoW doesn't mean players wouldn't play to be the sick wolfman warlock in Hearthstone if he had all these cool sinister lines.
And for god's sake, don't pair them with a card back! I touched on the problems with card backs before, and it's just as true when you include them as a "pack-in" with alternate hero art. Do something cool instead. Imagine if instead of Some Random Shitty Elf hunter players could pay to be Sylvanas, and get a bunch of cool undead versions of some of their cards! Depending on how many alt-arts you include you can ask 20, 30$ for that premium stuff easy!
On top of all that, the final thing I have to say is that it's disappointing to see digital card games often offer less customization than their physical counterparts. When I play Magic I have hundreds of different basic lands to choose from. If I'm going to put Plains in my deck, I can use some of the basic fields that most sets have, or I can track down some of the more unique takes on the design:
I have custom tokens for my cards that generate tokens, I have a custom playmat that I play on. I have custom dice with unique designs and colours that I picked out of a wall of dice for fuck's sake. I have a custom box that I carry my deck in, and a custom box that I carry that in along with the other things I need to play with. I can choose any colour under the sun to sleeve my deck in, and I can get sleeves with art on the back of them if I want. Some of the cards in my deck can be promo alt-arts. How on earth is a digital game without the limitations of physical media so far behind?
NaviOOT or Fibonacci
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
and then make hunter playable so I can actually do something with her
when blizzard announced they were taking the wow tcg license in-house and no longer publishing the card game, i legit thought it was gonna be like their pokemon game in WoW and just be an in-game card game where you play yourself
i'm actually shocked there's no way to play hearthstone in wow yet tbh
WoW's code is a spaghetti monster, I doubt they could implement something that complex into it now.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Playing oil always stressed me out. Like more than Miracle. As much as Patron.
I always enjoyed both of those decks (Oil and Patron) though Paron was definitely OP. I did play that a bit during OG-meta where it could still do alright but it's just too slow to play now. I just like feeling like there are a lot of options on your turn I think, even if that means you'll screw up.