The Ultimate Guide to Get to Legend - Episode 94

News Chat

• Quality of life patch
  • Deck sharing
  • Quests with friends
  • Gold stacking!!!!!!!!!!!
• One nation of gamers closed down :(
  • https://twitter.com/DericOmarOrtiz/status/872839539500253184 - 3 days ago
  • Big tournament organizer/host
• Next expansion? 
  • https://eusgamer.blogspot.com/2017/06/next-hearthstone-expansion-might-be.html?m=1
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/6gei2d/three_reasons_why_the_next_expansion_is_most/

Topic

How to get to Legend

 

Overview:

• This guide is going to mostly be geared towards the player who hasn’t cracked into legend yet. Many things will be transferrable to every player (such as mindset and patterns to playing), but it does take more time and effort for the “everyman.”
• Getting to legend is hard. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes intentionality. You will probably not get there by accident, especially if you’ve been playing for a while.
• Thomas Jefferson said, “If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” If you want to get there, you need to do something different. So pay attention as we go through these tips to things you’ve never thought of or (much more dangerous…) the things you think don’t apply to you. Tread lightly when going down that road. Steve and I fought there, but Hat REALLY knows what he’s talking about in this realm. If you haven’t gotten there yet, be willing to try anything we say. We want you to win at this game and get that elusive cardback. It’s worth it.

 

The things you need…

• Time
• A deck you know
• A deck that performs well
• Mulligan skill
• Game skill
• A bit of luck
• A good mindset! (We’ll talk about this a lot)

 

• Getting to rank 15 - Making better in-game decisions
  • Draw first!
  • Trigger random effects first to maximize information
  • Trade before random damage effects (arcane missiles, c’thun, etc) to not waste damage/minimize number of targets
  • Hex, Consecration, Flamestrike, Shadow Word Pain/Death, etc.
  • http://www.icy-veins.com/hearthstone/why-am-i-losing-in-hearthstone
  • http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/3692_Whos_The_Beatdown.html
  • Take your time and consider all your possible plays
  • Mulligans
  • Try to figure out everything you’re going to play on this turn and want you want to be able to play on your next turn before playing any cards
  • Check for lethal!
  • Minion positioning
  • Maximize the odds of random effects
  • Figure out the most powerful comeback card your opponent’s class usually has with available mana and try to play with that in mind

• Getting to rank 10 - Choosing the right deck to ladder with
  • Ladder lists vs tournament lists
  • Hearthpwn, hearthstonetopdecks, competetiveHS subreddit, VS data reaper, HSReplay
  • Picking the right deck for the meta you’re facing
  • Should you play the best deck if you don’t like playing the best deck?
• Getting to rank 5 - Know what you’re playing against
  • VS Data Reaper
  • VS Live Meta Report
  • TempoStorm
  • Metastats
  • Tournaments
    • HCT
    • Global Games
  • Streamers
    • Kibler
    • Thijs
    • Firebat (when he’s tryharding, which is less lately)
    • VLPS
    • ADWCTA/Merps/Grinninggoat (for Arena)
    • Hafu (Arena)
  • Think, “what would I play here if I was playing this deck?”
  • Meta reports
  • Watching streams
  • Play all the meta decks, even in casual
  • Check for your own lethal as well as your opponent’s
• Getting to Legend
  • Dealing with ladder anxiety!
    • It will be easy to overvalue every star - Blizzard’s grasp of addiction mechanics is second to none and the first time you hit a new ranked high, you’ll want to hoard your stars like a lil dragon
    • But you can’t win if you don’t press play. And losing a star is not a big deal if you expect to get it back
    • The volume of games you will need is substantial (as mentioned below) but you have to keep pressing play until you turn orange
  • Dealing with losing streaks
  • How a >50% win rate feels a lot of the time (lousy)
  • Knowing when to take a break
    • If you’re not enjoying hearthstone because of your drive towards a singular goal, maybe it’s the wrong goal for you
    • Don’t burn yourself out - it’s not worth it having a cardback in a game you don’t want to play any more
  • http://www.pcgame.com/how-to-reframe-negative-hearthstone-experiences-and-win-more-as-a-result/
  • Dealing with RNG/”broken” cards or decks
    • Tech for it
    • Review your replays to play the matchup differently
    • If all else fails, change decks
    • These cards and decks are part of the game for better or worse and everyone is dealing with them; it’s your job as a competitor to figure out how to beat them
    • Just because you lost to Yogg nonsense doesn't mean you didn't make a decision early in the game that let your opponent live long enough to play Yogg
    • Yes, cards and decks are broken at times. Complaining won't fix it.
    • Accept that some matchups are just bad
    • If your stats show you that you're seeing a bad matchup a lot:
    • Complaining won't fix it; it will just lead to tilt
    • Some games may legit be due to bad beats, but you wont know that for sure without reviewing your losses
  • What it is
  • How to recognize it
  • How to prevent it
  • If you have a family, friends, or a significant other of any commitment, say “goodbye” to them. Just kidding… Kind of. The truth is that a lot of your life needs to shift and prioritize this goal. Assuming you have a 40 hour week job or are going to school full time, you don’t have unending free time or days to commit to this game. So the free time you do have in the evenings and weekends need to count.
    • Even better, if you have a couple weeks away from the kids or have a winter break or something, leverage those times. You’ll do much better when you can throw yourself at this game frequently and for long periods of time.
  • Rank 5 is halfway there
  • Plan to be at rank 15 by the 1st, 10 by the 7th, and 5 by the 15th
  • It takes 227 games (on average) with a 55% win rate to get from 5 to Legend:
    • https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/69qzdr/analysis_does_the_rank_5_floor_significantly/
    • Pirate Warrior, at around 5 mins/game, takes 18 hours from 5-legend
    • Burn Mage, at around 8 mins/game, takes 30 hours from 5 to legend
  • Take your time; a single misplay can cost you an hour
    • https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveHS/comments/4lus9f/10_to_legend_lessons_from_a_firsttime_legend/
  • Managing the mental game
  • Tilt
  • Playing percentages and knowing your outs
  • Understanding the time commitment
• Track your progress
  • Track-o-bot
  • Hearthstone Deck Tracker
  • Record your games/HSReplay
  • OBS/record vids of your games
• Celebrate your accomplishments even if you don’t hit legend
  • The top 0.25% of players end up at Legend out of 70+ million
  • Rank 5 - 2%
  • Rank 10 - 8%
  • Rank 15 - 25%
  • If you can hit rank 15, you’re still better than ¾ of all players; don’t be ashamed of that!

Community

Question

Ellak Roach - Is Wild Legend easier than Standard Legend, and if so, why?

 

YellowDart3 - So now that you hit Legend do you feel driven to keep hitting it or can you relax finally?

 

James Waddell III (Google+) - What deck or decks would be best in the current meta to get from 15-10 ?

 

iTunes Review

5 stars - Isabella Chapman - Simply the best
just a great show in general straydog#1963