My Top Hearthstone Deck: Priest Card Draw

Priest Deck - Card Drawing Cleric Deck

My best performing deck so far in Hearthstone's Play Mode is the one I am currently playing.  The Priest Card Drawing Cleric Deck that I am playing is a modification of some of the basics only Priest decks that you can find online on various forums.  Of course, like any wise player, I've adapted my own deck to include cards that I deem as better choices and that fit better into my own personal play styles.  Let's take a look at the Hearthstone Priest Deck that I used to rather easily hit 3 star Master in hardly no time at all.

Priest Card Draw / Control

This Priest deck relies on efficient minions, card drawing potential, the Priest's Hero Power to heal, and trading minions wisely to achieve victory.  The Northshire Cleric is awesome for gaining a card advantage over your opponent, if they are unable to get rid of it quickly.  There are only 7 non-basic cards in this deck and the cheaper basics only version is almost just as good as this deck.  I will provide options for a similar deck list that uses only basic cards later in this post.

After the main wipe and patch in Hearthstone, Priest decks have risen to popularity because they now have on of the best sets of basic cards to choose from as a priest.  Many of the basic minion cards work well with this type of Priest deck, so it is a common class that a lot of players have been trying out.  The synergy and card drawing ability can be so good that even poor players can earn wins with this deck due to the sheer ability to gain such a great card advantage over your opponents.

There are many matches where my opponent will be down to 1 or no cards without any minions, while I have a hand of 5 control spells and an answer to anything they can lay on the board.

The weakness in a Priest deck is with creatures that are 4 attack power, since neither of the Shadow Word spells or the Shadow Madness can target them.  So those 4 attack creatures either have to be killed with smart minion trades (and healing) or smoked with a Shadow Word: Death, should the opponent foolishly buff one out of the 4 attack safety zone.  Then there is always the option of Mind Control if it is late enough in the game.

Another important aspect of this deck is it's lack of true fatties.  So any other Priest that you are playing that likes to hold their Mind Control for a big fatty to steal, will never see one and will often have to steal back the minion that you stole from them in the first place.  Then once they steal it back, you SW:D the thing and laugh.


Let's take a look at this Priest Deck:

Minions:

• 2x Northshire Cleric - Runs the main card drawing engine.  
• 2x Amani Berserker - Can hit for big while damaged, then be healed to protect.
• 2x Novice Engineer - Card drawing efficient low cost minion.
• 2x Ironfur Grizzly - Cheap taunter used to protect your cleric and other minions.
• 2x Shattered Sun Cleric - Great minion that gives a buff to another minion that can swing the tempo into your favor.
• 2x Lightspawn - Can get even bigger with a PW:Shield buff on them.  Often will soak nasty removal spells like Hex and Polymorph and often trade multiple cards to kill.
• 2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta - Top notch taunter for protection.
• 1x Darkscale Healer - Comes in and heals all your minions and you.  When cleric is out can really get you a lot of cards drawn.
• 2x Silver Hand Knight - One of the top cards in Hearthstone in my opinion.  Such efficient cost and summons a pair of minions, which will often swing the tempo back into your favor.

Control:

• 2x Holy Smite - Cheap, early removal is important to fend of the common 3/2 minions that hit turn 1.
• 2x Shadow Word: Pain - Kills anything with 3 or less attack.
• 2x Shadow Word: Death - Kills anything with 5 or more attack.
• 1x Shadow Madness - Used to kill 2 of their creatures by stealing one to suicide into the other.  Can really wreck someone's day.
• 2x Holy Nova - AoE spell that also heals.  Works great when a cleric is out.
• 2x Mind Control - The most cried about card on the forums right now.  The threat of even having one in your hand changes how your opponent plays against you.  Often used late to steal an important taunter or a big fatty and crush the opponents last minute win or turtle attempt.

Buffs:

• 2x Power Word: Shield - I normally don't run buff cards, because they tend to lose you card advantage, but this one draws you a card so it replaces itself.  When combined with your Priest hero ability to heal, it can really swing the tempo in your favor and allow for your minions to kill more than one enemy minion, while staying alive.  A buffed 1/5 Cleric is a lot harder to deal with and a Lightspawn turns into a 7/7 with this buff.  Got a 4/4 that needs to kill another 4/4?  Buff yours to 4/6, ram it, then heal away, and draw a card if your Cleric is out.  ;)

Cheaper Priest Deck With Basic Cards Only

If you don't have the expert cards required to complete this deck, then there are some very similar and efficient swaps that you can make for a Priest deck made with only the free to play basic cards.  Here is a list of what to replace in this deck to run with all basics.  This list also shows what to replace as you do start to get some of those other expert level cards. 

Example:  If you get an Amani Berserker, swap it in for a River Crocolisk.

• 2 Amani Berserkers -> 2 River Crocolisks
• 1 Shadow Madness -> Add a 2nd Darkscale Healer
• 2 Lightspawn -> 2 Chillwind Yeti
• 2 Silver Hand Knight -> 2 Gnomish Inventor

You can play around with the Priest deck build and see if you like the Chillwind Yeti or the Lightspawn better in your deck.  Both have their advantages and weaknesses.  The Yeti can't be nerfed by a Silence, but the Lightspawn can be buffed to get even bigger, while both often trade for more than 1 creature.

Have fun with this great Hearthstone Priest Deck!  I will see you at the top of the ranked ladder.


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Hearthstone Beta Key Contest Solution

We've Had A Winner Claim The Code!

Well, it took 14 hours after the initial release of the puzzle, but we've had a winner solve the solution and claim the code for their very own access to the Hearthstone Beta!  Good Job on solving the puzzle.  There were clues and codes hidden in specific posts, on the Cold's Gold Factory Facebook Page, various Twitter accounts I'm associated with, as well as clues from the various gaming and music podcasts that I am a part of currently.

Stay Tuned for the next Hearthstone Beta Key giveaway, which you can hear about starting on Monday.  That contest will award a winner on Halloween, so you will have plenty of time to enter for your chance at another Beta Key.

Solution to Yesterdays Puzzle:

AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF-GG-HH-II-JJ-KK-LL-M

73-61-05-92-29-89-76-03-84-74-59-71-3

• AA  - If you were looking for a keyboard for a gamer, you might find a hint for this code.
• BB - On this episode of The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast, we first talked about the cancellation of the WoW Trading Card Game.
• CC - On this episode of my DJ podcast, I played my current favorite track, "Indie Anna Jones".
• DD - There is a hint in the post on this site that highlights the clothing of a popular TV nerd.
• EE - Nonmail joined us as a special guest for his first appearance on The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast on this episode.
• FF - If you like the Cold's Gold Factory Facebook Page, then you may already have seen this hint.
• GG - What year was R9sid9nt9vil born?
• HH - On this episode of The Electronic Education Podcast, one of my special guest DJs spins a Psy-Trance set.
• II - In the only guest post on this site about Hearthstone, you will find another hint.
• JJ - What year was I, Cold, born?
• KK - On this episode of The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast, we find out about an idiot high on LSD who thinks he is a necromancer!
• LL - Hint:  Braaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiins!
• M - The original mana cost of the Hearthstone Mage Spell Frostbolt prior to the patch changing it's casting cost.

Keep Yours Ears Open For The Next Contest & Good Luck!


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Play Hearthstone Overview & First Thoughts - A Guest Post

Today I present to you an excellent guest post submitted by TheRuling from rulsrants.blogspot.com.  He has been in the Hearthstone Beta now for about a month and he shares his first impressions on Blizzard's new Collectible Card Game.

Hearthstone Impressions & Thoughts

If I had one statement to describe Hearthstone I would say that it was made to be played on a tablet. Everything from the design choices with the size of elements on the screen to the cost structure is perfectly suited for a mobile game. If they don’t launch with an iPad version I think they are sorely mistaken in their strategy.

Now that is out of the way I will take the liberty of being long winded. Before I get into my various thoughts I’ll preface with some information. I have had Hearthstone beta for almost a month. I spent time in ‘Play’ mode without having bought packs; I have completed around 7 Arenas, and then did buy ~$16 in packs. I haven’t played enough to get a single character into level 30+ but do think I have a solid basis for opinion without having drained myself of the gameplay before it even comes out. I will try to limit comparisons with tabletop card games to the areas of game flow and design while areas relevant to the format will mostly be compared to MTG: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 which I believe is the closest ‘competitive match’ to Hearthstone.

First Experience:

Immediately upon entering the game you are forced into the tutorial which uses the Mage class hero. I would have liked to be able to pick which class you start with as some people are very attached to their ‘favorite’ class. Tweaking the tutorial slightly to integrate different class cards would not have been difficult, but since the head start you get is small anyway this isn’t a big issue. The tutorial itself is adequate for teaching the basis of how the game progresses. After the initial matches further instruction takes the form of various voiced pop ups explaining game elements and directing you to what the game wants you to try next. Here I do wish that they did a better job at directing people through the ‘My Collection’ area where you build decks and create or disenchant cards (which is a system in which you destroy unwanted cards to get ‘dust’ used to create new ones).


Modes:

You get three modes of play; Play, Practice, Arena. I suggest anyone start by reading something like Cold’s Hearthstone Gold Grinding post or you are going to start at a major disadvantage in certain modes. Practice will unlock all your heroes while introducing you to their powers and basic cards. My one wish here is that there was a ‘Master’ difficulty where the AI had great decks and made better decisions so you could use Practice mode to actually practice new deck ideas. Currently even on ‘Expert’ the AI is some of the worst I’ve seen. MTG:2014 I think gets the right balance here where some of their AI scenarios really keep you on your toes so moving between the games I can see the difference.

Play is your basic player vs. player (PvP) mode where you take either the base decks or custom ones you’ve created from a selection of basic cards and ones you’ve unlocked and it randomly matches you against an opponent. You can play unranked or ranked but at the moment in beta there is really no reason at all to play ranked matches. All ‘rank’ does is count your wins (not losses) and give you a medal at a certain number of wins that doesn’t influence the game beyond matching. There are daily ‘quests’ which are little challenges to for example win 2 games as a certain class and these do not even require playing in ranked mode.

Arena is a ‘draft’ style mode where you are given specific heroes to choose from and must construct a deck only out of randomly generated card choices that it provides you. Your first Arena entry is free and
beyond that will cost you a little more than the price of a booster pack to join in either gold or cash. You play matches until you either win 9 times or lose 3 times and are given a reward based on how many wins you had including packs, gold, dust, and special ‘golden’ cards. This mode is a real treat as it best tests your ability to construct decks effectively and respond to uncommon card choices and combos. While not on par with real draft style formats in tabletop card games I will go out on a limb and say I enjoy it better than the sealed format of MTG:2014, mainly due to the range of available cards where you do not see the same things every match.


Gameplay:

So is the card game actually fun to play? Let me explain how it is different from other games in good and bad ways. Your resource for casting cards is fixed. You do not waste room in your deck on resource cards eliminating the struggle MTG has of getting potentially too many or too little resources. In probably the largest move it has eliminated interaction totally. What I mean is there are no responses or playing of cards during your opponent’s turn. You do have ‘Secrets’ which play like Trap cards in Yi-Gi-Oh but you don’t choose the trigger it just triggers off the next action described on the card (such as when the opponent attacks). You basically just set back and watch what they do and try to think of how you’ll respond on your turn. As a plus you do not have structured ‘phases’ to your turn so you can attack or play cards in any order you like which is nice. It does take a strategic layer out of the gameplay I think though.

All of the next paragraph is subject to change especially with the first balancing patch coming soon, but right now whichever player sets the tempo in I’d say the first 3 turns is usually going to win which has left a couple of classes that excel in board control, lead mainly by the Rogue, as the top dogs. Two drop minions define the game with powerhouses like Knife Juggler, Pint-Sized Summoner, and Defias Ringleader. There is also so much drawing power for some classes (example: Starving Buzzard) compared to other card games that classes that lack it like the Warrior are often left at a card disadvantage. There are many cards that are under cost for what they do as well. This isn’t simply due to rarity either as many of the legendary cards (the top rarity) are fairly useless flavor cards.

The elephant in the room is obviously whether the game is ‘play to win’ or not. They have given you a method of obtaining any card you want through the disenchant system but do not be fooled as it will take forever to assemble a range of fun decks to try like this. If you pour all of your resources into one class you can get a wide array to choose from fairly quickly but at the cost of gimping every other class for a very long time which not only isn’t very fun but will bite you with the hero class specific daily quests. I would not however call it completely pay to win as some classes perform nicely with few rare cards and there is Arena mode which if you are good enough can be completed on end with little to no cash investment. Paying the money out buys you mostly time and variety of play. This can be a problem itself though…


Final Thoughts:

The problem I am experiencing with Hearthstone and from listening many seem to be is that there isn’t enough to keep the average person signed into the game. Blizzard needs that casual person as they will be the ones periodically paying little micro transactions and if they aren’t logging in to the game they aren’t being tempted into paying. My first suggestion was achievements. I was very surprised that they did not have a loaded and fully functioning achievement system yet. They are easy to implement and they know
from WoW and other games that people go crazy for completing as many achievements as possible. This is a perfect way to tease someone into the transactions. Example, you need to play in say 5 Arenas and just need one more and have no gold you are very likely to just pay $2 to get in instant gratification style. As I mentioned at the top getting this game onto tablets ASAP must be a priority as the stop and go simplicity and shorter matches are perfectly niche for that market.

To keep someone that is into card games and to provide that extra something for others I hope that expansion sets bring varied gameplay mechanics and new modes would set it above the competition. People have mentioned easy tournament interfaces as a possibility for a new mode and I like this idea.
If you are interested in anything else I have to say about Hearthstone, MTG: 2014, or anything in general follow me on Twitter @Formerruling

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Gifts For Gamers - Warcraft Trivial Pursuit

GIFTS FOR GAMERS - A column at Cold's Gold Factory that focuses on bringing you some of the coolest gifts for gamers of all types. Remember to check back here for ideas for Gamer Birthday Gifts, Stocking Stuffers for Gamers, and Gamer Christmas Ideas.

World of Warcraft Trivial Pursuit

Gifts For Gamers - Warcraft Trivial Pursuit

WoW!  The demand for the newly released Official World of Warcraft Collector's Edition of Trivial Pursuit has been amazing!  Having only been available for a couple of days, the Warcraft Trivial Pursuit has already moved into the #1 selling board game slot on Amazon!  I've always been a fan of Trivial Pursuit games and the Warcraft release would make a great gift for any Warcraft fan, something both current and past players can enjoy.


Current and past World of Warcraft players can test their knowledge of the World of Warcraft universe with this Warcraft Collector's Edition of Trivial Pursuit.

Warcraft Trivial Pursuit Game Board

The game includes 600 Trivial Pursuit questions divided into the following categories:

1. Geography (Locations within the game)
2. Player Characters
3. Lore
4. Loot (Items within the Warcraft game)
5. Enemies
6. Encounters

The game even includes custom baby Murloc counters for moving around the board.  The Warcraft version of Trivial Pursuit will make a great gift for any Warcraft fans and will provide countless hours of replay value.

Order Your Copy Of Warcraft Trivial Pursuit Today!

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You may also be interested in:

• Monopoly: World of Warcraft Collector's Edition - World of Warcraft themed Monopoly board game!
• Risk: Starcraft Collector's Edition - Starcraft version of the popular strategic board game Risk!
• World of Warcraft - The Adventure Game - Complete with many expansion additions.
• Starcraft: The Board Game
• My Top 10 Favorite Board Games Ever
• My Top 5 Favorite Table Top Card Games (Non-TCG / CCGs)



Hearthstone Starter Mage Deck | Basic Cards Only Mage Deck

Hearthstone Basic Mage Aggro Deck -
Basic Cards Only Mage Deck

Since I've been playing in the Hearthstone Beta since the release, I've been trying to share some of the tips and tricks I've learned for Hearthstone.  I understand a lot of you do not have Hearthstone Beta keys yet and this information will be of good use to you once you get into the Hearthstone Beta or the game goes into Open-Beta (which may be sooner than we thought).

In the first article I've written about Grinding For Gold & Boosters In Hearthstone, I had mentioned:

If you want to Grind Gold in Play Mode: 

I recommend building a speed deck.  Pick one of the faster decks that can bring out a quick force of minions and then support those minions with your own creature control, direct damage, and removal spells to clear the way for your minions to attack quickly.  In my opinion the 3 fastest decks for this strategy are Mage, Rogue, & Hunter.  All 3 have direct damage dealing Class Abilities and Class Spells that include plenty of creature control options.  You should build a deck with small cheap creatures, lots of removal, and some direct damage spells.

In the comments of that post, I was asked "what would you include in a speed deck for Mage, Rogue, & Hunter?"  I promised a few sample deck builds for Hearthstone beginner decks as examples of what I was recommending be used for grinding matches quickly.  This post is the first of 3 example decks made completely from Basic Hearthstone Cards only.  The Basic Cards are unlocked by leveling the decks, which you advance in experience regardless of win or loss record, so everyone has easy access to unlock these cards.  The Mage deck is forced on you in the tutorial, so you will already have many of the Mage Basic Cards unlocked, which makes it the easiest transition from the tutorial to constructed play.

Basic Mage Deck Strategy

The goal with this Basic Cards Only Constructed Mage Deck is pure aggression.  In the earlier article I recommended a quick deck that would turn over matches quickly, a deck that would either win or lose quickly.  If you are grinding for gold, then you want quick matches to increase your games played per hour.  Long lasting games that you lose are crippling to your gold per hour grinding earning potential, and long lasting games that you do win aren't worth the time required.  You are better off getting more matches in.  More matches means more chances to win.

Mana Curve of This Basic Mage Deck

This deck thrives on efficient minions, direct damage, and removal spells.  You goal is to kill the opponent as quickly as possible, mainly with your minions.  You use the direct damage and removal spells to clear the way for your minions to keep attacking.  Creatures with taunt should be your prime targets for removal spells.  This deck is purely offensive, with removal to keep the offense pushing forward.  Direct damage can be used to clear threats and taunters or be turned directly against the opponent to finish them off.  The Mage's ability to shoot anything for 1 point of damage is very helpful in clearing threats, since the 1 point can be coupled with another spell that deals damage.  The constant ability to do an additional point of damage per turn late game can also be all you need to finish off an opponent that barely survives your swarm.

Basic Cards Only Hearthstone Mage Deck List:

Basic Only Mage Aggro Deck

Make sure to use your Elven Archers intelligently.  I've seen way too many players cast a first turn Elven Archer and shoot me for 1 damage.  That's just horrible play.  Hold onto your Elven Archer and cast him when you can use the 1 point of damage to kill another minion.  That way you've not only added a threat onto the battlefield, but you've also removed one of your opponent's threats.

Reckless Rocketeer is a great mid to late game finisher.  The Reckless Rocketeer is also what I call a "tank buster".  The Rocketeer can be summoned and then it's Charge ability allows you to ram a minion with taunt to clear the way for your other minions to continue with the beatdown.  I love blasting Lord of the Arena and other big taunters with a Reckless Rocketeer to clear the way for my minions to keep up the full press.

There is only a single Flamestrike in this Mage Deck because you will usually have the match close to over by the time you could play it and you definately don't want to get stuck with two in your hand.  I did include 1 because it can be such a game changer in the later-mid game and it will grant you victories.  The primary goal is to never make it that late into the game, thus only 1 is needed.

Getting down a few early creatures (Murloc Tidehunter & Razorfen Hunter are great for this) and then buffing them up with a Raid Leader can be overwhelming for an opponent lacking speed or early creature removal.

Remember, when you only have access to the Basic Cards, you aren't going to be as competitive until you can unlock some of the booster packs and get better cards.  So get your grind on and get to earning gold and unlocking those Hearthstone booster packs.

Happy Hearthstone Grinding!


You are welcome to share this post, but please link back to the original article here at Cold's Gold Factory.


Once you unlock some more Expert level cards, you should try out my Priest Card Draw Deck.

Hearthstone- Guide To Earning More XP per Game

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Hearthstone Beta Tips For Efficient Gold Grinding

Hearthstone

Grinding For Gold In Hearthstone

Having been given one of the first rounds of Hearthstone Beta Keys because of my Warcraft community influence as a WoW podcast host on The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast, I've had a lot of time to dig into Blizzards upcoming CCG, Hearthstone.  In this post on Grinding Gold In Hearthstone, I will share some of the tips and tricks I have discovered while being a Hearthstone Beta Tester.

Getting Gold In Hearthstone

Gold is the currency that can be earned in game from completing daily quests, completing achievements, and winning matches against random opponents.  You can then spend the gold you've earned on either booster packs (for 100 gold each) or on Arena Entries (150 gold each).  I understand that the goal for many new players will be to grind as much gold as possible in Hearthstone to unlock booster packs without having to spend money on the game.  That's why I am writing this guide on earning gold in Hearthstone.

Sources of Gold in Hearthstone:

1. Daily Quests - Mosts award 40-60 gold, but 1 awards 100 gold.
2. Completion Rewards - Completing certain objectives and achievements can award gold.
3. Winning Matches - Beating other players in Play mode or Arena matches awards 5 gold per 5 wins 10 gold for every 3 wins.

Earn Hearthstone Gold From Daily Quests

You can have up to a total of 3 active daily quests in your quest log.  You must complete one to make room for a new quest as 3 is the maximum number of quests you can have active at one time.  Here is a table with each quest and their respective gold rewards:

Druid Victory	Win 2 Games with a Druid	40 Gold
Hunter Victory	Win 2 Games with a Hunter	40 Gold
Mage Victory	Win 2 Games with a Mage	40 Gold
Paladin Victory	Win 2 Games with a Paladin	40 Gold
Priest Victory	Win 2 Games with a Priest	40 Gold
Rogue Victory	Win 2 Games with a Rogue	40 Gold
Shaman Victory	Win 2 Games with a Shaman	40 Gold
Warlock Victory	Win 2 Games with a Warlock	40 Gold
Warrior Victory	Win 2 Games with a Warrior	40 Gold
Druid Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Druid	60 Gold
Hunter Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Hunter	60 Gold
Mage Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Mage	60 Gold
Paladin Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Paladin	60 Gold
Priest Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Priest	60 Gold
Rogue Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Rogue	60 Gold
Shaman Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Shaman	60 Gold
Warlock Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Warlock	60 Gold
Warrior Dominance	Win 5 Games with a Warrior	60 Gold
Destroy Them All!	Destroy 40 Minions	40 Gold
Only the Mighty	Play 20 Minions that cost 5 or more	40 Gold
The Meek shall Inherit	Play 40 Minions that cost 2 or less	40 Gold
Spell Master	Play 40 Spells	40 Gold
Beat Down	Deal 100 damage to enemy heroes	40 Gold
Total Dominance	Win 7 games in any mode	100 Gold
3 Victories!	Win 3 Games with any Class	40 Gold

Earning Hearthstone Gold & Packs From Completion Awards

Collect All Basic Cards	Get Every Hero to Level 10	100 Gold
Crushed Them All	Beat Every AI Hero At Expert Level	100 Gold
Chicken Dinner	100 Wins In Any Mode	300 Gold
Big Winner	1000 Wins In Any Mode	300 Gold
***	***	***
First Blood	Play Once in Play Mode	1 Pack
Enter The Arena	First Arena Entry Is Free	1 Pack+
Level Up	Get a Class to Level 10	1 Pack

Winning Matches For Gold In Hearthstone

In the Hearthstone Closed Beta you earn 5 gold for every 5 10 gold for every 3 matches you win against randomly paired opponents.  These awards are cumulative along with the daily quests so, let's say your Daily Quest is to win two games as the druid, those 2 wins will also count towards your next 5 win 5 gold 10 gold for 3 wins payout.

One thing to be aware of is that the 5 gold for 5 wins  - 10 gold for 3 wins -only counts if you are playing random opponents.  

NOTE:  Since the major Hearthstone Patch & Wipe, the gold earned from Play Mode wins has thankfully been increased to 10 gold per 3 wins.  This makes grinding for gold in Hearthstone much easier and greatly speeds up the rate at which you can earn gold as a F2P player.

You cannot earn gold or complete quests when playing against your friends; the matches must be against random opponents.

Glow in the Dark Hearthstone Bracelets / Keychains

Gold Farming Strategy & Tips for Beginners

The first things you should focus on as a new Hearthstone player are:

1. Get your Mage Deck to Level 10 - Earn 1 Booster Pack
2. Unlock all other Class Decks (By beating each of them in Practice Mode) - Earn 100 gold
3. Get all Class Decks to Level 10 - Earn 100 gold
4. Defeat each Deck once in Expert AI Mode - Earn 100 gold
5. Grind your daily quests - Earn 40 gold per day
6. Use MyPoints Rewards For Free Card Packs

I would strongly advise that you do not play ranked matches until you have unlocked all decks, have all of those decks' basic cards unlocked, and have beaten every AI class on Expert Mode.  The way the ranking system works, you will rank up as you win matches, so unlocking all of the cards first against either the AI or in unranked PvP matches will be the best option.  This way you have all of your basic cards unlocked and can build better custom decks before starting to earn wins and rank up, which will lead you to face tougher opponents.  This will also help you each day on your daily quests because you will be playing with every class deck.  You don't want to pick your favorite deck, get a bunch of ranked wins, and then get stuck playing against high ranked opponents with your weak alternate class decks that don't have cards unlocked on the days those daily quests come up.  Trust me!  Unlock all decks and those decks' cards before playing ranked matches and advancing in rank.

Then once you have the above objectives completed:

1. Play 1 ranked match - Earn 1 Booster Pack
2. Play 1 Arena Match - Earn 1 Booster Pack plus extra Gold, Dust, and possible Golden Cards depending on how well you do.  The first Arena Entry is free, so that is why you get at least 1 free booster from trying out the Arena Mode.

Those are the easy ways to earn gold and free Hearthstone booster packs.  From there on you will be working towards your 100 Wins to get 300 gold and then 1000 total Wins to earn another 300 gold.  To get those wins you have 2 choices:  Play Arena, or Grind Gold against random PvP opponents.  The good thing is that the wins in Arena also count towards your Daily Quests, 5 gold for 5 Wins, and Achievements.

If you want to Grind Gold in Play Mode

I recommend building a speed deck.  Pick one of the faster decks that can bring out a quick force of minions and then support those minions with your own creature control, direct damage, and removal spells to clear the way for your minions to attack quickly.  In my opinion the 3 fastest decks for this strategy are Mage, Rogue, & Hunter.  All 3 have direct damage dealing Class Abilities and Class Spells that include plenty of creature control options.  You should build a deck with small cheap creatures, lots of removal, and some direct damage spells.

Here as an example: Hearthstone Mage Deck w Basic Cards Only.

The goal is to either win or lose quickly, since the more matches you play the more chances you have of increasing your potential gold per hour.  Win fast or lose fast.  If you win, then great.  If not, move on to the next match as quickly as possible.  If your goal is to grind gold for free booster packs, then you want speed wins and quick losses.  You do not want to be playing a deck that thrives in the mid to late game and takes a long time to determine the match's outcome.  If you are grinding for gold, you are much better off playing a speed deck and turning over opponents quickly.

You can play in Ranked or Unranked matches, so Unranked is the better choice because you when you rank up you cannot descend in rank.  As you get higher in rank, you will face tougher opponents.


If you want to Play Arena Mode For Gold & Packs:

I really enjoy Arena Mode.  Arena Mode costs 150 gold (or $1.99) to enter, but what you can win is determined by how well you perform with your deck.

When you play Arena Mode you build your deck from randomly selected cards.  You are given 3 card options and get to pick 1 that will go directly into your deck.  You repeat this selection process 30 times to build your 30 card deck.  You then duel random opponents until you get to 3 losses.

Every Arena Entry will award you with 1 Booster Pack and then dust, gold, and golden cards based on your final record.  Your break even is around 5 wins (I've hit in 4 wins as well) per Arena Entry if you are using the 150 gold entry fee.  Since you get a Booster Pack which costs 100 gold, you only need to make up 50 gold in your bonus prizes in order to break even.  If you can win over 5 matches you will earn slightly more gold and dust, but the real goal should be to hit 7 or more wins each time you play Arena Mode.  At 7 wins the awards get much better and you can start to earn back your entire 150 gold entry fee in addition to the booster pack, dust, and golden cards.  For example, I had an 8-3 record and was awarded: a Booster Pack, 55 Dust, a Golden "Flare" Hunter card, and 170 gold!  So I made a profit on that round of the Arena.

Unlocking all of the other decks and playing them to unlock all of the decks' cards is great training for learning the other classes and their decks, because you will be using various classes on the arena because you have to choose from a random set of 3 classes each time you play in Arena Mode.

Arena mode is a bit of a gamble with its extra 50 gold entry fee, but once you get the hang of the game it can be very rewarding.  Arena Mode requires a different set of skills, since you are building your decks from random cards, but it is also a lot of fun too.  And once you get good at Arena, you have the chance to keep playing for free if you can get to 7 or 8 wins each time and recoup your entry fee as well as your booster pack and other rewards.  Good luck in there!

Other Tips For Playing Hearthstone Efficiently

1. Don't Play Ranked Matches Early On - Unlock all basic cards first.
2. Daily Quests - Always complete them each day.
3. When Gold Grinding For Wins - Always use a speed deck.  Fast wins & losses are better than drawn out wins or losses.
4. Conceding Is Good - If you've lost, Concede.  Conceding moves you to a new opponenets faster and increases your potential gold per hour earnings.
5. Do Not Disenchant & Craft Cards If You Plan To Buy Packs - Wait until you have bought your packs before doing any crafting.  The worst thing you can do is waste a bunch of dust to craft a card and then find it in a booster pack you open.
6. Playing Ranked Matches Is Optional - You can still earn gold for wins and complete daily quests for gold while playing in Unranked Mode.

NOTE:  Crushed Them All quest is currently bugged and will sometimes not be awarded once you beat all of the AI decks on expert mode.  This happened to me post-wipe, but all you need to do is go back through and beat them all over again until you get credit for the quest (and the wins that didn't get counted the first time).  Annoying, but it's worth doubling back through the game just to get the pack and you can use a second deck and unlock extra basic cards while you complete the Crushed Them All Achievement.

I hope this Starter's Guide For Grinding Gold In Hearthstone is a big help to you.  Enjoy your time in Hearthstone and look out.  I'll be coming for you!

Be sure to also read: Hearthstone: How To Earn More Experience Per Match

**********

Update:  Post-Patch & Wipe, I've been having a rather easy time farming gold and winning ranked matches using my current Top Hearthstone Deck: Priest Card Draw Control.

I've also started a series on Common Mistakes Hearthstone Players Make.

Looking For Heroes of the Storm Gold Making Tips?


Recommended Guides: 
Hearthstone Secrets | Hearthstone Ownage | HS Arena Drafting

Reign of Fire God Packs: How Cheaters Prosper & You Lose Out

WoW TCG Reign of Fire God Packs:

How Cheaters Prosper & You Lose Out

The newest WoW Trading Card Game Expansion: Reign of Fire is a huge hit already and has many World of Warcraft players gambling for their chances at the WoW loot card lotto.  Many of the purchasers of the Reign of Fire Booster Packs and Reign of Fire Booster Pack Boxes aren't even players of the WoW TCG.  Since this newest WoW TCG expansion re-issues every single WoW loot card ever previously released, you can see why these new booster packs are so popular and are flying off the shelves everywhere!

Yeah, you read that right.  Every single Vanity Item Card, Mount Loot Card, and Pet Loot Card has a chance to be found in the new Reign of Fire Booster Packs.

Not only can you pull the old loot, but the drop rates have been increased and you also have a chance at the new Reign of Fire God Packs.

Reign of Fire God Packs

A Reign of Fire God Pack is a super rare booster pack that is composed of an entire pack of loot cards!  Yup, you read that right too.  In a Reign of Fire God Pack, every single card in the pack is a loot code, so that means you would get 15 loot cards in one single pack.  Better yet, these God Packs aren't going to follow the same rarity distribution and will be composed of primarily rare loot cards!

So obviously you are going to hope and pray for ones of these super rare God Packs, but unfortunately you don't have a fair chance of pulling a God Pack unless you purchase a sealed box of Reign of Fire booster packs.  Here's why:

Cherry Picking Cheaters

Throughout every trading card game ever created there have been people who try to cheat the system and figure out which packs contain foil cards, loot cards, and special God Packs prior to purchasing any boosters packs.  The WoW TCG is no different and the addition of the God Packs in the Reign of Fire expansion makes it even more of a target for cherry picking cheaters.

"Cherry Picking" is the process of picking out the best packs of any given booster box for yourself, as opposed to just buying packs and hoping to open a good pack.  How is that even possible?

Well, loot cards have a slight weight difference (as slightly heavier) because the loot cards have extra adhesive and the scratch-able strip that covers the loot code itself.  Loot cards also tend to be on slightly thicker and stiffer card stock, which also adds to the slight weight difference.  So it is possible to open a sealed booster box and weigh each pack individually, find the 2-4 packs within that booster box that are slightly heavier, and successfully cherry pick the loot card packs right out of the box.  This is possible with the minute weight difference on the booster packs that contain a single loot card.  Now think about a Reign of Fire God Pack that is all 15 loot cards.  The weight difference is going to be much more noticeable, especially with a digital scale.

So your odds of getting super lucky and pulling a super rare Reign of Fire God Pack are pretty slim and unless you are buying sealed booster boxes, you almost definitely won't be getting a God Pack from a random booster pull.  The local shop owner probably cherry picked the booster boxes before they even went on the shelf and if he didn't, you can bet the employees have.  Same thing with online sales and purchases at the local convenience or general store.  If the employees haven't picked through the packs, a customer with a digital scale may already have searched them as well.

If you want to get on board with the other cheaters and start cherry picking packs yourself, then make sure to grab a pocket digital scale that goes to .01 or .001 accuracy for precision.  You best bet is to hit local non-gaming stores, where the employees and managers are uneducated on how cherry picking rare loot works.  Try places like Target, Walmart or the grocery store because you can almost bet a gaming shop has been cherry picked by either the owner or the staff.

You best bet and best defense against cherry picking of God Packs and loot containing packs is to only buy sealed booster boxes of reign of fire.

Find Precision Pocket Scales on Amazon

Buy Sealed Booster Boxes on Amazon

Search for Reign of Fire Loot Cards on Amazon

So now you know how cheaters can cherry pick booster packs before you even purchase them and you also learned that you can protect yourself against these cherry picking cheaters by buying unopened boxes of Reign of Fire booster packs.

Recommended Guides: Secret Gold Guide | Journal of Marcus Ty | Neverwinter Secrets

Gifts For Gamers: Fluxx , Fluxx The Board Game, & Other Looney Labs Games

GIFTS FOR GAMERS - A weekly column at Cold's Gold Factory that focuses on bringing you some of the coolest gifts for gamers of all types. Remember to check back here for ideas for Gamer Birthday Gifts, Stocking Stuffers for Gamers, and Gamer Christmas Ideas.

Fluxx Games From Looney Labs

My Favorite Edition:  Cthulhu Fluxx

FLUXX is one of my favorite family friendly table-top card games and I've featured it in an earlier Gifts For Gamers post on my Top 5 Table-Top Card Games.  Fluxx is an awesome card game because it is super fun, easy to learn, appeals to gamers of all different types, and can be played by the whole family.  Fluxx is a game of ever changing rules, which keeps the games feeling fresh and makes the entire Fluxx line have a nice replay value for years.  There is a version of Fluxx made for everyone:

1. Fluxx 4.0
2. Star Fluxx
3. Zombie Fluxx
4. Pirate Fluxx
5. Family Fluxx
6. Monty Python Fluxx
7. Oz Fluxx
8. Cthulhu Fluxx
9. Eco-Fluxx
10. Martian Fluxx

Looney Labs Launches Fluxx the Board Game

And now Looney Labs has just released the first ever FLUXX Board Game, which looks to be a ton of fun too!  Check out the video below for a preview on the new Fluxx board game.

From the Manufacturer

The board game that's all about change: changing rules, changing goals and now changing tiles. Occupy the right tile spaces to claim the current goal and reveal the next goal. getting you one step closer to victory.

Product Description

It's more strategic than the original card game and delivers everything you'd expect from a name like Fluxx; The Board Game.The ever-shifting landscape is made of tiles that can be rotated or uprooted elsewhere on the table.Ti win, players must position their pieces on places shown on goal cards.Victory requires accomplishing several goals but the exact number needed is subject to change!Rule changes are tracked on a comprehensive new game board.It's a game about change where everything can change - from the rules to the gameboard to the color of your pieces!

Other Fun Games From Looney Labs

Looney Labs creatures a large variety of really fun games.  I've played a lot of their games and have enjoyed every game of theirs that I've played.  Andy Looney and his wife are both super cool and friendly people who I met at one of the Origins Conventions.  Any convention that I've been to I always look for the Looney Labs room to hang out and try out their new games.  I recommend the same, if you are lucky enough to attend a gaming convention where Looney Labs is attending also.

Here are a few more of their games that you may be interested in checking out.

1. Ice Dice
2. Looney Pyramids
3. Chrononauts
4. Treehouse
5. Are You A Werewolf?

WoW TCG Reign of Fire - Contains All Old Loot Cards!

Gifts For Gamers:  World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Expansion

Timewalkers: Reign of Fire

WoW TCG Reign of Fire Boosters

This expansion for this WoW TCG is awesome because it contains all the previous loot code cards ever created and now with new improved drop rates!

The Reign of Fire WoW TCG Expansion Launches Soon!

The highly anticipated newest expansion for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game is launching very soon.  The Reign of Fire expansion is the last of the 3 expansion sets in the Timewalkers Block.  Even players who do not play the WoW TCG are excited about this release, which may become the best selling WoW TCG expansion of all time.  The Timewalkers: Reign of Fire expansion release date is set for July 23rd, 2013.

You may recall me discussing Reign of Fire with Rez and Nonmail on The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast Episode # 53 - "Party Pooper".  This WoW TCG expansion is highly anticipated by World of Warcraft players because of two awesome things:

1. Every WoW Loot Card ever created in the previous WoW TCG sets will be included in Reign of Fire!
2. The drops rates of all loot cards has been increased so you have better chances to get loot code cards!

The drop rate of the rare cards alone has been doubled and the common and uncommon cards have had their drop rates increased significantly as well.  So you now have even better chances to pull one of the awesome loot cards like the Spectral Kitten, Spectral Tiger Mounts, Feldrake or any of the other cool WoW loot codes.

Reign of Fire Booster Box

Pre-Order Reign of Fire Boxes For Stupid Cheap Right Now!

One of the top deals I've found online for the Reign of Fire expansion is on Amazon.  The individual booster packs are priced at $3.99 MSRP, but at the time of writing this you can Pre-Order a Reign of Fire Booster Box for only $99 with Free Shipping!  That's $134 worth of booster packs for only $99!  If you are looking to try your luck at pulling loot cards, then you shouldn't sleep on this deal.  There are only 9 boxes left for pre-order and they just were added to Amazon last night!

Pre-Order Sale pricing is over, but more boxes are currently available:

Get Your Reign of Fire Booster Box Now!

Currently there are no individual Reign of Fire booster packs available for pre-order, but they should be on sale after the expansion officially is released on July 23rd.


Remember since this new TCG Booster set includes all previous expansions loot cards, these booster make for amazing stocking stuffers or gifts for gamers!  Every pack is a chance to pull something awesome that can be used in game by World of Warcraft players.

Good luck and happy loot pulling!

Let us know in the comments what loot code cards you pulled from your Reign of Fire booster packs.