Players can easily spend hundreds on games like Magic the Gathering, but for one reason or another digital iterations of the game have never been up to much. Either the game mechanics have been changed for one reason or another, or the interface has been horribly rugged, or the player base simply hasn't been there. Then along came Hearthstone and, allow me to be frank, we may still be in open beta but it looks like Blizzard have absolutely nailed it with this one.
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Players choose one of nine classes and use a deck of 30 cards. The decks are constructed of general cards and cards unique to that class. They are classified as spells, secrets, and creatures; each with an appropriate cost of mana. Mana is completely regenerated each turn, however players start with a maximum mana pool of 1. This maximum increases every subsequent turn up to a total of 10. The effect of this ensures the need for low-cost cards to be used in early play and enables the possibility of rushing opponents who have opted for a more heavy-cost endgame deck. In addition, each class has a special ability they can perform once per turn which costs two mana, this ranges from the mage who has the ability to simply inflict one damage to a target of choice, to the paladin who has the ability to summon a basic unit.
Each players start with a health of 30, and the match ends when one of them reaches 0 or less health. There are various ways to lower the other player's health, either by summoning monsters and having them attack directly or by casting direct damage spells. In terms of defence, players may use creatures with taunt abilities who have to be attacked and destroyed by the opposing player's creatures before your hero. There are also secret spells which can offer the ability to counter spells or revert damage.
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A big part of the game is building an effective deck for your hero to use. This is where the payment system comes in. Much like real world collectable card games, in Hearthstone decks can be purchased for real money. Decks currently cost approximately $1 each, with a discount if you buy them in multiples. Each deck contains five cards of varying levels. Cards are categorized by quality, from basic cards, which are available to everyone initially and by levelling up the classes, to legendaries which are rare cards with desirable, or at least very interesting, effects. Unwanted cards can also be disenchanted to dust which can then be used to create specifically desired cards; although this isn't very cost effective it's a definite way to get the cards you want.
That's not to say, however, that the game is not playable if you don't spend any money. On the contrary, daily quests are provided as a way to give players a chance to earn the in-game currency of gold which can equally be used to purchase decks of cards. Although this method involves a certain degree of grinding it at least offers the option for everyone to acquire every card whether they pay or not; it's worth noting that this is not something offered by real collectable card games such as Magic the Gathering.
The game is so polished I could almost swear it leaves a shine on your monitor after you've been playing it. The design is attractive and fluid, and the interface is as intuitive as it gets. Cards, effects and background are beautifully animated and rounded off in the World of Warcraft art style. It's not a world I'm particularly fond of, but it looks and works great in a card game. The game is so easy to learn and yet clearly presents an epic journey to mastery. After a short tutorial you are already equipped with everything you need to know to understand and manipulate the dynamics of the game, but a handful of competitive matches against a bunch of low-level newbies will soon teach you that you still know almost nothing.
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At this stage the game is probably still in beta to iron out some balancing issues. Some classes are definitely more powerful than others, and more popular as a result. Nevertheless, from my perspective the game works surprisingly well as it is. Additionally, the majority of top tier cards are not very difficult to get and players are more or less able to put together very competitive decks for one specific class by spending little or no real money.
Heartstone is already a game of undoubtable high quality. Even if card games aren't your thing, everyone owes it to themselves to give this one a free-to-play go. Or go one step further into digital insanity and spend a fortune in real cash on it like many beta testers already have.
Most anticipated feature: acquiring a new high tier card and building up an awesome new deck.
