A sample deck relevant to the recently released SC2 mini-set is given at the end of this post for those who feel the need, but this post is about deck building guidance from a fellow player who abhors netdecks.
Salutations. Welcome to my favorite CCG. I began playing Hearthstone shortly after the second year; I think (not this account). January 2025 is the first time that I entered Legendary ladder rungs. I achieved Legendary because of knowledge gained after more than a decade of building my own decks. The temporary confusion in the meta brought by the SC2 inspired mini-set gave space for my entrance into Legendary ladder rungs, so this post is to encourage others who also primarily experiment to diversify the meta with unique deck builds.
Firstly, thank you for choosing not to netdeck. Part of the creativity of Hearthstone comes from players contributing their deck builds. You broaden our collective experiences and fun.
Generally, this post aims to aid new players with deck building by sharing the sum of my Hearthstone experience with tips for deck building that is often overlooked by netdecks. Here are a few deck building premises.
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Thin to win. Netdecks and suggested decks tend to presume that any card worth including deserves two. However, singles of some cards usually help by avoiding glut in hand. You won’t always draw one of each card, so how many is essential? I tend to consider single card inclusions as utility, not “tech” cards. More single card inclusions give more utility. This underlies “highlander” deck strength. For instance, why include two of every 1-cost or 2-cost card when their power diminishes through every proceeding turn? Likewise, why include two of every high mana card when they often depend on prior synergies or specific board conditions? I like to challenge myself during deck design by using patterns of single and double card inclusions. Whatever you use to force yourself to examine each card inclusion, remember to keep it thin to win. Such idea supports “deck thinner” cards.
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Assumptive error. Opponents will sometimes base card play on an assumption that your deck couldn’t possibly include X, so including it might be all that is required to win.
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Strength in numbers? Suppose you knew that 70% of decks played were two decks. Clearly, playing a deck that can consistently win versus those two decks is a logical way to achieve greater than a 50% winrate. Sometimes a single card destroys a top deck. Sometimes an single effect defeats a meta. Sometimes, you do not need to design a deck to conquer the most played decks; but, instead, include a card or a few cards with an effect that eliminates threat from outlier decks.
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A willingness to adapt. Relative deck power is difficult to gauge, because of meta and the large amount of card combinations. Then, factoring draw potential versus real draws requires assessment time. No computer code can replicate randomness without basing RNG on a deterministic math algorithm. Accept that a genius deck build could be garbage because of that limitation. Adapt to overcome RNG as an obstacle.
Below is the Death Knight zerg deck that brought me to Legendary ladder this season, February 2025. Consider the tips in this post if you decide to employ it for your rank climb. Good luck. Glad to have each of you!
Lastly, upvote this post if you found it helpful.
BalanceZerg
Class: Death Knight
Format: Standard
Year of the Pegasus
2x (1) Baneling Barrage
2x (1) Death Growl
2x (1) Spawning Pool
2x (1) Zergling
2x (2) Brittlebone Buccaneer
2x (2) Dreadhound Handler
2x (3) Anti-Magic Shell
2x (3) Brood Queen
2x (3) Infestor
2x (3) Nydus Worm
1x (4) Maw and Paw
1x (4) Quartzite Crusher
1x (4) Remorseless Winter
1x (4) Viper
1x (4) Yelling Yodeler
1x (5) Mind Control Tech
1x (6) Airlock Breach
1x (6) Hollow Hound
1x (7) Kerrigan, Queen of Blades
1x (8) The Primus
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