Hearthstone is foremost a 1x1 game. I was hoping to suggest 2x2 and 3x3 Ranked team play modes.
Structurally, this would require a pre-made team of two or three players to build pre-made decks to face off against an opposing team of two or three. The game table area would feature small “rows” for minions and other cards, and small hands of cards, one per player, four or six total. This would allow all of the players’ hands and cards out to fit in the game area.
Hovering your mouse over a small row or your/ally’s small hand would cause both the player’s row and hand to enlarge to normal size, while the mouse stays over it, so you could see what you or your allies have in hand or out in play. Or, enlarge and see what cards a given opponent has out in play. This would allow a player whose turn is not currently up to strategize what to do once his or her turn is up, and coordinate strategy with allies.
The players would need something like Discord with mics and headphones to communicate strategy with each other.
The goal would be to defeat all of the opposing players while at least one friendly player remains alive. The total amount of time per game would need to increase due to the larger number of players in the game.
Instead of just worrying about your own hand and cards out in play, you would now need to take into account your allies’ cards in hand and in play, and how they matter against what you have on your own. Your cards would now affect not only you but your allies and opponents. So, a Priest could play a card to Heal 8 life for a threatened ally player, or a Hunter could play a Secret on an ally’s deck so that an opponent attacking the ally would trigger the Secret. A Paladin could play Blood Matriarch Liadrian to give a friendly Death Knight’s mob of undead Rush and Divine Shields. The potential for strategies and depth of play would skyrocket.
The strategy and coordination between multiple players would allow some pretty insane combos, and would require the two or three teammates to coordinate building their decks and what cards they could play at a given time – but their opponents, likewise, would also have access to insane combos and strategies of their own. Blizzard, if they did this, would probably need to give access to cards specifically for such team play.
I think the presence of a structured Ranked multiplayer would increase the amount of fun in Hearthstone. You wouldn’t just need to take care of yourself and do everything yourself. Your friends could have your back in a massive brawl while you have theirs.
What do you guys think?
