A new animated short was just released at HCT 2019 World Championship! It’s called “Win or Lose” and you can watch it below
It’s been 10 months since we’ve got our last short, and it’s the third one so far. Check out the previous ones here:
Hearthstone Animated Short – “Win or Lose”
I think it’s a mistake to emphasize the weak points of the game like this. Build a board/clear a board is an oversimplification in the core mechanics.
But why is that a weak point of the game? It just shows the Aggro (boar-centered) vs Control (reactive) matchup – one side tries to build the board and other tries to clear it. It works like that in other card games too, and it’s not the weak point, it’s just one of the matchups.
And I would never draw the conclusion that it’s how the game actually works like every time just from watching this.
I understand that this matchup is highly valuable to the design of a CCG.
I also value many of the original features which Hearthstone introduced to the CCG ecosystem.
I am expressing my opinion that alternative games have better mechanisms for implementing ‘Answers.’
Many of the options are similar: Full clear, soft clear, point removal..
It shouldn’t be surprising that X for 1 removal is premium in any CCG; I’d point out instead that core resource limitations force cards into specific roles.
Hearthstone has a justified focus on resource limitations: Creature health, board limit, hand limit, turn limit etc.
I think this focus causes the game to be simpler to play and harder to design.
The board limit can force players to stop developing.
Creature health makes soft and hard clears less distinct.
The hand limit prevents players from stockpiling past ten cards.
The Forest’s Aid is a good example of a card that would be completely optional to print in many CCGs, but which is a natural consequence of this game’s core design.
Cards that do board-in-a-box hint that there’s a problem with removal.
I think it´s good idea to have some sense for humour…Idea is, don´t be so angry when you lose a match you think you win and don´t be so thoughtful when you win thanks to rng or lucky draw…It´s a game, have a fun and be good.