New game from Blizzard: Hearthstone

So I have been glued to Youtube for the last weeks, watching video upon video. The reason? Hearthstone. This is a strategic card game that anyone can play. It works much like the old card games like Magic The Gathering or Pokemon. Right now the game is in the beta stages, so I have yet to gain access to it, but I have signed up for receiving a beta key. I could go to ebay and buy one, but I think I would rather wait a little more before that happens. I am not that desperate just yet. And that is the reason why I have to go to Youtube or watch streams of others playing it.

How does it work?

You start out by choosing one of the 9 heroes from Warcraft lore which all have their strengths and weaknesses. These then have access to a range of cards that you can use to compose a deck which you use when you play. All these cards represents creatures or spells you can use to attack the opponent or benefit your own army. You start out by drawing a few cards before the game starts (3 or 4) and then put them into play by using mana that you build up over several turns to be able to play more spells or bigger creatures.

The goal of the game is to kill the other hero. Easier said then done off course, and there are many different strategies to employ with your hero. You can compose a deck that uses many weaker creatures, but makes you amass a large army with and try to end the game early. Or you go with the bigger ones, and hope to get them out early to get a lot of damage done and hard for the opponent to deal with. Or something in the middle of the road. The ideas are endless and what makes this game fun.

I have seen some different strategies, like the Murlock Shock and have noticed that the Priest are being used by many in the latest patch, so watch out for them.

Betting on Hearthstone

The main reason why I wrote this piece about this game was that I saw bets up on the e-sports section at Pinnacle Sports and that Datbet has added them as well. As I am new to the game, I don't have much insight and reason to believe I will be profitable right of the bat, but I have taken a look at the odds and I have watched Trump streaming some, as well as the Turn2 stream. I will post up some thoughts on the betting odds posted, but don't expect crazy profitable plays. I will make some bets for fun while I watch the Hearthstone Innkeepers Invitational during BlizzCon.