[dsavillian]

After drafting a terrible paladin deck and going 3-3, I was able to draft a wicked Druid control deck that is currently 7-1. I'll go into more detail later, but I wanted to share some thoughts on arena and hearthstone in general.

- card advantage is king. More options, more opportunity to draw your best cards. This is a staple concept for all CCGs, but it is amplified in aren't where you often have a limited amount of premium cards.
- multi purpose cards are insane. I'd also classify cards that get you 2-for-1s in this category. Creatures with death rattle, creatures/spells that draw you a card in addition to their effect, Druid "dual mode" cards, creatures with charge.
- "dies to removal." This is a concept from MTG, but applies here. Dies to removal is an easy way to say "the creature doesn't do anything when it comes into play" and is wasted if it gets removed by your opponent. Got a big, beefy 8/8 with taunt? If your opponent has a hex/polymorph you might as well have played a 4/5 instead. Cards that do something when they come into play are better but you often pay for it in mana or power/toughness.
- bait out the removal. Beefy creatures are great if they don't get hexed! Bait out removal first and then play your premium cards.
- charge = removal. Save your charge cards to remove threats. Goes back to the dual purpose cards point. If you can play a 4/4 with charge that removes a powerful 1/3 immediately, you have gained board control and will likely 2-for-1 your opponent.
- don't dump your hand. Board wipes exist and suckkkkkkkkk if you dump your hand. Granted, this works better with card draw. Otherwise you'll just sit on a weak board most of the time
- HP is a resource. This mostly applies to heroes that can equip or gain attack power. Your hp only matters when you are dead. It doesn't matter if you win with or 1 hp. Use your HP to remove creatures where you can and save your creatures and better removal for the late game.
- Taunt is "meh" - Taunt isn't great a lot of the time. Useful in small amounts, and on the right creatures. The low attack taunters are usually terrible since they don't threaten your opponent's creatures at all. Ideally you want your taunter to have at least 3 attack so that it can trade with most of the creatures your opponent will play. The 3/3 and 3/5 taunters are probably the best value. Stay away from the 5/4 taunter and any taunter with 1 attack or less.