Hearthstone going open beta next month

Blizzard's TCG, Hearthstone, has been in closed beta for a few months now, but good news for everyone who has been missing out: It's going to be in open beta starting some time next month. Rob Pardo did warn that this means it could be January in "Blizzard speak."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/08/hearthstone-entering-open-beta-next-month?abthid=527d726df58b64d613000010

In addition, Hearthstone for iOS and Android has been confirmed. I think the game would be a great fit for mobile, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/8/5081278/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-blizzcon-2013

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/09/2013 at 08:35pm

This is good news, id like more people on the site to try it out and love to hear what they think of it.

rettisawesome wrote on 11/11/2013 at 07:59pm

I've been following this pretty closely. And while I'm not a fan of blizzard. I think this a good idea. I'd like to see it succeed. I hope it does it's best to steer away from pay-to-win though. Been hearing a lot about that lately.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/11/2013 at 10:56pm

Yeah, its a free to play game and I don't see the really heavy handed play to win. That said, you can totally pay to get a ton of cards which will give you a pretty large advantage over others.

So really no different than Magic The Gathering except you can't just play and get Magic cards for free. :D

rettisawesome wrote on 11/11/2013 at 11:21pm

If you are good at magic, you can develop a self sustaining hobby. Buying and selling with the trends. and getting involved in events. You can earn tons of free cards and packs. I know several people who compete and never spend a dime. Other than entry fees for tournies.

But for real. Totally similar. Also i like (even though i hate wow) that they really rooted it well in there.

I tried to get in to the closed beta. But couldn't. Looking forward to it now being open

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/12/2013 at 12:51am

Huh wow, yeah so I have't known about that aspect to Magic. I am for sure not one of those people and just pay for cards. Pay to win as it were, but I am not very effective because I don't often win :D

Open beta will be great for the game.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 11/12/2013 at 02:49am

Paying for individual cards always felt like cheating to me. A major part of the appeal to MTG is opening a pack of cards and seeing what you get. Buying individual cards to build a winning deck isn't at all fun.

Although I did consider selling my foil Tarmogoyf when that was the card to have four of in every green deck.

JaBo wrote on 11/15/2013 at 09:44pm

Tarmogoyf still sees tons of play and has high value. What I like about Magic is the different event styles. Tomorrow I'm playing in a tournament that everyone shows up (pay $40) and gets 6 packs of cards to open and build a deck out of. There are others similar to that like drafting and then there's the constructed where you use your own cards. In that case you do need to have spent a good amount of money on them to have the ones you want for your deck. But it all depends on the seriousness of the event. If you're playing a free FNM event, who cares, play with your cards and try to win more, if it's a big event though, you have to make sure you have the cards you want or need for your deck or it's inferior to what it could be and ultimately someone else will have everything they need and beat you.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/17/2013 at 06:38pm

Sealed deck tournaments are fun. Last Magic event I went to that was sealed deck, I got my ass kicked hard. It was fun, but yeah you know... apparently many "arm chair" magic players don't do sealed deck tournies :D

JaBo wrote on 11/25/2013 at 05:51pm

I played this (Hearthstone) all day Saturday and Sunday, it's really fun! Quick matches which lots of options and growth. There's 9 different classes with different class specific cards to choose from plus the general pool. 30 card decks - 30 life. Each class has a different special ability that's always available for 2 cost. Your mana builds up 1 a turn.

Anyways, if you are on there and want to add me, my email is [email protected]

My name on there is Nardraug, but you also need the numbers after it to add that way...weird.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/25/2013 at 06:36pm

Awesome, I just added you in game. If I see you, lets play.

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