“It feels like a wacky spin on the usual format rather than a fresh new entity”
Digging for treasure in HEARTHSTONE’S bonkers new Duels mode
Hearthstone’s new Duels mode feels a bit like playing the results of a teleporter accident. Blizzard has spliced something I love with something I very much do not. The result feels like an amped up version of the already fairly deranged main game.
The unevenness comes as no surprise given that, as I write this, Duels is in Early Access. Borrowing from Arena, your aim is to build a deck capable or racking up 12 wins against human opponents—but lose three times and you’re out. Where the Dungeon Run element comes in is that you add to the deck after each game, picking bundles of cards from themed ‘buckets’ which will nudge your playstyle in a particular direction.
So far, so Hearthstone. The real spice comes from the inclusion of Treasure cards, some of which are blatantly overpowered. These include spells, minions and passive buffs. Again, you’re given a choice of three, and what’s offered tends to define both how long your deck lasts and how much fun you have playing it. For example: Band of Bees makes all your minions which cost two or less Poisonous, which means Pen Flinger can kill anything.
And then there’s Wax Rager. This is a 5/1 Minion which resummons itself upon Death. So the only way to actually remove it is with a Silence effect. I was agog when one opponent played this into a passive Treasure that meant the first Deathrattle of each turn triggered automatically, giving him two Wax Ragers and effectively ending the game on the spot.
What I like best about the mode is that because the ten classes have unique hero powers, and because you can use select expansions from the past when building your 15 card (no duplicates) starter deck, Duels feels like it has its own distinct flavor.
PICK A CARD
The use of old cards has led to some backlash from players who’ve been dusting the Wild cards in their collection. I have some sympathy, but honestly the exact design of your starter deck is much less important than the treasures you discover along the way. Just build any sort of half-decent tempo deck that can deal with early aggro, and you’ll do OK. As with Arena, my interest dwindles when you get a poor selection of starting Heroes, or trash treasures, and the run turns into a slog.
Duels will likely also be helped by the changes to the way Hearthstone’s incentive systems work, which should mean that playing any mode is almost equally rewarding in terms of XP gained on the Tavern Pass. I don’t think it’s likely to find quite the same rapt audience that Battlegrounds has, because it feels like a wacky spin on the usual format rather than an entirely fresh new entity. Honestly, I’m just glad Hearthstone has shaken off its lethargy and is becoming the kind of game for which launching new modes is the norm.
THE USE OF OLD CARDS HAS LED TO SOME BACKLASH FROM PLAYERS