On average do you prefer going first or second?

[Twoddle]

I find that the extra card and coin means you can play more dynamically and more than makes up for going second especially when your opponent passes on the first go and you can coin out a 2 mana minion like Knife Juggler right off the bat.

[jazen]

first, always. gets sloppiers the later you get to enter.

[shokter]

I've seen the stats bandied about (although I haven't seen any of these lately, so things could have changed a bit) that say going first results in victory more often, but I almost always want to go second (tho certain decks I have played I would prefer 1st).

edit: and yeah you put it well...the extra card and coin allows for more dynamic play, and often enough they pass first turn anyway. Going second just gives you more options and the coin itself can be a valuable as an extra free spell to use to trigger combos or effects. I see that it kind of puts you on your heels to start off, hence the stats saying (again...unless these have changed) 'go first', but I trust my intuition on this one. Eh...not like you get a choice!

[Bluesftw]

depends on the deck, as rogue or druid i preffer to have the coin while as any braindead aggro it dosnt really matter.

[Arayaa]

I've seen the stats bandied about (although I haven't seen any of these lately, so things could have changed a bit) that say going first results in victory more often, but I almost always want to go second (tho certain decks I have played I would prefer 1st).

Interestingly enough, Blizzard released those stats when miracle rogue was extremely common in the meta. While I believe going first overall resulted in about a 52-53% win rate, miracle rogue had a 60%+ chance to win when going second. If you factored that out, going first would likely result in a win rate >55%.

That said, I'm sure some decks would do significantly better when given the coin then others, so it is likely to vary deck to deck.

[Chickat]

Normally I prefer second.

[mrgreenthump]

Every statictic says going first is better. I feel going first is better. I want to go first every time(exept on my aggro decks which are really skewed on going 2nd).. Yet in Arena my winrate going second is a whopping 9.7% higher than going first.

Going 2nd can give you the early pressure with coining a 2 drop or get you the advantage back by coining a 4 drop, but going first is just purely better.. you get faster to your power turns and you are forcing your opponent to react, if he can only match what you did earlier, you already got the lead by default. Not to mention going first and dropping Zombie Chow just wins you the game then and there most of the times(at least in Arena).

I've seen the stats bandied about (although I haven't seen any of these lately, so things could have changed a bit) that say going first results in victory more often, but I almost always want to go second.

You can design a deck to be based on going 2nd, but the sacrifice is that you are going first 50% of times. So in the end the difference is near non-existant even when designing a deck to go second.

[Williamgood]

Going first lets you most of the time play a significant card that your opponent has to counter, however if you don't play anything; the person who plays second and uses a coin can be terrifying if you don't have answer.

[mongoose6]

I like to go second, not in order to use the coin, but to deny the use of the coin. I hate when a hunter turn 1's an undertaker/leper gnome. Or a zoo throws a taunt plus imp.

[Nekrotix]

I prefer second. It allows me more of a chance to be able to play around whatever my opponent has.

[NuLogic]

first, always. gets sloppiers the later you get to enter.

Oh god I thought this thread was about something else.....

[Mormolyce]

Second, it feels much more powerful. Also the coin counts as a spell and thus synergises with various abilities (which it absolutely should not).

[Kathranis]

It depends on the matchup. I like to have the coin if I can use it in a combo or if my deck doesn't have (m)any 1-drops. Otherwise I like to go first.

[Nikkaszal]

I like to go second, not in order to use the coin, but to deny the use of the coin. I hate when a hunter turn 1's an undertaker/leper gnome. Or a zoo throws a taunt plus imp.

When I'm playing my Secrets Mage deck, I VERY much want to go second mostly for this reason. I very often want Counterspell to both grow my first Arcanist AND protect it. Counterspelling a throwaway Coin while they followup with a nuke is hideously painful.

[Deleted]

I play mostly arena and prefer going 2nd. You get more options in what to keep and how to start imo.

[Anzen]

Prefer going first if I have a turn 1 play :P Zombie Chow being the 29th & 30th card in your deck starts to get annoying

[FuxieDK]

Always second, if I could choose..
Extra card plus coin is a major boost..

[Taalyn]

Depends on the deck I'm playing. For some decks the Coin is amazing.

[Unilythe]

Blizzard says that the going first on average wins 51% of the games, and going second 49% (obviously).
So... I guess going first has a clear advantage, be it very small.

But it does depend on the deck you are playing of course.

[Deleted]

It all really depends on what deck I'm playing as and against. Against zoo, for example, I usually prefer going first but then again even my mulligans affect whether I want or need the coin. It all comes down to how the coin affects my curve, but I suppose I can simplify it into two distinct rules; against control, I prefer going first, and against aggro I prefer going second.