Lets talk openly about net decking :)

[caractacus]

So I was reading the Emote thread and it seemed to dissolve a bit into a discussion about net decking. It feels like some people find it a bit dirty and frown upon it. I will openly admit to doing it, why? because I win more games basically. I don't think I'm bad at making decks but the chances are that there is somebody out there that is much better at it than me. You also still need to be able to play the deck.

I just thought it might interesting to be transparent about what I'm playing at them moment as I cleared all my decks out with the new expc and I'm currently playing 10 standard decks which vary from completely ripped off to all my own. So in no particular order.

1. Kolento Taunt Druid - I 100% copied this - very strong deck, had a lot of success on ladder with it.
2. Freeze Shaman - I used the in-game template with a couple of changes - weak deck can be quirky and kinda fun to play in casual
3. Quest Warrior - again 100% ripped off - a stable deck, haven't tried it on ladder that much so can't say how strong I've found it.
4. Warlock Zoo/Sacrifice minions - IIRC I used the in-game template and didn't change anything - surprisingly good in casual, again haven't tried in ladder.
5. Kripps paladin buff - another complete copy, only played it a few times, didn't really like it.
6. Miracle Rogue - I looked at a net deck then made a couple of changes. Played quite a bit on Ladder, strongish but struggled in later ranks.
7. Jade druid mill - I took Jade druid and added my own mill cards, only played in casual but seems to be a strong deck (can be good against exodia mage)
8. N'zoth Paladin - 100% copied, didn't have much success with it, will probably scrap.
9. Secret Hunter - Completely my own, fun to play in casual, needs tweaking.
10. Combo Rogue - Another all my own, tried to mix miracle and combos, not very strong.

In summary - My strongest decks are the ones I have net decked but not all of them. I have tweaked decks but I'll openly to admit that they probably weaken the decks. I have had some success with decks I have built myself but not to the same level as the better ones I have copied. Again I don't mind people thinking I'm bad at building decks first, I personally don't think I am and second, If I was, I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of.

[Blueobelisk]

Wow that was a long post just to say you net deck.

Blizzard prints cards knowing which synergies will work and what deck types there will be. Anyone who actually think netdecking really exists (besides the optimizations/choices some people make and others follow on) lives in a box.

[slime]

This is akin to getting the best cookie cutter spec for your class. And last I checked, everyone does that in WoW. Good luck at becoming the best pilot you can for your deck!

[Nikkaszal]

Play whatever you like.

The end.

[Pantalaimon]

Play whatever you like.

The end.

Shh don't say that, the babyragers won't like you.

[Mahourai]

Blizzard prints cards knowing which synergies will work and what deck types there will be. Anyone who actually think netdecking really exists (besides the optimizations/choices some people make and others follow on) lives in a box.

Well, obviously, "optimizations/choices" are deck construction. Just a few cards' difference is a big deal in HS with limited numbers of specific cards and small deck sizes. Also, Blizzard plainly doesn't know what synergies will work and what decktypes there will be with any real accuracy. They kept pushing failed strategies like Discard Zoo and Beast Druid (unless you are conspiratorially suggesting these classes were intended to be very bad in that phase of the game) while missing the development of decks like Grim Patron and accidentally overbuffing archetypes like Shaman, etc.

Development is never good at making decks compared to the field in any cardgame. Even when they're close to the final list - like the suggested deck for Crystal Core being close to the final product - they still miss key optimizations like the firefly package.

[Kronik85]

It's a silly thing to make an issue of really. Some decks for instance just build themselves. Quest Warrior for instance was pretty much the exact same deck from day 1, you went to the Deck Builder, you flicked through the Warrior cards and you put in all the staples and then you typed "taunt" into the search and filled the missing slots with all the good taunts. Jade Druid is another example where the build is just obvious.

Then you have lists that aren't completely obvious but are well established shells, like I could build a Miracle Rogue from scratch but I've known and played every build that's ever been made so am I net decking in that situation?

If you are a new player then net decking is a good way to build up your knowledge of powerful shells which once you gain experience will start to modify or "optimise" based on the current meta.

[Fenzha]

If you are playing net decks at the higher ranks then good on you, playing the powerful decks where they should be. If you are playing them in the rank 17-25 bracket then you should just uninstall the game and stop ruining the times of people just wanting to have fun playing bad decks or are just getting into the game.

[Nikkaszal]

Shh don't say that, the babyragers won't like you.

Turns out there's one right above me =)

[caractacus]

Quest warrior is an interesting one and I think it's just laziness on my part that I'm net decking. Last season when it was new I made my own up and even tried a variation with N'Zoth. A lot of people then started including armour smith in Quest warrior and then a standard archetype kind of got created which I then picked up. This season I couldn't be bothered to play about with it so just went straight to Hearthpwn and ripped a deck off. And yes I quite happily play it at the 17-25 bracket.

[Averrix]

I netdeck, at any rank I'm playing, because 90% of the people on the ladder are netdecking in some way shape or form. I have yet to see a truly unique deck since Frozen Throne came out. It's either Highlander priest of some kind, Jade Druid of some kind, Pirate Warrior, Mid-range Paladin, Token Shaman, Exodia or Control Mage, and whatever person is out there trying to keep Hunter and Rogue alive with whatever deck is best for them. At least that's how Standard is. I'm not sure how Wild is, but I'm sure there is a lot more deck diversity there.

[FobManX]

There is nothing wrong with netdecking. I mean people do that in every game, you look up optimal builds/talent choices/way to play and go with that. Netdecking is essentially just that.

I like making my own decks personally, and really only netdeck if there is a really cool fun deck that someone came up with(even if its not necessarily OP). I'm proud of the fact that the first time I hit Legend, it was with a Reno Lock that I came up with myself(well before anyone was using Reno Lock with any popularity).

[Deleted]

I think the game should be more rewarding to experimenting and non-netdecking. I hate the autopilot feel of hearthstone nowadays on ladder. There really should be a 1 mana card that if I can guess 5 opponent cards in a row, I just autowin the game. Was actually thinking about the priest card the other day(that lets you keep the opponent's card) and I feel they should really expand on that archtype just to stop the copy pasta.

One of the reasons I liked Arena a lot in the past (before the Arenascore addons) was that there was skill involved in picking the best options. Sure sometimes it was an obvious pick, but there were many poor quality card decks that I led to 7-8 wins purely on balanced drafting. The idea is, when people are forced to draft their own deck... you add another layer of skill to the requirements.

[Pantalaimon]

I think the game should be more rewarding to experimenting and non-netdecking. I hate the autopilot feel of hearthstone nowadays on ladder. There really should be a 1 mana card that if I can guess 5 opponent cards in a row, I just autowin the game. Was actually thinking about the priest card the other day(that lets you keep the opponent's card) and I feel they should really expand on that archtype just to stop the copy pasta.

One of the reasons I liked Arena a lot in the past (before the Arenascore addons) was that there was skill involved in picking the best options. Sure sometimes it was an obvious pick, but there were many poor quality card decks that I led to 7-8 wins purely on balanced drafting. The idea is, when people are forced to draft their own deck... you add another layer of skill to the requirements.

In all honesty that would be a bad idea, since even 'original' ideas become unoriginal as soon as a player wants to share them with the playerbase and posts them on Hearthpwn. And even non-net decks would easily have more than 5 of the same cards in the deck due to basic/classic staples, as well as obvious staples in various synergy decks.

I don't know about arena adding another layer of skill to the game. In my experience I've run into more idiotic games in arena than constructed, such as losing to Deathwing when you can't afford to play around it and don't know that they have it.

[lockybalboa]

Nothing wrong with that. People qq-ing about netdecks are just being sourpusses after losing to one of those. Nothing wrong to maximize your chances of winning in ranked.

[VladimirM]

So in your words - if you love playing basketball, you should never fade away or cross-over or dunk or do whatever other move because some pro player did it first ?