I've been playing Hearthstone for a few months now and I've really been enjoying it. It seems like I finally have the collectible card game I have always wanted. I play a few collectible games in my spare time, most notably Magic: The Gathering and Heroclix. Hearthstone has given me the hope that high-level play would actually be able to be something I could do. I haven't had this feeling with Magic or any other collectible card game in the past. I'm here today to tell you all why I have this feeling and why Hearthstone has given me the enthusiasm that Magic, Yu-gi-oh! and other TCGs simply cannot.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my time with Magic. I enjoy it so much that I looked into doing competitive play for it. Unfortunately my dreams of any competitive play were dashed. It wasn't a matter of player skill at that point. I didn't even have an opportunity to try to suck at competitive Magic play. Simply put, I couldn't pay the entry fee to try and be good.
See Magic has something that Hearthstone does not. That something is the opportunity to buy single cards. Rather than sifting through countless packs hoping that the thing you want is in there to make your deck that much better you can simply buy whatever card you need to beef up your deck. Now, this wouldn't be a problem is card prices didn't range from well that's a little steep all the way to that is absolutely outrageous. This paywall causes a huge problem for a lot of people. Many times it doesn't matter if someone is better than their opponent because that opponent paid more money to have stronger things than the player with higher skill. In the end it becomes pay to win in its purest form. Can't pay the hundreds of dollars to get in with the big dogs? Well no competitive play for you. Enjoy getting trounced again and again because you don't have as much money to devote to this hobby as the other guy.
Hearthstone doesn't really have this problem. You can't buy single cards. You can craft cards by giving up cards you don't need in hopes of something better. You can also pay money for packs like anyone else. But all buying packs does is give you more opportunities to get good cards than somebody else. It doesn't guarantee that a player that hasn't sunk as much money into the game as you will lose. You also have the option to not pay money at all. The game gives you so many opportunities to get cards for free. You can get packs just for winning games. You can get packs for playing a certain type of deck. Decks even get cards awarded to them just by the player choosing to use them. Hearthstone gives players a wonderful feeling as they play. It gives players the sense that the game is simply rewarding them for playing it. You get access to more content by simply playing the game. And that is something I feel every game should strive for.
So what do you guys think? Does the fact that Hearthstone won't let you buy single cards contribute to the game or hinder it? What are some of your experiences with collectible card games? Hit me up in the comments and I'll catch you next time.
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