We finally got our BETA access key for Blizzards ‘Magic the Gathering’ game called HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft. Back when Blizzard initially announced it the responses where all met with a unanimous ‘Meh’. Nobody really cared that much. But, after we saw the first few videos, gameplay videos, and then finally BETA access the interest slowly started to grow. And the Impressions are very… very positive. Blizzard created an extremely fun, addictive digital card-battle game.

Unfortunately we had to wait patiently for Blizzard to send us our BETA keys, and after the BETA has been live for a few months now we finally have access! Being avid Magic the Gathering fans, we were extremely anxious to download, install and try it out!

A bit of History: 

HearthStone is Blizzard’s ‘version’ of the insanely popular trading card game Magic: The Gathering. Blizzard are using all of the heroes from all of their Warcraft games, which gives them more than enough heroes, villains, minions and demons. The objective of each game is to destroy your opponent (obviously). You and your opponent start with a certain amount of health, and you take turns ‘casting’ your cards/minions onto the table that deals damage to your opponent. The complexity and addictiveness to the game enters when you start using cards that counter attacks, restores health, blocks attacks and creates all kinds of buffs and attack bonuses on your minions.

The Intro video explains it best:

Naturally, as with all Blizzard games the fan-base has grown to an immense community of hardcore gamers. Already becoming part of eSports, HeathStone will be another game you can go professional with. That is if you are the best of the best!

As you play the game you unlock different types of cards that you can use in your deck. Your deck can then be built up from all these various cards. The type of deck is an entire post on its own, but you can specialize your deck to be aggressive, defensive, magical or ranged.

Here’s the official trailer for HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft:

Sheathe your sword, draw your deck, and get ready for Hearthstone – the fast paced strategy card game that’s easy to learn and massively fun. Start a free game on Battle.net and play your cards to sling spells, summon creatures, and command the heroes of Warcraft in duels of epic strategy.

With powerful prebuilt decks, and hundreds of additional cards to win, craft or purchase – your collection never stops evolving.

Challenge players of all skill levels on Battle.net or hone your skills in practice matches against some of the greatest strategists of Azeroth – Thrall, Uther, Gul’dan, and more!

Here’s a first look into a typical game being played:

We are currently testing our default card packs, and unlocking more heroes as we play around. We’ll be providing updates and tutorials on how to play, so stay tuned. Unfortunately HearthStone BETA keys are not that easy to get your hands on, you can sign up on the official website, or keep an eye on websites giving away BETA keys.

Check-out some of our other HearthStone guides:

• In our first guide we went through the initial options of the game and our first impression.
• In our second guide we briefly looked at the Heroes and how to choose one, what Deck types there are, and some strategic tips on actual in-game skills.
• In our third guide we looked at how important Taunt cards are and how to use them, as well as the best possible times to use direct spells.
• In our fourth guide we looked at the Warlock specifically, and provided some ideas on card combo’s and attacking card combinations that works well.
• Our Fifth guide explained the Warclock Hero Lord Jaraxxus. He is one cool Hero/Card to have!
• We also looked at the current Top 50 Players in North America and Europe