State of the Site and What the Future Holds for HSP

Just over 2 years ago, Hearthstone Players was born. The exact date was April 25, 2013.

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To put things in perspective, Hearthstone was first announced in March 2013. Closed Beta began in August 2013 and officially released on March 11, 2014.

We’ve been doing the guides jig for a long time now, and we’ve learned a lot. Received a lot of feed back writers, players and more importantly, our readers. The biggest challenge had always been separating and deciding which content to publish under Public (available for anyone to read) and which to publish under Premium (for our subscribers). After 2 years of trying different formats out, we’re definitely getting closer.

Mastering the ‘X’ Deck Guide Series

Hearthstone Players wants to be the authority on not just guides but deck guides as well. So we’ve really spent time trying to ensure our deck guides contain sections that’s crucial for our readers so that they can try out the deck without being completely lost. Our newly revamped deck guides are now called Mastering the Guide series. So far we’ve created guides for the following meta decks:

And we’re not done yet. The following meta decks (and many others) will have their own Mastering the Deck series coming soon:

  • Patron Warrior
  • Handlock
  • Malygos Warlock
  • Midrange Druid
  • Many more…

All of the above guides will also be updated and edit over time, so they’ll always be up to date and contain relevant information. And when they’re updated, the timestamp will change and they get bumped to the top, so readers can identify them easier.

The Beginner section is under the Public section, and it covers just enough for players to get started on trying out the deck. The Advanced and Matchups and Mulligans section are under Premium, so if the readers enjoyed reading the Beginner section, they can consider signing up for membership and enjoy the complete package.

Meta Decks as Categories

We’ve also moved away from the Class category and pushed towards a Meta Deck category for organizing guides. Meta Deck categories makes way more sense for the way Hearthstone is. That’s why you’ll now see the Meta Deck Guides list on the front page and the side bar. Check out the list of Meta Decks (and click them to see the guides all under that specific meta deck) to see it in all its glory!

Also instead of assigning arbitrary numbers/ranks to each meta deck – we’ve simply grouped them in 4 sections:

  • “Decks to Beat” are decks that have seen prominent play in both the latest Hearthstone Tournaments and Hearthstone Ladder/Ranked play. They are extremely well refined and balanced decks.
  • “Decks to Watch” are decks that have a consistence presence in Tournaments and Ranked, and it’s heavily dependent on the meta. When the meta shifts, these decks can rise to become the Decks to Beat or fall out of favor.
  • “Others” are decks that appear sporadically, not expected by the mass and can go on to snag multiple win streaks. People may expect a Freeze Mage when they’re really facing an Echo Giants Mage (similar openers and early game), which can cause them to make costly decisions.
  • “Previous Meta Decks” are decks that are no longer viable or seen minimal play. Either due to its core cards nerfed or simply not suitable for the current meta, no matter how much the meta shifts.

Birth of Team HSP

For the past 2 years, we’ve featured articles from some of the best players, from Top 10 Legends to 12-0 Arena Masters. But in order to really build a reputable and dependable site, we have started our own official Hearthstone team. Not only does it consist of top competitive players, but also full time members dedicated to editing and creating content for the site. This will ensure consistency and improved quality of HSP’s content. Mastering the ‘X’ Deck Guide series was a result of this initiative.

HSP Open Tournaments

With the birth of our own competitive Hearthstone team, the next natural step would be hosting tournaments. Not closed/invite-only tournaments, but open tournaments to all. You don’t need to aim for Blizzcon to try your hand at competitive play and try out the Conquest mode. So far, we’ve held 2 open tournaments (one EU, one NA) and with more being planned!

If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to book mark the link above and keep an eye out for the announcement of next Open Tournament!

New Sidebar

Some of the best content on this site are under the Public section and we’ve reorganized them into clearer categories so you can browse through them easier. If you have any friends that’s new to Hearthstone, these sections are the perfect place to send them to:

We also have a few writers that have contributed for such a long time that they’ve got their own series going:

All of the above are highly recommended reading and you can find them on the left side bar on most part of the site.

Closing

That pretty much sums up what’s been going on here at Hearthstone Players. We’d also like to thank those that’s been with us through it all, thank you to those who visit our site (hope you have it bookmarked!), thank you to those who have a subscription with us (so we can stay afloat and keep doing what we love) and thank you to all those who have contributed to our site (past and present)!

We hope you have a great rest-of-2015 year and we look forward to bring you all more valuable Hearthstone content!

For those that want to drop us a line or say hi, you’re welcome to use the form or write me directly at jimmy@hearthstoneplayers.com

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justjimmy