Classic and Arena modes may look like each other, but they are very different. Both game modes are played on the same rules, but the difference actually lies in deck building. Whereas the Classic mode offers liberty in deck building, the Arena mode won't allow you to choose a clear direction from the beginning, except for a very general one like based on aggression or control. But you won't be able to build an OTK combo, a clear plan nor a steady strategy. It just can't be planned.
Understood, but what to do of that? Simple: in Arena mode, games are ALWAYS won in big fights on the board but NEVER in planned interactions between numerous cards. Don't misinterpret: it doesn't mean that you don't need a strategy to win. It is there, only harder to plan. The Arena mode has its own meta, top-tier picks, and talented players. The games, though, are more like Gladiator than Master or Commander.
Never too aggressive in the Arena
You get it: you have to be simple and efficient to take control of the board. Nonetheless, be aware that you will hardly get pairs of Brawl, Dragonfire Potion or Flamestrike to help you. You will want to throw powerful minion packs in the pit, and play rough to take control of the board. Many good players say that the Arena decks must have a large majority of minions (from 60% to 70%). Cleaning spells of the board are rare and valuable.
One of the best ways to success is to choose minions with solid stats. You may have noticed that some good Arena decks involve minions without any spell or text. This proves the importance of the notion of "body" (that is, all of the minion stats) in the Arena, whereas the deck is more made of minions with "effects".
Chillwind Yeti, Eldritch Horror, and Boulderfist Ogre are interesting bodies, even if they are not in the top picks. You won't want to exclude them from your deck: The Yeti is solid and has many uses (especially for a 4-points card), the Eldritch Horror brings an interesting amount of stats and mana, and the latter is an instant pick for most of Arena players.
The best defense is always a good... defense?
Thinking that offensive and defensive stats have the same value is a common mistake. You will often have to choose a 2/3 over a 3/2. Surely, both minions will be destroyed in a trade, but you must think about AoE, and the trades forced by 2/2 or 2/1 minions put on the board in the past rounds. Keep in mind that the Arena is mostly about board control: your minions must hold the line as long as possible. If your board gets empty too fast because of AoE and trades, you will only get slim chances of winning. Your defensive cards will be very important to keep the game under control and generate card advantage.
Don't offer a card advantage for free
Where is the limit between weak and strong minions? We think that it stands at a value of 3. The monsters who have 1 or 2 of defensive stats are undoubtedly in range of all trades, AoE, and heroic power! Reminder: you absolutely don't want your Round 3 minion to die in the opponent's Round 2, or you will be losing tempo and even worse, your card advantage.
Concerning the AoE, it's clearly not limited to 2 inflicted damage. Numerous of them are able to clean the board way more violently. However, in the current Arena meta, the most part of the AoE doesn't exceed 2 inflicted damage, whether they come from a spell or a creature's effect.
75% of AoE effects are inflicted on -2HP minions, that's why it's important to keep resilient minions, with at least 3 in defensive stat. If you succeed, you will be protected from most of mass removal cards that your opponent may possess. Remember that your opponent will always try to produce card advantage using AoE. If your minions are resilient enough, he will have to use them to make 1 for 1 or 1 for 2, which is not that worthy.
The same reasoning can be applied to the opponent's heroic power. Druid, Rogue and Mage all can ping 1 damage to your minions, that is why picking a card with only 1 resilience point is risky. The Mage, for example, will be able to get free card advantage from that. You will want to pick minions that are out of range from those threats!
Written by Jérémie "Djey" Mathis. Translated from French by Millenium.us.org.
