As soon as there is a new release, new decks come into the scene.
But how do so many players afford to make these new decks?
Or do they just dust continuously?!
In my case I already have an hearthstone account for some time, I made a hiatus, then returned and for some time since then I try to do the quests weekly.
When a new expansion comes, I’m ready to buy a lot of card packs or buy if it is a mini expansion.
With the cards I get I try to build a deck that doesn’t cost me much and which I like, sometimes I get greedy and try to build more decks.
And I only play standard mode or I wouldn’t have any way of being competitive without spending money.
If you buy the pre-order you get all the commons and rares (or save up 6000 gold). Then look at which decks are running new epics/legendaries and how many and you’ll see it doesn’t take much (they might not even be running them) to have a deck.
Some people use money to get a head start on the new expansion. Especially the pre-order offer is typically a relatively affordable way to get a head start.
Some people do indeed dust cards aggressively. Dusting cards that leave Standard is very common (but you might regret it if you want to play Wild) later). Dusting extra cards is safe (but if you don’t need dust, I would just keep the extra cards and only actively dust if they get a nerf).
If you play for a longer time already, AND make sure to log on daily for a new quest and finish enough quests that you always have a spare slot, you can actually make a lot of gold during each expansion. During the last few years, I have always been able to get 50 or 60 packs for each new expansion as it released, plus each mini-set, all with gold only.
I do not have enough saved dust and extra cards that I can just craft all cards. If I want to try a new deck every day, I will run out. But I can usually craft the cards I miss for a deck I really want to play. However, that is the result of “investing” a lot of time in the game. (Using brackets because I don’t see it as investment … I see it as relaxation and having fun).
i’ve been free to play since vanilla i dust everything that gets rotated “something something wild is a bigger joke then the base game” , and i get around 16k dust each time or more “depending” what goldens i had and didnt have, then i spend most of my gold on Arena Runs “150 gold for a pack and maybe chance to double your income or more packs” , and usually watch streamers with some pack drops so i get a bit of an injection or direction wich way to go