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Digital Playground, On the Tabletop, Snap *censored* Pop Culture

2 Generations Gaming 2017 in Review

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Introduction

It’s the first day of 2018. This is the time every year that is traditionally set aside for reflection on the previous 365 (or 366) days. There are countdowns, marathons, and years in review. This article falls into the last category. While it has been difficult to maintain a consistent video or podcast schedule, I’ve done okay at updating the web page with at least one article a month. I’ve also kept busy with plenty of other geeky fun. Let’s reminisce on the best, the worst, and the ugliest.

The Good

APBA Baseball: I only recently rediscovered this game in one of my closets and I’m going to write an article this week about the couple of games I played last week. I know that others might prefer Strat-O-Matic or another simulator, but this is the only one I’ve played and it does what I want it to do. Overall, this has been a great addition to my gaming life again and I can’t wait to dive deeper into the baseball simulation greatness.

Mobile Gaming: Old school favorites like Candy Crush and Angry Birds. New favorites like Sim City Build It, Fallout Shelter, Magic the Gathering Puzzle Quest, and Pokemon Go. All of these games have been played with great regularity over the past year on my phone. In fact, most of my video game time has been spent on my phone. That’s saying something for a person who used to denigrate all mobile games as shovelware.

Eternal/Hearthstone: Yes, these are both games that could have technically been included in the mobile section. However, they’ve had more impact on me than the other games included in that list. I started playing Eternal during one of my rage quits from Hearthstone earlier in the year. I had seen Brian Kibler playing the game on stream and figured I’d give it a chance. I’m glad that I did. While I don’t play it as much as when I first started, it still has a place in my weekly rotation. I have had an up and down relationship with Hearthstone. However, as I said to Chris a couple of days ago, I seem to have found my comfort zone in the game. I have little to no interest in competitive play of any sort. I generally just log in every couple of days to do quests, earn gold, and every now and then win a pack that I won’t open.

Comics: 2017 was the year that saw me get back into comics. Marvel’s Secret Empire event led to a discovery of the well executed DC Rebirth titles. Following them for a few months led right into Metal and sticking with Secret Empire to the end let me experience the start of Legacy. Almost all of these events were well executed, but it wasn’t all good for comics this year. More on that later.

Magic the Gathering: You wouldn’t think that I’d rank this so highly in the good category. Given that Chris and I discussed a few times how little we had played the game this year. I wasn’t even watching streams. It just looked like the game had run its course for us. Then, a couple of things happened. Well, on my end, one major thing happened. During one of our summer trips, I played Magic with all three boys. First, we played a couple of two headed giant games with decks that I had built over the years. Then, I picked up the Nicol Bolas box set and finally the Explorers of Ixalan. We haven’t played the Explorers yet, but there is time. Any game that gets me closer to my kids is a great game.

The Best: I know that it came late in the year, but any time a Star Wars movie is released and it is half decent, that will be the best thing about my year. When it is one of the best of the franchise, it will be the best thing of the decade. When I get to experience it with my kids and father in law, it just might be one of the highlights of my life. I won’t say much more because I have an article planned to go into more detail, but I absolutely loved this movie and it was a perfect way to start my holiday break.

The Bad

No New Console: This is the first year in a few that we haven’t gotten a new console. I was going back and forth for a few weeks on whether or not to buy an XBox One Minecraft edition. I’ve had my eye on it for a while. Then, there seems to have been a mix up with my last December check and unless I sub in January, I won’t get paid at all, so economics won out. Liam did buy himself a Gamecube and we found the Dreamcast (but it needs to be repaired), so there are some “new” games being played right now, but no new hardware makes me feel a bit sad. We won’t be down for long, though. We are looking at a Switch and I’m almost positive that I’ll get an XBox in February.

The Worst: Only two for this one? Yep, and only two for the next one, too. By now, you should know my very positive outlook on things and this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Also, the fact that I just talked so much about how comics were a good thing this year might also make this choice for “the worst” seem weird at best and probably perplexing. But, I have a valid explanation. I loved the stories and art of the comics, but hated the cover prices. I was spending far too much money on them and I couldn’t justify doing so anymore. At least with games, I get massive replay value from them and they allow me to spend more time with my kids. Comics did neither of those. It was 3-7 dollars spent on 10-15 minutes of enjoyment. That’s just awful.

The Ugly

Our Podcast Lineup: I was just talking to a friend (and one of the first fans of the page) about the 2 Guys Gaming podcast. He said something about how he thought it was damn good and that it could have been something. Not one to take compliments very gracefully, I changed the subject quickly. However, the podcasts are fun for me to do and I really want to get back to doing them. There have been a few that I listen to that have taken long breaks and come back stronger. One, in particular, stopped and started a few times, but it is again one of my favorites. So, our planning is ugly, but hopefully by this time next year, it will be good.

Nerd on Nerd Violence: This is something that I’ve often spoken against. However, as nerd culture has become popular culture, the nerd on nerd violence has increased to an unacceptable level. It used to be that when you were picked on by somebody, you always had your nerd buddies to get your back. If there was an actual fight, you’d all get your butts kicked, but they were there to take your mind off of being the brunt of some sort of physical or psychological abuse. Now, some of the worst abuse of nerds is coming from other nerds. It isn’t just good-natured joke fights about whether Star Trek or Star Wars is better. It’s full on attacks of each other and the things we hold dear. I’m going to talk about this more in my Star Wars article and it might just be that all violence is increasing, but this makes me incredibly sad.

The Verdict

2017 wasn’t all fun and games. It wasn’t all poorly executed puns, either. It was a good bordering on great year that gives us an excellent foundation to make 2018 even better. Happy New Year, All! Make it the best one ever!

Digital Playground

I’m Taking that Candle

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Introduction

I know this is late for a preview/impressions post on the new Hearthstone expansion, as it has been out for about a week now. However, I have yet to actually play a game with any of the cards. As I said to Chris, I haven’t even opened a single pack from Knights of the Frozen Throne. I have played through only dungeon runs so far, which gives me almost no indication about the cards. Nevertheless, I’ve been watching and paying attention to the card reveals and think that I can give a decent impression to my fellow noobs.

Mechanics

I’m not positive if there aren’t usually very many new keywords in each set. I suppose that I could not be lazy and Google past sets, but then I might actually get a reputation for being a responsible journalist. Besides, I don’t even have to Google anything because I’m already on Hearthstonepedia (or whatever it’s called) so all I’d have to do is click a few links and I’m not even willing to do that much.

Seriously, have you seen House of Cards? Reporters just end up dead on the front of a subway train!

Recruit – This is the only official keyword that I can see that is new on the cards. There are a couple of others that show up once or twice or aren’t exactly keywords, per se, that I will review quickly at the end of the section. However, recruit is the only new bold word on card text. On the surface, it seems strong because it takes a card from your deck and puts it onto the battlefield. Yes, you read that right. Never change, Blizzard. Never change.

Spellstone – I wouldn’t necessarily call this a keyword. It is more of a card type. Each of the classes have a type of spellstone (only one now, but it’s probably only a matter of time before they introduce more) that does something relevant to the class. It starts off as a lesser spellstone, but can be upgraded to a spellstone and then further upgraded to a greater spellstone, again through some action that the class usually accomplishes through normal gameplay. I like the idea of these cards as they really push the narrative of being able to do things online that can’t be done in a traditional card game.

Legendary Weapons – Each class has also been given a new weapon of legendary status. Just like minions, only one can be included in a deck and they, at least on the surface, promise the same kind of game breaking potential. As they say, results may vary.

“Bonus effect” isn’t bold, but it does show up on several cards in the set. When you draw the card, you see the bonus effect which, in true Hearthstone fashion, is randomized.
I promised some unique mechanics in the set. As far as I know, this is the only card in the set with “dormant”. It also reads an awful lot like Dark Depths from Magic, though not as reliable…yet. I will say that I’ve been impressed at the Hearthstone team’s ability to make formerly terrible cards not as terrible. So, who knows. Before long, The Darkness could be meta.
 

Notable Cards

Please understand that this doesn’t mean good, or even necessarily playable cards. If you want that list, there are a thousand other pages that will give you the best cards, combos, decks, etc. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re in the wrong place. I also just mentioned The Darkness and how bad it is, so I’m not going to waste your time with borderline unplayable cards. However, if you just want a (possibly random) collection of cool and interesting cards, read on!

I like this card because it takes the druid mechanic of choice and expands the possibilities. Very cool design.
Rogue finally gets secrets, something that seems to fit the class more than Paladin. This one is cool because it’s like a delayed shadowstep. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to play around, which defeats the purpose of secrets.
The first card in Hearthstone with “Trample” and it is a situational spell card. Weird, but neat!
There are at least two cards that have this ability only to attack if you have a certain amount of armor. It is a bit of a half measure between the “can’t attack” and normal minions. There are so many applications of this for other classes.
This is an example of them testing the waters with an idea (the mage quest) and then building on it. Admittedly, this is an odd application of the extra turn dynamic, but it shows that they are willing to take chances and experiment.

The Verdict

This set has perhaps the stupidest name for a card game expansion I’ve ever heard. I honestly thought it was one of Blizzard’s famous April’s Fools Day jokes either very late or a bit early when I first heard the name. In spite of that, I still logged in and claimed my packs. I haven’t opened them. Heck, I haven’t even opened my Frozen Throne packs, as I said earlier.

So, I don’t see this set getting me to play the game any more than I have been playing it to this point, which is only enough to finish a quest or two a day. What does get me to play more is interesting stuff like the mash up arena mode that they had for Halloween this year. I played through several of those runs. Oh, I have also done a few dungeon runs recently, and those have been a fun and interesting experience. Aside from that, though, I will just have another 50+ packs sitting in my inventory. Oh well, there’s always Eternal and Magic the Gathering to keep me busy.

Digital Playground

Journey to Redemption?

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(Editor’s Note: We know that you have become accustomed to our intense and burning hatred for all things Blizzard and Hearthstone. If so, this article might come as a shock to you. Please consult your doctor if you have a heart condition or are prone to fits of hysteria.)

Yes, it’s that time again when a not so young gamer’s heart turns to anger and frustration. Spring means a new Hearthstone expansion–as they’ve done away with adventures–and our “card review”. More often than not, “card review” means that I discuss new mechanics, get excited that control might finally become a viable option in the game, and then conclude that Hearthstone is just fundamentally flawed in design and face decks will always rule until they change how the game plays.

It’s become a bit of a running gag around here that we hate Hearthstone. That’s only partly true. I do find the focus on aggro and the reliance on RNG to be annoying. Also, I’m bitter that they ultimately killed a good game in the WoW:TCG to focus on this. I still feel like they could both exist. But, I do genuinely like some of the ideas that the game has introduced to the genre.

I mean, people might get confused because there is so much overlap in the art for the two games, but eventually, I think we’re smart enough to get it.

And, so, I kept playing in spite of how angry it sometimes made me. Chris kept telling me that I was addicted. Hell, I might have been. I am a sucker for the treadmill type of games that Blizzard makes. So, I guess we score one for addiction. Because I kept playing it, I’ve found my comfort zone in the game. It may not always be fun, but I’m not constantly texting Chris how much I hate the game anymore.

I have a feeling that some of this is temporary. After months of trying and promising control decks, Blizzard finally accidentally created an environment where they are viable. Sure, the meta is overwhelmingly face decks, so you still get aggro’d out of the game quite a bit of the time, but control decks actually do exist and get played quite a bit. As someone who prefers that playstyle, I couldn’t be happier. But, Standard rotation beckons and Reno is being relegated to the Wild frontier.

Don’t worry, Buddy. As a filthy casual, I prefer playing Wild, so we won’t be apart for long.

That’s the big selling point this time. Every time there’s an expansion, players get excited for new cards, the meta gets solved in a few days to a week, and then everyone complains about how boring the game is for another 3 months. Rinse and repeat. This time is different, Blizzard promises. Not only are new cards being introduced, but cards are rotating out for only the second time int he history of the game. That’s gotta add at least a day or two of theory crafting to figure out that spamming minions and going face is the optimal strategy. Okay, okay, that was a cheap shot. Only one at this in the article, though, is way under par.

So, what cool stuff can we expect from Un’Goro? First, and I’m actually genuinely excited about htis one, they’re bringing back the concept of quests. If you ever played the WoW: TCG, you remember that quests were the resource similar to mana. Since Hearthstone uses mana crystals, it doesn’t make sense to use quests in a similar fashion. Instead, they are legendary cards that are auto included in your opening hand. They require you to do something–ie, playx cards of some sort or another–and reward you with a super powerful card. I don’t know if any of the quests will be seen in competitive play, but I can’t wait to play around with them in the casual modes.

I feel like I’ve seen this card before. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the card was definitely blue there, too.

The other new mechanic that has potential is “Adapt”. This feature “discovers” three upgrades to your minion in the form of divine shield, windfury, stealth, taunt, etc. The discover mechanic is one of the best ideas that the Hearthstone team has introduced into the genre. It fits in with the theme of the game that RNG is skill. There is variance, but because the game gives you three options, the chances of getting something useful are that much higher. Anything that adds more discover to the game is okay by me.

Hey, you might say, you’ve already mentioned 2 concepts that you like about the new expansion. Maybe you’ve turned the corner and will actually like the game now. Woah! Hold up there. Hating Hearthstone is part of my identity. If I actually like it, who have I become? this is an existential crisis in the making. But, not right now! Yes, there are some cool mechanics in the set, but there are always things that I can find to like about a card set before it’s been released.

I’m right there with you, Snoopy. Hearthstone is enough to make a man mad.

Usually, in Magic, that means that these things are not remotely viable as a competitive strategy. In Hearhtstone, they are usually unique strategies that change the way the game is played. So, I guess both are in keeping with my tendency to go against the grain. As far as the rest of the cards are concerned, there is an emphasis on “tribal”. Tribal is always one of the MtG buzzwords that is never viable, but always hooks me.

In addition to an overall deck strategy, I will often try to adhere to a tribal theme in Magic. Honestly, I don’t thin that it is any more viable in Hearthstone, but it is easier to make a tribal theme work because the synergies are more prevalent. For instance, you won’t ever get high ranks playing murlocs, but I did get a healthy win streak while playing a dumb shaman murloc deck the other day.

Who knows? Maybe I have turned the corner. I have gone from actively hating the game to accepting it as part of my daily routine. I suppose the next logical step is actual enjoyment.

Digital Playground

Stay off the Mean Streets

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(Editor’s Note: Hey, kid, come down this dark alley. I got some free card packs for ya.)

Instead of, once again, starting an article about Hearthstone with our undying hatred for the game, I will attempt a little positivity. I am positive that I hate every aspect of this game. There we go. I feel much better now that the positivity is flowing through this article and that I’ve balanced my chakras and stuff.

The latest expansion, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, has only cemented my distaste. In fact, I feel like encasing this game in cement to sleep with the fishes. I haven’t even played it that much over the past few months. I checked out, mostly for good, during the height of aggro shaman and haven’t seen anything that makes me want to come back. I still “grind” to rank 20 for the card back and do the occasional quest with Tavern Brawl for the pack, but that’s the extent of my Hearthstone playing career recently.

To be honest (and I don’t know why I wouldn’t be honest about this), Duelyst has been my PC guilty card game pleasure. I have no strategy yet, so I don’t play competitively. However, they have a daily puzzle that rewards 5 gold and their quests are much more noob friendly, so I have been able to pick up some cards. Soon, I might try to build my own decks.

Well, this looks promising.

But, and I say this now with some trepidation, this article is about Hearthstone. So, what are the problems with Hearthstone? And, if the game is so bad, why is it so popular? Well, I will answer the second question first. Mainly, I start there because Liam and I just had the conversation last night and I’m proud of my conclusion. Mind you, it isn’t necessarily original, but I’m still proud of myself for tracing over connect the dots already completed by others. Hey, it’s the new American way, right?

For most people, Hearthstone is a nightmare to play. There is to much randomness built into the game. In addition, one of the primary spokespeople for the game promises that it will always be a focus because, he believes, that it adds to the skill cap. I still can’t square that circle. Then again, I’m not a programmer of a multi-million dollar gaming company. But, I digress. the result of this random nature of the game is that many players see it as inhibiting their progress in the game.

Some will (and have) argue this point, but they’re not wrong. If you are a weekend warrior in the game, the randomness is exaggerated and you will lose games because of it. This can be frustrating, so players stop playing. That’s what finally happened to me. Those who keep playing are the ones who have the time and money to invest in the game and play for hours at a time. Over the long haul, the randomness evens out and eventually you can even outgain it if you “git gud” at the game.

Okay, after that display of skill, here’s where it all comes together. Many of those players and Hearthstone have benefited from the rise of Twitch as an entertainment platform. the game is visually pleasing, has sometimes entertaining sound bites, and usually compelling gameplay. To make a long story short (too late!), for most people, it is much more fun to watch than to play. It joins games like Starcraft and LoL (though those games have a much higher skill cap) as spectator driven games. Viola! A game that many people don’t like is still very popular.

Now, other than randomness, what is so bad about the game? Well, I said that I bailed when aggro (and more specifically face) shaman was popular. The strategy, if you can call it that, consisted of spamming minions to the board and hitting the opponent in the face. After some nerfs, this deck eventually morphed into a more midrange one. That meta was initially more interesting as it was more about outvaluing the opponent instead of strictly punching face. However, as tends to happen, the net deckers took over and that was literally the only deck being played.

Enter the expansion! Enter new cards! Enter a new meta with new decks and a new class! While the last comment is intended to be a joke, in reality, the whole thing is a joke. Sure, priest is now viable when it wasn’t before. Yes, there are new cards and technically new decks. You know there’s a however coming here, right?

Psyche! Instead of a however, I’m coming at you with a big but!

But, the most powerful “new” deck is just a variation of an old deck (Renolock), many of the other new decks are simply carbon copies of one another (pirate *fill in the blank*), and miracle rogue is still a thing. So, Chris had a point when he said that the game won’t ever be much more than a card version of Rock ’em, Sock ’em Robots.

Bear in mind that I have not played the game for any significant amount o f time over the last few months and I am sick of it. I can only imagine how badly it triggers people who actually play the game every time they hear, “Who goes there?!” *Cannon* “I’m in charge, now!” as they face yet another stupid pirate deck. Personally, it might drive me to murder.

Just more evidence that Blizzard doesn’t give a crap as long as people continue throwing money at this stupid game.

You’re natural reaction at this point might be to ask if there is any reason at all to play the game. In all honesty, my answer is no. If you haven’t been playing and enjoying the game, there is nothing in this expansion that will entice you to want to start or return. i’m going to stick with my plan of taking free stuff and getting better at Duelyst. I’m also on break, so who knows? Maybe Chris and I can get together for some Magic and I can focus my energy on a real card game.

Pros: Um, yeah, about that. We always try to find the positive in games, but this one has exhausted even my good will. I mean Tavern Brawl is sometimes fun and the occasional Arena can give good rewards.

Cons: If you like repetitive gameplay, facing the same deck (no matter the class choice) over and over, and a lack of creativity in general, then Hearthstone is for you. I don’t, and the game is getting so monotonous that I’m even having trouble watching it.

The verdict: There are so many other card games to occupy your time. My advice is to play one of them instead.

Digital Playground

What I did on my Summer Vacation (Part 1 – PC)

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(Editor’s Note: Welcome back, class. Today, we will share what we did over the summer. Oh, Noob has his hand up, so we will start with him.)

Well, it’s September. Summer is winding down. My wife and kids all started back to school last week. I started back today. What better time than now to reminisce back and write one of those lame essays about “what I did this summer” that were always the first assignments in elementary and middle school. I’m actually writing four of these. This one will focus on PC gaming. Two others will talk about console and mobile games and the final will deal with my tabletop exploits.

I am starting with PC because it allows me to open with a long and meandering story that may more may not have anything to do with the overall point of the article. It is one of my favorite things about writing for the page.

I am currently restricted to my ancient Acer laptop after yet another electronics disaster. I have had computers get stepped on, tripped over, fall off of the couch and chairs, and one even fell down a flight of stairs. I sat on my tablet. I also dropped it out of my bag onto the parking lot after repairing the screen. That happened even though I got smart and started putting it into a case. Oh, but it wasn’t in the case because I took it out to clean the case and then didn’t have time to put it back in. What could go wrong? In that same parking lot, I watched as my month old phone got run over by a car. The point is that I have bad luck with electronics. I have bad luck with vehicles, too, but that is a different story.

If I was ever stupid enough to do this, I'm positive that this is how I would die.
If I was ever stupid enough to do this, I’m positive that this is how I would die.

This last laptop lasted me longer than any other one had by several months. I had no reason to believe that it would not continue to perform for months, if not years. Sure, I had to replace the screen and two hard drives, but the thing kept going. And then, one day, it didn’t.

That’s how it happened. It was working fine as I watched some stupid Hearthstone streamer as another. It was shaping up to be a fine day of relaxation. But, wait, what’s this? The computer does not appear to be charging. That’s okay. Maybe there’s a loose connection in the cord. No. Okay, well, I’ve had this problem before and it was just a quick solder job. I’ll pop on Youtube just to see how to disassemble–

Oh, my. Oh, well, that’s complicated. Okay, that’s fine. It won’t be a quick fix. Just take my time and it will be no problem. Well, to make a long story short (I know, too late!), you know that the story ends with the computer being non-operational. More specifically, I severed one of the ribbon cables. that might have been an easy and cheap fix, too, but by that point, the computer was in so many pieces that I just gave up. I’ve also learned my lesson. My next computer will be a desktop.

Just so we're clear, Twitch, I blame you.
Just so we’re clear, Twitch, I blame you.

So, as a result, I’m restricted to my old laptop that has somehow survived the five plus year purge of electronics. The thing is a tank. t overheads and is only really good for web browsing and word processing, but it works decent for those two things. That brings us, finally, to the reason for this lengthy explanation.

The laptop may not be able to run many of the Steam games I own. So far, it has been unable to download the card images for xMage with any reliability. Heck, it sometimes has trouble playing Twitch streams. One thing it can play, though, is Hearthstone.

Hello, Darkness (no, Hearthstone, that's it), my old frenemy.
Hello, Darkness (no, Hearthstone, that’s it), my old frenemy.

Chris will give me crap about this because the number of times that I’ve texted him to tell him that I uninstalled Hearthstone only to come crawling back. Heck, one of my articles just before the summer hiatus talked about my hate/slightly less intense version of hate relationship with the game. So, I deserve the abuse. All of that notwithstanding, the only PC gaming I’ve done all summer is Hearthstone. I can therefore report that, even though they’ve recently released a new adventure since the last time I covered the game, not much has changed.

In fact, the game has become even more face-centric and control decks exist only in legend, whispered by Mt players as proof that their game is superior. As a dyed in the wool blue mage, I consider myself among that group. The interaction of different archetypes and the ability to win games through different strategy on a consistent basis is what makes MtG a vastly better game. still, when I’m feeling SMOrcish and I just want to point that arrow at the opponent’s face, Hearthstone is there for me.

Digital Playground

Old Gods, New Tricks?

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(Editor’s Note: The 2 Guys Gaming have a hate/slightly less intense hate relationship with Hearthstone. I will try to keep that bias out of this article, but like the rage that I often feel after only a few games, it may infect the article in slow and steady waves until any semblance of joy is crushed under that weight of despair and hopelessness. How’s that for hype?)

I finally got so fed up with Hearthstone that I deleted it from my phone a couple of weeks ago. This is not a new reaction. I’ve deleted it from the my computer a couple of times and my tablet at least once. I say “at least once” because the game is not currently installed, but I have this strange habit of reinstalling the game a week or two after deletion. I can’t remember if I did that on the tablet or not. Ultimately, I suppose that it doesn’t matter other than several of you reading most likely have similar stories to tell.

It’s not like this phenomenon is unique to Hearthstone for me. I’ve written in the past that I have a similar history with another Blizzard game, World of Warcraft. I take extended breaks from that one, for as long as two years once, and periodically check in to see how the latest expansion has changed the game. WoW is different, though. I have a history and emotional attachment to the game that I don’t have with Hearthstone. Nevertheless, a new expansion was released for Hearthstone a little over a month ago and it brought me running back with promises of a new game play experience.

The game also promises tentacles. Lots of tentacles. I've seen enough of those kinds of movies to know where this is going.
The game also promises tentacles. Lots of tentacles. I’ve seen enough of those kinds of movies to know where this is going.

That’s not to say that I don’t have a history with Hearthstone. I was part of the last wave of closed beta invites after they made the announcement that they were not going to wipe accounts. Granted, I’m a completely free to play account, but if you started playing today, I have a considerable head start in terms of collection. Skill and determination? Maybe not so much. I suppose that none of this is entirely relevant to the point of this article than to draw comparisons and provide a little background. So, then, what is this elusive point of this article? Well, as I mentioned, Hearthstone released an expansion and I’ve come to report what’s changed.

I’m sure by now that you’ve read dozens of articles about the new expansion. As usual, I’m going to try to give a different perspective. If you’re like me and not great at the game, sometimes prone to fits of rage due to the random nature of it, and slightly embarrassed by that second fact, is there any reason to return to the game for Whispers of the Old Gods? Well, the short answer is no.

In general, I like to start with the bad news. But, since I’m making the argument against spending your time and potentially hard earned money on Hearthstone, I will start with the good this time. Yes, in spite of my overall negative attitude about the game, I can still find some positives. There have to be reasons that I keep coming back other than force of habit and addiction. Right?

Yo, y'all got more of that Hearthstone? I'm just asking for a friend.
Y’all got more of that Hearthstone? Just asking for a friend.

Free Packs! (Plus a somewhat worthless Legendary card)

Blizzard isn’t helping the case against addiction. They give you 3 free packs for logging back into the game. You also get a copy of C’Thun, a legendary card. While that might seem impressive, C’Thun is unplayable by himself and requires other cards to buff it into a formidable adversary. But, hey, this is the plus part of the article (and there’s not many plusses, so we’ll keep it positive as long as possible).

You also get two dorks that buff C’Thun, so it’s a start. As two final rewards, if you can get a total of 9 Standard wins (not an easy feat, especially if it is during the try hard portions of the season), you can get 10 additional packs. Hey, it’s something if you can stitch together the wins. Plus, free is free, so it’s worth a shot.

A “Wild” New Mode to Play

The real reason for this update on a game that neither one of us plays or likes all that much is that it, at least nominally, fundamentally changes the way the game is played. Noticing that both the stagnation of the meta and power creep were becoming very real, Blizzard introduced Standard mode and limited the card pool.

I’m not entirely sure how the sets rotate with each new season. Thankfully the program keeps track of all of that for noobs like me and I don’t have to spend brain power. After all, I am a little slow. I have to periodically checkhttp://whatsinstandard.com/to keep up with MtG Standard.

All of that aside, I’m much more of a Legacy player when it comes to card games. I just don’t like limiting myself to the latest few sets. Give us the most powerful cards in the game and let’s go at it. Blizzard calls this mode “Wild”. Aside from the silly (but accurate because I’ve seen some crazy decks) name, it give me an opportunity to continue to use all of the OP cards that I’ve grown accustomed to playing during my time in Hearthstone.

Seriously, does this guy even need a caption? Played in every deck for ever and always drawn on curve.
Seriously, does this guy even need a caption? Played in every deck for ever and always drawn on curve as long as you aren’t me.

Okay, that’s the good news…

Blizzard Balance

People often ridicule Blizzard’s ability to properly balance their games and with good reason. Every round of buffs and/or nerfs in their games either creates a class of super powered beings or renders another group so inept as to make you wonder how they don’t kill themselves with their own weapons. Often, they accomplish both in the same update.

I wasn’t around for the initial rounds of balancing cards, so I’ve never seen a card buffed, if it has indeed ever happened. I have seen some nerfs that have taken cards from staples to unplayable, though. The latest round of cards to be changed reads like a newspaper article about a massacre of a bus load of orphans after they all survived the bus crashing into a fireworks store. All of them were necessary, even if some of them were strange. My goodness, Blizzard wound up and swung for the fences with that nerf bat.

Won't someone please think of the orphans?
Won’t someone please think of the orphans?

In addition, this set introduced new cards, of course. However, the power level of some of those cards is in question. Hearthstone doesn’t experience the same buff/nerf cycles of WoW, but it certainly sees its share of the nerf bat followed by unexplained release of more OP cards. I suppose that the thinking now is that they will only be live for one season, so it isn’t as bad. Honestly, who the hell knows what Blizzard is thinking half the time?

Your new doctor. Or, should I say doctors. 3 mana to call one of them by random, so of course it is 8 mana to get all 3. *shrug*
Your new doctor. Or, should I say doctors. 3 mana to call one of them by random, so of course it is 8 mana to get all 3. *shrug*

About that Meta Shift

Blizzard talked a lot about how the meta had become stale and that Standard would fix that by limiting the pool of cards, which is a logical leap that I can’t make. Sure, at the beginning of the season, things will adjust a bit as people test new cards. Then, once they’ve found the ones that work, they will fit them into the old deck archetypes that have already been established.

That’s exactly what happened this time. Some “new” decks have surfaced, but they’re really just old decks with tweaked strategies thanks to new cards. However, the top playeddeck is still zoo Warlock because being able to draw 2 cards and flood the board every turn is good. Who knew, right?

The Verdict: The update hasn’t changed much. The Standard meta is still full of brainless face decks. Wild is only slightly more varied, but I have seen some interesting stuff in there at least. I haven’t played Arena yet, but that place is always random, so if you’re looking for a challenge and some weird stuff happening, I guess you can always see how that’s changed. Though, a recent unscientific poll revealed that Mage, Paladin, and Rogue are still top selections, so I guess it’s a “more things change” scenario all around.

Digital Playground

Communication Breakdown

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(Note: Fake Surgeon General’s Warning – Hearthstone May Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health)

I was playing Hearthstone the other morning as I sometimes do. Usually, I will log in to check what the daily quest is and if it is one that doesn’t look like it will take too long or I am close to that magic 100 gold mark (free packs!), then I will try to complete the quest. While the quest was not necessarily and easy one (Hunter or Druid dominance – because my druid deck is not the most efficient win wise as it is a troll deck designed to frustrate hunters and I despise playing hunter because it is basically face roll), I decided to play the druid deck because I haven’t played it much lately. I tweaked it to make it slightly more competitive, but it still works mostly only as a way to get the opponent to use the “threaten” emote as much as possible in the time that it takes me to ultimately lose. Childish? Perhaps, but it is all just meant to be harmless fun.

On this particular morning, the plan backfired big time. Instead of facing hunters, who were no doubt unleashing many hounds on their last minute pushes to legend rank before the nerf bat smacks them, I went up against a priest, a face warrior that somehow drew every weapon in his deck in his opening hand, and then another priest. These are all terrible match ups for my poor druid deck and I lost every single game. Good, you might be thinking, sometimes you are the troll and sometimes you get trolled. Serves you right. I respect that sentiment and agree with all of it. That’s not the point of this post.

As an aside, I should have a drinking game where you take a shot every time I say “That’s not the point of this post” (and chug a beer for every parenthetical phrase) in my articles. Then again, we do want this to be a form for everyone and that disqualifies our younger readers. How about Bingo? Is there a non-old people equivalent to Bingo?

But, I digress. (Aha, that’s another one for Bingo!) The point of this article is that as the losses mounted, my mood turned worse and worse to the point that I was actively cursing the screen and the anonymous person on the other side of it. So, you’re a sore loser, you might respond, why write an entire article about it? I’m usually not. I lose, quite often, to Chris in Magic during our games and I take those losses in stride. Granted there was the time that I called his Quicksilver Amulet “bull…stuff” but that was more a commentary on my inability to properly counter it and it has led me on a crusade to build a deck to do just that. Forget games, I’ve lost plenty in live (most notably jobs) and I just get back out there and “fail up”.

Another piece of this puzzle is that it isn’t just me. Chris stopped playing Hearthstone completely because he didn’t like the person he became when he lost. I have seen more than one Twitch streamer have a meltdown on camera after a prolonged losing streak. I’m not proud of this, but I also rage added an opponent to my friend list simply to type some of the curses directly to him. Mind you, I come here not to bury Hearthstone. Granted, I’m not exactly here to praise it either. While I think that the game relies entirely too much on randomness (a reason that I hate poker and to an extent fantasy football), it isn’t the game alone that elicits these responses.

I once played two Hearthstone games against a Twitch streamer and lost one of them on a fluky play that normally would have caused a tantrum, but I congratulated him and went on completely unfazed. I have also played friendlies against Chris and others and those losses were also handled with my normal good nature. That leaves the question, “Why can this game turn a normally mild mannered gamer into a foul-mouthed verbal assassin?”

The previously mentioned randomness and imbalance of certain cards and classes does not help. You can go from a very strong position to a very weak one in the span of only one draw or turn and it happens regularly. I have seen the phenomenon in other card games, but it happens more infrequently in those games than in Hearthstone. Watch or play enough of this game and you will hear or utter the phrase “top deck” as a curse at least once a game. No doubt that adds to the frustration (I had that game won and it was the last one for the quest. Son of a –) but it has just as much chance of going for you as against you, so there has to be more.

Enter “zoo” warlock and hunter. There are others (like the priests and warriors against my druid deck), but those are the two major offenders right now. Sure, the decks are consistent, cheap, and fast. I’m not even that good of a player and I can win 75-80% of my games with those decks. I finished the hunter quest later in the day with a 5-1 streak as hunter. I cheer when the warlock dominance quest shows up because I know it won’t take more than 15 minutes to complete. So, I can’t blame people for using them. Still, Web Spinner turn 1, then face plus hero power turn two, buzzard plus unleash on turn 5 (this one will change because the only way that Blizzard knows how to balance is with the nerf bat), or Voidwalker, coin blood imp turn one, then two flame imp on turn 2, and then Harvest Golem turn 3. The decks are so damn predictable and that’s boring and frustrating. Warlock has the added bonus of two card potential per turn in a game that features 30 card decks. You can stonewall hunter. As I mentioned earlier, my druid deck does well against them because of removal. If you somehow remove the onslaught of zoo, no worries, they have plenty of one and two drops to replace them. Random plus boring times severe imbalance equals streams of obscenity at some anonymous person that is just as easily a wanna be pro neckbeard as a 12-year old kid trying his first card game.

That brings me to my last, and most important, point in the article. There’s a reason that people hate Twitter. When you can easily create an anonymous account and spew forth any stupid opinion in 140 characters or less, that’s not exactly healthy for intelligent discourse. The same problem plagues Hearthstone. When I played against Chris or my other friends, I knew my enemy and the Battle.net chat function allowed us to communicate during the match. Even if I wasn’t friends with the streamer, I had watched and interacted with him via chat enough to build a rapport. Normally, the other person in Hearthstone is completely unknown to you and some days you just feel like the world is out to get you. The only way to react to something is through a friend request at the end of the game. Because of rage adding, of which I’ve already admitted to being guilty*, most people won’t even respond or they might try to beat you to the rage with some venom of their own.

A chat function (and there have been many requests and good ideas of how to implement one that Blizzard has routinely ignored in favor of using updates to swing their nerf bats) would solve these problems. you would know if your opponent was a dink worthy of ridicule, scorn, abuse, or simply being ignored. You could react to a good play with an actual comment instead of a preconceived “emote” that more often than not sounds sarcastic. Who knows what could happen? I’ve made connections with people through World of Warcraft that extend beyond the game. A game supposedly built on social interaction might actually foster meaningful and healthy social interactions instead of bouts of furious swearing and the threat of broken monitors.

Do you want to swear at or be sworn at by me? Meet me in Hearthstone and bring your zoo deck. Or, would you rather Blizzard stop nerfing hunter (while completely ignoring the warlock hero power) long enough to implement chat. Show your support in the comments and in forum posts with poor spelling and grammar. Trust me, those are the ones that get the attention of the “Blues”.

*I felt so guilty after swearing at that person that I added the very next person that I played. He pulled off some insane combo with Raging Worgen, Elven Archer, and Power Overwhelming to kill me, so I added him and said, “Awesome combo.” He admitted that was the first time he was able to pull it off and we have chatted a few times since. See…chat. To the forums.

On the Tabletop

Magic-Stone: A New Format

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Late last year, Shawn brought Blizzard’s new baby, Hearthstone, to my attention. After hearing him talk about it on several occasions, I was intrigued and figured I’d give it a shot. I’ll be honest. I wasn’t a huge fan. I’m still not. Sure it was fun every once in a while but it didn’t really do it for me. Don’t worry this article isn’t another review for the game, it’s about our creation of a new MTG format based on the only redeeming quality (in my humble opinion) of Hearthstone, the mana system.

Those of you who have played Hearthstone know exactly what I’m talking about. At the beginning of every turn you get 1 additional mana crystal which is used to cast minions and spells. You see, In Hearthstone, there is no such thing as mana screw, and anybody who plays MTG has surely felt the pain and frustration of drawing spell after spell while your opponent pounds the snot out of you without mercy with no relief in sight. To us, mana screw casts a shadow over the game..instead of seeing who has the better strategy/deck, it provides players with an inaccurate assessment of their decks. So after a few conversations and some play-testing we came up with a way to adapt the Hearthstone mana system to MTG. So without further ado we present Magic-stone..

  • Players have two decks; a 20 card deck that consists of nothing but land, and a 60 card deck that consists of everything else (the main deck).
  • At the start of a player’s turn, that person firsts draws a card from their land deck, puts it directly into play and then draws a card from their main deck.
  • Mill cards don’t affect the Land deck.
  • Cards that damage a player for drawing do not do damage when drawing from the Land deck.
  • “Discard” creatures (i.e Balustrade Spy) that force you to mill your deck until you draw a land, are banned.
  • Any card that prevents a player from playing land is still legal. Hey buddy, that’s called control not mana screw!

Simple enough, right? During our play-testing we found that this style of Magic made for more interesting and competitive games. Instead of one or both decks being slowed down by lack of mana, both decks are able to fully function. It really shows players the strengths and weaknesses of their decks while also speeding the game up. However with this format, some cards are essentially rendered useless (Into the Wilds and Borborygmos Enraged come to mind), but in my opinion the pros definitely outweigh the cons. So grab a buddy or buddies, try it out and let us know what you think.

Digital Playground

Dateline Hearthstone: Was Naxxramas worth it?

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(Note: I will put the TL:DR at the beginning because sometimes I can get wordy.)

TL:DR: No.

Let me start with a confession. I have a love/hate relationship with Hearthstone. I love the animations, card emotes, and connection to World of Warcraft, a game that I have spent way too much time playing. Seriously, while my /played isn’t as depressing as some of the people that I’ve met in game, for a married father of three children, I’ve spent a lifetime in that game. I hate the seemingly excessive random nature of many of the cards, the ridiculous amounts of copied decks that make the PvP environment boring, and the complete lack of a PvE environment that forces me to play against those boring net decks.

Blizzard has stated on several occasions (and reinforced that statement with their actions) that they don’t consider the randomness a problem and that they actually consider it to be part of the skill element of the game. Ooooooo-kay, then. However, they have tried to address the latter two complaints with their first “adventure” for the game, The Curse of Naxxramas. I will not argue whether or not they were successful with this post. Hunters are back, though, and “zoo” warlocks still run wild, so in my opinion, the answer to that is “no”, too.

The question that I’ve read and asked myself more is, “Was the expansion worth it?” I purchased the whole thing with gold saved by doing my daily quests, but Blizzard also gave the option of buying the whole thing for $19.99 with the first wing free (Blizzardsoon TM to be $24.99 and no free first wing) to unlock the whole thing or $6.99 for each wing.

So, what do you get for your hard earned cash? You get a four wing “adventure”, with 15 bosses in total, that is basically just a glorified version of their practice mode. You pick a boss to fight, pick a deck, the head boss of the adventure threatens you in the form of a terrible pun, you defeat the boss, and you get two versions of a new card. Defeating the last boss of each wing gets you a legendary card based on that final boss. A class “challenge”, which is a boss fight with a specific theme deck for each class, offers a special class card to collect. Finally, there is a heroic mode for each boss, that takes strategy or skill (or Hearthstone’s version of them-remember the statement above about randomness?) to defeat. Alas, no cards here, but slogging through this frustrations will net a card back to add to the “collection”.

None of the regular bosses take more than one try to defeat and the only class challenge that I found truly challenging was the Paladin one. Being the noob that I am, I net decked to defeat the heroic bosses. All in all, I got about an hour to maybe an hour and a half of new “content” plus the cards.

Admittedly, some of the cards are useful in a variety of decks and it can be fun to see how they affect old cards and decks, but again a majority of the decks being played are the latest flavor of the week and that’s boring for me. That isn’t necessarily Blizzards fault and not pertinent to my argument, but if you stopped playing because of a lack of variety, then there’s no reason to come back now. It may take a while-if it ever happens-for there to be the variety of cards available and playable that are in more established games.

Again, I paid gold that I received over a couple of months from simply playing the game to prove that filthy casuals like me don’t have to fork over the money to get the cards. Hell, I even dropped 2100 gold on packs about a month before release and still got everything without paying a penny. But, let’s face it. If you’re paying, you’re paying for the cards because the content sure as hell isn’t worth it. You get 30 new unique cards, that are all digital and completely the property of Blizzard even after the transaction, and maybe an hour and a half of playtime against brain dead AI. I don’t value money very much, but I can think of many other uses for your $24.99.

Pros: New cards.

Cons: New content is underwhelming, to say the least. Cards are digital and if Blizzard decides to shut down the servers, *poof!* goes your collection.

The Verdict: Be a filthy casual like me and do your dailies. You should be able to get the gold for each wing with a weeks worth of play time.

What do you think? Did you spend the money? Do you have any regrets?