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Digital Playground

Paladin, Priest, and Rogue Lich King Cards I Love

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Introduction

This article brings me to three for three in writing my review articles for March of the Lich King, the new expansion for Hearthstone. I already reviewed neutral (with two special bonuses!) cards and Druid, Hunter, and Mage in my previous articles. As the title so eloquently states, this one covers Paladin, Priest, and Rogue Lich King cards. (Editor’s Note: While three for three in writing them, I botched the release and pushed these two articles back into this week. I have a new plan to get to the end of the year, though.)

These articles came to me because as I opened my packs from the bundle I bought, I kept saying, “Wow!” “Cool!” and “Neat!” However, as I wrote in my previous article and reiterate here, the initial high seemed to have worn out or I read cards wrong. Because, as I look through the card listing, I find myself saying any of those words much less and struggling to find cards that I actually love.

Paladin Lich King Honorable Mention

The one thing I noticed while looking through the Paladin cards is that they are leaning into self damage as a mechanic. While not new to the game, it is new to the Paladin class. Usually, Warlocks (and sometimes Priests) have this mechanic on their cards. As a potential healing class, it makes sense in the priest context. This could also be fun if they ever end up doing another multi-class focused set like they did in Gadgetzan.

Paladin Lich King Card I Love

Not a great card. Heck you might even argue that it isn’t a good card. But, that’s not why we are here. We pick fun cards and I see this card being a ton of fun. Also, not for nothing, but it can serve some utility functions in the right deck. Phase your own minions against inevitable board clears or phase others to give yourself time to dig for your own.

Priest Lich King Honorable Mention

These cards look like they work well together in my least favorite priest archetype. I despise playing against thief priest. I know it stinks of logical fallacy, but I always feel like they steal the best cards from my deck/class/etc at the best time to counter what I try to do.

Priest Lich King Card I Love

I know what this looks like. But, I promise I’m not just picking Legendary cards for the cards I love. Yes, legendary cards often have powerful effects and lend themselves to being the “best” cards. However, I don’t always go for the “best”. You know that about me by now. I like this card because of the permanent card that you get. When Hearthstone first came out, Chris and I wondered how a digital card game might distance itself from it’s paper counterparts. Cards like this. That’s how.

Rogue Lich King Honorable Mention

I saw the word concoction and wondered why we needed something else when we already had poisons. I should have known that Blizzard’s development team knew what they were doing. Concoctions are like the old Kazakus spells in that they can be combined to do things. See all of the concoctions and combinations here.

Rogue Lich King Card I Love

See? Not a legendary. Hell, this one is even a common. And, no I didn’t simply choose a common to contradict the assumption that I chose only legendary cards for the cards I love. I genuinely think this card is cool. To my knowledge, it is the first Hearthstone card with two different minion types. Does this show the future of the game? Provide for a more diverse and deeper Battlegrounds experience? The possibilities are endless.

The Verdict

I left the previous article underwhelmed by the choices in my cards. I genuinely enjoy all of these cards and plan to play many of them over the next few weeks to see if they wow me as much as I hope they will. Paladin, Priest, and Rogue Lich King cards are truly some cards I love. See you in a couple of days for the rest of the set.

Disclaimer: All images taken from this page.

Digital Playground

Druid, Hunter, and Mage: Lich King Cards I Love

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Introduction

The other day in my review of the March of the Lich King neutral cards (also with two added surprises!), I promised three new articles this weekend to complete my review of the set. Today brings us Druid, Hunter, and Mage Lich King cards. While I played little druid only played hunter to finish quests in wild, I played a ton of mage in all formats. I particularly enjoyed playing questline mage and hero power mage.

The genesis of these articles is that when I opened my packs from this set I continually said to myself, “Wow!” “Oh, cool!” or “That looks like a neat card.” I also wrote a couple of days ago that I finally found my peace with Hearthstone. I went from a hate/hate relationship to a tolerate the main mode/love Battlegrounds relationship. So, when I write these articles, know that I genuinely mean what I say.

Druid Lich King Cards Honorable Mention

Once upon a time, a particularly annoying archetype for druid was armor druid. I played it a couple of times when I thought a quest required me to gain a bunch of armor. It actually wanted honor, so I played the stupid deck for nothing. I never checked to see if they updated the deck with any of these new cards, but Anub’Rekhan seems like a fun card to play with a ton of armor.

Druid Lich King Card I Love

This card feels liek a really cool removal tool in an archetype that I’m calling “Undead Druid”. I have no actual deck in mind and I never actually researched any of this. However, it definitely feels like this card encourages such a build. If I get a quest to play druid, perhaps I will look up a deck and play it.

Hunter Lich King Cards Honorable Mention

This actually ended up being a tough pick and I thought about three cards. There’s nothing preventing me from picking three other than the rule that I set in the last article that I only chose three from each of the classes. The third I wanted to pick was Hope of Quel’Thalas. But, I like the perpetual spell damage and the autoremoval of these two.

Hunter Lich King Card I Love

I just love this mechanic from the other Lich King set. Discover two beasts and jam them together? Heck yeah, sign me up. I’m going to find a place for this in my Wild Hunter deck. Can’t wait to see the crazy shit that I build.

Mage Lich King Cards Honorable Mention

They seem to be pushing the arcane bolt thing in this set. It seems bad to me. It takes 8 mana to get one more damage? But, I’m sure I’m missing something and someone already constructed an OTK deck with this thing, some mana reduction, and spell damage. Stay tuned for when I play that deck. The Prismatic Elemental lets me discover (my favorite!) and from any class. Hell yeah, Casino Mage.

Mage Lich King Card I Love

I generally despise the randomness of Hearthstone. For whatever, reason, I softened my stance for this card. I have a spell mage deck that it seems like this could be a fun card as either a last resort or just for poops and giggles.

The Verdict

So far, none of the cards reviewed made me say the same things that I mentioned in my introduction. Not even the druid, hunter, and mage Lich King cards. Sure, some of the cards look fun. But, none of them wow me like I remember them doing so the other day. Either I felt better about the cards the other day and they aren’t as good as I thought or I’m just feeling more underwhelmed today. In either case, join me tomorrow and Sunday to see if I can find my groove again.

Disclaimer: All images taken from this page.

Digital Playground

March of the Lich King Neutral Cards I Love

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Introduction

I got semi-back into the habit of writing on a weekly basis yesterday with my short love poem about Hearthstone. I questioned if I would follow up with my (in the recent past of about a year ago) with my individual reviews of cards for the new set that released this week. Initially, I thought I might just write one review on Friday of the whole set. Then, today, in between working through the Death Knight prologue, I opened my packs from the bundle I bought. After that came the idea to write an article about Lich King neutral cards.

As I opened the pack, I said to myself, out loud, “Oh, wow!” “Cool!” “Nice!” I said them all more than once and must have said them enough that my brain got the idea to start the “Cards I Love” series again for Hearthstone. I guess I lost track of the number of heroes in the game because I only wanted to do Lich King neutrals in this article. But, stay tuned for a special surprise or two at the end.

Lich King Neutrals: Honorable Mention

ell Taunt, Lifesteal, and Manathirst, oh my!

Sanctum Spellbender brings an often requested mechanic to the game. Technically, it already exists, but the other Spellbender is a secret. This one explicitly defines the mechanic and gets us one step closer to a keyword or evergreen mechanic. Maybe next set. I like the San’layn because it made me look up lore. Any card that leads me to a lore rabbit hole is a good card by my book. The third card, as usual, highlights a new evergreen. Manathirst adds functionality to a card if you have that much mana in your pool.

Cards I Love: Lich King Neutrals

You all know how much I love my janky cards that have the potential to break the game. While this one doesn’t quite have that potential, it is one heck of a combo card and I feel like I’m going to have a ton of fun playing this one. Plus, I opened it in one of my packs.

Special Surprise: Demon Hunter Honorable Mention

Minions? We don’t need no stinking minions!

After opening my packs this morning, I downloaded a deck list to finish the special quest for the set release. Coincidentally, it matched one of my daily quests to play as Demon Hunter. They seem to be pushing minionless as an archetype in Demon Hunter. I played both of these cards multiple times in my two games and they both have crazy utility.

Special Surprise: Demon Hunter Card I Love

This one came with the deck list I played earlier. It takes the only three minions in the deck (very good minions) and turns them into spells, thereby unlocking the minionless strategy for the deck. In addition, you get a Fiery Win Axe+. Good deal.

Special Surprise: Death Knight Honorable Mention

Rise, my legion, and serve your king!

The Death Knight class comes with some new and interesting mechanics. One of them comes in the form of corpses. You collect them either by having minions die or through other means. As these cards show, you use them to unlock spells and sometimes minions. I only used these cards in the prologue, so I can’t speak to their actual functionality.

Special Surprise: Death Knight Card I Love

Seemingly an underwhelming card and you’re not wrong. It does have my favorite mechanic, discover, and it teases the concept of corpses and runes. So, while not a “good card”, it unlocks the potential for a ton of fun.

The Verdict

As I looked through the Lich King neutrals, I felt less “Wow!” than I did when opening the packs. But, those cards (and the others here, plus still others coming this weekend) got me to download a deck list and play a couple of games. I enjoyed playing actual Hearthstone more than in recent memory and who knows? Maybe the Lich King will get me to play Hearthstone more just like he did World of Warcraft all those years ago.

Disclaimer: All images taken from this page.

Digital Playground

Thankful for 1 Screen Platformer

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Introduction

For the last few weeks, I dedicated Thursday to my Dungeons and Dragons club play through of Curse of Strahd. As you can read if you follow the link, one of the reasons I am not doing so is because my group is slowly falling apart. Last week, I stopped the game early and this week I threw out two of my group from the club before we got a chance to play. Also, Spooktober is over, so time to focus on other games I enjoy. Today, I write about how I’m thankful for 1 Screen Platformer.

I wish I remembered how I became aware of the game. Being that it is on Steam, I either purchased it during a Steam sale or it came as part of a Humble Bundle. A quick search of my Humble Bundle history shows no evidence of the game, so apparently, I bought it as part of a Steam sale.

Why I am Thankful for 1 Screen Platformer

In any case, I played the game obsessively for a month or so last year. Every now and then (like earlier this week), when I load up my Windows partition I give the game another shot. I never regret the decision. The game’s title tells you all you need to know. Instead of moving from one screen to another to advance in the level, the camera follows your character as it pans left/right/up/down to capture the game play. But the catch is that the game fits on one screen. I’ll let the trailer give a better explanation than I ever can.

The Verdict

See what I mean? Tight controls, challenging levels, varied characters and achievements for each of them come together to make (possibly surprising) for hours of entertainment. Even if you get bored after a few plays, I guarantee that you’ll be back for more. What do you have to lose? The game only costs 2.99 and there’s a “prologue” level for free to give you a better idea of the game play and if it’s something you’d enjoy.

On the Tabletop

Cards I Love: Forgotten Realms Miscellany

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Introduction

First Esper, then Gruul, now the Forgotten Realms Miscellany article. I am on a damn roll this week with content. Fear not, though, I have nothing planned for next week and the following week is the annual Cape Cod trip. So, the page will be languishing again in no time. Look forward to that!

Rest In Peace – 2 Guys Gaming (2014-2021)?

But, for now, revel in the fact that we are here and providing you with at least second tier content. Chris texted me yesterday, “There’s a lot of good cards in the set.” I replied, “Yeah, it’s a fun set.” Of course, that reply came before I reviewed green, so I was grading on a bit of a curve. Nevertheless, I like the set and I agree with myself that they’ll probably make another D&D set once they see how popular this one is. Let’s see what fun cards are in Forgotten Realms miscellany.

Forgotten Realms Miscellany: Dungeons and Artifacts

I already touched on dungeons in one of the other articles, but I only showed one of them at that time. These three cards represent some of the most recognizable dungeons in the game Dungeons and Dragons. I can’t wait to put together my dungeon themed Tiny Leaders deck.

Speaking of dungeons, here’s a map! Plus, 50 feet of rope! But, watch out for that Mimic! Ah, mimic, the reason that generations of Dungeons and Dragons players have trust issues.

Forgotten Realms Miscellany: Multicolored

This section became a showcase for some of the most iconic names in Dungeons and Dragons history. Tiamat fills two purposes, one as a major geek-gasm and the other as a flavor win by being 5 colors. The alt art isn’t for Xanathar, but I wish it was. Maybe I will commission an alter to make it so. Finally, I never read nor played any of the Forgotten Realms setting, but even I know Drizzt.

Forgotten Realms Miscellany Gives Us Some Fun Cards

I love the dungeon concept. I wish they gave us more of them, but three gives enough variety now. Who knows? Perhaps they will make more or the MTG/D&D community will make more for us to use. Every single one of those artifact cards is going in my dungeon themed tiny leaders deck. I told Chris that I’m going to have fun opening my box of this set and I will. I just hope they make another D&D set and selfishly, I hope they base it on Dragonlance next time.

On the Tabletop

Cards I Love: Forgotten Realms Gruul Edition

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Introduction

Yesterday, I rolled up into your life after 2 months like nothing ever happened with the first of my MTG Forgotten Realms articles. Today, I bring you Forgotten Realms Gruul Edition. These colors are always the most difficult for me to pick cards. I am in no way shape or form a red or green mage. Chris is, which is what makes our one-on-one duels so much fun. We end up on opposite ends of the color wheel almost every single time.

Unless we’re doing sealed. Then, I always go 5-color good stuff. Picture courtesy of TCG Player.

Though Chris has rubbed off on me a bit through our games and conversations, keep this in mind as you read the article. I pick red and green cards through they eyes of a blue (and sometimes black and white) mage. Don’t expect any one turn kills or massive mana spikes. No, for this Forgotten Realms Gruul edition, you may have to suffer through card draw and counter spells. It could happen! Red got Tibalt’s Trickery after all.

Red: Give me a quest, a baby Embercleave, and a possible 2 turn kill

Honorable Mention (You Find Some Prisoners/Dueling Rapier): I sent both of these cards to Chris. I like You Find Some Prisoners because it again illustrates a facet of Dungeons and Dragons. Since it is basically a cooperative storytelling game, as I explained to Chris, you often find yourself faced with decisions like this that are introduced in such a manner as “The party…”

When I texted Chris, I captioned “Dueling Rapier” with “Baby Embercleave”. Now that I look at it again, it is more like fetus Embercleave. Still, a fun card, just not the tiny broken weapon I initially rated it as. Now that I say that, someone will break it, most likely against me.

Minion of the Mighty: Yep, you guessed it again. I texted this one to Chris. My exact quote: “This is going to be a problem.” Sure enough, the next day, some web pages wrote articles about how it enabled turn 2 kill in some formats. Granted, it requires a specific set of cards, but most combos do. I just like to pat myself on the back when I get a card right.

Green: Give me a cursed idol, a neat trick, and a tiny leader

Honorable Mention (You Find a Cursed Idol/Wild Shape): Green cards in this set are pretty lame. I consider none of them good or even fun. These three represent the most fun and they are pretty damn awful. Cursed Idol, at least, has some versatility. Wild Shape, too, and it can be a fun trick to play at the end of the game to give you another turn to find an answer. I wish one of the options gave you deathtouch, but that’s neither here nor there.

Varis, Silverymoon Ranger: I have a tiny leaders deck with Yisan, the Wanderer Bard. It’s a fun deck that isn’t terribly tuned, but it was able to beat Chris’s even less tuned deck. As soon as I saw this card, I wanted to build a tiny leaders deck around a dungeon theme. Again, not a great card, but I guess if pressed I could call this one fun.

The Verdict (Forgotten Realms Gruul Edition weighs heavily in favor of red)

Red gets some of the most fun and powerful cards in the set. Green is all but forgotten in both cases. I suppose not all colors can be winners in every set, but they’ve actually been pretty good about printing powerful cards and balancing all colors in that regard. Maybe I’m missing something. It wouldn’t be the first time. However, thinking back on it, Chris and I didn’t share many green cards during our spoiler texts, so maybe green is just bad this time around. Thanks for reading my Forgotten Realms Gruul Edition and come back tomorrow for the miscellaneous cards.

On the Tabletop

Cards I Love: Forgotten Realms Esper Edition

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Introduction

Welcome back (after an unintended and extended layoff) to my Forgotten Realms Esper Edition article. Those of you who frequent the page on a semi-regular (as I make it difficult to visit on a regular basis due to not having a proper posting schedule the last couple of years) basis know that these articles are ways for me to highlight the “notable cards” of a set. If you want competitive cards, search for them. There are plenty of those articles.

No shortage of wanna be Spikes out there.

Okay, now for a quick explanation of where I’ve been. Again, those who are regular readers of the page know that I get busy at the end of school, so that is often a time that the page is lacking content. Usually, though, I make up for it by starting my summer blitz that lasts until about February, where updates become sparse again. This year, my wife and I went to the Florida Keys almost as soon as school ended. So, the dark period lasted a bit longer this year.

Know that we still thought and cared about you. And, yes, I meant to say “we” there. Twice, Chris and I planned to talk about the new Modern Horizons set. The first time, I flaked on the recording and the second, we planned it for Father’s Day, which interfered with my plans. And, so, unofficially, 2 Guys Gaming is dead. But, I put a few hundred dollars into this page, so why not continue to throw bad money after bad and keep seeing if something ever happens here. Besides, I like writing and I like writing about games. On to Forgotten Realms Esper Edition.

White: I want removal, a planeswalker that turns into a dragon, and a pet gargoyle that enters the dungeon

Honorable Mention: (Cloister Gargoyle and Minimus Containment): I start with containment, even though it is right most in the preview. I sent this card to Chris and he replied about not liking giving the other person mana. I can respect that, but it hits literally everything. Having played against far too many Ugins in MTGA, I replied, “Eff your Ugin.” “Ooooh, he said, that can be powerful.”

I chose Cloister Gargoyle because I don’t think I’ve ever previewed/reviewed a gargoyle card, but I often think the cards are neat. This one also showcases a new mechanic in Forgotten Realms, the dungeon. After all, the set is named after the iconic RPG, Dungeons and Dragons. How are you not going to incorporate both into the set? Well, they have, as you’ll see in future installments of this series.

Grand Master of Flowers: I doubt this card has very much utility. However, I became enamored with the fact that it turns into a big old indestructible dragon god. I also thought, what if we combined this with the new Kasmina in a Bant deck. Oh, what the heck, my Timmy mind went crazy. Why not put together a five color EDH Superfriends deck and have all the Planeswalkers. Look for that deck in the coming weeks.

Blue: Give me another planeswalker, an almost lich, and some card draw

Honorable Mention (Mordenkainen/Contact Other Plane): I also sent Mordenkainen to Chris, this time with the comment, “Overcosted as hell, but a fun card.” This one is definitely going in my Superfriends deck. I mentioned in a previous article (and never finished the cycle) that I like drawing cards. Contact Other Plane lets me draw cards. It also brings another iconic D&D action to MTG. Roll a d20. Not a spindown counter. An actual, factual d20.

Demilich: You guessed it. This one went to Chris. I actually sent it to him while we were walking through Laguardia airport to catch our connection to Key West. That’s how much I liked this card. I said something along the lines of, “It’s not Legendary, either, so you can chain them.” I don’t think it will be as powerful as Narcomeba or anything, but it is going to be a fun, fun card to play in many formats.

Black: Give me a warlock, an indestructible zombie god, and some card draw.

Honorable Mention (Warlock Class and Deadly Dispute): Another mechanic integral to D&D is the class system. After picking your character’s race, you inevitably pick their class. This card showcases one of those classes and also a leveling curve to improve the quality of the card. Very cool design.

This episode of “this card is black?” features Deadly Dispute. Look, I understand that they’ve adjusted the color wheel recently to include different strategies for each of the colors. I’m just having some difficulty adjusting, I suppose. This card is really just Village Rites with upside. Even so, I still think it should be blue. Of course, I do.

The Book of Vile Darkness: I might have shared this card first with Chris. I definitely shared it early in the spoiler cycle. They took until the end of the cycle to share the Hand and Eye of Vecna, so I had no idea even what abilities that zombie might have. As you see, they’re pretty damn good abilities. Fun stuff!

The Verdict (Forgotten Realms Esper Edition is good, but not great)

A few of the cards previewed here are fun. I definitely want to build that Superfriends deck now and go off with some Planeswalkers. Also, I love the idea of building a stupid Vecna deck and trolling MTGA players with that one. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones to see me in casual with it. Until then (and until next time for the Gruul cards), have fun out there, fellow MTG nerds!

On the Tabletop

Strixhaven Gruul: Cards I Love

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Introduction

Yesterday’s Strixhaven Esper review marked a triumphant return to the page for me. Today, we look at the Strixhaven Gruul cards. Traditionally, as you all know, these colors have been my strong suit. Nevertheless, I soldier on and do my duty to pick the cards for this article.

If you read yesterday’s article, you know that many of the cards I picked fit right in with nonexistent, as of today, commander decks. I suppose that it’s time to brush off the old, “I’m a Commander player that has never played a single game of Commander.” Sooner or later, I’m going to have to stop saying that. But, not today, true believers!

Today, I pick the best cards from my worst colors. Red and Green are Chris’s thing. Maybe I should get his input for this article. Too bad he swore off this set completely in one of our last text chains. Oh well, I guess you’re stuck with my Strixhaven Gruul cards.

Red (Play a better color like black or blue)

Honorable Mention (Draoconic Intervention/Retriever Phoenix): The requisite phoenix in the set dies to all removal. However, it gives us another use for our Learn mechanic as long as it isn’t exiled. Being a blue player, I don’t know why you wouldn’t use Learn to cycle, but that is between you and your god. The other is just mass removal because, if I’m forced to play red, I’m playing it like black.

Conspiracy Theorist: This card is simply amazing. I honestly have no idea why this card is not blue. It does blue things. Everything it does is blue. I get that WotC switched up the color wheel and moved some things into new colors. It adds much needed diversity to the strategy of the game. Even so, I operate under the assumption that this card is blue.

Green (Some Johnny, Some Timmy, Some Spike?)

Honorable Mention (Accomplished Alchemist/Bayou Groff): That plant dog looks like he’s not a good boi. However, he hits the board pretty quickly in a token deck. If you get it out there and give it trample, it does some serious damage. Meanwhile, the elf shows up because the Johnny Combo that lives deep in the recesses of my brain wants it to be there.

Leyline Invocation: Admittedly, few universes exist where this card excites Spike. I wanted to complete the trilogy, but Spike avoids me. And so, I present a Timmy/Johnny bastard child that ultimately does nothing. What can I say? I like the Fractal token.

It’s so cute!

The Verdict (I warned you)

I told you from the beginning. I despise red and green. Okay, that’s not entirely true. However, I treated red like blue or black and basically memed all over green. If you want red or green picks this time, I guess we wait to see if Chris responds with his picks. Since he already said he wants nothing to do with this set, don’t hold your breaths.

Note: Spoilers courtesy of Mythic Spoiler. Check them out for all your spoiler needs!

On the Tabletop

Strixhaven Esper: Cards I Love

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Intrroduction

Welcome to our Strixhaven Esper review. I tried something different with my most recent Hearthstone reviews. Unfortunately, that format isn’t conducive to Magic the Gathering reviews simply because of the number of cards in the average MTG set. Therefore, MTG reviews remain a single card (with two honorable mention) for each color, mult-colored, and colorless (plus land, if applicable). Chris chose to pass on Strixhaven. I ordered my usual box/bundle combo. However, I have yet to even open my Zendikar Rising product. Granted, I am on vacation this week. Even so, I have no motivation.

I promised to put up at least one YouTube video this week to try to build some momentum there. I noticed that my Shadowlands reaction video got 190 views. It gave me the idea to post some gameplay from the new Atari 2600 game, Circus Convoy. I ordered two copies because the cartridges don’t work with my emulator. I was going to give the non-collector copy away in an attempt to drive traffic/subscribers.

Chris agrees that the idea has both merit and potential. I still have time during the vacation. I just have to hope that the motivation loads before vacation ends. But, that’s a discussion for another time. Let’s take a look at these Strixhaven Esper cards.

White (Fun Police and Invisible Decks)

Honorable Mention (Study Break/Expel): The two honorable mention cards work well together in a fun police deck. We all know those are my favorite decks to play. Even alone they have some utility. Plus, Study Break gives me the opportunity to talk about a new mechanic, Learn. I like the flexibility of Learn.

Secret Rendezvous: This card combos quite nicely with Narset, Parter of Veils in my nonexistent Dragonlord Ojutai EDH deck. One of these day, surprise! Deck built and used to terrorize opponents on MTGO. More likely, look for the deck on xMage since I’m already invested in physical cards and MTGA. Who knows? Maybe if FNM in person ever returns, the deck makes an appearance there.

Blue (Draw Cards, then Draw More Cards)

Honorable Mention (Ingenious Mastery/Teachings of the Archaics): I like drawing cards. I know. We all like drawing cards. Drawing cards gives us more cards to draw more cards. But, me, I really like drawing cards. I like drawing cards so much that if they gave an award for drawing cards, I wouldn’t win the award because I’d be too busy drawing more cards.

Multiple Choice: This card is hilarious. From the ridiculous design to the apt name, this card is going into every single deck I run that’s blue. Those of you who visit the page often know that’s every single one of my decks. Especially that Dragonlord Ojutai deck. Maybe if I say it enough, I can manifest the deck from thin air.

Black (Show Some Love for Liliana)

Honorable Mention (Go Blank/Plumb the Forbidden): Go Blank is Mind Rot with upside! Plumb the Forbidden might actually overtake Ms. Liliana as my choice card. I just came up with an idea for another nonexistent EDH deck. This one builds around an as of now unknown Esper commander, but uses Bastion of Remembrance and possibly Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. Is there an Esper commander that creates tokens? Did I mention that I like drawing cards?

Professor Onyx: Have I declared my love for Liliana on the page yet? If not, let this serve as that declaration. She and Jace repeatedly top my list of favorite Planeswalkers. Sure, there was that brief fling with Teferi (3,4, and 5 mana cost all) and Narset plays in my MTGA decks. But, I have an Instagram post from a couple of years ago with both Jace and Liliana on the field. Hell, I used this card as an example of why I was excited for the set in a text to Chris. Toss it into my imaginary Esper EDH deck as well.

The Verdict

The Strixhaven Esper cards I picked for the article look very fun. All of them give me ideas for decks. I’m currently texting Chris about some NFL news and I’ve considered telling him that I want to deck doctor, especially these imaginary EDH decks I keep talking about. Join us next time for the Gruul colors!

Digital Playground

Hearthstone Barrens Part 2: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

Welcome to Hearthstone Barrens Part 2. I decided in my last article to change the format of these articles. First, I changed from previews to reviews. That’s simply a function of me not being able to write the articles before the sets are released. Second, and more importantly, I decided to make a deck for the cards that I include in the “Great” section for each class. That leads into the final change. Lastly, I reviewed all of the cards from the set instead of just the cards that I found interesting.

I will fulfill my density as a Spike sooner or later…

Time to give the 2 Guys Gaming treatment to Hunter and Mage cards from the latest Hearthstone expansion, Forged in the Barrens. This expansion feels like the one that came after Naxxramas. Recently they introduced Old Gods into the same meta that contained Galakrond. The power level of Standard felt a little out of control similar to how Naxx released some severely overpowered cards into the Wild. (Was Wild even a format then?)

Forged in the Barrens now comes along and tries to bring balance to the cards. For the most part, they succeeded in that goal. I have yet to see a card from this set that causes me to automatically reach for the “Concede” button. Hell, not even Demon Hunters make me immediately rage quit anymore. Let’s explore together how Hearthstone Barrens Part 2 reduces the power level of Hunters and Mages

Hunter

Decent: What’s the best case scenario on that Legendary? Tracking, a secret, and Skill Command? That’s honestly not a bad outcome, but 5 mana is super expensive for such an outcome. But, hey if you have both of these on the field at the same time, you get quite the combo and the immediate gratification of a 2 hyena payoff!

Now that I said that, some Spike out there sensed it and brewed the ultimate deck to take advantage of that. The next time that deck will haunt me as a living nightmare until I have no recourse but to text Chris that I’m done with Hearthstone (again) and then immediately log back into the game to unleash my fury on solo adventures or Battlegrounds

Good: What do we have here? I 1 mana 1/3 with upside. Wait, but it costs two mana? What are you up to, Blizzard? Granted, that effect is still potentially hella powerful for 2 mana, but still. You can’t set a precedent and then break that precedent. It will cause pandalerium among the player base. Already, I feel my own grip on Hearthstone reality fading.

Piercing Shot might be overcosted, but I like any spell that has trample, so it gets upgraded to “good” status. Finally, Wound Prey is cheap and early removal. When I play, that usually means that I draw them at the most inopportune times. Pardon my French, but “C’est la vie.”

Great: Like druid, Blizzard often suggests Beast Hunter as the leading viable archetype. You can see from my card choices that I 100% took the bait once again. There’s that 1 mana 1/3 with upside. Two discover cards. Check. Surprise! An actual ranked spell. Honestly, it’s not that great, but it does have beast synergy, so I included it in the list.

Aggro Beast Deathrattle Hunter

I may have to rework this deck big time. As I assembled the pieces, I ended up doing what I often do. I got distracted by the fact that there are some pretty good deathrattle beasts in Standard right now. So, I jammed them into the deck with the other beast synergy. As a result, the deck contains no removal. It is strictly an aggro minion deck. If any class works with such a strategy, it’s Hunter. With that being said, I’m 99% sure that this won’t work with any consistency. But, it’s a first attempt.

Mage

Decent: Rimetongue is very situational. It has a similar effect as a treasure in Duels. Having played that treasure, I can say that the freeze effect is nice, but it doesn’t have a huge impact and it is easily removed. The luminary updates an old mage card used in a few decks. It may be again, especially since there are some elemental archetypes out there. I just doesn’t speak to me right now.

Good: All of these are decent cards in the right deck. I actually considered Runed Orb in my deck instead of Flurry, but Flurry just fits with the 4 drop. More on that in a minute. Refreshing spring water is just strictly better than Arcane Intellect in an all spell deck. And, in the right situation, the Oasis Ally has been a fantastic card.

Great: The first three cards in the list affect or respond to the effects of your hero power. The other two combine to give you a potential 4 mana Flamestrike, but with Frost instead of Fire. My first attempt at a deck uses only Mage cards. As with the other decks, I’m sure that it requires some tuning before it can be considered competitive. Nevertheless, we’re all learning here.

Check out this mish mash (or hodge podge) if you prefer of Mage cards thrown together as a deck. It might not even classify as jank. I defy you to find a consistent win condition. But, that’s not why we’re here. You want meta level decks to climb ladder with? There are plenty of places to find that. You’re here for inconsistent decks that might reward you with fun and unexpected wins, but will most likely frustrate you into deleting your client? Now, you’re talking. Get out there and and then come back to swear at me for leading you down the wrong path.

The Verdict

Hearthstone Barrens Part 2 took far longer to write than I’d like to admit. I still have some hope of getting back on track with my plan of providing content 5 days a week, but this article put me far behind the eight ball. Now, I suffer some side effects from my 2nd vaccine dose.

None of that has anything to do with these cards. I think Hearthstone tried to reduce the power level of Standard with Forged in the Barrens. For the two classes discussed in this article, they succeeded. Mage, however, still has some powerful cards and effects and the class is a ton of fun to play right now.