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Hearthstone
Deckbuilding Tavern Brawl All But Confirmed & Wobbling Runt Tokens
We've been digging through Hearthstone's files since
League of Explorers came out
a few weeks ago where we first saw files that mentioned a deckbuilding Tavern Brawl. Since then we've found images from
upcoming Tavern Brawls
and
even more references to Deckbuilding
, Pick Your Fate, and Gift Exchange.
Today we have a few more treats for your eyes including what appears to be a Tavern Brawl that revolves around the concept of a team. Based on the phrasing Blizzard uses
in their files
, the deckbuilding brawl has now been all but confirmed by Blizzard.
FIRSTPICKTHREE Pick a new card for your hand.
FIRSTCARDPLAYED When you play a card, shuffle a copy into your deck.
FIRSTENDTURN Now return your hand to your deck and redraw.
STARTOFGAME
Build your team
as you play! Good luck!
STARTOFGAME_START Start!
Last week's Tavern Brawl was the delayed Captain Blackheart's Treasure which was meant to preview the Discover mechanic.
Hearthstone
Everything You Need To Know About Brann Bronzebeard & One Week Left in Season
It can be hard to understand at a glance exactly how cards like will affect different types of battlecries. As a result, we've made a video highlighting some of the specific interactions you'll be looking at so you don't have to go and test them for yourself. Check it out!
In addition, there's only one week left to reach Rank 20 and earn this month's League of Explorers themed cardback:
Hearthstone
Unearthed Raptor Hotfixed
After the bug was revealed in which could cause your client to crash and keep you from rejoining your match, Blizzard has pushed out a hotfix limiting the number of times it can copy Deathrattle effects.
Blizzard
We’ve hotfixed an issue that would occur when Unearthed Raptor’s Battlecry effect was used to duplicate several copies of a Deathrattle.
It should now be possible to combine Unearthed Raptors with cards like Shadowstep and Brann Bronzebeard to duplicate several copies of a Deathrattle effect without causing a crash.
However, too many instances of stacked Unearthed Raptor effects still had potential to cause stability issues. To avoid that, we’ve capped the total number of Deathrattle effects that can be copied on a single minion.
Details on the bug in the full post.
Hearthstone
Pick Your Fate and Gift Exchange Tavern Brawl References Found
A few days ago, we were the first to report on some of the new
Tavern Brawl images
that were added with last week's League of Explorers patch. Today, while looking through some more of the files, we've found references to some more brawls that have not been detailed yet.
TB_GiftExchange
TB_PickYourFateBuildAround
TB_PickYourFateRandom
We also found some of their internal testing methods including:
TB_Deckbuilding1PTest
TB_PickYourFateBuildAround1PTest
TB_PickYourFateRandom1PTest
In these the player faces off against an AI Priest.
From what we can parse from the strings this is Blizzard's method of testing the
deckbuilding brawl
system and other new brawls in the works.
We can't help but wonder if any of these correlate to
the Tavern Brawl images we found
the other day. What do you think?
Hearthstone
League of Explorers - Heroic Uldaman Guide
It's well known that the Heroic versions of Hearthstone's adventures pose a problem to many players, hardcore and casual alike. Heck, some of us never even completed Blackrock Mountain's wings on the highest difficulty. That said, we're here to provide you with some decklists, tips, tricks, and warn you about some things each of the bosses will throw your way. If you're interested in playing them without any outside knowledge, now would be the time to stop reading.
Uldaman Heroic Guide
This week our efforts are headed up by Brann Bronzebeard, brother to our Warrior friend Magni Bronzebeard. This week's encounters have us dealing with some troublesome troggs, surviving on a speeding mine cart, and dealing with some animated statues.
Scarvash starts the fight with 30 Health and 15 Armor but he also has a and a on the field. On the first turn his hero power makes minions cost 11 mana, making them
unplayable. This alternates every other turn meaning on odd turns you can only cast spells
and on even you can only cast minions.
Chieftain Scarvash's Heroic Deck
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Tips and Recommendations
You're going to want a deck that can play minions and spells on an alternating basis and still be very powerful.
Decks for Heroic Chieftain Scarvash
Hearthstone
Reynad Interview - Casting Responsibilities and the State of Hearthstone
Following the conclusion of the Hearthstone World Championship, we briefly caught up with
Tempo Storm
's
Reynad
to talk about casting the tournament and where Hearthstone stands now that League of Explorers is starting to roll out.
How was casting the championship?
It was good. There are definitely aspects of it people don’t see that makes it harder of a job than I expected. We did a ten-hour rehearsal the day before BlizzCon, we did a fourteen hour shift the first day of BlizzCon, and even ended up being maybe about eight hours. It’s just a lot of time that kind of takes away from the event if you’re working it. But still definitely enjoyable and rewarding and I might be back to do it in the future.
It certainly didn’t help that the series went to five games.
*sarcasm* Yeah, pretty unfortunate that games of Hearthstone are enjoyable to watch and close this year. Was hoping for some 3-0 induced blowouts.
Hearthstone
Most Interesting League of Explorers Cards & PAX East Badges On Sale
Historically, Hearthstone has had a presence at PAX East. Badges have just
gone on sale
and typically run out within 30 minutes, so hurry up and grab yourself a spot in the queue!
This week's video is upon us as well! With the release of the first wing of League of Explorers, we're taking a look at some potentially meta defining cards that are going to be released.
Want to know when a specific League of Explorers card comes out? Check out our guide.
Spacewizard does some theorycrafting this week and examines what he believes are the most interesting and impactful cards that will be getting released in the next few wings of the League of Explorers Hearthstone adventure.
Hearthstone
League of Explorers - Uldaman Preview
Thursday marks the release of the second League of Explorers wing, Uldaman. In it you'll face three new bosses and the Druid and Paladin Class Challenges. You'll be adventuring alongside the one and only Brann Bronzebeard, brother to Magni Bronzebeard (the other Warrior hero), as we venture to retrieve the second piece of the Staff of Origination.
Uldaman
The second piece of the artifact lies deep within the halls of Uldaman, a key location of immense importance to dwarf history. Lucky for you, Brann Bronzebeard himself will help you probe the depths of this dangerous dig site. With such an experienced treasure hunter at your side, surely nothing will go wrong. Say, do these ancient statues look… evil?
First Boss:
:
Enemy minions cost two more. Swap to at the start of your turn.
:
Enemy spells cost two more. Swap to at the start of your turn.
Rewards -
and
Warrior Class Challenge Reward -
is a Trogg that stands between you and the headpiece of the Staff of Origination. His hero power alternates between making minions and spells more expensive so you're deck will need to have a good balance between the two so that you can actually make a play each turn.
Heroic:
A bit more formidable is the where his hero powers begin to outright forbid you from playing minions and spells on an alternating basis. and are set to offer a pretty good challenge. As a result we're pegging Tempo Mage and Control Priest as early candidates for success as they rely on a good combination of both types of cards.
For more on League of Explorers, head on over to our Adventure Guide.
Hearthstone
Five Upcoming Tavern Brawl Images
For those of you who were dismayed when the
Captain Blackheart's Treasure brawl
was delayed, we have some good news for you. Thanks to the
Fireside Chat panel
at BlizzCon, we know it will be returning in about two weeks. In the latest patch we also found some references to a
deckbuilding brawl
where players grow their deck as they play. Well today we've found a bunch of new Tavern Brawl images that may be referencing some of the topics discussed by Blizzard.
We're willing to be this one is for the deckbuilding brawl:
Hearthstone
Reno Jackson Takes Hearthstone by Storm
has taken the Hearthstone ladder by storm.
Play a few matches and chances are you'll run into a deck or two that are specifically built around him. And the best part? These decks span the entirety of the meta from Rank 20 all the way up to Legend.
Sure it can be annoying to push your opponent all the way down to the brink of defeat only to have them regain it all, but hey, it's made for some truly amazing moments.
Kibler's RenoLock
Want an example of a good deck to run? Check out
Brian Kibler's
Finding Reno Warlock. Since Thursday, he's managed to climb all the way from Rank 6 up to the top 500 in Legend using exclusively this deck. A big part of it's advantage is that folks are unfamiliar with it and are therefore unsure how to play around that massive heal. Learn how to play it and you'll likely see success!
Kripp's FatWarrior Reno Deck
As one of the big proponants of Control decks, you very well knew Kripparrian would be giving a shot. He opted to play in Warrior though which has a slightly different taste as he still opts to run more than one copy of some cards.
Even more Reno in the full article!
Hearthstone
The Best Golden League of Explorers Cards
The arrival of new golden cards is always one of the most exciting parts of a new Hearthstone expansion or adventure. League of Explorers adds a total of 45 cards across four wings, providing you with the most cards for your investment. And while some are obviously better than others, there's no way to get your hands on the golden versions without investing dust into crafting them. That said, here are six of our favorites, both good and somewhat laughable, but they easily stick out from the rest of the pack.
6.
It may not be , but that poor little Gnome is not having a good time.
5.
doesn't loop 100% correctly, but it's still a bit entrancing to watch. The pendulum swings back and forth, and back and forth, and...
4.
wins a spot simply because the golden version looks so much better than the regular one. The pulsating energy between its hands, the vapors emanating off of its body, and you can't forget the glowing eyes.
Want to see a specific golden card? Here's all 45 League of Explorers cards to check.
Top three after the jump!
Hearthstone
League of Explorers - Heroic Temple of Orsis Guide
It's well known that the Heroic versions of Hearthstone's adventures pose a problem to many players, hardcore and casual alike. Heck, some of us never even completed Blackrock Mountain's wings on the highest difficulty. That said, we're here to provide you with some decklists, tips, tricks, and warn you about some things each of the bosses will throw your way. If you're interested in playing them without any outside knowledge, now would be the time to stop reading.
If you've missed our previous coverage of the Temple of Orsis, you can view our
Normal guide here
and our
Class Challenge guide
as well.
Temple of Orsis Heroic Guide
Along with an upgraded version of his hero power, , which also gives Zinaar a mana crystal
whenever he activates it, he's also done away with many of his weaker minions. Again, much of this encounter
depends on the cards you get as a result of the random wishes he gives you in the form of ,
, , , or . Basically we're looking to keep dealing
with his threats while building up a board of our own. Because he has more mana and is drawing more cards, even if we only
deal with his minions, we'll still win eventually.
Zinaar's Heroic Deck
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Mulligans
Keep:
We want to keep anything that helps deal with early game pressure like , , and . The main challenge of this boss is to stay alive through the aggro.
Mulligan:
Anything four mana or higher, they're simply too expensive and we'll be dead before we get to that point.
Hearthstone
Kibler Interview - Secret Paladin is Fine, What Hearthstone Needs, & Casting HWC
Despite his incredibly busy schedule, Brian Kibler took some time to talk with us at BlizzCon regarding the current state of Hearthstone, his thoughts on some of the decks out there, and exactly how amazing casting in front of the BlizzCon crowd was. Having previously designed card games, made the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame, and now being a full time caster and
streamer
, he has an extensive knowledge base to draw from regarding some of the challenges facing Hearthstone.
How do you think things are doing now that has been nerfed?
I think that the Warsong Commander change is a very good one. Warsong Commander is just fundamentally a problematic card the kind of gameplay that it encourages. I think the biggest problem that Hearthstone is facing now is not one of individual cards, but sort of a systemic thing. The fact that it lets you introduce more and more powerful cards the cards that you are going to play don’t change that often.
We can see people complaining about Secret Paladin in particular, but it’s not a symptom of Secret Paladin and individual cards, it's the fact that people play against the same sort of decks on a regular basis. It’s difficult to keep up with making enough cards that are interesting and powerful enough that players will want to put them in their decks when the same cards that have existed for so long are still around.
Hearthstone
League of Explorers - Warrior & Warlock Class Challenge Guide
This week's Temple of Orsis wing came along with the Warrior and Warlock Class Challenges. In them you rematch against Zinaar and Sun Raider Phaerix with premade decks built by Blizzard. They're not as hard as the Heroic versions of each boss, but can certainly be more difficult then the Normal bosses, which
we wrote a guide for here
.
Warrior Class Challenge
This is a Bolster deck. It was one of the more highly theorycrafted decks prior to the release of The Grand Tournament, but once everyone actually got
their hands on the cards, it simply wasn't good
enough to make the cut for Constructed. That said,
Blizzard has chosen to show you exactly how such a deck would work!
With the key card being , which you have four of in this deck, you're aiming to get as
many minions with Taunt on the field prior to activating your spells.
Your Deck
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Hearthstone
The Top Decks From This Year's World Championship
If you at all tuned into the Hearthstone World Championships this time last week at BlizzCon, you're probably aware of exactly how crazy the matches were. The Semifinals were incredibly close with both series going to the full five games. That said, here are the decklists from your top four finishers. You should be surprised to note the diversity that is present, something
Kripparrian says
is due to the fact that simply bringing your best/favorite three decks isn't a winning strategy.
Want a recap of the action? Check out our post.
2015 World Champion - Ostkaka
Hotform, Thijs, and Kno's decks are in the full article along with some of our recommendations for updating these decks with the release of the first
League of Explorers
wing.
Hearthstone
League of Explorers - Normal Temple of Orsis Guide
The League of Explorers launched today with the opening of the Temple of Orsis. Over the next five weeks, with a break for Thanksgiving in the United States, all four wings will release one week apart.
If you're up for some exploring, our database contains all of the
normal bosses
,
heroic bosses
, and
class challenges
. Be forewarned however that there are of course spoilers beyond those links.
We previewed the Temple of Orsis earlier this week. So if you want an overview without any spoilers, head on over there.
Temple of Orsis Normal Mode Guide
Zinaar's shtick is using his hero power, , each and every turn,
even if he's reached fatigue. Every activate gives you a random Wish in the form of
, , , , or
. As you can see, these are zero mana spells, meaning decks like feel right at home. Cards like , , and even can be fantastic as Zinaar frequently isn't smart enough to deal with them right away.
Zinaar's Deck
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Rewards:
and .
Want to know what's coming next for League of Explorers? Check out our guide!
Hearthstone
League of Explorers Now Live!
The League of Explorers is now live in the Americas region!
Need help getting through the Temple of Orsis? Check out our preview, it should help prepare you for the encounters!
If you're from another region, we don't know exactly when it will go live. However, the announcement for the adventure states
that Europe
can expect it tomorrow, Friday the 13th.
Catch the official announcement and screenshots from the adventure in the full post!
Hearthstone
Video: League of Explorers - Card Review
Over the last few days we've been taking a look at the class cards of League of Explorers. Part 1 covered
Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, and Priest
with Part 2 taking care of the remaining
Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior
. And while we'll have neutral cards reviewing in written form in the near future, for those of you who don't want to wait until after the Temple of Orsis wing launches today, we have a video reviewing each of the 45 cards! It's a completely different reviewer than that of our written reviews, so for those who want a second opinion on some of them, this is the place to look! Catch the video in the full article.
Hearthstone
Kripparrian Interview - Hearthstone Disconnect, Secret Paladin Problems, & LoE Excitement
At BlizzCon we had a chance to sit down and talk with TSM's Kripparrian regarding the convention, the state of Hearthstone, and the upcoming League of Explorers adventure! He's one of the most popular Hearthstone streamers on
Twitch
, routinely puts out helpful content on his
YouTube channel
, and despite all this has only made Legend once. Regardless, his opinions have always been among the loudest in the community and he may have been one of the driving forces behind Tavern Brawls.
How do you think Hearthstone is now that has been nerfed?
So the Warsong Commander was nerfed. I think people agree that the deck was overpowered, but what the deck was accomplishing was keeping down aggressive decks and it’s very hard to do that in Hearthstone.
It seems like the only thing that keeps down aggressive decks is combo decks, at the point at which they are overpowered. So it seems like Blizzard really loves to kill every combo deck that’s any good, ever. And unfortunately right now it’s not that there are just a lot of aggro decks, there are a lot of aggro decks that are really easy to play and extremely effective, particularly the Secret Paladin. And I think that combination is really what is the problem.
Blizzard kind of avoided nerfing Grim Patron Warrior even though it was such a powerful deck because they said, “Well, people on ladder don’t have a very high win rate and it’s really hard to play.” But if you take the opposite of that it’s literally Mysterious Challenger Paladin: it’s super easy to play and has an extremely high win rate. So by their own definition this deck shouldn’t really be out there. But still in general I think we need more tools to combat aggro decks.
Hearthstone
Review: Class Cards of The League of Explorers - Part 2
A total of
45 new cards
are being added with the release of the League of Explorers. Included in that are two commons and a rare for each of the respective classes. Today we're taking a look at the last group: Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior.
You'll begin seeing these on Thursday with the release of the Temple of Orsis wing which we
preview here
.
As a reminder, all 45 cards are available in our deckbuilder, go start preparing yourself for Thursday!
Rogue
As a one drop, might be an okay card. However, it's very fragile and can die to any damaging hero power in the game without much effort. The ways this card is most relevant is as to how it effects and the upcoming which we
talked about yesterday
. Without the guaranteed value that comes with other one drops that are run like , , and , it's honestly a bit hard to see this being ran in any Constructed decks.
The really cool thing about is that it can copy any Deathrattle a friendly minion on the board currently has. And even if that's just the one from , it becomes a 3-Cost 3/4 that summons a random 2-Cost minion. Doesn't seem so bad, huh?
is interesting in that it doesn't fit in any current Rogue decks that are run. (So basically Oil Rogue). But it does create some new possibilities. Kibler mentioned in his card review that playing this and getting a coin isn't so bad if it lets you get out one turn earlier. From that perspective it doesn't seem too bad, but it is a bit lacking in the stats area only because four health doesn't get you very far these days.
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