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Hearthstone Dailies For Ghosts: Episode 9 Saying Goodbye To Cards Rotating From Standard

On this eve of The Whispers Of The Old Gods expansion launch I take a look back at the cards that will be rotating out of the new Standard game mode. First up I say goodbye and good riddance to some of my most disliked cards. Finally I round things off nearly shedding a tear for some of my most loved Naxxramas cards. It's a bittersweet time because the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion looks so great yet we are losing so many fun cards. I guess we will always have Wild!

Psycho Mantis knows you want a 2017 Ford Fusion Titanium

Well... this is an interesting car commercial...

Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins Is A Fun Crazy New Anime Short From Nintendo

Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins is Nintendo's latest Shigeru Miyamoto and Production IG and WIT Studios Anime collaboration. It's a fun and goofy 14 minute film that sets the stage for the newly released Star Fox Zero on Wii U. The short picks up after the original Star Fox game seeing Andross defeated and his eventual return. The animation style is very lush and inviting and this video proves that Nintendo should actually produce a Mario, Zelda or Star Fox cartoon series. One scene has the iconic ARWing's flying over a lake that harkens back to the X-Wings blasting over the same scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Battle Begins ends on a bit of a mysterious... Read All

Bethesda Reveals More Information About It's Upcoming CCG Elder Scrolls: Legends

Bethesda released a new video showcasing a few details of it's new digital card game Elder Scrolls Legends. Taking inspiration from Magic The Gathering and Hearthstone, Elder Scrolls Legends changes things up by introducing game lanes and damage runes. These mechanics are interesting and I am really curious to see the game in action. I am not the biggest Elder Scrolls fan but as a Magic and Hearthstone fan I am interested to get Bethesda's take on it.

You can sign up for the Elder Scrolls: Legends beta and I have the link below if you are interested in signing up. When the Elder Scrolls: Legends comes it will launch on the PC and iPad. Like Hearthstone, Elder Scrolls:... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/22/2016 at 05:14pm

Hearthstone is so doomed.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/22/2016 at 05:16pm

> Hearthstone is so doomed.

Hahaha, no. Competition is good and different takes on popular genres are good but Hearthstone has a nice advantage of being the first widely played digital card game.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/23/2016 at 04:37am

I guess that depends on your definition of "widely played." It certainly got huge more than others but Duels of the Planeswalkers was pretty widely played. And solid as hell, at least in its earlier versions. I haven't played it since near launch.

And CapnCurry would be remiss to see Card Hunter not mentioned :D

But still, Hearthstone is definitely the current king making people jump on the bandwagon.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/23/2016 at 04:37am

I mean by a magnitude of 30x probably vs Duels of the Planeswalkers.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2016 at 04:40am

Card Hunter (i'm playing it now) is more like a digital version of Dungeon Quest. It has cards in it, but well I guess it's a card game but I view it more like the digital version of a D&D styled board game.

That said, when I say widely I mean crazy Blizzard numbers of people.

> And solid as hell, at least in its earlier versions. I haven't played it since near launch.

It's better than ever and you should login after the Whispers of the Old Gods launch to get 3 free packs and a Legendary. Not sure when the deal will expire.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2016 at 04:42am

> I mean by a magnitude of 30x probably vs Duels of the Planeswalkers.

By 2015 Hearthstone had 30 million. Can't imagine that number hasn't gone up since then. I couldn't seem to find any numbers on Dual of the Planeswalkers but I did know a friend that has it on PS3 and really liked it. I had hoped the Magic app would be good but it's unplayable as I can't finish the tutorial due to some bug or some UI thing I can't figure out.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/23/2016 at 05:27pm

My "solid as hell" comment was about Duels, not Hearthstone.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/23/2016 at 05:36pm

But yeah so is Hearthstone :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/23/2016 at 08:26pm

From what I played, Duals was fun. Thanks for brining it up, I need to look into picking it up on PC.

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Blizzard Releases The Entire Whispers of The Old Gods Card List

Hearthstone Lead Designer Ben Brode and commentator Frodan hosted a Twitch live stream earlier today where they played a couple matches with the new Whispers of the Old Gods card set. If you are interested in seeing Old Cards decks in action the stream is a must watch. All of the decks they played with were incredible fun to see and I am really interested to see how the game changes with so many new and crazy cards in play.

So Much Evil For Free

During the Old Gods launch on April 26th players will get 3 free packs for signing in as well as the free Old God Legendary C'Thun and two support minions. Today Blizzard also revealed that you will get a new quest that will... Read All

Ocarina Of Time Remade On The Unreal 4 Engine

CryZENx is a YouTuber that is reimagining classic games in the new Unreal 4 engine and the results are beautiful. The Unreal 4 engine is capable of producing incredible games and it's really fun to consider how amazing a PC Zelda game could be in with a modern graphical toolset behind it. CryZENx release a couple other Ocarina videos showcasing Zora's falls and the Temple of Time and you can watch them both below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owbnvee4JLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSeLdQASixE

Miitomo Afterglow

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13001254_10154084923014280_593559020561928748_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=2851a752c543465d91171549214271a2&oe=57BF7D1E

Is anyone still using Miitomo? It was a fun app that seemed to burn bright and quick.

When I first downloaded it, it took a couple days for others to install and us all to find each other, but it seems like no one is using it anymore.

Part of its charm was in the questions it asks you, but I wonder if that's also part of its downfall. If I have a random thing I want to post to a social network, I go to Twitter and/or Facebook and post it. Miitomo doesn't work that way, so I'm not as inclined to use it when "inspired."

What are your thoughts? Will Miitomo continue its initial popularity, or will it dwindle as people try it and then move on to something else?

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/21/2016 at 12:42am

I head back every couple days. I think it's a fun thing to do every so often but I don't go back many times a day anymore. I wish I could be friends with people yet for some, get less notifications from what they say.

Hopefully Nintendo adds more social and gamey elements to it because it's a good first drop and I do like it.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/21/2016 at 02:27am

I've literally answered all the available non-repeating questions so it kinda lost its charm.

Plus it gamifies adding tons of friends, and if you do that you don't see the people you really care about, and if other people are doing that nobody sees your stuff.

Some things are really neat though. I'm hoping the 1.1 version might fix a few things. As it stands now I don't care much about it anymore.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/21/2016 at 04:53am

Same boat. It had lost its charm.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/21/2016 at 07:24pm

Nice pic! Speaking of, the option of composing pics is pretty cool. The whole thing is a neat idea, but there does need to be another hook. Miitomo Drop is shady as f$&@. I'd be curious to know how many people have actually spent real money so far.

If Miitomo was just slightly more like Animal Crossing, I'd be on it more often.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/22/2016 at 01:32am

@Will_Ball are you one of the six or seven Wills on my friends list?

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/22/2016 at 02:55am

scrypt: I've won quite a few outfits with Miitomo drop, but I may be in the minority here. That said, you can buy in game tickets and gold and I am not sure I know anyone who's bought anything in game but I bet many have. I'd love to see how many and how much but I am not sure if Nintendo posts those numbers.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/22/2016 at 03:09am

I tried for that Ninja sword for like 18 tickets worth, and never got it. I got a ton of other stuff though.

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 04/22/2016 at 03:56am

I got the ninja sword on my very last ticket lol

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/22/2016 at 05:09am

I was bummed because I got the Ninja tree suit but not the hat. I still have a bunch of tickets and gold. I buy things here and there but seem to love hoarding digital currency....

You know.... for the ummm.. upcoming Miitomo-pocalypse. Some people will be roasting rats over an open flame but not this guy!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/22/2016 at 05:12pm

@Travis, yup!

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Combo That Druid - Blizzard Releases A String of Nerfs Before The Upcoming Expansion

https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/gallery/HILIPQX7HAF11461136028437.gif

We've know Blizzard is going to release changes to Classic cards to accommodate the new Standard and Wild formats of Whispers of the Old Gods. Today they dropped the deets on all the nerfs and I am going to talk about a couple I find interesting.

"There’s a simple guiding principle that underlies each of the changes you’re about to see: New card releases should have an impact on Standard and enrich Wild, to make sure that Hearthstone is always as dynamic, fresh, and fun as it can be."

Silence and Removal Minons Get The Bat

Blizzard swung the nerf bat at a bunch of minions that have silence and removal abilities starting with the Keeper of The Grove. Keeper of the Grove... Read All We've know Blizzard is going to release changes to Classic cards to accommodate the new Standard and Wild formats of Whispers of the Old Gods. Today they dropped the deets on all the nerfs and I am going to talk about a couple I find interesting.

"There’s a simple guiding principle that underlies each of the changes you’re about to see: New card releases should have an impact on Standard and enrich Wild, to make sure that Hearthstone is always as dynamic, fresh, and fun as it can be."

Silence and Removal Minons Get The Bat

Blizzard swung the nerf bat at a bunch of minions that have silence and removal abilities starting with the Keeper of The Grove. Keeper of the Grove now only has 2 health making it less of a Druid auto-include. They continued making a change to Ironbeak Owl increasing it's cost to 3 from 2. Ironbeak Owl is still one of the most useful minions I recommend people craft when they start the game. At 3 mana it's less great but I don't think this means it's gone for good merely we may see more people running Spellbreaker. Another change many saw coming was a nerf to Big Game Hunter. Blizzards change to BGH was to increase it's mana cost from 3 to 5 which is a very large change. This allows BGH to start competing with class removal yet it doesn't have the effect of removing it from the game entirely. It's less of a drastic tempo swing now and I don't think it will leave the game but it will see much less play.

Aggro Takes One For The Team

Blizzard wrapped up a whole slew of nerfs that target aggro styled decks and the first hit was to Knife Juggler. Knife Juggler's attack dropped from 3 to 2 which makes it a 2/2 for 2 with the same ability. I don't know if this nerf is enough but it at least allows other 3/2 for 2 minions to compete with it. Blizzard continued the aggro nerf swing with changes to Leper Gnome and Arcane Golem.

If you are interested in reading up on the entire changes check the official post below. Let me know what you think of these changes in the comments, curious to hear what cards you think were fairly treated and what cards were treated to harshly.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/20097355/

The GPD Win Is a Vision Of Handheld Gaming's Open Future

I love the open ecosystem of PC gaming. Buy your games on Steam and GOG and with many new games you can run them on PC, Mac or Linux. The benefits are legion and the ability to play your games where you wish is incredible. I've wanted to buy a gaming handheld for quite some time with the same goals in mind and this year I took the plunge and bought and Android based GPD XD. The XD is a fun system and I use it to play all manner of Android & PC streamed games on a handheld.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2758/my-review-of-the-android-handheld-gpd-xd

GPD recently sent me an email about a crowdfunding campaign for a new device on Indiegogo called the GPD Win.... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/20/2016 at 04:56pm

The most interesting thing about the GPD Win, for me, is the idea of acting as a portable console, plugging it into a TV and using a gamepad to play games when you're traveling. As a handheld device, though, the problem is playing games that aren't designed for a 5.5" viewport. PC games aren't designed for that space. The button/stick layout doesn't look entirely comfortable either, even less so than the Wii U gamepad (which, admittedly, I already have bias against). The ongoing idea (this seems to be the latest, not the first) of "handheld PC gaming" is like a battle of tug-of-war where neither side wins. Do people really want to play large format games on a significantly smaller screen? According to the funding page, at least 1400 people might, but that's not much of a market. Bear in mind, too, that's 1400 people buying in at the heavily discounted price of $300 (they've said actual retail will be $500).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/21/2016 at 12:18am

> The most interesting thing about the GPD Win, for me, is the idea of acting as a portable console, plugging it into a TV and using a gamepad to play games when you're traveling.

I agree. The thought of using this as a console or laptop is really compelling.

> As a handheld device, though, the problem is playing games that aren't designed for a 5.5" viewport. PC games aren't designed for that space.

True, but it's a 720p screen so it's not too bad. I've got the GPD XD which can stream Steam games to it and it's not too bad. Sure the text is small, but most games are not unplayable. That said, I don't recommend FTL on it.

> The button/stick layout doesn't look entirely comfortable either, even less so than the Wii U gamepad (which, admittedly, I already have bias against).

Again, it's similar to the GPD XD which isn't too bad. As good as a console controller? No, but it has to be a full system so it might not ever be as good.

> Do people really want to play large format games on a significantly smaller screen? According to the funding page, at least 1400 people might, but that's not much of a market. Bear in mind, too, that's 1400 people buying in at the heavily discounted price of $300 (they've said actual retail will be $500).

I can't say how mass market this is but I am interested in it. I look at this like I look at PC gaming in general. It's not perfect but it's pretty damn good and the ability to at least have the option to do this isn't a bad thing. You might not be able to run Skyrim on it but if you could run 40% of your Steam games on it I think that might be worth it.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/21/2016 at 02:24pm

Good points! It does look like decent hardware. I'm definitely interested to see how it's received when it launches.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/22/2016 at 02:54am

Me too. Set top boxes have lots of power I guess it was a matter of time until we started seeing a laptop stuck in such a small device. If GPD can do this, I wonder what Nintendo has planned for the NX?

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Hearthstone Dailies For Ghosts: Episode VIII New Heroes & WWF Charity

On the unknown precipice of the new Old Gods expansion I bring you all a new Hearthstone Dailies for Ghosts episode. In this episode I play matches with the heroes I have unlocked in Lady Liadrin and Khadgar.

I unlocked Lady Liadrin by playing WoW to level 20 and Khadgar by donating $5 in Hearthstone to the World Wildlife Fund. This breaks my free to play streak but it was by donating to charity. I don't plan on spending any more money in Hearthstone but i'll break my F2P status for charity now and in the future because it's a good cause.

If you want to donate to the WWF and unlock the new Khadgar hero you can only do so from an iPhone or iPad as it's an Apple exclusive... Read All