Hearthstone Deck Check: Let the Hunt begin...

Hello everyone, Endblade here. Today I'm gonna share with you guys (yes I finally succumbed) my Hunter deck, influenced largely by many Hunters that I've faced on ladder as well as getting some inspiration from Hearthpwn, Youtube, and watching streamers on Twitch. But mostly from just facing Hunters on ladder.The focus of this deck is as I named the deck- to zerg down your opponent much like Zoo, but the playstyle is slightly different, with some decent mid-game presence and secrets to mess with your opponent.

As you can see, the early game is littered with many low-cost deathrattle minions like webspinner, loot hoarder, leper gnome, mad scientist and haunted creeper, which means that playing a minion on turn 1 onwards should not be a huge problem given the bottom-heavy nature of this deck. Generally you would want to mulligan for low drops like your Undertaker, which synergises excellently with your minions to get buffed up 2-3 times and deal some damage and force out a Wrath on turn 2 by druid, hunter's mark+arcane shot combo or kill command by hunter, frostbolt by mage on 2, and etc. 

What I'm trying to say is that more often than not, Undertaker will win you games if played aggressively rather than used to trade for board control. For this deck, you don't neccessarily need to fight for board control, because usually what happens is that by turn 5 or so the opponent is at less than 20 health or even in the low 10s, which then makes it very dangerous for him to leave my minions alone and go for me (unless its' hunter mirror match or zoolock type matchups) and hence they will be forced to clear your board first by using their AOE or better yet, trade their minions to kill off yours. I run many single copies mainly because hunters in terms of spells don't have much space for it, and in most cases you want to leave the hunter's mark for big taunts in the way of your minions or tracking, which serves as a good filtering mechanism but I realize for these cards more than 1 generally is useless, as you want to go for damage and spells like these do not help contribute to applying pressure on your opponent. This deck is not as fast as zoolock type of play but not as slow as the warrior control. 

Ironbeak Owl is there because 1) its' a beast and 2) it gets rid of taunts

Now for traps I chose one Freezing Trap, one Explosive Trap mainly for the utility and both are useful in different cases, the former being as a tempo play while the latter to act as possible board clear or even as 2 damage to the opponent. Misdirection is there as a surprise play, I used to run Snake Trap, that is useful too but I prefer misdirection because of the surprise factor as well as the possibility of the attacking minion attacking the opponent's face, which is hilarious. Mad Scientist helps you fish out for these traps for free

Flare as a card is useful, it acts somewhat like Tracking but against Secret Mage and in mirror matches, can mess with them quite a bit by popping their Secrets.

Eaglehorn Bow synergies well with the various Traps as well as is good as minion removal. Don't be afraid to go for face with this, sometimes, the extra 3 damage helps threaten lethal earlier.

Now Animal Companion is just great because all the Beasts you get generally are useful, the Pig-guy (Don't know his name) is arguably the best and helps you push for damage, Leeok is good when you have a well-developed board of minions and can help ensure favourable trades if needed. Houndmaster is just there to provide an option for Taunt, and is a good 4-drop generally for Hunters since Beasts aren't that hard to come by. 

Kill Command arguably is the best card in this deck, and it wins games if you topdeck it (which HAS happened before), and is possibly decent removal. 

Loatheb is a arguable choice, but I run Loatheb in almost all deck that I've played post-Naxx just because he has so much utility. For example, he delays AOE like Flamestrike and Lightning Storm by turn, which can seal the deal when you already are threatening lethal and just want assurance he won't get lucky and topdeck some spell to undo all that you have done.

Savannah Highmane, ah this card. I used to not like it much, but with Undertaker synergy being a real thing here as well as the total stat of a possible 10/9 for 6 mana, you cant really go wrong with this guy. He has helped win games before as generally people will tend to want to remove Svannah ASAP, and your other minions will slip under the radar unnoticed. Not to mention at 5 health he is at the sweet spot beyond many AOE spells like Auchenai+Circle of Healing combo, Flamestrike, Spell-Powered Lightning Storm, Deadly Poisoned Blade Flurry, and the like.

So far this deck has helped me to go 10-1 on ladder, I lost to a mirror hunter who outplayed me. In casual I have won 5 lost 2, one due to bad draws and the other to a ramp druid (I rage quit that game he double innervated on turn 3 to summon an Ancient of War) I was so pissed haha. Generally you want to mulligan for as aggro a hand as possible especially against slow control as you got to beat them before they get to the endgame, where you will just lose out. For me, games rarely stretch past turn 8, with the occassional turn 9 or 10 but I have not played a fatigue game with this deck, generally after turn 9 or so you start to lose options and lose steam. SO try out this deck on Ladder and see how it does! 

UPDATE:This deck has so far gone 13-1 on ladder and 7-3 on casual.

So until next time,

EndBlade

Hearthstone deck check: Tempura Rogue

Hello everyone. Today I will be posting a deck check on my current favorite deck to play and it is also very straightforward, inspired mainly by Trump and his view that every play must be a value play. Now I got this concept of a this Rogue on Hearthpwn from a player called Flood, and although this deck may be very similar, I have been trying out many variations of this midrange styled Rogue especially after the nerf of Leeroy and the start of the new season in October. For those of you who are not updated on the Heathstone scene, recently about a week ago Leeroy Jenkins, yes the one we have a love/hate relationship with, has finally been nerfed. Now at first I didn't give up on him yet, I tried to make the leeroy miracle work its magic but alas the burst potential was no longer there. Not to say that it wasn't any good, but firstly I lost my matches due to the fact that leeroy was one of the outs I had to deal 20+ damage for a shock win, and was the winning image of the deck. 

Another reason why I stopped playing miracle rogue was that I wasn't interested in trying to make malygos miracle work, it was just that malygos was more of a gimmicky card to me and I didn't like the style of play the new miracle was shifting towards. But I was reluctant to put down rogue altogether so I tried something different. Tempo rogue. While I haven't played much hearthstone, so far I have gone in about something like 10-3 with this deck, and winning with this deck is all the more rewarding due to the nature of this deck- you have to make every turn count, and tempo build up and board control is the mainstay of this deck. Now onto some of the card choices and my explanation for them.

Now firstly we have the standard lineup of rogue removal cards and buffs such as cold blood, backstab, deadly poison and eviscerate. Now why only one Cold blood? Most of the time you generally use cold blood on maybe turn 4 onwards as part of a combo, you can use it on argent squire if people leave it on the board (many people underestimate argent squire and haunted creeper) which you can use to your advantage, by cold blooding them to deal early damage and pressure your opponent into make inefficient trades and wasting removal on your early drops, so that your mid game minions become more sticky. Blade flurry is good AOE and can prove to be a zoo deck's undoing. But we only play one, so use it wisely, preferably with a deadly poisoned wicked knife. But blade flurry stacks with spell power, so be mindful of that. A thalnos  powered blade flurry deals 2 across the board and can mess up with aggro decks. Bloodmage thalnos is the MVP of this deck, you may think: meh, what can a 1/1 do? But it combos so well with your spells like backstab, eviscerate, to help you push for damage to the face or remove creatures. And when playing against hand lock Giants, a thalnos powered backstab plus eviscerate can kill the 8 health minions they place on the board. Fan of knives is there for the AOE board clear and in some cases, cycling potential to grab the minions you need to smooth out the curve. Be wary of using it too freely though, unlike miracle which cycles through your whole deck this is a one shot one kill kind of thing. So only use it for the card draw if absolutely needed. More often than not, it helps to remove 2 health creatures be fanning and attacking with the knife on turn 3. The early game is important, it is CRITCAL that you have a smooth mana curve for this deck, if not your game will be pretty rough. Hence the early drops to help build up the tempo.

Now assuming you establish some form of board control in the early game and it's now turn 4-8. Now is the time where Tempo Rogue really shines. With 4 drops like Chillwind Yeti (why Yeti you may ask), you can't go wrong with a value minion. It has 4 attack which is the sweet spot for Priests and 5 health, which places it out of Direct flamestrike, swipe and the like. And although some may want to place gnomish inventor (nothing wrong with that), a minion like Yeti tends to be quite sticky especially if you get it out early e.g. Turn 3 coin into yeti or turn 4 drop. Most players also don't expect to see yeti in constructed, so there is the surprise factor initially. Overall it's just a solid minion to have. Defender of argus is there mainly to taunt up tokens from the haunted creeper and argent squire so that your early game minions don't become obsolete in the mid game and can trade favourably. But it's situational and you might not always have a solid board so 1 argus is enough. Now sap although a 2 mana card is NOT an early game play. Rather, you want to hold it in your hand until you want to disrupt your opponent's tempo on turn 5 onwards. Loatheb is there for a similar purpose but to screw around with your opponent's spell casting ability. Assuming you need one turn to kill him but am vulnerable to a turn 7 flamestrike or a possible board clear, you plop down Loatheb and make them cry tears of sorrow as you seal the victory the next turn with a cold blood.

Azure drake is there as a card draw mechanic as well as a useful spell power to buff your spells up to kill high health minions. Many times I find myself with azure drake and/ thalnos on the board which makes my eviscerates to the face deck deal damage like kill command or even more. Sludge belcher  is there as a solid taunt body to delay and protect your smaller minions so that you can continue to chip away at your opponents health. Argent commander is real value, it can contribute immediately to the board by removing 4 health minions while just popping the divine shield, you can make it your turn 6 play to push for damage and pressure your opponent into removing it somehow. Another card which annoys taunt heavy decks or decks which run sludge belcher, Druid of the claw etc. is the Black Knight. While it may sit dead in your hand against aggro typed decks, in control typed decks this card shines. I have won games just by destroying taunted up mountain Giants and messing with my opponent's strategy. This card just contributes to the board immediately, much like argent commander but to a different extent. 

Now that I have explained the rationale behind the card choice, I will now move on to explanation on how to play this deck and the match ups it may face in this meta. Stay tuned to this post, I will be writing up on it soon.

Hearthstone deck check: Instruction begins!

Hello everyone. Today I will be doing a deck check for my Druid Token deck ft. Violent Violet Teacher.
Without further ado, here is the decklist:

Spells: 15
Innervate x2
Wild Growth x1
Power of the Wild x2
Wrath x2
Mark of the Wild x1
Savage Roar x2
Healing Touch x1
Poison Seeds x1
Swipe x2
Force of Nature x1

Minions: 15
Violet Teacher x2
Echoing Ooze x2
Argent Squire x2
Bloodmage Thalnos x1
Shade of Narraxmas x1
Harvest Golem x2
Haunted Creeper x2
Sludge Belcher x2
Ancient of Lore x1
Cenarius x1

Rationale for choice of cards:
Firstly, I built this deck with the purpose of one thing: to have fun. But its done quite well with the limited amount of games that I've played with it, I've gone 5 wins 2 losses in ranked. I won't say its' a GREAT deck, but I'll bet that this deck will give you the giggles with the endless buffing possibilities. The star of the deck is Violet Teacher, her effect spawns a 1/1 token on the field when you cast a spell. You get the gist behind this deck-cheap weak minions which can get buffed by spells like power of the wild, savage roar and the like. Mark of the Wild is there for a clutch taunt if needed. Can be comboed with The Black Knight, but I don't have that card yet. Innervate is there for you to either drop huge minions like your druid of the claw or sludge belcher on earlier turns. Can be comboed with Violet Teacher on turn 4 for a free token and 2 mana, possibly to cast power of the wild to make another token and buff them up to 2/2 and Violet Teacher to a solid 4/6. Swipe is there beacuse firstly it is a board clear and secondly its' a spell which is always welcome in a Violet Teacher-centred deck. Druid of the Claw is there to provide taunt or become a charge minion to deal 4 or more damage when used in conjuction with Savage Roar etc. Haunted Creeper is a good 2 drop and helps establish some board presence in the early game. Its' tokens can also be powered up by PoTW or Savage Roar. Arguably Nourish is there mainly because it helps provide the much needed card draw, and due to the lack of Ancient of Lores which I do not have currently. Bloodmage Thalnos provides powered up Swipes and Wraths. Do note that it does NOT power up your Savage Roars or PoTW.

Argent Squire is there as a cheap 1 drop and the divine shield helps increase its' survivability to make efficient trades when powered up. Cenarius is there for the lols, but seriously it helps provide clutch taunts and a possibility of a juicy buff up finish. Echoing Ooze is a great card as buffs just double (literally) in value on it. Healing Touch is there as a spell for Violet Teacher as well as the lack of heal for Druids in general, this deck does not do well in the late game so you'd best be dominating the midgame and establish firm board presence if not dominance. Force of Nature is the typical run-of the mill finisher when comboed with Savage Roar or can be used as not-as-efficient removal but still decent enough to justify running at least 1 copy. I would run 2 but this deck has yet to justify the need to run 2. I will add and modify the deck as I go along and play more games on ranked/constructed and playtest with my friends but for now I'll leave it at 1.

Shade of Narraxmas is arguably a disputable card, but it works well as you can choose when to utilize it or keep it on the board stealthed in anticipation for the savage roar or PoTW. But generally when people see this card they shit bricks and start to desperately remove it before it gets too huge, and this helps soak up spells that might otherwise be directed at your Violet Teacher. Echoing Ooze also seems to create the same psychological effect. Maybe its' because its' a epic card? Haha jokes aside, it can become a big threat if left unattended to for 2-3 turns (usually not so the case).

Do be careful of board clear and DO NOT overcommit unless you know a)he does not have any board clear spells and has to trade inefficiently if you go balls to the walls or b)are confident that you can win the turn after (don't take the risk I'd say, but hey just have fun).

I will be updating this post with the matchups and how you could circumvent possible counters and what to mulligan/keep as I play more games with this deck but until next time,

EndBlade

EDIT 12 SEPTEMBER: Changed out Druid of the Claw for Ancient of Lore, removed Nourish for Poison Seeds. Took out Shades and Replaced for Harvest Golems. These changes were made because a) I pulled an Ancient of Lore in a pack and Nourish to me was a good card but it did not contribute much to the board. Most of the time it was a dead card as I had better things to play. A 5/5 body is also good when combo-ed with mark of the wild. Poison Seeds was put in as a sort of  unorthodox removal, yes I know it ruins your board especially when there is a violet teacher with buffed up minions, but this inclusion was due to the fact that Druid does not have many effective answers to huge creatures and this spell was merely there as an escape mechanism. I may swop it out in the future if I do not use it much. I removed the Shades of Narraxmas mainly due to the fact that it didnt do much for me unless I left it to rot on the board. Yes it did bait some removal, but Harvest Golem helps in so many ways: it is a 2/3 with a toekn 2/1 when killed, which just increases its' value compared to shade, which can be removed easily by AOE spells.

Hearthstone Deck Check: There can be Miracles....

Hello everyone. Its' been quite some time since I last posted on this blog. Recently, I have been getting into Hearthstone, a CCG created by Blizzard Entertainment released early this year. It has all the elements of a typical trading card game: except that unlike conventional card games like Cardfight Vanguard!, this game is based entirely ONLINE. Much like Devpro for YuGiOh and Magic:2015 for MTG, cards can be bought online packs or earned by buying them using ingame gold, which can be gotten through daily quests and unlocking certain achievements, and winning packs in the Arena, a drafting system where you pay a set amount of ingame gold to create a temporary deck from scratch and pit it against other similar people, a Triple Elimination format.

However, the deck which I am writing about today is arguably NOT based from any Arena deck in Hearthstone, rather it is a meta deck which has been circulating around for quite a while now, and pioneered by Kolento and popularized by Forzen and some other tournament players. As a deck, it is fun to play due to the versatility of the deck which focuses on a few possible 'win conditions', much like the winning image in Cardfight Vanguard!. Without further ado, I shall post the decklist below and explain how to play it and how I usually like to play it.

Miracle Rogue:
Spells: 19
Shadowstep x2
Preparation x2
Backstab x2
Cold Blood x1
Deadly Poison x2
Conceal x1
Blade Flurry x1
Shiv x2
Sap x2
Eviscerate x2
Fan of Knives x1

Monsters: 12
Bloodmage Thalnos x1
Si:7 Agent x2
Gadgetzan Auctioneer x2
Edwin VanCleef x1
Earthern Ring Farseer x2
Azure Drake x1
Sludge Belcher x1
Gnomish Inventor x1
Leeroy Jenkins x1


With that, you can already see that this deck is heavy on spells, with almost 2/3 of the deck being spell-based. This deck mainly focuses on drawing out your whole deck (most of the time) to burst the opponent down in 1-2 turns while whittling down their health and board in the early-mid game. This deck however does not do well against heavy control decks in the lategame as it has little to no effective removal, with the main removal being Eviscerate and Backstab, or a board clear with Deadly Poison on Dagger + Blade Flurry for 3 damage across the board for 5 mana. The star which makes this deck so great is arguably Gadgetzan Auctioneer, whose effect is to draw a card whenever a spell is cast. So the combo is to play low-cost spells in order to activate this card's cycling effect to get the main meat of your deck, which is the Leeroy-Shadowstep combo which can deal a potential 26 damage for 8 mana in one turn when used in conjuction with a combo-ed Cold Blood and two Shadowsteps. Ideally you would be looking to establish some form of board control by utilizing your removal and tempo disrupting cards like Sap to return annoying or high-cost monsters to your opponent's hand. Eviscerate can be used to the face, similar to Si:7 Agent in order to bring your opponent down to the 20s and even mid 10s to make a Leeroy combo (or the psychological effect which it has on opponents), which may make them play to trade inefficiently in order to stay alive. This deck has card draw such as Azure Drake, Gnomish Inventor and Bloodmage Thalnos, as well as the +Spell Damage which arguably helps make spells like Backstab and Fan of Knives more effective in keeping the board clear. Earthern Ring Farseer's clutch 3 hp heal and Sludge Belcher's Taunt ability help drag the mid game long enough for you to stall out in hopes of pulling off a miracle. Edwin Van Cleef is the most optional card in here, I choose it because it acts as a bait which draws out removal from the enemy like Polymorph, Siphon Soul or any silence, or if left undealt with can deal tons of damage to your opponent if played in conjunction with many  low-costing spells. Preparation works wonders when comboed with Gadgetzan to get a zero-cost fan of knives or cheap Eviscerate (insert any spell here).

However, do be careful when playing this deck as there are cases when you do not draw into the Leeroy combo or Gadgetzan early enough, which may be a problem. On the other hand, do be careful of overdrawing as a result of Gadgetzan's effect.

Also, do note that spells like Shiv, Eviscerate and Si7 Agent are all able to go for the face, which is useful when there is a need to rush down your opponent before he gains too much momentum and board control (Like lategame Druid, Warrior etc).

Matchups:
Against Priest- Usually when pit up against Priest it should be a free win, although not always necessary. Do watch out for possible board clear like the Auchenai + Circle of Healing combo which wipes out your Gadgetzan and Drake, plus anything below 4 health. Other than that, usually the 4 attack of most of your key cards like Gadgetzan does well against avoiding hard removel like Shadow Word Death. Do be careful to know when to Cold Blood your Azure Drakes or Gadgetzans, as it brings them into Shadow Word Death range. Other than that, play slow and get your combo.

Against Warrior (Control)- Try not to leave out key minions like Auctioneer unless concealed, as a simple Brawl, Shield Slam or Execute could easily remove your minions for cheap. Do take note of Death's Bite, the new Naxx weapon which at 4 attack can kill off your Gadgetzan if left unprotected on the field. Try to burst him down before he starts to build up tons of armor. Usually big minions like Ysera and Ragnaros can be Sapped to waste your opponent's turn and it disrupts the tempo of his game.

Against Warlock Zoo (or any Zooish deck)- You want to prioritize early game removal, Fan of Knives, Backstab, Si:7 Agent with a Coin works wonders to disrupt his early drops like Knife Juggler or Flame Imp. Against possible Shockadin (Paladin Rush) you want to mulligan for fan of knives as most of his cards will be 1 health. Earthern Ring Farseer is clutch in these types of games. Sludge Belcher is also equally useful. Also, a comboed up Edwin VanCleef can put a wrench in your opponent's plans especailly if they do not have spells (pure Zoo decks). You are generally favoured to win this matchup unless you get really unlucky, Zoo tends to lose alot of steam after turn 6 or so. Look out for stuff like Leeroy, Doomguard or the like. Keeping your health high is the way to go here.

Against any deck using Echoing Ooze- Just let him buff the oozes up, use a backstab + Si7 combo or a Sap if things get too hairy. Blade Flurry with Deadly Poison works wonders to kill off the ooze and the copy of the ooze. Mulligan for Gadgetzan and cheap spells like Backstab or si7. But this matchup is generally quite annoying especially if he divine shields and buffs the ooze up. But its' not impossible

Against Hunter- You generally want to play around his Explosive and Freezing Traps, it can be annoying if your Leeroy into one of these traps. Try to force inefficent trades like hunters mark + unleash to kill a Gadgetzan once you have fully utilized it. Try not to overcommit to the board and be wary of Savannah Highmane, it can be irritating to deal with it lategame especailly if Houndmaster-ed due to lack of solid removal. Again, Sap would be your best bet here. But mulligan for a Gadgetzan here, the game usually drags on long enough to pull off a miracle. This is a favoured matchup for you in general. Misdirection is also another annoying secret to look out for. Also, look out for your health, a double kill command with a beast on the field for 6 mana hits you for a painful 10 damage.

Against a Mirror Match: Good Luck and have fun. Honestly the one with Gadgetzan and cheap spells first will usually win. Don't be afraid to go for face and use Eviscerates on him, as most likely his bigh threats can be Sapped or even ignored if you plan ahead 2 turns or so.

Against Control decks like Druid/late game Paladin: Try to focus on bursting him down as soon as possible before the big taunts hit the floor like Ancient of War or Tirion Fordring, those can pose a threat if you do not use your removal efficiently. Go for a mulligan for Gadgetzan and try to established dominance early-mid game as you will lose out late game.

Against Handlock Warlock: I'd say use your spells wisely, you are better off trying to burst him down rather than try to gain total board control. As long as he doesn't taunt up his Giants and other big minions then you're fine. Not the optimal matchup, and usually you might end up losing unless you pull off a miracle. Then again, this is why you play Miracle Rogue right?

Against Freeze Mage (do people even play this anymore?)- Prioritize timing your burst damage, you don't want to Leeroy when you think he has played an Ice Block. Look out for your health, Earthern Ring Farseer can help stall out to get your combo and push you out of lethal range. Try not to swing into opponent minions unless absolutely needed. You can go for a to-the-face method, as Freeze Mages tend to not play any health gaining minions other than Ice Block or Ice Barrier secrets. Try not to drag it too long, you tend to lose momentum especially once the Ice Blocks are up.

Against Secret Mage: Take note of the Secrets that were already triggered, try to send less important minions to trigger the possible Vaporize. Duplicate is generally annoying. KILL his undertakers no matter what as they can snowball to become quite annoying. Other minions should not pose a huge problem.

I will add matchups and how to play against them as I go along and play against more types of decks in Constructed. In closing, Miracle Rogue is fun to play as it challenges the mind to think ahead 1-2 turns before making a move, and considering the mana curve and using mana efficiently every turn (as there can be dead turns if you do not use your cards properly.). Also, because in the current Hunter/Warrior Control meta Miracle Rogue does quite well against them. Taunts are a bitch to play against though sometimes.

Possible Replacements
Edwin Vancleef - Azure Drake, I wouldn't put in Questing Adventurer because it requires setup on turn 3/2 if used with coin, and VanCleef's effect is superior as it can be comboed with coin on turn 3 to make a trusty 4/4, one of the best 3 drops if you ask me. Mana Addict could be a replacement, but I would go for Questing over addict because Rogues lack the 3 drop to smoothen the curve.

Leeroy Jenkins - you shouldnt be trying to find a substitute for this, but Arcane Golem can do a similar, albiet inefficient job. Argent Commander can be a good replacement, but sometimes the 2 damage short can cost you a game. And it costs 6 mana to Leeroy's 4.

Bloodmage Thalnos - Azure Drake, Novice Engineer for card draw. Basically you want this guy in your deck as it is a novie engineer on spellpower steroids. But don't fret if you don't have it. Works wonders with fan of knives, backstab and all the other low cost spells.

Gadgetzan Auctioneer - DONT THINK ABOUT IT. DONT. If you don't have this card, then don't make a miracle rogue deck.

Preparation - This is a understated but key card, but if you really cant find dust for at least 1, you could add in an extra Cold Blood or even a Sinister Strike. But try not to, at least have 1 copy.

Other cards should not be hard to craft/pull from packs.

Future Considerations:
Loatheb  (Disrupts other miracle rogues and fills up the midgame drop with a solid 5-5 body).
Sinister Strike  (A cheap spell to trigger Gadgetzan. Works well when spell power + for 4 or even 5 damage.)



Hope you enjoyed this deck check and until next time,

EndBlade

Game Review: Dota 2?

Hello guys. Its' been quite a while since my last post. The topic of discussion in particular is the game created by Valve, an adaptation of the original DotA custom map on Warcraft III. The game Dota 2. Now a bit of background behind this game. If you don't already know, Dota 2 has been out for a good 3 coming to 4 years, and it is available to play on Steam for FREE. Yes thats' right. FREE. Now you may ask: Why Dota 2? Its' just another pointless game where you waste 40 minutes to an hour of your time just to start back from square one in the next game. Meaning: there is no continuity. But here are some reasons why you should play Dota 2, or at least give it a shot before you judge it.

1) Every game is a new game

This 'flaw' that was mentioned earlier is actually one of the greatest strengths of Dota as a game, and other copies of it, like LoL/League of Legends (sorry LoL fans but sadly its' true.) and HoN (Heroes of Newerth, which nobody actually plays anymore). Simply put, every game is a new game. You start on a blank slate, a fresh start. Unlike some other games like MapleStory or Diablo III where your progress is 'saved' and accumulative, and a wrong move such as adding the wrong skill or getting the wrong items or armor can be disasterous in some cases, Dota 2 is unlike these games. Even if you screw up badly on a game and lose horribly, this does not mean you are destined to keep losing. Variables like item choices and skill builds change every game. Need more stun? Go for a hero with disables like Lion or Nyx Assassin. Need some late game potential? Then go for carries like Gyrocopter or Spectre. With so many variable to take note of in every game, no two games are completely similar.

2) Simple yet sophisticated

Now another aspect of Dota 2 that you should be aware of: it may seem like a challenging game at first with a steep learning curve, but unlike its' predecessors DotA in Warcarft III, this time there are many newbie-friendly aids to make the game slightly easier to play. With item suggestions, changeable hotkeys and hero suggestions and guides, to pick up Dota 2 is no longer a chore. Furthermore, Dota 2 uses a tiered matchmaking system, where new players are pitted against each other rather than a free-for-all pvp environment where the better more experienced players completely trash and own the newbies. There are over 100 heroes, and each hero is unique and has different skills and uses. Some heroes are easier to pick up with less hotkey spamming or timing involved when playing the hero, such as Rikimaru or Ursa, where they have more passives and are easier to play with a 'click and own' type of gameplay. Others are more challenging and require precise timing and utilization of terrain, along with prediction of enemy movement like Mirana or Pudge with their Elune Arrow and Meathook respectively. Then there are others which require massive skill to master like Invoker, with spell combinations and button mashing ability that would scare a new player off. With so many different classes of heroes, the selection is wide enough to cater to both new and experienced players.

3) Graphics and feel

For a game that runs on a engine which isn't very new, the graphics that come with it are crisp and the environment is realistically created, with small graphic embellishments like fishes in the river located in the middle of the map, to the water puddle effects and dark, somber feel of the entire map making you feel as if a real battle between two sides is going on (unlike some games with cartoonish art and glaringly bright colours, not mentioning any names here.) If you so decide to spend some moolah on this game, you can get cosmetics to customize your hero to your own liking, which gives you the MMORPG feel of equipping new weapon and equipment sets but without the overly game breaking effects like increase in damage or armor which would give those spending money an unfair advantage over those that don't. So in essence, it is a fair environment where even if you don't spend a single cent on the game, you still can play just as well if not better than others. But if you wish to support the community and ensure the continuation of the game, you may so choose to spend (buy the compendium for Ti4 hehe).

4) Almost any computer can run Dota 2

Well granted, of course not on the highest settings, but to give you some idea, a Windows XP OS desktop that is >7 years old is STILL able to play dota 2 on the highest available settings. So you get an idea on how easy it is to run Dota , unlike some other games which require you to ramp up your gaming rig just to get it running.

Well, hopefully this blogpost has gotten you interested about Dota 2, I highly recommend this game if you are stuck on what next to play or anything like that. Have fun and until next time,

Endblade

Some updates: Changing of the focus of this blog

Hello everyone, its' been a long time since I last posted, with my passion for Vanguard long gone. However, the urge to blog has not, and I have decided to reuse this blog but under a different focus: to blog about 3DS games and news relating to Nintendo from a casual gamer's point of view.

Previously, I had posted under a subsection known as Random Thoughts, which were things not pertaining to Cardfight Vanguard, and were of my other interests. You may have read my reviews prior about 3DS games like Pokemon X and Y and the Legend of Zelda.

I am a casual gamer, a supporter of Nintendo's handhelds since the days of Gameboy and have a decent collection of Gameboy games as well as the more recent DS and 3DS games, more often than not the titles which either 1) interest me OR 2) are famous, like the Pokemon franchise. I would like to share with all readers my love for handheld gaming, especially Nintendo's games, thus the reason for using this blog again.

I have gotten 2 'new' games, or rather new for me because only recently have I managed to lay my hands on them, and I will be posting my first impressions of them as well as a final review of the two games, which you should check back to look out for. I will not be spoiling any major plot lines or events in any games, or at least I will try not to. Haha.

Do give me constructive advice and feedback on how can I better improve the layout and content of this blog, all suggestions are welcome! Look out for my first review soon!

And until next time,

Endblade

Officially quitting Cardfight Vanguard!

Hello guys. Its been quite a long while since I last posted, and I have decided to cease all posting on this blog. This blog was created to function as an avenue for my thoughts on Cardfight Vanguard!, and with my official quitting of the game (until further notice), this blog has ceased to serve its' intended purpose. This is not to say I will not come back to this blog, its' just that  recently I have been very busy with weekdays being burnt in military training and with the short weekend breaks that I get, I don't have time to even touch the game. I recently looked at the new BT15:Infinite Rebirth cards, and I am glad that Megacolony after all these months, are finally getting their desired support. However, what I find particularly off-putting is the fact that the main characters' clans get so many cards (I ranted about this in an earlier post a few months prior). This is obviously just to push the anime plot further and attempt to remedy the screwed up metagame which was dominated by Link Joker.

That aside, after playing the game are almost a year plus, I realized that the game has little to no strategy required, since most set plays that a deck is constructed upon relies on a boring rise and repeat function whereby you more or less do the same thing regardless of the opponent, with only minor changes to your overall strategy of the clan that you are playing. I think the main problem is that like all cardgames, your cards get outdated FAST and attempts to bring back old units by adding crossrides or Reverse versions arguably fails to refresh the game. One major weakness which limits this game is the problem of sticking to the anime. Which means that Aichi and whatever clan he is using tends to be the one which has the most support and cards in all boosters, and support for clans like Megacolony are long overdue. Another neglected clan would be Nubatama and Murakumo, which play minor roles in the anime, hence the lack of attention to it given in card sets. Well, at the end of the day, Bushiroad is only here to make money from us. I sense that the game will lose traction especially in other countries outside of Japan, much like Duel Masters. This can be attributed largely to the lack of competitive support by Bushiroad in areas like Europe and America, with majority of the competitive scene based in Japan. Also, I think Bushiroad is trying to expand too quickly, which can be seen by their aggressive marketing of their products like Futurecard Buddyfight rather than focusing on creating a more balanced scene.


On a side note, I recently began to pick up Dota 2 again, after not touching it for over 6 months. Apart from the fact that pubbing is an unstable concoction where you may get crappy teammates or awesome ones, so far I have been enjoying my self thoroughly late into the night, as I type this post I have just finished a Dota 2 game 10 minutes prior. With that short post, I think this will be the last you will hear from me for a long time, maybe until I can find something to post and when I have the time again. But for now, thanks for reading and until next time,

EndBlade