Tag Archives: Defeating the Dog Days with Some Gaming 2023

Digital Playground

Minecraft Boy in a Minecraft World

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Introduction

I planned to write about Minecraft this week. Today I wanted to talk about the Java (PC) version. Then, on Wednesday, I wanted to discuss the console (or Bedrock) version. Honestly, I had no coherent plan for Friday and I wrote, “developing an RPG?” in my planner for that day. So, in anticipation of this epic update on the game, I started a new Minecraft world about a week ago.

A view from my front door.

I played through for an hour or so cumulatively. Mined. Crafted. Found some cool stuff like an amethyst cave and a desert village. The amethyst cave is a first for me. Oh, I also mined some copper during my first trip down in this world. And, ended up spawning near a type of forest I never saw before. Even so, I’m honestly at a loss of how to approach this article.

A Minecraft Update August 2023

This is usually how I approach these articles where I want to talk about new and exciting developments in games. However, with those games I usually play them daily and the update involves only a new set of cards. As I replied to all three of my kids, at different times, when they noticed I loaded up the game, “Yeah, I haven’t played it in a long time.” Traditionally, Minecraft is our vacation game. I play with Quinn, and sometimes Aiden. We have a Minecraft world or two with Liam, too, but he played Pokemon more than any other game.

In this game, I missed several updates. I kept an eye on them as they released and I even considered playing once or twice to write one of those traditional update articles. Obviously, I never followed through. One reason is because my gaming PC, the PC I’m writing this article on had a busted charging port and I thought it would take far too much effort to fix. A couple of weeks ago, that proved wrong and I replaced the port. So, I loaded up Minecraft.

The More Things Change…

…supposed to be the more they stay the same. I think people just say that to comfort themselves when things seem to be changing so rapidly. As a parent, you learn some harsh truths about, well, everything. One of those truths we are learning now is that kids are kids. Until they aren’t anymore. And that process seems to happen overnight. I don’t know if it’s because you don’t pay attention to those small changes or you only start paying attention when the rapid changes happen.

I wrote an article about going to the train show with Aiden one year. I worried that it might be the last year I got to go. He was the only one who wanted to come and I mused about how quickly childhood evaporates. It didn’t happen then. But, I think it is happening now. I mean, sure, the kids all came with me to the comic book convention in Fitchburg this weekend. And, they all had an absolute blast. It was a small one, so nobody felt too crowded (I think the reason they don’t want to go to the train show) but it still had the cool artists, cosplayers, and something for everyone.

We also found him!

But, Minecraft

Losing an annual train show is one thing. I can live with that loss. Especially if I can keep convincing them to join me at the smaller comic shows. But, like I said, Minecraft was a staple for us during vacations. We picked up old worlds. Sometimes, when bored, we created a new Minecraft world. But, we always played. This summer vacation is the 4th vacation with no Minecraft with the kids.

I think part of the problem is that I get caught up in other things and I don’t ask them to play. I’m sure if I asked Quinn or Aiden to play Minecraft, they would. At least for a couple of sessions before they got bored. I mean I saw Aiden playing Fortnight again the other night when I went up to visit him in his room. So, I need to take some responsibility here. But, parents, trust me when I say. Your kids are kids until they aren’t anymore. Cherish those moments. Take the pictures. And at the risk of sounding like a middle aged Facebook mom.

The Verdict

Who knew when I randomly picked up the game and created a Minecraft world that it would lead to such deep feelings and me fighting off tears? These episodes come at random times. About a month ago, my wife and I had a conversation because she talked about remembering when they were little. She thinks I have a limited memory, which I sometimes do, but I just said, “You just remember” and then fired off a few dozen memories, both big and little of them being kids. We have a week left of summer. Aiden wanted to disc golf. We are taking them all to the beach on Wednesday (so the console article won’t happen then), and now I need to figure out a way to

Digital Playground

Hearthstone TITANS

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Introduction

Those who thought I wrote about the acutal Hearthstone TITANS in my last article breathe a sigh of relief. I went back and forth on how to approach these articles. I thought because I planned for the release last week that I’d only have time for one article. So, my usual tact of covering the cards class by class would not work.

Initially, I planned just to cover the Hearthstone TITANS in that single article. However, I reworked my schedule and moved some things around. That gave me a whole week to cover the expansion. I still didn’t want to write the usual article covering all of the cards, though. So, I got the idea to write about keywords, then the supporting legendary cards, and finally the TITANS themselves.

Before that, let me explain why these minions have an entirely different card type. They start as minions on the board, unable to attack. Each turn, including the one you play them, you may use one of three abilities. Once an ability is used, you can no longer use that one. After all three abilities have been used, it can attack.

Death Knight: The Primus

The blood and the frost rune powers seem pretty great. Removing a big minion and gaining that health on one of your minions plus healing is a big swing in any game. +3 spell damage on most mass removal spells is very welcome. The unholy one, by comparison, feels weak. But, they can’t all be bangers, as they say. Even so, in some situations, 4 bodies with taunt might be enough to help stabilize. My verdict: Good.

Demon Hunter: Argus, the Emerald Star

I actually played this one a couple of times to finish the event quest. I both needed to play as Demon Hunter and owned this card from the packs that I opened. As I sit here, I realize that I rarely actually used his abilities. The mechanic takes some getting used to. In any event, Show of Force is great in an aggro deck and Crystal Carving gives you options. The third, like above, can help stabilize. Plus, his persistent power is nice and versatile. My verdict: Good.

Druid: Eonar, the Life Binder

When writing about the other accompanying legendary cards, I noticed that this one and the druid keeper can combo quite nicely. The first power is always welcome. The other two combo pretty nicely with Wildheart Guff. Druid is known for mana and ramp shenanigans and this card really ups the ante on that. My verdict: Good.

Hunter: Aggramar, the Avenger

This card equips a weapon and then gives three powers that support that weapon. Card draw is nice, again taunt minions give a chance to stabilize, and the third power gives you the ability to remove small and medium minions without taking damage. Overall, a tad bit underwhelming, in my opinion. My verdict: Decent.

Mage: Norgannon

The abilities by themselves seem underwhelming. But, chaining them together by starting with the secret, then making the enemy cards cost more (to try to lock them out) and finishing with a double Pyroblast to the face is the dream. The only problem is protecting Norgannon for two turns to pull it off. My verdict: Good.

Paladin: Amitus, the Peacekeeper

He does what Paladin does. I like his persistent ability because it extends your minions and allows for more removal. Pairing it with his first ability gives them all one more hit on minions. His second ability combines with consecration, but without a coin or other mana cheat, you can’t do those both on the same turn. The third ability, very situational, feels like the design team got a little too cute. My verdict: Decent.

Priest: Aman’thul

That second ability alone makes this card worth the price of admission. Plus, simpy by getting that off, you discover a legendary minion. The first ability can be scary in the right deck. I’m thinking Velen right away. I’m never a fan of random effects, espeically mana locked ones. Too often, I “randomly” summon a 5 mana 1/1 for me to trust them. My verdict: Great.

Rogue: V-07-TR-0N Prime

At first glance, I want to call this card garbage. And, it very well might be. But, as I look at the abilities more and consider his persistent ability, I think some things can happen with this card and another minion on the board. The only thing I don’t like is the “Deal 4 damage to a ranom enemy.” That means that the ability can always go face. Sure, damage to the face is nice, but isn’t Hearthstone about board control and miinion interaction? Or, have we just forgotten all about that? My verdict: Decent.

Shaman: Golganneth, the Thunderer

Okay, now I’m quite confident that this one is garbage. The mana cheat is nice, but those abilities just don’t wow me like some of the other ones. I wish the Lord of Skies jumped like chain lightning or rolling fireball. Single target huge removal is nice, but just too limiting. Roaring Oceans is nice and Shargahn’s Wrath requires leaning into overload. My verdict: Decent.

Warlock: Sargeras, the Destroyer

This guy just seems like a ton of fun to play. They programmed that portal ability many years ago and they just keep building it into other cards. I can’t blame them for wanting to reuse their code, especially when I sit down and fiddle with the little bit of coding that I’ve done. The abilities themselves are middling, but like I say, I look at this card and smile mainly because of that removal spell. My verdict: Good.

Warrior: Khaz’goroth

I loved the Warrior keeper. I don’t love this one as much, but his utility is still pretty high. Being a limited (to only one minion) but immune Deathwing is kind of a nice little bonus. Plus, with the keeper, the first ability also gives attack. If you just absolutely want to decimate an opponent late game by tearing apart every minion he plays, this is the card for you. My verdict: Great.

The Verdict

Overall, the Hearthstone TITANS themselves underwhelm. I know they can’t make them too powerful, but some of the abilities are just downright bad and could be reworked or tweaked to make them slightly more powerful. Who knows? Maybe they plan on a Hearthstone TITANS 2 expansion sometime in the future and they’ll do just that.

Pictures taken from the mothership and snapped from Hearthstone Wiki.

Digital Playground

Legendary Hearthstone TITANS

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Introduction

I realize the title Legendary Hearthstone TITANS might come off as misleading. I tried the title Hearthstone TITANS Legendaries (but spell check tells me you can’t pluralize Legendary). Legendary Cards works, but makes the title too long. So, while you possibly came to this page looking for my thoughts on the actual TITAN cards, you missed by one article. Check out the very next article.

Instead, this article talks about the new legendary cards released with the set that don’t belong to the “Titan” keyword. Blizzard calls them Keepers and the lore explains that the Titans created them to develop and watch over the new planet. Basically, they became Azeroth’s first mythical heroes.

Death Knight: Helya

Helya comes with a basic stat line for a 4 drop card, but she shuffles 3 plagues into the deck and makes them “unending”. I looked up what that means. The cards get shuffled back into the deck for a chance to draw them again. Not what I thought, but sometimes Blizzard gets weird with their wording. Certainly not as logical as WotC and Magic the Gathering.

The plagues, for information sake, are Blood, Unholy, and Frost. All three deal 3 damage to the player. Blood restores 2 health to your hero. Unholy summons a 2/2 on your board. Frost increases the cost of the next card your opponent plays by 1 (not over 10).

Overall, a fine card for the cost. Especially if you plan to play plagues in your deck. My verdict: Good.

Demon Hunter: Jotun, the Eternal

Less to explain on this one. As they always say, “text on card.” Does anyone actually say that? I feel like there’s a saying for when the card does exactly what it says. Kind of sarcastic way of saying, “Hey, buddy, just read the card.” Maybe that’s the saying. I don’t know. Some sort of memory tickled the back of my brain when I realized that this card needed less explanation. And, still, I spent an entire paragraph explaining that. Hey, we do what we do here.

Anyway, perpetual effects can be fun in Hearthstone. This one works very well in a deck that I played a few times, Spell Demon Hunter. If you draw it on curve, you get a copy of basically ever other card you draw for the rest of the game. Right now, I really like this card. Maybe I’ll craft it and play it to see if it’s as good as I think. My verdict: Great.

Druid: Freya, Keeper of Nature

Okay, we determined that there’s no sarcastic way to say, “text on card.” Unless you read that in a sarcastic tone. In which case, that’s on you. I meant no ill will with my explanation. If you can read, you know what this card does.

“Choose one” is standard druid stuff from the beginning of the game. While this seems like a potentially powerful effect, my experience in game is that this can brick more often that blow out the opponent. Maybe I’m just jaded because luck (I know, I know, but trust me I’m unlucky in these games) goes against me so often. Plus, 8 mana feels so expensive. My verdict: Decent.

Hunter: Hodir, Father of Giants

Okay, no more mention anymore to increase my word count. Let’s just talk abouot this one. I saw a video where they played this one and then two one mana minions with rush. Effective removal and youo end up possibly with 3 8/x on the board next turn. Also, in a beast hunter, you can combo it with some of the smaller minions with charge (but there are fewer of them) for a quick kill later in the game. My verdict: Good.

Mage: Sif

Okay, so some explanation required here. If you cast just from Mage, there are three schools that can improve spell damage. If, however, you pull from other classes, you might potentially get it higher. As with many mage minions, this one feels quite situational. I think that if there’s room, Casino Mage might find a spot for it. My Verdict: Decent

Paladin: Tyr

Okay, now this one is absolutely situational. The only deck that immediatly comes to mind is mech paladin, which sees play every now and then. Plus, mechs offer some very good cheap minions. My verdict: Decent.

Priest: Ra-den

I play a couple of priest decks depending on the quests of the day. One is a terrible quest priest, but I played the reward more than half a dozen times to kill the opponent. The other incorporates C’thun and Yogg into a Renethal deck. I can rework that one to fit this card in and see if it works at all. My verdict: Good.

Rogue: Mimiron, the Mastermind

Looks like they’re trying to make mech rogue a thing. As you will see in my Titans article on Friday, the Rogue titan is also a mech. The random gadgets are one of six cards that all cost one except for the coolant; coolant (next card played this turn costs 2 less), cloak field (give a minion +3 attack and stealth until next turn), switch (two minions swap stats), horn (give a minion taunt and divine shield), rewinder (return a minion to your hand), and blades (deal 3 damage). A decent card with some utility, but I wonder how many rogues will bite on the mech angle. My verdict: Decent.

Shaman: Thorim, Stormlord

Wow. This is the best card of the set so far. I looked ahead and the other two and the only one that feels as strong is the Warrior one. Cheap, versatile, card draw and it unlocks your mana? This one will absolutely see play. My verdict: Great. Best card of the Legendary Hearthstone TITANS.

Warlock: Loken, Jailor of Yogg-Saron

This card is fine in a big Warlock deck. Other than that, I don’t see a place for this card. I’m quite underwhelmed. This might be the worst card in the bunch. My verdict: Meh.

Warrior: Odyn, Prime Designate

Okay, now this card is great. Expensive, but Warrior often plays the long game anyway. Well, my Warrior deck do at least. Initially, I thought this might rival the Shaman card but, now I’m not so sure. The cheaper cost and utility of the Shaman card just give it an edge. I will definitely craft this one because I love playing Control Warrior, but I just think the Shaman card is better. My verdict: Great.

The Verdict

Legendary Hearthstone TITANS bring some fun cards into the mix. Overall, I can see myself playing every one of them at one point or another in a deck to finish out a daily quest. Come back on Friday to see what I think of the actual Titans.

Digital Playground

Hearthstone TITANS Keywords

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Introduction

Hearthstone recently released their new expansion, TITANS. Based on the Uldum storyline and the end of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion (if I remember correctly), it introduces some new game play elements into the game. One of those new elements is the Hearthstone TITANS Keywords.

I decided to structure these articles differently. Instead of rating each card and building a terrible deck around the ones I thought were great, I plan to take three articles to talk about the new elements that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. If this doesn’t work as well for me, maybe I will go back to the other format.

New Keyword: TITANS

The titular card style combines the two card styles of minions and spells. When you play the card, it takes up board space like a minion. However, it can’t actually attack until it performs all three actions that it is capable. An example is shown above. Aggramar equps a weapon and then gives you the choice of three abilities to enhance your weapon. Once you play an ability, you can’t repeat it. When you play all three abilities, Aggramar becomes a 3/7 minion and attacks as normal. I like the idea. The article I write on Friday discusses the Titans and my thoughts about them.

New Keyword: Forge

Forge works similar to trading, a keyword introduced in United in Stormwind. It then became evergreen in Festival of Legends. If you have a card with Forge, you drag it back to your deck for 2 mana and it gains a special ability or mana reduction. The above card shows an example. You can either play this for 8, or Forge it back into your deck for 2 less. This one works endlessly, so you could end up with a 0 mana 8/8 taunt in your deck with enough patience and a long enough game.

Returning Keyword: Magnetic

Magnetic belongs to the Mech tribe. They even worked it into Battlegrounds and further expanded on it by allowing you to magnetize on a full board. When you magnetize a minion, you pull the minion from your hand, place it to the left of the minion and they merge together. Any stats and abilities get combined onto the original minion. It offers some variety and strategery when playing Mechs. You can magnetize or, if more beneficial, play the minion as is. I’m not a huge fan of mechs, but based on my opponents on ladder, much of the Hearthstone population enjoys playing them. Excelsior!

The Verdict

Hearthstone TITANS Keywords brings new and interesting possiblities to the game. I still mostly only play to gain the rewards track and have fun in Battlegrounds. But, they released a new quest chain that has me playing the standard mode of Hearthstone. I don’t see TITANS bringing me back into the game full time, but I’ll have fun while I play through the track. Come back on Wednesday to hear about the cool new Legendary cards we get in the set. Read more about it straight from the source.