Legend of the Innkeeper : A Hearthstone Podcast for Casual Players

 

Welcome to the Legend of the Innkeeper.  We’re glad you could join us for our 104 episode.  

This week we are talking about… the new Hearthstone Adventure: One Night In Karazhan

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

Top card Art for Karazhan (so far)

Vastidious – Pompous Thespian

SquishieDragon – Book Wyrm, Babbling Book

Espo –  

News

Ben Brode confirmed, no pre-order for this adventure

Reno Jackson no longer shows animation if you can’t activate the effect. (https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/4vr9bi/the_animation_of_reno_jackson_no_longer_happens/)

Live stream on Friday the 5th featuring new cards from Karazhan Adventure

Interview with Mike Donais on PC Gamer – http://www.pcgamer.com/mike-donais-on-one-night-in-karazhan-whether-priest-really-has-a-problem-and-if-fiery-war-axe-is-the-best-card-in-hearthstone/

“PC Gamer: In every new set you tend to include some flashy cards like Reno Jackson or Yogg-Saron that have insane effects. Is Barnes that card for One Night in Karazhan, or do you still have something up your sleeves?

Mike Donais: I think Barnes does a little bit of that. He’s pretty cool, and once you start to figure out all the different decks you can put him in, it’s pretty exciting, whether it’s a spell damage deck or just a deathrattle deck. I think The Curator does that too a little bit, and maybe there are some more cards that will get you excited about The Curator that people haven’t seen yet. But my favorite legendary hasn’t been revealed, so I think that will get people excited too.”

Preview of Karazhan cards (Slideshow)

Reviews and Emails

iTunes Reviews: 1

Great Podcast

5 Stars in iTunes by Aquajoybubble from USA on July 27, 2016

I really enjoy listening to this podcast. I highly recommend it.

 

This week we are talking about… Mage cards

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

News

Hearthstone Adventure to be announced on July 28th

Invites have been sent out to an upcoming stream which is assumed to be the announcement of the next adventure. The stream is happening Thursday, July 28th at 11pm PDT.

Several tweets went out with familiar characters in party attire. http://www.hearthhead.com/news=254524/blizzard-posts-party-minions-more-clues-from-china

A new patch has a new flag under an event. ‘Set_rotation_2016_free_packs’. Does this mean that we might see more free packs with the adventure?

Blizzcon Virtual Tickets are now available for purchase. You can also purchase a Blizzcon Goody Bag in a box for $35 which includes a Blizzcon X commemorative stein, WoW faction coaster, HotS ETC guitar pick keychain, Hearthstone microfiber tablet cleaning cloth, Overwatch inflatable Reinhardt hammer, Starcraft II Baby Overlord antenna topper and a D3 gaming dice set.  If you are going in person to Blizzcon, you will get a Goody bag in a box when you arrive at the show. (https://blizzcon.com/en-us/news/20194252)

WotOG: Mage

[Twilight Flamecaller] – 3 mana, 2/2 minion, Battlecry: Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions

Great card in Arena. It’s like Arcane Explosion with a body. FYI his damage doesn’t get boosted by Spell Damage.

[Shatter] – 2 mana spell, Destroy a Frozen minion.

Not many really good options for using this card with the current Freeze cards. However one good combo is Ice Lance and then Shatter. A 3 mana 2 card destroy a minion of your choice option.

[Servant of Yogg-Saron] – 5 mana, 5/4 minion, Battlecry: Cast a random spell that costs (5) or less (targets chosen randomly).

Best played when you don’t have ANY minions on the board and your opponent does. The typical result of this card is “Played this. It fireballed itself.” or “Played on a board with 2 enemy minions, none of mine. It polymorphs itself.” Needless to say this is a random mess. And I love it.

[Forbidden Flame] – 0 mana spell, Spend all your Mana. Deal that much damage to a minion.

Best thing about the card is that it is a spell you can cast for 0 mana, triggering a lot of different things like Yogg-Saron. Occasionally you can use it for actual damage.

[Faceless Summoner] – 6 mana, 5/5 minion, Battlecry: Summon a random 3-cost minion.

All I am going to say. [Brann Bronzebeard] (3 mana minion)

[Demented Frostcaller] – 4 mana, 2/4 minion, After you cast a spell, Freeze a random enemy.

Good to combo with Ice Lance and Shatter.

[Cult Sorcerer] – 2 mana, 3/2 minion, Spell Damage +1. After you cast a spell, give your C’Thun +1/+1 (wherever it is).

Good in a C’Thun deck.

[Cabalist’s Tome] – 5 mana spell, Add 3 random Mage spells to your hand.

Awesome with your Yogg deck.

[Anomlus] – 8 mana minion, Deathrattle: Deal 8 damage to all minions.

Ehh….

Top

Vastidious – [Forbidden Flame]

SquishieDragon – [Shatter]

Espo –  [Forbidden Flame]

Hints and Tips

Save your gold if you haven’t already

Reviews and Emails

iTunes Reviews: 0

Emails: 0

Twitter:

Dwight Kellow‏@Screech79

Omg highest 4 wins b4 tonight! @LotiPodcast  @TACpodcast @WellMetPodcast @AWorthyOpponent

 

This week we are talking about…  WotOG: Druid

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

News

PC version is broken for a lot of people, including me. (http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fus.battle.net%2Fhearthstone%2Fen%2Fforum%2Ftopic%2F20746904543%3Fpage%3D1&h=BAQEkJU5I) UPDATE: it’s working again

Blizzard has hosted a Fireside Gathering at the University of California, Irvine campus and gave away prizes including a mysterious invitation which we can only presume is for the next adventure announcement!

“You are cordially invited to a most majestic, marvelous, magical event, the likes of which have never been seen before,” the golden ticket reads. “It is our most sincere hope that you’ll be able to join us!”

Date for Release/Announcement? Maybe at Gamescom in Germany August 17-21? Blizzard has announced that they will be there.

Two Raids have risen to the top of the list of possible locations. Karazhan and Ulduar

 

* Karazhan

 

BACKGROUND INFO: “Medivh, the Last Guardian, made his home in Deadwind Pass, in the bright tower of Karazhan. Though he was the greatest wizard of his day (and humanity’s intended custodian) Medivh was secretly possessed by the dark spirit of Sargeras, the Destroyer of Worlds. Through Medivh, Sargeras opened the Dark Portal and allowed the orcs to wage war upon the kingdoms of Azeroth.

As the war progressed, Medivh fought against Sargeras’ control. The raging conflict within him finally drove the wizard irrevocably insane, until his childhood friend, Anduin Lothar, aided Medivh’s young apprentice, Khadgar in storming Karazhan and slaying their former comrade. Since that day, a terrible curse has pervaded both the tower and the lands around it – casting a dark pall over Deadwind Pass and the region that is now known as Duskwood.

In recent years, nobles of Darkshire ventured into Deadwind Pass to investigate the blight that had settled over the region. None who entered the dark tower ever emerged.”

Medivh was possessed by Sargeras, leader of the Burning Legion and a fallen Titan. His home was Karazhan, an ancient tower in Deadwind Pass. The card Echo of Medivh gets it’s name from this character, as you run into an apparition of Medivh and encounter Shadowbeasts.

One of the characters we could potentially run into would be Nightbane.

It’s possible that we could see our first Mage, Priest, Druid or Warlock weapon, Atiesh. Medivh is actually holding it in his Hearthstone art. Following his death, it’s broken into many, many pieces. These end up in the hands of Brann Bronzebeard, who somehow loses portions to C’Thun and Kel’Thuzad.

In WoW, the staff can be obtained by the following classes, Mage, Priest, Druid or Warlocks, each having slightly different stats. In WoW the weapon would have different color cloth on the staff to differentiate it. The staff’s effect was that it could open a portal to Medivh’s tower at Karazhan. Maybe something Blizzard could play off of.

In WoW, the mage version would increase the critical strike chance of nearby party members; Warlocks and Priests increased spell power; Druids increased Spirit.

We’re not likely to see a process by which we gather the pieces and reassemble the staff like you can in WoW, because we just did that in League of Explorers.

Don’t forget that there are some awesome events that could be done from the Raid, like The Opera Event where you had the plays, The Wizard of Oz, Big Bad Wolf and Romulo and Julianne.

This week we are talking about… the new priest cards from Whisper’s of the Old Gods

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

News

New Patch Live (1.6 GB!)

Recruit a Friend: Help Finley Find a Friend Click here to see the new Shaman hero –>  [ Morgl the Oracle ]

When 1 recruited friend hits a combined hero level of 20, you get the hero.

Each recruited friend that hits a combined hero level of 20, you get one classic pack (max of 5). (new interface to track it)

New Quest: Play a friend – Play a friend and both earn a reward = 80 gold

All recruits can earn a free Classic pack.

You can complete quests while challenging a friend this week

New icons added to the game so spectators can figure out what game mode you are playing in.

Golden Priest, Rogue and Neutral cards are now easier to tell apart.

Golden Hero Powers now display correctly in the Arena.

Tinyfin Beach card back for the month of July.  (New Card back)

Silithid Swarmer is now a beast.

Khadgar’s portrait now has a drop shadow!

The Collection Manager now more accurately displays new cards.

The experience bar doesn’t fill up after winning a game at max level.

Wild card rarity now displays properly when viewing flavor text.

Golden C’Thun’s buff animation is now gold, gold, GOLD!

Players should no longer appear as UNKNOWN after reconnecting.

And they fixed some audio, graphical and UI issues.

WotOG: Priest

Looking at the most recent Meta Report by TempoStorm (https://tempostorm.com/hearthstone/meta-snapshot/standard/2016-07-03), Priest doesn’t show up until tier 4 with the N’Zoth Priest and the C’Thun Priest decks.

We asked Iksar a few weeks back about Priests and if Blizzard has plans to do anything about them. He did indicate that it’s something they are looking at. However, he’s a big Priest player and has been playing Dragon Priest and other decks. Seems to think that there are decks out there that just haven’t been discovered yet.

[Darkshire Alchemist] – Great card on turn 9 with [Auchenai Soulpriest]

[Embrace the Shadow] – “the only time this card stinks is when it’s pulled from Yogg”

[Forbidden Shaping] – Great in a midrange Priest deck.

[Hooded Acolyte] – Works great with [Circle of Healing] or [Holy Nova] in a C’Thun Priest deck.

[Power Word: Tentacles] – Creepy smile

[Shadow Word: Horror] – “The word “Horror” doesn’t quite cover this card. More like “Fear” or “Inconvenience”.”

[Shifting Shade] – “Deathrattle: Copy a Legendary card from your opponent’s deck and add it to your hand.”

[Twilight Darkmender] –

[Herald Volazj] –

Top WotOG Priest Card Art

Vastidious – Shifting Shade

SquishieDragon – Shadow Word: Horror

Espo –  Shadow Word: Horror

Hints and Tips

Getting the new Shaman hero is easy, just takes time.

Reviews and Emails

iTunes Reviews: 0

Emails: 1

LOTI Podcast,

First off I would like to say, you guys are amazing at what you do.  

I really appreciate all of the shout outs.  Without your show and I honestly mean this I doubt I’d be in the place I am now with my fireside gathering.  The interest has grown and its looking to be bigger than I thought.  

Dusharmo

P.S.

Intro

Updates:

What did you do this week?

What characters are you playing the most right now?

SquishieDragon – Mercy, Junkrat, Pharah & Symettra

Vastidious – Lucio, Symettra, Junkrat, Torbjorn & Reaper

Zerotio – Torbjorn… Um?…. Torbjorn and some Torbjorn

News

Jeff Kaplan posted on the forums today – “We have some improvements coming that should address some of the “Leaver” issues. We should be able to get some in this week and more are coming later on.”

Blizzard is once again suing German company Bossland GMBH, best known for creating the “Watchover Tyrant” cheat tool being used in Overwatch, for copyright infringement and unfair competition. The tool lets you see enemy names, health etc. As well as friendly names health etc. It also has a radar and shows the distance of enemies. It destroys the “integrity of the Blizzard Games, thereby alienating and frustrating legitimate players and diverting revenue from Blizzard,”

Blizzard is asking for monetary compensation for the alleged damage done to the publisher as well as punitive damages to be handed out to Bossland. Blizzard has sued Bossland previously in Germany over a cheating tool developed for Blizzard’s popular MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard lost that case and was ordered to pay both Bossland’s legal fees.

Blizzard isn’t the only publisher seeking legal action against cheat tool makers for copyright infringement and unfair competition, either. Last month, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against a German gamer that the developer said created a game-cheating hack for its MOBA title, Paragon, that was being sold for a monthly subscription fee.

7 Tips for Competitive Play: http://www.icy-veins.com/forums/topic/21558-7-tips-for-competitive-overwatch/

Some times fun mode works out

Bastion and Torbiorn, defending Kings Row. All Symetra. 6 Bastions. Flik’s Gaming Stuff youtube channel has done video’s with all of one Overwatch character and it’s fun to see how much fun they are having. (some language in the videos) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLekB0zmLBUtRlnM4XoWt_vEdpGu4zwzi6

Terioth – Overwatch learning videos

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvMcrN3P2gfYpfwR6xivgA

ProTip: Refrain from using foul language when playing with voice on. There are young children playing and there are many of us who don’t want to hear it.

Why do I have a white icon with gold badge under my name in competitive mode? – This is a bug and that symbol is supposed to represent players that are higher than rank 500. But everyone sees this currently for themselves.

Overwatch Map Stragtegy Guides

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOW3wTM0_w58yQTa4Dj19mTq5Xaozpkbs

Force Gaming – https://www.youtube.com/user/ForceSC2strategy

Outro

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This week we are talking to Dean “Iksar” Ayala…

Updates:

What did you do this week?

News

America Spring HCT – Cydonia wins

Ben Brode commented on a Reddit thread this week about communication by Blizzard. He stressed that he tries to make himself available through quite a lot of avenues. He also replied to a few comments – (https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/4q10ra/why_are_the_overwatch_devs_so_much_more/)

Priests – Evaluating plans but not ready to reveal plans yet; thinks there are decks out there that haven’t been discovered.

Warlock – No demons in WotOG was a flavor decision and possibly a mistake; more demons will be added since it’s a core function of Warlocks

Interview with Yong Woo over at Velen’s Chosen (VelensChosen.com)-

More players playing Standard than Wild

Experimenting with ways to teach new players game concepts that are difficult to understand

Guest: Dean “Iksar” Ayala

Introduction

Whispers of the Old Gods

 

* How far ahead do you plan? Are you mainly focusing on the next expansion/adventure?  Is there a group that are looking well beyond that?

* Now that things have settled down a little bit since Whispers of the Old Gods, how did things turn out so far in your opinion?

* Are there any cards that have been used in ways you didn’t expect them to be used?

* Are there any cards that didn’t quite work out the way you had hoped them to?

* How is the split among people playing Standard vs Wild? Any thoughts on encouraging more people to play the least played of these?

 

Ladder

 

* We’ve seen lots of complains about Priest being horrible recently. Any thoughts or plans to address this? Is there a vision for the Priest?

* Shaman is quite strong. Is there anything that needs to be adjusted?

 

Community

 

* Will there ever be a counter to battlecries? Cancel a battlecry as it is played?

* What are some ideas you have for making the game more balanced for new players with smaller card collections?

* Any plans for a dual-player mode?  Like a 2v2 friendly batte?

Reviews and Emails

iTunes Reviews: 0

Emails: 0

Twitter:  @IksarHS  I keep trying to think of designs for a new Warlock spell called ‘Fel Hug’ after watching the Warcraft movie.

Facebook Shoutout: Dave!  For organizing a LOTI community tournament

Outro

That does it for this episode.  You can email the show at [email protected].  You can also visit our website at legendoftheinnkeeper.com where we will post the show notes with the episode that has links to all the information we discussed.

Our YouTube channel is www.legendoftheinnkeeper.com/YouTube

You can follow us on Twitter

LOTI Podcast – @LOTIpodcast.  

SquishieDragon – @Squishiedragon

Espo – @Xcmtbgamer

You can support the show through Patreon at :  www.patreon.com/Legendoftheinnkeeper

If you want to check out SquishieDragon’s Art Stream, she streams Thursday, starting at 3pm CST: http://www.twitch.tv/squishiedragn

Be sure to subscribe and rate us on iTunes!

Until next show, Happy gaming!

Credits:

Intro:  

Welcome to the Legend of the Innkeeper.  We’re glad you could join us for our 99th episode.  

This week we are talking about…

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

24 hour stream update –

News

Whispers Quests end July 5th – Get it in EU and Asia

The end is coming! The Whispers of the Old Gods launch celebration ends soon, and with it your opportunity to add free Whispers of the Old Gods cards to your collection! If you haven’t already logged into Hearthstone to receive your Whispers of the Old Gods packs, time is running out! Log in on or before July 5th PDT to instantly acquire three free packs of Whispers of the Old Gods.

Two quests are also still available for you to complete through July 5th PDT:

5 Old Gods Packs! – Win two games in Standard mode

5 More Old Gods Packs! – After completing “5 Old Gods Packs!”, win seven more games in Standard mode

In order to complete any of the above quests or to gain the login rewards, you must have already gained the ability to do daily quests. If you’re new to Hearthstone, this means finishing the Quests “First Blood” and “The Duelist”.

Time is running out! These Whispers of the Old Gods promotions end on July 5th PDT! If you know of anyone that hasn’t claimed their free Whispers of the Old Gods card packs, the time to act is now!

The Old Gods Travel Agency was just promoting the current expansion. Nothing hidden in the message.

Mike Donais said no more C’Thun cards coming

Mike Donais said that the team doesn’t plan on ever releasing more cards to support C’Thun. Too much risk at breaking it.

As for N’Zoth, they now have to think very carefully about new deathrattle cards in the future. But they are keeping this in mind and considering the possibility of counter-play cards for deathrattles (similar to Polymorph and Hex).

WotOG: Warlock

Cho’Gall

The biggest drawback of this card is that Warlocks need better spells to take advantage of this card. Maybe the next expansion/adventure will fix that issue.

Darkshire Councilman

A pretty good card to include in your Zoolock deck. It’s a threat that can be difficult to remove and can quickly snowball out of control.

Darkshire Librarian

Interesting when combo’d with Fist of Jaraxxus and Tiny Knight of Evil.

DOOM!

Forbidden Ritual

Works great with Darkshire Councilman

Possessed Villager

Renounce Darkness

Spreading Madness

So dangerous…

Usher of Souls

Top Warlock Card (WotOG)

Vastidious – Doom!

SquishieDragon – Forbidden Ritual (actually, C’Thun gives his full support for this ritual), Doom

Espo –  Cho’gall “Even after all this time, Gul’dan still makes Cho’gall go get donuts and coffee.

Reviews and Emails

iTunes Reviews: 1

BOOM!

in iTunes by TheBoomMan90 from USA on June 11, 2016

Hey guys! TheboomMan here from Cast Royale (Joe)! This podcast offers an amazing crew discussing something they are extremely passionate about – in a way that is consumable for all hearthstone players. The family friendly dynamic and chemistry of the hosts makes this show awesome to listen to. If you’re looking for an informative and fun place to get your hearthstone fix – look no further! I look forward to the show each and every week. Keep up the great work guys… BOOM!

Emails:

Twitter: Shout-out to all those that tweeted about our 24 hours stream

Facebook Shoutout: Joseph

It’s official. I want to thank Hero Power for their guidance, support, and friendship on helping me create my first fireside gathering. I already have a bunch of people interested in going and it’s a month away! To be honest,

Intro:  

Welcome to the Legend of the Innkeeper.  We’re glad you could join us for our 98th episode.  

This week we are talking about…

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

News

24 hour stream THIS WEEKEND 17th and 18th to raise money for Blizzcon!

Guest on Cast Royale this week!

State of Hearthstone – Interview with Mike Donais and Peter Whalen http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/10/blizzard-on-the-state-of-hearthstone?abthid=575a67a741047d9d39000016

Big focus currently is Fireside Gatherings and social aspect of play.

The Arena award system mentioned last week in China, is something that China is experimenting with specifically. HS Game director talked with China about it but it’s a China initiative.

New feature coming to the game, called Game Mode ID. It shows an icon beside your name, similar to the rank emblems we see today. They are specific to each game mode; Arena, Tavern Brawl, Adventures and Casual will each get unique icons. Some have extra functionality.

Arena icon shows your current win count and below the icon you can see how many losses you have.

Tavern Brawl lets you mouseover it to view the rules of the current brawl.

Adventure icon shows a custom icon based on the Adventure you are playing.

Hearthstone Brazil posted a ‘fun picture’ on their Facebook feed about an Old Gods Travel Agency which included pictures of several exotic destinations, like Icecrown Citidel, The Dark Portal and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Could this be a hint to something coming in the future? posted a fun picture (UPDATE: Blizzard has officially stated that this is not a preview to the future content. It was created to promote Whispers of the Old Gods)

WotOG: Rogue

This past weekend we had he EU Spring Championships Final. There were 3 Miracle Rogue decks that were played at the tournament. They are all very similar with just a few differences. The final pitted Thijs’s and Iner’s rogue vs rogue for the championship.

Thijs’ Miracle Rogue

Backstab x 2

Preparation x 2

Cold Blood x 2

Conceal x 2

Deadly Poison x 2

Eviscerate x 2

Sap x 2

Edwin VanCleef x 1

Fan of Knives x 2

Shadow Strike x 1

SI:7 Agent x 2

Tomb Pillager x 2

Bloodmage Thalnos x 1

Earthen Ring Farseer x 1

Violet Teacher x 1

Azure Drake x 2

Leeroy Jenkins x 1

Gadgetzan Auctioneer x 2

 

Casie’s Miracle Rogue

Backstab x 2

Preparation x 2

Cold Blood x 2

Conceal x 2

Deadly Poison x 1

Eviscerate x 2

Sap x 2

Shiv x 1

Edwin VanCleef x 1

Fan of Knives x 2

Shadow Strike x 1

SI:7 Agent x 2

Tomb Pillager x 2

Bloodmage Thalnos x 1

Earthen Ring Farseer x 1

Violet Teacher x 1

Azure Drake x 2

Leeroy Jenkins x 1

Gadgetzan Auctioneer x 2

 

Iner’s Miracle Rogue

Backstab x 2

Preparation x 2

Cold Blood x 2

Conceal x 1

Deadly Poison x 1

Eviscerate x 2

Sap x 2

Shiv x 1

Edwin VanCleef x 1

Fan of Knives x 2

Shadow Strike x 1

SI:7 Agent x 2

Tomb Pillager x 2

Xaril, Poisoned Mind x 1

Bloodmage Thalnos x 1

Earthen Ring Farseer x 1

Violet Teacher x 1

Azure Drake x 2

Leeroy Jenkins x 1

Gadgetzan Auctioneer x 2

New Cards with WotOG ( Slide 135)

Xaril, Poisoned Mind (4 mana – 3/2 minion,

This week we’re talking about the new Hunter cards from the newest expansion, Whispers of the Old Gods, and how they have affected the current Meta.

Intro:  

Welcome to the Legend of the Innkeeper.  We’re glad you could join us for our 97th episode.  

This week we are talking about…

Updates:

What did you do this week?

Quests?  Ranked play?  Fun Guaranteed with friends?

Top Hunter WotOG Card (OTHER THAN CALL OF THE WILD)

Vastidious – [Infest] or [Giant Sand Worm]

SquishieDragon – [Princess Huhuran]

Espo –  [Call of the Wild]

Overwatch came out this week and we had a ton of things to talk about with the game. So instead of doing it during the regular show, we decided to record a special episode just about Overwatch. This is an EXTRA episode but something that could become a regular thing if you like it.

So check out the show, and let us know what you think.

On this episode:

Espo, Rezz, SquishieDragon and Vastidious

Discuss Overwatch

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