Hearthpwn

Angry Chicken 2.0 - Fun WD Build For Quick Bounties, Blizzcon 2014 Tickets Sold Out, Crimson's Tyrael Cosplay
Skin Spotlight: Prince Arthas
 Warlords of Draenor Skies, Blizzcon Tickets on Saturday, Blue Tweets, Wildstar Beta

Tavern Takeover Decklists

Yesterday's Tavern Takeover by PVPLive was a hit with 30,000 viewers tuned in during the tournament where eight of the top Hearthstone players battled it out for their share of a $3,000 prize pool. We've got all the decklists from the tournament available, and you can see them below. This tournament was pre-recorded so the Unleash the Hounds nerf from Thursday was not live. Special mention goes out to KitKatz who had his Warrior deck played by three participants and it was the only Warrior deck that showed up. For tournament results, see the spoiler after the decklists.

Player	Decks
ek0p	Shaman	Hunter	Not Played
Kungen	Malacle	Sunshine Hunter	Ramp UP!
Puffin	Rogue	A Kitkatz Original	Hunter
Realz	Don't Talk Just Watch	This Again...	Do You Believe?
Reynad	Tryhard	Gold'an	Swaggro
Savjz	Hunter	This Is Fine	I'll Play This
ThatsAdmirable	Rogue	Hunter	KitKatz Warrior
Trump	Kitkatz Breaks	Gaara Dream	The Zoo

Tavern Takeover Results

#	Prize	Team	Player
1	$1,500		Realz
2	$1,000		Savjz
3	$500		Trump
4	$0		ThatsAdmirable
5	$0		Kungen
5	$0		Reynad
5	$0		ek0p
5	$0		Puffin

Top 5 Plays of the Week

GiantKiller of 2pPressStart published a new episode of Hearthstone, Top 5 Plays of the Week. This week's plays come from Rowstar, Sith, Nightstalker, Napea, and Ricey. Congratulations guys on some great plays!

Josh Mosqueira Teasing About Seasons and Tiered Rifts, [Datamined] Unlisted Legendary Items, "Barbaricare" Barb
Daily Quest Time Adjustment, Town Hall #12
Frostfire Ridge Preview, Connected Realms Update, Blue Tweets, Wowcraft Episode 4

Funny and Lucky Moments 42

Trolden is back with another episode of Funny and Lucky Moments! Episode 41 features clips from Bruno Metz, Dacyon IV, Diogo Teque, Krank, and RCS339.

Tavern Takeover this Saturday

PVP Live is holding an invitational tournament, Tavern Takeover, this Saturday at 4PM EDT over on the PVPLive Twitch Channel. Invitees will be competing for their share of the $3,000 USD prize pool! The following players have will be participating in the event.

We will have decklists from the event available afterwards for those who are interested so make sure you stay tuned!

MG Tournament Decklists

The latest decklists from ManaGrind's Limited Swiss tournaments are now available. The limited tournaments require participants to use decks which do not contain Legendary or Epic minions.

NA Limited
Ketchupmania	Etchedchamp	Plzbuffsham	GNP_Cold
n.V Geistwraith	[DKMR] Born	Nuba	Geo

EU Limited
DocX	ModCounter	SpudD	Ireven
[2ndW]DerZerfetzer	Wattsy	Sc4rface	Hit_Girl

NESL $500 Cup this Sunday

National ESL will be hosting their $500 Cup for the NA Hearthstone region this Sunday, May 11th starting at 6 PM EST. The NESL $500 Cup is a weekly NA event using a Best of 3 Single Elimination format up until the semi-finals, which it then changes into a best of 5. Players are expected to come prepared with multiple decks for the tournament as losing a game in a round means you have to retire your deck for that round. For more information on the event, check out the post on nationalesl.com.

 Deck Spotlight: UnLock Warlock

Update 1:57 PM EDT - Official Patch notes added at bottom.
Update 3:00 PM EDT - Patch 5314 is now live in the US. Unleash the Hounds can be disenchanted at its normal crafting value. (Source)

Curse of Naxxramas - Warrior Weapon Card Revealed - Death's Bite

A new card from the Curse of Naxxramas Adventure has appeared on the PlayHearthstone Twitter account and it's a Warrior Weapon! You can find more information about Curse of Naxxramas here.

Quote from @PlayHearthstone

Sink your teeth into the Warrior weapon Death's Bite when it becomes available in Curse of Naxxramas this summer! pic.twitter.com/JOyZkC3iTj

Naxxramas Card Recap

With the addition of today's Warrior card, Death's Bite, we're now up to a total of 8 known cards from Naxxramas, 3 of which are class cards. Check out the previously announced cards below!

 Official Patch notes - 1.0.0.5314

Quote from Blizzard

General

• Improved friends list sorting based on player status.
• Breaking News will now properly be shown when Hearthstone is undergoing maintenance.
• Reconnect functionality has been enabled for Practice Mode.
• Games in Friendly Play now have a turn timer.
• [iPad] Deck Rename and Deck Delete is now easier to find.

 Card Changes

• Unleash the Hounds (Hunter) now costs 3 (up from 2).
  • After much consideration, we have decided to increase the mana cost of Unleash the Hounds to 3. Unleash the Hounds has been dominating all levels of play for quite some time. This change should make the card more fun to play against while still allowing for some big plays when combined with other Hunter cards.

Bug Fixes

• Winning a game as Lord Jaraxxus will now properly grant credit towards unlocking the Warlock golden hero. You win...BUT YOUR WORLD IS STILL DOOMED!
• Returning an opponent’s minion to their hand will no longer occasionally leave behind a facedown card on the game board.
• Resolved issues that prevented the Fireside Friends card back from being properly unlocked under certain conditions.
• [iPad] Resolved an issue that was causing a client crash when choosing between two options of certain Druid cards.
• [iPad] Resolved an issue where new chat notification bubbles would appear behind the keyboard when in the chat window interface.
• [iPad] Adjusted the location of where enlarged versions of cards appear so that they are easier to see when selected.
• [iPad] Resolved an issue where the client may sometimes use the incorrect default language.
• Other bug fixes and UI improvements.

 

Deck Spotlight: UnLock Warlock

In today's deck spotlight we're taking a look at a deck from Team Soulbound's Modded, the UnLock Warlock deck. UnLock is an Aggro Warlock deck which is designed to have a very strong board presence in the early game, ramp up some strong damage dealing minions in the mid game, and then finish the opponent off with a damage spike, even if they've wiped your board. The deck has an affordable crafting cost clocking in at 2820 dust, the majority of which coming from Leeroy Jenkins. You can knock the affordability of this deck down more if you opt to go with an Argent Commander over Mr. Jenkins.

Modded has written an excellent guide to the deck and will without a doubt teach you something new if you're new to Aggro Warlock. Check out the deck itself below, and the full guide here.

Hearthstone Patch 5314.

A wild patch has appeared! It will be available for download soon. Changes are below.

Card Changes

As previously mentioned, Unleash the Hounds is being nerfed.

Quote from Blizzard

• Unleash the Hounds (Hunter) now costs 3 (up from 2) 

String Changes - AFK Time, Mobile Account Creation

A create account button has been added after the tutorial has been completed for iPad, there are some new Secret related strings, and an AFK timer has been implemented for Battle.net Friends lists.

Quote from HearthPwn

Tutorial

• TUTORIAL_MOBILE_CREATE_ACCOUNT - Create Account

Global

• GLOBAL_DATETIME_AFK_SECONDS - Away for less than a minute 
• GLOBAL_DATETIME_AFK_MINUTES - Away for {0} |4(minute,minutes) 
• GLOBAL_DATETIME_AFK_HOURS - Away for {0} |4(hour,hours) 
• GLOBAL_DATETIME_AFK_DAYS - Away for {0} |4(day,days) 
• GLOBAL_DATETIME_AFK_WEEKS - Away for {0} |4(week,weeks) 
• GLOBAL_DATETIME_AFK_MONTH - Away for more than a month

Gameplay

• GAMEPLAY_SECRET_NAME_PALADIN - Paladin Secret 
• GAMEPLAY_SECRET_NAME_MAGE - Mage Secret 
• GAMEPLAY_SECRET_NAME_HUNTER - Hunter Secret

 Uther Lightbringer, the Paladin

Unleash the Hounds Nerf Incoming

Quote from Zeriyah

The following balance change will be made in an upcoming patch:

• Unleash the Hounds (Hunter) now costs 3 (up from 2)

Over the last few months, we have seen hundreds of different decks do well in game depending on many different factors. Our community is incredibly creative, and we’ve seen players constantly trying out new things and coming up with new strategies to counter whatever decks they have trouble with.

At the very highest levels of play there are a lot of different decks performing well, and the decks at the top change from week to week. Since we’ve seen many cards and deck types in the current state of the game rise and fall as players adapt, so we did not want to change Unleash the Hounds immediately. However, Hunter decks have become increasingly more dominant and are doing better than we are comfortable across many levels of play.

We do like the idea of decks that have a really big turn and pull off a sweet combo, but when playing against Hunter decks, you may feel punished too much for playing minions. Playing minions is one of the key, fun pieces of the overall Hearthstone puzzle, and feeling like your options are limited by the opponent creates a play experience that may not be particularly enjoyable.

We take any balance changes very seriously, and we will continue to hold true to our stance that we plan on only making changes to cards if we feel it is completely necessary. After much consideration we have decided to increase the mana cost of Unleash the Hounds to 3. This change should make the card more fun to play against while still allowing for some big plays.

 SoO Changes in Patch 6.0 and WoD, Blue Tweets, Raid Finder Transmog Gear, Interview
 Fire Monk For Express Rifts, Tal'Rasha and Vyr Sets In Action, The Lost Vikings and Rock N' Roll Racing Available For Download
 Skin Spotlight: Pure Country E.T.C., Potential Cursed Hollow Balance Changes

Penny Arcade: Hearthboned

Today's Penny Arcade comic once again featured Hearthstone. It's a fairly accurate representation of Priests, Hunters, and Mages.

BlizzCon Ticket Buying Tips

Ticket purchases for BlizzCon are going to be slightly different this year from last. If you want to attend this year, read up on the changes and tips below.

Quote from Blizzard

Reminder: The first batch of BlizzCon 2014 tickets goes on sale Wednesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. PDT. When the time comes, hit the link below for your chance to snag some. Get BlizzCon 2014 Tickets Here Tickets usually go fast, so if you want to attend this year’s show, it pays to be prepared. Ticket sales are being handled through Eventbrite this year, so a few things are different from 2013. It’s worth reading our BlizzCon Ticket Info page to learn more, and we’ve assembled a few key bits of information here to help you get ready:

The Important Stuff

• During the checkout process, ticket purchasers will need to provide the full names and valid email addresses for each attendee (up to 4). You won’t be able to leave these blank, but you’ll have until June 6 to make changes, so don’t worry too much if you’re not sure who’s coming yet.

• If you’re not yet sure who your guests will be, it’s best to enter your own name and email address for all of your tickets during the checkout process.

• A couple of months before the show, the ticket purchaser will receive up to 4 emails (one for each ticket purchased), each containing a unique bar code and the name of one of your attendees. Attendees must print out and present this bar-code email along with matching photo ID at BlizzCon to receive their badge granting admission to the show.

Remember that all of these badge emails will be sent directly to the ticket purchaser, and it will be up to the purchaser to distribute them to their guests.

• When ticket sales begin, make sure to select the correct quantity of tickets you want before you click Order Now. You will not have a chance to change the quantity after you’ve entered the checkout process, and if you try to go back, you’ll risk losing your place.

Other Handy Info

• After clicking Order Now, you may find yourself in a “waiting room” before you enter the checkout process. Ticket buyers will be sent from the waiting room to checkout in the order they arrived, and there’s no need to refresh your browser. Keep in mind that being in the waiting room doesn’t necessarily mean you’re guaranteed tickets.

• Once you’ve entered the checkout process, you’ll have 8 minutes to complete your order—a countdown will be displayed on-screen so you know how much time you have remaining. After 8 minutes, the tickets will be released for others to buy, drawing from those in the waiting room first.

• Keep your browser window open until your ticket purchase is confirmed!

• Keep in mind that tickets are only being sold online through Eventbrite. Customer support won't be able to place orders for you.

Check out the BlizzCon Ticket Info page for more details. Remember, tickets go on sale May 7 at 7 p.m. PT and May 10 at 10 a.m. at the link below. Good luck! Get BlizzCon 2014 Tickets Here

This Week in Tournaments

Plenty of great tournaments this week to get your competition on!

Quote from Keganbe

Here are this week's Hearthstone community tournaments! If you are ready to get into some competitive play, check out the links below. While a few of these events have prize money for the top performers, others are just for fun. If you have been climbing the ranks in our Ranked Play Seasons and are ready to take the next step, one of the tournaments below could be for you!

• National ESL Pre-Season Cup #26
• ManaGrind’s Friday Night Swiss NA #21
• ManaGrind’s Friday Night Swiss EU #21
• ZOTAC NA Cup #15
• ZOTAC EU Cup #15
• ESL Hearthstone Cup #28
• ESL Hearthstone Hero Cup #20 - Warlock
• GosuCup #10

Hearthstone Feedback Survey Details

Blizzard started sending out emails last night with a request to fill out a feedback survey on the game. It is much like the one that we saw back in November, asking about new features we, as players, would like to see, but with a couple of additions. New options are bolded to see what Team 5 has been thinking of.

Desired Features

• Friends list tie-in with social media
• More in-depth display of achievements and statistics
• Additional, in-depth tutorials
• Chat channels beyond the emotes
• Weekly new card releases (NEW)
• In-game tournament support (NEW)
• Paid tournaments
• Ability to post in-game achievements and replays to social networks (NEW)
• Ability to replay the tutorial
• The ability to re-order cards in your hand
• Recorded replay of your last match
• More AI difficulties in Practice Mode (NEW)
• A "play again" option after a battle has concluded
• "Observer" mode, allowing you to view live battles

Future Paid Content

• New card back artwork
• New card sets
• Additional in-game emotes
• New themed battle boards
• Additional deck slots
• Adventure Mode (PvE challenges) (NEW)
• New art for each hero class

Top 5 Plays of the Week

GiantKiller of 2pPressStart published a new episode of Hearthstone, Top 5 Plays of the Week. This week's top plays come from Saboteur, Amaz, Mokoh, Forsen, and Realz/Frodan. Congratulations guys on making the cut with some sweet plays!

 New Hearthstone Products in the Blizzard Gear Store

Funny and Lucky Moments 41

Trolden is back with another episode of Funny and Lucky Moments! Episode 41 features clips from TeebsGaming, Renanmiguelote, Day[9], Silhan, and Amaz.

Common Misconceptions Clarified

Rolkyr took to the forums today to clear up some confusion for bugs which don't really exist. The following is a list of things which are working correctly but are popular topics for bug reports.

Quote from Rolkyr

Blade Fury is doing extra damage!
Blade Fury is a Rogue ability that destroys the player's weapon and deals the weapons damage to all enemies. Even though the weapon has a set amount, Blade Fury is still a spell and can be affected by Spell Power.

All my decks and/or cards vanished!
Majority of the time this issue is seen it is due to the players region being changed. Double check that the region you are currently in is the one you regularly play in.

My opponent stole my minion.
When I bounced it to the owners hand, it went to their hand! If you control a minion, you own that minion. Ownership is based off which side of the battlefield a minion is on. When returning a minion to its owners hand, it will return to the hand of the player who controls that minion on their side of the battlefield at the time the effect is played.

My Noble Sacrifice didn't trigger when my opponent attacked!
Did you have 7 minions on the battlefield? Playing cards that create minions act the exact same way as trying to play a minion. If you don't have room, the card will not trigger.

Minions healed when I killed/silenced Stormwind Champion (or other buffs)!
At the time you Silence a minion who is effected by a stat modifier, if their health is higher than their printed value (the value the minion displays with no stat modifiers), it will return the minion to its original health that is displayed on the card. If at the time Silence is cast, the minions current health is less than the printed value on the card, the minion will remain on the battlefield with that much damage.
Ben Brode gives an explanation here: http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/forum/topic/9793229858?page=2#21

Gorehowl was destroyed after one use!
The mistake here is usually in understanding the card. If a player attacks a hero, the durability is reduced. If a player attacks a minion, the attack is reduced.

Ice Block did not prevent my opponents secret from killing me!
If you are attacking and in a position to trigger your opponent's secret, it is most likely your turn. As secret's cannot trigger on the owning player's turn, there is no chance for Ice Block to become active.

My opponent was able to attack my Faerie Dragon with their hero power!
Even though you are not able to target the Faerie dragon with spells, you are able to attack the Faerie Dragon. So Rogues and Druids are able to use their hero powers to deal damage to the minion.

As always, there can be exceptions. Please always feel free to report anything that seems "off" Thanks!

End of Season 1 Top 16 Rankings

The first season of ranked ladder play has been completed and the rankings have been made available. Congratulations to everyone who made it to the top 16 as they have all qualified for the BlizzCon Hearthstone Qualifier! If you didn't make it to the top last month, don't worry, you've still got a few months to still qualify. Full season 1 final standings can be found here: North America / Europe.

We have included the top 17 as Hyped only earned one spot in the qualifiers. Players have have qualified are bolded. Multiple accounts doesn't give you multiple entries!

NESL $500 Cup this Sunday

National ESL will be hosting their $500 Cup for the NA Hearthstone region this Sunday, May 4th starting at 6 PM EST. The NESL $500 Cup is a weekly NA event using a Best of 3 Single Elimination format up until the semi-finals, which it then changes into a best of 5. Players are expected to come prepared with multiple decks for the tournament as losing a game in a round means you have to retire your deck for that round. For more information on the event, check out the post on nationalesl.com.

Season 2 is Live - Brave the Black Temple

Season 2 of Hearthstone Ranked Ladder is now live and if you got to rank 20 last season, you should now have a Pandaria Card Back in your collection. As we've previously mentioned, Season 2's reward will be the Black Temple Card Back as seen below. The Legend Card Back is still available for all players who hit legend, so go go go!

Black Temple - Season 2

If you're looking for some inspiration, or maybe just a change, head on over to the Hot Decks section to find yourself a new deck for the Ladder.

Quote from Zeriyah

The second official Hearthstone Ranked Play Season is now live! Best of all, we’re unveiling a new card back you can add to your collection!

Battle your favorite Heroes of Warcraft on the Ranked Play ladder to earn the ominous Black Temple-themed card back. You will only be able to earn this card during the month of May.

These card backs replace the art decorating the reverse side of your cards and are a great way to show off your Hearthstone accomplishments. Add the Black Temple card back to your collection by hitting Rank 20 in Ranked Play mode. The Black Temple card back will be awarded to you at the end of May’s Ranked Play Season.

Don’t forget—the further you move up the Ranked Play ladder, the more bonus stars you’ll receive next season. In Ranked Play, you’ll receive bonus stars based on your performance from the previous season —one bonus star per rank you attained.

If Rank 20 isn’t enough of a challenge, aim higher and become a Hearthstone Legend! You can also get the “Legend” card back by achieving the Legend rank in Ranked Play. The Legend card back will be awarded to you as soon as you hit Legend rank in Ranked Play.

Remember, the top 16 Legend players from April to August will be invited to participate in the Hearthstone World Championships live at BlizzCon! For more information on the Hearthstone World Championships, please check out ourblog post here.

Craft a deck, take a seat in the tavern, and prove that you’ve braved the Black Temple in our second official Ranked Play Season, running through the month of May!

 Deck Spotlight: Shimmering Light, Legend Card Back Bug Fixed, Alchemixt Joins Team Curse
 Season 1 Ends Tonight! Get to Rank 20 for the Card Back

Curse of Naxxramas - Paladin Class Card Revealed

A new card from the Curse of Naxxramas Adventure has appeared on the PlayHearthstone Twitter account and it's a Paladin spell! You can find more information about Curse of Naxxramas here.

Quote from @PlayHearthstone

"Justice demands retribution!" This new Paladin Secret, Avenge, becomes available in Curse of Naxxramas this summer!

Deck Spotlight: Shimmering Light, the Rank Climbing Priest

In tonight's deck spotlight we're taking a look at a Priest deck from Lux of the Soulbound Deckbuilding Team.

Shimmering Light is a control oriented deck which is cool for not being meta and not only does it have a mid-range crafting cost, but it makes use of some of the staple legendaries (Ysera, Ragnaros the Firelord, Cairne Bloodhoof) so if you can work towards them, many more decks out there are instantly accessible!.

Lux has written a fantastic writeup on the deck and is available for reading here. Check out the deck below, and a brief introduction to the strategy behind the deck.

Quote from

The aim with this deck is to set up board control early in order to shut your opponent out and get the game to the late game, Where your cards will naturally excel we do this by putting taunts on Ancient Watchers and keeping them alive. We can also use our Board Wipe spells such as Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing or Holy Nova in order to keep the board clear.

As you progress to the late game you want to make sure that your opponent keeps any big threats off the field such as Ragnaros etc, You can do this Via Mindcontrol, Shadow Word: Death or Faceless Manipulator and RNG it.

You will want to out last your opponent so all those Hunters using Tracking will cry when they run out of cards.

Legend Card Back Reward Bug Fixed

Some players which have recently hit legend were not earning their card backs. The problem has since been solved and all you need to do is log back into Hearthstone and you should have your card back.

Quote from Zeriyah

This issue should now be resolved. If you have been affected by this issue, please relog into Hearthstone - your card back should be waiting for you. Congratulations on becoming a Legend!

Alchemixt Joins Team Curse

Team Curse's Hearthstone Team has picked up yet another player, this time, North American phenom, Dan “Alchemixt” Walton, formerly of Team Don't Kick My Robot. Check out the official announcement over on Team Curse, and also check out an interview with Alchemixt over on Liquid Hearth.

Dreamhack Bucharest Top 4 Decklists

Decklists are out from Dreamhack Bucharest and we've got the decks from the top 4 finishers to share with you tonight. Click the spoiler button below to expand the decklists!

Gaara	Ramp Up Druid	DH Hunter	Nr 1 W1 deck
Danielctin14	Gradina Zoologica	Ana are nectarine	Am plecat la vanatoare
Amaz	Animal Cruelty	Unoriginal	Mystic Square
Rdu	Dreamhack 1	Dreamhack 2	Dreamhack 3

Developer Interview: Android / Consoles / Spec Mode

Eurogamer posted an article on their recent phone interview with Hearthstone's Production Director, Jayson Chayes, in which the subject of Hearthstone on consoles was brought up. Hearthstone has recently hit the iPad and the team is looking to release the Android version as soon as they can, but what about Hearthstone on systems like WiiU, Xbone, and PS4?

According to Jayson, "It's not something we're actually looking into right now. We feel like we have our hands full in the short term with getting into Android as soon as we can, which is kind of one of the big priorities we're looking at right now." It's definitely something the team will look into later on though if there is enough interest. I for one would love to play some Hearthstone on the WiiU.

In addition to the Android and Console mentions, Jayson also stated that the team was in the middle of designing spectator mode and that there would be more information shared in the coming weeks. Woot!

Quote from Jayson Chayes

But that said, we do think we have a bunch of unique ideas on how we can integrate a spectator mode into the game. It is actually something we're right now literally in the middle of designing and we're looking at having some more information to share on that in the coming weeks as well.

If you'd like to read the article in full, hit up Eurogamer!

This Week in Tournaments

Get your Hearthstone #ESPORTS on!

Quote from Keganbe

Here are this week's Hearthstone community tournaments! If you are ready to get into some competitive play, check out the links below. While a few of these events have prize money for the top performers, others are just for fun. If you have been climbing the ranks in our Ranked Play Seasons and are ready to take the next step, one of the tournaments below could be for you!

• National ESL Pre-Season Cup #24
• ManaGrind’s Friday Night Swiss NA #20
• ManaGrind’s Friday Night Swiss EU #20
• ZOTAC NA Cup #14
• ZOTAC EU Cup #14
• ESL Hearthstone Cup #27
• ESL Hearthstone Hero Cup #19 - Shaman

Season 1 Ending Wednesday!

It's that time again! The last day of play for Hearthstone Season 1 is on Wednesday, April 30, and if you can get hit Rank 20, you'll get the Pandaria card back as a reward for participating. The Pandaria card back will be rewarded on May 1st to all eligible players so make sure you get those final games in.

Remember that for each rank you get now, you will get 1 star granted to you at the start of next season. You may want to grind an extra few games to start off at a higher spot and can get next seasons card, Black Temple, with less effort. Let us hope that Season 2 brings us a new meta and some more epic tournaments.

Pandaria - Season 1
Black Temple - Season 2

If you're having trouble hitting Rank 20, keep in mind that it doesn't matter how many games you lose, everyone can eventually hit Rank 20 with bruteforce! Maybe a new deck is in the cards. Check out a list of low crafting cost, aggro decks over on our deck listing. There's some pretty good decks there! Good Luck!

Popular Decks For April 21-27

Also known as Week of the Mage, although Hunters and Druids definitely are not going anywhere for the time being. Below are the top 8 decks on HearthPwn for this past week.

Top Decks For April 21 - 27
Icy Winds	Easy Legend Druid	Warrior Control (Anti Aggro)	[DreamHack] Gaara's Ramp Up Druid
D3Management's Legend Hunter	Saturos New Meta Aggro Mage	ItsOtter's Legend Icy Winds Variation	[DreamHack] StrifeCro's Watcher-Token Combo

Top 5 Plays of the Week

GiantKiller of 2pPressStart published a new episode of Hearthstone, Top 5 Plays of the Week. This week's top plays come from Hafu, Levi, Sharpie, Amaz, and Reynad. Congratulations guys on making the cut with some sweet plays!

Fireside Gatherings Unlock This Weekend!

This weekend will unlock the long awaited Fireside Friends cardback through the "People Near Me" feature in Hearthstone. There are several Fireside Gatherings taking place this weekend where you can pickup the card back for yourself, or if you're not the "put on pants" type, you can get it in the comfort of your own home provided you have three Hearthstone capable machines and a local network.

The "People Near Me" feature in Hearthstone works by looking for other connections to Hearthstone which are on your local subnet. Odds are, if you're connected to the same Router / Modem as other people in your house, you should be able to discover each other in game. When players are discovered on your subnet, and have the Enable Challenge Nearby Players option enabled, they will show up on your friends list under your normal list of friends. You can duel each other normally like normal friends and you can also add each other to friends. To get the card back you need:

• Three or more Hearthstone players logged in on the same subnet at the same time. (If you're alone, create three battle.net accounts!)
• To play three matches against players on the same subnet. No wins or losses required.

If you don't have friends to invite over to have a physical Hearthstone party, or you don't have three devices capable of playing Hearthstone, you may be able to run three clients at once on your own computer if its powerful enough. This requires a program capable of launching virtual machines, like VMWare Workstation, so that you can run multiple copies of Hearthstone on virtual copies of Windows! This isn't very noob friendly though and you're probably better off tossing on a pair of pants and finding local Hearthstone players to hang out with at a coffee shop. VMWare has a setup guide for setting up new virtual machines that you should take a look at if you're interested.

Get Better at Hearthstone in 10 Minutes or Less

Giantkiller of 2PPressStart has started a new video series teaching you how to get better at games, quickly. The first episode of the series focuses on Hearthstone and how newer players can improve your game with some simple tips.

Jotto's MLG Tournament Review

Jotto has reviewed last weekend's North American and European MLG Open tournaments. If you're competing in this weekend's events, make sure you check out what was going on last week to stay prepared. Decklists from the NA Open last weekend are available here, and if you're looking for some more choices which are hot right now, head on over to our top of the week deck listing. Good luck!

NESL $500 Cup this Sunday

National ESL will be hosting their $500 Cup for the NA Hearthstone region this Sunday, April 27th starting at 6 PM EST. The NESL $500 Cup is a weekly NA event using a Best of 3 Single Elimination format up until the semi-finals, which it then changes into a best of 5. Players are expected to come prepared with multiple decks for the tournament as losing a game in a round means you have to retire your deck for that round. For more information on the event, check out the post on nationalesl.com.