The Magic of Hearthstone (pun intended)

What's new in the world of your G.G.J. (ginger games-junkie)?

It will come as an insect-sized surprise to the more observant among you that I've been jamming a beta release by pretty-much the best publishing/development package in the world of Warcraft (pun inte/slap...OK! I'll stop) and other great works of fantasia - the almighty Blizzard.

I've recently referred to the affectionately named Blizz as Midas. The reason is obvious: they simply never miss. Everything they touch.../tremendous applause and whistling. From the ancient-but-amazing The Lost Vikings and Blackthorne to what I like to call the "-Craft collection" (Warcraft, Starcraft & the crack-like World of Warcraft) every single release seems to be mind-blowingly great.

 So...what's so cool about Hearthstone? Hmmm...let's see. The artwork and tone for one. The soundtrack features the tavern (where you log in and out, mostly) music from WoW. When you end your turn, an orc peon from the Warcraft games says: "Job's done!". It's just extremely slick and features all the production values you've come to expect from Blizzard.

Oh, and the gameplay isn't too shabby, either. I've noticed that there are many similarities to Magic: The Gathering. I used to be a little bit "pro" (as in: quite good) at the game of Magic. A similarity that instantly comes to mind is "summoning sickness". Minions, as they're called in this (not the slightly more generic "creature"), can only attack the turn AFTER coming into play. Power/Toughness (or "Attack/Health" as they're called here) are listed in pretty much exactly the same manner.

 One difference Magic-players will IMMEDIATELY notice, is that there is NO CHANCE of getting either mana- nor color-screwed. How? You'll have to test-drive it to find out.

So how would I sell this to a Magic fan? I wouldn't. Why not!? So far, there's nothing new as far as the strategy goes. Some differences, but they're quite slight. But it's an amazing treat for someone like me, who absolutely LOVED World of Warcraft, to face foes like Hogger. To play a hunter. Or mage, with Arcane Explosion and so on. Anyone who has played the game, remembers things like these extremely fondly. 

 I will still dive deep into the strategy, as I most certainly did with Magic, but for now, it's essentially Magic with a WoW skin. That might sound kinda "Meh." It's not. It's an amazing treat. There are certainly FAR WORSE options you could draw inspiration from, and Midas (sorry, BLIZZARD) pretty much always succeeds in these efforts. Request a beta key! Hearthstone on Battle.Net    |    Beta Sign-up

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