Hearthstone Deck Tech - ZOOLOCK

     Hey guys, Samuel here.  I'm sorry for my absence, but school really has been quite crazy.  Today, I bring you the first in my Hearthstone series.  In this post, I will be showcasing a deck, known as Zoolock.  Before I begin, however, I must state that I am not a master of Hearthstone.  I only play semi-casually, my highest rank being Rank 8.  To put things into perspective, I am at 225 wins towards my first golden portrait, the Warlock portrait.  Let the Zoo begin!

     Zoolock is a quite inexpensive deck.  Costing only 940 dust to begin with, it is the perfect deck to beginners to begin with.

• 2x Flame Imp
• 2x Voidwalker
• 2x Power Overwhelming
• 2x Darkbomb
• 2x Leper Gnome
• 2x Clockwork Gnome
• 2x Elven Archer
• 2x Abusive Sargent
• 2x Knife Juggler
• 2x Nerubian Egg
• 2x Haunted Creeper
• 2x Dire Wolf Alpha
• 2x Harvest Golem
• 2x Shattered Sun Cleric
• 2x Wolf Rider
• 2x Dark Iron Dwarf

     The general strategy with this deck is to establish early board control.  To do this, mulligan heavily for your Flame Imps, Voidwalkers, and Leper and Clockwork Gnomes.  Don't be afraid to trade when it favors you.  Because this is an aggro style deck, games should be over relatively quickly.  Your ultimate finisher should be a combination of Wolf Riders, Dark Iron Dwarfs, Abusive Sargents, and Dire Wolf Alphas.

     

     After you get some more dust, I would recommend making the following card swaps:

• 2x Elven Archers for 2x Implosions
• 2x Mechanical Gnomes for 2x Defender of Argus
• 2x Wolfrider for 2x Doomguard

     The following cards are simply Tech Cards that may help you out.

• Shadowflame- This can be a very nice AoE board clear against aggro.  However, the mana cost is a little high.  This card can be very nice when used in conjunction with Dark Iron Dwarf, Abusive Sargent or Power Overwhelming + Nerubian Egg.  If at all, I would recommend running 1 of these cards.
• Ironbeak Owl-  This card can be a good tool to help you get through tricky cards like Sludge Belchers, Twilight Drakes, and big Taunt creatures like Ironbark Protectors.  However, this card should not be used that much, as games should be over by the time big creatures hit the board.

Mulligan Guide

General Mulligan:  This being an aggro deck, always mulligan for a fast start.  Keep the following cards in your hand.  

• Flame Imp
• Voidwalker
• Leper Gnome
• Knife Juggler
• Haunted Creeper

Mech Mage:  This matchup is relatively straightforward.  Keep Darkbomb in your hand to deal with their Mechwarper.  Knife Juggler + Implosion works wonders to clean up the board.  I have decimated boards with double Knife Juggler + Implosion

Most Control Decks:  With control decks, the trick is to rush them down fast.  Games should be over by turn 5 when you can Doomguard, before they can drop big threats such as Ironbark Protectors, Giants, Etc.

Oil Rogue:  This matchup is quite possibly the hardest matchup for this deck.  Keep lots of Taunt creatures up as much as you can, and keep Nerubian Eggs and Haunted Creepers on board to deter against AoE with Blade Flurry/Fan of Knives.  Other than that, rush them down!

Personal Additions

I have personally made a couple changes to this deck to suit my play style.  I have swapped out the two Shattered Sun Clerics for a Shadowflame and Lord Jaraxxus.  Shadowflame, as mentioned before serves as a good AoE.  I personally use this to help deal with the Mech Mage matchup.  Also, Lord Jaraxxus helps quite alot with the control matchup to get a quick heal up to 15 and to get a ridiculously OP hero power.

     Well, this concludes this Deck Tech.  I hoped this helped, and I would like to tell you guys that I have an interview with a high ranked

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Top 14 Games of 2014!

14. Gauntlet: 

Gauntlet is a remake of the original for the PC. This game got a lot of negative reviews because there wasn't enough to the game. I personally really enjoyed this version of the game. It's difficult, fast paced, great co-op, and very rewarding in the end. 

13. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is on this list because I have always loved TCG games. I am a huge Warcraft fan, mix that with cards and we have a winner. Tons of cards, free to play, ranked mode, free in game rewards, and excellent strategy is what got me hooked on this game.

12. Smite.

Smite is also on this top 14 list because out of all of the MOBAS (next to Heroes of the Storm, it's still in alpha) Smite is the only one I enjoy playing. You play as gods in a third person view which makes the game a lot more interesting in the long run. Tons of great gods, costumes, game modes, etc.... and this makes for an excellent MOBA. Oh...and it is also free to play. It was recently announced for the Xbox One.

11. Hyrule Warriors.

Hyrule Warriors takes place in the style of the Dynasty Warriors series but set in the Zelda universe. Hyrule Warriors in on my top 14 list because it is loaded with content and fun. The story is abysmal, graphics and frame rate are fantastic, co-op is fun, story mode is fun but what made the game was the Adventure Mode. Tons to do, if you're a Zelda fan or Dynasty Warriors fan this is the game for you.

10. Bravely Default.

Bravely Default is a step back to how Final Fantasy used to be. There is so much to do and explore in this game. Tons of different jobs to choose and master from as well as a decent story. The music is to heaven to your ears and the visuals are beautiful on the 3DS! Fan of classic RPG's? Get this.

9. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Captain Toad is a character from the game Super Mario 3D World. He was given his own game due to his popularity in the game. Captain Toad takes place before the events in Super Mario 3D World and is a fun 3D puzzle platforming game. Highly recommended and very fun to play. Has a Nintendo charm that keeps making you smile.

8. Mario Kart 8.

Mario Kart is also on this list! I have been a huge fan of the Mario Kart series ever since the original one. Mario Kart 8 upped that ante again! Anti-gravity mechanics, beautiful graphics, great soundtrack and competitive online play. Mario Kart 8 also offers very well priced DLC where you can even race as Link!

7. Chariot.

Chariot is a platformer with an interesting mechanic. You need to pull, push and grapple and Chariot along the way collection as much treasure as possible and going through each level. Each time you beat a level you get to unlock additional modes for that same level adding more gameplay. Chariot is one of the most fun co-op games I have played in a long time. Give it a try!

6. Shovel Knight.

Shovel Knight is a game that a lot of people have been excited for. It is a 2D platformer set in the NES era. The gameplay is phenomenal and don't even get me started with the music. Fun, fast, and addictive gameplay. Mixes Mega Man, Castlevania and Mario all into one beautiful game.

5. Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. is another obvious pick for this list. A fan of the series since the beginning and now they have improved it once again in so many ways. Obviously the Wii U version is superior in graphics and smoothness but the 3DS version is still fun as ever. Great addition tot the smash family.

4. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.

Pokemon ORAS is a remake of the original Ruby and Sapphire version of the game on the Gameboy Advance. My personal favorite in the series. This version offers a somewhat new story, new mega evolution's, Hoenn Remade in HD, and tons of new features. Another fantastic entry in the series.

3. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor is another entry in the Lord of the Rings series. You play as Talion who is seeking revenge after seeing his family and himself slaughtered by Sauron's army. Shadow of Mordor has a familiar feeling to it. It is like Assassins Creed but a much better improvement of it. The nemesis system is an amazing system in the game as well as the huge open world you can explore.

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best in the series so far. Takes a lot of great things from the first game and improves it drastically. The game is huge, beautiful and has a great story. Very addicting and easily can consume 100+ hours into this diverse world. Dragon Age is highly recommended even if you are just a fan of RPG's.

1. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

Yes, my number one goes to the flawless World of Warcraft expansion. The big reason is because Blizzard has outdone themselves with this one. This expansion alone brought back 3 million players. The telling of the lore has been greatly improved, the garrisons is one of the best features ever added to this game, the new raid Highmaul is a blast, and it brings back a lot from The Burning Crusade. This is a must buy. This is Cody's Reviews #1 game of 2014.

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Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas

Platform: PC

Genre: Online TCG

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Date Reviewed: July 26, 2014

A different review today. I will be reviewing the popular game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. To be more exact I will be reviewing the very first expansion for this game. This will be reviewed differently since it is a card game based in the Warcraft Universe.

Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas is the very first expansion set for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and it is a single player adventure. This expansion comes with 30 brand new cards including golden cards as well as a single player addition to the game. There is a new tab on the home menu which has been renamed from "Practice" to "Solo Adventures". When you access this option it will give you the choice between practice mode and Naxxramas. Naxxramas introduces us to 5 wings just like in World of Warcraft where you have to take down each boss in each wing. The first wing which is the Arachnid wing is open and

free to all players for the first month. Each other wing will open the following week after each other. You can spend real money to open these wings or spend your hard earned gold. It is 700 gold per wing or $6.99 each. It will cost you 2800 gold to get access to all of the wings, including the Arachnid wing when the free trial runs out.

My personal battle! Also a look at the naxx board.

Curse of Naxxramas offers a very fun and difficult challenge. Like in a typical raid in World of Warcraft you start off by facing each boss in normal mode. Defeating each boss will reward you with new cards to add to your collection. Defeating the final boss of each wing will reward you a legendary of that boss. So when you beat Maexxna you will be rewarded with the legendary card of Maexxna. Normal mode is not overall to difficult. After you beat normal mode you unlock two class challenges. I believe these are random classes. Right after you beat the class challenges you unlock the heroic mode version of the bosses

in Naxxramas. These are much harder with higher health (45 instead of 30) and a much stronger player power. The challenge is definitely there and might make you punch your monitor a few times.

The only issue I have with this expansion is that when you beat the heroic bosses you do not get nothing out of it. Personally I would have loved to gotten golden cards from defeating them. The only reason to beat heroic mode right now is mainly bragging rights, and nothing more. But if you're looking for a good challenge then please try to conquer heroic mode. For any new players out there with just the basic cards there is always a way to beat these bosses even on heroic mode without purchasing

new cards. There are a lot of guided out there you can follow that show you how to build your deck with the basic cards in order to beat these bosses. I am looking forward to conquering the other wings and highly recommend this expansion. It is free, so why not?

Just SOME of the cards that can be earned.

Overall Rating: 9/10

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