If your Dad doesn't have a beard, you've got two Mums. Two beardless Mums.

In which we discuss blue beards.

By blue beards, I do mean Alliance flavoured Dwarves. Because it's not a day unless I blog about WoW cards. Though do check out the video. The Beards are extroidanarily good.

So. Beards DWARVES are the theme for todays deck. The original deck was created back in the Drums/Scourgewar/Worldbreaker days of core constructed, before the switch to a 2-block system. I also can't take credit for the deck, it was the concoction of a friend of mine.

The theme is simple, use Magni, the Mountain Beard for his effect and a Beard Warrior Hero to get access to all the delicious plate armour. Utilising Polished Breastplate Of Valor and various stash cards to keep adding armour and health and Bloodied Arcanite Reaper to keep adding damage to their face.

So, decklist:

Hero:
Stromdak of Ironforge

Master Hero:
[2] Nozdormu the Timeless

Allies:
[4] Magni, The Mountain King
[2] Mekkatorque, King of the Gnomes
[3] Jerrak Krandle
[2] Vandos, Herald of War
[2] Kentro Slade

Abilities:
[2] Enraged Rengeneration
[1] Bladestorm
[2] Augment Steel
[3] Brutal Strike
[2] Shockwave
[2] Twisted Rampage
[3] Whirlwind

Equipment:
[4] Polished Breastplate of Valor
[3] Bloodied Arcanite Reaper
[2] Warmace of Menethil
[1] Wild Hammer
[1] Triton Legplates
[2] The Horseman's Horrific Helm
[2] Bloodbane's Fall
[4] Gravitational Pull
[4] Dread Pirate Ring
[4] Swift Hand of Justice

Quests:
[4] Seeds of Their Demise
[2] Grimtotem Weapon


Like my other decks, this is a bit twisted and not very stable (Little draw power, for example). Mostly due to a lack of rares, partly due to time constraints for writing this list and not playtesting it yet.

Regardless, I'm going to tweak this deck overnight and then debut it at my local Love Is In The Air event tomorrow night. I might even actually write up the event for once.

Game of the Year, 2011

Steam is being a dick, so I thought I’d post something to alleviate boredom. A fun topic, methinks.
So, a few people have asked me what my game of the year was. It’s not been too challenging a question, even considering the number of big hits that have come out this year.

As a PC gamer, there’s been quite the amount of choice for “big” games all year. Portal 2, Shogun 2, Deus Ex, Skyrim, Witcher 2, MW3, BF3, Arkham City, Asassins Creed: Revelations, and many other titles. I’ve spent a myriad of days with most of the big titles this year on both console and PC in many cases as well.


Despite all the major developers releases this year, I’ve got indie games on the brain. Coffee Stain Studio’s Sanctum has been nothing but fun since I started playing it.

Another tower defence title, Orcs Must Die from Robot Entertainment has been delightful, though the lack of multiplayer and larger maps was a little disappointing.

The third indie title I’d like to mention isn’t a tower defence, but it is one of the most favoured indie games this year. Hailing from Supergiant Games, it’s Bastion.


Bastion, though short, was the most enjoyment I’ve had out of a video game this year. As most people will tell you, the presentation was amazing and the gameplay was simple but fun, and even challenging.

I chose Bastion as my game of the year because of it’s nigh-on flawlessness. The addition of a context-sensitive narrator was a brilliant move by the design team. It’s unique and offers something new with each playthrough. Then to top things off, Supergiant Games offer free DLC to show their appreciation to everyone who bought the game.

I’d say more about Bastion, but I don’t feel I can do it justice without doing a full review.


Outside of amazing indie games, I do have another game of the year: Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Square Enix and Eidos collaborated together to make a brilliant prequel to the original Deus Ex game.

The cutscenes (A la Squenix) were a bit tacky, but they were packaged in interesting gameplay and an addictive storyline. It left appropriate room for the DLC installment without leaving any holes in the gameplay or storyline.


More on this subject in another post.