Well met! Kick back and pull up a chair (though maybe not in that order); the Hearthaholics are here!
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a pretty awesome game, and one thing that makes it so awesome is how there’s always room to keep growing and improving, whether you play an hour a day or an hour a week. Join Andres, Billy and Bryan as they learn from each other through a weekly, relaxed discussion about Hearthstone strategy. Every episode sees the hosts each bringing a different strategic topic, and through a combination of odd humor, cunning insight, and dumb luck, they discuss their way to making themselves, (and hopefully you!), better Hearthstone players.
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
57 - An Evil Exchange and Male Pattern Apeness
Sep 08, 2017
Greetings! This week we talk about Male Pattern Apeness/Elfness! We also answer a couple emails from our amazing beautiful wonderful listeners!!! (p.s. if you want to be one of these amazing people just email us ;) )
SHOUTOUT TO SOTO FOR HITTING RANK 5 *YAY* *APPLAUSE* *WOOT!!!!*
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
55 - Shifcon and KoFT Release!!!!
Aug 12, 2017
Greetings! Join the guys this week in welcoming another guest... HeavyMental!!! (aka Eugene) He's a "Hearthstone Youtuber" as well as a certified Innkeeper! We get super excited this week about the new cards and go in depth on what we're trying to build. Also! Surprise gift card give away in the show!!! Email your guesses to Hearthaholics@gmail.com
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
53 - Showdown at Blackrock Mountain and more KOFT!!!
Jul 31, 2017
Greetings! On today's episode we are discussing the new KOFT cards!!! We're super hype about the new expansion and joining us today to be excited... CinderAscendant!!! (of Coin Concede fame.) Join the guys as we discuss our favorite released cards and just fawn over this game that we're addicted to. Enjoy!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
52 - Ahune’s Superior Brawl and Lahars!
Jul 22, 2017
Greetings! On today's episode we have a special guest on... LAHARS!!! He was the winner of our KYS tournament and a fellow Hearthaholic! Join us as we talk about arena and our love for Rogue/Druid!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
51 - Clash of the Minions and Deathrattles
Jul 16, 2017
Greetings! Welcome to another gathering of people who are so addicted to hearthstone, they put their lives in danger to play it! Today we talk some more about KOFT (the official name of the new expansion, named by us) and this week's brawl! Enjoy!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
50 - Ragnaros’ Fire Festival and The Frozen Throne!
Jul 09, 2017
Greetings! And welcome back to Hearthaholics! We took a few weeks off for an exciting announcement on Ben's part, but we're back! Come hang out with us as we discuss feeding baby Ragnaros and the newest Hearthstone Expansion coming out in August!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
49 - Radomonium... again... and Drawing!
Jun 02, 2017
This week we discuss strategy about a brawl that is all random cards... with all random mana costs... But we do a great job! Enjoy listening as we talk about the best classes and strategies for this brawl :)
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
48 - Tournament Recap and A Peek to the Past
Jun 01, 2017
First off... Congrats to Lahars for being the first winner of a Hearthaholics Tournament!!! We had a great time this weekend and we take this episode to recap and discuss the tournament and plan for more to come!
Oh... and there was a brawl that happened... We missed the window to talk about it... We'll be back on Friday!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
47 - An Evil Exchange and Tournaments!
May 20, 2017
Greetings! Everyone is in this week talking about the Rafaam vs Kel'Thuzad tavern brawl. Poor Caburnicus is podcasting from a laptop in his car while it's 97 outside. But! All in all, the whole crew is super excited about next week's KYS Tournament! Make sure to tell your friends!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
46 - Brawl Cavalcade and Spikeridged Steed!
May 16, 2017
Greetings! This week in Hearthaholics we have a guest host... Tim! Tim is a normal co-host on one of Ben's other shows Bridging the Barrier and a good friend of Leon's. We talk about the 100th Tavern Brawl and discuss some of our favorites. Then we dive into discussions about different cards and new segments we'll be doing every week. Thanks for listening!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
45 - Wild Tavern Brawl and the KYS Tournament!
May 10, 2017
Get your deck building hats out, we've got a tournament coming out! Hearthaholics is going to be hosting the first every KSY (kill yourself) tournament! First person to 0 health is the winner. Join our discord below for more announcements and to be able to find people to practice against!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
44 - Yogg-Saron Tryouts and Death Decks
Apr 28, 2017
Join Dustin and Ben this week (Leon is out sick this week :*( ) as we talk about the Brawl, Bolster, and Death Decks. Start working on decks that kill yourself for our upcoming tournament! Also, Dustin and I are building Bolster Warrior decks. Join our discord and play against us!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
43 - Ancient Recipe and Meme Priest
Apr 24, 2017
This week Ben and Leon talk about the Tavern Brawl and what they're building with Un'goro cards. Come check it out! Oh! And Dustin wasn't able to make it, but as Hearthaholics, we had to keep going.
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
42 - Un'goro!!! Oh and Valeera's bag... But Un'goro!!!
Apr 14, 2017
Un'goro is finally here! Join your hosts in our discussion of how much we love this new expansion! We talk about what decks we've been playing and what we've been building with all these new cards. Enjoy!!!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
41 - Mammoth of a New Year and Wailing Souls!
Apr 01, 2017
Un'goro is coming soon! All the cards have been released now and we're so excited to keep discussing them, and we're even more excited to start building decks with them!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
40 - Quests and Stormwind!
Mar 25, 2017
Wow! This episode ended up being a bit longer than out other ones, but that's because we're so excited about these Un'goro cards! Join us as we discuss all the quests and some of the more distinct cards coming out soon!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
39 - Encounter at the Crossroads and It's Dangerous to Go Alone!
Mar 18, 2017
After a hard week of technical issues, we find our heroes triumphantly returning to record! This week we talk about the new twist on the Encounter at the Crossroads Tavern Brawl and then discuss our views on Heroic Tavern Brawl. Then we talk about our deck building Challenge! Penn and Teller!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
This week on Hearthaholics, the hosts tackle a myriad of topics! Well, namely 3: The Year of the Mammoth announcements, the Blood Magic Tavern Brawl, and beast decks. Enjoy!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
In this episode we talk about The Battle of Tol Barad! After a few minutes of that we talk about our favorite way to kill your opponent without hitting them directly... Milling! We talk about mill Druid and Rogue and get you set up to fatigue your opponent to death. Enjoy!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Add us on Hearthstone! Benbezzler#1472 Caburnicus#1106 EU: Glutschwert#2895
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
35 - Hearthaholics Glorious Return!
Feb 04, 2017
Hearthaholics returns!
This is the first episode of the newly remodeled Hearthaholics! We're going to be a wild, tavern brawl, deck building podcast! On this episode we just take a few minutes to introduce ourselves and try and give you an idea of what the show will be like moving forward. In the future expect more laughs and craziness to ensue. All that being said, enjoy this new episode!
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
We're Back!!! Sort of...
Nov 27, 2016
This is a call for co-hosts! Email or tweet Ben at benbezzler@gmail.com or @Benbezzler if you're interested in co-hosting Hearthaholics!
Hearthstone Beginner's Guide
Feb 03, 2016
Enjoying Hearthstone but want to reach that next unattainable rank? Eager to learn how you can move beyond just praying to Cenarius and throwing cards down and into the exciting world of analysis, prediction, and informed decision making? If so, that's amazingly convenient, as that's exactly what we'd love to teach you!
The Hearthstone Beginner's Guide is something we put together back in late 2015; through the process of three episodes we guide you through the core concepts of Hearthstone mechanics, the various deck archetypes and their roles, and finally the role of unknown information and range, and how you can use these combined with statistics to predict the unpredictable. Andres and Bryan (though mostly Andres) share easy-to-understand but valuable advice on how to start looking at Hearthstone in a new way, using a solid understanding of the fundamentals to create a basis of confidence and sound strategy to fuel all your future play. It's conversational, easily digestible, and each episode includes a companion article that summarizes the various topics. Whether you have a friend who's just starting out or would like to brush up on the basics yourself, we hope you enjoy and share this introduction to the world of competitive Hearthstone that we love so much!
2015 was a pretty awesome year for Hearthstone! It saw the release of Blackrock Mountain, The Grand Tournament, League of Explorers, and most importantly, this podcast! Unfortunately, not everything has the longevity of Secret Paladin, and after some deep introspection and consideration, Andres and Bryan have decided Hearthaholics won't be carrying forward into 2016. At least not for now. However, that won't stop them from doing one last final retrospective over the last year of Hearthstone, so let's go out with a high note!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
7 - The Meta Mashup Part 2 (December 2015)
Dec 12, 2015
At long last the Leagues have been successfully Explored, and the last of the new cards have been unearthed. Given all the tumult and chaos that has been Hearthstone's meta lately, Andres and Bryan have decided to extend this month's meta mashup into a two-parter. The introduction of Elise Starseeker and the renewed march of the murlocs are both of particular interest this week is we delve deep on a couple trends and decks that have been defining Hearthstone's exciting new future!
Refreshed and ready to go after a holiday break, Andres and Bryan are back to mediate a metered meta meeting. The Meta Mashup is their attempt to provide a field report of what they've been seeing out there on the ladder, and clue you listeners in on some of the choice new decks seeing play. League of Explorers has ushered in a new era of exploration and experimentation, and we at Hearthaholics couldn't be more excited! (It's a turn of phrase; don't be so literal!)
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
Thanksgiving PSA
Nov 24, 2015
It's time for the Thanksgiving PSA! Wherein Bryan explains our Thanksgiving break and addresses an issue that's been cropping up regarding audio sync issues and interruptions. We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and will talk to you again next week!
Set Review - League of Explorers (Class Cards)
Nov 21, 2015
Okay! So turns out Reno Jackson was pretty good! Undeterred, however, Bryan and Andres have returned to wax analytical about the remaining class cards (aka, the interesting cards) from League of Explorers.
This review comes in two parts: Neutral cards, and class cards. Each card will be assigned a letter grade by Andres and Bryan independently, and their quest to finally have a good argument or at least mild disagreement continues throughout. One thing we do stress is that no opinions are objective or have the whole picture, so while we're giving our thoughts on the likelihood each of these cards will eventually see play, the fun will be trying them out and seeing what happens. So make sure to take what you learn from this review and start playing some Hearthstone!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
Set Review - League of Explorers (Neutral Cards)
Nov 17, 2015
What would a new Hearthstone expansion be without a cornucopia of guesses and predictions from every corner of this fine internet of ours? Andres and Bryan aren't ones to miss out on the fun (well, Bryan actually does; frequently. But that's another story!), and they've brought their A-game to the first full Hearthaholics set review. (They also brought their F-game for cards like Fossilized Devilsaur, in case you were wondering.)
The review will be in two parts: Neutral cards, and class cards. Each card will be assigned a letter grade by Andres and Bryan independently, and their quest to finally have a good argument or at least mild disagreement continues throughout. One thing we do stress is that no opinions are objective or have the whole picture, so while we're giving our thoughts on the likelihood each of these cards will eventually see play, the fun will be trying them out and seeing what happens. So make sure to take what you learn from this review and start playing some Hearthstone!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
5 - Card Evaluation
Nov 13, 2015
With League of Explorer's beginning its epic quest for treasure and glory, we decided now would be an excellent time to run over some of the basics of card evaluation. After all, half the fun of new cards is trying to figure out whether they're actually worth playing! Andres and Bryan share some of the primary ways to analyze a new card, including the vanilla test, card potential, and a neat trick known as quadrant theory. In addition to being a useful guide for the basics of card evaluation, this also serves as a baseline for how Hearthaholics will be reviewing cards going forward; so if you like what you hear, be sure to check out our two-part League of Explorers set review that shall soon be rolling out with all the force of an over-sized boulder!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
4 - Tournaments and the Conquest Format
Nov 06, 2015
Bryan has always been a bit confused about the Hearthstone tournament scene. This mostly comes from the fact that he hasn't watched many tournaments, and thus is pretty clueless about the upcoming Blizzcon World Championship. Andres, in the goodness of his heart, has decided to sit Bryan down and run through a class of Hearthstone Tournament Fundamentals 101. What are formats? What's the Conquest format? What are some good strategies for the Conquest format? Who are these up and coming youngsters playing in the upcoming championship? If you've been looking for an introduction to get you excited and relatively informed about the big games to come, you've come to the right place!
Unfortunately, due to scheduling shenanigans, this episode is coming out a little later than we would have liked, since the championship has already begun. There's still plenty of relevant information in the episode, however, and at least as of this post we haven't been proven utterly wrong yet! Go us!
Hearthaholics is a member of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
3 - Beginner's Guide Part 3: Predicting the Unpredictable
Oct 31, 2015
This is it! The climax! The finale! The omega! The terminus! The coup de grace! The swan song! The denouement! The last part of our 3-part Beginner's Guide! This week we focus on the last great fundamental of Hearthstone strategy: predicting the unpredictable. There's a lot of unknown information in Hearthstone, from what your opponent has in his hand to where a Mad Bomber is going to lob his creations of chaos, but there are ways to analyze and control this information so that it works for rather than against you. Throughout this episode we'll explain the concept of ranges, and how this can be learned and applied to everyday play of Hearthstone to make you a better and more informed player. Probably. (Statistics joke!) This will hopefully serve both as a useful introductory lesson for new players as well as a fun refresher for old pros, but be sure to let us know what you think through any of the many options below! Also, be sure to check out the Episode Outline, which is an article based on our show notes that you can either read in tandem with the episode or even on its own. I know I always like to have written resources I can go through at my own pace, so we hope you'll find it helpful as well!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
2 - Beginner's Guide Part 2: Deck Archetypes
Oct 24, 2015
After Part 1 of our guide you should have a pretty good understanding of the fundamentals of Hearthstone. (It would do wonders for our self-esteem if this is indeed the case!) The next question is: how can these be fundamentals be applied to actually winning the game? That's where deck archetypes come into play. Players have created a plethora of decks that utilize and take advantage of those fundamentals in different ways, be it tempo, card advantage, or value. Archetypes are a way to generalize this wide variety of decks into a few broad categories that quickly convey what core concepts the deck is focusing on and how it will use these to achieve victory. Like all generalizations, these are far from perfect, and there are a lot of blurred lines, but they do create a great starting point for understanding what makes decks tick, and how to play both as and against them in the many games to come. This will hopefully serve both as a useful introductory lesson for new players as well as a fun refresher for old pros, but be sure to let us know what you think through any of the many options below! Also, be sure to check out the Episode Outline, which is an article based on our show notes that you can either read in tandem with the episode or even on its own. I know I always like to have written resources I can go through at my own pace, so we hope you'll find it helpful as well!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
1 - Beginner's Guide Part 1: Core Concepts
Oct 16, 2015
The Hearthaholics have returned! Andres and Bryan are back and ready to teach some fools (aka, intelligent and open-minded listeners!) some Hearthstone! Join us for the inaugural episode of our new format: an in-depth strategy workshop tackling a different aspect of Hearthstone each week. This week is going to be Part 1 of our introductory Beginner's Guide, where we'll be covering the core concepts of Hearthstone. As good a place to start as any, eh? This will hopefully serve both as a useful introductory lesson for new players as well as a fun refresher for old pros, but be sure to let us know what you think through any of the many options below! Also, be sure to check out the Episode Outline, which is an article based on our show notes that you can either read in tandem with the episode or even on its own. I know I always like to have written resources I can go through at my own pace, so hopefully you'll find it helpful as well!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
PSA - The Future of Hearthaholics
Oct 09, 2015
Things are changing for Hearthaholics going forward, and Bryan's here to spend a little time explaining what exactly is going on. In short, Billy will be taking an extended break from Hearthaholics due to scheduling conflicts, a new show format and focus will be starting next week, and Bryan is really bad at writing talking points, as you will hear.
Billy's out this week, but guesting in his absence is friend of the show and fellow podcaster Rob May! As a recent graduate of Legend University (home to the famed LU Leper Gnomes; go team!), Rob has come to Hearthaholics flush with ladder-centric wisdom. So much wisdom, in fact, that the crew manages to go an hour and a half without even realizing it! Conversation and information abounds, however, so anyone with an interest in taking their ranked play to the next level should hopefully enjoy the hearty discussion as much as we did.
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
(Legacy) 25 - Gone Fishing
Sep 26, 2015
Scheduling got rough this week, but in a heroic effort to put something up, Andres and Bryan banded together to deliver a mini-episode that's actually pretty good! It's mostly just a relaxing chat about their respective histories of strategy gaming, so if that sounds interesting to you, by all means give it a listen! In any case, Hearthaholics will be back in full form next week.
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
(Legacy) 24 - Greetings, Noxious
Sep 19, 2015
It's been awhile since our last guest, and much our surprise and delight, someone agreed to come onto the show! And that someone happens to be Noxious: prolific Hearthstone enthusiast, caster of ATLC, and champion of really weird decks. Things are kept loose today, as Andres, Billy, and Bryan pick Noxious' brain about card design theory, deckbuilding, and how game-breaking Charge in general really is.
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
(Legacy) 23 - Why No Reach, Bro?
Sep 11, 2015
Things get deep this week as we ruminate upon the philosophical mysteries of Hearthstone. What are the ramifications of Power Creep? Will the constant and frequent addition of new content eventually create a bloat that will collapse in upon itself? Is net decking a crucial component to strategy, or an anathema to creativity and the true skills of deckbuilding? And, most importantly... why no reach, bro?
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
(Legacy) 22 - The Happy Duck
Sep 05, 2015
There's much to celebrate this week! Fellow Hearthstone podcast The Angry Chicken is celebrating its 100th episode, Andres is back, and Bryan no longer hates Hearthstone! The Hearthaholics take advantage of this reunion to regroup and settle what dust they can regarding The Grand Tournament and what they've taken away from it thus far. Is Secret Paladin here to stay? What's the verdict on Tavern Brawl? Is Lock and Load *actually* a good card? These questions and more are given non-committal yet long-form answers on this week's episode of Hearthaholics!
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
(Legacy) 21 - Information Overload
Aug 28, 2015
With Andres out on assignment (aka, battling against a demonic invasion for the good of the realm), Billy and Bryan take it slow, recovering after the craziness that has been The Grand Tournament's release. Some might call it meandering, others charmingly chill, but in any case it's certainly a break from the frantic and fast-paced card reviews of recent times. Pleasantly surprising cards are discussed, as are the best ways to deal with the cavalcade of new information bombarding the meta. (Hint: Ignoring it works well!)
Hearthaholics is a production of the Whales are Whales network. Find more awesome shows like this at www.whalesarewhales.com!
(Legacy) 20 - Taunts & Totems
Aug 21, 2015
This is it: the final episode before the long-awaited release of The Grand Tournament! With an amount of card reveals roughly equivalent to the population of New Zealand, Billy, Bryan, and Andres have instead each brought their top 5 new cards to discuss away. This broadens into a larger conversation about what new deck archetypes we can expect to see as the meta takes a turn for the crazy, and just about the only thing we can all agree upon is that people will probably be playing... decks. With cards in them. High level analysis here, folks!
With The Grand Tournament nearly upon us, Andres, Billy and Bryan prepare by discussing the last batch of cards before the full and final reveal. Things are more relaxed this week as fewer cards allow for broader and slower discussion, including a Lowly Squire Report from Billy, and a convincing argument for a warlock card that many seem to dread. So join us in this final calm before the storm that is WAY MORE CARDS.
With 34 new cards to cover, the Hearthaholics throw caution to the wind and dive in, taking as long as they need to argue over each and every one. Just how much arguing there will be is a point of contention, however, and you can join Andres, Billy, and Bryan as they place their bets on just how non-unanimous this bout of opinionating is liable to be. Mysterious new class legendaries, another slew of befuddling weapons, and more await you in this latest episode of Hearthaholics!
So many exciting new cards this week! Unfortunately, it was so exciting that Billy forgot there was an episode, but Bryan and Andres do their best to find *something* do disagree about. They very nearly succeed, too! A bevy of new Grand Tournament cards are analyzed one by one as the pair of Hearthaholics speculate about inspire's role, the potential new pace of the game, and whether Turtle Warrior will become a thing. Follow this up with some great listener topics, and you've got yourself a quality good time, if lacking in Australian accents!
Turns out we were all right! Cards were indeed revealed! Billy, Andres, and Bryan are here to break down the latest Hearthstone news: the announcement of the Grand Tournament! Though running through 20 new cards without getting wildly sidetracked is a daunting task, the Hearthaholics crew manages to (mostly) do so unscathed, tossing out wild predictions like confetti. So join us in celebration, as we convene over the bright future of Hearthstone fun to come!
Oh my gosh! We have a guest this week! We're finally a real podcast! :D John Horstmann from Well Met joins the Hearthaholics crew to have a rousing round of Hearthstone talk. The gamut is thoroughly run this week; we kick things off by running through the 7 reasons why we (sometimes) suck at Hearthstone before moving into new card mechanics, preferred deck playstyles, and an insightful listener topic. John was an awesome guest, so be sure to check out fellow Hearthstone podcast Well Met when you're done! That way you can hear him without Billy and Bryan interrupting to argue about Miracle Warrior.
We didn't mean to spend the whole episode discussing Blizzard's announcement of an announcement! I promise! But once you get the Hearthaholics crew rolling, they rank with the best in getting utterly sidetracked by their own excitement. Luckily this sidetracking lead to a lot of interesting discussion, centering around the future of Hearthstone, and everyone's hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future. (Spoiler: Billy still wants 2v2 mode.) Close things out with a new card from Billy and a wrap-up of the recent Liquid Hearth meta report, and you have yourself one fine episode of Hearthaholics!
With the season ending, the Hearthaholics get reflective as they think back on what they learned from this last eventful month of Hearthstone play. Billy's learned how to better cope with and understand loss, Andres has learned to be more mindful of his opponent's play, and Bryan has learned he's still not legend. Some things never change, I suppose! Midrange paladin is also discussed, along with another intriguing card from Billy's imagination. Top all that off with a couple intense conversations about gold cards and Hearthstone's MMR system and you've got yourself a podcast jam-packed with conversational goodness!
So you know that thing where everyone gets frustrated facing hunter? Well, Bryan always took the high road and assured everyone that hunter was fine, it was a good aggressive balance to the meta, and there were always ways to tech and work around it. Turns out he was wrong. Hunter is the worst. And how he needs the help of Billy and Andres to figure out how the heck to stop losing horribly to it over and over again. Somehow the crew also has time to tackle the question of how to approach getting a foothold in the beginnings of ladder and Billy brings another custom card for discussion! Lots of in-depth, hopefully helpful strategic talk this week. So what are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this? Listen to the episode, dude!
TAVERN BRAWL! TAVERN BRAWL! WHAT'S THE FIRST TAVERN BRAWL GONNA BE GU-- oh, wait, they already announced it? Shoot. This is becoming a pattern. Luckily, the Hearthaholics hedged their bets this week and kept their predictive tangents to a minimum! Andres, Billy and Bryan cover their qualified excitement over the new heroes, Bryan's uncharacteristic climb to Rank 5 (and how to keep that climb going), the future of card games as a medium, and, of course, Tavern Brawls!
BUTTON! THE BUTTON! GUYS, WHAT IS THE NEW BUTTON GOING TO B-- wait, what? They announced that already. Oh. Well, let's pretend they didn't so you can hear us theorize without also knowing we're all totally wrong! :D The Hearthaholics are here to celebrate 10 episodes of being the world's (roughly) #1 Hearthstone podcast. Surprises are in store for Billy and Andres as Bryan unveils a new segment, after which the usual format is put on hold to discuss the crazy amounts of news coming out from Hearthstone HQ. Top this all off with a couple great listener topics and you have yourself one lovely (if outdated) episode of Hearthaholics!
Whoa! It's June! How did that happen? It's almost like the constant, inexorable force of time has pushed us through another 30 days since last time we had a changing of the months. Crazy. But you know what that means. That's right! Time to talk about how the ladder system needs improving! But really, we also have plenty of positive thoughts as well, including what our plans are this coming season and how we're definitely totally going to get to legend (though probably not). We follow that up by discussing our respective favorite classes, take a look at another new card design from Billy, and top things off with our very first listener topic! Fun, enthusiasm, and interesting insight abound in this episode of Hearthaholics; so stop reading this and start listening already!
Andres has returned enlightened from his coaching session with Justsaiyan and ready to impart his new-found wisdom upon the unwashed masses! (aka, Billy and Bryan) As we emerge from the strategic dark ages we manage to discuss the value of coaching, share our respective trading card game origin stories, and take a look at Billy's most recent custom card in a segment we really cannot think of a name for. (Seriously, if you have any ideas let us know. Email address is right down there!)
(Legacy) 7 - Nothing We Can't Handlock
May 20, 2015
HANDLOCK! In case you can't tell from the episode name, or the episode artwork, or the fact that I just yelled "Handlock", this episode largely discusses Bryan's crucial question: "How the heck do I play Handlock?" Meanwhile, Andres dives deep discussing the idea of teching cards and adapting your deck while Billy ponders about what a 2v2 mode could mean for Hearthstone. We celebrate our first iTunes review, discuss the exciting potential of a moddable Hearthstone, and much more on this giant-filled episode of Hearthaholics!
With Blackrock Mountain behind them, the Hearthaholics regrouped to decide what their future might hold. Though Billy lobbied hard for an all Runescape all the time format, Runeaholics just didn't have the same ring to it. Instead the trio decided on focusing their discussions around everyday Hearthstone strategies, and how through discussion with one another they could improve as players, and get even more out of their mutually beloved game. Join Andres, Billy and Bryan as they test this new format, each bringing one strategic topic to work on and discuss, and hopefully you can learn something along with them! What are their greatest Hearthstone weaknesses? How can you get a lot out of a little time to play each day? Can Bryan get through an episode without making any puns? Listen in and find out!
Blackrock Mountain has revealed its final secrets, and as Nefarian (Nefarius? Nefarianus?) lies broken and defeated, cursing the millions of heroes who vanquished him, the Hearthaholics are left to talk about just how awesome the Grim Patron turned out. Billy is mysteriously absent this week, which means everything is way too cordial as Bryan and Andres agree about pretty much everything. Andres explains the Patron Warrior, Bryan pontificates about the new Zoolock, and the Hidden Laboratory's many cards are discussed in detail as the book is closed on this flame-drenched chapter of Hearthstone history.
Heroic mode is hard! So proclaims Andres, who for the first time in our show's short history actually goes to Bryan for advice! Our wing postmortems continue with the most recent addition to Blackrock Mountain, Blackwing Lair. Bosses are dissected, cards are discussed, and Bryan manages to pull off his best segue yet! (It's not a pun. We promise.)
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
The trek through Blackrock Mountain continues, which means... more card reviews! Bryan, Billy and Andres share their varied experiences over the past week, including a discussion of the latest heroics and a curious look at Billy's quite successful OTK warrior. Notable moments include an extended discussion about the role and purpose of aggro decks in strategy games and Bryan's insistence that Dragadin is one of the best deck names ever. (Though not as good as Zooid).
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
Despair not! The Hearthaholics are back! The Molten Core has been unleashed upon us, and Billy, Andres, and Bryan are here to... talk about Runescape? So apparently "Hearthaholics" isn't the most accurate title for these guys, but they did manage to play some Hearthstone this past week, and do their best to feign some measure of expertise. Andres explains how he managed to fill a board with Thaddiuses (or is it Thaddiusi?), Billy unleashes his righteous fury upon Imp Gang Boss' card art, and Bryan is declared the Firelord of Puns. It's an episode you definitely don't want to miss! So declares the Firelord of Puns, and you really don't want to make him angry. He has a hot temper.
We had fun making this episode and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
What was that sound? It was the sound of the universe imploding with awesomeness because the first episode of Hearthaholics has arrived! (We can worry about the universe and all that later; right now we need to focus.) Join Billy, Andres, and Bryan in their celebration of the greatness that is Hearthstone as they chat about the arrival of Blackrock Depths, patiently explain to Bryan why he's wrong about Quick Shot, and hold an impromptu wake for the unfortunate Starving Buzzard.
We had fun kicking this show off and hope you enjoy it! If not feel free to yell at us through any of the following mediums:
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