Hearthstone "Banana Brawl" Review

 

          Welcome to Quigley Reviews and the second week of Hearthstone’s (Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.) new Tavern Brawl game mode.  Hearthstone is an immensely popular multi-player collectible card game available on Windows PC, OSX, iPad, iPhone and Android platforms.  Tavern Brawl, and Hearthstone itself, are free to play.  Tavern Brawl is always free, but does not provide any further rewards after the one card pack for a challenge’s first victory.

          I am a huge fan of Hearthstone, so I was naturally excited for a new way to play.  Last week players were introduced to the new game mode through the Showdown at Blackrock Mountain challenge.  Here, players competed in a one-on-one match with one of two pre-constructed decks.  These decks were ridiculously powerful, with many Legendary cards with incredible status effects.  Unfortunately, most of the cards were not collectible and were exclusive to this challenge. 

(A Warlock deck is a great start to Banana Brawl)

          This was a fun diversion from the normal course of gameplay, though many players found that the decks were unfairly balanced in favor of a hero called Nefarian.  I found this to be true as well, although after learning how to play the two decks to their strengths, the mode became much more enjoyable.  Nefarian was a control deck meant to throw hordes of minions on the board and create a long-lasting match.  The other deck’s hero, Ragnaros, was meant to be played as an “aggro”, dealing as much damage to the opposing hero as possible in a shorter match.  I will admit that Nefarian’s hero power, Wild Magic, is certainly overpowered, giving you a random spell that costs (0) mana to cast.  If that’s not bad enough, Nefarian begins the match with (5) mana, as opposed to the normal (1).  Balance issues aside, I did have a good time with this new mode, as it was a chance to play with much, much more powerful cards than I can in everyday play.

On to the next one…

        This week’s Tavern Brawl is called Banana Brawl.  Here, we are to create a deck with a hero of our choice.  These are the game’s nine classic heroes.

·        Warrior

·        Shaman

·        Rogue

·        Paladin

·        Hunter

·        Druid

·        Warlock

·        Mage

·        Priest

One of the first huge differences players will notice this week is that you can create a deck with all of the cards from your own collection.  For my first match, I used a Warlock deck.  The appeal of Banana Brawl (couldn’t help it) is that you get a “banana” card after the death of one of your minions.  This is a random card that gives small stat boosts, not unlike the “spare parts” associated with many mech-type cards.  Thanks to /u/thejdcole on Reddit, the different effects of their respective cards are as follows-

·        Rotten – Deal 1 damage

·        Normal - +1 Attack/+1 Health

·        Deviate – Swap a minion’s attack and health

·        Big Banana - +2 Attack/+2 Health

I won my first match, and the banana cards seemed to have had little effect on the outcome of this particular game.  However, I can see this mechanic being well suited to decks which require frequent loss of minions, namely Warlock.  Warlock decks work with a heavy theme of sacrifice, so this seems like a great match. 

After the first 3 matches I went 3-0, with all of my opponents conceding for unknown reasons.  I never felt like I dominated them or put them in impossible situations. 

          Next, to assist in the demise of my minions, I added a second Sacrificial Pact (0 mana) and one Power Overwhelming (1 mana).  In the next match I was put in my place by a deadly combination of Mana Wyrm (1), Loatheb (5) and Emperor Thaurissan (6).  Mana Wyrm gains 1 attack every time its owner casts a spell, so every banana used counts as a spell cast.  Loatheb makes her opponent’s spells cost 5 more mana the turn after she is played, and Emperor Thaurissan makes all of his owner’s cards cost 1 less mana at the end of each one of his turns. 

          I’ll admit that the more I played Banana Brawl, the more I realized how much strategic depth it could provide to players.  One thing you will learn quickly while playing this new challenge is to keep your hand small.  Since every death of your minions grants you one banana card, your hand can fill up quickly.  If you attempt to draw a card when you have a full hand (10 cards), the card will be destroyed!

         Say you have five cards in your hand and five minions on the board with 4 or less health.  Your opponent could throw out Flamestrike (7 mana), clear out your minions and give you 5 banana cards.  Your hand is now full, and the card you draw on your next turn will be vanquished.     

          So in short, Banana Brawl is certainly worth a try, as it is absolutely free to play and you get a card for your first win of the week.  I’m excited to see the creative decks and strategies that people come up with in the next four days of the challenge.  The balance issues of Showdown at Blackrock Mountain are no more, and we have another reason to love Hearthstone.

Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass Review

            

           Welcome to Quigley Reviews.  Today I’ll be discussing a supplement called Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass.  This is a “weight gainer” supplement that is used to add calories to your diet.  The target customer for this product is someone who is looking to gain weight, and due to a limited appetite, has trouble doing so.  The bottle of Serious Mass that I am referencing for this review is a 6 pound container with the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor.  It contains 1270 calories, 50 grams of protein and 249 grams of carbohydrates per serving.  More calories can be added to a serving by making a shake with milk, or adding the powder to oatmeal or even ice cream.  Personally, I was a great candidate for this product, so I decided to give it a shot.

The Test Subject (Me)

            I am currently 24 years old, and I started seriously lifting weights 3 months ago.  My body is the classic example of an ectomorph frame, which means that I started my exercise journey with a very thin shape, fast metabolism and a very hard time eating and gaining weight.  At a starting weight of roughly 125 pounds, I was extremely thin and appeared unhealthy.  Even more important than looking good to other people was my own perception of myself, and it was not positive.  So I began working out almost exactly three months ago when I joined a gym.  Understandably, the gym was like a foreign planet and I felt like giving up many times in the first few weeks.  The more that I forced myself to go, the better I felt.  I belonged there just as much as anyone else.  Due to eating better and sticking to my lifting plan, I found myself at 134.8 pounds just prior to starting Serious Mass. 

The User Experience

My 6 pound Serious Mass arrived in a black and lime-green bottle.  Much has been said of the comically large serving scoop.

Pictured here is the 8 ounce (!) scoop in comparison to my 20 ounce shaker.  One full scoop of the powder fills up almost half of the shaker.  Technically, a full serving of Serious Mass is actually 2 of these scoops, but I never used 2 scoops at one time.  I would use 1 scoop in the morning and 1 scoop at night.  If you make a shake with one scoop, just fill your shaker with as much water or milk as possible, and use a mixer ball if you can.  The bottle states that there are 8 servings in a 6 pound container, but as a good surprise the product actually lasted 10 days.  To be completely honest, my perception of value was heightened due to fact that I only paid $25.95 for the product.  The full retail price is around $45, so I would certainly recommend trying to find a sale. 

The Taste

          Serious Mass is available in Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Banana and Chocolate Peanut Butter flavors.  I purchased the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor and made my shakes with either whole milk or water.  While whole milk naturally provides a better tasting drink, the result is an extremely thick consistency.  This is not necessarily a positive or negative aspect of the product, it is just dependent on your personal taste.  I enjoyed the flavor of the product, just more so when mixed with whole milk.

The Results

          Since I have had relatively little experience lifting weights and adding size, my results were not dramatic with this product.  That is not to say I am not happy with the progress I have made during the use of this bottle (10 days).  As I stated before, my weight was 134.8 pounds on the first day that I began using the product.  One of the most vital things to know about this product is that it should not be used a meal replacement, but rather to add calories to your diet to reach a certain goal for the day.  It is essential to add that I have been following a weight training plan in which I have been attending the gym 4-5 days a week.  After one week of use, I weighed 138.6 pounds with the highest single day measurement reaching 141 pounds.  I have always been slender and scrawny, and as this is the most that I have ever weighed, I was ecstatic.  The bottle was emptied in 10 days, as I consumed 1 serving (2 scoops) per day.  After my final shake, I checked the scale and weighed 139.2 pounds.  An outsider may not be floored by a total gain of 4.4 pounds in 10 days, but this product is not for them.  It is about you feeling better about yourself, which is one of the most important things in life. 

________________________________________________

          Though I was satisfied with this product, the results that I am seeking need to be achieved over a long period of time.  I must continue to work out and eat well every day to continue growing.  To put it simply, I would buy this product again because it delivered impressive results in a short-term sample size.  The one negative aspect of this product is the value based on price per serving.  At full retail price, you would be paying $4.50 per serving.  This comes out to $135 a month if you are consuming one serving per day.  In conclusion I would say that I am happy with this product, but make sure you find it on sale.

Thanks so much for reading!    

    

Mad Men Season 7, Episode 8 “Severance” Review

        (Spoilers) After a year-long hiatus, a personal favorite of mine is back as the final episodes of AMC’s Mad Men arrive.  Don Draper (the incomparable Jon Hamm) seems to be up to his old tricks again as we open in a sensual casting session with a striking model named Cindy.  Cindy is wearing a chinchilla coat, and not much else, for an advertisement showcasing Sterling Cooper’s new client Topaz pantyhose.  A clever camera angle shows Don alone with Cindy, until is revealed that four other members of the team are watching.  Don’s mile-wide grin and steamy directions for Cindy’s poses suggest that he probably didn't notice anyone else either. 

          Not just the tip

We move to Don, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and three young women at a small diner, over-dressed in tuxedos and fine gowns after a party.  Don asks the waitress if he knows her, and the waitress says no, considering it to be a common pick-up line.  Roger makes a few jokes at the waitress’ expense, but leaves an $88 tip to make up for it. 

Don arrives back at his apartment to find messages from several different women.  A young woman named Trish is the subject of one of these messages, and not soon after this, she arrives at Don’s door.  It is not clear if these women are prostitutes or simply women he met at parties, but Don’s intentions are clear to even the most casual Mad Men fan.  In an early moment that piqued my interest, Trish finds a piece of Megan’s (Jessica Paré) jewelry while rolling around the bedroom floor with Don.  She asks if it is from another woman he’s sleeping with.  He says it’s from the woman he’s not sleeping with, his ex-wife!  This was a shocker, and forced the audience to wonder when this divorce actually occurred.  Don then coldly tosses the jewelry away to signify his emotional disconnection with Megan. 

A campaign with Leggs

Sterling Cooper’s new account is with the pantyhose brand Topaz, a direct competitor to the popular Leggs brand.  They want to get Topaz out of drug stores and onto the shelves of department stores.  The plan is to sign Macy’s, so Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) and Joan (Christina Hendricks) pitch to McCann Erickson, who have a connection to the department store.  The meeting is a disaster, as the immature men that Peggy and Joan pitch to cannot control themselves from making sexual jokes about panties dropping, “Leggs” being spread all over the world, and Joan’s bra size.  This leads to tension between Peggy and Joan when Peggy says that men don’t take Joan seriously because of the way she dresses. 

Meanwhile, Don dreams that an old flame comes in for a casting call.  Rachel Katz (Maggie Siff) an old love interest of Don who hadn't been seen since Season 2, walks through the door modeling the beautiful chinchilla coat.  Don is floored by her appearance, and she simply says “I’m supposed to tell you that you missed your flight”.  I’m not completely sure of the meaning of this, but it is possibly a metaphor for Don missing his chance to see her before she died.  Don’s secretary Meredith (Stephanie Drake) later informs him that Rachel passed away from leukemia a week prior to his dream. 

Ken the pirate

Eye-patch rocking Ken Cosgrove’s (Aaron Staton) story line has been a bit difficult to follow through the long and complicated life of Mad Men.  McCann Erickson boss Ferguson Donnelly (Paul Johansson) no longer wants Ken’s business, as the result of some Irish slurs aimed against him, and Ken’s departure of McCann with $4 million dollars of Bird’s Eye accounts.  Worse even, Ferguson and Roger want Ken to give up his accounts to the insufferable Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser).  Ken’s girlfriend insists that they have plenty of money to allow Ken to quit his job and pursue his long-neglected writing career.  She remarks that he has already given them his eye, and he doesn't need to give any more.

Ms. Spontaneous Peggy Olson

Peggy’s co-worker Johnny Mathis (not that Johnny Mathis) offers to set her up with his brother-in-law Stevie.  What at first appears to be an awkward first date turns out to be quite fun.  A conversation about how advertising agencies get to shoot commercials abroad turns into Peggy planning an impromptu trip to Paris with her new friend of a few hours.  While trying to balance some intense kissing and fishing for her passport, Peggy decides to wait on the Paris trip.  She feels that she may have found someone very special, beyond simply a fling.  Peggy also decides to hold off on any sex on the first date, and this may lead to Stevie losing interest quickly.  While Peggy feels like she may have stumbled upon a long term boyfriend, Stevie’s mannerisms and hesitance to reschedule the trip for a few weeks later show that he was probably interested in the opposite.

Sitting Shiva

Don attends Rachel’s Jewish shiva, and is met with a warm welcome, that is until the host finds out who he is.  Don’s earlier comment about his ex-wife is now explained, as Don admits that he is about to get divorced for a second time.  He is prompted when the host asks if he left his wife for Rachel. 

Finally, we learn that Ken Cosgrove has accepted a new position at Dow Chemical.  Roger is stunned to find out that not only will Ken become the new Head of Advertising at Dow, but he will be a very “hard to please” new client of Sterling Cooper. 

The final scene sees Don confiding in his favorite waitress Diana, at the diner where he had previously left an $88 tip and spent some time with her in the alley on a cigarette break.  He tells her that he had a dream about Rachel before finding out that she had died.  Diana is quick to warn Don not to have any dreams about herself, lest the same fate would follow.   

Thoughts

It is great to have Mad Men back, if only for seven more episodes.  This hour saw Don back to some of his old vices, and the decision to divorce Megan seemed abrupt.  More explanation of this action should follow in the next few episodes.  It will be very interesting to see the final fate of Don play out during the next six weeks.  The business dealings and the technical side of the agency has admittedly been my second favorite part of the show, and hopefully these will take a back seat to the human drama in the final hours.  However, the advertising pitches have given us some of the most beautiful scenes of the series, including Peggy’s pitch to Burger Chef in the previous episode, playing off of the sense of community people felt while watching the 1969 moon landing.  Balance will make the best episodes, as always.  I can’t wait for next week!

-         By Jesse Quigley      

     

The Last Man on Earth Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8 “She Drives Me Crazy/Mooovin’ In” - Review

           

(Spoilers follow).  One of 2015’s best surprises has been FOX’s new comedy The Last Man on Earth.  What began as a look into the antics of one lonely individual in Tucson, Arizona has managed to change its identity weekly, and to often hilarious effect.  The “last” man Phil Miller (Will Forte) travels the country for almost two years after a virus hits the earth, but we see him alone for only about 30 minutes of the series. 

CAROL

Coming dangerously close to giving up on his life, he discovers the “last” woman on Earth Carol Pilbasian (a lively and enjoyable Kristen Schaal), and they mix together to create an excellently contrasting odd couple.  Phil wants to keep living like he’s the only person in the world (going to the bathroom in his swimming pool and bowling for fish tanks), and Carol wants to strictly adhere to social norms from the “old world”. 

MELISSA

One of these rules that Phil chooses to ignore (stopping for STOP signs) introduces the couple to a new character when Phil runs a STOP sign and crashes into a limousine.  Emerging from the limo is the beautiful Melissa (January Jones), not but one day after Phil begrudgingly marries Carol in order to start re-populating the Earth.  (One of Carol’s biggest rules is no sex before marriage, even when society as we know it is completely over).  This sparks Phil’s very long obsession with Melissa.  Though he is now wed to Carol, Phil cannot stop himself from pursuing Melissa for what he would call “re-population”.  Phil finally convinces Carol that he must sleep with Melissa, though he is completely depressed by the thought, fake tears included.  Phil’s reasoning is that their future children will eventually have to have babies with themselves, unless Phil has a child with another woman.

TODD 

          Right before Phil is about to get more familiar with Melissa, he decides that a fireworks show would be a great way to celebrate the occasion.  This attracts a mysterious figure in a red sports car.  This figure turns out to be Todd (Mel Rodriguez), a big new friend with an even bigger heart.  Phil certainly doesn't feel the same, as he cannot fathom how the gorgeous Melissa begins to fall for the goofy, overweight Todd. 

“She Drives Me Crazy”

          Todd’s arrival starts to reveal Phil’s true colors, and they aren’t pretty.  In the previous episodes, Phil tries his hardest to keep Todd and Melissa apart, in hopes that he can stop them from falling for each other.  He does everything from insulting Todd’s weight to attempting to sabotage a tennis date to cut down on their time alone together.  Phil’s jealousy is so palpable that it’s somewhat uncomfortable to watch.  “She Drives Me Crazy” opens with a Phil dream sequence in which Melissa confesses her love to Phil, and they are blissfully in bed.  Too bad Todd is in the bed too, and Phil wakes up screaming in a great moment to start the episode.  In the morning, Phil learns that at least half of his dream was a reality, as a beaming Todd reveals that he is in fact sleeping with Melissa.  The eternally jealous Phil literally cannot believe the news, and falls face-first into his margarita kiddie pool, a great callback to the first episode.   

          A great detail of this episode is how the Fine Young Cannibals song “She Drives Me Crazy” can be heard booming from Melissa’s house to signify the numerous times that Todd and Melissa are “doing it”.  This certainly drives Phil crazy, and drives him to create a “grievance board” to complain about Todd and Melissa’s very loud time they spend together.  An awesome little touch is how Todd shakes his head when Phil suggests a ban on loud sex.  The upside of the grievance board is that the gang votes to have Phil FINALLY clean his decrepit swimming pool/ toilet. 

          Phil still cannot get over Melissa, particularly how close he got to sleeping with her, and he resents Todd for it.  He is consumed by regret for making the fireworks display that drew Todd to the group and lost him Melissa.  For a comedy character, Phil often surprises me at how jealous, bitter and mean-spirited he can be.  Phil takes Todd for a three hour drive and considers leaving him in the middle of the desert multiple times before picking him up.  The look on Todd’s face while Phil is repeatedly driving away and coming back multiple times is calm if not a bit confused.  Todd never really believed that Phil would leave, and I find him far too trusting.  This is explored more in the next episode. 

“Mooovin’ In” 

          We open up around the campfire, as group favorite Todd has made a sculpture featuring the members of the crew.  Phil is fed up with everyone being so enamored with Todd, so he cruelly drops the sculpture by “accident”.  In a nice visual metaphor, the only figure that breaks off of the sculpture is Phil himself.  Melissa quips that it looks better that way.  Ouch. 

          While hanging out alone at his favorite bar, Phil comes across a cow, the first animal that he has seen in the world since the virus.  Phil figures that this cow will make him a hero and take some attention away from Todd.  He offers hamburgers to the group, but everyone else would rather have a wealth of milk and cheese than to kill the cow.  Turns out, Todd is also an expert at milking cows!  It seems Todd can do no wrong, and this further infuriates Phil. 

          In a scene in which Todd teaches Melissa and Carol how to milk the cow, I noticed a great little detail.  Phil’s beard has been growing back ever since he missed his chance with Melissa.  The only time he ever shaved after the virus was when he first met her.  This is a funny touch, but it also shows how little he cares about his wife Carol. 

          Next, Phil steals the cow from the field that Todd tied it up, in order to look like a hero once again for returning it.  Unfortunately, Phil actually loses the cow.  As could have been expected, Todd instead finds the cow.  Todd is such a great guy that he offers to tell the women that Phil was in fact the hero that brought the cow home.  He does this to thank Phil for everything that he (accidentally) did for him.  In an honestly touching moment, Todd explains that he went from being completely alone to having the girl of his dreams, three great friends and a cow that makes him milkshakes.  Todd is such a likable person, and he is a great contrast to the bitter, miserable Phil.  In the last four episodes, I have gone from seeing Phil as a jealous bully to genuinely feeling sorry for him.  Two years roaming the country alone talking to volleyballs has drastically damaged his social skills.