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. 

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          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!