Hearthstone Beta Key Puzzle - First To Solve Wins

Hearthstone Beta Key Contest
First Person To Solve And Claim The Key Is The Winner!

Hey gang!  I've received yet another official Hearthstone Beta Key for Blizzard's closed beta.  Just like the first extra one I got, I'm giving this one away to the first person to solve my trivia contest.  The key is currently unclaimed and ready to be claimed by the first person to solve this puzzle.

All of the answer have been discussed within one of our episodes of The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast, while some of the answers can be found within the show notes for the individual episodes.  If you are regular listener of our podcast, then these questions will be much easier for you.  Good Luck!

Why have a puzzle instead of just giving the Hearthstone beta key away?

• I would prefer the HS beta key to go to a follower or fan of the site or podcast, as opposed to some random person who is only here for a free key.
• The puzzle puts the key code out in the open and removes the option of selling the key. First one to solve the puzzle and add the code to their Battlenet account gets the key. If you solve it, but don't add the code, the code will be added by someone else who solves the puzzle before you can sell it off.
• There is no way to create and spam fake emails or fake accounts just to get extra entries into a giveaway contest.
• A puzzle will be a lot more fun and feel more rewarding that a random drawing.  I got a ton of praise for my last contest puzzle giveaway, so I'm back with another.

Hearthstone Closed Beta Key Code:

The Hearthstone Beta Key Code is 25 digits long.  There are 25 multiple choice questions all pertaining to The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast.  Each question is multiple choice.  Just plug the number associated with the correct answer into that digit of the Hearthstone Beta Key code.

Example:

1.  Roses Are Red, Violets Are _____.
• 1 Green
• 2 Blue
• 5 Orange
• 8 Purple

The correct answer is Blue, so you would plug the number 2 as the first digit in the key code.  Then you would solve for the rest of the digits as you answer the other questions.

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Solve for each of the 25 digits using the following questions:

1. Where Does Nonmail Work?
• 0- USPS
• 1- UPS
• 2- Fed Ex
• 3- Western Union
2. What Car Dealership Does Cold Work For?
• 2- Dodge
• 3- Ford
• 4- Mitsubishi
• 5- Toyota
3. Rez's Company Deals With Keeping What Safe?
• 0- Boats
• 1- Cars
• 2- Trains
• 3- Planes
• 4- Helicopters
4. Order the Show Hosts From Oldest To Youngest:
• 1- Chuck, Scott, Richard
• 2- Scott, Richard, Chuck
• 3- Richard, Scott, Chuck
• 4- Chuck, Richard, Scott
• 5- Richard, Chuck, Scott
• 6- Scott, Chuck, Richard
5. Which WoW Community Member Has NOT Been A Guest on EGP?
• 1- Profitz
• 2- Zerohour
• 3- Stede
• 4- Nev
• 5- Shalthis
6. Name The 2 End Bosses In The Player Created Foundry Quest That Gave Us All A Laugh In Neverwinter.
• 1- Flush & Flaid
• 2- Pedros & Pasteur
• 3- Narkco & Nelvine
• 4- Bitter & Salty
• 5- Twixx & Twisted
7. Which Is One of Rez's Pet Names For Cold?
• 0- Mrs Buttersworth
• 1- Rosa Parks
• 2- John Holmes
• 3- Maple Crown
• 4- Hearthstoner
8. What Was the Original 3rd Show Host's Yard Infested With?
• 3- Mice
• 4- Moles
• 5- Ticks
• 6- Fleas
• 7- Scabies
9. Which Voice Has NOT Appeared On An Episode of EGP?
• 6- Steven Hawking
• 7- The Ungnome Comic
• 8- The Nut Ninja
• 9- Bart Simpson
10. What Is DJ Soulshaker's Favorite Music Genre?
• 0- Breaks
• 1- Trance
• 2- House
• 3- Drum & Bass
• 4- Dubstep
11. Which Producer Has NOT Been Fully Featured On An Episode Of Electronic Education On EGP?
• 0- Deadmau5
• 1- Kaskade
• 2- Pretty Lights
• 3- Kill Paris
• 4- Cazzette
12. Which Drow Elf Is Cold's Siamese Cat Named After?
• 5- Drizzt Do'Urden
• 6- Berg'inyon Baenre
• 7- Dantrag Baenre
• 8- Jarlaxle Baenre
• 9- Zaknafein Do'Urden
13. Who Won the First Game Show On EGP?
• 7- Cold
• 8- Nonmail
• 9- Nev
• 0- Rez
14. Which Item Has NOT Had a Prominent Mention & Effect On An Episode Of EGP?
• 1- Inhaler / Breathing Treatments
• 2- Fishing Lures / Tackle Box
• 3- Dentures / Tooth Extractions
• 4- Maple Crown Royal
15. Which Food Has NOT Been Mentioned In A Show Title For EGP?
• 1- Live Baby Mice
• 2- French Dip
• 3- Rice
• 4- Soup
• 5- Chicken
• 6- Bacon
• 7- Turkey
• 8- Chocolate Covered Ribs
16. Which Drug Has NOT Influenced a Show Title for EGP?
• 0- Cocaine
• 1- LSD
• 2- Heroin
• 3- Bath Salts
• 4- Crack
17. Which Popular Warcraft Website Cancelled an Entire Weekly Column Because Of EGP?
• 6- Wowhead
• 7- WoW Insider
• 8- The Undermine Journal
• 9- Power Word: Gold
18. What Has Rez Paid His Son To Do For Him In Warcraft?
• 0- Pet Battle
• 1- Level Fishing
• 2- Mill Herbs
• 3- Prospect Ore
• 4- All the Above
19. The Purr-fect Purple Men's Kitten Tee Has 4 Butterflies, But How Many Kittens?
• 1- Eight
• 2- Four
• 3- Seven
• 4- Ten
20. Which Host Has Trouble With The Difference Between Asian vs Oriental?
• 5- Cold
• 6- Nonmail
• 7- Nick
• 8- Rez
21. What In Game Item Has Caused Cold To Go Apeshit Crazy On At Least One Episode?
• 6- Battle Pets
• 7- Infernal Keys
• 8- Headless Horseman Mount
• 9- The Coin
22. Rez's Twitter Avatar Often Depicts What Character?
• 6- The Rock
• 7- The Riddler
• 8- The Penguin
• 9- The Joker
23. Who Is The New Host Of Cold's Gold Blogging Carnivals?
• 5- Xsinthis
• 6- Selltactular
• 7- Nev
• 8- Profitz
24. Which Show Host Would Earn The Perfect Attendance Award, Having Never Missed An Episode?
• 1- Rez
• 2- Cold
• 3- Nonmail
• 4- Nick
25. In One Of The Crazy News Stories, This Guy Was Watching Livestreams Of Young Girls Decorating The Christmas Tree In Their Underwear.  What Was His Alias?
• 6- Grandpa Joe
• 7- Jake the Snake
• 8- Sexual Chocolate
• 9- Uncle G
• 0- Nonmail

So there you have it!  Find the answers for each of the 25 questions and plug them into the Hearthstone Beta Key Code and claim your key before someone else does!  Each question corresponds to the equivalent digit within the code, so question 10's answer gives you the 10th digit.  Question 20 gives you the 20th digit, etc.

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY & THANKS FOR LISTENING TO THE EVISCERATED GAMING PODCAST!


Hints about the puzzle solutions may be released from any of these accounts:

• @SSmith0911 - My main twitter account
• Cold's Gold Factory Facebook Page
• Cold's Gold Factory Newsletter - I've given away Warcraft pets, Warcraft Mounts, TCG Pets & Mounts and more to newsletter readers previously.

Other Giveaways:

1. http://www.giftsforgamersandgeeks.com/2013/11/Hearthstone-Beta-Key-Giveaway.html
2. Episode #71 of Eviscerated Gaming Podcast announced a giveaway - Follow the show's twitter account @Eviscerated_GP - the drawing is this Sunday.

Recommended Guides: Secret Gold Guide | Journal of Marcus Ty | Neverwinter Secrets

Hearthstone Tips: Mistakes - Improper Weapon Use

Hearthstone Tips - Top Common Mistakes

Improper Use Of Weapons

This is another post in the Hearthstone Tips series on Common Mistakes I See From Hearthstone Players.  Be sure to check out the first article, where I cover Top 1st Turn Player Mistakes in Hearthstone.  

Improper Use Of Weapons

Weapons play an important role for some of the classes in Hearthstone.  Both the Rogue and Druid have weapon based hero powers and the Paladin, Warrior, Rogue, and Shaman all have weapon cards that can added to their Hearthstone Class Decks.

All too often I see a common mistake made with weapons as players waste them on attacks against the opponent instead of using the weapons properly.  I've even seen players use their coin on their first turn just so they could play a weapon a turn early, yet all they do is attack their opponent (or take it "to the face" as I call it) and waste their weapon.

In order to learn and understand how to properly use your weapon, you should remember these 3 key points:

1. Weapons are mainly for killing minions.
2. Don't waste your weapon on an opponent unless you are killing them soon.
3. Hold your weapon until the turn you will use it.

Weapons Are For Killing Minions

Sure, a weapon in Hearthstone can be used on either a minion or on a player, but they are far better used as minion killers, until you get the opponent close to death.  Weapons should mainly be used as another form of creature removal.  The downside when attacking a minion with a weapon is that you will take the minion's attack power as damage when you hit the minion.  Maybe this is why some newer players don't use the weapons properly on minions and just use them against the opponent.  Even though you take the minion's attack value as damage, taking that damage one time while killing the minion is much better than allowing the minion to survive, thus allowing it to continue to be a threat on the board turn after turn.  So kill the minion, take the damage once, and remove that threat from the game.  Don't ignore the minion, waste the weapon attack on an opponent, and then let that same minion attack you multiple times!  Kill the minions with your weapons.

When To Use A Weapon On An Opponent

Weapons in Hearthstone should primarily be used to remove threats from the game, but they also can be used to damage the opponent.  You shouldn't be attacking the opponent with your weapon unless you are going to be killing them on that turn or you have enough damage to kill them the following turn.  Wasting a weapon on an opponent early is a poor move because you are better off removing a threat and often times the early weapon damage you did will be healed up before the game ends anyways.  There are certain special circumstances that are also acceptable for attack an opponent earlier than the killing blow, like attacking with the Truesilver Champion to get the +2 Life gain, just to survive another turn, but you should aim to only hit opponents with weapons when they are within reach of you killing them soon.

Hold Your Weapon Until You Are Going To Use It

There are two main reasons to not actually play your weapon until you are going to swing it.  Those two reasons are: Protection and Suprise.  Playing your weapon too early leaves you more open to having your weapon destroyed by an opponent's Acidic Swamp Ooze (Battlecry: destroy opponent's weapon) and you definitely want to get at least 1 attack out of a weapon you've played or it was a wasted play.

Don't underestimate the value of surprise either.  Playing your weapon too early gives the opponent a chance to hold in their hand the creatures that would die to the weapon.  Then as soon as your weapon is out of durability, those minions will be summoned.  Oh, you wasted the weapon attacks against the opponent and he played his threats after the weapon went poof?  He played it smart; you didn't.  No one is going to cast their 1/3 Northshire Cleric while you have that 3 attack weapon out.  Let them play it first, then cast your weapon and kill it before the opponent can protect it or buff it's health up.

In Closing

Hopefully, you have a better understanding of how to properly use your weapons.  Just remember that weapons in Hearthstone are mainly used for killing minions, since this removes threats that can hamper you over the course of multiple turns.  Don't attack the opponent's face with weapons until you are close to delivering the killing blow.  And make sure to hold the weapons until they will be used, so that you maintain the elements of surprise and protect your weapons from the Oozes.

Be sure to check back here at Cold's Gold Factory for more incoming Hearthstone decklists, Hearthstone play tips, and Hearthstone strategy posts.

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Check out the new post: How To Get More XP per Hearthstone game you play

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Earn Hearthstone Packs For Free

Hearthstone Tips: Top Mistakes I See Made Way Too Often

Playing Hearthstone Tips Series:
Top Mistakes I See Made Way Too Often

Thanks John!

Preventing Mistakes Is Crucial To Winning In Hearthstone

Hearthstone is a very competitive online collectible card game.  How you understand and play the game will have a direct result on the outcomes of your matches with your Hearthstone opponents.  A simple mistake can be the difference between you earning a win or a loss, completing your daily, earning better awards in your Arena run, or being more efficient at grinding for gold in Hearthstone.  All too often I see a common set of mistakes being made way too often.  I'm not just talking about mistakes made by brand new players either.  I've been paired up against a lot of the same players over and over and I can attest that not everyone learns from experience either because I continue to see the same poor mistakes made by some of the more "experienced" players as well.

I've designed this post as the first in a series of Tips For Playing Hearthstone Properly!  These posts will be designed to Help You Learn & Think More Competitively.  Being a good Hearthstone player takes practice, as not everyone will be a 3-Star Master in Constructed or a Arena Grandmaster 9 wins player overnight.  The best way to improve your game play is to practice.  By playing more matches against real opponents, you will exposed to more play styles, strategies, and combos.  During your matches you should be focused on the match so that you can learn something, instead of being absent minded and semi-AFK multi-tasking while you play Hearthstone.  And remember what an old Magic the Gathering mentor told me, when I was constantly beating all of my hometown friends:

"You won't improve your own game, unless you are playing against players that are better than you."

So get into the Arena Mode and practice, get into Play Mode and practice, and go into Ranked Play Mode for even more practice.  If you are paying attention and focusing on the matches, you will learn. Just make sure you are present and focusing on every move in the match.  Sure, playing fun / themed decks against your friends may be a lot of fun, but you need to be playing competitive matches against competitive players in order to improve and learn more about the game and improve your Hearthstone playing skills.

Common Mistakes Made In Hearthstone:

I will go over some of the more common mistakes that I see made constantly in hopes of helping you to not only correct these mistakes, but also to help you start to think differently about how you are playing Hearthstone.  I understand that these mistakes may not be so obvious to brand new Hearthstone players, especially ones that have never previously played any other collectible card games.  Just remember that even the seasoned professionals, were all beginners at some point.  You can get there too with some of my help.  These tips for correcting your mistakes will be relevant for both Constructed Play Mode and Arena Mode Hearthstone decks.

So let's look at some of the the Top Mistakes I See Hearthstone Players Make:

• Poor 1st Turn Play Choices
• Not Knowing When To Coin
• Adding Poor Card Choices To Their Deck
• Casting Minions With Battlecry Effects & No Targets
• Improper Use Of Weapons
• Not Knowing When To Attack Minions Vs Opponent
• Buffing At the End of Your Turn
• Casting Direct Damage Spells Too Early

Let's debunk a few new player myths too, before we discuss the above mistakes:

• You Do Not Have To Play Something Every Turn
• You Do Not Have To Spend All Or Most Of Your Mana Crystals Every Turn

Both of these common misunderstandings lead to making poor choices or force new players to waste good cards early or play them sooner than is ideal.  If you continue to think and play as if you must spend as much mana possible every turn, you will find it hard to be a good competitive player and your win / loss ratio will reflect it.  Sometimes the best move in a turn is to simply do nothing at all or just use your Hero Power for the turn and pass.  You simply must stop thinking that you have to play a card every turn.  Right now.  STOP IT!

Ok.  Now you can progress onward to being a better Hearthstone player.

In this post, I will focus on Poor First Turn Hearthstone Play Choices and will continue covering the other common Hearthstone mistakes in later posts here at Cold's Gold Factory.  This will allow me to give more examples and better strategy discussion to help you understand how to play Hearthstone more competitvely.  So be sure to check back for more articles in this series.

Poor First Turn Choices

What you do on turn one will hardly ever win you the game, but it sure can play a strong role in you losing the game.  On turn one, I commonly see horrible card play choices that often tell me that I'm going to win this game because this player doesn't understand how to play Hearthstone.

Common Poor First Turn Plays:

1. Cast Elven Archer / Shoot Me For 1 Damage. - No, No, No!  Just because the Elven Archer only costs 1 mana, doesn't mean you should waste it by playing it on turn 1.  You should only ever use the Archer's battlecry effect on your opponent, if you have enough damage to kill them off within a turn or two.  The 1 damage is MUCH better used to kill off an opponent's minion.  You can kill a 1 health minion or use the 1 damage as an extra point of damage to kill a minion that already took damage.  The Elven Archer can be used in combination with another creature attacking or used in tandem with a spell that needs just 1 more extra point to kill a minion.  Never waste your Elven Archer on turn one on your opponent.  I see these wasted all too often on turn 1, as I drop a 2/1 or 3/1 creature on turn 1 or 2 and proceed to hit the opponent multiple times with a minion they could have easily killed had they played smarter.  So instead of wasting it on an opponent, use that 1 point of damage to remove a threat from the board.
2. Mage Cast Arcane Missiles (with no minions out).  I Take 3 Damage - Wasted!  Arcane Missiles is best used as a minion removal spell.  Again, removing threats from the board will save you taking damage over multiple turns and is much more beneficial than a few cheap potshots against the opponent.  Arcane Missiles can kill multiple creatures, especially if the opponent has a bunch of cheap 1 health minions out.  Too often I see Arcane Missiles wasted on turn 1, then next turn I drop a Murloc Tidehunter, which is a 2/1 Murloc that also summons a 1/1 Murloc along with it.  Shoulda saved that Arcane Missiles to kill off both Murlocs and do damage to me.  Another reason not to waste Arcane Missiles early on is because it can also be buffed by minions that add to your Spell Damage.  Each extra point of Spell Damage adds another 1 damage Arcane Missile.  Cast it too early and you get no bonus from Spell Damage.  I've even had a guy cast Arcane Missiles, then Coin, then a 2nd arcane Missiles all on Turn 1.  So you Coined to waste both Missiles on me for 6 damage and you only have 2 cards left?  Lol. Let me drop all these minions now.  This same issue can also be seen wasted with first turn cast Arcane Shot, Holy Smite, Rockbiter Weapon, Claw, and other damage spells that are better used to eliminate minions as threats instead of hitting the opponent too early in the match.
3. Mage Cast Mirror Image - This always brings a laugh out of me.  Mirror Image is a pretty crappy spell that shouldn't even be in your deck the majority of the time.  At worst it is a stall tactic and buys you a turn or two.  At best it is used later on to protect some key minions from attacks for a turn or two, but I never see it played as minion protection.  Instead of playing a card to stall your opponent, you are better off adding a removal spell to your deck to deal with what you are having to stall against in the first place.  Playing Mirror Image on turn 1 is a complete waste.  You don't have any creatures out to protect, the Mirror Images die easy to almost all AoE spells, and me ramming them with minions to kill them is only slowly your demise, while you hide behind your shoddy Mirror Images.  The Mirror Images also give a false sense of protection because you have 2 taunters out, but they die so easily, I often destroy them both with AoE along with whatever was cast later and they don't even stop a creature at all.
4. First Turn Coin / Use Hero Power - There is no Hero power worth wasting your Coin on.  Don't do it.  Save your coin for turns that you can get something out early that is worth getting out early.  Or save the Coin for pulling off a 2 drop combo that you were 1 Mana short of casting.  No Hero power is going to win you the game by wasting a coin just so you can Hero Power on turn 1.
5. Cast Minion With Battlecry Effect With No Valid Targets - You just wasted your minions Battlecry effect!  You want to get the best use of minions with battlecry effects.  If it has a helpful effect, don't cast it until you can positively effect another minion of yours.  If it has a negative effect, don't cast it until you can negatively effect an enemy minion.  The battlecry effects are built into the casting costs of the minions, so casting a minion and wasting it's battlecry effect is almost always a bad play choice.  Some examples of minions that you will see wasted on turn one include:
1. Abusive Sergeant - He's much better used giving a temporary buff to a weak minion that you can use to suicide-ram a much bigger minion.
2. Hungry Crab - Wait at least a few turns to see if some Murlocs get played by the opponent.
3. Bloodsail Corsair - It's ok to cast against weaponless decks, but hold it versus Class Decks that commonly use weapons.
4. Elven Archer - This is the most common 1st turn mistake.
5. Voodoo Doctor - This is the 2nd most common one I see cast and wasted on turn 1.

If you are making any of these mistakes, then focus on being patient and making smarter play choices so that you can improve your Hearthstone skills and your win percentage.  Make sure to check back to read more articles in this series for improving your Hearthstone play.

Happy Hearthstoning!

Great Article for New & Regular Players: How To Earn More XP Per Hearthstone Match

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