The Queue is the Queue is the Queue

It’s Thursday all over again, which means it’s time for the Liz and Mitch show. This week we are once again accompanied by Matticus, who is better at answering Hearthstone questions than either of us.

And, no, I’m not explaining the header image because it’s self-explanatory — it’s the greatest space sim ever. Just look at those pixels!

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Matticus: Tempo doesn’t necessarily refer to fast aggro decks. Approach the concept of tempo by thinking about efficiency and what you are able to accomplish with your mana crystals. When you played Mad Scientist, you would often generate a secret out of it (basically two cards for one). If I was playing a Hunter and pulled Explosive Trap from the death of the Mad Scientist, I had just played 4 Mana Crystals worth of cards while only using 2 Mana. If I play Fireball (4 mana) on an opponent’s Stormwind Champion (7 mana), I have a 3 mana advantage.

This is why decks like Tempo Mage are competitive and strong. Minions like Flamewaker and Sorcerer’s Apprentice coupled with cheap spells such as Arcane Blast or Frostbolt can often remove minions which cost the opponent more mana to play them then it did for you to cast your spells.

That’s the best explanation I can offer within the confines of the Queue (without taking up the whole column). Hope this helps!

Liz: I think Matticus is saying it’s that you’re setting the tempo of the game. You’re getting more than your opponent and spending less mana to do it — you’re coming out ahead.

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Mitch: Okay, I’m torn because I love me some Forsaken, and they really do have that whole “already dead” thing going on and Sylvanas has up close and personal experience with Dreadlords but… have you seen Gnomes? Like, literally, have you ever seen them? They’re so small that they’d probably survive purely thanks to their vertical challenges. Maybe if an Imp walked right into one of them, but even then, Imps aren’t exactly the scariest demons out there.

Liz: Nobody sees us coming.

Mitch: Yeah, but when you do attack, what do you do? Bite our ankles? Ahh, oooh, I’m so scared

Liz: Listen, I have a scythe and I know how to use it.

Mitch: Knowing how to use it and having the strength to move it are two entirely separate things.

Liz: We have strength beyond our size, good sir.

Mitch: I’m sure you do. /headpat

Liz: We’ll do a demon kill count on the Broken Shore.

Mitch: Deal.

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Mitch: I actually had to log in to check this, but it doesn’t appear that you can change specs to the same spec anymore. Right now, all your specs show up when you click the Specialization & Talents button, with the unused specs greyed out.

Liz: But there’s no longer any cost to change talents, so it’s very easy to swap on the fly — the only requirement is that you be out of combat. The only drawback is that you have to remember your different spec setups and change them yourself. I wouldn’t be surprised if addons popped up to help with this, though.

Mitch: GOODBYE, 200-Tome stacks!!!

Liz: Specs, however, will supposedly have a cost to change — originally there was a 100g pricetag on spec changes, which Blizzard said was a placeholder. Now it’s gone, but who knows what will happen by the time Legion goes live.

Mitch: As for the macro, I’ve never used one but I looked into “/usetalents [spec:2]1;2” (which I’m assuming you use on live) and it had absolutely no effect in the alpha. Someone out there may have figured something out, but it looks like something has changed.

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Liz: Sylvanas.

Mitch: I really want to come up with something epic for this Two Bosses Enter thing but I just can’t. Sylvanas would win, hands down. She might cheat, but in the way that you’re like, “Haha, oh that Banshee Queen! She’s always using the craziest tactics.”

Liz: Sylvanas would definitely cheat. She’ll stop at nothing to achieve her goals, and if her goals involve wiping the floor with Tyrande, she will find a way. There’s just no question.

Mitch: For real… and that’s why I love her <3

Liz: We have an accord.

Mitch: Sylvanas is all about bringing people together. Under her rule, but, y’know. Sure, Tyrande would get in a couple good shots and multiple stupid freaking random owls from out of nowhere but Sylvanas would still win. She’s a winner. Last week? Losers, the both of them. This week, you’ve given me a choice between a survivor and someone who makes Illidan sound like some sort of wiggly aquatic fish elf thing.

(Credit where it’s due: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/16354255529)

Liz: …what.

Mitch: EELIDAN!

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Mitch: First of all, shout out to a CTR listener! To the actual question: yes, I think to a degree they are. But I’m not sure that’s their primary (or even secondary) goal. Timewalking dungeons are a great way to have a limited-duration even that will bring players out to run dungeons and work together. They keep current-expansion dungeons from being the only option for months on end. Additionally, they give Blizzard an excuse to add rewards that take either immense dedication in a short period of time or persistence over several months. In short, they provide longevity. Feeding nostalgia is more a side effect of that, I think.

Liz: I honestly think a lot of people, myself included, are nostalgic for pre-Cataclysm Azeroth and/or the events that happened earlier in the game that are now gone forever. I was at the opening of the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj on Gilneas; my guild was the one to ring the gong. And it was awful. Completely awful. It was a dreadful lagfest in which you couldn’t move. But it was, without question, epic. I’d love to go back to these places via Timewalking.

Mitch: And to mirror what Liz said, I think what I miss most about pre-Cataclysm Azeroth (outside of the people I played with at the time) are the zones. Yeah, quests were terrible and there really wasn’t anything impressive about the graphics but they’re the zones that I came into this world with and they’re the ones that I consider home.

Liz: That nostalgia has a lot of power.

Mitch: I really, really wish — and have wished since Cataclysm was announced — that Blizz would have made the classic Azeroth a separate instance, with the Deathwing-ified version unlocked after your first level-80 character had been made. Originally, doing so seemed like it would make the old world empty and barren but… it kind of is now.

Liz: It would be perfect for Caverns of Time. I don’t know that I’d go back often or play for long, though — that nostalgia can also wear off pretty quickly.

Mitch: I’m not saying I would either. But it’s like those old N64/SNES games I still keep around. Every so often, I just want to go back and replay them for the hell of it.

Liz: Like Star Fox. No, not that Star Fox.

P.s., please don’t make Rossi wade through hundreds of questions about SNES games. I know you are nostalgic, too, but accompany your nostalgia with good questions.