Hearthstone’s Boomsday Meta: No Nerfs Required?
I recently caught up with Blizzard’s Team 5 to talk about Hearthstone’s latest expansion – The Boomsday Project. The bulk of that interview focuses on designing the legendaries of the set – and will be published soon – but I also took the opportunity to ask Lead Final Designer Dean Ayala about the overall health of the game right now, and whether there’s likely to be any nerfs.
Here's what he had to say.
IGN: It seems like a super diverse meta right now. There are a lot of viable decks. How are you feeling about it?
Dean Ayala: I think it has been really positive. Decks like Odd Warrior have been showing up, and stuff like Deathrattle Hunter, and lots of different stuff. So I would say that everything has been really positive. The two classes that haven't been showing up quite as much in terms of popularity, have been Shaman and Priest. But even with those decks, I was actually looking at data the other day and every single class had some archetype that was above 50 percent, which is generally a good place to be. There are Control Priests that are just playing like basically just Priest cards, you know? Like Cabal Shadow Priest and some people are even running Mind Control. Even Shaman is still really good. There are still some people out there doing Shudderwock stuff but I'd say most of the more competitive decks are Even Shaman for Shaman specifically.
Henry Cavill Posts Weird Video in Wake of Superman Exit Reports
Henry Cavill posted a cryptic video on his Instagram Wednesday evening following the multiple reports of he and Warner Bros. parting ways for any future Superman installments or cameos.
The video on Cavill's Instagram shows him in front of the camera wearing a shirt that reads "Krypton Lifting Team" with music in the background while he slowly lifts up a Superman figure to the beat of the music, and then lowers it back down as the video ends.
Spider-Man PS4 SPOILERCAST With Bryan Intihar
BEYOND!
On this week's special episode of Beyond, IGN's weekly PlayStation podcast, Jonathon Dornbush, Max Scoville, and Brian Altano, are joined by Insomniac Games' Bryan Inithar, creative director for Marvel's Spider-Man, to talk in spoiler-ific detail about Insomniac's latest PS4 exclusive.
If the title of the episode wasn't enough of a clue, this episode includes heavy SPOILERS for the entirety of Spider-Man's story. If you haven't finished playing Spider-Man, come back once you've finished!
Intihar joins the cast to dive behind-the-scenes of Spider-Man's production, offering insight into how some of the game's most memorable scenes came to be, the huge team effort it took to make the game, and much more. He also humors Max, Brian, and Jonathon as they speculate about what Spider-Man's biggest story teases may mean for the future, and the cast in general discusses some of Spider-Man's biggest scenes and characters.
HBO to Co-Produce, Distribute His Dark Materials Series
His Dark Materials, a television series based off the trilogy of Philip Pullman fantasy novels of the same name, is officially coming to territories outside of the UK after HBO has joined the project as co-producer and distributor.
As reported by Deadline, HBO has partnered with the BBC, Bad Wolf, and New Line Cinema to co-produce this adaptation, which currently has an order of two, eight-episode seasons from the BBC. Though the BBC still holds distribution rights to the series in the UK, HBO has obtained worldwide distribution rights outside of the territory.
Forza Horizon 4 Demo Available Today, Getting James Bond DLC
Forza Horizon 4 has gone gold, and to celebrate, Playground Games released a demo that will allow players to experience Britain in all four seasons. In addition, Forza Horizon 4 will be receiving a James Bond-themed car pack as day-one DLC.
Announced via Xbox, development on Forza Horizon 4 has been completed and this new demo, which is available on Xbox One and PC, will showcase the new Seasons feature that changes the map with each one and adds different challenges to complete.
Specs and Details on the New iPhones, Apple Watch Series 4
After losing the battle to leaks leading up to its annual event, Apple officially revealed updated products coming to its line-up, including 3 new iPhone models and a new Apple Watch Series 4.
iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR
In a surprise to no one paying attention this morning, Apple officially announced its new iPhones: the iPhone XS,iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. All three phones run the same A12 Bionic processor, but the XS and XS Max have OLED "Super Retina" displays, while the XR has an LCD display Apple calls "Liquid Retina."
Why It’s Insane That Warner Bros. Doesn’t Have a Superman Anymore… But Not Surprising
With word coming today that Warner Bros. and Henry Cavill have parted ways and Cavill will no longer be playing Superman in the DC films, the studio’s superhero slate has suffered another blow. But unfortunately, despite the fact that Superman has always been one of DC Comics’ marquee characters (alongside Batman, who by the way is reportedly on the verge of being recast), this is just the latest example of Warners indicating that they don’t know what to do with the Man of Steel.
(Meanwhile, Cavill's manager Dany Garcia said on Twitter this morning that "the cape is still in his closet," confusingly implying that perhaps the actor isn't totally out of the Superman game yet despite today's news. And Warner Bros. responded to the report from THR with the following statement: "While no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we’ve always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged.")
Halloween Horror Nights Gets Stranger Things-Inspired Food For The Demogorgon in You
Halloween Horror Nights will bring the world of Stranger Things to its event this year. Food inspired by the popular Netflix series will be an added immersive experience for guests to enjoy at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort.
The specialized dishes were created by the executive chef and culinary teams at each of the parks.
Some of the dishes at Universal Studios Hollywood include Benny's Burger, Demogorgon's Totcho, Eleven's Waffle Extravaganza, and The Upside Down Burger, inspired by the infamous Upside Down in the show.
Universal Orlando Resort has separate Stranger Things-inspired food, including Christmas Tree Light Cupcakes, Waffle Ice Cream Pocket Sundaes, and 11 Mini Donuts that are covered in red frosting and inspired by the nosebleeds Eleven gets when she uses her telekinesis powers.
Pokemon Go Will Let Players Submit Their Own PokeStops Soon
Niantic has announced that Pokemon Go will begin letting select users submit their own PokeStops for nomination - the beta for will initially be limited to certain players in Brazil and South Korea, however.
Announced through the official Pokemon Go website, Niantic will begin rolling out the first beta test of the PokeStop nomination system very soon. The feature will initially be limited to level 40 trainers (that do not have child accounts) in Brazil and South Korea. Trainers who meet these requirements can nominate potential PokeStops by taking photographs of the location, which will then be reviewed by experienced users.
Apple Confirms New iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR Models
Apple officially introduced its new iPhone models during its live event. The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are the next-generation devices joining the Apple iPhone line-up. Apple also introduced the iPhone XR, a smaller phone available in a wider array of colors.
The iPhone XS and XS Max phones come in three colors: Gold, Silver and Space Gray in two sizes: the XS Max at 6.5-inches and XS at 5.8-inch. The XR has a 6.1-inch "Liquid Retina" LCD display.
The XS Max is the largest iPhone ever, with a 458ppi, 2688 x 1242 OLED display. Both XS versions have OLED displays with HDR capabilities.
Prices for the XS start at $999 and the XS Max starts at $1099. The phones are available in 64, 256, and 512GB versions. The XR starts at $749 and is available in 64, 128, and 256GB sizes.