Archives for July 2016

IEL at Maryland Leadership Workshops

Last week I had the pleasure joining Maryland Leadership Workshops alumnus Jason Israel to present a workshop at MLW’s Advanced Leadership Seminar program using the game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (KTANE) as a tool for stress testing teamwork.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

One player is trapped in a virtual room with a ticking time bomb they must defuse. The other players are the “Experts” who must give the instructions to defuse the bomb by deciphering the information found in the bomb defusal manual. But there’s a catch: the experts can’t see the bomb, so everyone will need to talk it out – fast!

With the help of half a dozen excellent volunteers, we ran our group of 22 participants through a crash course on leadership roles, delegation, and communication. The group split into four teams, and worked through several iterations with a focus on practicing specific leadership skills.

At the end of the day, we offered a final challenge: teams were given the opportunity to defuse a bomb in front of the other teams with an added twist: the defuser’s experts were sent to another room and could only communicate by walkie-talkie. Despite the high pressure scenario we concocted, and all the surprises up our sleeves, the teams performed admirably, and I have no doubt that given another hour of practice, they would have defeated our ultimate challenge.

Thanks to MLW for being great sports and even better hosts!

KTANE is an ideal game for a setting like this because of its low threshold, cooperative goal, and short playtime.

The low threshold makes it easy to pick up and start playing with a minimum of instruction.
The cooperative goal involves a team of players, and teams must work together to be successful.
The short playtime means that teams get multiple attempts, and the opportunity to reflect, adapt, and try a new approach or different role within the single workshop.

The learning opportunities in a short workshop like this one are a great introduction to the ways that more complex esports can develop transferrable skills and present opportunities to practice leadership.

Welcome from the Head of the IEL Think Tank

welcomethinktank I’m delighted to take up a position with the IEL, as Program Manager for our Think Tank. This is an exciting time within esports and is an ideal opportunity to further explore and shape this growing industry. Esports is still relatively young, in the grand scheme of business and commerce. Many gamers (myself included!) see it as something fun, where the social interaction and use of technology fuses our need to engage with fantasy. The virtual worlds in which we operate often provide us with escape, a means to escape reality in a safe environment. Likewise, the attraction to connect with people all over the world is powerful and any language barriers and cultural differences are often broken down where common goals and rules are shared.

That said, it is serious business, too. There is still much to be done within esports. Aspects of governance, regulation and policy remain unfiltered where we need clarity and transparency. Issues of equality and education need to be identified and solutions proposed to remove barriers and develop an open, fair and safe community for everyone. The need for effective leadership has never been more so, where people require confidence, resilience and determination in developing and building their leadership style. Every day, we see more individual gamers and teams, both professional and amateur, trying to build a portfolio in a global phenomenon that seems to be dominated by a select few. I firmly believe that there is room for everyone in this arena.

So, where does the IEL feature in this transient, colourful and exciting landscape?

The Think Tank will contribute towards the delivery of the IEL strategic vision, through a variety of activities that underpin our mission: to cultivate a corps of mindful, inclusive and effective leaders. We will design, undertake and publish research that enables the IEL to deliver its operational objectives through open reflection, advice and guidance within the esports industry. With a focus on leadership, we will explore the intersection between mentoring, coaching and gaming, where lessons learned can be reciprocated in a multidisciplinary arena throughout industry, commerce and other business areas. The Think Tank is the supporting catalyst and vehicle to underpin the wider activities of the IEL. When someone has a great idea, we help to make it a brilliant, workable and evidence informed concept.

I’ll be sharing some additional thoughts each week, as the Think Tank begins to take shape and our work becomes more engaging. By generating a rapid evidence assessment framework, we hope to map the international landscape, producing journal articles, reports and by attending gaming festivals and events. In my new role and as an Ambassador to the festival, I’ll be attending Resonate: Total Gaming in Glasgow at the end of July. If you see me there, please do come and say hello. Our people are crucial to our future success and we recognise the need to further build our expertise and experience through effective knowledge exchange and collaboration. If you feel that you have something to offer and you want to join us on our journey, we want to hear from you.

Lee Dunn
Program Manager & Head of IEL Think Tank
The Institute of Esports Leadership
Twitter @leeandrewdunn and @esportsleaders
Web: www.esportsleaders.com

IEL Hearthstone Commons League Finals

Watch Now

Join us Wed, July 20 starting at 5pm PT / 8pm ET on Twitch for the 3rd Place and Grand Final matches of our Hearthstone Commons League.

Third Place Match

First up, Zyzzyva takes on Talerion with the Bronze on the line. Zyzzyva led Group B through the regular season with a record of 5-1 and a tiebreaker thanks to a 3-0 victory over Chisgule. He was atop the Power Rankings until their postseason rematch last week, when Chisgule reversed the previous results, taking his own 3-0 victory to secure a spot in the final, and sending Zyzzyva to third place match and 3rd in the Power Rankings.

Talerion managed a narrow 3-2 upset in the quarterfinals to keep his playoff run alive. After a 3-2 loss in the semis, he enters the third place game 5th in the Power Rankings. However, Talerion beat Zyzzyva 3-0 in the regular season, so he’ll be trying for a repeat performance here.

Grand Final

The title match between Xachariah and Chisgule promises to be a close one. The two are practically tied at the top of the Power Rankings, with Chisgule barely edging Xachariah out for the top spot. Both made it through the regular season with 5-1 records, and while they have played practice matches on numerous occasions, they have never faced each other during League play. Xachariah dispatched his quarterfinal opponent easily with a 3-0 victory, and won a close semifinal match against Talerion 3-2. Chisgule’s road to the final included a 3-1 win in the quarters and the aforementioned 3-0 upset over then-top-ranked Zyzzyva to secure his spot.

With strong performances all season from both players, this one is anyone’s game.

Schedule

Pre-game show starts at 5pm PT / 8pm ET, followed by the Third Place Match at 5:10/8:10, and then the Grand Final immediately following.

Which Cards Should I Craft for Standard? Shaman, Warlock, Warrior, and Neutral Edition

This is the third, and final post in our series on the best cards that could be added to basics and commons decks, both for the C4 format and for general play. This list is meant to be a starting point to help players make the transition, as well as a resource for those who may not have played Commons or C4 before. See the first post, for a detailed methodology and Druid, Mage, and Hunter; and the second post for Paladin, Priest, and Rogue.

Shaman

[Feral Spirit]

Another class with a number of strong rares, but for sheer power and flexibility, Feral Spirit is my #1. It fits in pretty much all flavors of Shaman decks, from very aggressive to very controlling, and is great value for its cost. Stick a [Flametongue Totem] between your wolves for bonus value.

Honorable Mentions: [Thunder Bluff Valiant]/[Thing from Below] are very strong cards that enable a Shaman deck with a much heavier totem focus to be successful. [Mana Tide Totem] is a fantastic card drawer if you can protect it (perhaps hide it behind the Feral Spirits?) [Lava Burst] is a lot of damage for not a lot of mana, and is a solid finisher for aggressive versions of Shaman.

Warlock

[Forbidden Ritual]

Warlock Zoo is a deck that likes to “go wide”, creating a lot of board presence and using its minions to control the flow of the game. Forbidden Ritual is an incredible way to flood the board with a single card (although watch out for [Ravaging Ghoul]), and combos incredibly well with [Darkshire Councilman] and [Dire Wolf Alpha] (put the Dire Wolf in the middle, and as you use each tentacle to trade up and die, the next one moves over and gets buffed). Ritual just helps Zoo do more of the things it wants to do.

Honorable Mentions: [Doomguard] was a classic zoo finisher, coming in for the final few points of damage, or even killing a minion and surviving. The drawback is real, but if it’s the last or second to last card in your hand, you can mitigate or eliminate the disadvantage. [Shadowflame] and [Siphon Soul] are cards you see in more controlling Warlock decks (such as “Handlock”), although those typically rely fairly heavily on epics and legendaries.

Warrior

[Frothing Berserker]

Warriors like to deal 1 damage to everything (or sometimes just some things) with a number of their cards. Simply playing Berserker before attacking on your turn and trading guys can make him an easy 4/4 for 3 mana. Combined with a [Whirlwind] effect with a few guys in play, Berserker’s power can shoot into the double digits fairly easily – an incredible deal for 3 mana that plays very nicely with Warrior’s core themes.

Honorable Mention: [Armorsmith] is a staple in controlling warrior decks looking to go to the long game. Similar to controlling Warlock decks though, these often feature a large number of legendaries and may not be a good fit for a newer player or the C4 format. [Bloodsail Cultist] is a fantastic addition to a Pirate-based deck, as it’s a very nice body already, and upgrading a weapon is very strong.

Neutral

[Azure Drake]

Finally, the neutral cards, and probably the most versatile and valuable rare in the game. I said that the best rare for a Mage deck was neutral, and the argument could be made that it’s the best for Rogue, Priest, Druid, and maybe even Shaman as well – any deck that uses a decent number of removal spells that benefit from spell damage. Azure Drake doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, but the combined value from the whole package is very, very high. It has a solid, if slightly under curve, body. It draws a card when it comes into play, replacing itself immediately. It gives a spell damage increase. And it’s a dragon, which is actually a relevant creature type for cards such as [Blackwing Corruptor] and [Blackwing Technician]. It’s just an exceptionally well-rounded package.

Honorable Mentions: [Knife Juggler] is a staple card for any kind of aggressive deck, especially those that flood the board with guys – Aggro Paladins, Zoo-lock and Face Hunter all get nice value from this guy. [Disciple of C’thun] is really only viable in C’thun decks, but is an integral component in them – the combination of removal spell, small body and C’thun buff is strong.

Adventure Honorable Mention: [Grim Patron] pretty much only goes in warrior decks, but fits the theme of them incredibly well, and enables some truly absurd plays.

Subscribe now, and get future analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Top Rares to Craft to Improve Your Decks: Paladin, Priest, and Rogue

This is the second post in our continuing series on the best cards that could be added to basics and commons decks, both for the C4 format and for general play. This list is meant to be a starting point to help players make the transition, as well as a resource for those who may not have played Commons or C4 before. See the first post, for a detailed methodology, and Druid, Hunter, and Mage picks.

15247-hearthstone-paladin Today we’re tackling Paladin, Priest, and Rogue. Check back later this week for the final post of this series.

Paladin

[Aldor Peacekeeper]

Another hard one, but for a good reason this time. Paladin has a lot of very strong rare cards, and settling on Peacekeeper was tough. One of Paladin’s struggles in the Commons format is a lack of removal for larger creatures. While Peacekeeper isn’t true removal, it usually neutralizes a large minion sufficiently to mitigate its impact on the game. [Humility] isn’t worth spending a full card on, but when you can get that effect on a 3/3 body, all for 3 mana, it makes for a good deal.

Honorable Mentions: [Selfless Hero]/[Rallying Blade]/[Steward of Darkshire] These cards all help provide the backbone of a heavily Divine Shield-based Paladin deck. Peacekeeper really only wins out over these due to its flexibility – with critical mass of Divine Shield cards, these can all be very strong. [Equality] also deserves a mention – how can an effect that looks symmetric be so important? Well, if your guys have divine shields and theirs don’t, it’s great. If you follow it up immediately with [Consecration], it’s incredible. Even if you just trade your hero power minions for their real minions, you’re getting great value.

Priest

[Auchenai Soulpriest]

Since the game’s release, the combination of Soulpriest and [Circle of Healing] has been one of priests most reliable board clearing mechanics, dealing 4 to everything in play. The ability to use your hero power or other healing effects as removal makes this pretty clearly Priest’s top rare. Just be careful about playing [Holy Nova] while it’s in play! It may not turn out the way you’d like.

Honorable Mentions: [Wyrmrest Agent] requires a critical mass of dragons in your deck, but once you have it, a 2/4 taunt for 2 mana is excellent early defense. [Shifting Shade] is another new card from Whispers of the Old Gods, but another solid value guy – half of a [Thoughtsteal] tacked onto a 4/3 body is a solid deal for 4 mana.

Rogue

[SI:7 Agent]

Another long time staple, this card is again a solid body with a good effect attached. Coined out on turn 2 to remove an early opposing play and stabilize the board, or following up on a [Backstab] or other cheap spell to enable combo, SI:7 does good work. Combine with [Shadowstep] for max value and hilarity.

Honorable Mention and Adventure Honorable Mention: [Journey Below] and [Unearthed Raptor] Journey is from Old Gods, Raptor from the League of Explorers adventure. Combined, along with some other deathrattle guys such as [Loot Hoarder] and [Southsea Squidface], they make for a pretty viable Deathrattle-based Rogue deck.

Subscribe now, and get the rest of this series in your inbox.