Falling up the stairs (08) - Adventure Resumee: Blackrock Spire

As of this monday, I managed to garner the last 700 gold which would get me the final wing of League of Explorers and, within very few hours of doing so, allow me to finish the last adventure currently available.

And I think that makes for a perfect time for rehashing the particular experiences, an endeavour I want to go about by looking at the following points:
 > Optics
 > Plot
 > Bosses
 > Cards

And I will start with the older of the two adventures I experienced: Blackrock Spi...err...Mountain!
See you after the break!
Optics: The predominant colours of BRM are black and red (and brown, which technically is a red) - which is not a bad thing per se - but that's all. The chapter revelation animation is kinda simplistic and repetitive, which isn't so bad since it's very similar to the one used at the end of the arena, and thusly instantly recognizable. At the very least, the background on which the bosses and stuff are overlayed isn't a repetitive picture, but a cohesive larger one.


Plot: Compared to Naxxramas (of which I watched videos), this is a step up - first, you head down into the mountain at the behest of Nefarian (which basically escapes the player unless he is deep into WoW, I guess) to kill Ragnaros. Then, you head up the mountain to liberate it from the rule of Nefarian. The whole adventure plays on the rivalry between the two, and the first fight against Nefarian is... pretty hilarious. Looking at the length, if I'm not mistaken, it's currently the longest adventure with a total of 17 bosses.

Bosses: I'll split this into general and Heroic. I generally liked them all except one - and the fact that the third wing is just pure RNG, which is ... suboptimal design, I say, when it comes down to the whole wing. The one I didn't like was the very last one because it felt SO much more difficult than the others before him. I'd say that the Darkiron Arena, Nefarian1 and Atramedes are really the most memorable ones - and Nefarian2 for being so obnoxious as a three-stage fight.
Speaking of Heroic mode... I managed to defeat the whole "Dwarves Quarter" segment already. However, Heroic Drakkisath is a steaming pile of freaking Mary Sue shit. Most obnoxious. That being said, defeating a heroic BRM boss gives you an extreme satisfaction. And I still want that Nefarian Cardback, since so few people are actually sporting that. I can guess why.

Oh, also: It's bad that neither Nef1 nor Nef2 have individual emote responses like Kelthu-Freakin'-Zad!

Cards: Compared to what you got in Naxx', the latter cards from BRM are strongly synergistic, with the whole Dragon and "cost less equal to how much stuff died" things. Especially the last wing was ... kinda lackluster in it's rewards, which is sad because if you buy into the adventure, you don't just wanna get in up to wing three, don't you? As for the most memorable cards, here's my top three: Flamewaker (God will I be sad when he rotates out), Grim Patron, and Dragon Egg. For least memorable/useful, I'd say Volcanic Dragon, Draconic Destroyer and... uh, already forgot the last one. :-D
On this note: Looking at the Heroic Drakkisath battle, I deeply regret dusting Executus, something I didn't think I would when I did it.

Resumee: I liked this adventure, and if you're new to Hearthstone and wonder whether you should do it: Just do it. There's still enough time till next may to get good value out of all the cards. (Next adventure is in Oct/Nov, right?) It is kind of a chore at times, most prominently in the RNG wings three & four.

Thanks for reading, and remember:
It's all fun and games until somebody runs out of cards!