phampire

Al'akir isn't unusuable, synergies that work include flametongue or rockbiter weapons. I'm pretty sure I've seen it used at competition level by Ekop. The kidnapper and twisting nether have been dead cards for me, slightly lower mana costs for both would be nice.

This is pretty rad, even more so at 2am.

Gimmick decks aren't really used at higher ranks in constructed. If you find you are losing to the same strategies over and over you should alter your deck. I don't see the current F2P system as unfair or pay to win, perhaps a little slow is accurate. Big legendary cards can be removed cheaply with basic free cards, often for a lower mana cost allowing you to play another card, the immediate effects of Ysera and Ragnaros are also random which is another downside. This is my first CCG and I appreciate being able to play without spending a cent. I should note that I pour all my in-game gold into arena and do daily quests (and re-roll the bad ones). At the moment I can basically do at least one arena run a day.

Hearthstone is great for people who aren't into CCGs but I have also heard that it also appeals to people who have played MtG, including streamers who play at a competitive level. It's also free and I have yet to spend any money on it. From my experience the randomness seems to be pretty random, you might have just gotten unlucky. I generally avoid random effect cards in constructed and only really use them in arena. I've enjoyed my time with Heartstone to the extent where I might consider getting into MtG in the future.

I also agree that arena is useful, you can play with cards that you don't have so it's a good learning experience. The only situation where I would recommend not doing arena is when you only play 1-2 matches a day. Arena with chat is also a neat idea. Having a mentor would be immensely useful.

Never concede unless there is clear lethal on the board. Matches can turned around and can even be decided by the last card.

Learning about class specific cards (including mana costs) that are big threats and are usually used such as flamestrike, truesilver champion, unleash the hounds, swipe etc. Try to think about how you opponent can counter your moves and try to play around them, this will take time and practice. For example filling your board with 4 health minions just before turn 7 against a Mage is generally a bad idea, as flamestrike is a popular card (that costs 7 mana) and is likely to be played (if in hand), resulting in a poor trade for you.

Yeah the Gray's Anatomy idea sounds good, maybe write an inspirational birthday message on the inside?

I am having a good time with Hearthstone and it plays perfectly with just one hand.

The end of "End of Watch" made me tear up.

I think they are cool and complement traditional teaching methods. It also allows education in remote areas in a cost and time effective manner. Some universities also have free lectures and courses which I think is neat because learning is rad. On the whole hiring thing I would not discriminate on the basis if their degree or qualification was online, at the end of the day the skills and personality of the person matter which you can get a better idea in an interview.

Captain America The Winter Soldier - 4/5 stars. A solid sequel, kept me interested throughout, exciting action sequences and some thought provoking themes.