Firebat announces "Batstone" - the first community ban HS tournament

James “Firebat” Kostesich has recently announced his plans for “Batstone”, and the community is already building up the hype! The unique part about this tournament that separates it from others is its community interaction. Every member of the community is encouraged to check out the ban page here (voting over - view results below!) and submit their votes for which cards should be banned from use for the duration of the tournament. Some hot topics include Tuskarr Totemic, Yogg-Saron, Knife Juggler, Menagerie Warden, and Barnes. The top 5 cards voted on will be banned from any play during the tournament – no player will be able to use them.

The tournament will be played out in Standard format (so, not Wild), consisting of Single Elimination BO5 1 ban conquest. The tournament will officially be hosted by Cloud9, so we should certainly expect some of their players to represent.

EDIT: We have the ban list! The 5 cards that will be banned from the tournament’s use are:

• Yogg-Saron (unsurprisingly)
• Tuskarr Totemic
• Fiery War Axe
• Barnes
• Call of the Wild

These are interesting picks from the community. Fiery War Axe in particular surprises me, as it is Warrior’s key tool to getting out of the early game. As a result, we shouldn’t expect too much Warrior to be seen in this tournament – it’s a rough ban for that class.

Call of the Wild was unexpected, but also not surprising. I was under the impression that players banned cards that they saw to be un-fun, or simply overpowered, and frankly, Call of the Wild fits both of those criteria nicely. Well done, Hearthstone community – let’s see how this one goes.