HEX Update – Exciting Times

Hi HEXers! We’ve ended the week with two huge announcements. Last night, we published a press release with Wizards of the Coast that announces the settlement of the lawsuit between our two companies. This morning, we announced the structure of the $100,000 HEX Invitational.

C.R.E.A.M.

Simply, you gain Invitational Qualifier tickets by playing in tournaments. Daily scheduled events provide the most tickets. You then spend 10 IQ tickets to enter into a scheduled Invitational Qualifier tournament. There is no additional entry fee to the IQ tournaments to the 10 IQ tickets you spend. The winner of each Invitational Qualifier tournament then wins a trip to Lake Forest, CA where he or she will play against 11 others for his share of the $100,000 purse! For all the specific rules, you’ll want to read the announcement, FAQ, and Terms of Service.

So, huge news for HEX! And don’t forget that it’s VIP weekend.

Tusker, Blow Your Horn

You can see all the information regarding this month’s VIP tournaments here.

Note that the alternate art prizes, Quash Ridge Tusker AA and Exarch of the Egg AA are not currently available in the game (v 0.9.7.126). Players who obtain the requisite wins in their VIP tournament to obtain these cards will have those cards placed into their inventory after the next update to HEX. Players will not receive an in-game mail when these cards are inserted into accounts. Stay tuned to HEXTCG.com for more information about that update in the future.

If you are not yet a HEX VIP and don’t want to miss out on these tournaments, you should definitely become one. Head to the in-game store and choose 1 month, 3 months, or 12 months. With your purchase, you get a pack per week of the current set plus tickets to allow entry into these events (tournament entry fees still apply). Players who sign up for the full year also get the exclusive Cerulean Mirror Knight Alternate Art sleeve! See the VIP FAQ for more information.

Mixed Media

Last week, we featured some of the many HEX streamers you’ll find on Twitch. This week, we’ll wrap up by featuring some of the websites and other media players are creating outside of streaming. This isn’t a complete list of everyone creating content. There are lots of awesome people out there playing HEX and creating content. If you like someone in particular and want to let people know, please comment in the forums for everyone to see.

2 Turns Ahead – From Zubrin, one of the 2 Turns Ahead hosts

What do you like about HEX?

Each game of Hex offers us an opportunity to develop strategic plans, implement them, and learn how our opponents respond to our carefully crafted strategies. Discussing our thinking, lines of play, and outcomes with friends and the rest of the Hex community is a highlight we get to participate in every week through the podcast.

Describe your podcast

The 2 Turns Ahead podcast is the goto podcast for the competitive Hex player that wants the extra edge while drafting or playing constructed. 2 Turns Ahead focuses on covering competitive HexTCG on a weekly basis; each episode usually features Zubrin, Pentachills, and a third guest that changes from week to week. New episodes come out on Tuesday and we typically discuss current community news, ongoing debates, competitive events, theory, expert play, and always end each episode with our top draft picks from a booster pack.

When and where can people download your podcast?

2turnsahead.com, our RSS feed, and Our iTunes link.

Threshold Podcast – From Matt, one of the Threshold Podcast hosts

What do you like about HEX?

Sealed Gauntlet has given us an opportunity to interact with the community. We are able to build decks together and discuss the many variations a sealed pool can offer.

Describe your podcast

We started the podcast during the Kickstarter to keep all of the backers informed and entertained. Now, we’ve evolved into a weekly podcast that covers community topics and events. We’re also starting to roll out weekly content on our website. We have a weekly article about sealed gauntlet that encourages new and old players to give creative feedback with a contest that rewards cards, packs, sleeves, and more.

When and where can people download your podcast?

3. New episodes come out every Monday and can be found on our website, http://www.thresholdpodcast.com, or over on iTunes.

FiveShards – From Zubrin, one of the FiveShards community members

What do you like about HEX?

In brief, speaking on behalf of just over twenty people, we are passionate about the game due to the game itself, the community that surrounds it, and, of course, the company that created and continues to work on the game. If any of those pieces were not as great as they currently are, the game would be less than what it is today.

Describe your website

FiveShards has nearly two dozen contributors for the website. We primarily create articles and videos that cover everything from PVP (including competitive play, tournaments, limited strategies, and constructed deck building) to PVE (including deck building, strategy, and lore) and market activity. We usually have two to three new articles, videos, or updates a week, so keep checking every day!

In addition to producing content for all levels of players, we also host the massively popular FiveShards Cup Tournament Series; this community tournament series happens during the second weekend of every month that boasts a 250 booster prize pool in addition to several random door prizes. Each season contains five tournaments that anyone can enter and a final tournament that the top 64 season point earners are eligible to play in.

When and where can people be a part of FiveShards community?

They can see new content on Fiveshards.com

Deck Building with Da Squire

What do you like about HEX?

I love deck building ever since I started with the old Decipher Star Wars the Customizable Card Game. The equipment and gems in Hex give me so much room to innovate and do crazy things that it made it an easy decision to become a Kickstarter backer three years ago.

Describe your YouTube Channel

Over the years I’ve developed an affinity for being able to prototype new deck idea’s quickly. So, I felt that I wanted to dive into the YouTube and streaming community by working on a show focused on building decks of all styles every week. After having some interaction with other streamers I also found that I really enjoyed interviewing and interacting with the community. I’ve committed myself to promoting other HEX Content providers both big and small by having them come on the show.

When and where can people catch you?

Every week on Friday, I do a live show which has been dubbed “Deck Build’n w/ da Squire.” It airs at 8pm Central Standard Time. If you can’t make it to the live show don’t worry because I syndicate my work out to YouTube during the following weekend. I’m also affiliated with the Five Shards group and so you can always catch the syndicated episodes of the show on our website every Monday. Sometimes people really just want to see what deck I’ve built so that they can try it out for themselves. For those people, I always post the deck list in the YouTube comments as well as below the video on the Five Shards website. Additionally, I regularly put out gameplay of competitive drafts, tournaments, and PVE on my YouTube channel after streaming it live on Twitch.tv.

That’s all for this week. Please leave any questions or comments in the forums, and don’t forget to Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitch, and register on our forums.

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