France-based team Solary is back at it again, setting up yet another third party tournament with plenty of free goodies on the line for dedicated viewers! Make sure to tune in during the weekend to earn yourself some guaranteed Standard packs. While at it, cheer for a handful of renowned competitors and perhaps walk away with the added knowledge of which launch decks for March of the Lich King might prove superior this early on. 

  • Day 1: Saturday December 10th; starts at 2 PM CET & ends at 8 PM CET
  • Day 2: Sunday December 11th; starts at 2 PM CET & ends at 8 PM CET

That would be 5 AM - 11 PM PST, 8 AM - 2 PM EST, and 10 PM - 4 AM KST. 

Here is hoping some of you count themselves as morning birds, if not based in Europe. Mind that the times we have are approximate at best (not to mention the usual time zone headaches when different parties tend to report different hours) - it could all very well begin a bit sooner and conclude a little later. We can expect English, French, German, and Spanish broadcasts across the four participating Twitch channels. In order to become eligible for any drops or giveaways, be certain that you are following them on your personal account. 

The First March of the Lich King Invitational

This is pretty much the first tournament - however contained when it comes to the number of participants - with bigger stakes since the new expansion went live on December 6. And right after the somewhat unexpected balance patch hit two very popular cards, possibly making the contenders hurriedly look for some new and improved lineups with only so many hours to spare. It should be interesting to see what they've managed to come up with on such short notice. 

The following information has also been shared by Blizzard on the official forums - albeit only regionally in Europe, thanks to the efforts of Community Manager Vyraneer:

Quote From Blizzard
On Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th of December, tune in to watch an epic challenge between 8 champions in a friendly tournament (Standard) hosted by the Solary group. 

@G2Thijs | @HunteraceHS | @xBlyzesHS | @gabyHS59 | @BabyBearHS | @FenoHS | | @BabyBearHS | @JambreHS |A Solary team player (@OdemianHS)

The tournament will be streamed on SolaryHS channel (:fr:) and re-cast by:
:uk: @G2Thijs
:de: @iamthanh_hs
:es: @FeelinkHS

:fire: Twitch drops :fire:
Day 1: Saturday December 10th; starts at 1:00 PM GMT & ends at 7:00 PM GMT
Day 2: Sunday December 11th; starts at 1:00 PM GMT & ends at 7:00 PM GMT

Participating channels:

SolaryHS | Thijs | iamThanh | Feelink

 


(Source)

Additionally, we've learned this from Tars, who plays and streams for Solary: 

Quote From Tars

  • BO5 Conquest 1 ban
  • 2pm - 8pm CET Saturday & Sunday
  • Twitch Drops (on the 4 channels streaming the tournament)
  • Packs giveaway between matches

The format is believed to be Double Elimination, with every single match being streamed. xBlyzes is also going to appear at Hearthstone World Championship next week, and with the rest of the known featured names present, it's a good chance to catch up on some of the crowd favorites. 

Brackets & Decks

If you are interested in what everyone has brought to the table and how the tournament groups panned out, then these resources should show you everything there is to know:

  • The Invitational's Battlefy page - overview of the event and brackets for Group A & B; you can also view and copy all decks by clicking on each individual's Battle Tag.
  • D0nkey.top & Yaytears - lineups and decks; click on the names to see the lists and codes.
  • Prize pool - there's more on the line for the players; namely 6k Euro total: from 2k for the 1st place to 250 for the 7th/8th.

Besides the more or less obvious choices (Druids, Rogues), there is a surprising amount of Paladins. Blood and Frost Death Knights also enjoying a decent representation. It would seem that most of the competitors didn't want to risk using Hunter after the Shockspitter change.

Solary Tournament Twitch Drops

The Twitch Drops window seems to be incredibly tight for this event, seeing as we are required to watch 2 hours of the broadcast for a single Standard pack (maximum of 4 over the weekend, up to 2 daily). Can't be very late or skip much in order to make the most out of it. Here is what we do know and what we should all be eventually seeing: 


(Source)

Besides the above, the standard Twitch Drops rules should apply:

  • Make sure your Twitch Account is connected to your Battle.net Account. It might require re-linking.
  • Watch the broadcast on any of the four participating channels.
  • Watch for 2 hours to get 1 Standard card pack. Then 2 more hours to obtain the 2nd pack.
  • You will need to claim your first Twitch Drop reward BEFORE you can earn progress towards a second.
  • You can view your current progress towards a pack (shown in %) at any time - Drops & Rewards via the Twitch User Interface.
  • Refresh the stream window if you are not seeing any indication of progress towards the featured Twitch Drops. 
  • You will not receive the rewards automatically. They must first be claimed in the Drops Inventory menu on Twitch.
  • After you’ve claimed your pack(s) on Twitch, make sure to enter the exact in-game server you’d like to receive the drop(s) on: the first region you log into will be where the pack(s) get delivered.

See you there, one way or another? 

Got any particular favorites, or any strong decks you are betting on after the surprise nerfs?