Here we are again! Another Friday, another fan-friday! This time the spotlight is on WadeMcGinnis – a newcomer to OMDU with his recently acquired alpha access. Lets find out some more about Wade, who isn’t actually called Wade!

The Basics

Name: James “Wade D McGinnis” Johnson

Home town: Spokane Washington

Age: 27

Questions

• What do you do in your day job?

I am a manager at a local retail store and I start class here soon for Radiology Technician.

• Do you have any pets?

I have two dogs, ankle biters and one cat, who happen to destroy my first streaming rig.

• Which is better, Marvel or DC?

DC. While I love me some Spiderman, Batman, Green Lantern (GL), and Superman…can’t beat it.

• If you could pick anywhere in the world to travel to, where would you go?

Ireland.

•  Outside of gaming, what are your hobbies?

Other than hanging with friends, going to movies, and just having fun, I lift weight. Have my own exercising equipment. In addition I produce gaming related video content on my YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/silverdante87). Been making videos for almost three years now.  Also started to live stream on my Twitch.tv channel (http://www.twitch.tv/wade_d_mcginnis)

• What was the last film you saw at the Cinema and how was it?

That would be Amazing Spiderman 2. Never thought I would like the new Spidey but Andrew Garfield really pulls off the quirky attitude and the wit.

• How did you hear about OMDU?

By accident! I was surfing the internet trying to find something to talk about in a Holo Call episode when I stumbled upon an image of Blackpaw lunging for the Warmage. Did some research, found out Robot Entertainment had a new take on a beloved series I played way too much of, as told by my friends, and set out to pester the guys and gals over on twitter.

•  Which is your best and least favourite OMDU heroes and why?

Having had only a few matches so far and only able to see what other heroes do through the live streaming Robot has been doing, I would say my favourite is looking like Stinkeye because I really like totems. I played World of Warcraft for seven years and in that time the shaman was the one I enjoyed the most. Shamans in general are characters I enjoy playing. Love me some totems!

As to the hero I least like. I would say the Sorceress because at the moment she does not have her charm ability. What can I say, I really enjoyed charm when I played her.

• What can we find as must have items in your deck?

The usual. It’s like cooking you need tar trap for sauce, brimstone to lightly char them. Floor spikes to tenderize. Teleportation ring when you get a tummy ache after dinner. And frost arrow wall to save some for later.

Any remaining slots are situational for me. Sometimes its Anti-trap, sometimes it is improved ceiling ballista.

• Is there anything missing in OMDU that you would like to see?

For me it is the spore mushrooms. I can see players using this but making sure the creature in question stays tethered similar to how Guardians work now.

Only thing I know is missing is the physics traps. Have a fantasy of Blackpaw lunging for me only to realize too little too late that I am standing behind a spring trap and oh, there he goes. Off the ledge.

Shout out

• Is there anything you would like to say to all the OMD fans out there right now?

If you have a question, share it. The devs are listening. This is ORCS MUST DIE! There is no doubt in my mind. So make sure to keep an eye on the official stream to know where they plan on taking the game. Your voice has presence! Share it!

Thanks for taking part James! We’ll see you in game!

Tonight’s official OMDU stream featured the ranged support hero Ivy. Ivy is one of the free to play characters that will be available at launch. You can catch Robot’s Mastermind (Justin Moe) playing as Ivy in tonights stream which you can catch up on below.

There is also the community stream hosted by Nananea taking place on Thursday. Be sure to check that out to see more of Ivy! Not only that, but Taroth is also streaming Ivy and Stinkeye gameplay on Wednesday (US) and Thursday (GMT).

Watch live video from OrcsMustDie on TwitchTV

A new patch has been uploaded today for Unchained alpha testers. This patch introduces a key OMDU feature – deck building! This is no doubt something that the early-access community has been excited about for some time. Players can now build their own custom decks to take into battle. Players can create decks based on traps, minions, glyphs and weavers. It looks like this:

(Click to enlarge)

Even in its first alpha released form the deck builder is very simple and easy to use. Players just click on the cards they want to use and they are added to the deck which can be seen towards the top of the screen. Players can mix and match between the Order and the Unchained when it comes to minions with plenty of diverse choices available. Captions for minions are complete with OMD humour!

(Click to enlarge)

The deck building system allows players to have a number of pre-set decks so that players can choose the deck they want to take into battle at the character selection screen. The system is looking brilliant so far and will only get better as development progresses. We’ll be taking a look at some of these cards in the coming weeks here on REF.

In the meanwhile to get a glimpse of the deck builder in action be sure to check out the community twitch stream tonight at 7PM CT (convert your timezone) over at http://www.twitch.tv/orcsmustdie. Nananea and SixOkay will be on hand to demonstrate the system and answer questions in the Twitch chat. See you there!

Its Tuesday! This can only mean one thing – yep, its time for another official OMDU stream from Robot Entertainment. Following on from War Mage and Sorceress, today’s stream will feature the first of the brand new characters playable in Unchained – Hogarth!

Be sure to tune in at 2PM CT / 7PM GMT at http://www.twitch.tv/orcsmustdie. As always the stream will be re-playable afterwards and there will be a character summary right here on REF!

If you didn’t catch this weeks official OMDU stream you would have missed out on the game-play video stream of the Sorceress. She is the other hero alongside the War Mage who has been previously playable in OMD games which means all future streams will feature the brand new characters. Exciting stuff. If you missed out on the stream you can catch the replay right here:

http://www.twitch.tv/OrcsMustDie

So what did we learn about the Sorceress in OMDU? Well largely she retains the same gameplay style for her primary attack as in OMD2 with her rapid fire magical bolt from her staff. Her secondary weapon allows her to mesmerize enemy minions around her so that they stop moving or attacking, at least, until the minions take damage, then the mesmerization is broken. She also enjoys a very useful passive ability which means that enemy minions won’t attack her unless she attacks first. This is useful when she navigates across the level.

The Sorceress has two other abilities, one is teleportation which allows her to teleport backwards slightly should she find herself in a tricky position. Her second ability activates all traps in front of her regardless of whether they are enemy or friendly and regardless of any cool down state they may be in. The only point to note that when she uses this ability the traps will have a longer than usual cool down time afterwards. Oh and when she uses this ability she is also invincible for a short time which is certainly a nifty bonus allowing her to pass through safely.

She also almost had a costume face lift, below we can see one of the concepts by artist Bart Tiongson, however in game at the moment she retains a very similar look as she had in OMD2 and retains her purple get up.

Overall the Sorceress plays pretty much as you might expect considering her play style in OMD2. Her main abilities come from controlling minions and traps by means of mesmerize and setting off traps. She is a ranged character with her staff and she can be played equally well on offence or on defence however her abilities make her most effective when near traps or minions.

Following on from the War Mage the next official OMDU stream from Robot Entertainment lets the Sorceress take centre stage. The stream taking place tomorrow at 2PM ET (convert to your timezone) will show us some of the unique skills the Sorceress has to offer for Unchained. You’ll have to watch to find out – but if you miss out don’t worry, REF will be hear for the post stream summary plus all streams are re-playable on the Orcs Must Die twitch page.

Speaking of streams – did you catch Juicebags stream earlier today? It was a whole lot of fun. Be sure to catch the replay of that which will be available on Juicebags YouTube channel shortly.

Those twitching for more OMDU streaming should prepare themselves for Nananea’s Orcs Must Die! Unchained Community Stream taking place in just under an hours time. The stream will be focussing on the War Mage gameplay.

If you haven’t picked up your Unchained instant access yet then you’ll want to check out the giveaway that Juiced Gaming are doing. Curotesy of JuiceBags they have three instant access keys to be given away at Midnight PST on April 29th. To enter just head over to the link below. Good luck!

Orcs Must Die! Unchained Instant Access Key Give Away!