Hi! I'm having the same problem with Task List not appearing (so the bot can't be operative) since last update. I've also tried switching IP's, deleting the old one, downloading 2.9.5.1 and installing it in a new folder and then running as administrator too, but it's not working...
Useful information: everytime you click on Task List you can see the log message saying "Loading data, please wait", but nothing more appears after/before that messages trying to open Task List if you click more than once. You can also read "Checking game environment, please wait" after clicking on Start Bot and if you push "Deck Debugger" after a few seconds the program crashes. (I've also checked what you were saying about XML format and i can read as i did in previous versions "Hearthranger - Bot for Hearthstone")
I'm running Windows 8.1, and if you need more information to solve this issue just ask for them. Thank you for your job.
http://imgur.com/DxuG7cH