CSL SC2 Season in Review: 2013-2014 - Collegiate StarLeague - October 22, 2014

Click here for the published version of the article.

By David Wise
@wiselingsc2

The Collegiate StarLeague season is upon us once again. The best collegiate e-sports warriors from across the continent will soon duke it out for school pride and internet glory.

In anticipation for this exciting year of StarCraft, I compiled a list of the top teams and players from last season. There are also a few interesting facts below that even the most ardent CSL fan might not know! For a more detailed recap of last season’s CSL finals at MLG, feel free to read this game-by-game breakdown.

The top ten CSL teams from the 2013-2014 season

These are the top teams from the previous season. Throughout the season and the playoffs, these teams stood out above the rest. The squads came together from various backgrounds and interests to bring honor and glory to their respective schools. It should be noted that there are schools that are not on the list that could arguably qualify as one of the top ten. The difficulty of these picks attests to the many stacked and talented StarCraft II collegiate teams are out there.

1. University of Western Ontario

Before the playoffs started, those familiar with the CSL season were predicting teams such as the University of California, Irvine, the University of Texas at Austin, and other powerhouse schools to take the championship. However, after they secured a spot in the playoffs in the wildcard tournament, Christopher ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic and the rest of the University of Western Ontario squad blazed through the post-season in dominant fashion. Western Ontario left teams such as Penn State, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Florida in the dust before it vanquished the University of Toronto in the grand finals to secure the CSL title. Western Ontario’s championship run proved to be a refreshing and entertaining surprise.



2. University of Toronto (pictured above)

During the CSL StarCraft season, the University of Toronto went undefeated as it posted a perfect 8-0 record. In the playoffs, compLexity Gaming’s Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng and the rest of the True Blues toppled Carnegie Melon University, the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as the University of Texas at Austin on their path to the finals. They finally fell to the University of Western Ontario in the finals after a season-long display of teamwork and StarCraft prowess.

3. University of Texas at Austin

The Longhorns reigned undefeated in the Midwest 1 Division in season play. In the playoffs, they only dropped one map and defeated powerhouse teams, such as Utah and Purdue, before finally giving way in the semi-finals to the University of Toronto.

4. University of Chicago

The University of Chicago posted a perfect record in season play to take the top spot in the Midwest 2 Division. Its playoff run was also outstanding as it defeated Ohio State University, Rice University, and UC Irvine for a spot in the semi-finals before it finally buckled to the University of Western Ontario, the reigning champions.

5. University of California, Irvine

The ultra-competitive West 1 Division was up for grabs, especially since UC Berkeley’s Conan ‘Suppy’ Liu took leave from the CSL last season. In this staked division, UC Irvine came out on top with a 7-1 record. Irvine bested the Rochester Institute of Technology and former CSL champions University of Washington in the playoffs before an upset loss against the University of Chicago.

6. University of Utah

The Utes came into the season with a significant disadvantage: the loss of grandmasters Huy ‘SCDPride’ Troung and IvD Gaming’s Sangjae ‘ZergZingZing’ Park. Despite this, the University of Utah, under the leadership of Brandon ‘Magnet’ Gibson, posted an undefeated season record. In the playoffs, Utah bested University of California, San Diego and reached the quarter-finals, where they finally lost to UT Austin.

7. University of Florida

The Gators performed excellently in the playoffs. Florida upset Georgia Tech and defeated the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities to reach the quarter-finals where they finally fell to the University of Western Ontario.

8. École de technologie supérieure 

The Quebecois engineering school tied for first in the Canada East Division with a 6-2 record. ÉTS defeated Dalhousie University, South Dakota School of Mines, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to reach the round of eight where it succumbed to the University of Toronto.

9. University of Maryland, College Park

UMCP went undefeated in season play. The Testudos defeated the University of Central Florida in the playoffs and advanced to the round of sixteen, where they lost a close series to the CSL champions, the University of Western Ontario, 3-4.

10. University of California, San Diego

After it survived a grueling season in the West 1 Division, UC San Diego overcame the University of Victoria and UC Berkeley in the playoffs. The University of Utah ended UC San Diego’s playoff dreams 4-2 in the round of sixteen.

Most Valuable Players

The CSL sticks to a Proleague format for StarCraft II, which places heavy emphasis on team strength. However, there are still those individual players who have performed exemplarily and gone above and beyond to improve their teams’ standing.



1. Chris ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic – University of Western Ontario (pictured above)

The ace player for the CSL champions reigned victorious in all his post-season matches. In the grand finals, Ostojiy’s macro proved far too much for his Terran opponent, Tornto’s Zero. Thanks to Ostojiy’s performance and leadership, Western Ontario was able to overcome its season record and secure the CSL StarCraft crown.

2. Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng – University of Toronto

The University of Toronto posted a perfect season record in the Northeast 1 Division thanks, in no small part, to the knowledgeable and talented hendralisk. In the post-season, hendralisk dropped a couple of maps but he came through when it counted. In the semi-finals against UT Austin, hendralisk held off hellokitty’s Blink Stalker timing to win the ace match and secure Toronto’s place in the finals. Hendralisk also won his match in the grand finals against Western Ontario’s BlackOwl. Unfortunately, that was Toronto’s only map point in the series.

3. Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang – University of Texas at Austin

Many CSL fans considered UT Austin as a favorite to win the championship. Much of that confidence stemmed from former Fnatic StarCraft II pro Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang. Hellokitty’s innovative Protoss play helped UT Austin achieve an undefeated season. In the playoffs, he posted a perfect map record until he finally dropped a game in the semi-finals ace match against Toronto’s hendralisk. Hellokitty also led UT Austin in a sweep of the powerhouse University of Utah. Hellokitty has since retired from StarCraft II and we at the Collegiate StarLeague wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.

Honorable Mention – University of Chicago Collegiate StarCraft Team

The University of Chicago achieved great things this past season. Besides posting a perfect 8-0 record in season play, the Chicago StarCraft squad made it to the round of four. What makes this story even more remarkable is that Chicago was the only round of four team that didn’t feature a StarCraft II pro on its roster.

“The University of Chicago was the Cinderella story of the year, overcoming their ranks to come out on top with an undefeated regular season record in the MidWest 2 Division,” stated Collegiate StarLeague Production Director and noted StarCraft II caster Daniil ‘CheeseHeadLogic’ Pauley. “Chicago easily became one of my favorite teams to follow as the season went along. Great job to all at the University of Chicago!”

Interesting facts about 2013-2014

• The semi-finals series between the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Toronto was Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang’s final series as a professional-StarCraft II player.
• The reigning CSL champion, the University of Western Ontario, barely made it into the playoffs. The team secured a spot in the post-season via a wildcard qualifier.
• The finals between the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario represents the second time the CSL hosted an all-Canadian StarCraft championship series. The season four grand finals between the University of British Colombia and the University of Waterloo were the first.
• The CSL playoffs were rich with pro-talent. Players such as ROOT Gaming’s Patrick ‘Caliber’ Coury, Lok-Yin ‘KawaiiRice’ Kwong, and Fnatic’s Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang, among others, competed for their schools’ eSports bragging rights. The grand finals featured pro-gamers Chris ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic and compLexity Gaming’s Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng.
• University of California, Berkeley was Suppy-less last season but it still managed to eke out a 6-2 season record in the highly competitive West 1 Division. The Bears lost in the second round of the playoffs to UC San Diego.
• The CSL Finals took place at Major League Gaming Anaheim. In addition to duking it out for the CSL championship, Ostijiy and hendralisk also participated in the MLG open bracket. Former CSL Season 5 champion binskii also battled through the MLG bracket!

Hopefully this gave a glimpse of understanding into the craziness that was last season’s StarCraft II collegiate league. Each season exhibits new and unique stories about the players and schools that compete in the CSL. This year will prove likewise so stay tuned and join us for this year’s unfolding drama!

WCS Global Finals: The Last Four - Blizzard WCS Portal - November 8, 2014 (BlizzCon 2014)

Click here for the published version of the article.

Nov 8, 2014 by David Wise

In 2014, professional StarCraft II players competed in hundreds of series and thousands of matches around the world in the StarCraft II World Championship Series. At StarCraft’s crowning event –the 2014 WCS Global Finals– 16 finalists slugged it out across Southern California until four emerged from the maelstrom. These eSports heroes come from all three WCS regions, which attests to the high-caliber StarCraft talent worldwide. These four remain as the best StarCraft II players in the world and they’ll be battling for StarCraft’s ultimate title, $100,000 and the Gosu Trophy. All they have to do is get through each other. The following series will cap this incredible year of StarCraft.

Yun ‘TaeJa’ Young Seo (Terran – Team Liquid) vs Lee ‘Life’ Seung Hyun (Zerg – StarTale)
 The most consistent Terran in Heart of the Swarm will face off against one of the world’s best anti-Terran specialists. Taeja’s year proved very productive as he secured the top spot at IEM Shenzhen, DreamHack Summer, and HomeStory Cup IX along with numerous other top four placements. In the Global Finals, Taeja overcame Eo ‘soO’ Yoon Su and stood victorious after a brutal series against Lee ‘INnoVation’ Shin Hyung in order to reach the semifinals. Life’s year in StarCraft included a first place finish at DreamHack Bucharest as well as a top four finish in GSL Season 1. The former GSL champion stunned Zest and dominated San to reach the semifinals, where he will put his Zergling micro to the test against Team Liquid’s premiere Terran.  Life and Taeja will undoubtedly produce one of this year’s best, if not the best, Zerg vs Terran series.
 
Kim ‘Classic’ Doh Woo (Protoss – SK Telecom T1) vs Mun ‘MMA’ Seong Won (Terran – Team Acer)
Classic proved his StarCraft II prowess this year when he took first place in GSL Season 2. At the Global Finals, Classic defeated TvP specialist Choi ‘Polt’ Seong Hun and performed an amazing comeback against Kim ‘herO’ Joon Ho to secure his spot in the semifinals. This year, MMA won WCS Europe Season 3, DreamHack Moscow, and placed second at WCS Europe Season 1. The Acer Terran defeated Son ‘StarDust’ Seok Hee, pulled an upset victory against Choi ‘Bomber’ Ji Sungm and now finds himself facing the world’s deadliest Protoss in the round of four. The two former GSL champions face off for a spot in the championship series in what is sure to be a Terran vs Protoss skirmish for the ages.

The final day of BlizzCon is upon us and the best is yet to come. StarCraft fans around the world will witness the highest-echelons of professional StarCraft from the game’s absolute best. Join us as we crown this year’s WCS Global champion.

Blizzcon NA Phase Two Preview - Liquid Hearth - October 4, 2014

Click here for the published version of the article. 

Blizzcon NA Phase Two Preview

Preview and a look back to Phase One

By David Wise

On the 5th and 6th of October, the sixteen remaining North American Hearthstone pros will compete in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom for Phase Two of the Hearthstone World Championship: Americas Qualifier Tournament. These players will duke it out for one of four spots in Blizzard’s 2014 Hearthstone World Championship at BlizzCon and a chance at the $250,000 prize pool.

Since the Phase One qualifiers, the metagame has shifted quite dramatically thanks to huge balance changes from Blizzard. The nerfs to Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard are sure to have a noticeable impact on the choice of decks coming into the Phase Two qualifiers. In the Phase One qualifiers, Midrange Hunter and Miracle Rogue decks comprised almost half of the decks from the top fourteen players. In fact, all the top fourteen finishers (with the exception of ThatsAdmirable) ran a Hunter deck. It is doubtful that the Phase Two qualifiers will see the same Hunter/Rogue density as in Phase One, so this Phase should have an emphasis on the deck-building talents of these Hearthstone pros.

Twisted, Staz, Tarei, Kuhaku, Stunner, Chakki, and TidesofTime all chose to run both Hunter and Rogue decks in their Phase One run. It will be interesting to see how they tweak their deck construction strategies going into the next phase of the qualifiers. Only ThatsAdmirable played Secret Mage, which undoubtedly helped allow him to go on a 5-0 run in Phase One. ThatsAdmirable is another player who may have to adjust his strategy going into Phase Two. While in Phase One the meta was pretty solved -- as the above players all playing Hunter and Miracle show -- the Phase Two meta should be more open. The option to play Mage and always ban Hunter may not be a viable strategy anymore.

Japan’s Dtwo, Australia’s Stunner, and Deathstar will also compete in the top sixteen of the Americas qualifier. These players chose to run decks that some of the other top 16 finishers overlooked. Stunner and Deathstar were the only players who opted to run Zoolock in Phase One and qualify for Phase Two. Dtwo on the other hand, was the sole Ramp Druid player to make the top sixteen. Will these players continue to attack the meta from a different angle or will they swim with the current this weekend?

In Phase One, StrifeCro, TidesofTime, ThatsAdmirable, and Chakki played through the entire qualifier undefeated. This attests to the decision-making ability of these top-tier pros as well as the game knowledge required to make such decisions. If these players can keep their cool and not fall into any meta-traps, they could very well go to BlizzCon.

New strategies as well as fresh twists on old deck favorites will come to light at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The games should prove to be epic and intense as every player will give their all in order to make it to the big money at BlizzCon. The only obstacle is every other pro competing in Manhattan.

Trends from Phase Two EU

The Phase Two qualifier for the EU region was the first major tournament after the Buzzard and Leeroy nerfs. Let's take a look at those results to see what they may predict. But first, the meta results from Phase One NA:

Deck Archtype	Top 14 #	Top 14 %
Midrange Hunter	13	92.85
Miracle	7	50
Warrior	4	28.57
Handlock	4	28.57
Shaman	3	21.42
Undertaker Priest	3	21.42
Paladin	2	14.29
Token Druid	2	14.29
Zoolock	2	14.29
Ramp Druid	1	7.14
Secret Mage	1	7.14

Here, are the results from Phase Two EU:

From this we can clearly see that the meta was more balanced after the patch. Hunter's stock absolutely tanked after the patch, and if Phase Two EU is a good indicator, Priest and Paladin were some of the biggest winners with Handlock also getting a boost.

One of the most important notes from Phase Two EU, however, was the overwhelming number of control decks. The meta overall was very slow and this could be one of the most important factors heading in to the NA event.

Will the NA players stick with the trend of playing slow control decks? Or will some of them strike out and try to counter the Paladin/Handlock control meta with more all in aggro decks?

The Groups

The smarter you become, the more you realize how little you know.

WEC NA Qualifier Recap - LiquidHearth - August 5, 2014

Click here for the published version of the article.

By David Wise (@wiselingsc2)

Over the past weekend, the World E-sport Championships 2014 American Qualifier took place online. Seven American players as well as Liquidhearth’s Hong Kong-native, Amaz, competed for one of two spots in the WEC E-sport Championships in the Yellow Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou, China.

Quarterfinals

Team Liquid’s Amaz faced off versus Copenhagen Wolves’ Firebat in the first series. Firebat’s Naxxramas-fueled Hunter made short work of Amaz’s Handlock and Priest decks. Amaz climbed back into the series with his Ramp Druid deck before finally conceding the series to Firebat’s Shaman deck.
The ro8 also featured a series between Cloud 9’s Strifecro and Tempo Storm’s Reynad. Reynad took command in the first game with a Miracle triple-Leeroy versus Strifecro’s Paladin. In Game 2, Strifecro utilized Loatheb to clog Reynad’s hand, which allowed Strifecro to finish the game two turns later with Swipe. In Game 3, Strifecro’s Loatheb proved to be the deciding factor once again versus Reynad’s Control Warrior, as Reynad could not use his spell arsenal to dig himself out of a losing position. Reynad came back into the series with his Zoolock deck and forced the contest to Game 5. In Game 5, Reynad held the tempo early until Strifecro’s clutch Unleash the Hounds into Banana play. Unable to muster the hand to come back, Reynad dropped to the Losers’ Round.
The next series saw Curse’s Alchemixt face off against Mana Grind’s Realz. In Game 1, Alchemixt’s mid-range Hunter traded with Realz’s Druid well into the late stages until Alchemixt sealed the game with a Savannah Highmane, Houndmaster, and Kill Command combo. Realz came back into the series as his Control Paladin deck defeated Alchemixt’s Hunter and Control Warrior decks. Alchemixt’s Shaman deck sealed the series by taking out his opponent’s Paladin and Handlock decks.
Tempo Storm’s TidesOfTime faced off versus Dont Kick My Robot’s Brad in the final ro8 series. Brad’s Druid dealt easily with Tides’ Zoolock in the first game. However, in the following three games, Tides proved that he was the superior Druid as he performed the reverse sweep.

Semifinals

In the semifinals, Strifecro’s Control Paladin won against Firebat’s Hunter: Loatheb once again playing a huge part. In game two, Firebat bounced back with his Shaman deck. Strifecro countered with his Hunter deck in Game 3, which forced Firebat to his last deck, Druid. Firebat’s Druid made clinched the last two games and a spot in the Winners’ Finals.
The other semifinals series pitted Alchemixt versus TidesofTime. Alchemixt took complete control of the series as he swept Tides 3-0 with his Control Warrior deck.

Losers’ Round 1

Amaz and Reynad faced off to avoid elimination. Amaz’s turn one Coin, Innervate, and Chillwind Yeti combo took much of Reynad’s Hunter’s health in the early game. Reynad ultimately lost game one to a timeout on his last play. Reynad’s Zoolock dispatched Amaz’s Druid quickly in the following game. Reynad also took care of Amaz’s Handlock deck before Amaz tied up the series with his Paladin and a Banana-buffed Sludge Belcher. In the final game of the series, Reynad’s Control Warrior went the distance against Amaz’s Paladin. Reynad secured the game and the series off an amazing Deathwing play once Amaz ran out of cards in his deck and hand.
The other series in this round failed to prove as exciting since Realz swept Brad with his Handlock deck.

Losers’ Round 2

TidesofTime’s Hunter deck secured a quick 2-0 lead in the series until Reynad bounced back with his Hunter deck in Game 3. Tides finished the series with a Miracle Rogue victory and continued through to the next round of the qualifier.
Strifecro jumped to a 1-0 lead over Realz with his Token Druid deck in a drawn-out first game. Realz bounced back by securing the next two games with his Handlock deck. Strifecro then finished the series with a dominating Miracle Rogue deck.

Losers’ Round 3

TidesofTime illustrated the power of Zoolock as he swept StrifeCro’s Miracle Rogue, Token Druid, and Hunter decks to advance to the Losers’ Finals.

Winners’ Finals

Alchemixt’s Zoolock quickly rolled Firebat’s Heavy Ramp Druid, Shaman, and Hunter decks to procure the 3-0 sweep and a spot in the grand finals in China.

Losers’ Finals

The series kicked off with a Druid mirror match-up between TidesofTime and Firebat. Tides finished the game on turn nine with Savage Roar. In game 2, Firebat’s Hunter dispatched his opponent’s Druid, which resulted in a Hunter mirror for game 3. In game 3, Tides’ burst damage in the mid-game proved too much for Firebat. Tides’ Beast synergy continued into the final game against Firebat’s Shaman and secured for Tides a spot in the grand finals in China.

Final Match

The series between TidesofTime and Alchemixt began with a Zoolock mirror matchup. Tides retained control of the board throughout the game to secure the first win. Alchemixt attempted to come back in game two with Control Warrior but ultimately fell short. Alchemixt finally defeated Tides’ Zoolock with his Hunter deck. The following game featured a scrappy Hunter mirror-matchup that resulted with a Tides’ victory. In the final game, Alchemixt attempted to stay in the series with his Shaman deck. Unfortunately for him, he could not deal with Tides’ burst damage and Beast synergy and Tides reigned victorious in the Finals Match.

A Look back before Naxx - LiquidHearth - August 12, 2014

Click here for the published version of the article. 

Introduction

by Moonfell and David Wise (WiseTL)
The Curse of Naxxramas adventure mode has and is shaking up the landscape of Hearthstone. We've decided that now is a perfect time for a review of Hearthstone's history much like we did at the end of 2013.

Where we left off last year, Freeze Mage had just been nerfed and Enrage/Combo Warriors were all the rage. In those first few months of Hearthstone, however, the meta shifted almost weekly. As decks became more optimized the game seemed to settle before Naxxramas was released. Part of the reason for this stabilization was the Midrange Druid decks which came out at the beginning of the year. These decks were so stable that they became a gatekeeper of the top tier of decks: no deck without a consistent Druid matchup could consider itself top tier.

There was one deck, however, which comes before the Druids took over. To introduce it, and highlight how unstable the game used to be, here is the last line of the 2013 Review: "Warlock might be the dominant class today, but who knows what innovations or patch changes 2014 will bring. Who knows? Maybe even Hunter will get a chance in the spotlight one day. Nah, probably not."

Aggro Hunter

Hunters have been popular since players realized the power of Steady Shot. With consistent 2 damage pings, Hunters could deal huge damage combined with Leper Gnome, Unleash the Hounds/Timber Wolf, and other Charge minions. The deck was so effective at dealing with the slow control decks at the time that it spread throughout Ladder and competitive play.

Face Hunter made Priest and Paladin decks almost extinct at the time, since the two classes did not have appropriate responses for deck's early-game pressure. While those two classes suffered, Druid, Warrior and other decks were forced to adapt to counter Face Hunter.

The original Hunter Aggro deck and the more familiar one.

Dawn of Midrange Druid

Watcher Druid became an answer to the prevalence of Hunter at the time. The seemingly useless 4/5 that couldn't attack suddenly peaked the interest of other players when someone discovered to activate it with taunt. With Healing Touch, Ancient of War, and Sunwalkers, Watcher Druid became a viable answer to the Hunter meta as the Hunter couldn't remove the big walls efficiently.

Additionally, Druids benefited from the discovery of the Force of Nature-Savage Roar combo. The combination gave Druids a way to close games with a sudden burst – this 14-damage combo quickly spread to almost all Druid decks.

The Ancient Watcher list and StrifeCro's original build.

Kitkatz Control Warrior

With Watcher Druid on the rise and Hunter starting to plummet, a new deck was introduced. KitKatz created a Warrior deck that was able to overpower the Druid late game. The deck also was also infamous for its hefty price due to copious Legendaries in the deck.

KitKatz Warrior featured many late-game minions such as Alexstrasza, Ysera, Ragnaros, and Grommash Hellscream to win while using Fiery War Axe and Shield Block to stall. The deck also has cheap removal such as Shield Slam and Execute in the early game with Frothing Berserker and Armorsmiths for early board control.

The Kitkatz control Warrior.

Return of the Murlock

Murlocs started to gain popularity as the go-to aggro deck when Control was back in the meta. While not as strong as Aggro Hunter in terms of raw damage, Warlock Murloc was a more resilient option. The Murloc deck used the efficient minions to contest the board early while keeping pace with Life Tap.

Puffins Murlock

Reynad Opens the Zoo

Reynad posted a very popular Warlock build during the Control meta and it quickly exploded on Ladder due its low cost and effectiveness. This deck by Reynad was similar to many of the other board control decks which have come before it. The main change which Reynad made was the substitution of the recently nerfed Blood Imp for Shieldbearers and the inclusion of Doomguards for extra reach.

The first Zoo deck is very similar to the present Zoo, but ran Nat Pagle, Tinkmaster, and Blood Imps before the three were nerfed. The first Zoo dominated the meta at the time due to its speed and ferocity. In time, Zoo became the deck to climb the ladder, replacing its Murloc counterpart.

Reynad Zoo

A Legendary Nerf

Nat Pagle was very common in a wide variety of decks. Thus, just like Novice Engineer before it, Blizzard decided to nerf Pagle because of its prolific use. Pagle’s ability to draw an extra card moved to the beginning of the player’s turn, giving the opposing player the extra opportunity to neutralize it. The nerf succeeded in its intended effect: vastly reduced Nat Pagle sightings in Hearthstone decks as players sought other alternatives for card draws.

Tinkmaster Overspark was originally a cost-effective hard removal card. For 3 mana, Tinkmaster
would transform a target creature into a 1/1 squirrel or a 5/5 dinosaur. This was an effective method of removing taunts or neutralizing big creatures like Ragnaros. The balance team at Blizzard believed that Tinkmaster was too effective for its cost. Even though the new Tinkmaster became a 3/3, it could not target which creature to transform, which rendered it too volatile for competitive play.

Second Coming of Hunter Aggro

With the ladder swarming with either Zoo or decks filled with Taunts, a new variation of Hunter emerged. This new Aggro Hunter deck contained similar cards to the old Aggro Hunters, but with the addition of Hunter's Mark and Stonetusk Boar. These cards cleared annoying taunts so Hunters could deal continuous damage to their opponent.

This deck was also used to counter Zoo. Because Zoo swarmed the board with cheap, weak minions, Hunter efficiently dealt with the deck thanks to Explosive Trap and Unleash the Hounds. Once again, Aggro Hunter dominated the ladder much to the dismay of many players.

Trap-based Hunter Aggro.

The Control Warrior Explosion

Big armor and big creatures epitomized Control Warrior. This iteration traded cards like Ysera for Armorsmith, Shield Block, Whirlwind, and Acolyte of Pain to set up armor and card draws for the ultimate late game. The Control Warrior late game, when executed properly, seemed nigh unstoppable as high cost minions and high armor allowed it to go the distance versus most decks (especially with cards such as Baron Geddon that could damage the board). This Control Warrior was effective at handling Zoo decks as well as mid-range focused compositions. The deck lost favor among many players, however, due to the rise of Hand Warlock, Shaman, Druid, and Miracle Rogue decks. While Control Warrior still sees play on ladder and in tournaments, it isn't nearly as common now as during its initial ascent.

Midrange Hunter

Just when Hunter just couldn't get better, it did. Lifecoach made a very unique mid-range deck that combined Steady Shot and UTH with big minions like Savannah Highmane and Houndmaster. Kolento also used this deck frequently and made a name for himself as one of the best Hunter players in the game as he went to Legend rank twice using Hunter.

This particular deck was focused more on board control early while dealing huge damage in the mid game. River Crocolisk, Explosive Trap, and the fear of UTH combo kept opponents in line in the early game while overwhelming them in the mid-game with powerful minions such as Savannah Highmane. Hunter's Mark was also a frequent with deck to give it more removal in conjunction with Stonetusk Boar and UTH. This deck kept a strong presence on ladder and in tournaments until Miracle Rogue emerged as a counter.

Kolento's Midrange Hunter.

A Miraculous Return

            Everyone's Favourite

In the beta, Rogue reigned supreme until Blizzard adjusted some combo cards to nerf the class. Rogue seemed mediocre until the current iteration of Miracle Rogue reared its head. The deck relied on cheap spells, Combo cards, and Gadgetzan Auctioneer to draw the necessary pieces to set up a OTK combo (usually with Leeroy, Shadowstep, and Cold Blood). Conceal rendered the Auctioneer practically immune in most cases, which allowed the Rogue to prepare the dreaded OTK in the following turn. The effectiveness of the deck, especially versus Hunter, led to its prolific use. Thanks to the Miracle variation, Rogue still ranks as the top class according to most pros.

Kolento's first Miracle list.

Unleash the Nerfed Hounds

At the peak of the Hunter’s prowess, it seemed nigh unstoppable. At its core was the two-mana Unleash the Hounds. The cheap mana cost made it a great combo card with the likes of Starving Buzzard, Kill Command, or Hunter’s Mark, as well as an effective punish for an opponent’s stacked board. The near-impossibility of dealing with Unleash the Hounds placed Hunter as one of the most-played and most-reviled decks in the meta. Blizzard saw that Unleash the Hounds sucked the fun out of the game for many players so they increased the cost from two to three mana. While the change was small, it prevented many Hunters from executing mid-game lethals and brought stabilized Hunter matchups in the meta.

Too Much Burst?

As Hearthstone players spent more time with the various classes, refined methods to abuse high damage combos emerged. As these burst damage combos became more prevalent, HearthTrolden “sexy sax” videos experienced a boon in content. However, to those on the receiving end of these heavy hitting strats, this represented a seemingly unfair and fun-sucking aspect of the game. Miracle Rogue triple Leeroy, Druid Force of Nature/Savage Roar, Shaman Bloodlust/Rockbiter/Windfury, Leeroy/Faceless, Beast/Kill Command, as well as other combos struck fear in all those who dared to drop below 20 health.

A Mage-icle Comeback

Early in Hearthstone’s short lifespan, Freeze Mage was the top dog. It was so prolific that Blizzard nerfed Pyroblast and freeze spells to try to right the meta. Afterwards, Mage fell out of favor in competitive play, outside of aggro decks, due to the high mana cost of spells as well as weak card draw options. However, in an environment dominated by Hand Warlock and Miracle Rogue, Freeze Mage found new breath as a meta-busting counter. The WellPlayed Cup and Dreamhack Summer tournaments illustrated the potential of the new Freeze Mage. RDU utilized Freeze Mage in Dreamhack Summer to sweep Amaz’s Druid, Hunter, and Priest decks in the grand finals. Ironically, Tidesoftime used a Freeze Mage deck in the WellPlayed Cup grand finals to jump to a 3-0 lead over RDU before he finally needed to switch decks. In a somewhat stale meta, Freeze Mage provided another option for those serious about competitive Hearthstone.

Rdu Freeze Mage from Dreamhack.

Writers: Moonfell and Wiseling
Graphics: shiroiusagi.
Editors: Hayl_Storm, monk, and xes.

LiquidHearth Open Recap - LiquidHearth - August 4, 2014

Click here for the published version of the article. Before the we are able to play the first VGVN Naxxramas Release Tournament, we needed to get two more qualifiers by way of a Liquidhearth Open, we had many sign ups last weekend and here is how it played out. LIQUIDHEARTH OPEN RECAP By David Wise (@wiselingsc2) Over the weekend, the first Video Games Voters Network LiquidHearth Open took place. More than 250 professional, part-time, and amateur Hearthstone players competed in the tournament for two seeds into the VGVN Naxxramas Release Tournament. Although players from North America represented the majority of entrants, competitors from all regions of the world took part in the contest. Druids and Warlocks constituted almost half of the decks played in the tournament, followed by Rogue and Hunter decks. Mage, Paladin, and Priest were the least played classes as they constituted only five percent each of the decks played in the Open. Interestingly enough, of the top 8 finalists, only two were professional players. Rdu swept through the bracket handily until the ro16 where he finally started to drop games. Lucky exhibited more skill than luck as he swept through the tournament and secured a place and his spot in the VGVN Naxxramas Release Tournament with his Hunter, Mage, and Druid decks. HaibaraDC -- armed with Hunter, Rogue, and Warlock -- blazed a path to the semi-finals, where he finally dropped a series to Lucky. Xixo, bringing his trusty Miracle Rogue and Zoolock decks, worked his way through the bracket with machine-like precision. Xixo performed excellently with these two decks, as he recorded a 14-3 record with the Zoo deck and a 4-0 performance with the Miracle Rogue. In the semi-finals, Xixo swept Rdu 3-0 with his Zoolock deck setting up a finals where Xixo and Lucky duked it out. Xixo took the first game with Zoolock before Lucky defeated it in game two. Xixo closed out the final two games with Miracle Rogue to win this Liquidhearth Open. Lucky, however, still has qualified for the VGVN main tournament. Lucky is a player who most people have probably never heard of but now he will have his shot in the big leagues. And that, is the beauty of an open qualifier. Lucky piloted a Hunter / Shaman / Druid composition of decks to an astounding 15-3 record before losing in the finals. Among the staff here, we are all looking forward to seeing how Lucky does in the main event and I'm sure we are not alone The LiquidHearth Open proved that even part-time and amateur Hearthstone players could compete with the pros. Of the top 8 finalists, only two were professional gamers. A healthy mix of full-time, part-time, and amateur gamers ensured that the world’s best were able to compete together and ensure an excellent tournament. Liquidhearth Open Top 4 Decklists Xixo - Winner + Show Spoiler + Lucky - Runner Up + Show Spoiler + Rdu - Semi Finalist + Show Spoiler + HaibaraDC - Semi Finalist + Show Spoiler + VGVN Groups and Schedule Groups Now that the final list of players has been established, they will play out their matches in four person groups. From each group, the top two will advance into an elimination bracket where the winner of Group A will play the runner up from Group B and vice versa. Here are how the groups are broken down: Group A Amaz Kolento Realz Xixo Group B Forsen Reynad Sajvz Lucky Schedule The full tournament is planned to run on from August 9th through 11th. On Saturday and Sunday, games will begin at 12pm EDT/6pm CET. On Monday, the semis and finals matches will start at 6pm EST and midnight CET. Giveaway Throughout the tournament viewers will have the chance to win a new PC that has been provided by VGVN and Cyberpower PC. If you would like to enter the draw you may do so by using the button below. @TL_Hayl // Return of the (Marine)King

Games to Watch from Wellplayed and M-House Cups - Liquid Hearth - July 3, 2014

Click here for the original article (vods are imbedded in the published version).       Text by Hayl_Storm Contents Introduction WellPlayed Cup M-House Cup 4 Hearthstone Introduction by David Wise (@WiseLingSC2) Over this past weekend, sixteen of the best Hearthstone players in the world competed in the online WellPlayed Cup as well as the Numericable Millenium House Cup 4 in Marseille, France. Below, we have a recap of some of the best games from both tournaments. WellPlayed Cup Winners Round 1 Match 3 Game 2 (~11:45) Trump (Zoo Warlock) vs ThijsNL (Miracle Rogue) This game was interesting in that it proved that Zoo can still work even versus Miracle Rogue. ThijsNL seemed to be on the ropes against Trump’s Zoo Warlock right until he top decked a Gadgetzan Auctioneer on turn seven. Trump’s buffed Doomguard dropped ThijsNL to seven Health. Luckily for ThijsNL, he found a Cold Blood on turn eight, drew into an Azure Drake, which subsequently brought out Preparation. With all this however, ThijsNL could not answer both the Doomguard and the rest of Trump’s board and conceded the game. Another important note on this game is Trump's use of Lorewalker Cho. Not only is it a neat tech card, Cho alone gave him board control from the majority of his games and allowed him to convincingly counter Miracle Rogue and Freeze Mage. Winners Round 1 Match 4 Game 2 (~15:00) Reynad (Shaman) vs Darkwonyx (Control Warrior) In the early stages, Reynad rendered Darkwonyx’s Acolytes of Pain useless with a double Earth Shock play. Both players traded spells and minions until Darkwonyx dropped Alextraza to break the Health parity. Even with the huge lead in Health, Darkwonyx never regained board control. Even a timely Brawl could not give Darkwonyx the board presence he required to finish off Reynad. A questionable choice by Darkwonyx to drop Ragnaros resulted in eight damage to a Wrath of Air Totem before Reynad Hexed the Rag. Darkwonyx dropped a Grommash Hellscream / Cruel Taskmaster combo to bring Reynad to three Health but Reynad countered with the power of Taunts as he played Defender of Argus on two totems as well as Feral Spirit. The Taunts bought Reynad the time to stall until he could draw Doomhammer, Al’Akir the Windlord, and Flametongue Totem. These key pieces enabled Reynad to turn the game around and eliminate Darkwonyx’s Control Warrior deck. Losers Round 2 Match 2 Game 2 Reynad (Miracle Rogue) vs TidesofTime (Aggro Hunter) Reynad almost escapes again. TidesofTime successfully applied early game pressure with Zoo cards such as Abusive Sergeant and Argent Squire in order to drop Reynad to 19 Health. What made this game so interesting is TidesofTime’s use of Stealth minions Jungle Panther and Stranglehorn Tiger in the mid game to keep up the pressure. Reynad, however, would not throw in the towel and succeeded in clawing his way back into the game with a Miracle arsenal of combo spells. Unfortunately, for Reynad, he was unable to draw the requisite cards to finish off TidesofTime and the Stealth Hunter Aggro deck reigned supreme in both the game and the series. Winners Final Game 3 (~8:00) RDU (Druid) vs Darkwonyx (Miracle Rogue) Azure Drake steals the game, which is something you don’t hear too often. RDU’s early Innervate into Azure Drake play proved too much for Darkwonyx. RDU’s Azure Drake allowed him to remove Darkwonyx’s Edwin van Cleef with a Spellpower-buffed Wrath and the game snowballed from there. Unable to deal with the Azure Drake, Darkwonyx kept taking damage until RDU had the win with a Force of Nature/Savage Roar combo. Losers Final Game 2 (~1:00:00) Darkwonyx (Hand Warlock) vs TidesofTime (Druid) A very close game overall which demonstrates the raw power of today's Druid decks. A double Savage Roar/Force of Nature wins it for Tides: once to clear the board and again to Finish off Darkwonyx. Losers Final Game 5 (~1:29:10) Darkwonyx (Miracle Rogue) vs TidesofTime (Shaman) TidesofTime’s Mana Tide Totem performed its duty before exiting the board as Tides transitioned by throwing down consecutive Flametongue Totems as well as an Azure Drake. On the next turn, he placed Al’Akir the Windlord between his two Flametongue Totems to produce a 7/5 charge minion. Darkwonyx could not cleanly clear the board and Tides finished off Darkwonyx with his Flametoungue Totems to clinch the Losers Finals. Grand Finals Game 1 (~1:50:20) TidesofTime (Freeze Mage) vs RDU (Miracle Rogue) TidesofTime’s Loot Hoarder put in work in the early rounds as RDU failed to deal with it until turn six. RDU played into TidesofTime’s Flamestrike gambit by placing his Gadgetzan Auctioneer alongside his Azure Drake and 4/4 Edwin Van Cleef right before Tide’s seventh turn. RDU’s double SI:7 Agent play ran into a road block in Tides’ Doomsayer which cleared the board. Tides immediately followed with an Archmage Antonidas into Coin into Ice Block, which filled his hand with a total of four Fireballs. RDU attempted a Miracle OTK Leeroy combo that ran headlong into Tides’ Ice Block. Tides’ finished off RDU’s Miracle Rogue with a double Fireball and Frostbolt, proving once again the potency of Freeze Mage. M-House Cup 4 Hearthstone Losers’ Round 1 Game 1 Gaara (Hand Warlock) vs Kolento (Hand Warlock) This game epitomizes Handlock’s late game potential. Well into the late stages of the game Kolento and Gaara would not let the opposing player retain board control as they traded minions and made liberal use of Shadowflame, Siphon Soul, and Soulfire to clear taunted Drakes and Giants. The twenty-two minute stalemate finally ended after Kolento dropped Power Overwhelming onto Leeroy Jenkins and copied it with a Faceless Manipulator to clinch the game. Semifinals Game 1 Gnimsh (Druid) vs Gaara (Hand Warlock) This game proved to be scrappy and intense. Gaara’s Mountain Giant and Twilight Drake into Defender of Argus forced a Savage Roar/Force of Nature board clear from Gnimsh; however, that play also dropped Gaara’s Health to nine. Gaara threw down a Siphon Soul and Molten Giant to set himself up for a possible lethal next turn. Unfortunately for Gaara, Gnimsh top decked an Azure Drake that in turn drew into a Big Game Hunter. Both players traded for multiple turns until Gaara Life Tapped himself into Gnimsh’s lethal range. Gnimsh sacrificed his Loot Hoarder to find him a Savage Roar that secured him the game over Gaara. Semifinals Game 1 Kolento (Druid) vs Amaz (Druid) Amaz seemed to be on the verge of rolling over Kolento in this game. Amaz’s Ragnaros uncharacteristically hit Kolento’s face instead of his Ancient of War, however, which allowed Kolento regain board control with three 5/5 creatures. Kolento turned the tables on Amaz as he dropped him to five Health. Despite his dire situation, Amaz would not throw in the towel as he top decked a Keeper of the Grove to eliminate Kolento’s Argent Commander and regain the board. Kolento could not remove the Keeper of the Grove, which allowed Amaz the lethal follow up with Swipe. Winners’ Finals Game 3 (time: ~17:11) Amaz (Priest) vs Gnimsh (Hunter) Amaz took control in the mid game with a Wild Pyromancer that cleared Gnimsh’s one Health minions. The tides turned in the mid game when Amaz played an Aucenai Soulpriest and a Circle of Healing, which left his board susceptible to Gnimsh’s Explosive Trap. WIth the board reset, Amaz put out Ragnaros to drop Gnimsh’s Health down to five. Amaz took no chances on the next turn with Gnimsh’s Cold Light Oracle as he played a Holy Nova to guarantee the 8 damage to Gnimsh’s face and the win. Grand Finals Game 2 (time: ~8:43) Amaz (Druid) vs Kolento (Miracle Rogue) Amaz and Kolento faced off again in the Grand Finals after Amaz knocked Kolento down to the Losers’ Bracket in the semis. In Game two, Kolento utilized the Miracle spell and combo arsenal to great effect against Amaz’s mid-range minions and Ragnaros. Amaz wouldn’t be able to control the board until he threw down Cairne Bloodhoof. From that point on, Kolento could not answer the board or set up a OTK combo. Amaz hit Kolento in the face with a Swipe, leaving his opponent with one Health left and allowing the fatigue to finish the game. Writers: David Wise Graphics: Hayl_Storm, Millenium, and WellPlayed Editors: Hayl_Storm Last edit: 2014-07-03 14:43:05 @TL_Hayl // If you want to contribute to LH pm or tweet me.