Written by Hugh Williamson
The Hearthstone University Cup National tournament is rapidly approaching. With all qualifying rounds completed, 8 players from universities all across the country (one from NZ) will be competing in a best of 5 double elimination tournament on Saturday to see who will be crowned champion. I reached out to two of these players recently, and asked about their thoughts on the tournament, and Hearthstone’s general direction. They are as follows:
Interview 1- WetGoose, from UNSW.
HW: First question: what name do you go by in eSports?
WG: WetGoose
HW: For how long have you been playing Hearthstone?
WG: About five years, but had a year long break, been playing non-stop since 2016
HW: What university do you play for?
WG: UNSW
HW: How did you find out about this tournament?
WG: Friends from university who also play Hearthstone
HW: Did you have a general strategy regarding deckbuilding and play during the qualifiers?
WG: I just played a very low risk, standard line up. Just overall the best decks
HW: A tried and true strategy for Conquest format tournaments. East bracket consisted of a lot of players compared to others. What do you think gave you an edge and allowed you to qualify?
WG: Playing a lot of high ranked ladder.
HW: Fair enough. What is your favourite deck to play in the current metagame?
WG: OTK DH with Illidari Inquistitor
HW: Now that’s an interesting tech. What are your thoughts on the new miniset? Will it impact deck lineups for nationals?
WG: It will not impact archetypes apart from shaman, but will very slightly impact how the main decks interact with each other.
HW: With that, are you expecting a lot of Shaman this weekend, now that new life have breathed into the class?
WG: I think it’ll see some play but only around the middle of the pack in terms of usage (maybe 3 to 8 or so, 5th most popular class)
HW: Interesting. Are you confident you’ll do well this weekend?
WG: not confident, but I think I’m most likely to win.
HW: Well may the odds be in your favour. Final question: since you’re a veteran, what is your favourite Hearthstone deck of all time?
WG: Cyclone Mage from Scholomance Academy, was often Rank 1 Legend with it, finishing September 2020 1st in Asia.
HW: An amazing accomplishment to be sure. This will conclude the interview.
Interview 2- Abbiyr, from Monash
HW: First question, what name do you go by when competing in eSports?
A: Abbiyr- It’s the game handle I use for everything.
HW: Good to know. How long have you been playing Hearthstone for?
A: I started playing way back in Goblins vs Gnomes were released, but I was touch and go until Whispers of the Old Gods came out.
HW: Ooh, so 7 years. What university do you play for?
A: I play for Monash?
HW: How did you find out about this tournament?
A: I participated in the tournament when it was held last year, so I kept my eye out for it this year.
HW: Fair enough, so did I. Did you have a general strategy for deckbuilding in the qualifiers?
A: To be honest, all I really did was take a look at what decks were used in the grandmasters tournament, and then just tested out some variations of the decks with the heroes I felt comfortable with based off of them.
HW: Not bad at all. South bracket was rather large in player turnout compared to others. What do you think gave you the winning edge to qualify?
A: The priest decks are kinda silly value-wise right now, but in all honesty the one moment that I felt gave me the winning edge/comeback moment I needed to qualify was when I got to keep my Liadrin after my hand was switched by Illucia in my match in losers bracket, and have the rematch against King.
HW: Go figure, I also qualified thanks to my opponent misplaying with Illucia. What is your favourite deck to play at the moment?
A: It’s Stealer of Souls Warlock in wild- so much stupidity right now with that card and Plot Twist. But in standard, I’m really involving Doomhammer Shaman.
HW: What are our thoughts on the new miniset that arrived last week? Will it impact lists for nationals?
A: In answer to the first question- Some cards in it I’ve found to be really fun, and really useful to slide in a couple for many decks (in particular some of the commons and rares- like the Stealer of Souls, Primal Dungeoneer, and Selfless Sidekick) and the legendaries like Naralex and Mutanus ae interesting, if albeit a bit high-rolly. The random adventurers I’m neither for or against to be honest- some of them are much clearly better than others, but it was the same for lackeys (which were much better in my opinion). The only card that I was unhappy with was Against All Odds.
In answer to the second question, I’d say definitely, but only slightly. For example in the value priest decks, I can see Naralex being used, or Felrattler in Deathrattle Demon Hunter. Celestial Alignment Druid likes Lady Anacondra. As a whole I really only see decks having 1-3 cards replaced with new ones, but it will have an impact.
HW: Very in-depth answer. Do you think there will be many Shamans this weekend, since the class has been buffed?
A: To be perfectly honest, I plan on trying it out- so there will be one.
HW: How confident are you when it comes to this weekend’s national finals?
A: To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t expecting to make it this far. So I have high hopes and average expectations- and a vendetta against King.
HW: Excellent answer. Final question: What is your favourite Hearthstone deck of all time?
A: My favourite deck has to be Evolve Shaman, back from the Knights of the Frozen Throne.
HW: Thanks very much for your answers.
Hugh Williamson is ACE’s newest content writer. This is his first major piece for the website.