If you'd like to see the top decklists from the MLG/ManaGrind EU Open #9, check out this thread!
First off, congratulations on your victory today! You faced some great players and managed to get the win. That is no small feat.
Thank you.
Now tell me about some of the other games you play and were you competitive in them?
I played mostly Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Duel of Champions. TCG wise: I played Magic the Gathering, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, and a few lesser known titles.
Now I understand you’re a very well-known player in Europe. From what I’m reading here you have won a lot of national and region specific tournaments, or placed in the top three of them.
Yes I have: 3rd place on ESL Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft 1on1 Beta Cup #3 1st place on ESL Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Cup Battle of Crossroads 2nd place on MLG Heroes of Warcraft EU Hearthstone Open 3 1st place on MLG Heroes of Warcraft EU Hearthstone Extravaganza Tournament 1st place on Polish Tournament HearthCore Rumble #2 1st place on Polish Tournament HearthCore Rumble #4 2nd place on Polish Tournament HearthCore Rumble #8
That’s a really impressive set of accomplishments. So what made you decide to play in the ManaGrind/MLG tournament?
I always liked tournaments in trading card games and the competitive scene is the best in this type of game, also my viewers like to watch this type of events.
You have to keep the fans happy. You seem to have a lot of them! After you won they flooded our TeamSpeak waiting to hear your interview.
Yeah I’m sorry about that.
It wasn’t a problem we at ManaGrind try to promote and foster an open community where all are welcome, thus why we have tournaments in both North America and Europe.
Yes, I enter your tournament because it is one of the biggest at the moment on the competitive scene.
What was your favorite part about the tournament?
My favorite part was winning the tournament of course. *Laughs*
Now who was your toughest opponent?
All of my opponents were tough and to be honest it is hard to say who was the toughest.
Was there any one you were glad you didn’t have to face off against?
I don’t think so. We all make mistakes so it does not matter who sits on the other side of the table.
Now you won the tournament, what went through your mind as you won that final match?
Interview! Oh my god, my English is so bad. *Laughs*
You are not the first one to say that to be honest and we still managed to get it done. Moving on to your deck, what type of deck would have given yours the most problems and why?
I don’t know what the biggest threat is, but I don’t like playing against Mage decks. Sometimes you can’t do anything against a Mage. If u don’t draw a heal they then just play Fireball, Frostbolt, and Pyroblast and kill you. I don’t play a really aggressive deck. This sucks to be honest, but I won 2-0 against my Mage match up.
Let’s get into your sideboard. Sideboard choices tend to make or break a person in these tournaments so what were some of yours?
Ok let’s talk about some neutral minions. Every week I ask people their opinion of the best neutral minions in the game. So tell us what are your favorite neutral minions?
Now you have an impressive record of showings in recent tournaments and have almost a cult following in the Polish community. Tell us what makes someone a good Hearthstone player.
I don't know to be honest. Probably playing a lot, looking for own mistakes and don’t make them again, and just practice on ranked a bunch to test decks competitively.
Good advice. So how do you prepare for these tournaments?
I don’t do much. Just streaming and playing Hearthstone about eight to ten hours a day. *Laughs* Also watching some other streamers for fun and knowledge. I saw an idea of my deck on one of the streams on Twitch, Trump I think. He played a druid control deck and I love control decks, so I made my version of it and started to test it. To be honest I’m not a good deck builder, sometimes I get a nice idea and make some good decks but this does not happen often. So I saw this Druid deck and it was extremely strong so I decided to play with it in a tournament and I won.
You know we get a lot of winners who do the same thing. They see a deck they like they modify it slightly and then they come here play it and win.
I play a lot of aggro decks and whenever I’m playing against a Druid, swipe tends to be my downfall.
*Laughs*
Now that Blizzard announced they are pushing back open beta until January. We will have a lot more new players joining the competitive scene at that time. What advice do you have for them?
Do not try to blame luck or "better" cards when you lose. Sure it happens, but most the times when you lose it will be because you did something wrong, or made a simple mistake. One small mistake on turn three can easily make you lose your entire game in the end.
Oh yes! I have been victim to that many a times.
If you want to improve your game you must learn to recognize your mistakes and figure out how to not make them again.
That’s some really solid advice that I think even some experienced players should head.
Yeah.
In the latest patch Blizzard gave us with a new ranking system. What are your thoughts on it?
It’s amazing in my opinion! Previous one was so boring; I just won about forty games and got the three star master medal and you play for no reason. Now with this new ranked mode games are so much more enjoyable. We get reset every month so each month starts a new rush to the top of the rankings. One thing I want to see is the rewards. I hope they make something more than card backs, some gold and or card packs would be a nice tough. But anyway, good job Blizzard!
Last question, what are your thoughts on the recent Mage nerfs?
The change in the cost of freeze cards! Eh, come on those three cards are annoying, everyone knows this but mage still have some overpowered cards. The problem with Mages isn’t the freeze ability but direct damage without hindrance. I like playing Mage and burning my opponent’s face with Pyroblast and Fireball, but in my opinion this shouldn’t be possible. Fireball and Pyroblast should be changed. For example, in Arena when you finally stabilize but only have 10 HP left and some taunts or normal minions, you’re still in trouble of losing. All is fine vs all eight other classes, but when you play against a Mage you always have to think in the back of your head, “OMG NOT ! NOT Pyroblast and Fireball! COME'ON GOD!” I don’t like it to be honest.
The other problem is Flamestrike. When you are playing an arena match versus a priest, you can have seven minions with 3 HP and you are fine, right? You know that Holy Nova can only deal two damage. When you play against Mage, you have to slow your play a lot. You only play between two to three minions at a time because of Flamestrike. Maybe some more if you had cards like Boulderfist Ogre or Stormwind Champion that could survive one Flamestrike. But don’t worry mage have 2 Flamestrikes! So don’t get excited if they survive the first Flamestrike, because next turn your entire board could be cleared again.
Well I think we can wrap this up here. Thank you again for taking the time to do this interview. On behalf of ManaGrind I would like to congratulate you again for a well-played tournament and hope to see you back here next week.
Name: Mateusz aka MKR3
Age: 27
Location: Czestochowa, Poland
If you'd like to see the top decklists from the MLG/ManaGrind EU Open #9, check out this thread!
First off, congratulations on your victory today! You faced some great players and managed to get the win. That is no small feat.
Now tell me about some of the other games you play and were you competitive in them?
Now I understand you’re a very well-known player in Europe. From what I’m reading here you have won a lot of national and region specific tournaments, or placed in the top three of them.
That’s a really impressive set of accomplishments. So what made you decide to play in the ManaGrind/MLG tournament?
You have to keep the fans happy. You seem to have a lot of them! After you won they flooded our TeamSpeak waiting to hear your interview.
It wasn’t a problem we at ManaGrind try to promote and foster an open community where all are welcome, thus why we have tournaments in both North America and Europe.
What was your favorite part about the tournament?
Now who was your toughest opponent?
Was there any one you were glad you didn’t have to face off against?
Now you won the tournament, what went through your mind as you won that final match?
You are not the first one to say that to be honest and we still managed to get it done. Moving on to your deck, what type of deck would have given yours the most problems and why?
Let’s get into your sideboard. Sideboard choices tend to make or break a person in these tournaments so what were some of yours?
Ok let’s talk about some neutral minions. Every week I ask people their opinion of the best neutral minions in the game. So tell us what are your favorite neutral minions?
Now you have an impressive record of showings in recent tournaments and have almost a cult following in the Polish community. Tell us what makes someone a good Hearthstone player.
Good advice. So how do you prepare for these tournaments?
You know we get a lot of winners who do the same thing. They see a deck they like they modify it slightly and then they come here play it and win.
Now what was the MVP of your deck?
I play a lot of aggro decks and whenever I’m playing against a Druid, swipe tends to be my downfall.
Now that Blizzard announced they are pushing back open beta until January. We will have a lot more new players joining the competitive scene at that time. What advice do you have for them?
Oh yes! I have been victim to that many a times.
That’s some really solid advice that I think even some experienced players should head.
In the latest patch Blizzard gave us with a new ranking system. What are your thoughts on it?
Last question, what are your thoughts on the recent Mage nerfs?
Well I think we can wrap this up here. Thank you again for taking the time to do this interview. On behalf of ManaGrind I would like to congratulate you again for a well-played tournament and hope to see you back here next week.
Congratz to MKR! Poland going strong!
www.twitch.tv/gnimsh
Great interview! Thanks for that!
Must be something in the water.... or the golumpkis