What Sets the Pros Apart: Cydonia Talks About Tournament Deck Lineups
Blizzard's Kevin Hovdestad had a chance to speak with Hearthstone pro player Cydonia about tournament deck lineups and has put together a list of tips for those that are looking to put together a lineup of their own.
Quote from Kevin HovdestadIn this entry in our What Sets the Pros Apart series, none other than Julien “Cydonia” Perrault is here to educate us on how to build a deck lineup to play in a Hearthstone tournament. Perhaps best known for his victory in the 2016 Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) Americas Spring Championship, Cydonia has remained active in the competitive Hearthstone scene, and often provides excellent advice for how to approach the game at the highest level on his Twitch stream.
I want to compete in a tournament. How do I decide which decks to play?
According to Cydonia, there are a few layers to work through. The first one is simply knowing if you can play all the best decks equally (or have the cards to make them). If not, you should play what you have and are best with. If you can choose to build any deck, though, Cydonia says, “If they can be countered and you expect a lot of people to bring the best decks, then counter them. If they can’t be countered, play them.” He goes on to add that if there is an asymmetrical balance to the metagame (where rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock, for example), you also have to predict what people will bring correctly.
How do I change my strategy based on the tournament’s rules?
Cydonia says the first thing to figure out (if applicable) is what class you will be banning. “Figure out which deck to ban, then tech the other decks according to the rest of the expected meta,” Cydonia explains. In many tournament environments, deck lists will be open, meaning you can see exactly what your opponent has brought—but they also can see what you have. “For open deck lists, established strategies are usually better, since you cannot count on your opponent not knowing how to play against your deck,” he says. “You also can’t omit key cards and hope your opponent will play around them.”
What is the most effective way to practice for a tournament?
There are two stages to tournament practice, Cydonia says: early on, you should play a wide range of decks to get comfortable with your options. As you get closer to the actual date of the competition, however, he recommends focusing on specific, tricky matches: “Test the matchups that are harder to pilot and not as prevalent on ladder,” he says.
In terms of his own practice and preparation regimen, Cydonia says, “I make sure I get enough games with all the decks to have a good feel for them, then try to practice all the difficult matchups. If there isn’t enough time to practice everything, I talk with other players to figure out a good plan and mulligan strategy for every matchup I expect to face.” He says there is no specific routine for actual events, since travel requirements and environments vary, but he makes sure to have eaten and always have lots of water to drink.
What should I do to review after a tournament?
A step that top players take, Cydonia encourages players to review their games once the tournament is over. “Record the games and watch them with other players to spot mistakes or alternative lines of play,” he says. “Evaluate the preparation that was done, and identify causes for wins and losses.” He notes that while what’s being played will change from one tournament to the next, “You’ve got to be good at correctly figuring out what was done well, what went wrong, and separating out what can be improved.”
All of this excellent advice can be combined with other skills that set pro players apart to get better at the game! Check out our previous installments on board positioning and mulligans, and let us know what skills you’d like to hear more about in the future in the comments.
While it’s is true about the resources the pros have, they were not born that way. That being said, I know some minds, like athletes’ bodies, are better geared for playing HS. That all being said, my point is the majority of pros started like we all did w/ HS. A pro partakes in Hard work, communication, reflection, & lots of practice to become pro. Also, I think the majority of pros didn’t & don’t focus on being a “friend” with someone on HS only to the say, “f*** you as*****!!! You suck & im the best ever!! Go fu***** die you bast***!” Then, before you can even say what in the world?, they defriend you & scurry back to their lil crybaby, trolling, negativity, & stupid hole. I really wish Big B could set up protocols so when this is done, those players would be suspended for a specific amount of time. Then, after so many “rude, profane, ignorant, uneducated” rants, suspend them for a longer time or revoke their access to HS. I mean do we really want these “I’m hiding behind a wall & nothing can be done, so I’m going to say things I never would to your face because I would get punched in the mouth” players on HS?? I DO NOT!! Also, here is question to you Big B: Do you want to make money off people that do things like this or have these peeps spreading this uneducated, sometimes racist & bigoted, offensive bile on HS? Does this really help your bottom line? It does a great job at running newbs off. I don’t think that’s what Big B wants. Peace
WSP
The secret to tournament success is practice partners, since you can't ban a class on ladder.
Ladder can feel like a waste of time when your tournament game plan is to counter X archetype and need to ban X class.
Sure you can. You simply concede to whatever class you are going to ban.
"In many tournament environments, deck lists will be open, meaning you can see exactly what your opponent has brought—but they also can see what you have"
This is the most stupidest thing ever.That simplifies things to consider and makes good players better by knowing what your opponent has.He knows about your deck aswell,but that doesn't do justice.The gameplay would be much more exciting if both players had no idea about the opponent's deck.
This is the only reason i don't compete in tournaments.You might aswell play with open hands....
The main purpose for this is, that players can't just switch decks around or tech their submitted decks. If there was no decklist, you couldn't control this properly, heck even with decklists it still happens. If it this people plan this or it happens by accident doesn't matter. Decklists are the only proper solution. And what would be with streamers who pracitce on stream? There decks are in plain sight. I think the decklist just mae it fair for everyone. Just my 2 cents.
Why don't they just have decklists submitted, and have decks be verified before matches begin by some official, to make sure people aren't making changes to their decks mid-tournament? They could just release decklists after the tournament, and if discrepancies are found, then they can deal with that when/if someone notices. Someone WILL notice.
The gameplay would be really bad if you didn't know the decklists. You need to know what class to ban and your mulligan strategy is very different based on the archetype you are facing.
There are a multitude of cards that allow you to obfuscate your strategy even with open deck lists. Anything with the Discover keyword. Anything that puts a random card and/or a card from another class into your hand or directly in play. And so on.
I doubt I'll ever partecipate in any tournaments, but it's always good to get some insights from the better players out there.
Nice post. I wonder if he still enjoys the game or just does it as a job.
I may be very wrong, but given that the money in these games is more from streaming than from the actual tournaments (correct me if I'm wrong, but they aren't numerous or remunerative enough to make a living out of), I'd guess that if pros didn't still enjoy the game thay could transfer their skills to another popular card game and stream that with relative ease.
Just my two coins though, I could be completely wrong ;-)
And he lost in the wild open just before this was posted FeelsBadMan
Can i practice to get better with RNG jesus? He make all the different in this game
The only thing that sets the pros apart is the love and favor of one and only true god:
Surely RNGesus should look like Buddy Christ from Dogma!
I'm pretty excited to be able to make my own tournaments with my friends. sounds like a fun addition to the game