He knew that the secret was either Misdirection or Explosive Trap, I don't see any reason to play around Misdirection and not Explosive when your board is all small minions.
Later on he lost the match because he was unable to win with his Zoolock, I think this mistake cost him the Championship.
Hunterace did have some luck during the series but Viper did also...it's HS, rng is very present and without some good draws/rolls on your random generating spells/minions you wouldn't come to final. Especially when therer are 5-6 same decklists more or less.
But also, Hunterace had some amazing plays, the Final itself was a joy to watch to me,excelent matches, drama till the end.
Like someone said, last mach of the series was absoultely EPIC! Tables turned so many times during the match, at times i was sure Viper is winning, then that Rafaam, 2x Azalina wtf!! Epic comeback by Hunterace....Absolutely great, congrats to both of them, great stuff!
Doesn't matter. Explosive Trap kills everything either way. Period.
ABSOLUTELY incorrect. Attacking with the Witchwood Imp into the Hench-Clan Burglar before playing any of the cards he had in hand at the time (Voidwalker, Witchwood Imp and Arch-Villain Rafaam) would've buffed the Argent Squire's Health to 3, that was lethal on the spot. However Viper did not know which secret it was, obviously. He chose to give himself a better chance against Misdirection and COMPLETELY disrespected Explosive Trap by playing not only the Voidwalker but also Witchwood Imp, which by the way was lethal the very next turn as Hunterace's deck did not run any copies of Fan of Knives. (I might be wrong on that one so if I am please do correct me but I remember hearing the casters say that.) Worst case scenario, it is Misdirection and the Argent Squire didn't attack face. VIper could've just played the other Witchwood Imp and win the next turn unless some other shenanigans happen. That was a huge misplay and cost him the title but I think it's very understandable to brain fart under such immense pressure.
Doesn't matter. Explosive Trap kills everything either way. Period.
ABSOLUTELY incorrect. Attacking with the Witchwood Imp into the Hench-Clan Burglar before playing any of the cards he had in hand at the time (Voidwalker, Witchwood Imp and Arch-Villain Rafaam) would've buffed the Argent Squire's Health to 3, that was lethal on the spot. However Viper did not know which secret it was, obviously. He chose to give himself a better chance against Misdirection and COMPLETELY disrespected Explosive Trap by playing not only the Voidwalker but also Witchwood Imp, which by the way was lethal the very next turn as Hunterace's deck did not run any copies of Fan of Knives. (I might be wrong on that one so if I am please do correct me but I remember hearing the casters say that.) Worst case scenario, it is Misdirection and the Argent Squire didn't attack face. VIper could've just played the other Witchwood Imp and win the next turn unless some other shenanigans happen. That was a huge misplay and cost him the title but I think it's very understandable to brain fart under such immense pressure.
It was a huge misplay from Viper because he completely committed to playing around Misdirection and disregarded Explosive trap. If the trap had turned out to be Misdirection his line of play was perfect to give him the highest chance of winning on the spot however it was foolish to go all in like that because it gave Hunterace a chance to survive.
With the full advantage of time we can say the correct line of play was to play the Void Walker but keep the stealth imp in hand until after testing the trap - that put out another target for Misdirection but also left the 1 stealth damage on board in case of Explosive.
Clearly half of the people here did not even see sacrifice imp on an opponent minion for HP buff and then attack face. So yea... Rank chicken? As for viper. I'm not saying it's easy to be in perfect shape after so many hours on stage but we can all see his reaction after explosive trap triggered - he knew he misplayed badly. In my opinion, he did not see the play allowing him to reach face through explosive thus chose to play around misdirection.
Also, don't forget he could have had lethal the next turn by not playing a second copy of imp (stealth) b4 revealing a secret. From this position onwards he was tilted and did not make optimal plays.
Still, the last match was epic :P I enjoyed the series very much.
He knew that the secret was either Misdirection or Explosive Trap, I don't see any reason to play around Misdirection and not Explosive when your board is all small minions.
Later on he lost the match because he was unable to win with his Zoolock, I think this mistake cost him the Championship.
Hunterace did have some luck during the series but Viper did also...it's HS, rng is very present and without some good draws/rolls on your random generating spells/minions you wouldn't come to final. Especially when therer are 5-6 same decklists more or less.
But also, Hunterace had some amazing plays, the Final itself was a joy to watch to me,excelent matches, drama till the end.
Like someone said, last mach of the series was absoultely EPIC! Tables turned so many times during the match, at times i was sure Viper is winning, then that Rafaam, 2x Azalina wtf!! Epic comeback by Hunterace....Absolutely great, congrats to both of them, great stuff!
ABSOLUTELY incorrect. Attacking with the Witchwood Imp into the Hench-Clan Burglar before playing any of the cards he had in hand at the time (Voidwalker, Witchwood Imp and Arch-Villain Rafaam) would've buffed the Argent Squire's Health to 3, that was lethal on the spot. However Viper did not know which secret it was, obviously. He chose to give himself a better chance against Misdirection and COMPLETELY disrespected Explosive Trap by playing not only the Voidwalker but also Witchwood Imp, which by the way was lethal the very next turn as Hunterace's deck did not run any copies of Fan of Knives. (I might be wrong on that one so if I am please do correct me but I remember hearing the casters say that.)
Worst case scenario, it is Misdirection and the Argent Squire didn't attack face. VIper could've just played the other Witchwood Imp and win the next turn unless some other shenanigans happen.
That was a huge misplay and cost him the title but I think it's very understandable to brain fart under such immense pressure.
https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1270384-hunteraces-tempo-rogue-hct-2019-world-championship
Yes Hunterace didn't have Fan of Knives.
It was a huge misplay from Viper because he completely committed to playing around Misdirection and disregarded Explosive trap. If the trap had turned out to be Misdirection his line of play was perfect to give him the highest chance of winning on the spot however it was foolish to go all in like that because it gave Hunterace a chance to survive.
With the full advantage of time we can say the correct line of play was to play the Void Walker but keep the stealth imp in hand until after testing the trap - that put out another target for Misdirection but also left the 1 stealth damage on board in case of Explosive.
Clearly half of the people here did not even see sacrifice imp on an opponent minion for HP buff and then attack face. So yea... Rank chicken? As for viper. I'm not saying it's easy to be in perfect shape after so many hours on stage but we can all see his reaction after explosive trap triggered - he knew he misplayed badly. In my opinion, he did not see the play allowing him to reach face through explosive thus chose to play around misdirection.
Also, don't forget he could have had lethal the next turn by not playing a second copy of imp (stealth) b4 revealing a secret. From this position onwards he was tilted and did not make optimal plays.
Still, the last match was epic :P I enjoyed the series very much.