KadakHS - deck testing and learning

[KadakHS 1]

Hi guys! 

I have been playing HS for quite some time (1,5 yrs +/- I think) and I decided to make videos. I am not somehow good and I think that I should have hit legend if I am playing actively for some time but I have not.  Here comes the idea behind my videos. I want to hear an opinion from you to my plays, what I should mulligan or what I should not. You think about it, so do I and we can both move forward... and that is the spirit behind my channel. I just want to get better and that is (at least for me) one of the ways to improve it, because two heads > one head, right? I just want to hit legend and I feel like I often win just cuz I draw too good or the opponent draws too bad. Enough saying, I will post some videos =)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUsRaxq9Ls4

For example RenoLock gameplay where is a lot of decision where I was not sure. Definetely check this out!

I will be posting more in the future

See you for now guys :)

 

[Paracel 165]

Ok, I don't have that much time to check out all your videos right now, only this one. Be warned, I'm a tough crowd to please. Constructive criticism at its worst best.

Straight up to bad things:

• I have no idea what deck are you playing. "Stancifka Reno" is not as explainative as you think, if you don't follow Overmind Twitter accounts. I don't. The only thing I got when I saw Cifka's name was archived footage from Pro Tour Return to Ravnica, 2012, playing in my head, when he gloriously defeated everyone and forced a card ban following the PT. Good times. People who netdeck and watch such videos usually don't know where to find that exact deck, too. It takes a minute to show it on video and we are good. Or at least put it down in description.
• You are way too quiet and don't speak clear. I get it, English is hard and you can only get better with practice, so start practicing. By speaking loud and clear.
• Get a Deck Tracker. It gives you a sizeable advantage and is just a good quality of life feature. You're a glorious PC master race, after all.

The actual game sucked, pretty much. because your opponent drew pure gas. You had a window of opportunity when you Hellfired him and he was on three cards, but then you was just so focused on deploying Reno you shot yourself in the leg, essentially. And pitching Sunfury after Jaraxxus was lethal misplay, you could have raced him by taunting up stuff. You had Defender of Argus around, as well. Bad RNG? The line is not to play Soulfire there so it can't happen, ever.

More expansion on Reno deployment. 

Short answer is that you didn't have a real plan there, Tapped way too much, and started winning way too late. 

Long answer is going to be, well, a pretty long one. 

A side personal note is that I am very fond of Homework in gaming. It's a running joke among my friends that I memorize game wiki and top tier guides for everything before I start playing, and this is partially true - because that information is golden. Granted, I was never really that good at real, mechanical games, but upon joining Icy-Veins back in the day, I learned how to do my Homework and actually improve. In Hearthstone, Homework is even more important, and I'll show you why, because you made a good example of what happens when you don't do it. No offense. But you lost that one ;)

So, your Homework step number one was to acquaint yourself with the deck, before even playing. I don't mean YouTube videos, I mean look at the decklist, know what is actually in there, get down a plan for common matchups or archetypes. You could do it in the beginning of your video, looking at the decklist (which you promptly didn't).

What you should have probably ended up with is the realization that it's a fair Control deck in your hands that is rather slow, very high on value but rather bad on reaction, especially premier removal.

Enter your opponent, Jade Druid. What Jade Druid does is getting ahead on mana, deploying stuff and killing you with it - y'know, generic Druid thing. A catch here is that his dudes are better than your kill spells, and he has a lot of them. Ergo, a) you should not play a long game against Druid, b) and try to utilize your good beaters, because premier removal in Druid decks is rather scarce. 

What action of yours against this plan? That's right, excessive Life Tapping. Not spending mana on plays = not getting ahead on board = dragging the game into late phase = losing. 

I mean, what were you thinking at that time? Usually, when people have no idea what they are playing, they just slam the green shiny stuff on their table. That would have been a correct line - MCTech can't find value? I'd take that 3/3, thanks, because that's what I win with! And so on.

Getting card advantage in that scenario was counterproductive, because it meant nothing for the matchup. It was a game of board, not resources. There is a merit of additional card selection coming from these fresh cards, but then again, if you had no plan, you weren't digging for anything that could bail you out. And there wasn't much, to be honest. But You could have known it in advance if you'd figured it out, thus never taking that line and thus winning. 

You see how much Homework can snowball things. So I'd recommend you do it ;) I apologize in advance if you find what I wrote offensive or rude, but without acknowledging problems there could be no solution. 

Here is further reading on the subject. Your loss is heavily attributed to what I'm going to link :

Michael J. Flores. "Who's The Beatdown"(1999). An eternal classic on strategy that sums up what happened with you in one sentence. Every Hearthstone player worth his salt should know it by heart, that's a fact.

Zvi Mowshovitz. "Who’s The Beatdown II: Multitasking". A much later follow-up by one of the Magic's greatest. It finishes up the idea of "Who is the Beatdown?"

These are arguably two most influential Magic strategy articles of all time. Sun Tzu level shit. Try your best to digest and apply it. Most of you guys will probably have no idea what the hell is Psychatog, Counterslivers, Cursed Scroll or Suicide Black, but Art of War has a whole goddamn chapter on how expensive chariot maintanance is. That never made sense to me, too. 

TL;DR You Reno, They Druid? SMOrc!

Edited January 11, 2017 by Paracel
Spelling, Grammar, Italic.

[KadakHS 1]

Wow I did not expect such a long response, but I am absolutely thankful for the things you come up with! 

Yep I am showing the deck list before the recording nowadays in the newer videos, so thats something that we dont have to discuss anymore.

Speaking part - yep I am trying to be louder, definitely something to take care about

I have a deck tracker already, Im just not capturing it ... should I? thats the question :D

I feel like I had to jarraxus asap and yep, playing soulfire into possible discarding key cards is not good.. I guess I was just kinda desperate :( 
-----------------------------------------------

The homework thing sounds really interesting I have never thought it that way ... I have been watching a lot of Lifecoach streams recently and he is doing similar kind of stuff (guess even the same) so this is like first time I have met with it.

The control and beatdown definition looks very interesting.. I have been thinking about it, like not really much but I did realize that there matchups where are you either in position of the control or the aggresive deck, but I would say I never put it all together. I have read both articles, although I did not understand everything cuz I have never played magic but I guess I took the raw thought (not sure if it is the right use of words, but it works in my mother language lolz.).

I get it.. I should be able to tell my gameplan to every possible matchup before I go into regular game.. I was never really sure how to defeat the jade druis with reno decks, so thats probably why it went that wrong.

Last thing I want to say is that I am not offended at all. I appreciate your concern / time you basically invested to / for me so I could get somehow better. Thank you very much! I am surprised and glad :)

[KadakHS 1]

Hey guys!!

Witch Doctor Shaman :O

I decided to try out something different cuz I was really tired of playing aggro shaman in the grinding phase and this is deck is really awesome I must say!

It is really good that there are people coming with these ideas, personally I would not think about these synergies! Definitely an upvote for you man! :)

Here is the video of me playing this one. I beat a jade shaman with a super awesome lethal, lol. I hope you enjoy this one ! :)

 

[JohnnyZ 6]

On 12/01/2017 at 8:35 AM, Paracel said:

Here is further reading on the subject. Your loss is heavily attributed to what I'm going to link :

Michael J. Flores. "Who's The Beatdown"(1999). An eternal classic on strategy that sums up what happened with you in one sentence. Every Hearthstone player worth his salt should know it by heart, that's a fact.

Zvi Mowshovitz. "Who’s The Beatdown II: Multitasking". A much later follow-up by one of the Magic's greatest. It finishes up the idea of "Who is the Beatdown?"

These are arguably two most influential Magic strategy articles of all time. Sun Tzu level shit. Try your best to digest and apply it. Most of you guys will probably have no idea what the hell is Psychatog, Counterslivers, Cursed Scroll or Suicide Black, but Art of War has a whole goddamn chapter on how expensive chariot maintanance is. That never made sense to me, too. 

 

Those are brilliant. I've only recently started thinking in terms like this, but like the author of the second article says, I didn't have a vocabulary. Any more recommended reading, plz

[KadakHS 1]

On 1/28/2017 at 4:52 AM, JohnnyZ said:

Those are brilliant. I've only recently started thinking in terms like this, but like the author of the second article says, I didn't have a vocabulary. Any more recommended reading, plz

Yeah I agree! I would like to read more about this as well

[KadakHS 1]

Hey guys!

I have played a tournament few days ago and I decided to bring this version of reno warlock and I would like to ask you guys for responds on my plays. I have posted reno lock before, so we can compare it with the previous video.

I tried to speed up or cut parts where I am not saying anything or doing anything to make it more comfortable to watch and also I wanted the video to be a little bit shorter.

In the video there are two matchups - the first one versus a pirate warrior, where things went kinda smooth and the second one, more interesting at least for me, versus a reno mage. I will write up my thoughts on the play that I may not mention in the video, although I tried to explain stuff alot.

link to video - 

 

 

link to deck - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/730608-s35-day-3-legend-na-rank-1-legend-mrsoulds

I did not show in the video cuz I wanted it to do it purely about the gameplay (I hope it does not matter that it is from other site :X)

vs Pirate warrior :
Turn 7 - playing the vendor - maybe consider taping? Not sure in
this situation

There is not really much stuff I would change, so if u spot
something let me know!

vs Reno mage :

Mulligan - I think keeping doomsayer makes no sense, same goes
for faceless manipulator.. not sure about sylvanas tho, but
I think it is just too slow
Twilight drake is obvious keep

T3: Coining the dragon is right? I was not really sure about
that

T8: Is it right to play kazakus without brann in reno vs reno
matchup? I intented to play jarax next turn so it makes sense,
but im not sure as well

T10: Finally the biggest dilema for me.. Is it right to play
Jaraxus in this spot? I mean it worked in this scenario, but
I could get punished for that.. what are the other ways to win
tho?

I hope I can get some answers and some opinions :) Thank you in advance!

[KadakHS 1]

Dragon Warrior

 

First match is versus pirate warrior which was kinda hard and I think I got a bit lucky. Not sure if I should have play / keep the finley cuz the fact it is a face warrior and I need the extra health by armor up.

Second match is versus zoo / demon lock which went to fatigue! Interesting match-up imo but I have won and got my golden grommash finally! <3

 

If you liked the video please consider subscribing to my channel! It keeps me going J

Edited June 3, 2017 by KadakHS

[KadakHS 1]

Hey guys! I have not been posting something for a while so I am here with a small update :

just shortly - better webcam, better resolution and way more ! :D

The story

I was looking for a serious mage deck which includes something more than hitting face and I finally found it!

I present you Muzzys Discover / Gunther / Slow freeze - Mage ! I decided to name out all of the possible names this deck could have, because I am not too sure how to classify it :/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrVNyXqg03g

Edited June 3, 2017 by KadakHS

[VaraTreledees 138]

On 6/2/2017 at 6:43 PM, KadakHS said:

Hey guys! I have not been posting something for a while so I am here with a small update :

just shortly - better webcam, better resolution and way more ! :D

The story

I was looking for a serious mage deck which includes something more than hitting face and I finally found it!

I present you Muzzys Discover / Gunther / Slow freeze - Mage ! I decided to name out all of the possible names this deck could have, because I am not too sure how to classify it :/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrVNyXqg03g

While I am by no means an expert on gunther mage, I have put a fair few games in on it.  So here is my 2 cents.  

As far as the deck list is concerned, I would run Ice Barrier over Counterspell, just feels more useful to me.  I also run Meteor over Eater of Secrets, I personally feel that EoS is just too situational too be considered unless you are playing a ton of mages.  It does give you an easy out vs Eye for an Eye, which can be very problematic, but in general, it just feels too weak in too many match ups for my taste.  Not that you are wrong in running it, I just don't personally like it.

 

As far as the game play goes, Mulligan was fine, turns 1 and 2 were fine, turn 3 was a little questionable.  I think playing out an early ice block was the correct play, for several reasons.  One, it can be VERY awkward to get your secrets out when playing gunther mage, if you have a relatively free turn to do it, its generally a good idea, two more mana efficient (especially because you didn't have a 1 drop at the time to fill in your curve on 4), three if he presses the button and rolls a healing totem you just passed your turn, four if you draw a Medivh's Valet next turn, that is a very strong play, five you have a turn 5 Bloodmage Thalnos + Volcanic Potion to clear, six waiting that long isn't that bad since you really don't have a lot to play for him to get value and trade into, just a little more face damage, which is pretty irrelevant.  Also, having a turn 5 clear is very strong since you know he runs Bloodlust (the Primalfin Totem was a give-a-way).  The only way you are really punished hard here is if he plays Flametongue Totem, which is definitely a consideration.

 

Your turn four was fine, given the line of play you took, your turn five you had a few options, the Eater of Secrets + Babbling Book was definitely one, Ping/Bloodmage Thalnos + Ice Block was a second one, or bloodmage + ping + book.  I think all of them have their merits, getting the draw off of thalanos would have been really nice at this point since your hand is a little clunky, and getting a block in play is really nice, plus you are probably going to Flamestrike on turn 7, so I think I would have went with the thalanos+iceblock on this turn, and eater + ping next turn, I think the third option (ping + bloodmage + book) is the weakest since Maelstrom Portal is a thing.  Also, you should have definitely traded, since maelstrom, plus ping + eater next turn trades into it cleanly. 

 

Your turn six was fine, you were a little punished not having a block in play, the valet was an incredibly clean play into the  Mana Tide Totem (Plus you would have had a book to fill out the last mana slot).  Your turn 7 was fine, he got punished really hard by playing into Flamestrike, he definitely could have played that better.  Also, he probably shouldn't have played that devolve.

 

Your turn 8, you had a couple options, Primordial Glyph + Counterspell + Bloodmage Thalnos/ping  unless you got a better play off of glyph, but I ultimately think Firelands Portal on the Stonehill Defender was the right call, despite the it feels bad man feeling of using a 7 mana cost card to kill it.  The first play is something to consider though.

 

Your turn 9 was a bit awkward, first off, I think Polymorph was the superior choice over Fireball, should be hoarding your burn to try to finish this game if you can.  Plus most of what he is going to be playing threat wise should all die to the Fireball if you need more removal down the road.  You then could have either glyphed, or played Arcanologist with your counterspell or not played the counterspell and just pinged the sheep or played both, or the thalanos ofc.  I really feel like going for card draw or burn from the glyph was the right choice at this point. You only have one answer in your hand, used up both your AoE's, with the threat of blood lust, and the value his totems will be giving him you should really be looking towards building up a win con at this point in the game, letting it go on too much longer and you have a high possibility of just getting overwhelmed by a lust on a totem board you will have trouble clearing.

 

The rest of the game you played correctly.  He was running a rather odd deck, and I personally wouldn't bet on him having any healing, he had to have cut something out of the standard list to run some of those cards, plus getting your block popped the next turn was a real possibility and this could be the only chance you actually have to play Alexstrasza, yes hex would have sucked, but it had a high likelihood of being the only turn you would have had to play her.

 

All in all, you played the deck decently, but Gunther mage is one of those decks that really has no unfavored or favored match ups (except jade druid, that match up can burn it sucks for mage), which means that winning or losing the match is based heavily on how well you pilot the deck.  It is definitely a tier 1 deck at the moment, and if you like it, stick with it.  It is well worth learning to play well, but it is also one of the harder and more intricate decks to pilot.  If you are interested, here is a link to a trump teaches episode that goes over it 

Aside from that, godspeed on your climb to legend.

Edited June 5, 2017 by VaraTreledees

[KadakHS 1]

Thank you for your long response! I am really glad that someone is taking the time and analyzing my plays, this is like the best part about doing the videos - you get the opinion of others on ur gameplay / gameplay.

One thing I cannot like agree with you is the usage of polymorph instead of fireballing the alakir.. I mean, yea I think I should keep the burn, but I kinda liked to keep the polymorph for some shenanigans but maybe I am just too afraid of nothing, I dont know.

Playing the alexstraza on the turn I did is definitely correct, tbh I did not connect these lines (the probability of getting popped etc. ) but in the end I managed to do it right.

One more time, Thank you for your post! I really appreciate it :)

I wanted to post something not that serious this time - 

I decided to try out this dragon deck my self and this video describes best the title - Frustration vs Satisfaction.

First game I was against a murloc paladin - just a short cuts how the game end in first three turns and I am getting kinda frustrated

The second game on the other hand is against a quest rogue, where I decided to keep the combo and be a little bit greedy but in the end it paid off and I was satisfied for defeating quest rogue!!

So check it out and if you will like the video definitely think about subscribing to my channel and liking the video! Thank you guys! :)

 

[KadakHS 1]

Hello guys!

I tried this deck because I really like the handbuff mechanic and I saw stan playing on the stream so I decided to record video as well. I just cant explain how satisfying it is! The deck is extremely fun to play and it works like a charm. I would not expect for example card such a Corpsetaker to carry games on it self! So much fun! Really nice job Stan!

After some playing I got to my month goal - rank 5 with a 9-2 score which is 82% WR (small sample size but that was my run)

In the video you can see three various matchups (thanks to that the video is a bit logner than it used to be)

1) The most aggroish warlock ever with some interesting techs
2) Jade druid
3) Highlander priest - you can see the corpsetakers in action here :D

Thank you for watching guys and I hope you can enjoy the video at least as I did enjoy playing the deck! Have a nice day :)

[rebaz 0]

thanks for this nice post....and good luck