Always Playing Matches

By Bonemasher

"What does APM stand for?" I was asked this once by someone joining a team. It’s not a simple answer. APM has had many names over the years. With 76 teams across 13 seasons, the acronyms keep on coming. To really understand APM and what it stands for you need to understand the journey APM has been on over those years.

I founded APM in the lead-up to Season 19. My initial plan was to take over captaincy of Annoy-o-Team, the Wild team I was playing on, but then most of the team dropped, leaving only sleight and I left. In case we couldn’t use the Annoy-o Team name and server, I started to think of some team names. An early idea was Full Dust Value, which was the name of the Octathlon team I was on. The team banner each season would have nerfed cards from the previous expansion. But then, when prepping for a Wild series match, I came up with the idea of using APM as an acronym with a different theme each season.

Shortly after I found out my hero team was also folding, with only Wyfair and I looking to continue. I thought, why not have an APM hero team too? I’m not sure when the idea to captain a Legacy and Pro team came along but that’s where it ended up. I created a logo for the team and, once captains were announced, made a twitter post announcing APM’s arrival to THL.

The Wild team came together first, before the APM name had even been set. Maxiebon1234 and I both streamed Wild at the time, with sleight and I mods for Maxie. Quakelord would often be in chat and there was interest in putting together an all Aussie Wild team. YoDaddy was the 5th who had played with Quakelord the previous season.

For Hero and Legacy series, I put DMs out to players that weren’t on a team for that series, along with new players posting in free agency. It took a while but the teams came together eventually. For Pro, we decided to enter an all Aussie Wild team, with Oddlaw and Reverb joining Quakelord, Maxie and I. Pro was just a bit of fun, after all we had to tread lightly.
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Earning the Choker Tag

APM’s first season brought early success with all 4 APM teams destined to make finals. But then, in the final round of Pro series, the team lost all 5 matches to miss playoffs by 1 point. Redemption was swift with the Wild team topping their division and Legacy team earning a playoff bye. This is where the good news ended. The Wild team lost their quarter-final, the Hero team lost all 5 matches to miss playoffs as the Pro team had, and the Legacy team lost an unloseable match by not playing around Mutanus. That 1-3 loss in the final match put us out 13-14 despite winning 3 matches to 2. The choker tag had been set.

In APM’s second season the hero team split in 2 with Ksw captaining the new team. The season was going well until the Pro team once again lost all 5 matches in the final round to miss playoffs - as expected if you asked many. The legacy and hero teams fared better, with all teams making it through to semi-finals. The legacy team was unable to progress to the final. In hero the APM teams faced each other with Ksw’s team making it to the final, though unable to find success. The wild team also bowed out at the semi-finals. All up not a bad season and signs of progress.

APM’s third season rounded out the year with finals appearances for a team in each series. APM once again made the Hero series final, this time my team, losing a closely contested series. This season, and in particular that hero team, felt like a turning point for APM where teams prepped a little harder and pushed a little further than before. APM, having been close to success, now wanted that first title and to shake off the choker tag that lingered from our first season.

Ushering in Success
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​In APM’s fourth season GeraniumBattle took over captaincy of our Hero team. I narrowed my focus to the three conquest series. The Wild and Legacy teams both missed playoffs with positive records. The Pro team shook off the choker tag earning the playoff bye with a win over BrushyTuna, only to lose to them in the semi-final. Both Hero teams made playoffs, though only just, GeraniumBattle’s team with a 3-4 record. It’s a new season come playoffs and APM secured that first title with GeraniumBattle’s team ‘Another Pit of Misery’ sweeping the final

The next three seasons saw APM’s biggest growth, fielding multiple teams in most series and welcoming new captains Vinospumoni, Gimmelamp and AzaleaAkari. APM and GeraniumBattle’s success continued, going back to back in hero series, then back to back in legacy series along with another hero series win. 5 titles in 4 seasons quickly earning APM a reputation as closed-list specialists.
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​APM’s seventh season in which GeraniumBattle won the Hero/Legacy double APM also featured in the Pro and Wild series finals. Having returned to their all Aussie roots, and having gone undefeated all season, the Pro team lost in the finals. The Wild team tied the final against F2L: Viridan though it was not enough, winning 2 matches to 3. This is the closest APM would get in both Pro and Wild series. It also spelled the end of the GeraniumBattle era, having captained his final match for APM.
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The Mountain Era

APM’s seventh season saw a changing of the guard with myself and LaughingFrog as the only APM captains. The success, however, continued. The Legacy team A Posse Missing (Lost Boys) had a perfect season, my first and only title as captain. With 4 players that season with 8-1 records, it was quite a team. LaughingFrog’s Hero team A Premium Mountain also won, giving APM 3 Legacy titles in a row and 4 of the past 5 Hero series titles. Hereby, we  entered the Mountain era.
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Over the next four seasons APM welcomed new captains EPICat, aharmlessdog, Chewie and RockedYou. The focus shifted to closed list series with 6 Legacy and 11 Hero series teams over that period. None more iconic than the iterations of LaughingFrog’s championship team A Premium Mountain,  the players returned under LaughingFrog as Another Premium Mountain. Chewie then took over for (yet) Another Premium Mountain. aharmlessdog entered with A Poulderfist Mountain, taking out the Hero series title. Then Chewie returned again with A Persistent Mountain.

The Mountain legacy says a lot about APM’s journey as a whole: recognising those that have gone before, honouring past achievements and continuing onward. APM has grown from that young beginning, making their mark in closed list series under GeraniumBattle and continuing that legacy in closed list series under new tutelage, all the while welcoming new players and captains into the APM family.

Recognition of player/team performances is further supported within the APM server with channels. Players recognised in THL awards are highlighted,  APM stats recognising best performances in each series and match tally leaderboard are featured, and the APM Hall of Fame recognising championship teams and APM’s best credentialed players give spotlight to those who have done the most under the APM moniker.

APM has become much more than it was ever envisioned to be. I am honoured to have shared my APM and Hearthstone journey with so many people, both players and fellow captains. I’m not sure how long my journey will continue and when it will end, but I hope the APM journey can continue once I’m gone with a new era of custodians.

- Bonemasher