An interview with KillerVeebs, TwoStarMako and BillSnyder

Caseyclarke is back with another series of interviews with KillerVeebs, TwoStarMako and BillSnyder!

KillerVeebs

​caseyclarke:
Why did you join THL?

KillerVeebs:
I had a friend coincidentally named casey in my friend group who joined THL and got me involved in his team (as a sub for their 5 seed). This is my first season playing on a team of my own

caseyclarke:
How long have you been playing Hearthstone/why did you start?

Killerveebs:
I started because my friends at the high school I went to (i went to a different middle school) played for the first couple years and I wanted to stay informed. I continued to play for good times playing meme decks and to help the same Casey I mentioned earlier climb the ladder

caseyclarke:
How do you go about creating THL lineups?

KillerVeebs:
I talk to my teammates and see if they know anything about my opponent.... Previous classes, archetype preferences, etc. I then work with my captain (he alone because he has heart stone replay premium) makes a spreadsheet with my INTENDED classes to see what my odds would be against those preferences were of my opponent. If he doesn't have much history or preference, time to be like everyone else and pick druid Hunter rogue warlock. From there, I guess his lineup and try to counter
caseyclarkeI know you come from a background of meme decks. Does that influence your decision making in any way?
KillerVeebsMy meme history does not really influence my decision making, it only impacts practice games with team members or members of family teams.

caseyclarke:
What is your favorite class to play and what is your favorite class for THL?

KillerVeebs:
My favorite class is warlock, but man I love malygos druid. Warlock still reigns supreme in my heart, the only golden legendary I've ever crafted is the one and only lord jaraxxus. I even got the 80 dollar pre-order for mecha-jaraxxus. Druid, however is my favorite THL class because malygos druid... Oh and Togglewaggle druid... Oh and token druid...

caseyclarke:
You’re 3-0 at the moment and 9-5 in games. You had a rough start in THL last season as a sub but now you’re killing it. How did this change happen?

KillerVeebs:
Yes I've played poorly in the past. Everyone does, we are all human. I still am far from perfect, I just try harder now to minimise the number of mistakes and their impact on my games. I also put more emphasis now on lineups because when i first started I didn't grasp how important it was.

caseyclarke:
There is wide consensus that Druid, Rogue, Warlock, and Hunter are the best decks at the moment? Are there any other classes you think deserve a shot in lineups?

KillerVeebs:
Anything that counters the popular lineups. I've seen some pretty good stats in Altenberg’s analysis of rag lineup trends and think there is some experimentation to be had. I haven't given a look at the lowest winrate class of these 4 yet but I'll certainly take a deeper look soon

caseyclarke:
Lastly, is there anything you want to say to the adoring fans?

KillerVeebs:
If I have any of those out there, sorry I couldn't come up with a funnier closer. Don't worry I'll bring mechathun week 10.

​TwoStarMako (aka Spanish Teacher)

caseyclarke:
Why did you choose to get into competitive HS?

Spanish Teacher:
Basically when I get into something, I really get into it. I started playing in beta but stopped after first expansion. Back in December I decided to pick it back up again and I got really into it. I've been playing in a competitive League of Legends league for over a year and decided to play in the Battle of the Discords 2. I saw THL was doing the stream, looked it up, and here we are.

caseyclarke:
Have you enjoyed the transition to a team format league?

Spanish Teacher:
Yeah I mean I didn't play last season except for a few sub games so I didn't get the full team experience. This is my first actual team and I'm really enjoying it, even if they discourage me playing Warrior...

caseyclarke:
Is Warrior your favorite class?

Spanish Teacher:
I've always been a big Hunter player since I was playing in beta but I frankly don't enjoy the deathrattle and secret variations too much. I do enjoy spell Hunter tho. But yeah ever since I've been playing Odd Warrior, I can't put it down. I'm something like 55-30 or something on ladder with different Odd Warrior decks.

caseyclarke:
So your team has a hard ban on playing warrior?

Spanish Teacher:
Not necessarily. I mean it's always a thought because it's a strong deck and the new tempo version is decently strong as well. The issue with bringing Warrior is just that your opponent is going to know what deck you're playing immediately. It's always a thought though because we look at all options when deciding classes and decks.

caseyclarke:
Besides class variability, how do you go about crafting a lineup for THL?

Spanish Teacher:
A lot of research. We spend a good amount of time looking into opponents, looking at win rates, discussing comfort etc. I definitely don't do it on my own though. The whole team and a few other outsiders all pitch in when discussing picks and bans. Special shoutout to Ultimate though. I think he might have a fetish for class and deck selection.

caseyclarke:
You mentioned that you like Hunter. Of the different types, which do you think is the strongest in a vacuum?

Spanish Teacher:
Well like I said, I'm not a huge fan of the deathrattle and secret types and haven't played them a ton. I was really crossing my finger that mech Hunter would be good but here we are. If I had to pick one though, I've definitely been shrekt  by deathrattle more than any of the other variations on various decks.

caseyclarke:
I’ll ask you a random question just because I’m running out of ideas doing 3 interviews a week. Should Quest Rogue be nerfed?

Spanish Teacher:
I mean you can ask whatever lol. Doesn’t even have to be hearthstone related. These interviews are always good to help look at the actual player you are playing against each week. I want to do these eventually.
But yeah it definitely should. Dumb design for a card and they backed themselves into a corner by releasing it. It's just too strong with the materials that it has at its disposal. Burn it.

caseyclarke
What level Spanish do you teach?

Spanish Teacher:
Oh I teach all of them. Straightass 1-4 and probably AP next year. It's a small school with like 400 in the high school so it's not a big deal but preparing for 4 different classes a week is a time. I definitely play Hearthstone on prep though.

caseyclarke:
​Thanks for doing the interview. Is there anything else that the community should know about you?

Spanish Teacher:
​Now that I've taken Sage's spot in the 3 seed, I'm coming for that 2 seed spot and then straight for MMI. It may take awhile but like the great poet Miley Cyrus once said, "Ain't about how fast I get there; Ain't about what's waiting on the other side; It's the climb." So MMI, better watch your back. I can't beat ironFIRE with Kingsbane again at the 3 seed.

BillSnyder

caseyclarke:
Why did you choose to join THL?

Billsnyder:
My friend Kartigan who plays for the hot peppers told me about it.

caseyclarke:
Had you played competitive Hearthstone before or is this your first foray into the scene?
​
Billsnyder:
I had played in 3 open cups prior to thl.
I first realized I wanted to take the competitive scene more seriously when I beat a top 100 player in one open.

caseyclarke:
Who did you beat?

Billsnyder:
Honestly it was 3 years ago and he’s long since removed me.

caseyclarke:
Congratulations on making the quarterfinals of MCL Season 1. How are you preparing for your match?

Billsnyder:
Well, I went back through all of my opponents prior lineups and looked for trends I could exploit he was a heavy control player, so I brought anti control.

caseyclarke:
Is that a strategy that you like in the current meta or was that a decision based mainly on your opponent?

Billsnyder:
It was just according to my opponent, he showed consistently he would bring odd warrior, control warlock, etc.

caseyclarke:
If you were playing in the HCT Championship what would you bring?

Billsnyder:
Great question, the best deck in the game right now is token druid and I just want to ban that, and bring my own. Quest rogue follows in quickly behind and is great with a fan tech so that for sure, my other two classes would be evenlock as I have been instructed by the god himself,myth555, and probably subject 9 hunter as it wins a mirror and can snowball out of control.

caseyclarke:
You mentioned Odd Warrior, do you think it’s good currently?

Billsnyder:
Odd warrior has it's place in the current meta, I think that the reason many people struggle with it is poor tech choices. Two owl two mc tech is too much. They are too easy to play around. I have also seen on ladder people trying to play without azalina  and well at that point you are just making winning with the deck hard. Just today I was able to beat a combo paladin and a shudderwock shaman just because of that card. So put azalina in your odd warrior children :). Zola is the other tech inclusion I love it gives you an extra Dyno-Matic for more aggro matchups or an extra elise for that mirror. it just seems like a solid card.

caseyclarke:
Even Warlock has been on the rise with about 20 cards that are core. What technical inclusions do you like?

Billsnyder:
To me some of the tech choices aren't really optional, I hate geist as I essentially fall behind playing a 6 mana 4.6  but it is a necessary evil with all the druids on ladder. One oozeis a must as it gives you game vs maly and tog which should twig fall out of favor completely will be unnecessary, but for right now deserves a spot. I also think Mossy is not optional with all the gigglings running around so it needs to be ran as well. So now to the more flex spots, I personally run two dread infernals right now as it gives you solid game vs token and in the mirror resurrecting a 6/6 body can win you the game. I also run two spellbreakers because khell says silence is premium and I like premium stuff.  even is weak in the four slot outside of drake so giving it some support there is great!. My last two flexs are one beetle one doomsayer. I found the doomsayers often get cramped in my hand and are not useful as some other two drop but I also hate healing myself in that deck because 4 mana 7.7s make me happy. So I split the difference with one of each. So for ladder that is the type of build I recommend with Lich being your big taunt. If this was Worlds I would cut the geist and one dread infernal for two bonemares as I think it gives you more threats then a lot of control decks are ready for and also a big taunt
So to recap: Non-optional techs for ladder: ooz geist mossy lich optional techs for ladder: 2nd breaker 2nd infernal doomsayers and beetles. For Tournament: non optional ooze, mossy, lich and Optional are bonemares, rin, and 1 shadowflame

caseyclarke:
Odd or Quest Rogue?

Billsnyder:
Quest is the superior deck, particularly when you know what you are up against, the reason quest rogue's winrate is lower on ladder then in tournaments is for two reasons. A. people dont know what they are up against be it zoo even or control warlock for example and B. the icro decisions that are necessary to pilot quest rogue successfully. If an above average player knows he is playing aggro he will keep cards like deckhand in the mulligan and use some of his resources to fight for an early board. The difficult part is realizing the point in time when you can pull the trigger on the quest.
Odd is weakening in the current meta, both tournament and ladder it's very inconsistent at times much like zoo and because people are adapting their lists to more aggressive meta games it has made the life of your average odd rogue player difficult to say the least.

caseyclarke:
Do you have any final things you would like to say to the league?

Billsnyder:
I would like to thank my two captains Chiggmo and Nade for giving me an opportunity to represent their banners. I would also like to thank my teammate myth for putting up with me, and I wanna give a huge shoutout to Kartigan the legend, for introducing me. Thank you to the entire community here at THL, you truly embody what blizzard wants hearthstone to be which is fun and caring but also competitive good luck to everyone this season! Billsnyder#1542