|
Hey THL! PumbaasBFF here kicking off a new blog I’ve thought about doing for awhile. Each week I’ll be looking for a player from one of the big matches for that week to ask some questions so we can all get to know them a little better and hear some of their thoughts about Hearthstone, THL, and the week that was. This week I had the pleasure of getting Mason Cary a.k.a Markshire from The Hairy generals to volunteer, hope you guys enjoy! Me: Hey Markshire, just want to thank you for volunteering so quickly to participate, I know you’ve got a busy schedule. Let’s kick it off with a few ice breaker questions. Where are you from originally? Where do you wish you had grown up? Markshire: I was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but moved to Atlanta, Georgia when I was 3 years old so I grew up in Atlanta. I would have liked to grow up around the DC area because that’s where most of my family lives, I don’t have any family that lives in Georgia, or even in the southeast U.S. Me: You’ve got some THL family down there though! (http://www.teamhearthleague.com/player-map.html) What about your history with video games and card games? How old were you when you got started?
Me: Interesting, how about if you could be one of the top 100 best players of any video game, which would it be? Why? Markshire: It would probably be Super Smash Bros. Melee. Smash is the only game besides Hearthstone where I have some understanding of the competitive scene. Unlike Hearthstone, it requires a lot of technical skill in addition to knowledge of strategy. I play Smash for fun but am very far away from knowing the advanced techniques to be a competitive player. Me: You have gained 10 cool points in my book, Smash is awesome. But onto some Hearthstone. What was the very first legendary you ever opened? Markshire: Captain Greenskin. Think I dusted it after a couple of days. Me: Hah, okay well what if you could change Hearthstone any way you wanted to make it a better game, what would you do? (Removing Yogg-Saron doesn’t count)
Me: Yeah I think a lot of people would agree arena is something that needs tinkering. Switching gears over to THL now, so far this season we have seen Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior emerge as the big 3 classes brought by a majority of the league. I’ve heard many times that warrior has risen due to versatility, Shaman is up there due to just having such strong class cards, that even when targeted, can sometimes still find wins, but what are your personal thoughts on Warlock as a class? Is it in the same boat as Warrior where it is just so versatile, is it just hard to target like Shaman, or something else entirely?  Markshire: Good question. I don’t think Warlock has really lost its versatility – like before, Zoo and Renolock are still viable competitive decks, and they present two very different deck types which makes it difficult to prepare for. However, and I could be wrong about this, I don’t think that Renolock is being brought that often in THL. With the loss of Healbot and Molten Giant the deck has definitely gotten worse, whereas zoo, while changed, has a similar power level to pre-WOTOG. Zoo is just that good of a deck, maybe not as powerful as shaman, but still has great matchups against the meta. Even when it’s unfavored, zoo can still pull out wins if the opponent fails to draw its early game answers – the addition of Councilman makes this even more true than it was before. In addition to being a strong deck, zoo is one of the few archetypes from pre-WOTOG that has stayed, which means people have a familiarity with it that you won’t get with new decks like Tempo Warrior or C’thun Druid. I think most people bring what they’re comfortable with, which helps explain the popularity of the Warlock class. Me: Seems right to me, I’d add that with Ironbeak/BGH essentially gone now the deck also got stronger. For this week in particular, could you tell me a little bit about how you prepared for your match against Kuthroat? Did you prepare with your team or by yourself?  Markshire: The team is a great help every week when I prepare for my match. Erique (Necrohavoc) especially is great with providing intel about my opponent’s tendencies. Brad (ArcaneTHL) also helped a lot this week by practicing with me before my games Saturday. This week was tough because Kuthroat brought a fairly balanced lineup which made it difficult to find one deck to target. I spent some time in group chat bouncing ideas off people to figure out what to bring. We had very similar classes, both bringing Warrior, Warlock, and Hunter, the only difference being he brought Priest whereas I brought Shaman. I was pretty busy in the days leading up to Salty Saturday so I only finally decided what to bring about two hours before the match, but I had plenty of time to make sure my decks were finalized and tech’d correctly. Me: That’s really cool to hear. Do you think you guys are at an advantage with the help of people not actually on the team? I know Team Rank 5 has a similar setup and maybe more I don’t know about, but most teams don’t. They do however have an SPL team; do you think it’s more beneficial to have one of those teams, or to have other people dedicated to helping you guys with your preparation for each week? Markshire: I would definitely say that we have an advantage, although keep in mind that we have an SPL team as well that Erique and Richard (JediNinja) are on. More people to practice with and discuss strategy with is always a good thing, also with two members of our team in a 12 hour timezone difference it makes it more likely someone is on at the same time as you. Me: Nice, for anyone reading who hasn’t already, you can watch Markshire’s match with Kuthroat on THL’s Youtube channel from Salty Saturday last weekend! So something I’ve have a hard time with is, in a conquest format like THL, which class do I queue first once I know what’s banned. Without giving away your strategy, can you tell me what goes through your mind in the challenge screen at the beginning of your matches? Markshire: Basically I just try to counter what I think my opponent is playing first. If I can’t make a good prediction, I just go with my strongest deck or the one that is the most favored against his lineup. With the way THL works, you get points even if you lose the overall match so it makes sense to get your wins in early. Me: True, well we’re coming up on the halfway mark for the season now, a playoff picture is starting to form, but every division is still in a very tight race. Assuming you guys get into the playoffs, who do you think you will meet round one? Markshire: If seeds hold, we could find ourselves playing Team Rank 5 round one. It'd be an interesting matchup for sure. I think that last season us and TR5 were seen as the two top teams of THL, at least in the regular season, but we both have had significant turnover from last season. They still have a great team, and of course in the playoffs any team is going to be good. Also, anything could happen from now until the playoffs, so we’ll see. Me: Cool, okay well thanks again for taking time out of your schedule for this, do you have any final thoughts you’d like to get out there? Markshire: I want to to thank the entire Hairy Generals squad, from both this season and the last, for their continuing support and for providing a great team environment to relax and joke around when we're not focusing on Hearthstone.
I also want to thank Steven Taft (Jaxox) for offering me a spot on his team when I first joined the league. I don’t know where I would be in the league without him.
0 Comments
 As the meta begins to settle down so too does the power rankings. That's not to say there hasn't been change as we see teams work to position themselves higher and other teams fall as a result. After three weeks we are gaining a better picture of not only where teams are on the power rankings, but also how each division might play out over the remaining weeks. The picture is still fuzzy though with a lot of games left to be played but it's always fun to look anyway. 1. Team Rank Five (previous ranking 1)It was a bit of a weird week for Team Rank Five as Moxie and TheTownDrunk (formerly Iamplanb) were both unable to play. Captain Mainge found himself back on TR5 for one week and had an important victory over AlecGWPodcast, while Cress was called up from the SPL to substitute as well but was unable to win. Team Rank Five took three of the matches but ended up in a tie with Team Golden Wisp. For week four it seems the original roster may be back. 2. Soupreme (previous ranking 4)With the distractions of the Spring Preliminaries gone things seemed to return to normal for Soupreme, with all of their matches being played this week and coming away with a win over Netherstorm. If you weren't already aware of how top heavy Soupreme is, DeerJason will enter week four as their three seed. 3. Xnergy (previous ranking 3)After rolling through the first two weeks of the season the Xnergy train, while not stopped, was slowed down as they came to a tie against Archon Storm in week three. An important series waits for them next week as they take on undefeated Team Avatar, a team who is only a few points from them for the lead in the Green division. 4. N.W.A. (previous ranking 5)A week one loss cast doubts about N.W.A. but they have followed that up with two strong weeks and risen to the top of the Red division. However, one thing to keep in mind has been those two wins were against teams who have struggled so far this season. No worries though, Yogg Champs in week four will be a nice test and a crucial division game to boot. 5. Team Avatar (previous ranking 8)The only 3-0 team in the league, Team Avatar earned their third win against Danger Zone this past week. Gnetz and Leumer are also both out to 3-0 starts and have been a big part of Team Avatar's early success. Next week they will get a crack at the team leading their division and a chance to take control of the Green division. 6. Noob Central (previous ranking 6)Week three had Noob Central going against Aeon and they walked away with a win, keeping them in pace with Team Rank Five in the Orange division. Nade and Hamboning have both been really strong so far this season and give the Noobs a good chance at the three and five seed every week. 7. The Hairy Generals (previous ranking 2)It's a bit of a fall this week for the Hairy Generals after a tough loss to the Super Heroes. Their ranking isn't all their own fault though as many teams at the top were able to win or tie this week, but a loss that one-sided does create questions. Week four they will square off against Noob Central in a series which should really gives us a better idea of where both teams are at. 8. Archon Storm (previous ranking 9)Archon Storm now has two ties on the season, one with Yogg Champs and most recently against a very hot Xnergy team. The top four teams in the Red division are all bunched together and Archon Storm is right in the mix. 9. Yogg Champs (previous ranking 11)Speaking of that Red division, Yogg Champs is there with Archon Storm as one of those four teams in Red battling it out after a convincing win over Pure Strategy in week three. Week four will have the Champs playing against N.W.A, a team that has played really well the last two weeks and the current leader in their division. 10. Dream Team (previous ranking 12)We wrap up this talk of the competitive Red division with Dream Team, the fourth team battling it out in Red to see who comes out on top. A team that has had to use substitutes the first two weeks, week three we saw the full Dream Team roster for the first time and despite a disqualification they were able to beat the Gosu Casuals. 11. Pure Strategy (previous ranking 7)After a week one win Pure Strategy has now lost their last two series, falling in week three to Yogg Champs. Things have taken a bit of a turn of Pure Strategy but they will look to get back on track next week playing against Danger Zone. 12. Netherstorm (previous ranking 10)Going against a refocused Soupreme proved to be a little too much for Netherstorm in week three. SirSpamsalot gained his first THL win against DeerJason and that should make the team feel optimistic about their one seed going forward. The early schedule for Netherstorm has been brutal with both Team Rank Five and Soupreme in their three first games but they've hung in there and their remaining schedule should be a little more forgiving. 13. Damaged Ones (previous ranking 15)In an important divisional game the Damaged Ones narrowly defeated Boom Squad to move to 2-1. Week four will provide them with both a challenge and also a chance to assert themselves within the Orange division with Team Rank Five next on the schedule. 14. Super Heroes (previous ranking 19)Looking at the Super Heroes it was apparent they had some talent but with 10 point losses in both week one and two they were having trouble using that talent to pick up wins. That changed this past week when they beat the defending champions by a score of 20-6. This was obviously a big win but we'll need to wait a few more weeks to determine if this was the start of the Super Heroes figuring things our or simply an anomaly. 15. Team Golden Wisp (previous ranking 17) Team Golden Wisp tied with Team Rank Five and now have a win, a loss, and a tie on the season. This series was a little different with TR5 having two substitutes but they weren't the only team with two new faces, as Fudd and Sunshine are two new permanent members for Golden Wisp, replacing Chef Sasha and Vtiioma. Both of the newcomers won this past week and it will be interesting to see how this new roster does for the podcast team. 16. Gosu Casuals (previous ranking 13)With a recent top 50 finish Slimsch has found personal success on ladder but unfortunately his team has struggled to find success within the league so far. Unable to find their first win against the Dream Team in week three, they will now look at Archon Storm for a chance to earn their first win and also get back into things within the Green division before it's too late. 17. Boom Squad (previous ranking 16)All of Boom Squad's series have been close and that was also true in week three with a two point loss to the Damaged Ones. In week four the Squad will face a confident Super Heroes team fresh off a big win in what will be their fourth divisional game. One positive for Boom Squad has been the play of rookie Pizza who is now 3-0 after a win on Salty Saturday. 18. Aeon (previous ranking 14)Ranked highly in the preseason, Aeon has been unable to turn those expectations into reality and are still looking for their first win. Their next chance will be in week four against the always dangerous Soupreme. 19. Danger Zone (previous ranking 20)Still winless, Danger Zone did show some fight against Team Avatar and came the closest of any team so far to beating them. A divisional game against Pure Strategy awaits them in week four and will give them another opportunity for that first win. 20. Entropy (previous ranking 18)If you had told me before the season that Entropy would close out the power rankings in week three I wouldn't have believed you but after another big loss, this time to N.W.A., this is where they find themselves. None of the members of Entropy have won a match, which is surprising when you look at their roster. It seems Nightsmoke has replaced Jaxox in the five seed and maybe a shakeup of things will help next week against the Dream Team.
|
AuthorThe THL blog is curated and edited by THL's Content Managers. All THL members are welcomed and encouraged to pitch ideas for articles they would like to see on the site. If you have an idea, please reach out to LotusKnight on Discord or via the THL Help email address: [email protected] Archives
September 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
This website is not affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment.
Icons made by Freepik & Smashicons from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY
Icons made by Freepik & Smashicons from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY