Grimm and Bear It: Conquering the Rookie Year

My experience in Hearthstone until joining THL was as complicated as clicking play, watching the wheel-thing spin, and then jumping into a match. So, if you’re like me, THL will take some getting used to. How does the whole thing operate? How does everything work?

Putting your name out there is tough. During Season 1, I barely knew anyone, so I figured, they must know about as much about me. I knew they were asking themselves: who is this grimm kid? What I really hoped they would be asking themselves one day: why is he so good for a beginner?​​

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​So You’re on a Team

My season 1 team, was ... well I don't really know because they were on team speak all the time. I neglected this channel, so I was sort of a lone wolf. DON’T make the mistake I did. Interact with your team, guys. That means finding whatever tools they use to talk and doing your best to join in. It only helps you in the long run.


Your First Match

The first opponent for me was surely the scariest, mostly because it was my first competitive match ever! 
Now this doesn’t go for every new player, but going into your first match be prepared to make a name for yourself in the League. The first match tends to define how people see you throughout the rest of the season. What classes will you hope to become known for? What play style will be your signature? Part of what makes THL so fun, is that people start to define themselves over time and build a personality, try to embrace that from Match No. 1.

Coming from a new team, I took rookie to a whole new level by introducing to Jaxox my reverse sweeps.

I went into my second match against the dinosaur himself, n00basaurus. Looking back, my mindset was not the best. I couldn’t help thinking, “Oh man, the first match I think I just got lucky.” Maybe this comes as a surprise from the self-titled Shaman King, but in the early going I was lacking confidence. I wasn’t used to playing competitively week in and week out.

But then realized I was just setting myself up for disaster.


Preparation is More Than a Rogue Spell

Preparing for a match is done many different ways by teams and individual players. Getting ready for my matches was tricky. Here’s where not being in contact with my team was especially harsh on me. Making things worse, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing in the first place.

So I resorted to ranked play, which looking back was crazy. Why was I practicing against complete strangers when I had this team full of incredible talent who had my back? I also picked up on tournaments on strive wire, which only lead to complaints of unfair skill sets, bullshit top decks, just unhealthy levels of sodium all around. In the end, this form of practicing maybe saw me improve all the way to "slightly okay."

I can’t say this enough. Once you join THL, you’re part of a team. They all want to see you succeed and get better. At first, I didn’t get this, and it was probably my noobiest mistake. Well, almost.


The Worst Thing You Can Do in THL Besides Sharing an Embarrassing Headshot with Brunson

Throughout the season, matches are played, laughs are shared, and everyone gets drunk on Thursday. But in the middle of all the fun, if you’re not careful, can come the shamefulness of the stupidest mistake you can possibly make: not scheduling your match.

Yeah, I blew it. I was a dumb rookie and missed a match.

Missing my match against Leumer, A, hurt my record by not getting a single win. An 0-3 not only looks bad on your overall record at the end of the year, but puts your team in a huge hole that week. And B, I missed out on experience that I needed. Once you start playing competitive matches, you’ll be amazed at how much you learn, and how quickly you can forget. You know how I know this? Because the next two weeks, I bombed both matches.


What Is Grimm Babbling on About? GET TO THE POINT!

What I'm trying to get across here for the new players of the league is pretty simple: Treat every match like it’s going to be your best. There are two kings in THL: The Shaman one and confidence.  

Without that mindset, in the end you’ll end up like a guy named Jaxox, blasting on yourself in every stream, losing yourself in a bottle every Thursday. 

Never lose your determination during a match, you’ll only set yourself up for failure. Be like me, sure I go into every one of my matches knowing I'm not the best, but I will be damned if at least one point doesn’t show up on the board.

And to me, that’s what THL is all about.