Player Power Rankings/Tales of the Mighty: Ragnaros League S8, Week 4!

Welcome, THL, to the first official instalment of the Player Power Rankings! Every 2 weeks, Markshire and HockeyBoyz3 will take you through their list of the top players in Ragnaros league, using mainly data but also a little pinch of subjectivity. Meanwhile, in those alternate weeks, rebobson and Shunsui21 will take you through their own player rankings for Sylvanas League! Every week, the active pair will recognise one player for a unique accomplishment, tied to performance or not. You will just have to tune in each week to find out what it is! Finally, just to round things off, every week Nade will be interviewing one featured player in order to find out more about what fuels their fires in Tales of the Mighty. We hope you enjoy reading!

1) Maikel (12-3):
Thermic Whims’ 5 seed shoots up to #1 overall on our rankings after sweeping TheTownDrunk last week. His 4 match wins with only 3 game losses have played a huge part in the Whims’ 80 total points this season; Maikel joins us this week for a short interview in our new “Tales of the Mighty” section (plug over). He will look to continue his streak against Saku of Maple Syrup Inc. in Week 5.
​-Markshire

2) Earl (12-5):
After an intense review by committee, we decided to keep Earl at #2 in the PPR. He earned a close 3-2 win over Markshire last week, where his unparallelled ability to draw Keleseth and Corridor Creeper in the mirror carried him to victory. He takes on JetLaw this week.
-Markshire

3) Twizz (12-6):
Twizz moves up four spots from last week after a win over league veteran AndyRogers, and remains undefeated on the season. But the direction, or lack thereof, of Defias Brotherhood as a whole remains up in the air. Despite Twizz’s win, Defias lost 8-16 last week and remain near the bottom of the Ragnaros League standings. They will look to improve against Dirty Mike and the Boys this week, where Twizz takes on TonyMontana.
-Markshire

4) Brasky (12-4):
Not only does Brasky have an angelic voice, he is also boasting a godly record. Brasky is currently undefeated and has a 75% game win percentage. Brasky is a big reason why Team Swagoi is sitting at the top of the Gold/Purple conference and only time will tell if this is the real Brasky or if he’ll descend back into his Jungle Panther meme form. Brasky plays the spreadsheet master Jaspyr this week.
​-HockeyBoyz3

5) DirestBear (12-8):
Look up clutch in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of DirestBear. He is the only player in this league to be 4-0 in 5 game matches, after beating Ham 3-2 last week. DirestBear looks to make his 5 game match record 5-0 when he plays MulletDGAF.
​-HockeyBoyz3

6) Brewski (11-4):
Brewski drops from his #1 spot last week but still remains in the top 10 after a 2-3 loss against Misadventure. However, he was the only member of the Whims to lose, and the true believers know he will bounce back this week when he plays Tweeg.
-Markshire

7) IronFIRE (11-7):
The Spicey Boys’ rookie makes his first appearance on this list after earning wins over NaCl, Anamor, and Dunamis, with only a 2-3 loss to Stephieee. IronFIRE plays against Zerotio this week when Spicy Boys take on The Pod People. ​
-Markshire

8) DrMandingo (11-6):
Another new member to the list: the Texas Stubbies’ captain DrMandingo who is on a 3 week winning streak. The Doc has an impressive resume, with wins over ArcaneTHL, Skritch and Dexter. His only loss comes against Krakshot where Mandingo still picked up 2 points for his team. He looks to continue his winning streak against Darkseid.
​-HockeyBoyz3

9) Cakes (11-7):
The last newcomer to the list, the Spicey Boys' 5 seed has wins against Gkick, DetectivDiamond and DocMcButt. Cakes looks to improve his record this week when he takes on RockBass.
​-HockeyBoyz3

10) Bluesombrero (11-8):
3 of Bluesombrero’s 4 matches have gone to game 5 this season; in those game 5s he is only 2-1. If Blue wants to move up on this list he’s going to have to clutch out more of those games. He looks to improve his record when he faces off against Inposition this week.
​-HockeyBoyz3

Tales of the Mighty: Nade Meets... Maikel!

Hello, THL, and welcome to Tales of the Mighty. This is a new segment we’ll be including in the Player Power Rankings each week where Nade will interview one of our ranked players for us to learn more about. Join, or die (or both), as we feature the mighty Maikel from Thermic Whims, who sits as the #1 rated player in the Ragnaros League (out of 100 total!), with a very impressive start to his rookie season. Without further ado, behold, the glory of a new sun:

How did you find out about THL, and why did you want to get involved?
I actually heard about it on a Reddit post. My team was advertising that they were looking for a rookie to join them, and I've always wanted to take my gameplay to the next level.

Do you have any specific Hearthstone accomplishments that you’re proud of?
Winning my first four matches in a row was a pretty good time.

How would you define your play style? What about your competitive philosophy?
I analyze every option I can take, but I definitely take risks. You can't play around everything, and taking the initiative sometimes wins the game.

What’s your favorite Hearthstone deck to play (from any era of the game)? Favorite card?
I'm pretty partial to MSoG-Era Dragon Priest. Favorite card would have to be Lyra.

Do you have any competitive experience in other games?
I briefly played competitive For-Honor, but besides that no, haha.

Besides drawing Corridor Creeper before your opponent, why do you think you’ve been performing so well in Ragnaros League?
I think I definitely have a great team backing me up on this one. The Thermic Whims help analyze the gameplay I have, and the coaching has made all the difference. But besides that, I just go with my gut and it usually pays off!

When you’re not pwning noobs, what else do you enjoy doing on your free time?
I love playing guitar and working out. I'm always dreaming of the next time I can pwn some noobs though.

What’s your favorite series of THL content?
Can't say I'm familiar enough with it to answer, sorry!

What would you suggest to any players struggling this season?
Talk to your team, and trust your instincts!

Any shout outs you’d like to end on?
The Thermic Whims are some of the best dudes I've met, and specifically Switters has been a great dude these last few months!

It’s always fun getting to know a little more about our newer players. It sounds like Switters and the Whims heavily involve themselves in their players’ development, and their success is evident that they’re doing something right over there in Thermic Town. So what did we learn today? Reddit did something good for once, the human stomach is the best hearthstone coach NA, and my dude Maikel needs to put down the guitar and hit up the THL Twitch and blog every now and then. Stay tuned next week as we feature (your name here), for having such a kick ass season, for establishing yourself as a force to be reckoned with, and for not being on Noob Central. 

Until next time: get in there and fight, maggots!

-Nade