Shine Bright Like @Diamond

By TAB

Fresh to THL in 2022, I entered the world of competitive Hearthstone looking to improve and make some new friends surrounding the game I love. After an exciting rookie season, my team made it to the Legacy finals with great momentum. Standing opposite from us were names most of you should know all too well: Nejiboston, DankestDad, RonMexico, Ricecryption, and kotomora—the Diamond 5. When I say that this team smacked us around so badly in the finals… I’d rather that match get lost in the archives.

As a rookie, I remember thinking: How is that roster even fair? They didn’t seem to have a weak spot to target, and they completely out-prepped us—we were blindsided by a winning Druid bring across almost all of their players. What mastermind was able to put these players together and create an environment where they could synergize to be so strong? Soon enough, I would get my answer. The puppeteer behind it all was Diamond. 
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As the winningest captain of the Standard THL formats (Marty wouldn’t let me write this without mentioning his eight Wild banners), Diamond has a storied THL career, joining only rebobson in an elite club of THLers that have earned a championship as both a player and a captain in Legacy, Hero, and Pro. Funnily enough, Diamond achieved that Pro player requirement on a rebobson-captained F2L team seven seasons ago. How was he able to find consistency amongst PR shifts, different series, and the chaos of THL? Let’s take a trip down memory lane, asking players—and the man himself—what made Diamond teams shine bright season after season.

Early Success & For The Boys

Just like myself, Diamond arrived to THL with very little competitive experience. Only playing for about a year before joining, he was eager to learn and had a great support system around on his first season subbing for Team Next Level (shoutouts to gle, Sazuru, Xcelsior, Jammies, and Altenberg). After taking a season break, he returned to play under BillSnyder in Hero with Tap Last. While the team was able to organize many prep and scrim sessions to help him with Hearthstone, Diamond describes the most impactful result coming from the team as his connection with Bill. Bill taught him more about the process of captaining, but additionally was able to act as a mentor in Diamond’s life at the time—a gesture that lingers to this day as Diamond still calls Bill his personal GOAT. Both teams were successful in creating a winning environment, as both Team Next Level and Tap Last went on to win the championships in the seasons that Diamond joined them.

​Reminiscing upon this time, Diamond mentioned, “After these two great experiences under great captains, I thought that I could give it a try. I wanted to be able to provide a space where the team could have fun together, and tried to take what I learned from Jammies and Bill going forward with the teams that I captained”. Diamond did just that with his Pro team, For the Boys. Entering Pro Series in Season 1, the Diamond team remained consistently relevant around the middle of the pack. In Season 4, however, they found the winning formula, finishing the season with a dominant 10-1-1 record. Unfortunately, the Boys came up short this season, losing a tiebreaker in the semifinals to an F2L team that included Diamond’s former teammates, gle and Jammies. For The Boys added SuperChicken to the roster and came back in Season 5 with a vengeance, posting an even more dominant 11-1 record & capping off a playoff run with a crushing 12-1 finals against Popeyes Spicy Chicken Sandwich. GermanShep, Fosho, SuperChicken, Dabs, and BuckNastyZB would have their first Pro championship as players, and Diamond would score his first as a captain. The team fragmented after that season, as different Pro rosters pulled the players and captain alike in different directions. These teams weren’t able to find the same level of success that they had previously, so exactly a year later from their championship, a core contingent of For The Boys (Shep, Chicken, and Dabs, with Diamond at the helm) reformed alongside Jheick Weiss and Dardarbinks to rekindle the magic of their Season 5 run. The results speak for themselves: a 9-1-1 record and yet another 12-1 finals win (this time against BrushyTuna) to cap off an era of absolute dominance in the early seasons of Pro.

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​I bring up this example to give clarity on the essence of what made this team great. When I asked Diamond if his captaining style has changed over time, he replied: “how [I’ve] captained has, at its core, been the same [forever]. I knew that I wasn’t the strongest player and couldn’t help in the prep department as much as other captains, but my hope was always to make a team that could help each other… I would just deal with the admin stuff… so they can just play the game”. Mada, a staple on the early Diamond Pro teams including For The Boys Season 4, remembers all the players “[calling Diamond] ‘Captain’, and he really embodied it. He was always willing to help, or connect people with team members who could. He made the team a solid place to be, and that stuck with me”. Diamond credits Fosho with the assistance in roster creation for Season 4, and each player on the winning Season 5 roster with their contribution to what made the team special: “Buck’s priest, Dabs’ prep, Chicken’s staircase, Shep’s roping, and Fosho’s video replays, all led to the content and dominance of the team. All I can say is that it was definitely the most fun team that I was fortunate enough to captain—and praise Ticky Tatty Daddy”.

Keeping the Nose to the Grindstone

Much like this popular image amongst g̶a̶m̶b̶l̶e̶r̶s̶ Hearthstone players, if you keep playing, you will eventually hit it big, right? When applied to captaining, it’s crucial to realize that only one team can win each season, and measured effort towards being in the top echelons of the standings is the only way to remotely ensure success in THL.
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So that’s what Diamond did… again. Staying true to his team creation methodologies, he consistently fielded a team in the Standard formats, and the results showed. Over ten seasons, he racked up ten championships, eight of which he was either the captain or a player-captain. That’s almost three and a half years of continued relevance in those series. Even during a stretch where Geranium Battle-led teams won 6 of 8 championships in four seasons of Legacy and Hero, Diamond was right there winning the other two. Geranium mentioned that Diamond was very frequently second or third in the series when he won, making them by far the winningest captains of that era of THL. Diamond gave his uncut opinion about the captaining experience over this time:

"​My favourite part about THL has always been roster creation. I think the process has changed over time, but my goal was to have the higher PR players help out the rest of the team and each other with prep. I have always been a fan of PR scams because that is the [uniquely] cool part about THL. I also tried to team with different people until I found the people who I vibed with, and that is definitely apparent in my most recent seasons. Before the PR database, I used to look manually for players that were under PR, but once that tool became available, I used it a lot (thanks Marty). My main question that I used to ask people was just how active they were on Discord, because in my opinion, an active server is an important part of any successful team. A good roster to me was a roster that communicates, and after the first couple of seasons, I felt I accomplished that. To everyone I have captained before, I hope you had a good time on the team and I hope you are doing well."

In order to round this all out, I asked some of the previous players about their experiences on the teams, memorable storylines or wins, and anything they wanted to say to their ex-Captain. Here’s the color they gave:

“Playing on Diamond’s team was a different vibe. The expectation each season was that we were going to win—and I loved that. More often than not, we did win. He had a real talent for finding some of the best players in every seed possible while also making sure the culture was there. He prioritized vibes just as much as skill, bringing in people we all liked and could gel with. The teams were always extremely chill, but had that winning mentality. Three teams especially come to mind: Diamond 5, Let Them Cook, and The Last Dance (Pro series). Diamond 5 was the first team Diamond captained that I was a part of. We had one of the best players in all five seeds and were pretty unstoppable it felt. Let Them Cook was pure vibes. We were just having a good time but managed to pull off a bit of a surprising run through playoffs and won that season. Great time with those guys. The Last Dance in Pro was our shot at one last title. Both Diamond and I already had three Pro series titles and were chasing our fourth. That team ended up going undefeated, finishing the season with a 10-0 record and breaking the league record for points in a single season. It was the perfect way to ride off into the sunset and cap off our THL journey. I really appreciate the great friendship we built through THL and beyond. I’m grateful to have met such a genuine friend like you through it.”
- Nejiboston

“I think the first aspect of Diamond's teams that comes to mind for most people is the talented players that often fill up the rosters. From the outside looking in, it probably seems like his greatest skill as a captain is his ability to scout and recruit talent. While this is certainly an integral part of his skillset, I have always found that what separates him from other captains is his judge of character. Every Diamond-captained team that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of has been welcoming, friendly, and lighthearted while also being intensely competitive. To me, the dynamics of these teams have always embodied what every THL team should be like. Some of my fondest memories playing Hearthstone come from on these teams and I'm sure plenty of others can say the same.”
​- SuperChicken

“My first experience playing on a team with Diamond was way back in my second season in THL, my very first hero team. At the time of this writing, I have played in the second most all time THL matches, with 461 matches played across 55 total seasons. Out of all those seasons, Diamond has consistently been one of the best captains I’ve ever had the pleasure to team up with. The man simply stacks titles like they’re going out of style. He goes out of his way to create a welcoming atmosphere for players, always has good vibes and the best gifs for the situation. He regularly finds incredible teams and elevates their potential with the cohesiveness of the teams he builds. Aside from all the success though, the enduring thing that I can say about Diamond is this: he makes being in THL fun. What more could you want?”
- RonMexico

“Don't have much to add that hasn't already been said about Diamond: he's a great captain and a fun teammate. I would never say no to an invite to be on one of his teams!”
- Jimphilos

“Diamond the 🐐”
- AgentPWE

​To any burgeoning THL captains: learn from your elders what types of team environments breed success. Get to know your players, not just from a gameplay standpoint, but personally as well—a framework where lasting friendships can be made and synergy comes naturally. Facilitate the positivity and collaboration that truly makes this a Team Hearth League, and maybe you too can shine bright like Diamond.