The Defias Dynasty

By Wild9

​Every team has its culture, history, and roots. Some teams are based on intense competition, recruiting players who are at their highest value per PR, looking for ways to take advantage of the PR system with under-valued PR players at every seed, and having a strong winning mindset. Some teams are more casual, bringing together community members who just want to play together and enjoy the ride. Defias has always seemed to find a middle ground between these two ends of the spectrum.
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​Defining the Defias Dynasty

Throughout the early years of Defias, teams were not put together with hitting the PR cap in mind; c0mp often fielded teams with 200 or more PR to spare. These teams valued the extra PR; it guaranteed that players could always return as often as they wanted. While they would always try their best and support each other in the spirit of competition, they valued the team as a place where they would always be welcomed regardless of League restrictions.

When I joined the Defias dynasty, I remember c0mp being incredibly inviting and supportive. He did not have the same competitive chops as some other captains I had played with before, but he did everything in his power to help players be successful week to week.

Two defining characteristics of Defias culture stood out to me. First, c0mp had players in the team Discord server put their real names in parentheses. This was something I noticed right away, as in all my other teams, I never learned the real names of my teammates immediately upon joining the server. This was not a mandatory part of joining Defias, but c0mp (Carlos) himself leading by example opened the door for others in the community to follow suit. It immediately gave me the sense that the team was more than just about Hearthstone–it was about the people and the connections built between them.

Second, c0mp had optional weekly meetings for the team each week to come together and share thoughts about strategy before class submissions were due. Frequently, at least four of the five team members would regularly show up to help each other. This set up a culture where we regularly heard each other’s voices and relied on each other’s insights. There was never a week that a member couldn’t easily get support and feedback for their thoughts regarding class strategy.

Even after c0mp stepped away from Hearthstone (due to real-life events), these two aspects of the culture he established have remained in the Defias dynasty to this day. Having come off of successful seasons in Legacy when I took over as captain, I continued to further these beliefs and ideals in the Defias culture. I sought out players who would not only play with a competitive edge, but also have the core mentality of valuing the connections and relationships they would make in the community first and foremost..

One of my first recruits in Legacy Season 23 was MyCurse, who would later become the third captain of a Defias team. He exemplified all of these traits as a competitive player who would have success (he was an all-star in his first season with Defias, after all), but also saw the true value of the team as being the people you meet and play with. Although his playing time was limited early on, MyCurse integrated himself into Defias almost immediately. He took the next four seasons off after his inaugural season, but would remain active throughout. This included putting on offseason events and competitions within the server, and even offering prizes for members to win as a way for us to get to know each other and build the community. He explained the value of the Defias culture in his own words:

“Defias is awesome because it's just a similar group of HS players that range from casually competitive to very competitive.  There's always some chatter regarding optimal or off-meta deck lists, balance adjustments on the horizon, as well as other players willing to review a game replay and suggesting alternate lines. On top of game-related conversation, there's also lots of friendly side chatter from past and present players who were a part of our community.”

There are so many players across the history of Defias that have contributed to the culture here. Aside from the three captains, players like nebcanuck (11 seasons with Defias) and thereallure (10 seasons withe Defias) are some of the longest mainstays in the dynasty. Thereallure is credited with designing every championship banner and over half the logos of the dynasty, often drawing “oohs” and “aahs” on every team reveal stream. And so many other players have built the culture to be a place where members can compete, grow, and get support from teammates who grow to become friends over time. As MyCurse again says, “Defias started as a team, and it's growing to be a community.”

Awards, Stats, and Records

Since season 4, Defias has an in-season Legacy record of 88-74-8 (51.76% win rate) and a playoff record of 8-8. This includes one championship run and three top four finishes. Five of the eight losses were to the eventual champions of Legacy (even losses in the top 8!). In terms of notable awards, Defias has 4 top captain awards, with c0mp winning the award three times and Wild9 once. And the team has claimed the MVP award four times, won by MojoPowell, Nebcanuck, TruthAM, and most recently grumpyninja.

At the time of this writing, the Hero team has only logged in three seasons, but has already had several notable achievements. Starting in Hero season 24 and adding a second team in Hero Season 26, the Defias Hero teams sport a whopping 21-3-2 regular season record (80.77% win rate). These teams have yet to miss the playoffs. Their playoff record is 6-2 (75% win rate), and they have claimed the championship twice in the last three seasons, narrowly missing a three-peat. Notable awards include multiple all-stars (JRich, ythehunterx2, THLeumer, NotBamity, thereallure) and a historic MVP season by ythehunter in the inaugural Defias Hero season. Ythehunter went 7-0 with a 21-2 game score (5 sweeps during the season), putting in one of the best seasons in THL history.
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Highlights and Key Moments
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The first Defias championship banner was won during Legacy Season 19 in the most dramatic fashion. This team, captained by c0mp, was made up of members of Defias who defined the team’s legacy. Together, they account for a total of 58 seasons played on Defias teams (Wild9 with 15, ClassyThug with 7, nebcanuck with 11, c0mp with 15, and thereallure with 10). 

The team had gone 5-3 during the regular season, and was up against Agent PEE Ele and the Lightshowers who had gone 6-2 in the regular season with some top-tier THL players. Most notable was Nails, a college professional TCG player who was competing at the highest levels on the competitive Hearthstone circuit at the time.

​The finals match started off with a quick 2-0 lead for Geranium’s team, as Geranium Battle and Cahnew both took wins against Nebcanuck and c0mp. The final three games were all slated to happen on Sunday, which thereallure vs. Eternal happening first in the afternoon followed by Nails vs. ClassyThug and Wild9 vs. AgentPWE on stream at night. Because Agent PEE’s team had jumped out to a fast start and only needed one more match win to seal the championship, the possibility of a 3-0 comeback win seemed unlikely, especially when two of those wins had to come against top 100 caliber players Nails and AgentPWE. The heart of the cards were on our side though. In the first match on stream, ClassyThug went with an important an off-meta Druid pivot to gain a massive advantage in a particular match-up that paid off in spite of not being as experienced with the deck. After what was seen by many as a big upset of ClassyThug over Nails, it would all come down to the 1-seed matchup played on stream. This was during the era of Garrote Rogue’s dominance, and in the final matchup, Defias had decided on a strategy to leave up the Rogue and instead bring soft counter decks against it. Game one got the matchup they were looking for, with an off-meta Warrior deck that was primarily aiming to get the win over Garrote Rogue. After that, AgentPWE decided to try to win with the other two classes and never queued the Garrote Rogue again. The final score was 3-1 in favor of Wild9. Defias had completed the improbable comeback!

The second championship banner would be won by the first Defias team to come onto the Hero Series scene in Hero Season 24. This team sported an insane one-two punch at the top with JRich in the 1 seed and ythehunter in the 2 seed. Both players were scorching hot during the season, with ythehunter having his historic MVP season and JRich only receiving one loss. The lower seeds were also occupied by All-Star level skill. Notbamity and Pyrollama were just as insane, having experienced immense success in the THL Pro Series on Cheese Mongers United, a team that regularly finished top 4 and top 2. And finally in the 5-seed, THLeumer, one of the most seasoned players in THL history, turned in an allstar season at 7-1. This team went an undefeated 7-0 in the regular season, smashing teams with every seed winning more than half their games and having only 2 match losses across three seeds (the 1, 2, and 5-seeds).

​The playoffs are a different beast, however. To illustrate how hard it is to win championships, the final boss was one of the most formidable opponents Defias had ever faced.  As THLers know, even if you turn in some of the best seasons in THL history, a championship banner is never guaranteed. One bad week can bring down the strongest teams. During finals week, Defias began to wonder if their time was up. Pyrollama and ythehunter both lost their matches 2-3 and 1-3 respectively. 3-seed NotBamity also needed a sub that week, but supersub yachster (who would next year play on Defias’s legacy team) came to the rescue with a 3-0 sweep. This turned out to be critical, as Defias needed sweeps in the 3 and 5 seeds to maximize their odds of a championship. Again, it came down to the 1-seed matchup between JRich and Lemur. JRich needed two points to clinch, and two points was exactly what he got, sealing an incredible season for Defias’s first Hero team. They became one of the only teams to win a championship week with only 2 match wins.

The next year, Defias’s Hero team was back, but heavily restructured due to the success of the previous season’s team. Ythehunter was now in the 1-seed with JRich taking a break from the game. THLeumer returned to his 5-seed spot and captain Wild9 came in start out in the 3-seed. SuperHero and thereallure also came over from Defias’s Legacy team to join the Hero team for the first time.

The team took a 5-1 record into playoffs where they once again faced a Bonemasher-captained APM team. For the second season in a row, the finals match went to the 5th and final game. This time, instead of a 1 seed matchup, it would come down to the 5 seed between THLeumer and EPICat. THLeumer had a rough season, going winless in large part due to real life important events (i.e. preparing for a new addition to the family). Despite the challenges and unlikely odds, he pulled a narrow 3-2 win, giving Defias back-to-back championships for the first time with his only win of the season.

The final historic highlight comes from the next year of Hero Series, where Defias expanded to having two Hero teams. Hero now switched to only 3 players on each team, so Defias fielded one team captained by MyCurse for the first time and another by Wild9. Both teams had solid seasons: Defy Us with a 3-2-1 score and Defias with a 5-0-1. The two found themselves on opposite sides of the playoff bracket, making an all-Defias final as a possible outcome.

​As it turns out, however, APM had other plans. Dungar Druid (a meta deck that is heavily based on getting one specific legendary out early to scam wins) and the Hearthstone gods had a lot to say in determining the outcome. Defias found themselves up against APM in the semifinals. The teams split the first two matches, making the week come down to the rubber match. Thereallure would go up against aharmlessdog and would end up losing a heavily favored matchup to a turn 5 Travelmaster Dungar. Defias was eliminated, leaving Defy Us to meet up against APM in the finals.

​A third championship final in Hero series of Defias vs. APM was in the books, but this one would go decidedly to APM with two wins over Defy Us. Again, Dungar Druid would play a massive role. The best way to summarize would be a couple discord chats and the APM championship banner recognizing this historic achievement, including the historic role of one key figure and the hearthstone gods: Travelmaster Dungar.

​Travelmaster Dungar will be in the nightmares (and in THL finals history lore) of Defias players for years to come.

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​The Defias dynasty has spanned a total of 25 seasons of THL competition. Starting all the way back in Season 4 of the Legacy Series and still going strong today, the team has been characterized by a culture of like-minded players who have managed to be competitive while also having a philosophy that the people and community come first. With every success and heartbreaking season, the members have stuck together. As THL celebrates its 30th season, all of us are looking forward to where the next generation of Defias members will take our community. Only time will tell where this dynasty will go in the future.