The Legacy of Hearthstone Academy

By Slimsch

The legacy of Hearthstone Academy (HSA) is certainly a noteworthy one in the history of THL: multiple championships under the leadership of Hall of Fame captain Sage, 6 Hall of Fame players across 17 seasons, and a closely knit band of teammates sticking together under different team names throughout. It’s a rarity for THL.

The origins of Hearthstone Academy itself start with Sage. A blog writer on WordPress, Sage was known as an unranked to rank 5 gamer. He had not played card games before and wanted to share his Hearthstone learning process with others. He turned to the competitive scene to fight imposter syndrome as he wrote about his experiences.

Sage made his first rendition of HSA by pitching his team in a weekly r/CompetitiveHS thread. Jaybie and Brewski were the first to join the inaugural Season 5 team. Brewski had been “chasing the dragon”, winning a collegiate funky team format as a team of 5 prior to THL. After playing in similar leagues and individual tournaments, Brewski was very eager to test his mettle in the THL format, especially to be a candidate for the Hall of Fame. 

MeMyselfandI (MMI) also found THL via a r/CompetitiveHS post from BitBeaker, who was advertising the discord. He was never much into shooting games, or the kinds that required expert reflexes and timing, but card games were a different beast. Honing early skills as a youth playing vs. 30+ year-olds in the Pokemon TCG, MMI was accustomed to and motivated by taking down the older crowd. THL’s original format made Hearthstone worth playing, in MMI’s eyes, as it rewarded identifying 4 strong classes and their individual flexibilities. “Seeing the classes but not the decks was so cool, it really gave the class submissions meaning.” Despite the initial interest drawn from BitBeaker, MMI would end up with Sage and Co. instead.

Skritch, the final piece of the first HSA team, came into the picture thanks to MMI. MMI would play Hearthstone in Art class, catching his teammate’s attention. With organized baseball and casual Magic the Gathering (MtG) making up his background, Skritch initially wasn’t keen on Hearthstone but eventually warmed up to it. The tipping point to joining THL was a pitch given by MMI: THL had an uncertainty in the level of competition that season, meaning new and unfamiliar players had a shot at competing on a level playing field. MMI was confident that planning and preparation made up about 60% of the competitive level, meaning a player like Skritch should be able to adjust and fit in easily (MMI would also give this same pitch to Bluesombrero, another core member of the HSA dynasty). Skritch ended up being able to pick up the game very quickly, which was massive as a 5-seed. In time, Skritch would come to appreciate the recreational league coupled with hangouts and having something to do with friends. Being cheaper than MtG turned out to be a plus as well.

HSA benefitted from players and friends on the sidelines too. Bluesombrero was an active nonroster player in season 5, coaching and serving as a scrimmage partner with the rest of the team. Bluesombrero and MMI had also been playing Go competitively since they were 7, and Skritch had also picked it up later. Among the three of them, they  had an extensive history of competitive games leading up to their time in THL. 

MMI ended up acting as a team tactician of sorts, being very confident in his ability to both play the game and make the right decisions preparation-wise on a player by player basis. Making sure everyone was as set up for success as possible before matches was a top priority of MMI’s. HSA had a supportive culture where a good character fit led to strong match preparation and constructive post-match discussions. Vicious Syndicate chart analysis and match replay reviews were common, with players going quite in-depth on each of these.
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​Sage’s ability to handle logistics as the team captain was underrated throughout this process. Not only did he get a hold of some “competitive psychos”, but they were working well as a team in order to perform across the board. Sage would be a “straight up NFL manager, backdoor deals and everything.” He brought in subs in as needed (and sometimes, there was a lot of need) and kept his players on track every week. His efforts paid off too—HSA would go on to win the championship that inaugural season as 100% newcomers. 

Sage was always very proud of HSA, never really expecting that they would have so much success so quickly. Initially, he thought that having such a young pool of talent with so much disposable time would mean the team would go through some growing pains. He credits the early young talent for being under budgeted PR-wise. In their first season, when it became clear that some players were undervalued in PR, a common sentiment among the team was that “[HSA was] smurfing a little bit”. Having Brewski in the one seed was beneficial for this, as he was absolutely dominant in his matches. The roster makeup took full advantage of his skillset and seeding position.
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​Unlike Season 5, Season 6 was on the rocky side with a lot of substitutions and replacements, both planned and unplanned, to be had throughout the season. MMI stepped away from playing in THL full time, Skritch took permanent leave around week 8, and Jaybie left even earlier at week 6. Bluesombrero would come into the fold as a permanent sub for Jaybie. Unlike MMI, Bluesombrero had a knack for highly mechanically demanding games such as League of Legends. This meant that complicated decks like Grim Patron Warrior were viable choices for Bluesombrero, even on mobile.  Though MMI was not playing directly and felt the preparation waned slightly as a result, MMI dedicated weeks of effort to help Bluesombrero land as well as possible mid-season. The prospect of competing in a new format rather than traditional ladder matches landed well with Bluesombrero. Embracing class flexibility for the format was a major sticking point for them, setting their mind to a new excellence. Despite all of the challenges, HSA managed to win championships back to back with two different rosters built.

​The growing pains Sage was worried about would eventually arrive a few seasons after their first two championships. The Season 9 team found a lot of new faces assembled together suddenly, lacking the chemistry that original roster permutations found. The new members needed their own identity. Sage took the roster in a new direction, landing with meme team Jumbo Skrimp’s. The team wasn’t very strong, but it introduced TwoStarMako to the HSA fold. Mako and Sage would later reclaim the HSA name and bring back both Skritch and MMI for Season 10. The team would go on to win its third championship that season.. 

Some intermittent periods followed where HSA players found homes elsewhere. MMI and Bluesombrero, for example, provided freelance preparation help for other teams. Prep is for Rogues became the home for other former HSA members, offering a more relaxed THL experience before the next phase of HSA excellence.

​HSA’s last dynasty-level push began in Season 14. The Galakronies saw Mako, basedinc, Ghost, BOOZASAURUS, and Sage assemble a powerhouse team. MMI, still present in HSA, helped basedinc early on with preparation processes. She became a protégé of MMI’s, both in game and in the HSA discord server. Although she struggled during Season 14, she gained confidence in helping others prepare the way that had always been a cornerstone of HSA success. The team would come to rely on this preparation in their very successful following seasons. based would blossom as a player and help the team win its fourth championship in Season 15. The team would also reach the finals in a very dominant season 16. 

Familiar faces would stick around in subsequent seasons, but the lightning captured in the bottle for seasons 15 and 16 began to peter out some. Life would take different turns for Sage as a 4 time championship captain with less time to be able to dedicate to the teams he had served so well as captain over the years. The team had made its mark in THL history though. HSA was and still is a household name around the THL community.
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What is the legacy of HSA? 
It’s no mistake that HSA is still mentioned in discussions throughout THL today. What made HSA so iconic though?

According to Sage, the legacy of HSA is the friendships made along the way. The early days of MMI, Skritch, Bluesombrero had an impact on him. “The youth is the future, they were so smart and they were like 15.”

For Brewski? ”Sage.” 

For Skritch? “Winning is fun, we did a lot of in HSA and we did it in our first two seasons. [It] showed how great it could all be and to want that every season. “

For MMI? “Part of the legacy is that THL itself is still running. Kept up for hundreds of people each week, this requires a level of emotional dedication. Having the friend group helped so much for HSA, combined with them talking a bit of shit and being annoying about it as a public friend group. No one knew them coming in and they won it all.”

For Bluesombrero? “The future is now, old man.” 

For basedinc? The chemistry and support along with prep and games. It really was a perfect team to be on and one of her favorite experiences. 

For Mako? ”It was the reason I fell in love with Hearthstone and THL to begin with. If it weren't for Sage and the rest of HSA creating this small, close-knit community as my introduction to the league, I don't know if I would have stuck around THL and thus even be playing Hearthstone to this day. I'll forever be grateful for HSA and Sage for giving me something that has become so special to me.”