THL Legend Race: Spetember 2017

Greetings, Earthlings!

In case you missed it here, September gave birth to THL’s first league-wide race to the esteemed legend rank. The race was separated by brackets based on players’ Player Rating (PR) as of September 1st, creating three playing fields in the 100-249, 250-399, and 400-500 PR ranges.

​48 players registered, were separated into their brackets, and event manager Markshire kept track of players’ ranks as they went through the grind. September 14th marked the first to cross the line as DLineman grabbed his title as champion of the race overall, effectively closing out the 400-500 bracket just in time to beat out some close contenders. JRJuggernaut closed out the 250-399 bracket while Rizen took the 100-249 title in his first ever legend appearance!

We reached out to our winners to hear from them first hand a little bit about their paths to success. Here’s what they had to say:

100-249 PR Bracket (12 participants)
Winner: Rizen

1. Was this the first time you've reached legend? How did this accomplishment feel for you?

Yes it was the first time I've reached legend. It was a pretty amazing/relieving feeling. I really wanted to push for it last month and I didn't think I was going to get it for a while and managed to make one final push toward the end.

2. What decks did you use for your climb?

I played mostly Jade Druid to 5 and then Tempo Rogue for the final push.

3. Besides deck selection, what strategy did you use?

I tried to actively control tilt a lot so I didn't have any major slides backwards. I can't say I followed it 100% but I really tried to just quit and do other things if I wasn't doing well that day.

4. Besides the convincing suggestion of "don't fucking do it," what advice would you give to other players who have the goal to reach legend?

It's super cliche and probably super easy for me to say now that I've done it, but try not to put so much pressure on yourself and focus on making good decisions. If you're able to push through past rank 5 you can definitely get to legend, it's just a matter of focusing on good decision and not the little stars every time. I have to remind myself of this often!

5. Any shout outs or thanks you'd like to give for earning this award?

Switters for both being an amazing team captain and help as I pushed. Botticus for some Tempo Rogue coaching at the end of the month and all of the discords that I'm in that give great advice and keep me interested in the game. Coin Concede, Dad Legend, Velen's Chosen, and Walk to Work were particularly encouraging and helpful during my climb.


250-399 PR Bracket (15 participants)
Winner: JRJuggernaut

1. Was this the first time you've reached legend? How did this accomplishment feel for you?

This was my third time reaching legend, the first and second times being the months of April and May of this year.  It’s funny because I reached legend for the first time literally the last day of the month of April, which happened to be the day before my first season of THL (Season 6) started.  This time around I did it with about a week left in the month.


2. What decks did you use for your climb?

I got from rank 5 to rank 2 with a combination of Tempo Rogue and Jade Druid, then from there made it to legend with Razakus Priest.  My list was pretty standard, only notable tech was Golakka Crawler, which nowadays is pretty common.

3. Besides deck selection, what strategy did you use?

Usually when I make the effort to ladder to legend I do it in short bursts.  Since I am able to get to rank 5 really quickly, I have plenty of time to find a strategy that works.  After I tried laddering with multiple decks I eventually settled on one that I was consistently winning with, and hoped for the best.  It also happened that the deck I was using was among the best decks of the meta at the time, and that the deck that served as its worst matchup (Jade Druid) was one I hardly encountered at those ranks.


4. Besides the convincing suggestion of "don't fucking do it," what advice would you give to other players who have the goal to reach legend?

Honestly, as tempting as it is to tell players not to do it, my best advice is do not give up.  I have been playing since closed beta, so it took me over 3 years of playing and laddering before I finally reached legend.  I was convinced at times that it would never happened but eventually it did and boy was it satisfying!  I think if you keep practicing you will eventually reach legend!

5. Any shout outs or thanks you'd like to give for earning this award?

While I do have specific shout-outs to my current teammates on Xnergy, as well as my old teammates from Valkyrie, I really want to thank the whole THL community for their motivation and support during this process.  One of the major reasons I love THL is because it has allowed me to meet great people who have helped me become an even better player.  I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity and I cannot wait to see what happens next!


400-500 PR Bracket (21 participants)
Winner: DLineman

1. Was this the first time you've reached legend? How did this accomplishment feel for you?
 
I’ve hit legend more times than I can count at this point.  This accomplishment honestly didn’t feel particularly special to me because it took me a long time with traveling and work.


2. What decks did you use for your climb?
3. Besides deck selection, what strategy did you use?
 
2 and 3 – When I play ladder, I follow a system where I play the class that I lose against, and switch archetypes when I lose a class mirror, regardless of the archetypes that were played in that mirror.  I do this because I get bored really easily when I play the same deck for too many games in a row.  So I basically played every archetype of every class.


4. Besides the convincing suggestion of "don't fucking do it," what advice would you give to other players who have the goal to reach legend?
 
My advice would be to relax and don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself.  Play good decks well and play decks that you enjoy.  You can hit legend with anything that’s in the meta, so just be patient and play whatever you want that fits the meta.  Hitting legend is not a monumental achievement and there is little consequence for coming up short, so just focus on one game at a time and have fun doing it.  If you treat it like a job then it’s not a rewarding feeling when you reach legend, but a sense of relief, and that’s not a feeling with which to leave a game.


5. Any shout outs or thanks you'd like to give for earning this award?
 
Idk not really.

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It’s exciting to hear that the league has been able to contribute to a Rizen’s first legend appearance (has it has for many others as well), and hopefully you’ve learned a thing or two from our multi-legend veterans JRJuggernaut and DLineman. Congratulations again to September’s winners, and keep an eye out on the THL Facebook and Discord if you’d like to participate in future events!

The pleasure was mine,
Nade


EDIT: Also, please note that Inposition did those things that he said he did. Please high-five him the next time you see him!