My Hearthstone Pro Career: A (Brief) Journey

Every few weeks, whenever I build up enough courage or false bravado, I try and compete in Hearthstone tournaments. Sites like Battlefy allow competitive neckbeards with aspirations of card game super stardom, like myself, to play for glory, money and Hearthstone Championship points from the comfort of their desktop. Only players who have aspirations of turning pro, going to the seasonal Hearthstone Championship Tour and potentially the World Championship, need to collect these points. My last event ended after a single round, where I was matched up with Tirth, a pro player who competed at the 2016 HCT Preliminary in Thailand. I got stomped like a newbie, barely making it through two decks before shutting off my computer in my shame. That “gg” he typed as I conceded still burns to this very day.

On my Facebook feed, I saw an ad for a Fireside Gathering, Blizzard’s branded Hearthstone events, happening at Offside Tavern, a New York City bar in downtown Chelsea. “I might not be able to compete with a worldwide talent pool, but on a local level, I should be able to at least be able to take a few wins,” I thought. I had been doing nothing but eating, sleeping and playing Hearthstone since Knights Of The Frozen Throne released almost three weeks ago, perfecting my Druid play. On the day of the tournament, I packed my phone, charger and the lucky t-shirt I acquired at the HCT Spring Championship in Shanghai, where I placed a whopping fourth place at the press tournament.

Hearthstone tournaments are usually played in the Conquest format - you pick four classes, and then your opponent bans one. If you win a game, you can no longer use that class or deck, while the loser can keep their deck or switch to something else. Basically, it’s a more complicated best-of-5, where deck match-ups and counter picking are necessary to win. It isn’t like the standard ranked ladder, where you pick a deck and just grind away, hoping you don’t see too many decks that counter yours.

This event was being run by the Social Gaming Guild, a new start-up wanting to organize better esports events. “This is our first Hearthstone event,” James McLaughlin, the organizer of the gathering, told me. “Hearthstone players have been asking for us to run a tournament, so we finally did.” Judging by the dozens of players who showed up, it was definitely a good idea. The tiny backroom of the bar was packed with gamers like cattle at a slaughterhouse, all practicing their decks or talking about the new expansion.

At this point, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that all of those games of Hearthstone I played were with one deck, Jade Druid. I needed three other classes to play, so I just cobbled together whatever was high-tier on the Tempo Storm Meta Snapshot, a Murloc Paladin, Tempo Warrior, and my biggest mistake, Exodia Mage. Some Hearthstone decks, mainly Aggro ones, are simple enough to wield: you play your minions and then attack your opponent until it’s dead. Exodia Mage takes a lot from it’s Yu-Gi-Oh! namesake, if you get a set of cards in your hand, you basically win the game. Stalling your opponent out until you get those cards can be difficult, sometimes impossible in the wrong match-up, which I learned very quickly.

My first (and only) opponent, wearing a very kawaii Overwatch hat, banned my Druid, leaving me with three classes I wasn’t very comfortable with. My Tempo Warrior lost to his Pirate Warrior and Aggro Hunter, but I eventually pulled out a win against his Weapon Rogue. My Murloc Paladin easily took win number two, leaving one more game to decide the victor. I delayed his buffed Phantom Freebooter with Frost Novas and Blizzards, stalling for as much time while I waited to deliver the final blow. Eventually, his board got too big and I had one turn left to make a comeback. I drew into my deck, trying to pull an Ice Block , the only card that could save me from immediate destruction. Instead, Coldlight Oracle mocked me with it’s blank stare and I lost the match.

On the way out, I high-fived McLaughlin in utter defeat, dragging my feet all the way back to my apartment. This won’t be the end of my Hearthstone professional career, but it’s definitely the last time I ever play Exodia Mage.