Hearthstone
We sat down with Esteban 'AKAWonder' Serrano to discuss his recent qualification to the Hearthstone Global Games Finals at Blizzcon together with Team Spain as well as one of the decks that helped them with that achievement - the Control Odd Warrior featuring Dr. Boom, Mad Genius. If you're fans of that type of playstyle, you can surely pick up some good tips for your own games from our Spanish maestro.
You recently qualified for the HGG Finals at Blizzcon where you will represent Spain alongside Dalesom and the other members of the team. How do you feel about it? It’s surely a proud moment to play for your country on such a big stage.
It's a dream come true. Going to Blizzcon to represent your country and having that many people supporting you, it's amazing. We are preparing as much as we can in order to win there even though we know people are already proud of us. We want to win!
You were the one to seal the victory that qualified you for the finals in game 5 of the series against Portugal. Where does that match rank in your most important competitive moments?
I don't think I can rank it in my personal top victories cause it was a team competition. Even though I was holding the mouse, the victory belongs to everyone. But I have to admit that going to Blizzcon is in my top3 competitive moments ever.
The deck you used in that match was a Control Warrior - an odd-mana list that also includes Mechs. How successful was it throughout the tournament so far?
The deck is amazing, it has been winning against control but also against aggro and midrange. We only lost once because we made a couple of mistakes and we believe it's one of our best decks.
Is it also good on ladder? Do you recommend people give it a try if they haven’t?
In ladder it is a bit harder to play because it has polarized matchups and it sucks to lose before starting a game against Quest Rogue but if you really like long games it's your deck to play in ladder.
As it’s a control deck how should people approach the early game and then the late one? What is the win condition of the deck?
The deck has a lot of late game so against aggro-midrange you just need to survive. Keep removals in mulligan and early minions and you will win with Dr. Boom. Against control it is a bit difficult. You always want some tech cards and the removals are not that important.
Are there any particularly good or difficult matchups?
The good matchups are against aggro. The bad ones - Rogue Quest and Fatigue Druid.
Can you give any tips about playing a control deck such as this one and also about the mirror matchup that we saw you play against Portugal?
Dr. Boom is an awesome card, I always find a reason to keep it in mulligan. Also, play your hero power as much as you can, stacking armor is sometimes a good reason to not play a minion. In the mirror don't draw a single card, the matchup almost always goes to fatigue.
Lastly, if you have any shoutouts to the rest of Team Spain or your countrymen who have supported you so far, now is the time!
Yay, Dalesom, Riku and Jacobo are amazing Spanish players and we are going to win Blizzcon! Thanks everyone for supporting us, don't miss our games the 2nd and 3rd of November!
You recently qualified for the HGG Finals at Blizzcon where you will represent Spain alongside Dalesom and the other members of the team. How do you feel about it? It’s surely a proud moment to play for your country on such a big stage.
It's a dream come true. Going to Blizzcon to represent your country and having that many people supporting you, it's amazing. We are preparing as much as we can in order to win there even though we know people are already proud of us. We want to win!
Spain made history today. With a 3-2 victory against Portugal, we secured our place in Blizzcon! @AKA_Wonder is looking forward to bringing his JAMON to LA and nobody can stop him! #RUNSKG #HGG @PlayHearthstone pic.twitter.com/ZcDp15n1nD
— SK Gaming (@SKGaming) September 25, 2018
You were the one to seal the victory that qualified you for the finals in game 5 of the series against Portugal. Where does that match rank in your most important competitive moments?
I don't think I can rank it in my personal top victories cause it was a team competition. Even though I was holding the mouse, the victory belongs to everyone. But I have to admit that going to Blizzcon is in my top3 competitive moments ever.
The deck you used in that match was a Control Warrior - an odd-mana list that also includes Mechs. How successful was it throughout the tournament so far?
The deck is amazing, it has been winning against control but also against aggro and midrange. We only lost once because we made a couple of mistakes and we believe it's one of our best decks.
Is it also good on ladder? Do you recommend people give it a try if they haven’t?
In ladder it is a bit harder to play because it has polarized matchups and it sucks to lose before starting a game against Quest Rogue but if you really like long games it's your deck to play in ladder.
As it’s a control deck how should people approach the early game and then the late one? What is the win condition of the deck?
The deck has a lot of late game so against aggro-midrange you just need to survive. Keep removals in mulligan and early minions and you will win with Dr. Boom. Against control it is a bit difficult. You always want some tech cards and the removals are not that important.
Are there any particularly good or difficult matchups?
The good matchups are against aggro. The bad ones - Rogue Quest and Fatigue Druid.
Can you give any tips about playing a control deck such as this one and also about the mirror matchup that we saw you play against Portugal?
Dr. Boom is an awesome card, I always find a reason to keep it in mulligan. Also, play your hero power as much as you can, stacking armor is sometimes a good reason to not play a minion. In the mirror don't draw a single card, the matchup almost always goes to fatigue.
Lastly, if you have any shoutouts to the rest of Team Spain or your countrymen who have supported you so far, now is the time!
Yay, Dalesom, Riku and Jacobo are amazing Spanish players and we are going to win Blizzcon! Thanks everyone for supporting us, don't miss our games the 2nd and 3rd of November!
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