Esports is a fast-moving business and Dota 2 is no different. Celebrating a 3-year anniversary between an organization and two players is a rare occasion in today’s climate, so we believe that a toast is in order. Today marks the beginning of Year 4 of Kyle ‘melonzz’ Freedman and Zakari ‘Zfreek’ Freedman, the band of brothers that has not only made an impact on the Dota space, but on our gaming family as well.
What started out as a friendly rivalry from the HoN days, StayGreen and Complexity were adversaries on big stages like HoN Tour and DreamHack. This quickly turned into a wonderful relationship once the duo made the successful switch to Valve’s MOBA hit.
During the transition between games, Complexity exuded almost as much confidence in the two core members as did vocal and outspoken captain melonzz – if it’s even remotely possible to match his confidence. The duo of Complexity and the Freedmans has been through thick and thin in the last three years, including successful journeys to the biggest Dota 2 tournaments including The International 5, the Shanghai Major or Epicenter 2016. Through these highest highs and the accompanying lows, they remained resilient and maintained their belief. Belief in their brotherhood, their ability, the organization and the dynamic that has been established through years of trial and tribulation. It allowed the two to pull through all the hardships, to stay focused even when blessed with success and to look ahead for promising additions during the shuffles. While the overall look of coL.Dota might have changed throughout the years, the core of the roster stayed in the hands of the Freedman brothers. Zfreek still dazzles Twitch chat, opponents and commentators alike on the four or five, while his brother continues to show his versatility as a mid, an offlane and a true five position captain.
A long road is behind us, but an even longer one lies ahead. Thank you Kyle and Zak for three great years. Here’s to many more years to come and the fulfilment of the ultimate dream that was made clear from the very start.
The compLexity Gaming family would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Sören “Fantasy” Vendsahm!
Sören ‘Fantasy’ Vendsahm has been an avid eSports participant since the early days of ESL. Growing up on games like Counter-Strike, Warcraft III, Brood War, and FIFA he developed a passion for gaming which translated into a love of writing about games. Over the years he has covered Starcraft II, Heroes of Newerth,CS:GO, Dota 2 and more. In 2013 he found a new challenge in the Blizzard card game, Hearthstone. Since then he has developed into one of the world’s most successful Hearthstone managers, continually finding and molding talented players into fierce competitors.
Once again, we’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Sören “Fantasy” Vendsahm!
With the Hearthstone Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion set to be released on August 10th, we sat down with our Hearthstone competitors and streamers to find out what they think about the upcoming set.
What are your general thoughts about the expansion so far?
Sylvanhunter:It’s a pretty interesting expansion with a lot of randomness in it. Many cards are fun to play (with your friends) but I’m not so sure about them in the competitive scene.
Tyler: I’m very excited for this new expansion. I think it’s good enough to give us a new and fresh meta and plenty of decks to experiment with.
Asmodai:A lot of underwhelming effects, however the new Death Knight concept is something that I feel can have potential if the meta slows down.
Casie:Frozen Throne is the best expansion since League of Explorers, a lot of unique and different style of cards, which can improve and or create different archetypes.
ProfessorNox: It would seem to us, over years of watching Blizzard operate, that they have at last, since Un’Goro, established a clear plan for what they want Hearthstone to be and become. This expansion seems the best of all the worlds, a harkening back to the olden days of Naxxramas, mixed and matched with a more modern vision of balance. After the magnificence personified in Un’Goro, it was rather unlikely they’d surpass themselves; we were wrong, though. It seems they just may have. Glory!
The Hearthstone Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion is set to be released on August 10th, 2018!
Sottle: I’m really excited about it, even as someone that doesn’t know anything about Warcraft lore I can tell that this is a big deal and they’ve put an appropriate amount of effort into making everything feel epic. From a game design perspective I like that they’re pushing new mechanics and pushing classes in different directions. It also seems like many of the post powerful cards are late-game Control tools and things that stabilise from Turn 8 onwards.
TheJordude: I think overall the expansion looks to be a lot slower paced. I don’t see too many cards that will support very aggressive decks and there is a decent amount of value cards for the mid and late game. I like the new Death Knight cards, if even one or two of them are playable, then it will at least make the game feel fresh.
Mryagut: I am super hyped for the new expansion. It seems like the meta will slow down and make control and midrange decks better. Aggro got almost nothing this expansion.
Crane: Looks very cool! Definitely one of the expansion with the coolest cards and it doesn’t feel like there is too much stupid RNG. Much of the RNG seems bearable in fact! However, I am a little worried that not many of the cards are playable. I feel like there are very few strong cards in general. Does not have to be a problem though, except I would like some change from the current meta game.
Which card do you think will have the most impact?
Sylvanhunter: Lich King – everyone would prolly be chucking it into every midrange deck there is. It’s powerful but too random because there are 8 possible outcomes.
Tyler: I think Sulking Geist is going to have the biggest impact on the meta (even when it doesn’t see play). These kinds of counter effects usually have a very interesting effect in the meta. As an example, just the threat of Hungry Crab being available made Murloc Paladin see way less play even though it was one of the strongest decks in the Un’Goro meta.That means Jade Druid will become less viable and other slower control decks might see more play.
Asmodai: Hard to say just out of pure power level Ultimate Infestation seems broke, but I’m curious to see how big of a part the Death Knights are actually going to have in the meta – so my pick is leaning towards The Lich King.
Casie: Depending on how slow the meta will be, from the first look of it, i think The Lich King will be super powerful, a more defensive Ysera with at least six out of eight good outcomes!.
ProfessorNox: The question seems rather dependent on what it is one wants to play; at the risk of sounding dreadfully boring, I must admit to high expectations for Deathspeaker. A 3-Cost Neutral minion that nightly guarantees an efficient trade takes place, all the while offering a reasonable body size? Yes. I think so.
Sottle: Probably Bonemare. It might not be the best card in the set, but it’s up there and it’s a neutral common, so it’s likely to be one of those ever present things that you see in almost every board focused deck. Potentially good enough as a control tool as well.
TheJordude: I think Skulking Geist will have a huge impact on the meta. This expansion is quite slow, so a lot of people may try to take advantage of it with Jade Druid as it is a control killer deck. However Skulking Geist destroys all Jade Idols so a deck with good removal tools can survive the Jade army and possibly fatigue out the Druid. Skulking Geist also snipes Evolve, which I talk about in a different question.
Mryagut: The Lich King seems pretty strong. It looks like a better Ysera for eight mana with taunt. We should see this card in some control decks and also do not forget that you can get this out of Stonehill defender too.
Crane: The Lich King. Even though I feel like the card is massively overrated, it is also the only card that I am pretty sure is very strong. Also it is a very impactful neutral card, so if it is powerful it might see play in a bunch of decks, which definitely impacts the meta.
Which Death Knight will have the biggest meta impact?
Sylvanhunter: Rexxar seems good (not that I have a Hunter bias) and Thrall too. Being able to cast your hero “upgrade” early is good. The pseudo-Geddon battlecry is good for Hunter to get back on track if falling behind or just push itself even further by preventing opp minions from catching up.
Tyler: I think the Paladin Death Knight will have the biggest impact. Control Paladin is already so strong, and you don’t need to build your entire deck around this Deathknight. You can just jam it in Paladin and it is good. You get a big weapon, some life gain and an upgraded hero power.
Asmodai: I think Uther of the Ebon Blade seems like the strongest, it fits very well into the Pala decks we currently are running and it should be able to add some additional control / win condition in certain matchups.
Casie: I feel like Paladin will have the biggest impact, since Paladin was always there to kill control decks and now with the addition of the new Death Knight, it will improve those matchups even more.
ProfessorNox: Controversially, Shaman seems to me the most likely candidate for across-the-board playability in its class, more so when considering archetypes possibly emerging from the depths of Icecrown. To remain fair to other Death Knights, though, they all seem quite potent in their own right.
Sottle: I think Shaman is definitely in with a shout, the fact that it’s a powerful effect that can potentially be played alongside an already proven archetype makes it the most likely to be meta-shaping in my opinion. Druid is super good as well. All of them have potentially for me though apart from Hunter, which just looks too slow and doesn’t have enough support in the Hunter class to make it worth it.
TheJordude: I think Bloodreaver Gul’dan will have the biggest impact out of all the Death Knights. It has a N’Zoth like effect, and we already see how strong N’Zoth is. It has the most impact on the board the same turn it is played compared to the other Death Knights, as you fill up your board and demons have a variety of effects from taunts to charge, so depending how you build the deck the 10 mana playing Gul’dan may not even be scary to invest in. The hero power is very sustaining, a good late game effect that can spot remove minions or pressure your opponent’s health while sustaining your own.
Mryagut: The Paladin Death Knight should be the strongest. You get 20 heal and a 5/3 weapon for 9 mana. This is already much better than Forbidden Healing if you do not get rushed down. Also you upgrade your hero power from a 1/1 to a 2/2. It will probably rarely happen that you get all 4 Horsemen but the heal and 2/2s instead of 1/1s already good enough.
Crane: Rogue, because somehow I am not convinced any of the other DKs are playable. Hell, I am not even sure if Valeera is! Out of the other DKs though, I think Druid and Paladin are the most likely to be playable, with Mage coming in fourth. I don’t think Mage DK is playable and I am also very sceptical about the Druid and Paladin one.
Which class benefits the most in your opinion?
Sylvanhunter: Mage. The freeze/elemental synergy cards seems better than the other classes’ class-based synergies.
Tyler: I think overall control paladin is going to benefit the most, because Jade Druids are being pushed away and Paladin gets some nice new cards.
Asmodai: I think Rogue benefits the most, both Shadowblade and Doomerang seems insane to me, and since control is being pushed and Rogue punishes control this is looking good for the Rogue boys and girls.
Casie: This is what I will always say, but i think Rogue benefits the most from it, since i expect the tournament meta to be either midrange or a little bit slower and Rogue benefits from that the most.
ProfessorNox: New archetypes may yet open up for every class, but I would hedge my bets on Rogues being rather happy about the addition of Shadowblade and Doomerang to their general arsenal. Not so specialized, mind you, but potent nonetheless.
Sottle: Hard to say which class truly benefits the most, it seems to be that the power level of classes is likely to stay pretty similar to what we have now with Mage, Druid, Shaman, Warrior, and Paladin all scrapping for dominance, with Priest and Rogue a little behind and Hunter and Warlock bringing up the rear. Druid and Warrior both got great tools to make other kinds of decks possible though, so i’ll go with those two. I’m super excited for Whirlwind Warrior, hopefully it can capture some of that Patron feel.
TheJordude: With this expansion, I think the class that benefits the most is Shaman. Since the set is slow, a deck with Evolve Shaman should still be very powerful with the ability to snowball a strong board with Doppelgangster + Evolve on 6 and finishing the game with Bloodlust before you can even set up a Death Knight. Shaman also got some support to this archetype with their Death Knight. Rogue might benefit a lot from this expansion also, if nothing in Miracle Rogue gets touched (like Auctioneer) – since this is traditionally a good deck to counter slow ones.
Mryagut: I think Druid got a lot of good cards. Ultimate Infestation is just an insane card and will work in any ramp deck. Then you also got Spreading Plague. This is a beautiful defensive card and helps you against aggro decks. Druid of the Swarm and maybe Crypt Lord might work in an aggressive deck.
Crane: Rogue comes in first, Druid and Paladin comes after that and Mage. Reason is Rogue got a weapon, Doomerang plus Valeera and potentially Lilian Voss, although I don’t think Voss is good. Paladin got a good 1-drop for Aggro/Tempo archetypes and maybe Blackguard with Uther of the Ebon Blade, while Druid got Crypt Lord, Ultimate Infestation and maybe Malfurion the Pestilent. Mage got three maybes: Coldwraith, Breath of Syndragosa and Lich King Jaina and perhaps a card that helps Quest Mage (Ghastly Conjurer), although I doubt it very much.
Recently Tespa (Blizzard’s competitive collegiate division) partnered up with Red Bull Esports to create qualifiers for the upcoming Red Bull Team Brawl. Red Bull Team Brawl is a popular Hearthstone invitational event that features the “sealed” format, which is where teams draft decks from a limited card pool created by opening packs. In the Spring, this organizer hosted a $10,500 prize pool tournament, with pro teams Luminosity and Tempo Storm competing. Tespa is hosting a total of 4 qualifiers exclusively for collegiate students, where the top 2 players from each will secure a seat at the live event. I won the 1st qualifier and will be flying out to California to participate in this event.
The Format
The Tespa qualifiers utilized an interesting new format. Instead of the traditional best of 5 Conquest or Last Hero Standing, each player plays a single class where they have a “primary” deck and two decks that can be up to six total cards different than the primary list. The matches were best of 3 and you can use any deck any number of times despite win or loss. The brackets were eight rounds of swiss with a Top 8 single elimination playoff.
I first want to say that I really did enjoy this format and how this tournament was run despite some of the criticism it received from fellow players. Best of 3’s may not be optimal in the single elimination playoffs (I’d recommend best of 5’s moving forward), but in the eight rounds of Swiss in 1 day, it felt necessary as I was very burnt out by the end of it. Using a single class with a “sideboard” was interesting and reminded me of the good old days playing other TCG’s like Yu-Gi-Oh. With a primary deck, it really forced players to prepare ahead of time on how they wanted their lineup to look like, what matchups they would need to tech for, and how flexible their starting deck would need to be. Having six cards total that could be swapped out of the primary deck felt like JUST the right amount, as any more would allow players to play completely different decks and any less would be impossible to make significant changes. The sideboard also made most decks have a similar archetype to its core, but gave room for a little bit of creativity.
Class and Deck Decisions
So the part that might be the most interesting: How did I prepare for this tournament and what was my thought processes that resulted in my qualification?
First of all here were my decklists for the event:
Why Shaman?
I decided to go with Shaman for a few reasons:
1. Since this format pretty much spells out tech cards, Shaman is a class that most classes do not and cannot easily tech against. There isn’t an abundance of Pirates or Murlocs to be crabbed on and there is no totem eater. The best way to tech against Shaman would be AoEs which a lot of classes do not run much of, or use crabs instead to deal with aggro decks.
2. Shaman is a class that is very well-rounded and can win against anything when the cards align. Expecting a broad field of decks, I prefer a deck that has say ~60% to beat everything rather than 70% to beat certain classes and 30% against the rest.
3. Token Shaman is good against aggro. Expecting a lot of players to try to cheese with aggro decks I wanted something that would be consistently good against them, and yet would still have a good shot against control decks. I didn’t want to play a control class as it is easier to be punished by Rogue and Jades, as well as draw RNG just being unreliable a lot of the time where you need specific answers and specific times.
4. Shaman is very flexible. As you can see from my lists above the secondary and tertiary deck are quite different than my primary despite only 6 cards being changed. That is because the primary Shaman list, which is just a cookie cutter list, has a lot of slots that are not core to the deck and can be substituted for tech options.
Primary Deck
There is nothing special to say about the primary deck as this is the most commonly used list for Token Shaman. It is very clean, no techs, and has a good percentage against the rest of the classes. Against other primary decks, they would not have any techs targeting Token Shaman. I would also note that Token Shaman is strong against aggro decks with the early board pressure and Devolve/Maelstrom clears as well as having good matchups against midrange/control because of the ability to evolve the Doppelgangsters and have Bloodlust burst. The bad matchups for the deck are Taunt Warrior, Control Mage (which I teched for in the other decks) and Rogue, which I somehow managed to defeat in 2 different rounds by having enough early damage and pressure. Aside from Taunt Warrior and Control Mage, I would queue this deck in against everything else as the win rates would be better than my other 2 decks.
Deck #2
The second deck list I submitted were specifically for Mages, control in particular. This is quite obvious with the double Eater of Secrets for the Ice Blocks, but I also added in additional Jade cards to increase my mid-late game pressure and board spreading for Bloodlust finishes.
The deck worked out quite well and I won all my Mage matchups as intended, even against Tempo Mages as the Eater of Secrets turned out to be good enough, getting on the board with a reasonable body for tempo.
Deck #3
The third deck list I submitted has Taunt Warrior in mind. I chose to go with White Eyes and Cairne Bloodhoof as my additional deathrattles as they generate the most late game value. By adding in Spirit Echos, I am able to get additional deathrattles rather than just the 3 in the deck and N’zoth would be too much for the Warrior to handle if they can even get to that point as they would have likely used up their AoEs.
Making the list more value and late game heavy makes Warrior’s Sleeping with the Fishes and Brawls less effective against my deck. Though I played against 0 Warriors, I still used this deck to win against other control decks like N’zoth Paladin, Control Priest, and even a Jade Druid.
California Outlook
The new expansion, the Frozen Thrones will be released right before this tournament. I think this is super exciting as it will be one of the first streamed events featuring the new cards. What is great is that I don’t have to stress too much about the new cards being available, since the format is a controlling factor on what cards I am able to play so we wouldn’t be trying to play the most optimal meta decks anyway. However I will do my research on the new cards to make sure I can identify what is worth playing and what is not if I pull them into my card pool.
We have yet to be informed of the “pros” that will be participating in the event with us. Regardless, I am looking forward in meeting new and familiar faces and overall having a good time while I am there. 2 other players from my school qualified, so it should be a blast traveling and competing with or against them.
About the Author
Jordan Hong Tai, known as “TheJordude” is a Hearthstone player and social media associate for compLexity Gaming. For over 2 years he has enriched the coL.HS squad with his presence while becoming a fierce grinder on ladder, online tournaments, and the collegiate scene. Apart from his business studies, and competitive Hearthstone, the youngster from Vancouver, Canada is also a content producer, tournament organizer, and one of the top North American streamers for the Shadowverse scene.
It’s travel day for compLexity as both coL.cs and Sylvanhunter from coL.HS make the trek to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pattaya, Thailand respectively.
coL.cs will be competing in Fragadelphia 11 presented by Boomeo this weekend at the SunCenter Studio stage in Philly, where they will be competing for $50,000 in cash as they take on up to 64 other teams! By winning the Fragadelphia 11 Online Qualifiers, coL.cs received an automatic invite to the event. coL.cs will begin the event in Group A where they will take on Cyberbullies and Guerilla Core.
Format
Group Stage – GSL Style
Playoffs – Double Elimination
As for Sylvanhunter, she will be traveling to Pattaya, Thailand for The Hearthstone Thailand Major. The Hearthstone Thailand Major will be held in the A-One The Royal Cruise Hotel Pattaya. The Ro256 bracket will be played in the nearby G-L-P internet café, with the Ro32 and up being played in the hotel, right next to beautiful Pattaya Beach.
Format
256 players
Double Elimination
Bo5 Conquest with bans
Region: Americas
Join us in wishing safe travels to our gamers today and the best of luck at their respective events!
compLexity Hearthstone makes the trip to Valencia, Spain as Crane, Casie and Tyler head to DreamHack Valencia 2017 for the Hearthstone Grand Prix! The tournament will feature 288 Hearthstone players, all competing for their chance at $25,000 in cash.
The compLexity Gaming family would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Kyle “swindlemelonzz” Freedman!
As one of the original HoN competitors swindle was often on the outskirts of success, but over the last three years he has made his mark on eSports. The outspoken, cocky drafter and captain of the stayGreen championship team might be controversial, but he also has a resume to back up his talk. During his HoN tenure he was awarded accolades ranging from Best Drafter to Most Valuable Captain, and the highly coveted 2013 Most Valuable Player award. As the leader of the compLexity Dota team, he continues to make a splash with both his personality and his leadership in-game.
Once again, we’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Kyle “swindlemelonzz” Freedman!
The compLexity Gaming family would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to our Business Development Manager, Brian “GhostOutlaw” Jackson!
Brian started his career in gaming in the WarCraft III days, as a competitor with some success. As he began college, he shifted his goals to management, and joined on the Global Gaming League as an Admin for DOTA. Brian moved on to the ThroneIt.com after Global Gaming League closed its doors. As a manager there, he helped grow the community and the features provided. After a hiatus for film school, Brian came back strong taking on the role role of Business Development Manager. Brian is also a Registered Respiratory Therapist at a major trauma center with degrees in Business Administration, Respiratory Therapy and Communications.
Once again, we’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Brian “GhostOutlaw” Jackson!
Today, compLexity Hearthstone takes to the skies as they head to Krefeld, Germany for SeatStory Cup VII.
Simon “crane” Raunholst, Tugay “MrYagut” Evsan and Tyler Hoang Nguyen are set to compete in the SeatStory Cup III, hosted by Dennis “TaKe” Gehlen from his studio apartment where the top Hearthstone competitors in the world will gather for their chance at $20,000 in prize money. Simon “Sottle” Welch will also be on hand as an official caster for the event!
coL.cs hits the skies today as they head to Santa Ana, California for the PGL Americas Minor where teams will be competing for $50,000 in prize money as well as the final two spots in the PGL Major Offline Qualifier! The event is taking place at Esports Arena from June 8th-11th.
The teams competing for the two Americas spots in the upcoming PGL Major Offline Qualifier, and a piece of the $50K USD prize pool include:
Cloud9
Immortals
Counter Logic Gaming
Complexity Gaming
Luminosity Gaming
Misfits
NRG Esports
paiN gaming
Format
Group Stage
GSL Format
Best-of-one winner matches
Best-of-three elimination matches
Playoffs
Double elimination
Best-of-three
We’d like to wish the best of luck to coL.cs as they travel today! Thanks as always for your support!
The compLexity Gaming family would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Sören “Fantasy” Vendsahm!
Jordan Hong Tai, known as “TheJordude” is a Hearthstone player and social media associate for compLexity Gaming. For over 2 years he has enriched the coL.HS squad with his presence while becoming a fierce grinder on ladder, online tournaments, and the collegiate scene. Apart from his business studies, and competitive Hearthstone, the youngster from Vancouver, Canada is also a content producer, tournament organizer, and one of the top North American streamers for the Shadowverse scene.
The compLexity Gaming family would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Kyle “swindlemelonzz” Freedman!
The compLexity Gaming family would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to our Business Development Manager, Brian “GhostOutlaw” Jackson!