With the Hearthstone scene growing and currently celebrating the first ever World Champions, compLexity Gaming is intensifying its commitment with the virtual card game hit of Blizzard. We are happy to announce that North American star Dan ‘Alchemixt’ Walton joins the growing team of coL.Hearthstone.
After a short hiatus from the big stage of Hearthstone, the established North American player is poised and motivated to get back in the saddle and on top of the mountain. In the past, Alchemixt has proven his skill in NA online cups like the NESL weekly cups or against the best of the best to qualify for WEC. The trip to China for the WEC event was followed by yet another trip to the east for WCA as one of the invited players to attend.
With a vast and rich history in Magic: The Gathering and a successful start in Hearthstone, Alchemixt serves as a great addition to the already stacked competitive team of compLexity Gaming with Dog and SjoW. Just like those two, Alchemixt will get back into streaming on Twitch and will start competing in tournaments wearing the black and red with pride.
“As we tried to build a well-rounded and competitive Hearthstone team, Alchemixt was a perfect fit.”, stated Hearthstone Team Manager Sören ‘Fantasy’ Vendsahm. “His experience both online and offline and the commitment to compete are not only great traits for him as a player, but they also embody the philosophy of compLexity Gaming.”
Alchemixt’s first big test under the compLexity banner will be this weekend as he tries to secure a spot for the DreamHack Winter 2014 in Jönköping, Sweden. He and the rest of the squad will square off against more than 250 opponents in the attempt to clinch one of the eight spots leading to the $25,000 USD tournament.
Show your support for the newest member of the compLexity family by tuning in to his stream, following him on Twitter or checking out his great video series on Hearthstone decks.
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We also had the pleasure of sitting down with Dan prior to this announcement.
Hello Alchemixt, thanks a lot for taking the time for this interview with us as the newest member of compLexity Gaming.Hearthstone. How would you introduce yourself?
Well, my name is Dan Walton or otherwise known as Alchemixt in the Hearthstone world. I have been playing Hearthstone since the beta and have had some good success this far. I previously played a lot of Magic The Gathering before I committed myself to Hearthstone.
You mentioned the history in Magic, how would you compare the two games?
The games are obviously different but I think the general card game mindset is the same. I knew going into this game that you can’t win them all because that is just the nature of cards. Also, skills like adapting to the meta-game, evaluating cards, and play-testing are all similar. Consistency is key.
Seems like a very good attitude to have. How successful were you in Magic?
I was decent in Magic. I never played in a Pro Tour but I like to think that is because I rarely played in any of the qualifiers 🙂 I have had a few Starcity Games Top8 in multiple formats, a couple Grand Prix Day 2 appearances, and many many local tournament wins.
With those accomplishments, what prompted the switch to Hearthstone in the end?
Basically, I love playing Magic with my friends and in person traveling to events. However, their online client is not very good or fun. I recently moved and because of that all of my friends who I played Magic with are no longer near me. I found Hearthstone and decided if I was going to play a card game online then I would much rather play Hearthstone instead.
Good point, enough with Magic for now. Let’s switch to Hearthstone completely then. You’ve been a veteran in the North American scene from the early days, but recently had a little diminished presence. What was the reason for that?
First reason that it may seem like I have fallen a little off the map is because once I joined Team Curse I was unable to stream on Twitch.TV. Unfortunately for myself I left Twitch right as I was starting to get some decent viewer counts (by my standards anyways).
Once on Curse I still had some good success including probably my most important tournaments being the WEC NA Regional Qualifier where I qualified for WEC. As well as participating in WCA and making top 16 through a pretty tough group in my opinion. I also won the DKMR weekly invitational which I know only a few people have done.
Once I decided to leave Team Curse in order to stream again on Twitch and not ” disappear” I took a couple weeks off (and by off I mean only 3 hours of Hearthstone a day and not 10) to figure out how I wanted to move forward in Hearthstone
Now that decision for the future is compLexity Gaming. What was the major factor to join this organization?
Well I started by asking around to see which teams were recruiting and who may be interested in me. I talk with a couple other teams and the biggest difference between those teams and complexity if the management.
My very first day talking with you guys you spent over an hour with me which actually means a lot especially when compared to the time other teams often spend.
I also knew Complexity was a great organization just by reputation and I also am acquainted with Dog and SjoW who I both think are great players and people. I also met Noxious at WCA and we got along quite well. Seemed like a great fit for me 🙂
Many good reasons it seems. In Hearthstone having a team is still a rather abstract concept. What does it mean for you as a player to have good teammates surrounding you – especially since you also have the great experience from your DKMR days?
Being on a team in Hearthstone has many good benefits. The first is just having people who you can bounce ideas off of or practice with if you need to.
Having an organization behind you is also very important. A team can have a big influence on being invited to large tournaments and events. Also, it adds extra motivation for me personally knowing that I am not solo and I am actually representing a team. In a sense it gives me a reason to keep playing, trying to improve, and not slack off.
Plus who doesn’t want Jerseys and T-shirts 🙂
With that new found and hopefully persistent motivation. What are your goals in Hearthstone now?
My main and probably most important goal is to start a consistent streaming schedule. I want to stream 4-5 days of the week for a decent amount of time. Unfortunately right as I left Curse and was allowed to stream on Twitch again my 10 year old computer decided to give up on me.
However, I just bought an entire new computer set-up with new monitors, camera, microphone, audio, and everything I need. Once that arrives I will start my streaming.
I would also like to start participating in more tournaments again and not just big invite tournaments like the China ones. Even just the weekly ESL cups. I actually played in one last night and did well.
Alright, then let’s talk a little bit more about the game you will be competing in. The actual game. What are your thoughts of the state Hearthstone is in?
I actually think Hearthstone is in a pretty decent spot right now. It is a little infested with Hunters and Undertakers at the moment it seems. However, that is something you can try to meta-game against. In my opinion there have been much worse meta-games in the past before the changing of certain cards. Also, Warrior and Hunter are some of my favorite classes and both are doing really well currently.
As far as tournaments go and what not, it seems Hearthstone is still going with a mix of invite/qualified players for events which I think is reasonable.
I just wish they wouldn’t use Gosugamers rankings as a benchmark for invited players 😛 (yes i said this even when I was top 16 for like 3 months straight).
What would you prefer to determine invites then?
Well popular streamers will always have invited spots because it just makes sense fromt the organizers perspective to have people who will bring in viewers. Other than that just look at past tournaments, ladder rankings, and who has done well in the past tournament if this is a repeat of a tournament run before.
I can be top 10 Gosugamers and have a bad month and scroll down ti 100. Someone can top 8 1 prismata cup and have literally no other results and be place top 20 and stay there for months even if they never play
That actually happened and I know other pro players who share the same thoughts as myself and actually have an even stronger stance.
Top 20 will be pretty accurate for the most part because those people are usually doing consistently well. Beyond that though it is really random in my opinion. Also, they pick and choose which events they want to count as well. As we all know not all events are even in the same format.
Speaking about formats of tournaments. There has been plenty of discussions about the “perfect” Hearthstone format. One which side are you in those arguments?
Personally I prefer bo5 or bo7 with 1 ban class. winner stays same deck. Once a class loses it’s eliminated and it allows for someone to really prepare and make a strategy that is different than what you might see on the ladder. I think that by doing this you also remove a lot of the “luck” or variance factor that would come up in a bo3 blind pick. I have heard some other formats that could also be good but so far this one is my favorite.
Double or Single Elimination? And what is your opinion about Swiss?
For a large open bracket tournament I prefer swiss, but if not, I prefer double-elimination. The tournament format that I stated is more used to smaller tournaments or showmatches because those will take a long time to play through.
Okay, I think we touched on pretty much every pressing issue in Hearthstone at the moment. Let’s wrap it up with some “quick fire” questions to get to know your preferences on various issues swift, quick and in a hurry.
The most debated question right away – Control or Aggro?
Aggro
Favorite Legendary?
King Mukla
Best Card in the entire game?
Gadgetzan Auctioneer
Most underestimated/underappreciated card?
Arcane Golem most underappreciated. Needs more love!
Most annoying thing in Hearthstone?
Unanswered Undertaker or Innervate.
Best greeting?
Hunter, not close. Greetings, Traveler!
Favorite streamer?
I watch so many streams its hard to say. TidesofTime or Savjz probably.
Best player at the moment?
Kolento, hard to argue with his recent success in tournaments.
Who will win BlizzCon?
Strifecro, but I am rooting for Dtwo.
Favorite deck at the moment?
Warrior Control has always been my favorite, I know it contradicts everything I said about loving aggro! #2-5 are all aggro decks :0
Any shoutouts you want to get off your chest?
Just a shoutout to my new teammates Dog, SjoW, and Noxious. also shout out to my former teammate from way back on DKMR and now known as IHearthU DTwo and hope he does well at blizzcon
Alright, thanks again and good luck wearing the red and black in the future!