ADMW Winter Special - OCTGN Tournament - Players Q&A

[Schwenkgott]

Round of 8 Interviews

Aridigas, after losing the match against Keejchen:

Q: What do you think about your last opponent Keejchen?

A: Keejchen is a very strong Mage Wars player with a lot of game knowledge. Out of my opponents, maybe even out of all starters I actually rate him the strongest. He totally deserved to win this time. But there will be another time, I'm sure.


Q: What were your thoughts after finishing the first round of your match against Keejchen?

A: After the very first round my exact thought was: "I know that opening from somewhere!" Okay, not my exact thought, as I usually think in german.
I wasn't too pleased with my own opening. I had lots of creatures I could summon before going to burn some Dwarf.


Q: How do you see the matchup Arraxian Crown Warlock vs Anvil Throne Warlord in general?

A: With the lastest expansions Paladin vs. Siren and Lost Grimoire the ATW got some really nice tools and toys. But Academy Warlock gave the Araxian Crown a nice boost as well. However I do think the Warlord might have a slight edge over the Warlock, as he can play a better Wand game.


Q: In retrospect, What have been your major mistakes in the last game and what would you have done differently, if you had the chance?

A: During play I already made the wrong decision in attacking the ballista early on. I could have stayed in my corner, use my forge and summon more creatures, as the initial plan was. But I didn't want to lose my forge, so I took countermeasures. I didn't lose my forge and could use it to some success later on, so I guess that worked out at least?
But my main mistakes happened during book construction. I totally forgot to include tanglevines and equipment removal spells. In some situations a tanglevine would have saved me a lot of trouble.
The book I played didn't even exist 3 hours before the game and I took anoher approach to deckbuilding than usual. Normally I load up octgn, open the list of all spells in the spellbookbuilder and add anything I like to my book. This usually ends with 160 points without attack spells (I somehow add them last every time). For this book I hid the spells and used the search bar to add any spell I really wanted to have. Started with 2 Mage Wands and 2 Teleports, if I remember correctly. I ended up with less spellbook points then ever and could more easily tweak the book. Apparently this method is dangerous for a first play, as you might miss spells like Tanglevine, Dissolve or Acid Ball.



Q: Your next opponent will be the loser of Parkdeck vs Theasaris. Any preferences?

A: I'd like Theasaris to advance, as this is my bet in the betting game, so I'd say Parkdeck.
But I'm confident enough to say I can beat both. At once! With an academy book! Without any cards! By beating them with my 2 dice melee attack every round! With my hands tied to my back! And they can't even wallpush me that good, because my mage is only Level 4. Checkmate!
No, seriously, I wish good luck to both of them!


Q: You already won some local Organized Plays and have been around on Octgn for a long time. Will you be able to finish the tournament as the last man standing?

A: I promised Keejchen a rematch and doubt he will lose before encountering me again. 2 losses during a tournament is enough for me.

Links to the match:
Schwenkgott https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcl1ISXdxhA
Arcane Duels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC1QNpORqN4
Aridigas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igdyNU7UFO4

[Schwenkgott]

Round of 8 Interviews

Keejchen, after winning his match against Aridigas:

Q: What do you think about your last opponent Aridigas?

A: Other than being a very friendly guy, he is a strong player. Before the game I was not able to recall any specific games between me and him, so I skimmed through his games on your (schwenkgotts) channel.


Q: What were your thoughts after finishing the first round of your match against Aridigas?

A: After the first round it's hard to determine much. He played battleforge, and I held the ballista in case he was going to play it in the corner, which I think maybe would have been better. I anticipated more than the one creature, but i underestimated the buffed reaper. Warlord is very good at applying early pressure though, and I think that was what ultimately made him move forward sø early.


Q: How do you see the matchup Arraxian Crown Warlock vs Anvil Throne Warlord in general?

A: To me the arraxian is one of the lowest ranked mages falling lower with the latest release, while AT warlord especially, has moved from mediocre to good. However, know that good play can overcome such "tier" differences and I think Aridigas showed us this.


Q: In retrospect, what have been your major mistakes in the last game and what would you have done differently, if you had the chance?

A: Main thing I noted is that, going forward, I will not ignore a bloodreaper like I did. I chose to focus mage early, which I don't think was wrong, but disregarding a blood demon bloodreaper was. It's basically a flying regrowth that that rolled 7 dice against me, he made it work really well.


Q: Your next opponent will be the winner of Parkdeck vs Theasaris. Any preferences?

A: Theasaris has been a challenge every time i faced him in a tournament, but i have pulled through. Parkdeck I don't know much (not many videos of him (yet)). But who knows, if he beats theasaris he might beat me.


Q: You already won a tournament on Octgn. Will you be successful again this time?

A: I think I have a chance. I will do my best, may Akiro's favor be with me!

Links to the match:
Schwenkgott https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcl1ISXdxhA
Arcane Duels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC1QNpORqN4
Aridigas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igdyNU7UFO4

[Schwenkgott]

Round of 8 Interviews

Sharkbait, after losing his match against Schneeente:

Q: From what I know, you never heard the name Schneeente before this tournament. What do you think about him now after you had this incredible 4 hours+ match?

A: I do believe that I started seeing Schneeente online when the tournament started, but not before. Schneeente's one hell of a player. I got to watch some of his other matches from his group stage, and played a few friendly games with him too. All of the matches have been very interesting to watch because I think he comes up with some interesting ideas for his mages. I especially love his Jet Stream Anvil Throne warlord. Clearly his Priest play isn't bad either.


Q: What were your thoughts after you learned that it would be a mirror match?

A: I honestly laughed out loud when I saw that he lined up a priest on the other side. Then I had a feeling it was going to be a long game. Boy did that turn out to be accurate.


Q: How do you see the Priest in general in comparison with other mages?

A: The Priest is ridiculously underrated as a mage. I tend to be in the school of thought that it's the player's skill that is the driving factor of winning a match, not necessarily the mage itself. Because people get so caught up in mage tiers, they tend to overlook the mages that aren't as easy to play on the surface like the Priest.


Q: In retrospect, what have been your major mistakes in the last game and what would you have done differently, if you had the chance?

A: If I had known that my griffin would become Cassiel's pet, I'd have disengaged from her a lot sooner. I wasn't counting on him betraying me     Hindsight also being what it was, I'd have gotten the knight of westlock out earlier instead of one of the light of dawns. It would have helped out in the early game a bit more than the LoD's did. I'm sure there are other ones, I'll have to go back and watch to pick up a few more.


Q: Schneeente and you played almost all of your cards in the game. Who had the better deck?

A: Tough call. I feel that the match could have gone either way, and so I'm not sure either deck is "better" per se. I'd probably give him the edge since he had more creatures than I did.


Q:  Despite the recent defeat, will you be able to celebrate a comeback in the tournament?

A: The great thing about this stage is that it's double elimination. So I get at least one more shot   


Link to the match:
Arcane Duels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0xZ0AT0kVk

[Schwenkgott]

Round of 8 Interviews

Schneeente, after winning his match against Sharkbait

Q: What do you think about your last opponent Sharkbait?

A: I think Sharkbait is an experienced, polite, easy-going MW player. It's always nice to play with him.


Q: What were your thoughts after you learned that it would be a mirror match?

A: Well. My first reaction was “that's good for my victory-chances” and my second thought was “fuck, this game will take ages”. I think watching two defensive holy mages fighting against each other is one of the least exciting match-ups to spectate.


Q: You presented a Priest deck in the Arcane Wonders forum, that focuses on Alfiya. Why did you not use it against Sharkbait?

A: Uhhh. The Alfiya deck is great. From the fun-factor I'd rank it #1 of all my mages. She's a total bad-ass! But you have a huge disadvantage if you play with a deck in a tournament and your opponent can literally look up what cards are in your deck.


Q: How do you see the Priest in general in comparison with other mages?

A: Uhh... This question needs a whole article on it's on. His abilities are on the bottom end - with Jokthari and the orc warlord. But his school and therefore the creatures he has access to.. they really boost him a lot. In my opinion the holy school has the best creatures (with a lot of armor) and additionally they have access to healing spells – that combination is very strong. And the Priest can guard his fragile spawnpoint with Guardian Angels. Therefore I consider the priest to be one of the better mages since the PvS Expansion. (Before the Expansion I never ever even played him)


Q: In retrospect, What have been your major mistakes in the last game and what would you have done differently, if you had the chance?

A: I think losing the horse was the biggest mistake. I did not play it save enough. Second mistake was losing Brogan. Oh my god. I know some people remark how much luck I had during the game when it comes to Cassiel and the griffon crusader. But this unfortunate hit from Brogan (10 dmg with 6 dice) nearly lost me the whole game. And of course it was a mistake to attack the Priest in the first place, to even take this chance that Shark might have an Eye for an eye.


Q: In your next game you will play against Jacksmack, who won all his group stage games. Will he be able to put obstacles in your way?

A: From all I've seen so far I think Jacksmack is one of the best players in this tournament. An advantage I could have might be that he already played with his best mages - even with his female Warlock twice. So I should be able to prepare better since I can exclude some mages.  But still – this match is going to be one of the hardest one's yet. I'm really looking forward to it!

Link to the match:
Arcane Duels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0xZ0AT0kVk