Viagame House Cup Day 1 recaps: Reynad crashes out, all other invitees advance

0100 - Reynad eliminated as Mlasic beats the odds

Mlasic became the only open qualifier winner to make it past the group stages so far, as he upset Tempo Storm captain Reynad in a five game thriller to end day one.

In Game 1 Mlasic's Druid was able to push out a succession of four attack minions to confound the Priest's answers, despite Reynad getting double Savage Roar from Thoughtsteal. In the second game Reynad tried to do for his Aggro Warrior but the burst damage of the Druid combo and the relentless pressure was just too much, as Reynad was forced to sit on two Heroic Strikes and a Mortal Strike. Reynad began the comeback on Shaman, dealing with an early Shade and Keeper combo from the Druid. The pair traded Loathebs but the Druid ran out of steam at turn 8 and was left with a pair of useless Wild Growths that he was not able to use to draw into answers on turn ten. The pressure of the Shaman wore him down and took us to game four.

Reynad switched to the modified Miracle Rogue, drawing six times off his Auctioneer on turn six. Safe plays with Sludge Belchers saw Reynad able to set up for a Leeroy kill. In game five, Mlasic hit back with his Control Warrior and really secured the game very early building up ten armour early in the game. A Ragnaros on turn eight for Mlasic, dropped on an empty board, helped him draw out Reynad's damage and exhaust a lot of his win condition, before cloning his own Alexstraza to seal the win.

 

2340 - Kolento sweeps Mlasic to advance

Kolento advanced in the House Cup as he completed a clean sweep to book his place in the quarter finals, setting up a rematch between Mlasic and Reynad in the final group game. 

A Druid mirror match kicked us off, and Kolento found himself very much behind in the early going. Mlasic established his board well and got good value from his Cenarius, but Kolento topdecked a Cenarius of his own. After that Kolento made good value trades to clear a path, before a Druid of the Claw and Savage Roar combo gave him the burst he needed. Switching to Priest, Kolento then outlasted Mlasic's Freeze Mage with a perfect curve and double Northshire Cleric to cycle through his deck. The Mage started slow before slamming Alexstraza without warning, but Kolento top decked a Mind Control to steal the dragon for himself and see it out to 2-0. 

In the final game, a Priest mirror, Kolento got the better of the draws in the late game when it mattered. Mlasic established his board early but another gutsy double Northshire play saw Kolento clear and start to build a board of his own. Mlasic was left with only answers in his hand - but not to the questions Kolento was posing, and with no questions of his own. Kolento sealed the series and his place in the round of eight.

 

2328 - Reynad send Faramir home in a 3-1 series

Reynad rebounded from his 3-0 loss to Mlasic to send home DKMR's Faramir, considered one of the strongest players to make it to the House Cup through the open qualifiers.

Reynad opened with his Druid against Priest, and despite Faramir getting a Ragnaros at the perfect time, Reynad's Druid was solid enough to take the victory. In the second game Faramir wisely chose Shaman to counterpick the Druid, but Reynad curved very well once again and provided answers to everything Shaman had to offer. As the Shaman finally managed to get board control it was too late, and despite Reynad's ETC only drawing him Murlocs he was able to see it out to 2-0. Reynad then switched over to his Tempo Storm signature Aggro Warrior and Faramir went on to Mage, and some gutsy plays including dropping two Kirin Tor Mages at once with only one secret to play saw him pull a game back.

Faramir stuck with the Mage and Reynad pulled out the Shaman, and for the first ten turns the game was very slow indeed. Neither was able to establish a board and a stalemate ensued, right up until the point that Faramir pulled Rag. Shaman proved however why it is considered one of the best counter decks in the game, and Reynad managed to get his damage in at every opportunity to close out the series.

 

2238 - Kolento fights back to advance to the winners' match

Kolento must have been having horrible flashbacks to the EU World Championship qualifiers as once again he found himself staring down a huge upset, 2-0 down against a Mage deck.

Instead of Aggro however, Faramir had brought a secrets orientated Mage deck that caused Kolento all manner of trouble. Kolento's Cloud9 Rogue with Violet Teachers went all in with spells and Conceal to flood the board, but he left himself vulnerable to Flamestrike and that tempo was enough to swing the game. In game two, Faramir held on to his Flamestrike arguably too long, but a Ragnaros top deck managed to see him close it out to go 2-0 up.

From there, Kolento looked to his Priest to close it out, and in a close run game a topdecked Mind Control was able to pull Kolento back into it and he managed to outlast Faramir. Faramir looked to his Hunter, another player choosing to pick this unfavourable match up, and this time it did not pay off. A near perfect start from Kolento with Cleric, Blademaster and Circle in his opening hand put him too far ahead.

In the final match, Kolento switched to Handlock and ran into a Shaman counterpick. Faramir managed to have two Hexes and two Earth Shocks in his hand turn one which, while perfect answers to Handlock, made his turns clunky at best. Faramir managed to Earth Shock both Twilight Drakes in one turn and use Al Akir to clear a Mountain Giant at the perfect moment, but Kolento's Giants saw him through.

 

2117 - Mlasic sweeps Reynad in the biggest upset so far

The Shaman deck of Mlasic was too much to handle for Reynad, as he dropped the series 3-0 without really troubling Mlasic.

Reynad was running a similar Aggro Warrior deck to TidesofTime, but the deck ran out of steam far too quickly to deal with the Shaman's super strong midgame. Reynad's Druid decklist left more questions than answers, with bizarre picks like ETC, and again the Shaman was able to streak ahead in the midgame. Mlasic made some difficult plays with overload in the first few turns that could have cost him, but his excellent Unbound Elemental and Feral Spirits put him out of reach. In the final game Reynad picked his Rogue, a Miracle Rogue still running Leeroy but without Shadowstep synergy, but another Unbound and Feral Spirits combo put Shaman too far ahead early on and Reynad conceded pretty early.

Mlasic advances, while Reynad is just one game away from going home in the group stage as he did at WCA.

2003 - ek0p qualifies for the QFs, Pappastorma bids farewell

The unconventional deck choices of Pappastorma are sadly departing from the competition, as ek0p took the final series of Group B 3-2.

Ek0p opened strong on his Druid with a turn 2 Yeti and early Shade of Naxxramus, but Pappastorma's Warrior deck fought back tooth and nail to dominate the midgame. However, with a Cenarius on board ek0p topdecked Savage Roar and, along with the Force of Nature in hand, dealt the required 21 damage to win with just one health remaining. In the second game Pappastorma went to his minion heavy Rogue deck, managing to use Conceal on his Shades once they had been revealed and getting the kill with a mammoth 11/2 Shade with the help of a Cold Blood. Controversy abounded as ek0p went on to Mage and stocked up damage cards in hand and and evading the Loatheb to deal lethal damage - only to accidentally misclick and deal that lethal damage to himself! Thankfully, Pappastorma was sporting enough to allow ek0p to take the win he had earned. 

Pappastorma pulled one back to 2-2 with his Hunter overcoming ek0p's similarly minion heavy Rogue - ek0p's version featuring Violet Teachers. In the final game ek0p closed out the series 3-2 with his Control Warrior, establishing a Ragnaros and Sylvannas in the midgame while Pappastorma ran out of steam and answers. Ek0p dropped a Loatheb at the best time possible, stopping Pappa from dropping two Kill Commands the next turn which would have been lethal damage. 

 

1858 - Vodkita eliminated by Pappastorma

Vodkita was the first player eliminated from Group B after a valiant effort against Pappastorma, with Pappastorma's unconventional Miracle Rogue making the difference.

Pappastorma took the early advantage in a very favourable matchup against the Mage of Vodkita, as Pappa's Druid was able to ramp into a Spectral Knight that was hard for the Mage to deal with. After Vodkita's Shaman was able to bounce back and eliminate the Druid, Pappastorma's Rogue deck took over and proved to be decisive.

Despite the traditional Gadgetzan and spell combos, Pappastorma's deck also included a number of extra minions in a normally minion-light deck. The return of Senjin to Miracle Rogue after a long time out of the meta and the inclusion of Shades made the deck very difficult to deal with, and even more unconventional than Tides' Rogue earlier in the day. Vodkita tried first with Hunter to beat the deck, but the Rogue had answers to the Hunter's Undertaker early on, and later in the game an 8/4 Gadgetzan and an 8/8 Edwin Van Cleef was too much to handle. In the final game against Vodkita's Shaman, Pappastorma again used Cold Bloods for board control instead of instant damage and took the series 3-1.

 

1851 - Tides tops Group B by sweeping ek0p

Former World #1 TidesofTime put on an impressive performance to top Group B, beating out ek0p 3-0 with his Hunter and Warrior decks.

Opening on Hunter, Tides was able dispatch ek0p's Hunter is just six turns, before switching to his Aggro Warrior to take on ek0p's Shaman. ek0p was likely caught by surprise by it not being a Control Warrior, and Tides was able to burst him down to five health before Tides ran out of steam. Ek0p hex'd his own minion for a desperation taunt, but a Mortal Strike was able to seal it out for Tides. Switching back to his Hunter, ek0p answered with Priest - but it was the unlikliest of legendaries that got work done for Tides. Maexxna, which Tides pulled off his early Webspinner combined with a Houndmaster gave Tides great board control. In the end, Tides was able to get his curve up to his big minions alongside the deadly spider queen and close out the series.

Tides advances to tomorrow's quarter finals, while ek0p's gets a second chance at qualification in the final match.

 

1810 - ek0p advances to the winners' match over Vodkita 3-2

Ek0p advanced to face Tides in the Group B winners' match after a close run series with qualifier Vodkita.

Vodkita's Aggro Mage got work done in game one with a series of perfect draws against ek0p's Druid to take game one, but the Mage run out of steam in game two against the double Brawl Warrior. Alexstraza was ek0p's saviour, allowing his big threats to outlast Vodkita. From there they went into a Priest mirror match - Vodkita got the Northshire Cleric out early, while ek0p was able to get the Blademaster and Circle play to establish early control. Thanks to a series of four attack minions, including a Ysera, ek0p was able to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

For the second time today, a player picked Hunter into the unfavourable match up against Priest - however Vodkita was able to use his Hunter to overcome the Priest and take it to a final game. In turn five against ek0p's Warrior, Vodkita was able to get a Highmane and Loatheb out and confidently ignored the Grommash threat on board. Unfortunately with the Hunter out of cards, Alex once again got ek0p out of trouble from five health to take the game.

 

1806 - TidesofTime tested, comes out on top against Pappastorma

TidesofTime survived a scare against Pappastorma to win his opening match 3-2, despite going 1-0 and 2-1 down against the Italian.

 In his first games Tides fell foul of a poor meta choice, attempting to bring an Aggro-based Warrior to combat the current control meta. However, in a mirror match with Pappa's Control version Tides was just outvalued and the Italian took an early lead. Pappastorma kept his Warrior on deck to take on Tides' Paladin, but Pappa ran out of cards very early while Tides was getting good value from his cards. Eventually they were both top decking and, despite Pappastorma stealing Tides' Sylvannas with his own, a Tirion top deck was just too much for Pappa. The Italian went on to his Miracle Rogue and managed to best Tides' ramp Druid to take a 2-1 lead.

Tides Hunter curved well, and managed to best Pappa's Miracle in game four - but Tides opted to switch to his Miracle for the final game. Pappa asnwered with Mage, but Tides' Rogue deck which included Sludge Belchers and Alexstraza managed to establish strong board presence without needing the card draw.

1604 - Forsen advances as Logan goes home

In the final game of Group A Forsen took a 3-1 victory over Logan, once again making the most of his ability to change decks.

Starting out with his Hunter (a class which is 6-3 in the tournament so far) Forsen was able to see off Logan's Hunter on turn five, before switching to his Druid. Logan answered the Druid with Shaman, but Forsen established a strong board with Black Knight and Spectral Knight before using a turn eight savage roar to set up lethal with the combo on turn nine.

Forsen changed it up again, this time optic for Handlock, but Logan was able to pull one back with Druid. Both established early strong board presence with a Twilight Drake and a Shade of Naxxramus, but it was a topdecked Big Game Hunter that sealed the game for Logan taking out a Mountain Giant. For the second game in a row, Force of Nature + Savage Roar ended the game. Forsen brought out a fourth deck, his Mage, to take on Logan's Priest and despite some clever shadow madness and silence plays from Logan the Mage just had too much power.

 

1515 - Amaz goes 6-0 in his Group to qualify for the QFs

Amaz continued his impressive form from his first match in Group A in another clean sweep 3-0 victory - this time relying on his trusty Priest. 

Both players opened on Priest and developed insanely strong Injured Blademasters, before the game had to be re-played due to a disconnect while Amaz was in the lead. Amaz managed to come back in the replay from a less than ideal start, with Logan completely handcuffed by his two Shadow Word Death's being in hand and a third one coming off a Thoughtsteal. Logan then made the questionable decision to go on to his Hunter despite being unfavoured in this match up and having Paladin and Mage open to him. Logan's Hunter was running Cult Master and he used it to great effect in the midgame, but a well developed late Undertaker from Amaz helped him close it out.

Logan tried one last stand with his Paladin, but Amaz just had all the answers and was able to close out the series. Amaz advances to the quarter-finals, while Logan will once again match up against Forsen for the final berth into the RO8. 

 

1510 - Forsen eliminates Jinshen from the House Cup

Forsen rebounded from his loss to Logan in game 1 to keep himself in the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Jinshen, who becomes the first player to be eliminated from the House Cup. 

As with his loss to Amaz, Jinshen struggled against Forsen's Hunter, while Forsen made the most of being able to switch his deck to use the Hunter at the most opertune of moments. Opening with it agaisnt Shaman, Forsen was sitting on two Kill Commands early on but avoided the perils of a clunky hand managing to use the Hunter hero power to keep punishing Jinshen despite running out of steam. Forsen then switched to his Handlock to defeat the Mage of Jinshen in a game plauged by technical issues, before Jinshen managed to pull one back and eliminate the Handlock with a strong Control Paladin - though Jinshen needed a topdecked Black Knight to swing the game decisively.

Forsen then returned to the Hunter for the final game, and used his Loatheb and Houndmastered Kodo to develop a strong board and knock Jinshen out of the tournament. Forsen appears to be running no Savannah Highmanes in his Hunter, instead opting for The Black Knight and Kodo combination at the top of the deck. Forsen will now play Logan for the runners up spot in Group A.

 

1229 - Amaz 3-0's Jinshen with Hunter

Amaz booked his spot in the Group A winners' match with a 3-0 series win over Jinshen. Despite the nerfs to Hunter it seems that Hunter is still an incredibly viable tournament deck, and Amaz needed just his trusty Rexxar to close out the series.

Amaz's Hunter initially matched up against Jinshen's Shaman and closed out the game well, despite a good curve for Jinshen coming out of the mulligans. From there Jinshen switched to his Control Warrior and was unable to build up his armour for any length of time and a double Undertaker early really helped Amaz get the damage in early.

From their Jinshen tried to beat Amaz at his own game in a Hunter mirror, but even the power of the Angry Chicken (which Jinshen pulled off a Webspinner) couldn't save him in a close run game.

Amaz advances to face L0gan for a berth into the quarter finals, while Jinshen and Forsen will now fight it out for survival. 

 

1210 - L0gan takes unlikely victory over Forsen

In the opening game of the Viagame House Cup, open qualifier L0gan took a 3-2 victory over Forsen in a close run series, closing out the match with an unlikely victory for his Handlock over Hunter in a very unfavourable match up.

Forsen opened on Freeze Mage, but his freeze didn't come out in time and L0gan's Shaman was able to get a shut out victory. Moving on to his Hunter Forsen hit back for another 30-0 victory over L0gan's Shaman, before being first to take advantage of the rule of winners being able to change decks. Forsen went to Handlock, but well at the hands of L0gan's Freeze Mage. L0gan went all out for victory, pinging his own Thalnos to get a second Ice Lance that combined with a topdecked Fireball allowed him to take the win thanks to an Ice Block - despite questionably playing Ice Block and Ice Barrier together. 

Forsen brought back his Hunter and took a turn 5 kill over L0gan's Priest deck leaving just the Handlock for the Greek player, but in just seven turns L0gan managed to get an insanely fast start with the Priest and take home the series.