Hey everyone, itzBolt here to talk about the second week of AICC, if you haven’t read about my first week or do not know what AICC is check out my previous article here.
PREPARATION
Research
At this point I at least had one week of information given to me, I no longer looked at CSL spring league information. It seemed way too far away for me to rely on.
The players in my round of 16 group were TheJordude, Crimion, Avarice.
TheJordude
Seems like I always get put into groups with people I’m familiar with, last week was Phonetap and this week was TheJordude. Again this made researching pretty easy, I’ve played against Jordan many times in tournaments online and offline.
The first week of AICC, he played Midrange Hunter, Zoo and Grim Patron Warrior. I also knew he plays Malylock, Oil Rogue, Freeze Mage and Handlock on the side.
Knowing he was a pretty big fan of Freeze Mage, I predicted Freeze Mage to be his third deck replacing the Zoo from last week. Grim Patron and MIdrange Hunter seemed too strong for him to replace.
Predicted lineup: Freeze Mage, Midrange Hunter, Grim Patron Warrior
Crimion
Not too much information on Crimion other than the classes he played last week and absolutely destroyed his group.
He played Mage, Warrior and Warlock. With no information, this is what I assumed his lineup to be.
For mage, I figured that Freeze Mage would be the most popular. Warrior I assumed Grim Patron because of its popularity and strength. Warlock I assumed Handlock because of its strength against Grim Patron Warrior.
Predicted lineup: Freeze Mage, Grim Patron Warrior, Handlock
Avarice
Same thing with Crimion, not enough information other than what he played last week. The classes he played in the round of 32 were Warlock, Rogue and Warrior.
As always, I expected Grim Patron Warrior, Oil Rogue and Handlock.
Predicted lineup: Grim Patron Warrior, Oil Rogue, Handlock
My Lineup Preparation
Last week I had my games streamed, so I wasn’t sure how much my opponents were preparing and watching the VODS. I didn’t really want to run the same lineup again.
With just as many Warlocks played last week, I didn’t want to run Druid again. Although they could have easily been Handlocks, it could’ve been the same for Zoos. I didn’t want to take the risk.
With Oil Rogue, Handlocks and Midrange Hunter as potential decks to play against I decided to run Hunter in my lineup. Last week I ran a midrange variant but this week I would switch it up to Face Hunter. This makes these three decks favoured for me and adds a surprise element if my opponents looked up the VOD and expected Midrange Hunter.
I predicted a lot of Freeze Mage, so I figured Control Warrior would be really good. It also does fine against the Grim Patron matchup if you have double brawl in the deck.
My last deck in an effort to counter Grim Patron once again, would be Handlock. I decided to run Warlock again and not change the archetype.
Hunter
Warlock
Warrior
FINALIZED LINEUPS
These were the finalized lineups.
TheJordude brought exactly what I thought he would deck for deck. His final lineup was Freeze Mage, Midrange Hunter and Grim Patron Warrior.
Crimion ended up bringing the same line up of Mage, Warrior and Warlock. However, two of the decks I predicted were wrong. The warrior was in fact a Grim Patron Warrior. The Mage was not a Freeze Mage, it was actually a Tempo Mage. The Handlock I predicted ended up being a zoo.
Avarice also stuck with his lineup from the previous week. His lineup ended up being Control Warrior, Handlock and Oil Rogue. I predicted Grim Patron, but I was wrong.
COMPETITION
My games were not streamed this week and since I am on vacation I have not recorded my own games.
Round 1 - TheJordude
Game 1
Control Warrior vs Freeze Mage
This matchup is really hard for the Warrior to lose, I predicted that he would start Freeze Mage. My Warrior was also good against a lot of the decks in his lineup so it was a safe deck to start off the series with. At one point I only had 3 cards in my hand which were double brawl and an execute, but I eventually drew what I needed to end the game. I had a ton of armour so I wasn’t too worried about dead draws back to back.
Game 2
Handlock vs Freeze Mage
Typically a pretty hard matchup for the Warlock unless the Warlock is able to get a well timed Healbot and Loatheb just before the Mage tries to burst him down. Unfortunately for me this did not happen and TheJordude took the win
Game 3
Face Hunter vs Midrange Hunter
Since I predicted he would play MIdrange Hunter, I brought my Face Hunter to counter it. Face Hunter applies pressure a lot faster and can burst the Midrange Hunter down pretty quickly before their threats like Highmane are a problem.
Game 4
Handlock vs MIdrange Hunter
This matchup isn’t as bad as Face Hunter because MIdrange Hunter is slower so the Warlock can develop a board and stabilize. At one point I took a risk and played a Mountain Giant along with my Molten Giant because the only way he could’ve killed me was with a combination of unlikely cards. I was then able to taunt up and play Loatheb and then after finish him the next turn.
Round 2 - Crimion
Game 1
Control Warrior vs Grim Patron Warrior
I play double brawl so this matchup isn’t too bad, it sort of depends on both players draws. He got a pretty big emperor with 7 cards in hand and he also had a ton of cycle. Eventually drew int a very big frothing finish.
Game 2
Face Hunter vs Zoo
I am favoured in this matchup and I should have won this game. However, I disconnected the turn I was going to lethal him and did not have time to drag my last dog into his face and he use Power Overwhelming and killed me with Dr. Boom.
Game 3
Control Warrior vs Tempo Mage
Switched to Warrior to try to get a free win, expecting a Freeze Mage. Turned out to be Tempo Mage and he started really well and pressured me too hard to do anything.
Round 3 - Avarice
Game 1
Handlock vs Control Warrior
Typically a very good matchup for me. I had a decent board and hand throughout the whole game. I was very close to killing him, he was at 12 health and 2 armour. However, he had Owl, Grommash, Coin and Shield Slam for the final blow.
Game 2
Face Hunter vs Handlock
I had a lot of early minions that let me pressure and then I picked up my burn later on. I managed to kill him on turn 7, he wasn’t able to stabilize and heal up in time.
Game 3
Handlock vs Handlock
I tried to play smart and only taunt my Sylvannas because he had two taunted up creatures and I would steal one of them when she died. However, he played Ancient Watcher and Molten Giant and then Hellfired which made me steal the non taunted giant, letting him get the killing blow on me.
Game 4
Handlock vs Oil Rogue
I would say this is a very good match for the Warlock. I got early board control and had a lot of turns to tap into answers. I made him use up a lot of his hard and soft removal on other things and played more threats after.
Game 5
Control Warrior vs Oil Rogue
Another good match for me, I was able to clear his minions and armour up a ton, while developing my board.
CLOSING
Crimion and I were the players to make it out of the group with him being the first seed.
At the end of the day, two UBC representatives will be going into the round of 8, Forcedawg managed to beat Complexity Gaming's Dog.
The competition is fierce and the fight for the top spot to go to Korea comes closer and closer.
