by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

The BlizzCon Innkeeper’s Invitational began with 16 well-known streamers all vying for top honors and ended with two, Starcraft legend Artosis and, as he was called by one commentator, the ‘Rockstar of Hearthstone’, Kripparrian. While the road leading up to this matchup was not always as competitive as the crowd might’ve hoped for, the grand finale was intensely satisfying, finally showing off all three decks from each player, and, fittingly, the series came down to the final match.

Before we get into that though, let’s talk about the Final Four, which saw Artosis pitted against Trump and Reckful against Kripparrian.

Artosis versus Trump

Trump might’ve been the sponsored player but Artosis showed supreme confidence in their matchup, taking a commanding 2-0 lead utilizing his Paladin deck. While the deck list wasn’t incredibly surprising, Artosis demonstrated amazing play instincts. Trump, who seldom feels the need to use taunt minions quickly saw both his Druid and Mage decks run over, as Artosis went for the jugular. Back against the wall, Trump busted out his Priest deck, aptly titled ‘What’s Yours is Mine’. The deck featured a lot of cards that allowed Trump to swipe minions from his opponent and Artosis could never get much momentum going. The series went to 2-1 and Artosis elected to bring out his warrior deck, a deck capable of much more aggressive play. Trump was overwhelmed and eventually died to a combination of Grommash Hellscream and Inner Rage, securing Artosis’ victory in both the match and the series.

Reckful and Kripparrian

This series began with an incredibly fun duel, Kripparrian on his Priest and Reckful on his Mage deck. Reckful’s deck centered around digging for the correct combination of DPS cards to demolish his opponent. This strategy, while incredibly effective against other classes, found Anduin’s ability to stall incredibly problematic. Yet, despite that, Reckful had a chance to end the first game with a win, having Kripparrian at lethal damage. Whether due to hubris or a simple mistake, he elected not to win the game on that turn, and it ultimately cost him the match as Kripparrian crowded the board, made superb use of Holy Fire and eventually ran him down. After that loss, Reckful never managed to come close to beating Kripparrian, and the Rockstar of Hearthstone cruised to an easy 3-0, setting the stage for a crazy finals matchup.

The Finals

Make no mistake, Hearthstone has a very lighthearted, enjoyable feel to it. That said, the tone was incredibly tense going into the finals. Both players had lost a combined total of one match on the road to the finale, meaning that the final series would either be a severe disappointment, or an awesome sight to behold. Thankfully, it was the latter.

The series began with a Paladin mirror match. Artosis quickly got on the offensive, pushing Kripparrian to the brink. He would eventually recover, and actually took control of the board in a commanding way through the use of Ragnaros and Noble Sacrifice, but unfortunately his health was already down to two. Artosis managed to top deck a Consecration before the game turned around on him and took the first match, bringing the series to 1-0.

Without the services of his Paladin deck, Kripparrian unleashed the same Priest deck which had so thoroughly dismantled Reckful, and it did not disappoint. Kripparrian managed to raise a Twilight Drake to herculean health before eventually icing the game with a timely Mind Control on Artosis’ last ditch effort Tirion Fordring, equalizing the series at one win a piece.

After being dispatched by an Kripparrian’s Priest deck, Artosis brought his own out and while he was no longer playing as a Paladin, justice demanded retribution. Artosis took control of the board early and never relinquished it, forcing Kripparrian into worse and more damaging situations. It wasn’t incredibly flashy, but it got the job done and put Artosis in the drivers seat once more, one win away from claiming top honors.

Kripparrian, one loss away from being out of the tournament, played his third and final deck, a hyper damaging Mage deck. If you’ve been following the competitive scene, this deck was not incredibly surprising, although the inclusion of Mirror Image is not generally seen. Artosis, still on his Priest deck, never even got going. Kripparrian machine gunned him down, ending the match on turn eight with a Pyroblast and setting the stage for a final, epic showdown.

The final match couldn’t have been more fitting, either. Artosis’ super aggressive, weapons focused Warrior deck came up against Kripparrian’s Turn 8 Mage deck, and, it was incredible. Artosis’ first move was a coin into a Fiery War Axe, which he used immediately on Kripparrian. He didn’t wait for a minion to come out, he just began wrecking face. Kripparrian responded well throughout the entire match, but fell short as Artosis unleashed a vicious combo of Warsong Commander, Raging Worgen and Inner Rage. The combo left Kripparrian at five HP with a Pyroblast in hand, along with a Water Elemental on the board. Artosis was at 13 health and one armor. On turn 10, Artosis would’ve been dead, but they were on turn nine, leaving Kripparrian one mana short of the victory, with his fate sealed on the next turn. It was an epic match, and probably the best I’ve seen so far in any tournament. How fitting that it should come down to Jaina Proudmoore and Garrosh Hellscream in a final, bloody bout.

Final Thoughts

I was skeptical when the format of the tournament was unveiled, but I can safely say that I had no reason to worry. Three decks a piece made for some incredible matches, and we got to see the deck building talents of the various personalities we’ve been watching since closed beta for Hearthstone began. The BlizzCon stage, in conjunction with classic Warcraft music playing in the background at times gave the event a sort of larger than life feel. For enthusiasts of the competitive Hearthstone scene, it was a treat, and I know I can’t wait to see more tournaments like it. The strong reception also proved that, in the coming months, high tier Hearthstone is going be a force to reckon with.

While there was nothing on the line, save pride, we have to believe that Artosis stands as the best Hearthstone player on the scene right now. He’ll be challenged again, to be sure, but for now, he can survey the landscape knowing that none of his peers could best him in three games and that he did in fact win the only Blizzard Hearthstone tournament around.