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Aaronkoh had a relatively smooth sailing through the early rounds and was 14-2 after the semi finals. This is when he met his toughest opponent yet - Hovati16 from Vietnam, who was determined to claim another trophy for his home after the successes of DaPh (GosuCup #2) and Condauco (GosuCup #4). The grand final went set for set and grilled Aaronkoh through all five games before the Hovati kneeled before the Singaporean player.

Today, we grab Aaron for a winners interview and learn about his love for control decks; mastering both arena and constructed; training with established SEA players; and his take on some of the new GvG cards.
 


To start it all off - congratulations on winning the third regular GosuCup SEA! Where are you putting those $100?

Thanks! Haven't really thought about it, haha.

Let me give you an idea - buy ALL the GvG packs!

Ah yes, perhaps, haha. But I usually just play arena for cards, I haven't spent any money on packs yet.

Are you better at arena than constructed?

I think I’m better at constructed, but I’m pretty good in arena, too. I've played a lot more constructed than arena, that’s for sure.

"I prefer to play control decks, even though I did play zoo almost every game in this tournament."


Is this your first HS competitive win? Tell us a bit about yourself as a Hearthstone player, when did you start, how did you master the game?

Yes, this is the first win, it's my third time participating in a tournament like this. I prefer to play control decks, even though I did play zoo almost every game in this tournament.

I started playing towards the end of last year I think, but like not continuously. I started learning by watching streams on twitch.tv for arena, before progressing into constructed.

Hah, I guess Zoo is just too strong to bypass, isn't it?If that wasn't the case and the deck wasn't so dominant, what would you play?

Yes, zoo and hunter seem so OP at the moment, [card]Undertaker[/card] is just too OP.

Otherwise, I would have liked to play control decks like handlock and warrior for example, but I just dont feel they're too favorable against certain aggro decks right now.

Don't you feel Warrior does OK against those? Stack it up with AoE damage and you can survive the pressure?[card]Savannah Highmane[/card] is still a problem, of course, but still.

It's like as warrior against aggro, I have to mulligan my whole hand in search of [card]Fiery War Axe[/card] or [card]Ironbeak Owl[/card] to stand a chance vs [card]Undertaker[/card] or I just lose. And even when I do, I lose to [card]Savannah Highmane[/card], yes.

Fair enough! Let's talk some about your GosuCup run. You had to beat a lot of players from Vietnam and the Philippines, two of the strongest nations in the region. Who gave you the most trouble and why?

Probably Hovati in the final, the games were pretty close. I think on the last turn I put him down to 2 hp and he had to top deck a [card]Doomguard[/card] to win, fortunately for me he didn't. He played both hunter and zoo and I think he played pretty well throughout the series.

I don't think zoo is so easy to play, there's a lot of decisions to go face or to trade up. Also minion positioning and theres actually alot of decisions in the first couple of turns and mulliganing. It can be quite stressful.

"Zoo isn't so easy to play, there's a lot of decision making and minion positioning to consider."


How did you prepare for the tournament overall? Any special planning?

Not really, but I had a better understanding this time of the rules and format after participating in GosuSea cup #3. I've actually been practicing with WaningMoon a bit recently, I think he's a really good player.

I think he was playing in the first eHL season, correct?

I think so, im not too sure actually!

Did he give you any insights on competitive HS? Or just general constructed knowledge?

Yes he has a really good understanding of the game, and on how to ban decks in Blizzcon tournament style format

You're going to the grand finals in Gebruary! Do you know any of the players who already qualified?

Well I do know Hovati but I don't really know the rest of the players too well. I might have played them on ladder before.

The grand finals will actually be in a Blizzcon style, unlike the open tournament. Do you think you have a better knowledge of the 4-class format - and consequently an edge over the rest - having worked with someone like WaningMoon?

Perhaps! But I'm sure the rest of the players will be well prepared as well. Also the game will likely be very different from how it is now once GvG is out.

Ha, that's right? How are you liking the new cards so far? Looking at them as a control player?

It's hard to say, I certainly don't like the new hunter cards, seem OP. But we'll have to see all the cards first, and see how it plays out in the end. Mech Zoo will turn out to be better than [card]Undertaker[/card] Zoo, so they're not nerfing undertaker now, but there's also some new anti-deathrattle cards, we'll just have to wait and see.

"The new Shaman cards seem a bit too RNG and pretty weak."


What about control Hunter as an archetype, with Gahzrill and the Sniper that modifies your hero power? Can that be a thing?

I don't know, but I sure hope for more control hunters, and less aggro hunters. There's also [card]Feign Death[/card] to make deathrattle viable in hunters right?

Hah, true... That cards seems a bit too strong, doesnt it?

Yes, it's [card]Reincarnate[/card] with AoE.

Would you say there's a clear power level discrepancy between the other classes as well, not just compared to Hunter? Right now, I think a lot of people think what we've seen from Shaman is a bit too weak or random (or both).

Yes the new shaman cards seem very RNG based and pretty weak.

Towards the end of the interview, I want to go back to GosuCup for just one last question - what did you learn competing in this tourneys. As you mentioned, they are a bit different in terms of format compared to others and are more grassroots than, say, SEA Legends, so they're pretty unique.

I think most of the players on the NA server are playing really aggro decks, even in tourneys. It's always hunter or zoo so it’s important to find a consistent deck that has a favorable win rate versus these two decks.

Alright! at the end of the interview, final words to our camera?

Thanks, the tournament was pretty fun and nerve wrecking. Got to know some really good players from the region too!

That's what it is all about!

Yea, they're still on my friendlist after playing them, hehe.

Well, good luck in February, mate, I hope to see you in next GosuCups as well!

I'm allowed to join the next GosuCups? @_@

Duh!