What was the key to success during SVO and what advice do you have for players looking to compete?
The key to success with every SVO is having good matchup knowledge. Be comfortable with the decks you bring and know their play patterns. Ofcourse, ot being extremely unlucky helps! . Keep practicing and take note of your mistakes while you play. Don’t just autopilot and tilt.In the end, the best way to accomplish this is to just enjoy playing the game.
What are your training/practice methods? How did you get ready?
I started playing this expansion pretty late to be honest (about 10 days before SVO had already begun). Firstly, I started with some of @Zhiff_SV ‘ s videos as usual to get a grasp of the meta and see what decks were available. I was feeling comfortable already with Shadow, Handless Blood and Sword because their play patterns didn’t change as much since the last expansion. I also started playing Dirt Rune on ladder, and it was the deck that I enjoyed the most at the time so I decided to bring it. I didn’t have all the deck options open cause I had 0 games with Resonance/Spellboost/Haven/Mono and I was going to bring quite a standard lineup with F&G Shadow/Dirt Rune and Midrange Sword until Essia mentioned in one of our chats that Burial Rite Shadow was a strong and underplayed deck.
Along with Handless Blood and Dirt Rune, it could be dangerous as a lineup because of its sheer aggressiveness. I usually prefer the aggressive decks in Shadowverse so I was willing to try it out. After that I went to see some VODs of @zyasunn (a Japanese player that finished Rank 1 on ladder with Burial Rite) and watched how he piloted the deck at the highest level. After feeling comfortable with my decks on ladder i scrimmed some BO5s against @KSLvD and then kept spamming ladder. Even though I didn’t feel my preparation was appropriate and it was rushed, in the end it paid off. Special thanks to Essia, and Team Disastra in general for helping finalize my lists, and giving me the idea for my winning lineup.
What have been your favorite parts of the current expansion?
My highlight of Roar of the Godwyrm is the Dirt Rune deck, I just love that it’s so flexible and games can end quickly. It’s lowkey broken for sure but we take those. I just like aggressive midrange decks that have an alternate or clear endgame plan when they don’t have the potential to kill fast in some matchups or when they have a mediocre hand. This kind of playstyle is my favorite of all time, and it can be seen in previous iterations of Dirt Rune along with the years or Greenglen Axeman Aggro Forest, which was probably my favorite deck ever. As for my favorite card in Dirt Rune, I think it’s Juno. She’s the true MVP in the deck and she is so flexible with the Fuse effect. Being able to determine when to fuse followers correctly and being able to have the necessary Earth Rites to use a turn or two later makes a big difference in your games.
What does this win mean to you and your team?
I have been on and off from the game the past year, but after every SVO my passion for the game reignites in some way, especially in this one since I won. I think I am just addicted to competing at this point and nothing’s gonna change that soon. After this win, I hope I will keep enjoying the game, and now I am feeling motivated to get even better. Sadly there is no WGP this year, but I look forward to competing in the SVO All Stars event.
What was the best clip of the tournament?
The max dmg lethal as Dirt Rune vs Portal in the finals is the best clip from my tournament run.