Howdy y'all, Kip Dork here, I figured since I've got a little time to spare and a lot of old ideas to share I'd waste a few minutes of your time. Why not, we're all playing this game for one reason or another and why not spread the joy. Basically, this kinda sums up what I've learned from some of the top players in A1 and the entire SE community over quite a few years. I've had the pleasure, for the most part, of getting to know these players their styles , techniques and strategy. So why not spoil a few trade secrets! I'm sure they won't mind, because I won't mention a single one by name and they can't get pissed if if they aren't sure it's them, but trust me, they know, and I hope I pissed em off a little bit!
So starting from the top. And'a 1-2, ah 1-2-3-4. (Any musician will get that)
Decks
Simply put , your deck is a collection of cards you find useful with your hero and the style of play you want from that hero, Rush, agro, control and many variations on those themes. The most important part I've seen from these players is deck consistency. What's that, well that's having just the right amount of the right cards in your deck so the odds are you'll draw that t2 or t4 card by the time you want it. Whether that's to set up your play field as in a rush deck where you want allies on the board fast and consistently or if your playing a warrior and you want Blood Frenzy by turn 3 for draw. You need the right amount of cards there for good probability. That usually means 4x of that card, but sometimes it means 3x or if your looking for a late game card, then 1x is rare, but if you get it when you need it and don't have to sacrifice around it until t5-6. Then it's a good choice.
So wtf is Kip saying? I'm saying , look at your deck, if you've got more than 40 cards (yes I know decks are growing and winning but let's just start here), and your not playing a mill deck, then you might wanna trim a few cards you find your sacrificing. In the end you'll get the cards you need when you want and you'll tune your deck into a fine killing machine. Which leads us to the next topic.
Tech'ing
Well simply put, this is tuning your deck to the current meta or to counter the meta. Wtf? Well if there's a lot of attachment heros, you need attachment removal, or if there hunters w weapons all over the place you need weapon removal or small allies to beat that weapon down , (what we call meat shields) allies that take damage instead of your hero. The best tech'ed deck I every played was Toolbox Aramia, she had an answer to almost any deck in that meta and took me to my all time high of 354. (Which is nothing because A1Otto7 is holding a 400 now, makes me feel small). But anyhow, that deck was well thought out and tested and it caused Aramia's key cards to get nerfed. Oh well , Sh*t happens. It's an example of extreme, teching, if you played it right , if you knew your enemy you had a good shot of winning. Trust me, no matter the deck out there, there is a tech against it, should you tech vs only one deck, no, unless your in a tourney, because in the ratings race you'll never know what you face. So overall tech is better....but Kip, how can I know my enemy? How can I use this info if it's random in the Rating race! Well that's the next point.
Getting in the Zone!
What? Zone? What zone?
Well my friends it's where you will find yourself once you begin to know your deck, what your cards are and what's best used against your enemy. You gotta play a lot of games, you gotta learn what each hero does and the different ways they can use their abilities. You've heard of synergy? Well, it's what cards play well with a hero, what combos and different cards work well with a hero's ability and the specific playstyle of that deck. Is it control Zhanna or attachment Jericho? Those Priests all have deck variations and if you can figure out which on they are playing early enough, you are in the Zone and have a better chance of winning!
Trust me, not figuring out your playing vs Embers Jericho early, will kill you. The key, starve him of allies, kill him w anything else you got. (Mostly Mages could do this, but Hunters and Wulven stood a good chance to). Getting in the zone really means knowing your deck and your enemy as well as you can and sacrificing wisely to make sure you have the useful cards you need when you need them. It really is like being able to see what cards they have and countering ever one as it comes to play.
So , Get in the Zone!
(I'm ready to get the crap trolled outta me by you top players, so go ahead and have some fun, but really if you think about anything can get teched against and if you find that key and use it well, you to will be a Meta maker!)
What I wanna see here are some great tips and tricks from top players, I wanna see what you guys have done to make or break the meta and how you go about it!
Kip thorp,
wishing you great battles and hearty victories (if not, go tech again!)
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