Interview with CookMySock about being a former LoL pro, meta changes, and the Blizzcon qualifers.

With Team Dignitas' recent pickup of a Professional Hearthstone team, I have begun conducting a series of Interviews with each of the recently acquired players. First on the list was Nick 'CookMySock' Li, a player who has represented us in two games.

Nick played Magic: The Gathering casually with his brother ever since he was young but ultimately decided to pursue professional League of Legends which is when he played for our LoL UK squad. After the UK squad disbanded, Nick switched over to Hearthstone and made it to a very high level, which is why he was picked up into the Team Dignitas HS squad.

Editors Note: This interview was conducted before the European Road to Blizzcon tournament.

 

When SHC benched Moopz, were you contacted to be a possible replacement, like how Kasing (Yerrow) was once Wewillfailer retired?

CookMySock: By the time they were looking for a replacement, I had already decided to stop playing competitively.
Had I still been playing, I’m sure Impaler would’ve loved to play with me once again!

You haven’t even completed your placement matches for Season 4 solo queue. Are you done with the game?

CookMySock: Competitively, yes. Casually? No - I still enjoy and play a few games with friends occasionally. Although once I win the next Blizzcon world championship I may give competitive LoL another chance!

P.S. I’m afraid to play my 10th placement match as I’m pretty sure I’ll get placed in Silver..

 

How did you first discover Hearthstone and when did you discover you wanted to be a professional player?

CookMySock: I first heard about Hearthstone during its development, and given my enjoyment for other card games (namely MTG) I hastily signed up for the closed beta.

I always felt I had a good grasp of card game concepts and although I didn’t initially plan on becoming a professional player, I reached top legend ranks during the early seasons. I kept in touch with Team Dignitas and once World Championships was announced, I was contacted to see whether I was interested in playing Hearthstone competitively. I couldn’t refuse an offer to once again represent my favourite eSports organisation!

 

What was the transition from professional LoL to professional Hearthstone like?

CookMySock: Fortunately one of my main champions was Twisted Fate, so my natural tendency to topdeck and utilise golden cards allowed me to transition seamlessly into Hearthstone.

 

In your opinion, do you think that it will be the popular streamers such as Reynad or Kolento that will qualify for Blizzcon, or are you expecting some unknown ladder players to make the cut?

CookMySock: With the large competition, I believe a mix of both popular streamers/players and strong ladder players will make it through. It will undoubtedly mean some renown players won’t qualify, but also give good lesser known players such as MrYagut and GreenSheep a chance to gain recognition.

 

What are your thoughts on the change to Starving Buzzard and Leeroy Jenkins, and how will it affect the meta so close to a major tournament?

CookMySock: Hunter can still be decent without those cards, but they have finally been dethroned (which I wholeheartedly think is a good thing), and whilst no one likes change - especially so close to a major tournament, the meta game is always fluctuating and the ones who adapt quickest achieve the most success.

 

What do you think will be the most popular decks now that Hunter is no longer the strongest class?

CookMySock: Handlock is likely to shine once again now that Hunter is considerably weakened, and naturally Shaman will be played as a counter to that. In a slower meta-game, adjusted druid and paladin decks running The Black Knight and Big Game Hunter will also be viable. As much as I hate to say it, Zoo will also make a resurgence as warlock players benefit from being able to play either variant, unknown to the opponent. So with buzzard hunter gone we can complain about this piece of shit again - there’s always a silver lining!

 

Even with Handlock’s Combo being nerfed?

CookMySock: Whilst the Leeroy Handlock combo provided access to a considerable amount of burst in the late game, it was never mandatory to run it and I believe Handlock will function without him (though he will be missed)

 

With the nerf to hunter, what direction will early game cards like Zombie Chow and Unstable Ghoul go from here?

CookMySock: Zombie Chow and Unstable Ghoul still have places in certain decks (for instance deathrattle priest and control warrior) but will generally be removed from other classes in favour of slower, late-game cards.

What is your favourite class in Hearthstone, either for ranking up the ladder at the beginning of the season or just in general?

CookMySock: My favourite class is Rogue, particularly when playing Miracle Rogue as it is always fun and challenging to play, with the bonus of having a favourable matchup against the devil known as Hunter.
When laddering during the season I will always play decks I enjoy, whilst experimenting with other classes/decks I feel can counter the popular decks in the current meta.

 

Since your favourite deck was Miracle Rogue, in what direction do you think Miracle Rogue will head to in the future?

CookMySock: Whilst it will never be as strong as classic Leeroy/Shadowstep, I can see replacing them with solid cards such as Sludge Belcher, or even old hipster variants such as Malygos Rogue working.

Personally I will just replace Leeroy with Millhouse Manastorm and hardly notice a difference.

 

Finally, where do you see yourself going with a career in Hearthstone?

CookMySock: Having just started University I haven’t had much time to play in online tournaments, though once I have settled in, I plan on streaming regularly and competing in main international events as well as online cups.

 

Any shoutouts?

CookMySock: Shoutouts to our sponsors Alienware, Intel, Creative, Scan, Hyperx, Western Digital, multiplay, Qpad, iiyama, be quiet!, and 3D Systems. (And more importantly to my teammate GreenSheep for qualifying for Blizzcon this weekend!). Follow me at @cookmyd! and I'll be streaming soon on twitch.tv/cookmyd.