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20.12 - GosuCup SEA #8 Budget
27.12 - GosuCup SEA #9
Even before the tournament travelled to SEA, it was GosuCup tradition that most of its winners are up-and-coming, aspiring players and only once every ten cups or so, a better known name would take the throne. Such is the case with Dustin "WaningMoon" Mangulabnan. A Hearthstone veteran, WaningMoon has played on the big stage of IEM Shenzhen and competed in the qualifiers for the prestigious Prismata Cup #2. Last weekend, WaningMoon crushed GosuCup #6 by building on a budget and ploughing through the opposition with a solid mid-range shaman.
Today, we talk with the talented Filipino who, despite having a bucketful of Hearthstone experience, is humble in appraising his chances for the grand finals.
OK, so to top it all of - congratulations on your GosuCup victory and advancing to the grand finals!
Thanks!
Tell me about your GosuCup run. Looking at the score table, you actually had smooth matches until the grand final where Pompi gave you some trouble, pushing you to a fifth game.
I played only two decks all throughout. My shaman went 14-3 and my hunter deck went 3-0. I would keep picking shaman even if I lost, because I felt that it was really solid.
Yes, that's a thing I want to discuss a bit more. We've ran lots of budget cups before and usually they're filled with hunters because they are strong and cheap to make. For that reason, players would actually keep away from shaman and try and counter with priest, most of the time. Why did you choose to play shaman primarily? What made it solid in a budget environment?
Well in, my experience, the [card]Zombie Chow[/card] shaman was favored vs both hunter and zoo even in the non-budget meta. Then I took out cards like [card]Loatheb[/card] and [card]Doomhammer[/card] and replaced them with [card]Sludge Belcher[/card]s so I was even more confident with it vs aggro. And as for all the other matchups, it's just a really good midrange deck: I replaced [card]Al'Akir the Windlord[/card] with a [card]Bloodlust[/card] and it worked out just fine.
I didn't feel like it had any weaknesses really. Even priest, which is usually favored, is a lot less scary because they can't use [card]Cabal Shadow Priest[/card]s since those are epic.
"I didn't feel like my shaman had any weaknesses really."
Yeah, that singleton [card]Bloodlust[/card]... When I played a similar deck, I also found that you often could outrace other fast decks as they never expect the burst, most of the time even faster than Al'Akir kills.
Yeah it's situationally better than Al'Akir so it's not necessarily a downgrade. Everytime I used it it was for at least 15 damage.
You played another Filipino - Pompi - in the grand finals. Being from the same scene, do you know each other?
Yes, this was the second time we met in the finals of an online tournament actually. The first time was an ESL PH monthly cup. Luckily, it ended the same way, 3-2 for me. Also, I see him every time there's a LAN so we're friends. Like most of the Philippines community, we know each other pretty well
You're actually a veteran of the Hearthstone scene and unlike other GosuCup winners have played on big stages like IEM Shenzhen. Do you think that, coming into the grand finals, you have an edge over the other contenders just because you've been competing for so long?
No I never think that, I don't think it helps to think that. I like to remind myself that I can lose to anyone, anytime and I really believe it. I think that helps me play better.
This way of thinking reminds me a lot of TidesofTime, who once told us that you should always blame your losses on yourself. Do you do that as well? Like, avoid bringing up RNG and good/bad draws as the reason for winning/losing?
Yeah, it just makes sense that you should only focus on what you have control over, though I still get frustrated by RNG or bad draws every now and then, mostly when I'm tired or tilting.
"I never think experience gives me an edge over the other contenders, I don't think it helps to think like that."
I also heard that you "trained" the previous GosuCup winner, Aaronkoh. That right? What did you coach him through?
I wouldn't really call it training, we just practiced. He helped me too while I was practicing for some local LANs. We tested matchups and did simulated bo5's.
Do you practice with other players from the region (or even outside SEA)? Is there a team you belong to?
Yeah I like to playtest with pretty much anyone who has time to. Usually I find them from playing ranked. I add them after the game to talk about their list or ask if they want to practice.
I'm currently playing for IPT (Imperium Pro Team) - they're a Philippine esports team with a lot of other divisions.
What are you doing outside Hearthstone? Who's WaningMoon when he's not slinging cards?
This is all I'm doing at the moment. I was a SC2 player for a long time but it's too hard to play two games at once competitively.
So you're full time HS player? Can you make a decent living off of it in the Philippines?
Not really, not like in other countries I guess, but esports is still developing in the Philippines, so hopefully one day…
"In GvG, the best results so far seem to come when you use old archetypes with just a few cards changed."
Towards the end of the interview - GvG just launched. I assume as every other player, you're tinkering with the new stuff.What have you been experimenting with in the first days?
Tried alot of crazy decks, some random mech or pirate decks and murloc shaman but the best results so far seems to come from old archetypes with just a few cards changed.
Those are actually my findings too. You can take an established deck like Priest, add new cards like [card]Shrinkmeister[/card] and [card]Vol’Jin[/card] and suddenly it kicks ass.
Yeah exactly. I actually hit rank 1 legend the other day with a priest like that. Quickly fell off though one the next day and most of my climb was pre-GvG.
I have to try that Lightbomb for extra removal!
Let's put it to a wrap! Final words?
Shoutouts to my teammates at IPT, the HSPH community, and all the people I playtest with.
So how does GosuCup SEA and the Asia rankings look after WaningMoon's victory? 12 out of 32 players are already known with Philippines and Vietnam having the most representatives, followed by Singapore and Indonesia.
 Dennisgosu |  Alexieishere |  Ferdzm |  DaPh |
 Crunchyboy | Mokochiro |  Jizzes | CrazyMageeee |
| Aaronkoh | Hovati16 | Keruya | WaningMoon |
And here are the Asia rankings. Powerhouses like Kranich and Amaz might be leading the ladder, but GosuCup SEA winners like Kmabras, Aaronkoh and CrazyMagee are catching up!
