Faramir’s run in the Tavern Takeover 3

A look at Faramir’s run to the Tavern Takeover 3 Championship

When the brackets were released for PvP’s third edition of the Tavern Takeover, not many outside of Team IHearthU gave Faramir much of a chance at winning the event. Stuck in the same quarter as Kolento, Strifecro, and Neirea, just getting to the latter stages of the tournament would be difficult. But behind solid preparation and even-keeled play, he was able to put on one of the more impressive tournament performances in recent memory. Let’s take a look at how he was able to do it:

The Decks:

Because Tavern Takeover featured a non-ban format, it was crucial to have three solid decks heading into any particular matchup. Instead of relying on specific counters, we felt it was best to choose decks that stood a chance against a wide variety of classes and archetypes. Thus, Midrange Paladin, Control Warrior, and Handlock Warlock were chosen, having been among the most consistently well-performing decks, both in tournaments and on the ladder.

The Paladin that Faramir ran was one card off of the deck that propelled teammate Powder to #1 on the European server. It has a variety of tools to deal with aggressive decks like Zoo Warlock and Hunter, while having enough punch to defeat more control-oriented decks like Priest. Though it’s an underdog versus Warrior and Handlock, those matchups are far from unwinnable.

Control Warrior, with the addition of cards like Shieldmaiden and Dr. Boom, has seen its win percentage increase across all matchups. Previously disastrous matchups like Zoo and Druid are much more reasonable, while rushdown decks like Hunter have become a walk in the park. The Warrior we brought was as standard as it gets, with copies of Whirlwind and Brawl to help ward off the Paladin decks bound to be seen in the tournament.

The Handlock that Faramir played was the most unusual deck of the three. Innovated by teammate Impact and refined by the rest of the team, the deck only ran two sources of taunt in its Sunfury Protectors. Defenders of Argus and Sludge Belchers were given up in favor of more healing, board clears, and big Legendaries. Against aggressive decks, the plan was to wipe the opponent’s board with one of its four board clears, then stabilize the health total via one of its seven heals. Against more control-oriented decks, the inclusion of Sylvanas, Dr. Boom, Ragnaros and Jaraxxus on top of the traditional threats gave it lasting power.

Round 1: Kolento

Faramir’s run started with Kolento, one of the most highly-regarded professionals in the world. Not knowing his opponent’s lineup, Faramir opened with Paladin, as it has relatively few weak matchups. Kolento smartly opened with Warrior, perhaps reasoning that Faramir was unlikely to run Zoo or Druid. After two tense, highly-contested games, Faramir found himself down, 0-2, with only our new Handlock to fall back on. A back-and-forth game finally stabilized in Faramir’s favor after a timely Antique Healbot staved off lethal from Grommash Hellscream. Kolento went with a very control-oriented Mage in the next game, which was either a mistake or an attempt to gather more information on Faramir’s deck. In any case, Faramir easily took the victory behind the mountain of heals the deck provides. Kolento unexpectedly played Zoolock in the final match, and after narrowly holding off the Ukrainian player’s aggression, Faramir’s deck worked as intended with its board-clear spells and heals saving the day.

Round 2: Strifecro

Faramir’s reward for defeating Kolento was facing Strifecro, Kolento’s teammate and another well-respected professional. This time, both players were aware of their opponent’s composition, as each of their first-round matches went the full five games. Because his Paladin deck didn’t counter any of Strifecro’s decks (and thus would not be picked over either of the other two after a game 1 loss), opening Paladin was a sensible choice. Strifecro opened Handlock, but a series of unfortunate draws and consistent pressure from Faramir gave him the 1-0 lead. Falling back on his Mage deck, Strifecro had a plethora of answers but couldn’t wrestle the tempo advantage away from Faramir, who took a 2-0 lead. Knowing firsthand the comeback potential of Warrior from previous matches, Faramir put on the pressure early in game 3 and was able to once again tempo Strifecro out of the game, resulting in a 3-0 sweep.

Semifinals: Dart

Running the same trio of classes as Faramir’s previous opponents, Dart was able to push his way through the qualifiers all the way to the semifinals. Though a Paladin opening from Faramir was predictable, it was still the correct choice, as it would face an unfavorable matchup no matter when it was played. Dart opened with Handlock and seemed to have the advantage before a crucial misplay gifted Faramir a free Mountain Giant via Faramir’s Sylvanas. Up, 1-0, Faramir again went with early pressure to try to snatch up game 2 early. With a stacked hand but barely any removal, Dart fell quickly to the onslaught and found himself in the unenviable position of trying to reverse all-kill with Mage. Game 3 was an absolute thriller, as Faramir went from putting on pressure, to pulling back with Lay on Hands, to making a final push through two Molten Giants and a Ragnaros. Faramir engineered a Ragnaros steal with his Sylvanas in the waning moments of the game, and it proved fruitful when Ragnaros hit Dart’s face to close out the series.

Finals: Backspace

Faramir found himself in another somewhat unexpected matchup in the finals when he faced new Team Archon recruit, Backspace. Against a lineup of Paladin, Zoolock, and Warrior, Faramir opened with Handlock, since it had a strong matchup against all three deck archetypes. Put on the backfoot to some early pressure, Faramir slowly wrestled board control away, putting the game away with the huge threats Handlock provides. Though Warrior’s odds against Handlock have improved with the release of GvG, game 2 was a one-sided affair, with Backspace running out of ways to remove Faramir’s seemingly never-ending threats. Game 3 versus Zoolock found Faramir with all the right answers, suffocating Backspace out of the game after Faramir taunted his two Molten Giants. Able to revive a deck in the finals, Backspace opted for Warrior. This time, Faramir was unable to draw enough taunts and healing to ward off Backspace and Grommash ended the game, giving Faramir his first loss in three rounds. In game 5, Faramir opted for his trusty Paladin and went with the same strategy of pressuring his opponent into submission. With a full hand but insufficient removal, Backspace fell, improving Faramir’s Paladin to 7-0 in the tournament.

Final Thoughts

It takes a lot of hard work and good fortune to make it through such a stacked field of players. Through thorough preparation and very solid play, Faramir came through with the victory for himself and team IHearthU. We look forward to Faramir’s continued success and hope you enjoyed this look at his run to the championship.