Interview with RDU

Author - Ferretling | Youtube

Today we are happy to announce that RDU will be joining our one on one hearthstone coaching program. RDU is best known for his stunning victory at Dreamhack Summer as well as being the rated the 2nd best player in the world on GosuGamers.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dima ‘RDU’ Radu and ask him some questions about Hearthstone, being a professional gamer, Naxxramas, his coaching and much more. You can read the whole interview below. Enjoy!

Q: First things first, what do you hope to bring to the table as a coach?

A: I wanna share the passion of the game with others and try to help them out with some of my strategies that are not known to most players

Q: How will people’s gameplay benefit from your coaching in the long-term?

A: I hope I can open their mind to potential combos and advanced trading and reading your opponent’s cards by seeing his actions, playstyle which is not only good in ladder but also very effective in tournaments.

Q: What do think sets you aside from other hearthstone players?

A: My perception of the game, especially in tournaments and competitive play, but also in the ladder.

Q: To what do you attribute your success as a Hearthstone player thus far?

A: Everything is important. Due to my card game history (even tough I am just 17 yo) I think I get an advantage right from the start of the game. Every little mindgame or change to a deck matters and of course, practice with (probably) the best team in HS helps a lot. The fact that we are 7 in MYM means we will always be ahead in terms of deckbuilding compared to other teams and to players that have no team.

Q: Do you, like many professional Hearthstone players have a background in other CCGs?

A: I have played Yugioh and i even was national champion in one year and attended the european championships with a budget deck; I also played a little bit of poker with my friends (I don’t think it matters that much but still helped me a little bit with understanding how people think when they play card games).

Q: Recently at IEM you brought a midranged Warrior deck. What was your thinking in using such an under utilized kind of deck?

A: I always want to bring the element of surprize in tournaments and I really think the midrange warrior is very good in the current meta due to the good matchup against miracle rogue.

Q: After your defeat against Amaz you said (and I’m paraphrasing) that priest has a lower skill ceiling compared to classes like druid (which you banned). What are your thoughts on priest and how do you think it will change after Naxx is released?

A: I think druid is better because of innervate and wild growth, cards which if you draw on early game you set yourself in the face of the opponent with a big advantage. Maybe priests will be better after the full naxxramas comes out.

Q: What is your general impressions of the Naxxramas expansion?

A: I just finished the first wing and it looks awesome. A little bit too easy but it was never supposed to be hard.I hope the cards from naxx will shake the meta a little bit and make it more interesting to play

Q: Whats your favorite card in Naxx so far?

A: Nerubian egg because of the potential value you get when you buff it,trade it for another minion and then you get a 4/4 on top of that.

Q: What do you think of heroic mode?

A: With the right strategy it’s easy but i like it because it makes people try non-standard decks to win it.

Q: What decks do you think will cease to be viable (if any) as a result of Naxx?

A: I think people will find new ways to make all the decks viable, including miracle. Even after loatheb is launched, i still think miracle will be one of the best decks out there.

Q: After Dreamhack you said that you were receiving a lot of invitations from various teams why did you decide to join MYM?

A: I decided to join MYM because here i have a very strong team which i can prepare with and allow me to play in all the tournaments in the competitive scene.

Q: What’s it like to be a professional gamer at 17?

A: Feels pretty good Sometimes it can be overwhelming but I like it, I treat it like a summer job.

Q: Okay and finally what one tip would you give to new hearthstone players?

A: Play arena to learn the game and get the cards for one deck the go to constructed, where the real fun begins.

Well that’s it! For any of you interested in coaching you can schedule an appointment with RDU at: ihearthu.com/RDU From our conversation RDU came across like a great guy and I hope any of you looking for a coach will give him serious consideration.