Tthe first Tour Stop after the release of Rastakhan’s Rumble occurred over the weekend. The event took place just blocks away from the Liberty Bell at the Localhost Arena. One could say the new set might have had less impact than expected, as we will see in this HCT Philadelphia review.
“NoHandsGamer” wins his largest tournament to this point as a major underdog. He could make a late push for a seasonal championship after seeing how good he can play.
A few of the players that advanced from Swiss into the top 16 were in our preview of players to watch at HCT Philadelphia. Those players were David “killinallday” Acosta, Torben “Viper” Wahl, Fei “ETC” Liang and Felix “Fenom” Mak.
As for the rest of the top 16, at the top of the bracket Viper would take on James “Greensheep” Luo, and ETC would take on “PapaJason”. At the bottom of the bracket Killinallday took on “Conrad”, and Simon “Crane333” Raunholst took on Loic “Dizdemon” Poulain.
Viper beat Greensheep 3-1, and ETC took out PapaJason 3-1. Conrad would take down Killinallday 3-1, and Crane would sweep Dizdemon 3-0. Viper would then have to take on ETC, in which the set was forced to a game five where Viper took the set in an Evenlock mirror. Crane would go on to take on Fenom, who ended up winning 3-1 with his extremely control-oriented lineup.
Also amongst the top 16 was George “BoarControl” Webb, Oliver “Paradox” Barnett and two up and comers: “PlanetHunter” and NoHandsGamer.
NoHandsGamer had to take on the big BoarControl, where in an upset he took the set 3-1. PlanetHunter would go up against Conrad, where after five games, PlanetHunter would win 3-2. 
There was no shortage of excitement in the top four. Both sets would go to a game five, and only one Hunter decklist was present amongst the four players. Viper went heads up against NoHandsGamer, and PlanetHunter was tasked with beating Fenom.
NoHandsGamer came into the tournament with Taunt Druid, Cube Warlock, Kingsbane Rogue and Even Paladin. Viper had Malygos Druid, Even Paladin, Even Warlock and Deathrattle Hunter. Fenom had Shudderwock Shaman, Quest Mage, Mecha’thun Warlock and OTK Paladin. Planet Hunter had Odd Paladin, Shudderwock Shaman, Quest Topsy Priest and Malygos Druid.
NoHandsGamer’s Taunt Druid doesn’t have any new cards in it. His Cubelock also doesn’t have any Rastakhan Rumble cards in it. NoHandsGamer’s Even Paladin is running two Spirit of the Tigers and Mojomaster Zihi in it. He also brought the new Kingsbane Rogue with Raiding Party and a Walk the Plank.
Viper’s Malygos Druid also doesn’t have any Rastakhan cards in it. The unique thing about it, however, is that it’s running double Faceless Manipulator for huge damage against control decks. His Evenlock contains Mojomaster Zihi for anti-combo tech. Viper’s Deathrattle Hunter has no new inclusions but is running Swamp King Dred tech.
Fenom’s Shudderwock Shaman and Mecha’thun Warlock had no Rastakhan inclusions. He had the new OTK Paladin with Shirvallah, the Tiger, Time Out and High Priest Thekal. His Quest Mage runs two of the new Banana Buffoons.
PlanetHunter’s Shudderwock Shaman, Odd Paladin and Malygos Druid have no Rastakhan inclusions. His Quest Topsy Priest has two copies of the new Mass Hysteria for more board clear.
After PlanetHunter beat Fenom in a spectacular game five Shudderwock mirror, and NoHandsGamer’s Cubelock outdrew Deathrattle Hunter in a game five, it would come down to the two underdogs in the final. PlanetHunter banned out Even Paladin and NoHandsGamer banned the Shudderwock Shaman.
Game one was NoHandsGamer’s Taunt Druid versus Odd Paladin. The Taunt Druid got online with the Master Oakheart early enough in the game, and the Odd Paladin found itself overtaken.
Game two was NoHandsGamer moving onto the Cube Warlock to take on the Odd Paladin. Despite having seemingly every AOE answer to Odd Paladin, the relentless onslaught led to lethal found by PlanetHunter’s Odd Paladin.
Game three was the Kingsbane Rogue of NoHandsGamer taking on PlanetHunter’s Topsy Quest Priest. PlanetHunter couldn’t draw the combo in time and the Kingsbane hit for lethal.
Game four was NoHandsGamer seeking the win with Cubelock against Malygos Druid. Despite making an infinite amount of Voidlords, it didn’t matter. Because the Malygos combo doesn’t require having to hit face with minions, all of the spells killed NoHandsGamer.
The final game was Cubelock versus Topsy Priest. In this game, PlanetHunter once again could simply not draw all the combo pieces, and without the combo he couldn’t kill NoHandsGamer before the onslaught of Doomguards killed him.
The champion NoHandsGamer
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via the PlayHearthstone twitch channel.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers along with Gino!
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
