Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh has long been held up as part of the argument for why Hearthstone is a game of skill. While others may decry it as a game of chance, Malsh consistently shows decision making abilities beyond us mere mortals.
On his stream yesterday, Malsh gave another demonstration. Playing as Priest, he had exactly eight life left against a Ragnaros. He had a board full of smallish minions, but with his opponent at 24 health it was hard to see how he could kill him anytime soon.
But not for Kolento.
In the video, Malsh takes a lot of time to consider the play, so much so that the rope is now coming in and he is against the clock—making the whole thing seem cooler somehow. He kills off his Auchenai Soulpriest so he can now heal his minions. Then he plays another Blademaster, a Wild Pyromancer, and heals himself with Light of the Naaru. This gives him the exact six minions he needs for lethal damage later on.
With the Pyromancer going off, Malsh then drops a Circle of Healing, drawing the rest of his deck and buffing his Lightwarden to 19. The rope is at the end, but the actions are queued. Malsh swings in for the lethal damage. Not only has he calculated the damage perfectly, he also avoided drawing himself to death with fatigue by just one draw.
“Calculated” indeed.Â
Image via Blizzard
