EPTToday I have a chat with Leigh 'Maynarde' Mandalov, half of the Zepphnarde Casting Archon (and therefore half of the reason I got so hyped about SC2 eSports to begin with.)
---
Q: To ease us into things, how long have you been playing Starcraft 2, and have you always played Terran?
A: Hello I've been playing SC2 since beta in 2010 and no I haven't always played Terran, I played Zerg the entirety of WoL and part of HotS
I switched to Terran probably mid 2013 or so
Q: Normally I ask people how they chose their usernames, but we are both fans of Tool's vocalist Maynard. Instead, I'm going to ask you to recommend three to five songs for those readers who haven't yet had the pleasure of experiencing the intensity of Maynard's singing. What should they hunt down in your view?
A: Honestly if you ask me there's no such thing as a best example, to pick the 5 best songs you simple cover your eyes
Lay out all of Tool's albums and turn them over
Then lower your finger onto a track
5 times
And that is the best 5 songs
Very hard to answer for me lol, for vocals I would definitely recommend The Grudge, Right in Two, Push It, The Pot and perhaps Judith from APC's Mer de Noms
Q: I'm also very fond of Pet from that A Perfect Circle album. (Just find a playlist, people, and hit random! You will not be disappointed.) On the topic of good music, you recently started up a friday night show called Tumblers & Tunes. For those folks yet to experience the fun, could you please give them an idea of what they can look forward to when they turn on your stream?
A: That album you're looking for is Thirteenth Step! Pet and The Outsider are my favourite tracks from it
Tumblers and Tunes was an idea I been mulling around for a while that I keep bringing up with esports friends, most of them seem to think its a good idea for something different
It's not set to be on Friday just yet, so far it has been cause it's my first night I get to play games and I get hyped to have a whisky and play so I thought **** it lets stream
Might be Saturday instead cause GSL goes quite late and starting a stream at midnight ain't the best for hangin with friends which I also like to do on Friday night
Anyway
The experience of the show is basically me talking a lot about things I consider myself to be quite knowledgeable on; music and whisky
I ******* suck at SC2, but I love the game and I know a lot of people follow me because I cast it, so I thought hey lets stream games while drinking and reviewing music cause I would be doing it anyway off stream! (minus all the talking)
And that's basically the whole experience, I try to talk more and I try to be more aware that I'm being watched and I am slowly upping the production as time goes on even though it's quite awful lol
It's really good fun, people seem to enjoy it and I like doing it so will continue to do it for the forseeable future
Q: Thirteenth Step, that's the one, cheers! I'm glad to hear Tumblers & Tunes will be a weekend fixture. I've been getting a little tired of all the dubstep You recently mentioned you were getting some coaching from the Dutch Terran uThermal: how did it go? Did you pick up any new builds and tricks?
A: I haven't gotten it yet, it was a package for being a backer on the "Hell It's Aboot Time" live Basetradetv thing
I look forward to it, he's a cool guy I'm a big fan and love chatting to him when I get the chance
Q: The BaseTradeTV kickstarter has been a whirlwind! Alive game, that is for sure. Given you've got some quality coaching coming your way soon, (I told you I'd sneak this one in) please describe your playstyle in ten words or less.
A: Bad
Q: I asked for that
A lot of us have games which stick in our memory as being more fun or entertaining than others. Do you have a war story or favourite match you'd like to brag about?A: I don't have any in particular, but any war story that involves an offensive gg then coming back after big damage or just trash talk before a DT rush then holding it makes me warm in my tummy and makes me happy
I have those at least once a week, I feed off the sodium from my enemies tears
If you ever wanted to know, Maynarde's boundless passion is in fact partially fuelled by ladder tears. Delightful salty ladder tears
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8ZK7xaP.jpg)
Q: Now, it's a running joke that you always get confused for the American brood war progamer Maynard (without the E), due to the starcraft term 'Maynarding' with regards to worker transfers to new bases. Now, while I doubt this interview will stop the misconceptions, I am curious to know: if you had a dollar for every time you were asked, how wealthy would you be?
A: I could probably fund IEM Sydney
Q: I'd fly up from Melbourne for that! Moving from questions about playing the game, and on to the subject of casting SC2. It's fair to say that, over the past three years, you've been an institution in SEA as half of Zepphnarde. In a recent interview at Katowice you gave a shoutout to nV Dox as the man who started you off by getting you to cast one of his tournaments, which led into casting for ACL and then the 2012 Oceania WCS. Can you tell us a bit about your early casting days, and how the still-popular casting Archon of Zepphnarde came to be?
A: Early casting days I did random things with Frogmite and we had a great time doing BSG tourneys and clan wars and such, Dox spotted me via one of those I think it's hard to remember
As horrible as it is, and I had to ask Zepph as well just now who ALSO can't help ... we don't remember how it came to be!
We THINK it was about 2012 or maybe late 2011 we cast a tournament together because we were both really passionate and fans of each other at the time
We just talked on skype on day and was like "I'd love to cast with you", "Hey me too we should cast sometime!"
Then many tourneys later, zepphnarde was a thing!
I'm honoured to say she is one of my closest friends now and we truly learned how much of an archon we actually are over the years
A picture in place of a 1000 words: the Zepphnarde Origin Story
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/nKVu5O4.jpg)
Q: You two make a fantastic casting archon! Being able to interview you both has been one of this year's highlights for me. Speaking of highlights, I mentioned WCS Oceania 2012 briefly, and I'd like to return to it. Phil 'InFeZa' Bertino's 'Mates of Starcraft' covers the 2012 WCS in great detail, and I don't want to risk spoilers for parts 2 and 3, but could you tell me what were the memories which really stick out for you from that event as a caster?
A: I would say from a caster perspective, the cast with Artosis that I got to do was a huge memory for me cause at the time Tastosis was the be all and end all kings of SC2 commentary, and Artosis I looked up to as the greatest caster in SC2
Learning that both he and Tasteless were exactly in person as they are during a cast was awesome, they were really chill guys such good friends and getting to cast with Artosis was a dream come true
From another perspective (hosting) I would have to say the crowd was fantastic, I loved having a room full of passionate nerds to work with
Any funny stories? Well I shared one on infeza's preview
I'll find it for you
Q: I'm going to take a moment to remind folks to watch Mates of Starcraft Part 1, if they missed it:
Now, 2012 and 2013 were before my time, but I understand that your first time casting IEM was in 2013. You mentioned in another interview that InFeZa suggested you to Carmac. Could you share with us a bit more detail?
A: That, like many of my giant casting gigs, was quite a shock
I got a DM on twitter or an add on Skype or something from Carmac and he said that infeza mentioned I was worth having as a commentator, checked some VODs and thought he was onto something so they hired me for Shanghai right there
I guess I did a good enough job to come back and work with the guys a few times, we're all good friends now and I love working with them all
Apollo and Kaelaris have been phenomenal in particular for helping me with casting, lots of good pointers from those pros
I learn more from a weekend casting with them than a year freestyling like I regularly do lol
Q: Your recent IEM run was fantastic, and it was wonderful to see so many people commenting favourably about the passion in your casting. I will forever remember the phrase 'Leenock wearing the daddy pants'. Flawless! For all those folks wanting to try their hand at casting, what kind of advice/tips/tricks would you give to someone without any experience?
A: I get as many good comments as bad about the passion, but it doesn't bother me either way it's how I am and it's the way I'm gonna be forever, I love SC2 way too much lol
Uhhh rephrase, not the PASSION per se but the fact that I scream like an idiot rofl
Suggestions I would give to new casters is to make sure you're doing it because you love the game and not for yourself
(efame or whatever idk)
I would then suggest that they be themselves, don't cast like someone else you THINK you should be like, add your own flair (like the daddy pants thing if you want to be a vulgar fool)
I would THEN suggest that they continue to cast, and cast as much as they can, be objective about feedback and be introspective
You gotta have thick skin if you want to improve, you don't get good comments and love forever no matter how good you are, I mean shit Apollo is basically the worlds greatest commentator PERIOD not just in SC2 but all esports and even he cops it
One last thing I would say is super important as an upcoming caster is no matter what tournament it is; two rules
1. Do prep work
2. Read rule 1
When a caster doesn't prep it's pretty obvious to me anyway
The Passion of the Casters
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Ys6SO3J.jpg)
Q: Thank you for that advice. I'll be keeping that in mind myself, and I hope it helps out other would-be casters! From a technical aspect, what is your at-home set up? What kind of equipment and programs do you rely on when casting and streaming? Further to that, in comparison, what was it like using the equipment provided by IEM?
A: At home I use a Blue Yeti for mic and I used to use a headset for audio but I prefer these earbuds I been using lately, great BOSE ones that nestle in your ear nicely, great sound too good low end
I plug those into the mic and use that as my output as well as input device
I usually cast with Skype, although I've used Teamspeak as well
I hate that we rely on Skype it's quite bad for casting as it cuts out another persons voice completely when there's another person being louder
Also when commentating from home I have Insano as an observer, used to be Infeza
So technically the only difference between casting at IEM and home is the headset
Cause I still have a screen that I don't touch and the first person view of an observer to cast off
Also their chairs are better
I like the need4seat stuff
Q: We have been blessed with good observers in SEA. Returning to your casting in IEM, would you please share with us all a behind-the-scenes look at your day to day life in events such as Taipei and Katowice. What were the most memorable moments for you?
A: Days at Taipei and Katowice were pretty similar, we all like to talk about the cast before hand and do that all important prep I was talking about earlier!
We have breakfast together, head to the venue, go over our intros and talk about who casts with who after we look at the bracket
Then we go about our days casting, I like to take notes on a little note pad during games that I'm not casting to keep fresh in my mind what happened if I need to cast that player later and want to talk about their previous games
I find taking notes pretty handy as it sticks in my brain easier when I write it down
Then after the cast we generally all eat together and have a few drinks, then a bit more prep in the hotel rooms in our PJs maybe a glass of whisky or two and it's off to sleepy land to be rested and sharp for the next day of casting!
Memorable moments for me are almost too many to list but I can think of some from Taipei and Katowice for you
From Taipei, I lost a handful of cash to Apollo betting him he couldn't get the number of a girl in a restaurant we were having dinner in
Normally this is a bad bet, but I thought yeah sure he's a suave gent but no one in this restaurant speaks english, we'd been there for breakfast a few times
And we struggled to communicate our orders
Anyway, he asks her number and she's the only person that speaks fluent english
**** my life
Lost my cash and he got it
From Katowice, most memorable moment was definitely casting the grand final in that stadium
It's a feeling you can't describe
I don't think I'll ever be able to do anything that big ever again, I'm not sure where you go to from there, but I'm certainly very blessed and honoured to have even been considered let alone actually doing it
The face of a man Maynarde should have known not to bet against. Lessons were learned.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/cv8VlJB.jpg)
Q: The VODs give an inkling as to the amount of energy the crowd had at Katowice. I can't even begin to imagine how it would have been in the flesh. I am curious, though, as to what kind of preparation you and the other casters did each day prior to the games starting. Did you have a routine, or a set process?
A: Yeah like I said, it's too difficult to describe being there in the flesh
The preparation begins usually with looking at the whole player pool, and writing a few dotpoints on each player
Obviously highlighting things that are relevant to that tournament in particular are far more important, and also their history vs other players in that tournament
When the bracket fleshes out a bit, we focus on storylines
We wanna talk about the story of each player and build it up so that people wanna watch to find out what happens next, like any good tv series
We talk about each of the players and talk about what it means to them to win that tourney, what's on the line, what the bigger picture is if it involves wcs points or any kind of pot of gold at the end of the rainbow other than that particular tourney prize pool
But always focus on that tournament and it's legacy as a priority
Very important for IEM at least, important to Carmac
The set process is to just take as many notes as possible, and talk with the co-caster as much as possible
Discuss how we wanna intro, who does what, define the roles
Zepph and I do the same thing, and we've found that every time we cast together we get better each time
And it's not cause we cast all the time, it's because we talk all the time and discuss casts beforehand + prep
Uhh, I think that cover it
Q: I am honestly impressed by the amount of work you folks put into making your casts so entertaining. It really adds another layer of enjoyment to the games beyond the skill of the players involved. On that note, if you had to pick 1-3 favourite games/series from your career as a caster, which games would you pick and why? (Bonus geek cred if you can provide VODs from your cast for me to link to)
A: I have had the honour and privilege of casting so many incredible players that it's hard to think of favourites, but this is the infamous "that's nothing" cast from IEM Taipei, now I get it spammed at me every time I'm spotted in a twitch chat
TvZ is my favourite matchup so most of my favourite have been TvZ
This was my 2nd favourite Australian SC2 event with a great grand final and game one (ultralisk drops whaaaattttttt)
And of course, this
The place boomed every time I yelled, I ******* loved it, highest point of my casting career (figuratively and literally cause it was like 3 storeys high up on a platform)
Q: I remain astounded by the way your bombastic casting resonated throughout the arena in Katowice, to the point it even shows in the VODs. For me, it added a lot to the sense of excitement in watching those games! For a bit of fun now, a double whammy:
1: if there was anyone in the world you could challenge to a Best of Five match, who would it be, and why?
2: if there were any two players you could cast, involving any players past and present (that you haven't already), who would you have play in the match and what kind of game would you hope for?
A: I would challenge USA president Obama to a bo5
I would like to cast Mvp in his prime vs Life in his prime... which I guess is right now
And I would like to cast that with Zepph
I believe that would be a dream for both of us
I appreciate the usage of the word "bombastic" I don't think I've seen it since Shaggy's old hit from the 90s
Q: Turning back to the SEA side of things, I remember my first introduction to yourself, Zepph, and the SEA eSports scene was the 2014 WCS Oceanic qualifiers. For me it was a formative experience. It was one thing to watch Day[9] dailies about progamers from Korea, Europe, and America - but it was another thing entirely to hear a passionate cast covering local players. It was also the first time I came across names such as Pezz, Fighto, PiG, Iaguz, Petraeus, and mOOnGLaDe. The idea that there was a strong SC2 presence in my corner of the world was an eye-opener.
Given we've talked about WCS already, I'd like to throw in some questions about the Oceania Starcraft 2 Championship series instead. Firstly, taking a look at the current rankings, what are your thoughts on them? Any favourites or early predictions for the grand finale this year?
Helpful links for non-SEA readers:
The OSC: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Oseanic_Championship_Series
Current rankings: http://tinyurl.com/OSC2015
A: Previous champion Gumiho is hard to ignore, Kelazhur has been on fire lately
Gumiho isn't his usual impressive self these days though it must be said
As far as the SEAmen go, I believe top 4 will probably be Iaguz, PiG, NXZ if he's on form and I would normally say a zerg like Demi or EnDerr but they seem to be struggling with the new swarm host against mech and late game protoss like many zergs are, so I will say perhaps Blysk
As a dark horse that'll do well, I think we might see an impressive performance from Azure, and I don't even think I can call PSiArc a dark horse at this point his skill has been proven in many local tourneys, I expect both of them to do well
Will be nice to see some more Terrans at the upper echelons
Q: Of the various partnered OCS tournaments, which do you get a chance to keep up with/enjoy the most? As a bonus question, with your work leave having been used up by the recent IEM events, are you considering casting more local events in the interim?
A: Obviously the WCS SEA quals I catch a fair bit of cause I cast them, I also keep up with SEAcraft as Masters Cup as I have been supporting them both for quite a while
As often as I can that is, SEAcraft unfortunately clashes with GSL / 3SL / SPL
And my net is too poopy for multitwitch most of the time
But if it can handle them both on Low then I always have them open
I am definitely considering casting more local events I try to get into Masters Cup casts which are unfortunately for me often covered by BTTV, but it's good exposure for the scene which to me is more important than getting to cast
So I am completely cool with it
There is a big local event coming up soon that I'll most certainly be casting keep an eye on the news for that one
Q: I am incredibly excited to catch that! I'll keep an eye on your twitter feed, for sure. Looking to the future, with Legacy of the Void on the horizon, what are your thoughts on what you have seen of LoTV thus far?
A: It's very experimental and doesn't feel like it has that Blizzard "polish" quite yet, but it's like discovering a new world, it's frontier exploration time and that to me is incredibly exciting
Units and balance aside, cause I know 100 percent it is going to be a whole new experience in game
I am just as excited to see what they do with the UI and with the in client features
Playing SC2 is a lonely experience most of the time, and archon mode is obviously going to help a lot with introducing new players
I'm quite confident they have some plans for social interaction and new in client UI changes, impatiently awaiting them!
The expansion won't bring SC2 back to the top of esports like it was in 2010, when the game literally started the trend of online streaming and sites like twitch
But I am quite confident Blizzard will make it a fun game to play, continue to support it, and continue to patch it and give it new maps and tournaments, and that to me matters FAR more than whatever shiny new unit does what
Q: On the subject of Archon mode, the prospect of Archon Mode tournaments makes me incredibly happy as a fan of watching high-level SC2. The sheer thought of two progamers working in tandem like that is incredibly exciting to me. From a caster's perspective, what do you think of Archon Mode in a competitive format? What kind of challenges might Archon Mode present to a caster?
A: Absolutely none because you are still casting a single race vs a single race, just the mechanics and multitasking will be a lot cleaner
I'm also excited for those tournaments, I'd bet my entire bank account they will be happening as soon as there's enough players to warrant one
Q: I won't take that bet. That'd be like betting against Apollo's charm
What I hope to see is a way to tell which player in the Archon is doing what. On a more personal note, is there a moment in your career which you consider particularly important or formative for who you are as a caster, player, and person now?A: Yeah I would love to see like a coloured ring under a structure or group of units to identify which player is controlling what, that would be cool
Meeting and working with the ESL guys has been insanely eye opening for me as a caster, and also seeing how big events production works backstage helped me understand what can go wrong and how to fix it and remain professional in the mean time
That is formative for me as a caster
As a player, the tournaments in Adelaide at Arena LAN cafe were formative for me cause that competitive need I had wanted for so long since retiring from Quake was back again, and I would practice hard before each and every one
Unfortunately the guy who ran the tournament Marc (frequency) was a dick who put me up against the guy who wins the whole tournament in round 1
Which was usually Edge
For me as a person, I would have to say meeting Zepph was a particularly important time as we've not only kept each others passion in SC2 alive and improved each others commentary but more importantly she is now one of my closest and best friends
There have honestly been a lot of people in SC2 I have met that have made life fun and interesting, wouldn't trade them for the world
Since SC2 came out I have done things I never imagined I would even be near, let alone a part of
Incredibly honoured and feel unworthy when I think back on it, but if Zepph read that she would slap me across the face and tell me I deserve it so I take it back
Q: I'm pretty sure a lot of us would echo Zepph's sentiments You've clearly earned every step along the way. Finally, feel free to self-promote and drop some links here if you want folks to follow you on the various social media/streaming sites
A: Twitter: @MaynardeSC2
Twitch: twitch.tv/maynarde
Thank you for reading, and thank you Crescendo for the interview, appreciated it, very professional
Q: It has been an absolute pleasure, Maynarde. Thank you again for taking the time to have a chat with me. I look forward to your next cast, and the next appearance of Zepphnarde!
A: It won't be far away thanks man
---
I think I learned more about casting from this interview than I have from watching dozens of casted events. A big thanks again to Maynarde for taking the time, and I'll also remind that my interview with the amazing other half of the Zepphnarde casting Archon can be found here: http://www.sc2sea.com/showthread.php?t=9076
Please do show up for Tumblers and Tunes, it's a damn good time!
While you are at it, keep an eye on his twitter if you don't already.
GLHF all!
[This interview was cross-posted from SC2SEA - http://www.sc2sea.com/showthread.php?t=9190 ]
Maynard
