Invitational Player Preview - Chutereve, Crane Hatamoto




One of the originals Chutereve is a French player who started playing in the original Challonge Season One. He has never really dropped out of the top section of players since and also holds Crane Hatamoto status.

Season 1 - Start Rating 1500

With only one loss versus the (at that point) only undefeated top seeded Kingsley was a strong start.

Round 1 beat Nessimon [1500]
Round 2 beat Scorpion Humblestmonk [1500]
Round 3 beat Dragon Togashi Norikage [1500]
Round 4 beat Scorpion Shosuro_Croy [1500]
Round 5 lost vs Dragon Kingsley [1500]
Round 6 beat Darkdistroi [1500]

Rating at end of Season 1 rounds - 1731

He was actually mid seeded so had a match against a level opponent, which he won. It was only when facing Season Ones most deadly opponent (and ratings crusher) bill.jr that he was knocked out.

T16 beat Scorpion Heinzel [1731]
T8 beat Crab Hida Mozi [1615]
T4 lost to Lion bill.jr [1565]


Pre-Season - Start Rating 1751

A 4-1 actual meant first place in this relatively meaningless test competition.

Wins vs Crane Kakita Minto [1384],  Phoenix KP [1500],  Crab Click5 [1500],  Dragon Kingsley [1712]

Season 2 - Start Rating 1767

Another strong showing but (with the noticeable exception of elite Crane LTMechanicus) had Chut going 5-1 actual (6-1 with a drop) against relatively new/low ranked opposition.

Wins vs Lion The Littlest Weeb [1353],  Phoenix Dahrasz [1500],  Crab Hida Yama [1298],  Crane LTMechanicus [1798],  Crane Aki [1590], Crab action_johnny [1500]

Season 2 Cup

High pod placement meant he was one of the top cup seeds getting a bye (at this point the original wild card competition was still running which usually meant half the WC players quit as they did not/could not attend the 3 hour play off competition so no WC ended up playing and the league was sometimes short a couple of players for the T64)

T64 BYE
T32 beat Dragon Togashi Komhl [1780]
T16 lost to Dragon Mirumoto Kai [1876]

Season 3 - Start Rating 1814

In a drop heavy pod Chutereve went 3-1 actual (6-1 with drops). The loss versus a low ranked Crane and the following T64 loss to Grraaahh (who went on to lose in the final to Wydwen) meant his rating took a bashing from this double combo.

Wins vs Scorpion Adam H [1449], Crane D4rkWolf10 [1269], Lion Marcus [1500]
Losses vs Crane Brundim [1380]

Season 3 Cup

T64 lost to Lion Grrraaahhh    (GoblinGuide) [1478]

Season 4  - Start Rating 1771


Placed in another drop heavy pod he managed  4-2 actual (5-2 with drops)

Wins vs Dragon Khrytos [1669], Crane Lou [1500] and Scorpion Robasabre [1500], Phoenix Potato the First [1500]
Losses vs Crab Enegon[1500], Scorpion RussianText [1500]

Season 4 Cup

This cup was Chutereve's next strongest showing since Season one. Only losing to (previous around Season 2) top Crane Erik in the Quarter Finals.

T64 beat Phoenix Kiramode [1793]
T32 beat Scorpion fordream [1595]
T16 beat Scorpion Byron Krane [2006]
T8 beat Crane Erik [1572]
T4 lost to Crane Toreadory [1563]

The match versus Bayushi Nomen (Byron Krane) was a fascinating exploration of the meta situation with Chutereve going far wider than normal to sidestep the tower coping abilities of the Scorpion AFWTD deck. It is well worth watching for both players skilled play...


Season 5  - Start Rating 1682

It may be a European thing but yet another drop heavy pod so a 2-1 actual result (6-1 with drops)

Wins vs Crab Vasiliskirlis [1500], Scorpion Takeko [1384]
Losses vs Lion KailamPD [1318]

Season 5 Cup

T64 beat Crab Zavros
T32   vs  Crane Kakita Lenial  TO BE PLAYED

LCQ

T64 vs Scorpion Shenfull TO BE PLAYED


As opposed to the fate aggressive style pioneered by Daidoji Micah , Chutereve has tended to follow a more control style commonly utilising Scorpion splash. Chutereve gets into the Invitationals on the strength of his consistently deep cup performance throughout the seasons. Curiously Chutereve also seems to get paired a lot with lower ranking players which means luck losses affect him far worse than being in a pod with higher ranked opponents...equally he can win against anyone.. The invitational will provide plenty of opportunity to pad out the rating though.

Chutereve was also kind enough to fill in the questionnaire so here are his answers!

Did you play a lot of Original L5R? and if so how long/when

I played casual L5R. I just bought cheap boxes of old sets on internet and harassed my friends to play with me. 

Do/have you played other competitive card games at a high level?


No, I am usually more interested in the design behind card games or others games than performing strongly in them. Clan loyalty is probably what pushes me to be competitive in L5R, I don’t have the impression than I am just playing for myself because I am representing something: My clan. 

What were your experiences of the Discord League – any highlights ?

Pretty good. I don’t have specific highlights but a lot of fond memories from season 1. 

Do you have any advice for the other lower ranked players?

Practice a lot is probably the main thing. Be confident in your abilities. Also, not everyone is supposed to be very competitive. Just playing for fun and enjoy yourself is also a good thing. 

Any paper success?

Aside of LGS tournament, my first and only Kotei so far was Paris. I was pretty stressed but I managed to make 7-0 day 1 here, taking Crane hatamoto. I got eliminated in RO16 the second day but I feel like I could have done better without the pressure I put on myself.

What is there that you like/dislike about new L5R and what would you like (or not like) to see moving forward.

I really love the design of the new L5R, the fate mechanic is what sets it apart and Political conflict being as important as Military conflicts is really acknowledging how Rokugan works, something the old game struggled to do mechanically.

I am worried about some cards that break fundamentals rules and hope that the future sets will be carefully thought in that respect. I also want to see more ways to influence the story...oh and Unicorn need some love (hang in there ponies allies !)

What are your favourite/least favourite matchups?

Crane favourable matchups are not favourable by a large margin (aside of Uni of course) and I am not sure if I have a favourite one. Even if I got eliminated 2 seasons by a Lion player, I am feeling pretty confident against them. I also like the Scorpion match up even if it is exhausting to play because it is probably the most technical one in the game right now. 

I dislike playing Crab the most, mainly because I feel like the early draws of both player just determine the game. 

Also Dragon, of course. Really hard mu for Crane.


So thanks to Chutereve, his preview will update at the end of the LCQ/Ssn5 as he is still active in both so his rating and end placements will probably both be improving.

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