Entrevista a Magifelix

Hotspawn: Welcome, MagiFelix! Before we talk about the results of the week, I want to dial it back and start at the sudden addition you were to the team. When did Astralis reach out to you?

MagiFelix: It was very surprising to me. Coming into the Split, I was not expecting to play in any LEC team. So I was just planning on taking the Spring Split off and I was basically one-tricking Neeko in solo queue. [Laughs] So I didn’t have any competitive champion pool, you know? Then, all of a sudden, Astralis messaged me and they asked if I wanted to sub in for Nukeduck. I had like… maybe one or two days of practice with the team before I flew down to Denmark and joined them there.

I would say it was really a short period of time in which I had to make a decision about what I want to do. I decided that it would be good for me to get some experience playing in the LEC. I get to show off how well I can play the game when it actually matters. So I decided that this was a good opportunity for me, and I decided to take it.

Hotspawn: Obviously, you didn’t have much time to think about the decision. But still, since you had only been playing Neeko and that could reflect in your performance, did you need long to reach a decision?

MagiFelix: [Laughs] I mean, I was doubting my own capabilities a bit. Because, well, you know… I only had like one week to prepare an actual competitive champion pool and get back into playing the game seriously. So I had to think about it for one day, but then I decided: “You know what? This is the first time I have a good chance of playing in the LEC.” So I decided to take it.

Hotspawn: Did it influence your decision that the team reaching out was Astralis? After all, they hadn’t been looking great, so that could alleviate some pressure for you when stepping on stage.

MagiFelix: I wouldn’t say so. I think I would’ve taken any offer, you know? I wouldn’t decline to play for a team because I think they’re too good for me. That doesn’t really make sense. If you don’t have a spot in the LEC, it’s always better to play for an LEC team than it is to not play. At least, that’s how I see it and that’s why I decided to join Astralis.
Hotspawn: So, you had those two days of playing with the roster before your move to Denmark. Did everything from then until moving to Denmark go smoothly?

MagiFelix: Uh, it didn’t go completely well. I had to take like three COVID tests and I had to wait in a queue for two hours at the airport, so that was funny. But I think, apart from that, it was a smooth experience getting to Denmark and moving into the apartment with Jeskla and promisq.

Hotspawn: Did you have any time to do any type of team bonding to speedrun the process of integrating into the team?

MagiFelix: [Laughs] Well, it was more like “I’m here now and let’s do our best to play good in the official games.” We maybe had four or five days of scrims, I can’t remember. I think it was four days. I was all very rushed. We didn’t do anything special when I came here. I just came here, and the next day we were playing scrims.

Hotspawn: Was it easy to fit in with the team and play scrims with them?

MagiFelix: I think, when you’ve played competitively for a really long time… Well, I feel that most teams share the same knowledge, kind of. So, when I joined the team the only thing I had to learn was the new communication phrases they have which maybe are a bit different. But they still mean the same thing as the things I know from before. It doesn’t take long to know what they mean by what they’re saying. I think that’s the only thing that you actually need to pick up on when you join a new team.

Hotspawn: You’re fresh blood so you have an outside perspective on how the team has been operating. Did you, upon arriving and playing the first games with the team, notice anything of which you thought “Hey, this can be improved” or something like that?

MagiFelix: I couldn’t see any huge issues. I think the biggest part is that, in general in team fights, we have a mixed understanding of what we are doing. Some people will target one guy, and the others will target another and we’ll Split up in different directions. If we’re running away, we’re not running away in the same path, you know? So I would say there are a few coordination issues. That’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed since joining.
Hotspawn: Let’s talk about your first games. You played Corki twice, and it was highlighted on the broadcast that this is one of your go-to picks. Did you pick it just to feel a bit at comfort in your first games?

MagiFelix: That was one of the reasons because, you know, I didn’t have much time to practice new picks. So I just picked up all the champions that I played a lot before, of which I know how they function in a team. To make it easy for myself, I just decided to play my comfort picks. I think Corki, right now, is pretty strong as well with the new buffs to the AD Carry items. You can get your core items pretty fast, and I think he’s pretty strong at the moment. The new Tear [of the Goddess] as well, it’s really good.

The reason it didn’t work in the last game was because, as a team, we went for some bad fights in the early game. You’re not really supposed to fight in the early game as Corki. He’s more of a scaling champion. So if you take fights and they don’t turn out well, you could possibly lose the game before you actually come online at the three-item power spike. I think that’s what happened in this game.

Hotspawn: Going forward, what will the process look like for you to become a fully integrated team member? Is that just playing more scrims, or even playing some duo queue Draft Picks since Riot removed ranked duo queue?

MagiFelix: I think most of the team practice comes from playing scrims together and reviewing what is not going well and what you need to fix. From there you make plans and goals to make sure that these things get fixed. It’s a work in progress, you know? It takes time for a team to fix all their mistakes and become really good. It’s not going to happen in one week or in one month. It takes time. I think we see it as a long-term thing, where we are trying to get better for the Summer Split, and hopefully, we can make it into the Playoffs then. That’s the way I see it, at least.

Hotspawn: Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say to the Astralis fans who now have a surprise new face to root for?

MagiFelix: [Laughs] Well, I just hope you continue supporting us. I think, even if our showing hasn’t been so good so far this Split, we have a lot of potential to become a good team. I’m looking forward to that, and I hope you do as well.