Splinterviews: Cornavirus

Hello everyone and welcome back to Splinterviews! The series where we take a closer look the users that inhabit the Splinterlands and keep things alive in the Splinterlands Discord Server.

Today we're shining a spotlight on @cornavirus.

This week we have the honor of interviewing one of the most famous members of the Splinterlands community. His reputation in the Discord community is nearly unmatched, as he is considered to be one of the most trustworthy moderators of all. He is known for his giveaways and very generous prizes for activities such as trivia in the discord. He is also a very skilled competitive player who has topped the leaderboards on more than one occasion, and, finally, he's come also been known to be a bit... controversial. (More on that later.)

Where can you find @cornavirus? For starters, you can ask pretty much anybody. Cornavirus can be found in most chats in the discord. He is a maverick, a moderator, a member whom everybody knows about and most everybody is glad to see. Furthermore, you can most easily find him... at the top of leaderboards, let's be honest.

He is likely to be found in any of the official channels of the Splinterlands Discord, but most frequently in the general, mavericks-house, tournament-planning and others.

Here's what some of the community has had to say about Cornavirus:

"I would love to see a cornavirus interview, He gives out so many giveaways to everyone it’s crazy, hard to keep up with him and he’s a great player too."

"Does very well in tournaments, and does a lot of giveaways. exactly the type of player every community wants."

"He's cool af."

Favorite cards:

Source: Splinterlands.com

Mighty Dricken: Let's start with the one that has a special meaning to me. This was the first ever sign I've gotten anything good from randomness. It was a mystery potion pull. I've never ever gotten anything good out of it before- had bought a few before and never got any lands even though others were getting scores of it, so I held my Dricken close until I sold my account. Now there is a hole where that card used to be... funny how attached you can get to a card.

Living Lava: Definitely one of my most used cards in any league. Its shield and tankiness is unmatched and it is also really good for a rare.

---

Now onto the interview:

---

Cornavirus, when did you first enter the splinterlands?

Feb 2020. Pretty sure it was in the last week.

Do you remember the DEC price at the time by any chance?

0.00029. That was when I first checked. How I still remember is because I remember buying packs for $2 a buck when I could've gotten them for 58 cents lol

... wow. Was DEC used back then just like now, as the game's trading currency?

Yup.

Let's get right to the big questions. Is it true that you sold you initial account?

Hahaha. All right. So the impetus behind the account selling were the following factors:
I found university way too overwhelming so I needed to cut something. That turned out to be Splinterlands.
I heard CL was coming along so I predicted a price drop. I also felt we were pretty high up already so might as well get off on what I think is the top. Always good to cash out so I can keep my head level with any future investments as I have already made my profit

When was this more or less?

Around 2 or 3 months ago

I've asked Cornavirus if it would be all right to share some of that account's stats and they are as follows:

$120,000 USD in Card Value.
1 Tract.
38 Plots.
300 Common Totems.
120 Rare Totems.
12 Epic Totems.
EXPLORER Title.

How do you feel about Splinterlands these days as compared to before, say, a year ago?

Hmm that is a difficult question. It has improved from half a year ago, and overall since I started. If we don't take into consideration recent server issues.

Do you have any concerns about where Splinterlands is headed now and in the future?

To say I don't have any concern would be lying. I have a faith that the devs will do their best to address issues, but it seems the game has grown way too big and they might not be able to control it.

All of this is about server issues?

So I dislike server issues so much because it has taken a lot of things away from me

Most recently being:

1. Silver leaderboard prize one season.
2. Brawler.
3. Zensports tournament.

All of those had hundreds -if not thousands- of dollars on the line.

How did it take them away from you? Can you explain?

I was doing well until server issues... then everything came crashing down. OK so for silver leaderboard, I was first. It was the last few mins and I wanted to win 1 more match to solidify my win. I submitted a perfect team, but server issues failed me. I fell from first and was overtaken.

That's a 10,000 DEC difference. Yeah, that's upsetting.

For the brawler, I had a hard opponent in the qualifier round. I had just made it past 2-1 and I rented 21,000 DEC per day worth of cards. The devs had to stop it at Round 3, because some people were complaining about server issues. If it had continued, I would have at least gotten 1000 SPS or even more in prize money. Instead, we had to spend another few hours arguing with the devs about what a fair split would be, eventually coming to the decision that around 300-500 (not 100% sure about the number) SPS or so will be split up for everyone who entered, even the ones who went 0-2 and didnt have any server issues.

SPS? That is a significant payout difference. You said there was one issue with Zensports, can you explain that one?

Kira (@kira1995) and I had a match in Round 1 for Silver League tournament, and we all know how hard it is to beat Kira, especially in silver. I managed to beat him though 2-1, but then, a few mins after I beat him, the server went down so we had to reset the whole thing. I had to re-battle Kira and I lost 2-0 and proceeded to lose the losers bracket as well. Then Kira, amazing guy that he is, said that he would actually give me HALF of what he earned from the tourney, if I lost. I thought it was way too generous, especially considering that none of this was his fault at all, but he insisted. He indeed gave me half of his prize after I lost. I will never forget that.

@kira1995

That is brutal Corna.

Yeah which is why I hate server issues so much.

Maybe so but it's pretty awful. I would be extremely upset.

And indeed I was especially considering I spent more than 100,000 DEC on rentals for those days combined. But there is nothing that being pissed can solve and I didn't want to ruin other people's days.

That is a very considerable investment... and so I have to ask about the elephant in the room: HOW are you so generous? You're known for your abundant generosity. Where does it come from and what drives you to be so generous?

Sometimes I ask myself the same question. Part of it has to do with history. When I started playing Splinterlands, I remember clove giving me some starter cards to play with. You know, the Furious Chicken and Goblin Mech mech staples and pretty sure some other stuff as well. When I joined Immortal Gods (clove's guild), Raynie also gave me some stuff. Jacekw also lent me a maxed Ruler of the Seas and clove lent me her maxed alpha Alric Stormbringer as well. Their generosity inspired me to do good for the community once I got my ROI.
So now it is just me paying it back. Also, it puts a smile on my face to see people whom I've give stuff to, to turn around and give more back to the community. Such people like SketchyGamerGuy and Drabs are really amazing.

@clove71 @raynie @jacekw @sketchygamerguy @drabs587 @drabs

I remember very clearly the first week I played this game, you hosted a trivia in the discord chat. For winning one of the questions, you sent me a Mylor Crowling as a prize. I couldn't believe it! I even messaged you if it was a mistake and if you had meant to delegate it instead! ... Wait, does this mean I'll have to send everyone a Mylor to pay it back??

I won’t stop you if you want to

True Story: Cornavirus gifted me this Mylor Crowling on October 16, 2021.

---

To what extent do you keep your crypto life secret?

I suck at keeping secrets.

How about the other way around? How open are you about sharing details of your private life?

I'd like to keep my IRL apart. Just maybe tidbits of info like I'm a uni student, but other than that I'd like to stay hidden.

How did you manage the pressure on the day the discord got hacked? i saw a lot of people accuse the support staff for what happened? I was there and I saw several people accuse both you and the support staff for what happened. Is it demoralizing sometimes when you hear those kind of attitudes?

Ah that fateful day. Tbh I was more shocked than stressed, so that kinda carried me through without completely blowing up on people. And yeah it is really demoralizing. I was just heading to sleep when I encountered that and I then spent a lot of time trying to resolve that issue, but people did not listen and kept blaming people and kept demanding refunds even though apparently only 8 people got scammed. I remember someone saying how only 8 (or was it 6) people got scammed, but 50 people were asking for refunds. That got a laugh out of me because of how accurate it was.

Yeah, I saw the angry mob. Again, the shock is justified, but those kinds of accusations and false claims are not.

Then again, I get those all the time so nothing new. Can't survive as a mod if you cant deal with it right?

What's the most overrated card?

> Flesh Golem in higher leagues!

Are you saying that to meme? I think you misread. I said overrated.

😂Yeah. Lemme just quickly pack up and leave Earth before I suddenly encounter an "accident". As you know, I'm known to be controversial.

OK so Flesh Golem. Ton of heal and HP for decent mana cost. Who wants that!!!!

Alright I'll explain. It is slow and only it has void and heal, which doesnt matter if it gets bursted down in a few attacks. [In higher leagues] 11 health usually means 2 or 3, maybe 4 if you are lucky attacks. Usually doesnt have a chance to heal like it does in lower leagues.

I see!

Yeah, so there is a reason behind it, not just because I'm a madman.

Is there anyone you'd like to take the chance to give a shout-out to?

People who got me started on this game/inspired me to do giveaways: clove71, Raynie
Mentor/People whose skill I want to match: Byzantinist, Jacekw
Apprentices: Apprentice001
People I often chat with: Kira1995, bragurr, Unitqm
Awesome people who are relatively new but have made themselves a big part of the community: SketchyGamerGuy, Drabs587, sperare4511, hyde-20, hanam1 (+ letsjam).

@clove71 @raynie @byzantinist @jacekw @apprentice001 @kira1995 @bragurr @unitqm @sketchygamerguy @drabs587 @sperare4511 @hyde-20 @hanam1

I would throw you in with the last category but that would just self tag yourself wouldnt it?

THROW ME IN!

All right then 😆

@letsjam

Let's check out this battle from a Diamond League official Splinterlands Tournament!

---

Highlight Match: CORNAVIRUS vs. JACEKW

Wow! That is literally the highest level match I've ever watched. I didn't even know all those cards had so many skills. SPECIAL NOTE: Notice that @cornavirus did not use a single Epic or Legendary card in his lineup!

Summary of the match?

In a stroke of genius, I remembered that Jacekw did not do well against stuff like Opportunity and Sneak, so I used that along with some theory I made up and tested it against him and managed to pull off a win (ignore the other 10 times he beat me though.... those are irrelevant).

Now let's shift gears and talk about Guilds for a bit.

Why not! I don't believe that Immortal God's choice to ask Byz to leave was a right decision as I feel like he was really loyal to IG and a valuable asset. As a result of that, I think it might have an effect in its competitive power, but with some right decisions they can continue to be the number 1 guild.

Are you in the first IG?

I used to be before I left the game. Then I joined IG4 for a while. When Byz left I was lonely, cause nobody reminded me to do brawls so I left for Peakmonsters where my friends were. I'm also a Peakmonsters support staff!

@peakmonsters

OK so you're official paid staff at Peakmonsters?

Nope. For mods we are just volunteers. We are paid in ban hammers 😆. That is one of the perks. One of those scammers DM'ing you and then you can just pull out that UNO reverse and ban 'em.

Is there anything you're working on currently that you'd want people to know about?

I guess it would be to advertise my Voucher Pack Pool. So basically it's $3+0.84 vouchers for a pack and you keep most of the benefits of buying it in-game. All additional info can be found in the discord.
So here's the thing: basically if you buy in-game you get the added benefits of airdrops right?

And Doctor Blight.

You get that too as long as you reach the minimum for guaranteed in my pool for future airdrop. For the promo airdrop all the extra non-gold will be raffled off to the members of the pool.

Link to Cornavirus' Pack Pool Discord: Cornavirus Voucher Pool

---

Why don't you stream? (Someone asked me to ask you that!)

1. I'm always tired.
2. Too lazy.
3. I have like the worst case of social anxiety there is it sometimes seems.
4. No time.

Last question: Do you hate @aggroed for selling his SPS?

No. I hate myself for not selling before him 😆

Seriously, somebody told me to ask you that as well.

Yeah, I dont hate him for it. Why would I? It is his money.

Thank you for taking the time Cornavirus and it's always a pleasure talking to you!

Np!

Be sure to also have a look at Cornavirus' blog: https://peakd.com/@cornavirus

---

That's all for today's Splinterview, folks. If you have any questions for Cornavirus, feel free to ask in the comments below and he might just find the time to reply. As for me, if there's someone else you'd like to find out more about, do suggest them in the comments!

Check out Splinterlands: https://splinterlands.com/
Splinterlands Discord: https://discord.gg/nKnYWEaC

Be sure to Follow me as there are more Splinterviews to come! I think you'll find the next one, with @sketchygamerguy , very interesting.