So the Realm Q has come and gone, and for better or worse, I ran my Taheo Gift Rush as posted in my last blogging effort. While I did not fair as well as I had hoped, I did learn a bit, which in itself is a valuable thing.
First, I suppose I should just jump to the results: I placed 13th of 24, running my deck to a 3-3 on the day. It performed well, in general, but my losses did reveal holes that I hadn't thought to look at. One loss was in a mirror match game, but against an opponent who had an even more streamlined, faster rush than I managed. I learned more in that game than I had thought I would, which I plan to use in tweaking my deck. The other two losses were to players who, in spite of me having answers to their biggest threats, simply outplayed me in skill.
My first match of the day was against Seth, who was running Memri, and while I had the answer to his Aegis with my Hur, and even given that I managed to beat him once, I fell to him 1-2. He outplayed me in the last two games, staying a step ahead, or making better trades, and just kept his head about himself much better than I did. There wasn't anything significant in the games we played that would have made me change my deck, and I give props to him for being the more skilled player.
My second loss of the day was to a Blaize Burn+Untargettable deck, and I simply didn't have the answers to Firepower. Even sideboarding Shadala wasn't enough, as she arrived far too late to save me. With him being able to drop 2 firepower into play unchallenged, my 'rush force' was rapidly reduced to ashes and I really couldn't do much. So, my lesson learned is that I need to have something other than sideboarded Shadala as a fallback if I run up against a deck like this, or be able to rush faster.
My third loss of the day was against another Taheo deck, which took advantage of faster rush, or heavier damage, primarily in the form of Kagella Shadowmark, as well as having a small cadre of solid defense to slow my own rush. Lesson learned here is that Kagella is hands down more solid than Debros, especially if played smartly. Not only is the growing attack power a serious threat, especially after playing Force of Nature, but Kagella has a big butt... urm, I mean, sufficient health to ignore the simple 1pt burns that kill Debros. Also, Guardian Steelhorn is amazing at trades early game, and if used wisely, still improve Kagella, doubling their efficiency nicely.
So.. what am I going to change in my deck? At the moment I am still tinkering, but I am looking at removing Debros entirely, even though I did manage to get a turn 7 or 8 Debros, with Into the Fray, in 3 games, which won each game nicely. It is just too much of a glass jaw combo to rely on, especially when I can do more early damage with someone like Kagella, and then push with fewer if needed later to finish off my opponent.
Into the Fray is great.. and I still feel it is under-appreciated for what it can offer. I managed to Fray a Zy'Lah in one game, which turned the game around for me. However, as great as Fray is, it doesn't always move me towards a win condition. And considering that I faced more than a few big butted Bloodsouls and such, often having to use my flip to deal with them, I think I may rotate Wrath back in to replace Fray, giving me a burn of my own capable of dealing with Bloodsoul or Kagella.
Possible considerations:
By the end of the weekend I had traded some blue chaff for a few things I had been looking for, including a pair of Barkskin. And while two isn't quite solid in a deck, I am half way to a playset that could be useful. Against Blaize, Barkskin may have saved my ass.. not from the fire, but allowing me to get my Gifts out, which were denied thanks to Counterspell or Nether Fracture.
I still believe Taheo Gifts will be viable for me, especially since I so enjoy the style of play that it provides, I just need to find the leaner, faster plays to make it not only viable, but hard to stop. And right now it is too easy to stall.
That all said, I just finished an overnighter at work, after working a full shift ahead of it, so I am tired as hell and will continue this review later.
Related to:
World of Warcraft TCG
