Welcome to the first entry of the Throwdown.

The Throwdown is a new article series pitting Internet writers and bloggers of the WoW TCG against each other in three game matches, featuring decks that are rising stars, revisions of Top 8 classics or experimental new designs built around cards that haven't had their chance to make a big splash yet on the scene.

More than just typical game coverage, the Throwdown gives you the turn-by-turn commentary on the match as it happens. The idea is not only to provide exciting reads in the form of a game report but to provide coverage of some of the testing and decision making that goes into deck decision and deck execution while playing, moreso than you usually get in a typical 'deck design' summary. Nobody plays a perfect game or builds a perfect deck, and in the Throwdown you'll see the good, the bad and the ugly of what the TCG can be. But you just might also catch a glimpse of the next big thing to hit the tournament scene, get inspired to build or try out a build of your own, or witness some gauntlet testing that you might not have had a chance to try out yourself.

Introducing the Throwdown:

Madjinn's Decklist

Crusader Michael Goodchilde

Allies
3 Bizzazz
3 Weeble
3 Steelsmith Joseph Carroll
2 Moira Darkheart

Abilities
4 Seal of Betrayal
3 Seal of Redemption
2 Consecration
3 Hammer of Justice

4 Avenging Wrath

Weapons
3 Mass of McGowan
3 Obsidian Edged Blade
2 Demonslayer
1 Felsteel Reaper

Armor
2 Gauntlets of Vindication
1 Doomplate Chestguard
1 Girdle of the Endless Pit
2 Fanblade Pauldrons
2 Herod's Shoulder
1 Doomplate Warhelm
1 Doomplate Legguards
2 Vambraces of the Sadist

Quests
3 A Final Blow
2 Corki's Ransom
3 Sunken Treasure
4 Totem of Coo

Sideboard
3 Sacred Purification
2 Ishanah, High Priestess of the Aldor
3 Niyore of the Watch
2 Chipper Ironbane

This deck was made around the new Traitor card Seal of Betrayal. The card offers the paladin a new mechanic and neat ally-stealing power that I couldn't help but build a deck around. This incarnation of a Seal of Betrayal deck looks to hold off early damage in the first few turns of the game with armor, then drop Seal of Betrayal turn 4 or 5 and turn board position and tempo back into my favor with a few swings of the big weapons like Obsidian Edged Blade and Demonslayer.

Vindictus' Decklist

Halavar

Allies
4 Apprentice Merry
4 Jeleane Nightbreeze
4 Jubilee Arcsparc

Abilities
4 Rend
4 Mortal Strike
4 Heroic Strike
4 Puncture
3 Bloodrage
3 Slam

Equipment
4 Perdition's Blade
4 Obsitian Edged Blade

3 Gauntlets of Vindication
2 Eskhandar's Collar

Quests
4 One Draenei's Junk
4 Corki's Ransom
4 A Warm Welcome
1 Sunken Treasure

Sideboard
1 Bloodrage
3 Berserker Rage
2 Hellreaver
4 Withering Shout

Vin's Comments:
This decklist was taken from DMF Orlando's top decks, only modified with the A Warm Welcome quest from SotB. I thought this would be a good decklist for the first Throwdown, as it has relevance to today's metagame.

Vindictus wins the dice roll

Madjinn's Notes:
“On the draw, game one, against Halvaar. Knowing the speed and potential explosiveness of that deck losing the dice roll already puts me at a disadvantage. I wouldn’t mind some armor in my opening hand and a Mass to start smashing allies as soon as possible. If I can get a Seal of Betrayal up in time, I can turn the tide of Untargetable allies back his way... though I have to hold off the damage long enough to get there. This deck is no where near the speed of a rush archetype like Halvaar, so the test is if I can hold out long enough to drop my big cards and try to take the game home. Let’s see what the top of the deck brings…”

“Not too impressed with my opening hand. Best plan I have with this is playing the Girdle on turn two to use A Final Blow to speed up my draw, but then my curve won’t start again until turn four. I have ten weapons in the deck, but only one quest to draw before I’m top decking… it’s a mulligan.”

“The second hand’s a little better. I’ve got a Moira for a little equipment hate, a turn one and turn two armor drop and a weapon. I’m questless, of course, but I’m stuck with what I’ve got after the first mulligan, and I could’ve always done worse.”

Vindictus' Notes:
"I'm not sure what to expect from Madjinn's deck, but I anticipate the speed of Halavar to be tough to handle. I'll be keeping an eye out for Blessing of Freedom, but other than that, there's not much I am worried about."

"An interesting starting hand. No weapon, but three Rends will help put the pressure on early. I'll keep."

Vindictus, turn 1: "I play Junk, and play my first Rend."

Madjnn, turn 1: “I draw a Seal of Betrayal and face down the second copy of Seal of Redemption into the resource row. Doomplate Chestguard’s the obvious first turn play, so I plunk it down and prepare to prevent the Rend damage that's coming my way...”

Vin, turn 2: "He uses his armor to block Rend damage. I draw an Apprentice Merry, play a second Junk, play another Rend and play the Apprentice Merry."

Mad, turn 2: “I look to my top deck and draw myself a quest in the form of Totem of Coo. That goes right down into the resource row and I exhaust two to play the Fanblade Pauldrons. I won’t be able to prevent damage from all sources but Fanblade will stop Merry and only one Rend tick should be getting through. I start flexing my wrist to prepare for all the armor tapping I’ll be doing as I pass the turn over to Vin."

Vin, turn 3: "I draw a Bloodrage, then play A Warm Welcome and a third Rend. I attack with Merry. He uses Fanblade to prevent the damage. I'm thinking I'm in a good spot now, hoping to pull Gauntlets of Vinidcation or a weapon by completing Junk at the end of his turn."

Mad, turn 3: “Good lord, three Rends?! The last thing I want to see hit his side of the table now is a Gauntlets of Vindication. I top deck a Bizzazz and now I’ve got the choice of the Bizz, the Mass of McGowan or a Seal of Redemption to play on turn three. I don’t like Bizz just trading lopsidedly with Apprentice Merry, so I’ll put the Mass down now, then slam into his Merry and drop the Bizz on turn four. Seal of Betrayal’s not fitting into my three turn game plan right now, so it hits the resource row face down, I play the Mass and pass the turn back over to Vin."

Vin, turn 4: "EOT Junk reveals Perdition's Blade, A Warm Welcome, and an Obsidian Edged Blade. I take the P-Blade, as it's the only valid choice. I draw for my turn, pulling a Jubilee Arcspark (and wishing she'd have shown up one card sooner, so I could have pulled an extra card from Junk). I send Merry in, then play P-Blade and attack with it. His armor is slowing me down a little, but I haven't seen many threats and the tempo is in my favor."

Mad, turn 4: “I top deck a Herod’s Shoulder. I’ll keep that around my hand in case he goes after my weapon with some hate. Now I don’t know what to row. Bizz hits the table and nets me a Steelsmith Joseph Carroll. I exhaust one and swing into Merry with the Mass of McGowan, exhausting the Chestguard to prevent one of the damage coming my way. Unfortunately, that's all my armor. I pass the turn and reach for those damage counters three ticks of Rend damage start coming my way…"

Vin, turn 5: "My 3 Rend's all hit, dealing 3 damage. I draw another rend, and play it as a 4th resource. I attack with my P-Blade for 2, giving me the 5 damage I need to complete A Warm Welcome, and adding an Obsidian Edged Blade and a Jeleane Nightbreeze to my hand. I drop Jeleane into play and pass the turn."

Mad, turn 5: “I top deck an Avenging Wrath. It's a good card, but a bit dead without a bigger weapon, so I row it to play the Steelsmith and Seal of Redemption. Bizzazz trades with Jeleane Nightbreeze and I swing into Halvaar with the Mass of McGowan for two to put the Bizz right back into my hand.

When I played Steelsmith, Vindictus commented that I must be running the Bracers of the Green Fortress as well, which I’m not. Without the protection of Wreck or Gear Upgrade, I’m a little equipment hate-shy and worried about getting my resource row destroyed by Bringer of Death. Maybe if I ran a cheap bracer replacement like Black Felsteel Bracers I’d consider it, because it’d pump my Steelsmith up something ridiculous and help me fight back against the increasing frequency of DoTs. Anyway, that’s something to think about afterwards. The turn gets passed back over to Vin.”

Vin, turn 6: "I draw Esknahdar's Collar after inflicting some damage with Rend. I'm in a good board position now, and the draw power from Bloodrage seems like the best choice, as the card advantage it provides is very tough to compete against. I'm not expecting him to do any explosive assaults yet. Maybe when he hits 8 resources, I'll have to watch out for the Felsteel Reaper. I play Bloodrage, drawing Corki's and a Junk. I attack with the P-Blade."

Mad, turn 6: “I draw a Demonslayer. Well, now I don’t need to hang on to Herod’s Shoulder anymore so that hits the resource row. Those Rends have got me on a clock but with some Redemption shenanigans with Moira and Bizzazz I might just be able to pull something off. I exhaust four resources and Moira Darkheart hits the table. I promptly pay one and destroy her to send Perdition’s Blade to the graveyard, then slam into Halvaar for two, recur Moira and Steelsmith Joesph Carroll pounces in for another four points of damage. Rend damage is going to put me at 11 health next turn, but my board position’s decent and I’ve got a Moira in hand. Still, it is Halvaar… so we’ll have to see what happens."

Vin, turn 7: "I draw Slam and Gaunlets of Vindication. I play Corki's, flip Halavar to play the Obsidian Edged Blade, and attack for 4. Beginning the first of several misplays throughout the event, I then play Gauntlets of Vindication. I really should have played that before my attack. I'm thinking that, with a Mortal Strike / Slam in hand, 3 Rends and GoV inplay, and only needing to push 7 damage through that I'll be in good shape. I'm expecting him to destroy my weapon, and hoping I draw into another one."

Mad, turn 7: “Totem of Coo comes off the top deck and plops down into the resource row. Those Gauntlets of Vindication make my ‘prospects’ suddenly look pretty grim. With only one Moira, I’ve got to choose between the Obsidian Edged Blade and the Gauntlets and I can’t attack freely this turn either, because I need to be able to exhaust my hero to use Fanblade Pauldrons for armor. Being unable to keep up with Halvaar in the damage race, it looks like I’ve gotten myself backed into a corner. I’m looking at five damage from the sword or six from the Gauntlets… but with my health so low if the sword stays out I won’t be able to enter combat with Halvaar directly anyway and he’s got no equipment recovery out on the table yet, so I Moira the sword and glumly pass the turn over to Vin."

Vin, turn 8: "He has to use his armor to reduce the Rend damage from 6 to 3. I'm hoping for a weapon. With Bloodrage down I draw 2, getting another Gauntlets of Vindication and a Sunken Treasure. That's enought to seal the deal. I recur the Obsidian Edged Blade for 3, play 4 to play it, and I've got 1 left to strike for fatal damage."

Madjinn: “The recursion hijinks with Moira was a nice trick, but the Rends and Halvaar’s wild, swinging two-handers had me at pretty much a locked-down board position. If I had Moira’d the Gauntlets that last turn instead of the OEB, I could’ve blocked the four damage coming my way with the Fanblade Pauldrons if he had attacked me. However, he could have just waited for me to come to him so I couldn’t exhaust to use the Pauldrons with the Rends ticking away every turn and the result would’ve been the exact same in near as many turns anyway.

The damage from the Halvaar deck is fast and whatever stall that I had planned bringing about through armor doesn’t do the trick and I can’t swing or bring a Seal online until turn four or five and that’s my biggest problem. If I could change my deck around mid-match I’ve already got a pile of changes in mind to speed this thing up, but as it stands with the deck I’m running, my strategy for the next game is going to be doing my best to stall the inevitable damage coming my way turns one, two and three and get a big weapon online mid-game to recur my ally pool and swing in for big damage with a well-timed Avenging Wrath…”

Vin's thoughts: "I'm still not sure what to expect from his deck, as I didn't see any finishers come down. I'm still anticipating the usual Felsteel Reaper. Since he's running a Traitor, I'd expected Seal of Betrayal, but he played a Seal of Redemption in this match, so I'm not sure if he's running two Seals or not."

Madjinn's Notes:
“Ok, so my sideboard is weird. While my deck is mostly theory-crafted, my sideboard may have been a little late night whiskey-crafted *clears throat* but who’s to say really… Looking at what I’ve got though, I’m bringing in some Sacred Purifications to turn those Rends into card draw and a pair of my other experimental, anti-DoT tech Niyore of the Watch.”

“My opening hand has the turn 1 and turn 2 armors that I need to bring his opening damage to a halt and a Hammer of Justice to lock him down when he brings out a weapon. Then there’s Bizzazz, Weeble, a quest and a weapon card. This hand’s not ideal, but it’s got a lot of what I’m looking for this time around. Keep.”

Vindictus' Notes:
"I choose not to sideboard. I didn't see much need for Withering Shouts, or Berserker Rages."

"A great opening hand. I keep and get ready to play"

Mad, turn 1: “My one game on the play, so let’s see if I can make it good. At 0-1, I’m the one with the burden of victory and knowing what Halvaar can do I’m not feeling too confident. Totem of Coo goes down on the table and the Doomplate Chestguard follows close behind. I pass the turn.”

Vin, turn 1: "I draw a Puncture, play A Warm Welcome and an Apprentice Merry."

Mad, turn 2: “Seal of Redemption comes off the top deck into my hand: things might be starting to look up. I’m faced with a tough face-down choice, though. I’ve got two turn 2 plays and I don’t really want to row anything else in my hand so I can keep curving out, so one of the two-drops is getting played as a resource. Do I play the Pauldrons, which I know become a blank armor once I get a weapon online and start attacking, or do I row the Pauldrons and hold onto the Hammer of Justice, predicting that he’ll be playing a weapon in the next few turns and I can lock his hero down for two turns once he tries to swing in? I place the Fanblade Pauldrons face-down in the resource row and get that ominous ‘I just may have misplayed’ feeling in my stomach as I pass the turn over to Vin.”

Vin, turn 2: "I draw Eskhandar's Collar, and place it face down in the resource row. I send Merry in, he blocks with armor, and I play a second Merry before passing the turn."

Mad, turn 3: “I draw a Demonslayer, but I’ve already got the Obsidian Edged Blade in my hand and I’d like to get a weapon online sooner than later, so the Demonslayer gets faced-down. I’m losing board position here fast. That choice to face-down the Fanblade Pauldrons is haunting me, so I play a Bizzazz to try and regain some board position, which nets me another Weeble into my hand. He’s probably not going to play a weapon next turn anyway, right?”

Vin, turn 3: "I draw another P-Blade, and put it into play face down. I attack with both Merrys, then play my P-Blade and strike. Thinks are going well so far. I'm expecting a Mass of McGowan or a Seal of Betrayal soon."

Mad, turn 4: “Sigh. What am I doing? Victory is feeling like sand between my fingers. Well, I draw another Bizz and put it face-down in the resource row. My side of the table is embarrassing looking after a first-hand keep, but I know I’ve got the Hammer of Justice waiting for him next turn. The Bizz trades with a Merry and the turn goes back over to Vin.”

Vin, turn 4: "I draw another Jeleane. Keeping the ally-based beats going, I play two Jeleanes after turning Merry sideways to attack.. I used Puncture as a resource this turn. At the end of my turn, a Hammer of Justice strikes Halavar. "

Mad, turn 5: “The HoJ put an Avenging Wrath into my hand (not what I need) and Totem of Coo came off the top of the deck at the start of my turn and goes right down into the resource row. With five resources in play, I bring out the Obsidian Edged Blade and swing it into Jeleane Starbreeze to send her packing away. I have a feeling this game is going to be ending soon…”

Vin, turn 5: "I draw a Heroic Strike. I attack with both Merry ane Jelene, putting him at 15 damage. Then I pull my second misplay of the match, and play Heroic Strike. I get ready to attack with Halavar, but realize he's still exhausted from the Hammer of Justice. At this point, I'm embarassed. I'm certainly not a world class champion, but I am a good player. Just not today, it seems. I mutter to Madjinn about how I'm getting sidetracked by taking notes while playing. To make some use of the Heroic Strike, I go ahead and Mortal Strike him for 5, then pass the turn. I'm obviously on tilt at this point. I pass the turn."

Mad, turn 6: “Have you ever played any of the Ace Attorney games? You know that ‘ding’ sound the game makes when Phoenix realizes something important during a trial? That’s the sound Niyore of the Watch made when he came off the top of my deck into my hand. Barring any direct ally hate – which I haven’t yet seen – I’ve suddenly got a great way to hold back his attacks and regain some board advantage in the process. With two more Weebles in my hand, I’ve sitting on both protection and card draw for my next two turns, and he’ll need to trade both of his allies and take five damage on his hero to put Niyore away.”

Vin, turn 6: "I draw another OEB. I attack Niyore with Jeleane, then flip Halavar to play the OEB and I attack his hero, sending 4 dmg to Niyore and taking 2 back. I pass the turn quickly, still brooding over my earlier misplay. As he draws I stare at my ready Apprentice Merry and wonder why that little !@#! didn't attack this turn."

Mad, turn 7: “The Obsidian Edged Blade coming down was unfortunate, but I still have a few more tricks waiting. After drawing a Seal of Redemption, I put down a Weeble and draw Avenging Wrath and Mass of McGowan. I face down the double of Seal of Redemption and swing into Halvaar for four with the Edged Blade, trying to even out these damage totals.”

Vin, turn 7: "I draw a Junk and play it. I use an OEB in hand to boost the one I have in play, then attack weebble for 5, I take 4. I complete A Warm Welcome and draw Gauntlets of the Vindicator and another Warm Welcome."

Mad, turn 8: “I draw Corki’s and play it in the resource row. I need to play that other Weeble now or I’m hosed. I’d like to be able to play the Seal of Redemption, swing to recur Niyore and replay him, but I definitely don’t have the resource count for that yet. Vindictus missed a resource drop a while back so I’m two ahead of him in the resource curve and well ahead in the card draw game.

Weeble goes down and I draw a Hammer of Justice and the Gauntlets of Vindication off of it. He’ll probably see this coming a mile away, but I’ll hold off on the attack to leave two resources open for the HoJ when he comes in attacking next turn.”

Vin, turn 8: "I draw another OEB and hold onto it. I play a Warm Welcome and Gauntlets of Vindication. I declare an attack and another Hammer shuts me down. I end my turn at that point."

Mad, turn 9: “Mass of McGowan gets faced-down and I draw a Sacred Purification off the top deck. How I am still staying alive in this? It’s got to be the protectors and the insane gnome card draw that’s allowing me to compete with Halvaar and even the damage totals on both the heroes. The game’s still close and, as always with Halvaar, I’m just a top-decked Mortal Strike away from losing anyway.

So what do I do now? If I attack him, he’ll swing back at me for six (of which I can block one) which will put me at 26 damage and only two health remaining. It places him, however, after my two Avenging Wraths at only five points away from death. I could try to attack with Weeble first to see if he’d take the bait and use up the swing on her, but then I’m open to attacks on his turn anyway and the Apprentice Merry he still has down on his side. No thanks.

So I do it. I attack swing and after the attack is on my hero play two Avenging Wraths one right after the other for a total of 16 damage on his hero that round of combat. It’s no Mortal Strike, but it’s still nice to know my deck can also go boom.”

Vin, turn 9: "I'm 4 damage from dead, and I draw a Bloodrage. With no other options, knowing that fatal damage is incoming next turn, I play the Bloodrage and cross my fingers, hoping for a Mortal Strike. I draw another Bloodrage and a Heroic Strike. I can't get past his protector without dying, and he's coming at me full force next turn. Still beating myself up over my earlier misplay, I scoop and give Madjinn props for the interesting and unexpected Avenging Wrath action."

“I pulled victory in that game out of nowhere. The card draw that the gnome allies brought me and the protection that Niyore and Weeble offered kept me alive long enough to pull out the tricks that I needed to win. Niyore really was the MVP. He shone in this match-up and I think he’s going to be replacing Consecration in the main deck. In most situations in the current meta, he’s going to be packing more damage potential than Consecration will, and he stays on the board to keep fighting. This match 2 win also gives me a chance to fix my whacky side boarding last game of my whacky side board."

Madjinn:
“For sideboarding, one Fanblade Pauldron, two Consecrations, a Seal of Betrayal and both Vambraces of the Sadist are out. Three Niyore of the Watch (Consecration 2.0), two “Chipper” Ironbanes and one Ishanah, High Priestess of the Aldor are going in.”

“As I staring at this hand, I realize I don’t know my deck well enough yet to be able to read and judge an opening hand, which is a serious handicap and a skill that is often overlooked. I do, however, feel like I’ve got a decent grip on Halvaar. I want to be able to keep playing cards to match his curve the first few turns of the game so I can get my protectors and mid-game card draw on the board to rocket me towards a possible repeat of the double Avenging Wrath win.”

Vindictus' Notes:
"Well, I lost game 2, but I'm pretty determined not to let that happen game three. Not only do I feel like I need to make up for my dumb mistake in game 2, I also know a lot more about his overall gameplan now. The Avenging Wrath's are interesting, but at the high cost of 4 each, I don't think they worry me too much. I know what to watch for. I'm also going to focus less on taking notes and more on playing."

"I keep. This is a solid hand with two weapons, a first turn rend, and a bloodrage to fuel me to an explosive end game. With a MS in hand already, I feel confident that this will play out better than game 2."

Vin, turn 1: "Drop a Junk, slide it sideways and toss a Rend onto the board."

Mad, turn 1: “On the draw again and he starts with a Rend... I top deck a Corki’s, play Sunken Treasure and the Steelsmith and pass the turn.”

Vin, turn 2: "Draw Jeleane. I play Corki's, the drop Perdition's Blade into play to kill his Steelsmith while he's still a little guy."

Mad, turn 2: “Herod’s Shoulder comes up off the top deck. Corki’s Ransom goes down in the resource row and a stop a second to think. I won’t be able to Chipper his weapon until turn four and by then I’ll be facing two more turns of dagger damage and there’s a very good chance he’ll just have an Obsidian Edged Blade to play right afterwards anyway. On the other hand, if I put Chipper down he’ll probably kill it but it’ll put three damage on his hero and keep the pressure off me. There’s always the chance I’ll draw that Seal of Redemption too. I think I’ll try and stay aggressive.”

Vin, turn 3: "I draw another Junk and put it into play. I don't like having Chipper just sitting around, so I stab him with my dagger. Before passing the turn, I drop Jeleane into play."

Mad, turn 3: “A second Avenging Wrath comes off the top deck. It’s definitely worth keeping those around. Herod’s Shoulder hits the table face down as a resource – I haven’t seen any equipment hate yet, so it seems safe to assume he’s not packing any. I throw down a Bizzazz, draw myself the Steelsmith and pass the turn over to Vin.”

Vin, turn 4: "I draw Rend, and use it as a facedown resource. I've already got one ticking on him, and I feel like I need to be more aggressive to keep control of the game. I flip Halavar, and play an Obsidian Edged Blade. I attack with the blade and with Jeleane, putting him at 10 damage. I'm planning to drop Bloodrage next turn to refuel. If I can keep that in play, I'll expect to win."

Mad, turn 4: “The damage per turn that I’m taking from him just got a spike with that OEB. I draw and play the Totem of Coo, exhaust three for the Gauntlets of Vindication, one more for the Steelsmith Joseph Carroll and run Bizzazz into Jeleane. My alternative is playing the Obsidian Edged Blade this turn and dropping the Gauntlets or an Avenging Wrath with a swing in the next, but I’m just trying to keep up board position with this guy, so Gauntlets and Steelsmith it’ll be.”

Vin, turn 5: "I draw Slam, and put it into the row face down. Then I play Bloodrage, and draw Eskhandar's collar and Heroic Strike. With OEB and Heroic Strike, I'll be able to do 7 + 8 damage next turn. If I draw another Heroic Strike and he doesn't have a Hammer of Justice or a Blessing of Freedom, that'll be it."

Mad, turn 5: “I top deck a Corki’s and plop it down in the resource row, glad I don’t have to suffer through deciding on another card to have to face down. He played Bloodrage last turn so I know he’s digging for those Heroic and Mortal Strikes, but I’m two turns away from winning myself with a pair of consecutive turns of Avenging Wraths swinging for 10 and an increasingly buff Carroll to back me up.

I exhaust four for the OEB and one more to swing into Vin’s hero for five damage. Joseph Carroll follows in behind me for three more. Can I last two more turns? Here’s hoping I top deck a protector or a Hammer of Justice next time around…”

Vin, turn 6: "I draw a Slam and an Obsidian Edged Blade and follow through with my earlier plan. Heroic Strike, swing for 7, Mortal Strike for 8. He's sitting at 25 damage, I'm at 13. He doesn't have enough resources to drop two Avenging Wrath's next turn, so I think I'm in the clear."

Mad, turn 6: “It’s like watching someone step on my sand castle (it may be a lopsided sand castle but it's still mine, dammit). Halvaar brought the damage last turn in what was effectively an all but exact play-out of my worst fears. Now I’m against the ropes. I’ve got a chance if he doesn’t draw another Slam or Mortal Strike, but only if I can get a protector or an HoJ.

My draw for that turn is Bizzazz. My heart sinks. This isn’t the first time this match-up that I’ve wished that card were a Parvink. The Bizz does draw me a card, though, when he enters play. Maybe the next one down is an HoJ? I exhaust three and play the Bizz. The Felsteel Reaper appears off of the top of my deck.

That’s game. With no way to stop his attack next turn I concede. Sigh… Halvaar and his Crazy Exploding Deck, ladies and gentlemen.”

Winner: Vindictus

End of Match Wrap-Up

Vindictus:
"Having limited playtime with Halvar prior to this Throwdown, I'd have to say that the results speak for themselves. The deck is pretty straightforward, and can dish out some heavy damage very quickly. The game loss certainly wasn't the deck's fault, as it could have been a completely different game if i'd been more focused on the match."

Madjinn:
“Kind of a rough first match for a new deck, but Halvaar is going to be in any testing gauntlet when you’re taking a new build for a spin just to see if you can match yourself up against the speed and explosiveness that Hal brings. I think the match-up in general is a little tough on my Traitor Paladin side, because it seemed to take me until turns four or five to stabilize and by that time I was well within Mortal Striking range, which was an obviously dangerous place to be in.

With changes to the deck, I’d start by switching out Bizzazz for Parvink. There were countless times in this match were I found myself wishing for a protector when my Bizzazz’s would hit the field. Bizz was there for the three attack and aggression, but Parvink could’ve saved me damage and misery where Bizz had to hang around a turn to trade with an opposing ally drop, at a resource (if not card) disadvantage. I want to keep in the draw one when they enter play camp because of Seal of Redemption, so for the time being I’ll stick with the Parv over a more efficient protector like Xanata. Which leads me into my next alteration…

I’d switch the Redemption and Betrayal numbers around. At least. Seal of Betrayal, rather than being a staple, looks like it’s better in smaller numbers or even in the sideboard depending on the meta, because you’re relying on your opponent’s deck bringing allies to the table, rather than only supporting your own.

Consecrations are out. Yes, the two damage AoE is nice (three if I have the Gauntlets of Vindication) but it’s a one time use card that this deck has no way of recurring. Niyore, who I for some reason in my deranged side deck building I put into the SB, is the new Consecration. True, the damage is not unpreventable and is not a true AoE, but Niyore is a solid body for the 6 drop and does not lose his effecacy when you’re leading either. He’s great against one tick DoTs like Rend, Moonfire and Fel Fire, paying the opponent back 2 for one for trying to DoT you up.

Hammer of Justice… I think maybe Xanata would be a better fit for that slot. She works with Seal of Redemption, and when you judge the two cards in terms of trying to delay the game, of trying to protect the board while the deck builds towards its win condition, Xanata outperforms HoJ, particulary in the early part of the game. She won’t even fall to a single blow of Obsidian Edged Blade, unless it’s backed up by the damage boosting Gauntlets of Vindication, and she eats low cost allies like candy. The Hammer might make a better sideboard card, because it's still does an incredible job of bringing control to a halt.

This deck can also go Horde. The question, I think, revolves around the question of Rak Skyfury. Basically, the ability to swing with an Avenging Wrath pumped sword twice in the same turn is beyond tempting. I lose out on the card draw that gnome allies bring me, but Rak Skyfury and other enters play Horde allies provide more aggressive possibilities for Seal of Redemption recursion. I also need to look at being better against the rush. Seal of Betrayal doesn't help me until turn 4 or 5, so in its current form it'll be more useful against a mid-range or control meta than it is a good choice in a rush heavy environment.

(Note: It has actually been ruled over on the UDE forum that Avenging Wrath and Rak do not actually work together in this fashion. A second attack from Rak would not in fact deal that double damage that the first one would. This has to do with Avenging Wrath only affecting attack values that existed before Avenging Wrath was played. Click here for the full text of the ruling.)

Finally, while the Seal of Betrayal build needs a little more work, I think there's another build there with Avenging Wrath, big two-handers and some early game control. Not necessarily stuck to Traitor, this could be a Protection deck for Holy Shield..."

Tags: Warcraft Throwdown

Related to: World of Warcraft TCG

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