So this is my first blog here, and I am writing mainly because I am finding myself wanting to discuss WoW TCG a little more than the prominent players are posting here.
A little about me:
I'm a lead game designer at Sierra Online and I've been designing video games for over 10 years. Mostly PC games (I most recently designed Dungeon Siege II), with a few console games thrown in for good measure. I used to play MTG a lot at the tournament level (Type 1) back until around Ice Age, then I quit. I play WoW online (although not much lately), I have friends at Blizzard who work on the game, and I think the TCG is very well designed both in its own mechanics and in the way that it brings the online game's play to paper form.
As far as my WoW TCG merits, I've top-8'ed in almost every regional I've played and I took somewhere around 100th place at US Nationals with a Shaman Aggro Control deck with some interesting metagame choices (maindeck purge, heroic presence, and vanquish ftw).
Okay, sorry for all that obligatory business, but I feel it's important to have some sort of context for what you're reading so you know if it's just some random player's opinion that Boris Brightbeard will take worlds, or if there could actually be some substance to it. :)
With that out of the way, let's talk WoW TCG!
So my last two regional top-8's were with Omedus (Foulfang/Debros as opposed to Morlug/Faesha), and Ozzati (because it was great against Omedus).
P.S. The term "squishy" is from the World of Warcraft online game where caster classes can't wear heavy armor and are therefore considered more fragile (or squishy) than the classes who can get a higher armor or defense rating.
Squishy #1: Omedus
I have played and playtested a LOT of Omedus. I actually prefer Morlug/Faesha to Foulfang/Debros because there are too many things that make me want to keep allies in the graveyard such as Finkle and Dramla Lifebender for when the game starts getting away from you.
I've actually seen builds that run both Morlug/Faesha AND Foulfang/Debros, but IMO that's a purely self-centered deck with too many questions and not enough answers to what your opponent might be doing. It also pretty much reduces the mirror match to a coin flip.
I also really like Kiani De'nara in this build because he makes the Morlug combo un-interruptable. (Once Morlug is on the table and it's your turn, they can respond to Kiani coming into play, but at that point, Morlug's 4 packets are already on the chain). So it's a guaranteed 4 damage as opposed to an interruptable 6 or 7 in the best case? AND you get a beefy beater out of it. I like it. The major downside is that the packets of damage all go onto the chain at once and you can't respond to Lay on Hands the way you could with Faesha as the catalyst.
Okay, enough about Omedus. Let's talk Ozzati.
Squishy #2: Ozzati
I brought Ozzati aggro/control becauase I expected a ton of Omedus. I like Ozzati against targetable rush because of his built in flip, dragon's breath, and main deck fizzles (x4) ftw! Fizzle is a card that is grossly overlooked in the current metagame. Just think about how many spells cost 3 or less. Soul Rend, Shadow Word: Death, Steal Essence, Shadowbolt, Lay on Hands, Blessing of Freedom, Hammer of Justice, Searing Totem, and the list goes on!
In the Omedus matchup, it's mainly there to prevent PW:Shield and SW:Death. Omedus players love to bring out their shadowfiend on turn 3 with 1 resource availble just in case something goes wrong. Sorry, I'll be fireblasting AND fizzling that shield. 2-for-2 with 2 resources spent on my side and 3 on theirs. Not bad at all.
Against slower decks, you play the aggressor. And when they try to take out your little guys with spells? You fizzle em for 1. Worried about big abilities like Chain Lightning, Consecration, Blessing of Wisdom, or Spirit Healer? That's why Counterspell goes in the sideboard.
I tried to tune the sideboard specifically to beat Nathadan knowing for sure I would face one in the top-8 if not before, but after playing Nathadan in the last regionals (french nationals.dec) pioleted by a very skilled player, the matchup is just too tough. You only have so many ways to stick it to Natahadan (Counterspell + Fizzle), and with Solanian's belongings in the mid game and Lor'themar in the elder game (not to mention Vorden + Redemption), you're pretty much toast. It wasn't long before magni was Vorden'd (twice) and then Ophelia'd out of the game. I felt like all my teeth had been pulled out of my mouth and the resulting infection slowly consumed me. Nathadan control is a brutal brutal deck.
Okay, this has dragged on long enough. My next post (soon) will talk about thoughts on taking down Nathadan as well as discussing the "infinite combo" that has recently surfaced with the new Winter Veil cards. Yes, I've done playtesting with it.
Thanks for reading,
Kevin.
