Sometimes something simple can make a world of difference, and in WoW TCG, that is no exception as some of the more basic cards which are often overlooked can change the feel and flow of a deck. Or even adding a non-conventional card can cause the opponent to have a 'Wtf?' moment that buys you a turn or two extra.
These two lessons were planted into my head many long years ago by my father, a former Marine, who believed in using any tool necessary to get the job done. I recall back in 1978, when I was a mere lad of 10yrs of age, when my dad had to have me help me remove 3 stripped bolts and lug nuts from the front wheel of our ugly as hell station wagon. We had, earlier that day, taken the car in to have new breaks and tires put on it, and through some oversite or just blatant stupidity on someones part, the nuts on the right side of the car had been incorrectly re-attached. The net result was a rear passenger side wheel coming off while we were driving, and front passenger bolts becoming bent. So bent in fact that we couldn't drive the car well enough to return it to the tire store even after finding our missing tire and remounting it, having found its missing nuts on the side of the road some quarter mile back from where it came off. So.. we used a bizarre assortment of tools in the garage to force the wheel off, replaced the bolts and eventually headed back to the tire store to complain. Sadly the manager was less than caring, and on learning that we had a complaint, basically told my dad 'Crap happens.. learn to deal with it'. My dad asked the guy if he lived around there.. and he did. My dad then asked the guy if he had fire insurance... The manager asked 'why?' and my dad simply said 'See you tonight...' then turned to leave the store. We didnt' make it to the door before the manager realized what my dad wasn't saying, and offered to fix everything to my fathers satisfaction. Again, using unexpected tools worked to my fathers advantage. Nevermind the fact that technically my dad was illegally threatening another guy.. it got the job done. So.. how do you find a common tool to use to your advantage?
Two weeks ago I attended a Realms Qualifier in Seattle, placing 19th out of 34 participants, after taking a loss for the first round due to arriving late, and going 3-2 for the rounds I did play, running a Tahoe Gifts Rush deck. While the deck performed well enough, and generally avoided the troublesome decks I had worried about (Paladin and Mage) it stumbled against a Warlock deck, and went to the wire against a Shammy deck that managed to get the Morlug/Wrath/Faesha combo to drop in a single turn.
Reviewing my deck, I started looking for minor changes that would improve it a bit, speed it up if possible, and drop non-useful chaff. Being the sharing kind of guy, I decided I would walk through the process here in the blog, and open my analysis to review of others.
Original Deck:
Hero: Tahoe
Allies:
3x Doshura Risestrider
3x Magister Ashi
4x Bloodsoul
2x Voss Treebender
2x Waz'luk
3x Debros Cousin-to-the-Moon
2x Acid Hands McGillicutty
2x Confessor Mildred
1x Shawn of the Dead
4x Broan Charges the Fight
1x Varimathras
2x Zy'lah Manslayer
Abilities:
4x Force of Nature
4x Gift of the Wild
2x Innervate
1x Ultimate Triumph
3x Cyclone
3x Wrath
Quests:
3x Torek's Assault
3x Poison Water
3x Finkle Einhorn at your service
3x Hellfire Fortifications
2x Chasing A-ME-01
When looking to change the deck up a bit, I looked at what had caused me the most trouble, and aside from a well built Warlock deck with exceptional removal, I didn't find anything that stood out short of armor, which I couldn't really touch. The damned Aegis which I kept seeing in Pally decks forced me to stall and stumble, although I generally could Gift my way past it.
My revised deck ended up as:
Hero: Tahoe
Allies:
3x Doshura Risestrider
3x Magister Ashi
3x Bloodsoul
3x Waz'luk
3x Debros Cousin-to-the-Moon
2x Acid Hands McGuillicutty
1x Shawn of the Dead
4x Broan Charges the Fight
2x Zy'lah Manslayer
3x Hur Shieldsmasher
1x Varimathras
bilities:
4x Force of Nature
4x Gift of the Wild
2x Innervate
2x Zephyr
3x Cyclone
3x Into the Fray
Quests:
3x Torek's Assault
3x Poison Water
3x Finkle Einhorn at your service
3x Hellfire Fortifications
2x Chasing A-ME-01
My changes explained:
One of the first cards to be cut and replaced was Voss Treebender, who has a great ability, but lacked the chance to stay in play long enough to use it. At best he was a target for a burn spell, which can be useful, but not nearly as useful as I needed him to be. In 5 matches played, I think I was able to successfully use him maybe 3 times.
Another 'coaster card' for the deck was the single Ultimate Triumph I kept maindeck, as the reality hit me that if I truly NEEDED this card, it was going to be pretty rare that I would have it in hand... that reality reinforced by the fact that I never once got to play it when I really needed it. So, I cut it, and decided to sideboard the more cost effective Vanquish in case I need that ability.
Confessor Mildred, in spite of being a more stable alternative to Shadala, simply ate burn spells, cycled into the grave and rarely made a useful appearance.
So, after trimming a bit, I had to look at what to add, and this is where I started to have a bit of fun. Adding another Waz'luk seemed logical, and trimming a Bloodsoul hasn't seemed to hurt his appearance in testing so far, both still serving the purpose the are in for. Waz'luks enter play ability triggers Torek's Assault, meaning a turn 2 Waz with a Torek in play nets me a free draw. Bloodsoul still sucks up at least 1, if not 2 allies or burn spells, giving me a bit of breathing room.
Adding 'Into the Fray' is one of those 'Bwah?' moments from my test opponents, as this card rarely sees play from what I can tell... but in games where I can pull it post turn 6, it pairs nicely with Finkle to bring back Debros, give ferocity and strike for 6-7 damage easily if I still have ally advantage. Lacking the chance to run an unimpeded Debros at my foe, it becomes a turn 8 powerhouse as I drop Zy'lah, Fray her, and proceed to clear my opponents allies with a hopefully Gifted Manslayer.
Additionally, lacking a Gifts for turn 6, I have found that Fray'ing Shawn of the Dead can usually net me protector at the least, if not something fun. In at least one test game, against a Spirit Healer deck, I managed to Shawn an Ishana and a Greench, which pretty much handed me the game. Shawn isn't by any means a win condition, but he can be a 'lets throw off their tempo a bit' card that nets me a turn or two of confusion to take advantage of.
Hur Shieldsmasher was added to just that.. smash that freaking Aegis so that my early game doesn't become a game of 'ooo, how many allies can I put into play that just stand there..' and in testing he has paid for himself time and time again by just entering play.
Zephyr... Remember that game I mentioned I lost against the Shammy who managed to Morlug/Faesha/Wrath in one turn? Yeah.. holding a Cyclone and Wrath in hand, on his turn, was not the most useful combo to have. So, I added a pair of hopefully timely Zephyr to snipe if necessary. So far, in testing, they have had some reasonable success in showing up in a timely manner.
My changes are pretty minimal, yet have a bit more synergy than the deck had before... being able to bum rush a few key allies with Fray, or being able to stop a soft allie on the other side are a couple of the things I really needed to better handle whatever my opponent tosses at me. As to how well the changes will work out in the long run... Well, I will be driving the 214 miles from my tiny town of Enumclaw to Salem, Oregon to test it out in the morning, as I head to another Realm Qualifier. I'd have prefered to not travel some 400 miles round trip to test it in live games, but an untimely death in the family will prevent me from making the Seattle based Realm qualifier next week, so I have to take what I can get.
