Viewing 1 - 9 out of 16 Blogs.

Page:  1 | 2 | Next >  Last >>

Now the Servants is legal for constructed play, there has been a lot of talk about what is going to be “the deck to beat”. I wish I could give everyone the answer to that but I can’t. There are a ton of decks out there that are seemingly top tier, as well as a bunch that are on the cusp of greatness. Solo Rogue, Warrior Control, and Traitor Druid are still all very viable but I think they’ve all got some competition from Enhancement Shaman, Discipline Priest, and Mage(be it Fire or Ice).

 

With such a great unknown meta out there, what does one play? I find myself asking that question every time I sit down to build decks. I think the best decks for an unknown meta are aggressive, but not overly so. Straight Rush wins games but can easily be shut down by heavy control. The best decks lie somewhere in between. It’s certainly not a new idea and I’ve adopted this ideology when crafting decks for a long time. Halavar was a great example of this. It was a deck that could be explosive in the first few turns, but it also packed enough punch to see turn 9. It gave the opponent multiple threats to deal with and could throw control off its game.

 

I’d like to say I’ve found a deck that does that for the current HFI meta but I haven’t cracked any super awesome tech. I’d like to think of myself as a relatively decent player but a poor idea man. What’s a player like myself to do? Revisit old standards.

 

I was reading the development blog sometime back on the UDE site and it mentioned a Footsteps of Illidan Ripped deck that did surprisingly well at the UDE offices. That was the spark I needed and I focused my attention to Ripped Through the Portal.

 

Ripped decks pre-HFI where always pretty strong but somewhat inconsistent. The deck itself required certain pieces to fall into line and in a specific order. If the moons aligned just right, the deck could easily barrel over any deck it sat across the table from. If the deck didn’t get the cards it needed, however, it just sort of rolled over and died. My Ripped deck is no exception.

 

 

HFI gave us some of the biggest drops every, including the new “King of the Fatties”, Azaloth. There was a lot of discussion on the board of a Ripped Marlowe build that would win on turn 6. The basic idea was that you could Rip Azaloth on turn 5 and then on turn 6 hero flip to give your opponent’s hero -50 health. It’s seemingly a great idea and I tested it out. As is the case with many things in WoW:TCG, Blue Ripped was neither as strong or consistent as Red. Some people would argue that point but I couldn’t consistently Rip Azaloth on turn 5. Blue Ripped doesn’t have access to Cannibalize or The Haunted Mills witch is why I turn my attention to Red. Oh, and Azaloth, buddy I think your great but I just don’t see you fitting into my build.

 

So with out further ado, the build:

 

HERO(1)

Plague Demonsoul

ALLIES(17)

4X Xi’ri

2XLady Vashj

2XDoomwalker

3XVexmaster Nar’jo

3XBrok Bloodcaller

3XTatulla the Reclaimer

ABILITIES(24)

4XShadowbolt

4XSteal Essence

4XEye of Kilrogg

4XRipped Through the Portal

4XCannibalize

4XThe Footsteps of Illidan

EQUIPMENT(3)

3XAbyss Walker Boots

QUESTS(17)

3XA Donation of Mageweave

4XThe Haunted Mills

4XA Donation of Silk

4XA Donation of Wool

2XSolanian’s Belongings

SIDEBOARD(10)

3XInvoke the Nether

3XThe Bringer of Death

2XSolanian’s Belongings

2XDrain Mana

 

 

I originally put the deck together and honestly, looking at the list, things felt kind of week. I had bought a play set of Ripped Through the Portals when Servants came out, but this was my first attempt at a Ripped Deck. I didn’t know how I would fair, so I tested it out online.

 

With my online games, I found the deck to be surprisingly consistent, at least more so than Blue. I was able to score a turn 5 win roughly 15% of the time, which where better odds than I was getting with Marlowe. There is a very specific set of cards you’ll need to score a turn 5 win but it’s definitely not impossible. If the opponent has no ability removal or any way to interrupt your abilities, then it’s totally possible.

 

The ideal scenario would play out something like this. Ideally I’d like to complete either A Donation of Wool on turn 1 or Silk on turn 2, pitching to the graveyard Xi’ri. I’d continue to keep my opponent’s forces at bay via Vexmaster/Steal Essence/Shadowbolt until turn 4. On turn 4 I’d like to either Cannibalize my Xi’ri into the Removed From Game zone or drop the Abyss Walker Boots and get her into RFG that way. The other 2 resources that turn would be spent attaching The Footsteps of Illidan to the opposing hero there by making my opponent a Demon. As long as your opponent doesn’t remove the Footsteps, you can turn 5 Rip Xi’ri and win at the end of your fifth turn.

 

Does this happen every game? No, at least not on turn 5. There are times where I don’t draw into the combo until turn 7 or 8. That’s why I included 17 quests to help draw into those combo pieces. The Donation quests are all pretty essential to not only draw the cards your need but to get the big drop allies into the graveyard. The Haunted Mills is also a powerhouse here because it serves the dual purpose of draw as well as removing on the “Fatties” from the game.

 

Now for the detractors, I know what your thinking. All I have to do interrupt your Ripped or destroy your Footsteps to keep myself alive. True, true, but my goal is to not make that easy for you.

 

The decks that pack the ability to interrupt another ability are often control builds by nature. In those matches, you have the luxury of not worrying about keeping a rush of allies off your hide. You’ve got the time to build into a win that, hopefully, your opponent can’t stop. Warriors(Pummel and Shield Bash), Blood Elves-usually Discipline Priest or Paladin(Arcane Torrent), Mage(Nether Fracture or Counterspell), and Rogues(Kick) all have counters and some are packed main deck. I left Shaman off the list as his counter, Earth Shock, is most often in the sideboard. Warlock is lacking any counterspell of it’s own, hence four copies of Eye of Kilrogg. You’ll probably want to save a couple of these spells in your hand and hit your opponent on the late turns in succession. By doing that, you’re forcing them to counter your Eye. If they don’t you simply remove the counter from the game. Most opponents will use the counter simply because at least if the card is in the graveyard, there is to possibility of the card coming back into their hand, especially the Blood Elf Heroes. The nasty little trick I’ve found in playing these matches against BloodElves is to wait till they try to Solanians and then simply remove their target with the Abyss Walker Boots. The boots sit by pretty innocently enough, and a great many opponent’s tend to forget them. You won’t catch a seasoned veteran with that play but you might against your average opponent. The boots also cut out all the targeted recursion like Rebirth and Chasing Amiee.

 

Well enough talk on theory. I know there are a great number of your out there that want to know how Ripped handles various match ups and what it’s strong against and what it’s weak against.

 

Warrior Control-This deck is still going strong for both factions. Blue tends to be a wall type version, where they secure their Myriam behind protector and burn you away. Red is the more classic Control build, biding time to the late game for a huge ally or weapon. In both of these matches there are a couple of cards that you’ll want to watch out for, Sudden Death and Pummel(of Shield Bash). Warriors have had a notoriously hard time with abilities but I wouldn’t try to crank out a turn 5 win against a Warrior unless you’ve Eyed them at least once. Make sure they don’t have a Pummel or Shield Bash. If they don’t, then by all means drop a Footsteps on them on turn 4 and try to Rip on 5. It won’t always work but you’d be surprised at how hard it is for the Warrior to get those Footsteps off so early in the game. Sudden Death is the other good target for Eye of Kilrogg. The other answer our deck has for Sudden Death is Steal Essence. It’ll mean you might have to wait until turn 7 to do it, but Ripping and hold a Steal Essence is often the safe bet. Respond to the Sudden Death by putting a few damage on Xi’ri and you’ve got it.

 

Discipline Priest—This is a relatively new deck to be born out HFI based on the strength of Divine Spirit. The card is awesome and I’ll be sharing with everyone in the near future my Discipline build. The Red and Blue versions of the deck vary a great deal but the one I’d like to address is the Red version because of the usually main deck inclusion of Arcane Torrent. Don’t be deceived by an opponent with a Divine Spirit ready and all his resources tapped out. He’s baiting you and though it’s an obvious set-up, I’ll admit that in my rush to win, I’ve fallen for it and gotten my Ripped countered. In both versions of the build, you’ll want to wait till a turn where they do tap out and that your able to both Rip and apply Footsteps in the same turn. You’ll want to keep your Eye(get it!, get it!) out for Absorb Magic or Arcane Torrent. This is going to be a long game and I often find myself hard casting a Lady Vashj of turn 9 or a Doomwalker on turn 11. If you hard cast or Rip any allies other than Xi’ri be mindful of Mindflip or Twist of Faith. They can take possession of Xi’ri as long as they’re a demon and they’ll still die at the end of the owners turn. I’ve played far too many games however where the opponents steals my turn five Lady Vashj and sicks Nagas on me. A tough match up but winnable with experience.

 

Rush Builds—There are few variants of rush out there. Fire Mage is certainly strong, Shadowpriest is still viable(especially Omedus with Dawn Ravendale), and Traitor Druid didn’t lose any of it’s potential. Rush is usually a favorable match up for this deck because it usually doesn’t have to worry about counters to it’s abilities. I’d Eye of Kilrogg Dragon’s Breath from Fire Mages and The Natural Order from Druids. You’ll definitely be looking for a turn 5 win in these matches, but the Vexmaster/Steal Essence/Shadowbolt can handle early rush and Cannibalize can at least get you to the late turns.

 

Rogue—The last type of deck I’ve tested against is Rogue. It’s not a favorable match in any sense of the term. Solo Rogue or Semi-Solo Rogue is not dead as many predicted when they previewed Band of the Inevitable before the HFI release. It’s a very hard game to win, made more difficult by the fact that the deck almost certainly packs Purloin and/or Pickpocket. They’ll pluck your Footsteps and Ripped right from your hand and with so few allies, they’ll be little opportunity to make it to late game to heal via Cannibalize. That’s why I included the main deck Tatullas to at least slow them down. If by some stretch you end up being able to Rip out an ally, grab Doomwalker as he’s pretty tough to kill when your opponent can’t exhaust anything other than resources to deal with him. This game I’d Eye a Purloin or a Pickpocket if you get the chance or, more likely, Eye a Kick or Blade Twisting.

 

There are other decks out there, this I’m aware of, but I touched at least most of the bases of what I’ve seen. Ripped has got one major factor going for it right now. In an unknown metagame, where control and rush are equally viable, the ability to win via a nontraditional path is strong. Play the deck and see how it feels to score a turn five win. You may feel cheap and some would say it’s unsportmans like, but man does it bring a smile to my face every time I do it.

Things for me have been pretty quiet on the WoW front. I can't speak for everyone else but there is always a down time that can last from a few weeks to a month. It always happens to me when a new set is released. I don't want to build so new awesome deck(what are the chances, right?) and risk it being outdated in a few weeks. So I bide my time and read my spoilers.

As I'm writing this, it's July 1 and while some people's thoughts are on fireworks and BBQs, I'm waiting till the local card shop opens and rip open some new packs. I've read the spoilers and I've got my eye out for all the bomb rares I hope to score. The rares are one thing but I wanted to take the time and go through all the bomb "Lazy Peon" cards in this set. A die hard fan of top ten lists, I composed my own below. You might not agree with the list but these are the cards that I'm looking forward to.

1.Ferociousness—Bear Form has been arguably the red headed step child of forms since Heroes of Azeroth was released. Though only slightly better than Tree of Life and Travel Form, Bear Form had always left a lot to be desired, especially when compared to the far superior forms of Form of the Serpent, Moonkin Form, and Cat Form.

I can’t see a Bear Form deck as Bear Form isn’t strong enough to support itself but Ferociousness compliments Druid decks with allies. I have posted up a Gift of the Wild/Myriam deck a while back and this card would be the ideal fit. I think someone else said it best with “The best protector for Myriam is one that has 27 health.” The card draw is a very nice feature and could stand to net quite a few cards. Bear Form’s only downside is that any non-Feral ability card will destroy it.

2.Arcane Research—I’ve been waiting for a long time for Mage Control to come into its own. There have been a variety of different attempts at Mage Control but to date nothing that has taken a top seat at a major event. Obviously Mages got a huge boost in HFI.

Arcane Research was a card I first noticed and fell in love with.

Off the bat it’s comparable to Mana Agate with its pay 3 draw 2 cards effect. Drawing multiple Arcane Researches though is where this card really shines. It’s not uncommon for an Ice Mage to stall out a game till turn 15 or so and you’re bound to see multiples of this card. I don’t think this card will replace Invocation for late game draw and I envision a deck running 4 Arcane Research and a couple of Invocations for extra draw.

3.Crusader’s Sweep—Come on who doesn’t like an AOE for 3? The ability to ping everything for 1 is pretty strong. The card however loses a lot of its strength because most rush decks have gotten away from 1 health allies. It still helps against an army of Teep/Merry/Wazluks. I can almost see a rush Pally deck using Gauntlets of Vindication/Righteousness Aura. Actually, that’s not a half bad idea….

4.Shadow Word:Agony—Priest Discard didn’t really need a lot of help but they gave them this card anyways. As if there wasn’t enough reason to run ability hate, Agony makes it a must. You’re not going to be surviving long with one of these on you, and with 2 on you, it’s almost game over.

5. Far Sight—Shaman control has maxed and waned since the birth of WoW:TCG. I think Far Sight is an interesting boost in the arm. The cost is right and the effect is very strong. It’s questionable where this will see much constructed play but time will tell.

6.Defender Nagalass—The Antikron and Korthas just got the boot as the 1 drop of choice in Alliance control. Without a fast method to deal with him, rush is going to be hurting. A couple of classes have access to ability that deal that sort of damage and I think those classes will be the new rush classes, specifically Fire Mage with Blast Wave or Druid with Wrath/Cyclone.

7.Blood Knight Kyria--Wow, I really, really like her. The Blood Knights in the past have all had pretty cool special abilities but hers is by far the most useful. I build a Paladin deck over the last week to test out online and she fits incredibly well in the 3 drop slot(which in most Pally decks is lagging). She’s got the every important Protector keyword and her stats are decent for her cost. Her ability can be a real bother to some decks.

I see her fitting in nicely in two builds, Boomkin and Paladin, more specially Boomkin as Paladin already has access to a superior healing card in Lay on Hands. My versions of Boomkin always had difficulty because once they had the board stabilized, rush had already done too much damage and it was often a lucky direct damage ability off the top that ended the game. Taheo’s flip helped lessen the blow, but Kyria’s heal is a far better solution. One of her late game could result in a full heal for Boomkin. How awesome is that?

8.Dawn Ravensdale—A lot of folks have already touched on Dawn so I’m just going to say that in the right type of deck, she’s a bomb.

9.Roger Mortis—Roger is my odd pick for the list. His ability is kinda cool but not overpowered. The reason he’s on this list is I’ve been itching to abuse Totem of Wrath since I completed my playset. I think a Totem of Wrath/Roger Mortis/Life Cycle deck would be fun and I think it could be competitive. Time will tell.

10. Tabards of the Illidari--Akama's Promise garnered a lot of buzz when it was previewed on the main site, and rightfully so, it’s a strong quest in the right deck. I just happen to think that Tabards of the Illidari is a little more accessible to all decks. I haven’t seen many decks that are completely solo, save Daspien that was popular for awhile. Band of the Inevitable has pretty well nailed the coffin shut though I think on solo Daspien. Tabards is just a strong card draw for 2 costs with one of the easiest requirements to date. I’d expect to see 4 of these in decks packing Marksman Glous.

Greetings from beyond the grave. Er, no wait, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I didn’t actually die, I’ve just been a little preoccupied with work. The reports of my demise where greatly exaggerated.

 

Between the hectic work schedules, I haven’t devoted much time to WoW. I’ve checked the top-8 deck lists for all of the Realms across the world and kept my eye on what I think will be played at Seattle. I’ve also racked my brain to something new and original to play in a sea of the know and the mundane. Don’t get me wrong, Desecrator is a great deck and it’s sturdy. There just comes a point when you sit down across from another Desecrator and I feel bored. I’ve been here and played this game out many times.

 

So I went back to my bag and I’ve only found one deck that still fun to play. It’s a blend of a few decks I’ve seen around and I had built the thing over the course of a week a few months back. As the metagame has evolved, the deck has remained surprisingly consistent.

 

I called it very simply DEFENSE(because of the shear number of protectors) and I piloted it in my first Throw Down vs. fellow blogger Madjinn and you can read about it here.

 

HERO(1)

Mythen of the Wild

QUESTS(15)

3XChasing A-Me01

2XFinkle Einhorn, At Your Service

4XTotem of Coo

3XGurok the Unsurper

3XInformation Gathering

ABILITIES(18)

4XEarth Mother’s Blessing

4XThe Natural Order

3XCyclone

3XGift of the Wild

4XMark of the Wild

ALLIES(27)

4XBlademistress Lyss

4XMyriam Starcaller

2XAnchorite Alonora

2XInventor Dorbin Callus

4XVindicator Kaldel

3XXanata the Lightsworn

2XMiner Steelwhiskers

3XAntikron the Unyielding

3XKortha Greybeard

SIDEBOARD(10)

1XGift of the Wild

1XCyclone

3XWrath

2XMarnie Moonlight

2XVindicator Agran

1XVanquish

 

The deck has gone threw various incantations but things have settled and I’m pretty happy with the build. The basic strategy is stall out the early turns with Protectors. The mulligan condition is either a Gift of the Wild, Myriam Starcaller, or Blademistress Lyss and some pumps. I’ve kept hands that contain none of those cards as well as this deck just curves out beautifully sometimes.

 

There are 2 main win conditions to the deck and they’re very much opposites. I think that is where a lot of the decks versatility comes in. The first option would be to drop some protectors, get a Myriam out, and hopefully someone who can Inspire her. Option two is much more straightforward, drop guys, pump them, and run them right at your opponent(simple but effective, right?).

 

The deck can work as a rush but you have to be patient for tempo to swing back your way, especially against another, faster deck. The protectors and Inspire allies are a huge benefit. Ideally you could attack in, kill an ally, and then Inspire that same ally to protect against on your opponent’s turn.

 

 

By far the biggest and best ally in the deck is Blademistress Lyss. She’s got decent stats for a 3 drop(1/4 protector) but her power is what sets her apart. She can act as essentially an extra turn if you draw correctly. For example, let’s say it’s my third turn and I’m on the play. I’m facing down a 2/1 and a 3/2 and I hadn’t hit any early drops. The optimal play would be Blademistress. I’d like to have either a Mark of the Wild or Earth Mother’s Blessing so Blademistress can survive the upcoming turns. In that case, if he doesn’t attack, then I’d attack into the 3 drop and play the Earth Mother’s Blessing, essentially rereading all my spent resources. I can them proceed with a 4 drop if I’ve got one or even and Inspire ally. They are so many great plays that are made possible by the Mistress.

 

The quests are a pretty standard mix. I wanted to use quests that could be completed on my opponent’s turn because of the Blademistress. Totem of Coo and Gurok are debatable but I’ve found them to be successful. I can usually pay 3 and net at least 2 cards(sometimes I can net 3).

 

The sideboard is pretty standard as sideboards go. I just couldn’t squeeze in the fourth copies of Gift of the Wild or Cyclone. Both are cards you’ll want to side in for certain games(Cyclone against Solo/Serpent and the Gift for decks with lots of ability destruction like Priest or Mage). Marnie Moonlight can be a godsend versus a burn deck or rush. Her ability and the fact that we run lots of Inspire allies can heal you for 10 a turn. That puts a pretty big bull’s-eye on her head but we’ve got plenty of DEFENSE.

 

The last ally I want to touch on is Inventor Dorbin Callus(wow just caught the Corbin Dallus/Firth Element reference there). I found an Inventor in my first box of Servants and I really liked him them. He’s a bomb in this build. Imagine being able to draw 8 cards on turn 8(taking into account you dropped him on turn 7 and have someone out with Inspire). Those 8 cards can turn any game around. Most often, I’ll simply attack in for 5(or more with pumps) and then get four cards on my opponent’s turn. He’s a card that hasn’t garnered much attention right now but I think he might in the near future.

 

I really like this deck as it’s pretty straight forward. I would have played this at Realms but I wasn’t able to go. I’m also not going to Seattle (damn day job) but I look forward to seeing everyone in August at Nationals. Until then, good luck with the upcoming Regionals seasons and I’m waiting on baited breath to see what Hunt of Illidan will bring.

A few weeks back, the first blog I wrote as a featured blogger was my version of Marksman Hunter.  I think I was maybe a little too eager to blog and didn’t test the deck as thoroughly as I should have.

 My first build of Marksman was a little rough and was very susceptible to rush and didn’t fair too well versus Runetusk.  The deck was cool and the ability to pull out a Rapid Fire combo made the deck playable but maybe not viable for a constructed tournament.

 I went back to the drawing board.  I addressed the weakness to rush by adding allies of my own.  Fight fire with fire, right?

 I tested this build out against many different builds and have found much more success with Ver2.0.  For those who are interested, the list:

 

HERO(1)

Ona Skyshot

 

QUESTS(15)

3XFinkle Einhorn, At Your Service

4XTorek’s Assault

4XInformation Gathering

4XOne Draenei’s Junk

 

ALLIES(21)

3XTatulla the Reclaimer

2XJon Reaver

4XKagella Shadowmark

2XBhenn Checks-the-Sky

4XVoss Treebender

4XBloodsoul

2XFury

 

ABILITIES(16)

4XFeign Death

4XSilencing Shot

4XRapid Fire

4XRanged Weapon Specialization

 

EQUIPMENT(8)
4XSkyfire Hawk-Bow

4XBlackcrow

 

SIDEBOARD(10)

1XJon Reaver

1XTatulla the Reclaimer

2XAimed Shot

3XTerror Pit Girdle

2XBlastershot Launcher

1XBurn Away

 

 

There are a few specific things I want to address.  First the ally curve.

 I didn’t want to be without a 1 drop so I’ve included 8 of them.  Bloodsoul is pretty standard but honestly Voss was a card I had to dust off.  I find him necessary in today’s protector heavy environment.  I can’t afford to be slowed down by a turn 1 Antikron or a turn 2 Xanata.  Voss doesn’t eliminate the threat but he can usually neutralize it for at least a couple of turns.

 Kagella is a standard 2 drop ally and the Bhenn’s are in to sidestep a large threat or an annoying protector.  The four drop slot is split between my hate cards, Tatulla and Jon Reaver.  Playing against Tatulla the last few weeks, I can’t begin to tell you how annoying he(or she?) can be.  The fact that she’s not targeted removal is very rarely a problem.

 I have room for 2 Furys in the maindeck and they are to serve a couple of different purposes.  They can smack through the last few points of damage to finish an opponent off or to kill Myriam Skycaller.  The deck is pretty tight but I’d like to add a least one more Fury if I could.

 I changed the equipment for this build.  Last time around I used the Blackcrow in conjunction with Blastershot Launcher.  One thing that testing had shown is that often time games stalled vs. a control build and that often forced me to combo them out for the win.  Blastershot Launcher with a Ranged Weapon Specialization out still costs 1 to swing.  I replaced the Blastershots with Skyfire Hawk-Bow for two reason—it comes online on turn 4(and can swing immediately if you dropped Ranged Weapon Specialization on turn 3) and with a single copy of Ranged Weapon Specialization it swings for 4 damage at not cost, which allows for a combo as soon as turn 6 or 7.  I reserved the Blastshots for the side as it’s still good vs. an ally heavy deck and I’ll often side them in on games 2 and 3.

 Speaking of sides, I still found the deck had a weakness to a protector heavy deck that hides a Myriam behind a wall of beef.  Terror Pit Girdle is probably one of the best options for Myriam, forcing your opponent to destroy your Girdle or have Myriam reduced to a 3/4 Untargetable with useless text.  As turns progress, you’ll usually be able to pull a Rapid Fire and wipe out their protector wall.

 The deck plays pretty straight forward.  Early turns you’d like to get what damage through that you can.  An ideal hand will have a Ranged Weapon Specialization and a bow.  Turn 2 you can continue the ally assault or if you’ve got the Ranged Spec. then by all means drop Blackcrow for a free turn 3 swing for 3 damage after you drop Ranged Weapon Specialization.

The deck’s ability to be competitive relies on the combined effect of Rapid Fire and Ranged Weapon Specialization.  Making your bow swing for free and making then hit for 3 or 4(depending on the bow you’ve got in play) allows you to combo out with Rapid Fire as early as turn 6 or 7.  That’s a vast improvement over older version of Rapid Fire combo decks which wouldn’t be able to come online till at least turn 9 or 10.

The sideboard has some pretty standard sideboard hate.  The Terror Pit Girdle is for the Myriam Skycaller/Protector as noted above.  I added two copies of the Blastershot Launcher to the side if you’re facing down a lot of equipment hate from your opponent’s side of the board.   The Aimed Shots can snatch a victory from an unsuspecting opponent or kill a troublesome ally.  I like the card but there’s a lot of Untargetables and Counter cards out there and nothing

I’d changed the side a bit to accommodate certain meta-game calls.  I’d throw some Shattering Blows in the side if Great Sword is still popular(at the expense of Tatulla and Jon Reaver). I add in additional copies of Fury is there are a lot of protector heavy decks swimming around.

Overall, Marksman Hunter is a fun deck to play.  I question its ability to perform in the current metagame but I have the deck together to play in my group’s gauntlet.  I think combo decks can always have a good shot at winning and I’m waiting to see how future sets could stand to improve this build.  As always, comments can be directed below or via email to borbwab@gmail.com

Ah, Boomkin, my old friend.  I view Boomkin like an old friend from high school.  You maybe haven't seen him in awhile but when you do, you realize how much of cool guy he was.  You begin to think, why'd did we ever drift apart?

My love for Boomkin(both in the TCG and MMORPG) started early on.  I had a version build after Dark Portal hit shelves over a year ago.  The earliest version was more designed to abuse the +1 armor bonus that Moonkin Form provided.  At that time, there were very few Balance Abilities to take advantage of the +1 hero damage.  Wrath, Starfire, and Nature's Majesty where all cool cards, but they didn't make the deck very competitive.

Then Fires of Outlands set provided another key piece to the puzzle, Moonfire.  I had wondered how UDE would represent this basic Druid ability on cardboard.  Every Druid player has spammed Moonfire on someone whether they want to admit it or not.  It's not the cheapest ability in game, but it's certainly one of the easier ways to score a PVP kill.  I think the way UDE translated the ability to a card was great. 

With Fires out, I made my first competitive version of Boomkin and it did well.  Bulkas Cruelty was still pretty big in those days and the Cyclones coupled with being able to spam Moonfire made those Warrior matchups quick easy.  It was rush that Boomkin had the problem with.  I had tried Thorns out for awhile but it wasn't too effective and the deck was eventually scraped.

The next piece to fall into place was with the release of March of the Legion and Dreamstate.  Dreamstate was previewed early on at the Gunslinging Area well in advance of the street day of March.  That got me drooling.  I anxiously awaited the release and scored a playset of eBay early on.  I built a few different version, once focusing on a little armor and then Wrath/Moonfire for damage and then I build one strictly for damage output using Balance abilities and Moonkin Form/Chromatic Cloak.  The more effective build was the ability heavy version, so I scrapped the other and concentrated my focus. 

I tested it quite extensively and it became quite good.  I experimented a bit, using things like Cloak of the Pit Stalker(all credit for that goes to Ron) and found some good results.  The main reason I ended up not using the deck was its susceptibility to Bringer of Death.  The deck had too much out on the field and The Bringer allowed for too many unfavorable trades.  I moved one and turned my attention to other things.

DMF:Orlando came and Boomkin saw a resurgence.  Taheo was the number 2 hero at DMF Orlando behind Halavar(to be honest though not all where Boomkin, some where Gift of the Wild builds).  Watson's top finishing Boomkin took into account Bringer and thusly cut back on the equipment and ongoing abilities, leaving only the essentials: Moonkin Forms, Runesong Dagger, and Dreamstate.

I don't know why I never used the Runesong Dagger in Boomkin.  It's such a natural fit.  I was a bit too caught up in Braxis' Staff of Slumber and I overlooked a huge cornerstone of Boomkin.  Obviously, Boomkin had been flying under the radar for awhile and I think it took a lot of people by surprise.  At that same event, The Natural Order was previewed at the Gunslinging arena and I was able to catch an early match.

Servant's of the Betrayer at least opened up Alliance Boomkin as now blue has some Equipment/Ability removal, other than Chipper.  I remember the Saturday a friend and I where opening packs and I saw my first Natural Order and I thought, "Wow, cool card.  It's not as cool as Puncture, but almost."  In that same pack I came on a rare that I had to do a double take on, Quagmirran's Eye. 

The Eye as it'll be referred to now seems to mesh well into Boomkin.  The deck was ability heavy already and the Eye gave me the opportunity to get those abilities out all that much cheaper.  The first combo I naturally first through about was in Boomkin.  How great a play would be to drop the Eye on turn 3, a Dreamstate on 4, and then just spam Moonfire for a giant hand and the win?  That's maybe an over simplified version of what this deck hopes to achieve but I think everyone gets the picture.  So here's what I've got built at the present:


HERO(1)
Taheo Skyspeaker

QUESTS(14)
4XCounterattack!
4XForces of Jaedenar
2XPoison Water
2XSolanian's Belongings
2XSwift Discipline

EQUIPMENT(10)
3XQuagmirran's Eye
3XStormrage Cover
4XRunesong Dagger

ALLIES(10)
3XVexmaster Nar'jo
3XGurzuk
2XSilea Dawnwalker
2XShadala


ABILITIES(26)
4XCyclone
4XThe Natural Order
4XMoonfire
4XDreamstate
4XWrath
2XZephyr
4XMoonkin Form

SIDEBOARD(10)
2XSilea Dawnwalker
2XShadala
2XBarkskin
2XForces of Nature
2XDoshura Risestrider

The deck can be incredibly fast now and I attribute that to all the Servant's goodness.  The early game is going to be spent laying out an early Runesong Dagger(which is a mulligan condition if your sitting down facing ally rush) all the while trying to get out an Eye, Moonfire and Dreamstate.  The card advantage from getting that combo together alone should win you games.

Untargetables are still a problem and I've split the difference, adding in 3 Vexmasters and 3 Gurzuks.  I would have dropped Gurzuk all together but I feel if you don't hit the Vexmasters early on, they aren't much help.  I've had situation where I just couldn't get him out quick enough and he's a lot weaker when he's running into sideways allies.  Vexmaster can still always one-shot a Merry and so he stays for that reason, where as Gurzuk will always trade with a Jeleane.  For Lowdown Luppo, I'd swing my Runesong Dagger at him.  It's not the most cost efficient dagger, paying 2 to hit for 1, but at least it gets the job done. 

Between Shadala,Silea Dawnwaler,and The Natural Order, there's plenty of maindecked hate.  I've got extra Shadala/Sileas in the side if you've got a hard time finding them.

Speaking of sidedecks, mine is pretty weak at the present.  A sidedeck should be representative of your local meta-game and so I've hodge-podged some good utility stuff in there.  I'd add more Forces of Nature if untargetable rush is still popular, Barkskins is you fear a lot of opponents picking up mage, and Doshura for Serpent or Horde Rush decks.

A word of warning in regards to Dreamstate.  One copy of Dreamstate on the table should be all that you'll need.  If you're really having trouble finding those Moonfires, then by all means drop out 2 copies of Dreamstate but make  very sure you've got a copy of Poison Water on the table and face up.  The Eye makes spamming Moonfire criminally cheap and the draw just becomes ridiculous.  If you add into the equation another Dreamstate, you're going to find yourself with a very full hand.  A bad thing if you're playing a Discard Priest but also bad if you can't Poison Water your graveyard.  In the games where I've had out 2 Dreamstates, I've come dangerously close to decking myself, so be warned.

Anyone who's played Boomkin knows it's a very reactive deck(vs. something like Form of the Serpent which is pretty proactive).  You'll want to play cards only when forced.  You'll want to get out a Runesong Dagger, Dreamstate, The Eye, and Moonkin Form every game.  You have to know on what turn to play those cards and which one is more important to have in play.  There is no set order, rather the order should be decided by your opponent's deck.  The other cards of the deck should sit in hand until the time comes that they are needed.  It's not uncommon for a Boomkin player's turn to be short, essentially drawing a card, possibly laying a resource and then passing the turn.

The end of the opponent's turn can consist on spamming Moonfire and also cycling through the deck via Stormrage Cover.  Stormrage Cover is a huge draw engine for the deck, and the discarding effect the helm has is rarely every a hindrance because certain cards are not needed in certain situations.  They aren't necessarily dead cards, but for instance if your opponent isn't playing many weapons, by all means feel free to discard Sileas.

The deck has weaknesses.  Mage control with a lot of counters would be an unfavorable matchup.  You've have to rely on a lucky Barkskin hitting the table.  If you're expecting a lot of Mage, I'd recommend main decking a few copies of Barkskin.  Another weakness is a very fast rush.  The situation you may face is not having enough answers to rush, and I've tried to balance things as best as I could.  I'm sure they'll be a Serpent deck out that just hits their curve of Wazluk, Kagella, Serpent Form, Twig and then Rak for the win.  There aren't very many decks that would be able to stop that, but I feel I've included enough hate to keep Twig/Form of the Serpent of the table(doing the math that's 8 cards in their deck you need to avoid and you've got 6 maindecked answers between The Natural Order and the Shadalas).  I use Serpent decks as an example but one can substitute any rush there.

Boomkin's main strength is against control.  Boomkin is the bane of many control decks, such as Warrior(see last weeks blog).  Though I haven't tested it much, I can't see Discard Priest being a huge problem, as long as you can keep Dreamstate on the table.  The biggest threat you face from the caster classes is The Bringer of Death.  That's why it's important to leave your resources open to react.  If they Bringer on 8, you'd want to get the last Moonfire spams in to replenish your hand.

Overall I think Boomkin has a lot of life left in it.  I don't think it'll be the deck that everyone is gunning to beat, but I think it's a threat that lurks in the background.  It takes a great deal of skill to pilot a Boomkin deck, so novices need not apply.  Once you've practiced with it, you begin to see intricacies that maybe didn't jump out at you on paper.  I've always like Boomkin and I think Servants of the Betrayer will only make this deck even more of a contender(if only they'd give Druid a counterspell of some sort).  As always, if you've got a great addition you think I may have missed or maybe you think I'm just full of hot air, drop me a line below or via email at borbwab@gmail.com

I decided this week to revisit and update an old deck of mine, Halavar.  Anyone who's read this blog know I've played enough Halavar to make my eyes bleed.

I don't think I was every more happy to take apart a deck than I was with my Halavar build.  I desleeved it and chopped it out.  The Perdition's Blades went into a Timmo deck, the Jeleanes and Merrys went into a Traitor Priest, and the Mortal Strike where returned to a big binder of not-for-trade cards.

A few weeks went buy and Servants came down the chute.  I cracked my packs and ended up pulling 2 Quantum Blades and a blind man could see the obvious synergy with the Quantum Blade and Halavar's flip ability.  Dropping a big weapon on turn 4 and swinging in for 5, all without having to sac a resource(sorry Twig)?  Sounded pretty good to me.

Over the next few days I tracked down a couple of addition copies of the Quantum Blade, just to keep for a rainy day.  I found them relatively cheap,$3.50 and $4.00, respectively.  I somewhat pride myself as a WoW:TCG bargain hunter and was pleased with the purchase.

Last week I had a few days off of work and decided to pour over some of my new Servants stuff and I couldn't resist the urge to try out Halavar again.  The basic build would be much the same but with some noticeable new additions.  Here's a working list:


HERO(1)
Halavar

ABILITIES(18)
4XMortal Strike
4XHeroic Strike
3XPuncture
2XBurn Away
4XRend

ALLIES(18)
4XApprentice Merry
4XAndiss Butcherson
4XJeleane Nightbreeze
4XMarksman Glous
2XChipper Ironbane

QUESTS(12)
3XRescue the Survivors
3XOne Draenei's Junk
3XCorki's Ransom
3XThe Defias Brotherhood

EQUIPMENT(14)
3XWhispering Blade of Slaying
4XPerdition's Blade
4XQuantum Blade
3XGauntlets of Vindication

SIDEBOARD(10)
2XUnraveled Plans
1XChipper Ironbane
3XWithering Shout
3XWreck
1XSmash


A few post-Servant additions would be the Quantum Blade(obviously) and Marksman Glous.  Glous was a card I overlooked and sort of discredited at first(sort of like Form of the Serpent, I'm afraid).  After testing the deck out though, her ability, especially late game, can quite powerful.  The ability to completely tap out(sorry WoW players but exhaust out doesn't have the same ring to it) and then ready and complete Corki's every turn is a huge boon to the card draw.  Corki's limits the amount of resources you'll have out but with 85% of the deck at cost 3 or under(damn Blade threw the numbers off) you typically don't need many.  I usually average about 6 resources a game, if things go that long.

I upped the quest count, partly to abuse Marksman Glous but also partly to improve and ensure more draw.  Rescue is one of the best quests printed so far for it's card draw and it has a natural synergy with The Defias Brotherhood.  Rounding out the quests is One Draenei's Junk.  One Draenei's Junk is also a great quest for Glous to Inspire and it almost never misses so it's a natural fit.

I'm still a bit torn on the weapon count.  I found 8 weapons sufficient for previous builds and I don't yet know if the increased count helps or hinders this build.  There are situations(early game, specifically) where the Whispering/Perditions Blades will be a huge boon and then ideally you'd curve into the Quantum Blade later. There's a ton of hate running around maindeck nowadays, so I wouldn't get too attached to a particular weapon.  Cards like Tatulla, Jon Reaver, Silea Dawnwalker, and The Bringer of Death see a lot of play so be prepared to cycle through weapons during the average game.  It's important to not resource additional weapons if you can avoid it.  I'll often just hold a Perditions in hand, for a rainy day.  What worries me is drawing weapons in a situation where I want an Ally.  In testing so far the deck has worked fine but a change coming down the chute in the near future might be dropping the Whispering Blades and adding in something for the 3 drop slot(Jubilee Arcspark comes to mind).

Rend/Gauntlets of Vindication is still an effective combination and they greatly help out versus a heavy control build.  Rend is pretty well a dead card versus rush, so it's often times sided out for the Withering Shouts in games 2 and 3.  Glous also gives you the ability to ready something like Rescue(which can't be completed on your opponent's turn) in order to drop a Rend on the opponent.  Also don't underestimate the Gauntlets 1 armor to stop small ping from things like Touch of Darkness and Mind Spike.

The Quantum Blade is a great weapon and fits pretty well.  You're not going to want to drop it on turn 4 and start swinging away, pitching 10 cards at a time to the RFG zone unless you're going to win.  Swinging the Blade on 4 into Guardian Steelhorn isn't a great idea.  In a close game dropping the Quantum Blade, Heroic Striking and then Mortal Striking can swing a game you'd otherwise lose.  You could do this as early as turn 5 if you drop the Blade on 4(think about it a swing with the Blade for 8 and then it's possible to double Mortal Strike for 9 each-26 damage on turn 5 is a lot-odds are not likely but it does happen).  My best advise is to be smart on the swing.  In later turns if you've got the resources, by all means pay the swing cost of 5 if you've got nothing else to spend them on(which Andiss can make 4).

I kept the main deck Burn Aways as they've served me well in the past.  They'll greatly help vs Gift of the Wild/Form of the Serpent Druids and well as Boomkin(rarely will you catch a Moonfire but the important thing is to keep Dreamstate off the table).  I haven't seen one(yet!) but a Control Rogue with Evasion could present some real troubles.  It would force the deck to rely on Rends and the Mortal Strike/Heroic Strike to win.  I'm not a fan of being force into a win condition so the  Burn Aways stay for now.  Also, anyone who's sat down against a Survival Hunter recently can attest to the fact Survival Instincts is possibly the most annoying card ever.

Andiss Butcherson replaces Magister Ashi and I think he's a great fit.  He was in an early build and then he was cut for a long time.  I re-examined him and decided he was better than Ashi when using the Whispering and Perditions.  A turn 1 Andiss into a turn 2 Perditions is often a start too quick for some decks to stop. If you stated off with the play, your opponent has already taken 4 damage and all they've done it place a resource.

The sideboard contains the usual amount of equipment/ability hate.  The Withering Shouts are there for the mirror match and also other Rush builds.  The Wreck is mostly in to stop a caster's Bringer of Death but it's also great vs Rogue to stop some annoying weapons.  Smash is for Warrior or Paladin Control where they're going to be coming at you with a big Felsteel Reaper. 

So how does the it do in individual matchups?  I haven't put it through it's paces very much but I have thrown it up against some popular builds and it's done well.

HUNTER:  Survival Hunter is the most annoying of the bunch.  The problem that I've seen Survival hunters having is an effective end game.  Most of your allies will be immune to their targeted removal.  Don't be afraid to Mortal Strike an early Xanata if need be.  It's important to get as much damage in before the Survival Instincts kicks in.  Once it's out you'll want to dig for a Rend and Gauntlets as they'll be able to "absorb" the Instincts prevention.  Also, Burn Away/Chipper is your friend this match.  You're probably going to have to combo this one out but Survival Hunters have no counterspells so it shouldn't be that difficult.

Marksman Hunter is slowing making its presence felt.  Maybe not by everyone but I've got a version build that I really like and it's much better than the previous Hunter build I posted.  If anyone's interested, I'll post up a blog about it.  Marksman Hunter could be a bad matchup if they hit a Blackcrow/Specialization early on, as they're going to be kill your little guys and not be taking any damage back.  Not to overstate the obvious but this is bad.  Also, they're got Silencing Shot to neutralize you're combo.  Don't be fooled by Ona leaving 2 open and a tapped out bow.  I've caught many people by paying 2, flipping her to untap the bow, and tap the bow to drop a Silencing Shot.  A good player will see through that but don't make the mistake I did(eh, live and learn).  Burn Away the Ranged Weapon Specialization and you should be alright.

PRIEST:  Priest is big right now.  It's not the deck's strongest matchup but it's very much winable.  You're looking for a fast hand.  An early Andiss/Perdition or Merry/Mortal Strike are the pieces you'd like to see.  I've found this game often comes down to being able to prevent the Greater Heal.  Holding that Mortal Strike is key but with all the discard at the deck's disposal, I realize that holding a Mortal Strike is not always possible.  You'd want to stick to you game plan of dropping Merrys and Jeleanes and getting what damage off that you can, hopefully dodging their non-targeted removal.  I'd even complete a Rescue the Survivors just for the token to act as Melt Face/Soul Rend fodder.  Something that always has worked for me in the past is to hold onto Rends and Mortal Strikes till they hit you with a discard and just respond then.  Nothing sucks worse then Mental Anguishing an opponent with only two cards only to get double Rended in response.  Try to get the Glous/Corki's loop going to improve your draw.  Side in the Wrecks to prevent any Bringer/Voidfire craziness.

MAGE:  I haven't seen a super strong Mage that I felt was that competitive.  I've got a version built but it's basically an over glorified version of the classic MageBurn deck.  Mage control suffers from their squishy 25 health.  You'll just want to get the damage on fast and furious.  Don't count on that Mortal Strike going through with all their counters.  Just be leery if they build up a protector wall that you can't punch threw.  If they do that, they've all but got you.

PALADIN:  This deck fades away and then has a tendency to come back en force.  It's pretty well the same strategy as Mage in that you'll want to get what damage through that you can.  Puncture/Chipper/Smash the Aegis of Vindication if they drop that.  They'll eventually stabilize and that's when you'll want to build your combo.  Ideally you'll have dealt then at least 20 damage and you just need to sneak around that last 10 or so.  I'll usually wait till I've got at least 2 Mortals and 2 Heroics before I strike.  You'll want to play around any Blessing of Freedoms.  Mortal Strike is a great way to render they're Lay on Hands useless.

WARRIOR:  Warrior Control is a tough match as it's very much anti-ally.  The Burn Aways are to be held for the Withering Shouts.  Pretty early on in this game is when the winner is decided.  If they can slow you enough with protectors and the such, then you'll eventually lose the match.  Hold a Mortal Strike if Bloody Mary tries to Cannibalize your graveyard.  You'll want to side in the Unraveled because Withering Shouts just shut down so much of your deck.

Withering Shout will win the mirror match.  Not real huge strategy here I'm afraid.  Just go in fast.

DRUID:  There are 3 major druid builds still floating around-Boomkin, Gift of the Wild, and Form of the Serpent.  The hardest matchup for Halavar would be the Serpent deck because it's essentially a mirror match.  They'll have an explosive start, coming at you with Hero attacks and allies.  Try to attack in with what allies you can and leave the weapons open to swing back in the defense(leave resources open to do this as they'll most likely kill Andiss first).  Boomkin shouldn't be too bad, just hold the ability hate for Dreamstate.  They can't target most of your allies with Runesong so most likely be coming at you with Vexmasters.  Rends on Boomkin can be very very helpful.  Gift of the Wild is essentially a weenie rush with a giant pump on turn 6.  You have to approach combating this deck 1 of 2 different ways.  You'll either have to clear the weenies off the board or not allow then to keep a Gift of the Wild in play.  As we don't run that much ability hate, you'll be better off trying to clear the board with Hero attacks(while they're small) and letting your guys go in to do damage.  By the  time they get the Gift out, you'd hopefully have them in Mortal Striking distance.

SHAMAN:  I haven't heard a lot from Shaman.  Shaman control can and probably will be a mean deck but I'm just not seeing much of it now.  I'm seeing more and more Shaman Burn(see my blog for an example) but as of yet, the deck doesn't pose a huge problem for Halavar.  Shaman is one to watch though.

ROGUE:  Timmo is almost a mirror match of sorts(see Warrior above).  Dismantle and Purloin are both mean cards but there is very little one can do to play around them.  You should have enough weapons to be able to keep something on the table.  Like I said I haven't seen a Dralnor Evasion deck but I'd like to build one and see how it'd work.

WARLOCK:  Haven't seen really much Warlock so I can't really say.  Any of the caster classes had trouble with the Untargetable so I'd use that to your advantage.  You just don't want then Cannibalizing for a heal so Mortal Strike is important this match.  I'm sorry I don't really have much else advise to give as this is a match I myself don't have a lot of experience with.

Is Halavar back?  Some would say he never left.  Love it or hate, the deck was and is still a popular play by a lot of folks.  There are a ton of different builds out there and I think all of them are viable in their own regard.  Test this build out if you'd like and let me know what you think.  As always, you can leave comments and suggestions below or shoot em over in email to me at borbwab@gmail.com

Before DMF:Orlando, my teammates and I did some pretty exhaustive training of decks, searching for just the right one.  We decided on Halavar in late December and then we proceeded to test exhaustively. It’s kinda dumb to test a deck so far in advance, but I think we made the right play, as a 1/3 of the decks at DMF Orlando were Halavar. The deck went through many incantations before we set upon the final version we all played at the event. 

 

I personally tested the deck in some 200 matches, all with very favorable results.  In those tests, I saw a slew of decks, but there was one in particular that would just give Halavar fits.  The type of deck you have nightmares of before a big event.  You just can see yourself, sitting in the large hall, and opponent after opponent slapping their hero down, all the same.  All bad match ups.  For our Halavar, it was Warrior Control.

 

The hero of choice for warrior control was Bloody Mary, mainly for access to Cannibalize.  Her flip was useful and being able to use The Haunted Mills could generate some good draws(but ultimately, the quests where secondary to card drawing abilities like Bloodrage).

 

For those who hadn’t seen a version of Bloody Mary, I refer you here.  The deck was as mean a control deck that there ever was.  The early protectors and one of the greatest utility cards of all time Puncture bought time for a late game that presented very few ways out of.  Once Bloody Mary had dug in her heals, you where done.  The deck was a beast for rush, as they often stalled out and then once a couple copies of Withering Shout hit the table, there was very little rush could even do at the point.

 

Our Halavar was no exception.  The version we ran used Whispering Blade of Slaying/Perdition’s Blade along with the standard accompaniment of untargetable allies(with some elusive thrown in for good fun).  It varied from the Two Handed version in a couple of small ways but the game plan was relatively the same.

 

Bloody Mary had very little problem dropping a 4^th turn Withering, which would spell disaster if we didn’t already have Mary’s health at least half gone.  That one Withering Shout would stop out Merrys, Teeps, and Survivors, thus also cutting us off from completing The Defias Brotherhood.  Essentially 1 card negated a 1/3 of our deck.  That’s never a good thing. 

 

We ended up tweaking Halavar, including 2 main deck Burn Aways and uping  the Puncture count to 4.  I luckily only saw one Bloody Mary at DMF Orlando(round 1), and was able to best him with a good draw.

 

Where am I going with this?  Glad you asked.  I have a point, I assure you. 

 

A few weeks back, when UDE was previewing cards on the main site, warrior was one of the first classes shown.  I think everyone who saw Sudden Death on that day could see the card’s power.  It was essentially a 2 cost, instant Vanquish.  Once the set was released, I was also greeted with the best equipment destruction card to date, Smash.  Not only does it blow up their equipment at only 2 cost and at instant speed, it also damages the opponent for whatever the cost was.  That’s like kicking someone when they’re down, but hey, it can be fun, right?

 

The only hindrance when using Sudden Death was that it forces you into the new Traitor Hero.  Would losing Cannibalize be worth the addition of Sudden Death?  That’s what I had set out to see.

 

HERO(1)

Lionar the Blood Cursed

 

ABILITIES(26)

1XDeafening Shout

3XBloodrage

4XWithering Shout

4XPuncture

4XShield Bash

3XUnraveled Plans

4XSudden Death

3XSmash

 

QUESTS(14)

2XForces of Jaedenar

4XCounterattack!

4XSwift Discipline

4XA Donation of Silk

 

EQUIPMENT(2)

2XFelsteel Reaper

 

ALLIES(18)

2XPrince Kael’thas Sunstrider

1XIshanah, High Priestess of the Aldor

1XVindicator Zalreth

2XInstructor Antheol

2XDoshura Ridestrider

2XTatulla the Reclaimer

4XXanata the Lightsworn

4XGuardian Steelhorn

 

SIDEBOARD(10)

3XDefensive Stance

1XSmash

1XUnraveled Plans

1XDoshura Risestrider

2XTatulla the Reclaimer

2XVexmaster Nar’jo

 

Control decks received some great new protectors, so of course, Xanata Lightsworn found a nice, new home in the two drop slot along side Guardian Steelhorn.  Those two alone should be enough to slow rush.  But if you’re going to win, you need to stop rush or eventually they’re swarm your defenses.  That’s why Mr. Reliable, Withering Shout, is an automatic 4 set of in this deck.

 

Instructor Antheol is another great card when facing down rush.  His ability to stop both attackers and protector warrants him the 5 drop slot.  His attack isn’t too shabby either.

 

Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider is the new big boy on the constructed block, and what with our hero being a traitor, he finds a nice spot on the end of our ally curve.  Personally, I like Prince Kael’thas over Lady Vashj because his effect has a more immediate and guaranteed effect where as Lady Vashj’s Naga Tokens can be dealt with in a myriad of ways(not to mention that your opponent might have luck of their side and you’ll roll 1’s every time).  Dropping the Prince of turn 9 or 10 can spell game over if your opponent doesn’t have at the very least some way to spend his resources.  Late game, hands are much smaller and instant speed answers are harder to find.

 

There’s one card in the deck I owe an apology to.  I’m sorry Felsteel Reaper for dismissing you when I first saw you.  I just didn’t have any idea how great you could be.  I just saw you as an over priced Tewa.  Technically, it is an overpriced Tewa but being an Equipment makes it much less susceptible to removal than Tewa’s squishy flesh.  Greatsword of Horrid Dreams is still a very popular card and with good reason.  Tewa wouldn’t even be able to enter play with one of those out, where as Felsteel Reaper is good to go. It can swing the turn it comes into play and there’s not much in the way of instant speed equipment removal other than Smash(Wreck I guess technically could be considered instant speed removal-both are Warrior abilities though).

 

The abilities in the deck are pretty well all defensive.  I’ve packed in there hate of every kind.  Allies and equipment should pose no problem what with Sudden Death/Smash/Puncture taking care of most anything that can hit the board.  For the rest(ie Abilities) I’ve got Tatulla and 3 copies of Unraveled Plans.  Shield Bashes round out the hate, being able to stop annoying problems before they even start.

 

I’ve tested this in a few match ups so far and they’re been favorable.  The biggest problem Warrior Control had back a few months ago was Burn Decks(either Boomkin or Mage Burn).  To combat burn, I’ve included 3 side board copies of Defensive Stance.  That card alone can extend you’re life span considerably.

 

I’ve tried this recently against a very fast rush, which it bested relatively easily.  I then followed it up with a heavy control match up, which is also bested pretty easy.  With the draw from Bloodrage, you should be able to pound on your opponent with consecutive fat bombs.  For example a turn 8 Ishana, turn 9 Prince, and a turn 10 Felsteel.  The goal is to not give them time to catch their breath.

 

As I always urge, try this build out. It’s one of my personal favorites right now.  It’s in the pile of decks I’ve got, all contending for the title of “My Favorite”.    It might not be on the top just yet but it’s climbing pretty quickly.  Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated, either in the comment section or via email to Borbwab@gmail.com.

 

 

I want to start this article out and apologize for my poor memory.  When I played in DMF:Orlando I had no inkling that I’d be blogging about it at a later date so I took no notes.  My memory of the event is fair but I apologize if any of my opponents read this and I’m got the information wrong.  I’m pretty sure of the order of my matches, and I certainly remember who won what, it’s just the details that can be fuzzy.

 

ROUND 1

Halavar Vs. Eric’s Bloody Mary

 

Great!  I didn’t like my odds against Bloody Mary and I’ve got one first round.  The gods are just smiling on me already.

 

I shrug it off an decided I’m just going to do my best.  Game 1 goes well and I start in with a good early rush.  I know every turn past 4 that I’ve got Merrys and Ashi’s out is a blessing.  Either he didn’t main deck Withering Shouts or he just couldn’t find them.  I ended  completing a Rescue on turn 5 into a double Defias to completely refill my hand.

 

I side in my Wrecks for his big weapons and game two starts.  I get another decent draw but he does find his Withering Shouts this game so I can kiss my Survivors and Merrys goodbye.  He begins to stabilize but I end up taking it as the rush damage was already done.  I did hold a Mortal Strike the whole game for his inevitable Cannibalize and I respond with it once he does.  He wasn’t aware of the anti healing effect a Mortal Strike has and I end up letting his take back removing all the guys from the game. 

 

ROUND 2

Halavar Vs. Joe’s Warlock

 

I think his hero was Dizdemona, which puzzled me as I hadn’t seen much of her in a long, long time.  I end up losing the roll and he opts to play.

 

Game 1 I get another strong draw and end up hitting two Punctures to deal with his weenie killing Sarmoths.  I think I ended up Heroic Striking once and then Mortal Striking him out for the win game 1.

 

Game 2 I’m on the draw and it’s not a strong hand.  I have no 1 drop and turn two is a Jealene.  He gets out another Sarmoth and that slows the game down as I’m just not able to find a weapon to combat his defenses.  I can’t really remember the particulars but it’s probably because I blacked it out in my mind.

 

Game 3 at least I’m on the play again.  Unfortunately, this is a game like game 2 turned out.  He gets out a Sarmoth and takes pretty strong control of the board.  I got his life total but then things got locked down and I think he won it with a Greench if I’m not mistaken. 

 

I’m not super confident I’d made the right choice here but there’s little I can do to change things now.

 

ROUND 3

Halavar Vs. Richard’s Paladin

 

Richard was a local player I had met the week prior at a local even in Clearwater.  He brought some friends and we just played out some really informal games.  I he and his crew had some strong decks so I know it’s not going to be exactly easy.

 

He drops his hero to reveal Graccus, which happens to be the same deck he played against me last week.  At least I’ve seen it, I thought.

 

I played enough Paladin to know that I’d eventually need to combo him out if I didn’t wrap the game up quickly.  Game 1 I don’t think things came together that well.  I don’t remember the particulars but I think the rush just overran his early defenses.

 

Game 2 ended up going quite a bit longed.  I get weapons out but he ends up clearing my board.  I go in and attack where I can but he eventually gets out Weeble and Vindicator Zalreth, who I kill to give him Weeble again(and some really sick card draw).  The game stalls out and eventually he’s got enough force to move in an crush me so I have to try to combo him.  I’ve only got 2 Mortal Strikes and a Heroic, so if he had 2 copies of Blessing in Hand it was game over.  I have to try anyway.  He doesn’t and that’s game.

 

After the match he revealed e didn’t even have any Blessing so I was playing around a card that wasn’t even a threat.

 

ROUND 4

Halavar Vs. Ryan’s Boomkin(I don’t remember what I faced round 4 or 6.  I know one was Boomkin and one was Nathadan.  I’m just guessing Ryan had Boomkin)

Ah Boomkin.  I’m was interested to sit down with one and see how I’d fair and I guess this is my shot.

 

I remember game one he drops a Moonkin Form which I Burn Away.  Then on turn five he Dreamstates and I Burn Away again.  The untargetables eventually are too much and overrun him.

 

Game 2 I side in the other ability hate and draw into a subpar hand.  I eventually get some board presence but he’s able to clear it quite quickly.  It ends up coming down to me Heroic Striking, taking the chance that if he had the Cyclone, he’d win.  He didn’t and I was able to go in and swing then Mortal Strike for the win.

 

ROUND 5

Halavar Vs. Steve’s Hunter

 

This particular hunter build was spotlighted on the UDE sight a week or so back and it’s a strong build.  It was a refreshing change of pace from Boomkin, Halavar, and Paladin’s that had been running around.

I’m not a pro by anyone’s standard and this round only goes to prove that point.  I made one the biggest bonehead mistakes ever this game.  I can look back on it now and laugh but I wasn’t laughing when I did.

 

Game 1 he started I believe and I’m not able to swing tempo back my way.  I’ve got a decent enough a hand but he early Korthases(Korthi’s?) are slowing me down.  I eventually clear then but the damage was already down.  I start just blindly attacking into his hero, leaving nothing to swing back at the Fury that comes down on turn 5.  I examine my options and painfully decide to run into Fury to stop and hope he doesn’t have another.  He does and I’m able to kill that with a Latro.  I was at a dangerously high 28 life at that point and a turn 7 end of turn Blinky sealed my fate

 

Game 2 I shuffle up and get a tits draw.  Three Merrys, a Latro, and The Defias Brotherhood.  I drop my Merry, and pass.  He drops Korthas and passes as well.  I drop a Latro and pass.  He lay a resource and passes.  I then on turn three I drop the other 2 Merry’s and complete The Defias Brotherhood.  I draw into another Defias which I promptly drop and complete for another two cards.

 

The problem there was it was turn 3 and I’d already resourced.  Steve calls over the judge and I’ve already added the cards to my hands so there’s no way possible to undo the current game state.  I get a big fat game loss and end up with a round loss.

 

Steve was very cool about it.  He didn’t want to win the round like that and I certainly didn’t want to lose the round like that but what can you do.  It’s a high level event and everyone is out to win.  It was uncomfortable but he offered to play a friendly game, which I declined.  He even offered to buy me a beer but I preferred to sulk in peace, so I politely declined.  I learned a very valuable lesson and I  congratulate Steve on his 17^th place finish(I’m pretty sure that’s accurate).

 

The good point of this round, if there was one, was that only 15 minutes had elapsed in the round so I was free to grab food.  I inform my wife of my mistake and she’s comforting.  I grab a giant cookie from Starbucks and decide I’m not out of this thing quite yet.

 

ROUND 6

Halavar vs. Nick’s Nathadan(Remember this might have been flip-flopped with Round 4’s Boomkin, I just don’t recall)

 

Oh good, can’t see enough of Paladin today.  This was the longest match of that round.  Game 1 I win the roll and draw into a decent rush hand.  He doesn’t seem to find much in the way of answers and I’m able to end things pretty quickly(like in 9 or 10 turns, which is good against Paladin).

 

Game 2 he sides in(I assuming) Susvayns and just trounces my early guys.  I’m finally able to get out a couple of weapons and a couple of Rends on him, but it’s too late.  He’s got Sacred Purifications for the Rends and drops a Silea to clear my weapons.  He finishes things that round with a Varimathras, I think.

 

Game 3 then is going to be for all the marbles.  It doesn’t look good for me as I’m repeating game 2.  He clears my early board and then starts digging for answers.  He drops a Silea but holds off on the weapons.  Eventually he drops a Felsteel Reaper and swings in for 10 or so.  My turn I Puncture it and then that’s where the game got weird.   I knew I had to draw into some answers or be done.  I end up hitting 3 Mortal Strikes and 2 Heroics, but he’s got a full hand and probably more than 1  Blessing.  He’s drawing like crazy and pitching things like Varimathras to graveyard.  I really felt he had this game all but locked up but for some reason he’s not ending it.  I still don’t understand but continue to play, prepared to lose.

The game continues and he’s still drawing.  Time is called and a judge is walking by.  We’re the last match still playing so he’s watching the game intently.  As the buzzer for time sounds, he’s discard, which he does, and then he says pass.  He unfortunately thought that end of round procedures would then start on mine but they didn’t.  I take my turn and don’t play, leaving my sole Perditions in play.  He’s got something like 20 health on his hero to 12 on mine.

He takes his turn, runs what allies he can and then passes back.  He was under the assumption that he had another turn and the judge informed him he didn’t.  That didn’t bode well and I Mortal Striked him on his turn.  I had the rest of the Mortal Strikes at that point to respond to his Lay on Hands and that was game.

In hindsight, I shouldn’t have won that game but I did.  My opponent was a great player and I had to asked him after the game was over what he was digging for.  The last card in the deck was another Felsteel Reaper to which he was going to combo me out with a handful of Rak Skyfurys.

 

ROUND 7

Halavar Vs. George’s Nathadan

 

Great.  If I would have know it would have been a day of all Paladin, there wouldn’t have been any question Halavar was the right choice.  Paladin vs. Paladin can be nasty and horribly long.

 

This round was sort of a blur.  I believe game 1 ended in an early combo on my part to which he had no Hammer of Justice to stop the attack.  I figured I needed to take a chance and it paid off.

 

Game 2 was a lot longer and he was able to easily stop my rush, but not without taking nearly fatal damage.  He built up a pretty strong wall and I preceded to dig via Corki’s for my combo pieces.  He eventually gets a Silea and passes the turn with plenty of resources open.  I know he’s just waiting to blow my weapons so I’ve got to do something.  My turn I Heroic Strike, to which he Hammers’ destroying my weapon. In response I Mortal Strike, he Blessing of Freedoms, I Mortal Strike again, he Blessing of Freedoms again, and I Mortal a third time for the win.

 

It was a close one and I only won because he couldn’t find the rest of his Blessings.  He was also using the Inventor’s Focal Sword to completely lock down my hero with a Hardpacked Snowball, which was a great metagame call.

 

ROUND 8

Halavar vs. Brian’s Varanis Bitterstar

 

Well going into round 8 I thought I may have a slim chance of making the top 8.  It was a long shot but if every one of the 8 or so players that were 5 and 2 who had better tie breakers lost, I’d be in.  Probably not going to happen but one can hope. 

 

I had known Brian from my days of playing Star Wars CCG.  He and his brother had racked up a pretty impressive record in that game, ranking 1^st and 2^nd , respectively, in constructed.  Brian had beaten me in the New York State SWCCG Championship back in 98 or so, so I was eager to try and prove my worth.

 

His unorthodox hero took me by surprise but I’d played plenty of Mage myself, trying to find a control version that would work for me.  I knew Mage’s biggest problem was Untargetables and fortunately, I had plenty of those.  I just don’t want to see Slow on Turn 3 without a Burn Away in hand.

 

Game 1 I win the roll and draw into a great anti-Mage hand.  I’ve got a Merry and a Jealene along with a Perdition’s Blade.  I drop Merry, he places and passes.  I drop Jealene and pass to which he drops a Steelhorn and passes.  I drop the Perdition’s, ping Steelhorn, and attack in.  He ends up dropping a Kralnor to find his Bringer of Death on turn 3 and I attack around.  His low life total is putting him dangerously close to the end.  He ends up clearing away some of my guys and dropping a Bringer on turn 5.  I attack and he neglects to pop the Bringer on his turn 6.  I had held back a Jealene and a Whispering Blade for fear of the Bringer but it didn’t come.  My turn I attack and he tries to pop the Bringer.  He made the mistake of thinking he could Bringer on my turn.  The game ends there as I’ve got enough out to do fatal damage.

 

Game 2 was the exact opposite of game 1.  He gets out a Steelhorn and I can’t find a Perditions.  The game gets stalled out long enough for me to get damage on him but he drops a Slow on me, squashing any hope of comboing out.  He then proceeds to dominate the board, clearing everything I’ve got and dropping a Greench.  I don’t immediately concede as I’ve got a couple of Mortal Strikes but with only a Perdition’s Blade, they’re not to scary.  He’s got counters in his hand and we go back and forth and then he just ends it with an all out assault, so it’s on to game 3.

 

Game three was almost an exact repeat of game 1 and the Untargetables come at him pretty quick.  He find very little protection and things never quite swung back his way. 

 

To Brian’s defense, the whole game he was visibly distracted.  His brother was playing Brad Watson I think for a shot at the top 8.  His brother ended up making the top 8 with his Gorebelly, so congrats to him.

At this point it’s like 7:30 so we’ve been playing WoW for pretty well 10 hours straight.  We wait for the finals to be posted and I figure I’m a shoe in for an EA Shadowfiend.  I ask around and with my teammates to see how they did.  For whatever reason, they didn’t fair as well as I did and ended up 4-4 and 3-5.  Final standings were posted and I ended up in 20^th, pretty well at the bottom of the 6-2 players.  I guess most of my early opponents must have dropped as my tiebreakers where complete crap.

 

We discuss pizza for dinner back at the hotel and I wait in line for my prizes.  For my effort I net 16 packs of March of the Legion as well as my EA Shadowfied.  Not a bad day’s haul for my first major event(especially because the packs were good-I ended up with a Bringer of Death, an Archbishop Benedictus, a Demonslayer, and a Portal).

 

I hope I didn’t screw up any of the major details of this report.  I learned a lot going into this event I look forward to the future of this game.  My wife actually had a good time sitting on the couch watching Rock Band all weekend and I think I could probably talk her into another DMF or Nationals in the future.  I’m not going to press my luck though.

 

 

I guess this article is a little late coming, but I feel it's going to contain some important information for people out there playing in major WoW:TCG events around the country.  I wanted to start off with saying that I'm by no means an expert.  I just wante