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Welcome back to part 2 of my World Cup primer!
Today we are going to go over the last five classes that were left over from last week. These classes are: Death Knight, Druid, Warlock, Paladin, and Rogue. Of these decks we have two of the strongest decks in the format, Death Knight and Warlock. Even though Death Knight didn't find a spot in the top 8 of Darkmoon Faire Orlando, I assure you that it is one of the best classes in the format. In a metagame dominated by decks with lots of allies, Death Knight reigns from on high with access to cards like [Corpse Explosion] and [Army of the Dead]. Oh, and I hear that [Deathcharger] card ain't too shabby either.
Speaking of ally control, I'd like you meet two of my good friends; [Hesriana] and Dr. Warlock. Warlock was the big winner in Orlando, with three very strong archetypes making strong appearances at the tournament. While Stuart Wright's Undead version of the deck took home the trophy, we can't forget that Alliance and all-in rush variants of this class are still putting up strong numbers going into the World Cup.
The following lists feature two fringe decks that are looking to explode onto the scene, Druid and Rogue. Both of these decks have some great cards just waiting to be utilized. Rogue has the best discard suite in the game right now, and Druid has some very sick cards that just haven't been pieced together correctly yet. Both decks might be bananas…but no tier-1 decks from these classes have been developed as of yet. As for our final class we have paladin. Right. Moving on…
Just a small side-note before I move into my class breakdowns, I want to point out that I will not be going into Assault on Icecrown treasure cards just yet. This is because they will not be legal for the World Cup. In upcoming articles I assure you I will be going over them, but for now you will have to wait. Well enough with the jibber jabber! Let's get down to business!
-----DEATH KNIGHT-----
Leading up to Orlando there had been quite a few Death Knight sightings in RCQs across the country. Both Triton and Erondra were growing in popularity right up until the DMF hit, so there was very little surprise that the big name players from Chicago and Las Vegas all brought identical copies of a [Triton the Sacrilegious] list. What was surprising, however, was the fact that none of them Top 8ed the event with said list. This brings up a very interesting point. It's actually hard to believe that a tournament where Tim "Timbo Slice" Rivera, Bradley "Pretty Boy" Watson, David "D-BO" Bodimer, Rob "Sweet Feet" Swarowski, and Matt "The Angriest Human Alive" Spreadbury are all in attendance, and none of them top 8. With this in mind, is it fair to think that Death Knight just simply isn't good? After all, these are probably the best players at the tournament, and they were running what they thought was the best list for the tournament…and none of them top 8ed? The correct answer is that Death Knight is absolutely good, and in fact I think it's one of if not the best decks in the format.
First of all, every one of the people I listed with their totally not made-up nicknames ended up with 7 or more wins. What I think happened is that they caught some bad luck in pairings, and I don't think they were fully prepared to face the control Mage decks that seemed to tear them apart. With that in mind I have designed this updated list that should help them beat up on Mage as well as still have plenty of game against everything else in the meta…aka I put in [Strangulate]s.
The real question I have for everyone is: Why isn't this deck Alliance? While you do lose a lot of very powerful cards, are Adam Eternum and Weldon better? Adam in particular seems very good with the way that the metagame is shifting. I've also heard that [Scimitar of the Sirocco] in conjunction with [Adam Eternum] is some pretty brutal stuff for just about every deck. While I think that Alliance Death Knight could be a very good choice, I still think that the Dethvir and [Vuz'din] combination is just too good not to run, especially in a deck that does such a good job of protecting them.
[Triton the Sacrilegious]
4x [Broderick Langforth]
3x [Deathcharger]
4x [Vuz'din]
4x [Dethvir the Malignant]
3x [Nathanos Blightcaller]
3x [Cairne, Earthmothers Chosen]
3x [Saurfang the Younger, Kor'kron Warlord]
4x [Tuskarr Kite]
3x [Army of the Dead]
4x [Corpse Explosion]
3x [Entomb]
3x [Strangulate]
3x [Scimitar of the Sirocco]
3x [Extract of Necromantic Power]
3x [Kor'kron Vanguard]
3x [Darkness Calling]
3x [Proving Grounds]
4x [A Question of Gluttony]
Top 3 Death Knight Cards:
3. [Extract of Necromantic Power]
2. [Corpse Explosion]
1. [Army of the Dead]
Overrated: [Unholy Ground]
Underrated: [Strangulate]
-----DRUID-----
Druid seems to be the wild card deck going into the World Cup. While there have been a few interesting Druid decklists spotted running around the RCQs and the forums, none of them have been good enough to step up to the plate. With the amount of time that the Europeans have had to playtest and brew up decks for the upcoming event, I think that Druid might just blast onto the scene.
I believe that there are three possible ways of building a competitive deck for this class. The first is some sort of Alliance nature rush deck with [Earth and Moon]. I have totally fallen in love with the idea of a nature rush deck going back to the first time I drafted Worldbreaker. [Zuur] is basically the greatest card of all time, and [Koeus] is absolutely insane in this format. You also get a bunch of Aberration guys and the tempo of [Bella Wilder], but what makes this deck unreal is [Aileen the Thunderblessed]. She is nuts.
The second possible deck choice is some sort of control deck that kills you with [Avatar of the Wild] or some other finisher. I faced a Bear Form control deck that was kind of cool, but I also saw one of my friends lose to a Druid deck that healed 38-damage every turn. I'm not sure what either of them had for a finisher, but the concept is definitely there.
The final option for a deck is reverting back to a few years ago, and trying out what was then known as "boomkin". I played boomkin at nationals a few years ago, and I really liked that deck a lot. While it loses [Moonfire], its best card, it gains quite a few very explosive additions. It also has a million answers for its worst enemy, [Vuz'din]. The best thing about this strategy is that almost nobody will have answers for your deck. [Counterspell]s are only really played in Mage, and killing off allies is this decks job. This build should crush absolutely any deck that is built for an ally intensive environment. Do not pass over this decklist, while this version is very raw, it has a lot of potential.
[Gwon Strongbark]
4x [Starshot]
3x [Wrath]
4x [Earth and Moon]
3x [Hibernate]
2x [Utopia]
3x [Celestial Shard]
4x [Natural Repossession]
3x [Hurricane]
4x [Innervate]
2x [The Natural Order]
4x [Avatar of the Wild]
1x [Chilly Slobberknocker]
2x [Netherbreath Spellblade]
3x [String of Beaded Bubbles]
2x [Gnomish Poultryizer]
3x [Band of Channeled Magic]
4x [A Question of Gluttony]
4x [Journey to Astranaar]
3x [Mystery Goo]
2x [Darkness Calling]
Top 3 Druid Cards:
3. [Innervate]
2. [Natural Repossession]
1. [Avatar of the Wild]
Overrated: [Nature's Vengeance]
Underrated: [Earth and Moon]
-----WARLOCK-----
I think it's safe to say that this is the class to watch out for at the world cup. I predict that Warlock will be the highest played class at the tournament. I could see over 80% of teams having this as one of their decks for the team portion of the tournament.
This class has something for every type of player. For the heavy control players I suggest rocking out with [Pidge Filthfinder]. This deck has heavy control of its opponents hand and board throughout the entire game. The problem with this build is sometimes the faster decks can just beat you, and your hands are often awkward.
For everyone who likes to turn guys sideways, I hear [Souldrinker Bogmara] is all the rage. Jim Fleckenstein's card finally caught on! The explosiveness of this deck is what makes it attractive to players. Sometimes this build just gets free wins when turn one it unloads 3 guys and a [Lesson of the Nether]. No deck is able to handle draws like that, but the real problem with this deck is if it goes second and/or gets a slow hand, it has some really big trouble. Without a turn one [Lesson of the Nether], this deck can get very sketchy very fast.
Finally, for those looking for a consistent deck with raw power that has at least a 50/50 matchup against everything I'd like to direct you to Stuart "[Water Breathing]" Wright's [Jeremiah Karvok] deck. The deck could be tweaked around a bit, but honestly I don't think it could get much better. Feel free to try and jam in cards to this deck, but I wouldn't advise it. [Jeremiah Karvok] is just straight up good. If you are planning on attending the World Cup, this deck needs to be the focus of your gauntlet. And like the old motto goes, "If you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em."
[Jeremiah Karvok]
4x [Dethvir the Malignant]
3x [Sava'gin the Reckless]
4x [Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen]
1x [Sardok]
1x [Skumm Bag'go]
1x [Rhuunom]
3x [Vuzdin]
3x [Munkin Blackfist]
1x [Cromarius Blackfist]
4x [Dreadsteed]
4x [Broderick Langforth]
3x [Saurfang the Younger, Kor'kron Warlord]
4x [Hesriana]
2x [Mias the Putrid]
1x [Thrall, Warchief of the Horde]
3x [Lesson of the Nether]
2x [Summoning Portal]
4x [Tuskarr Kite]
3x [Bloody Ritual]
3x [Kor'kron Vanguard]
4x [For Great Honor]
Top 3 Warlock Cards:
3. [Bloody Ritual]
2. [Lesson of the Nether]
1. [Hesriana]
Overrated: [Ritual of Summoning]
Underrated: [Suspended Curse]
-----PALADIN-----
I really wanted this class to be good. I worked on a [Torch of Holy Fire] deck, I worked on a "Ring Pop" deck, I worked on a [Vigil of the Light], I even tried to make [Paint Bomb] work. . . .None of them did. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but I just don't see this class working. If you are reading this laughing at my stupidity and you have the unbeatable paladin deck, then more power to you. I think that there are too many [Undercity]s and [The Torch of Retribution]s running around for me to think that Paladin is a viable option. The only Paladin decks that have been popping up are the human decks that try and accelerate to a quick [King Varian Wrynn] Even though this deck can't beat Death Knight, and gets wrecked by [Hesriana]…Here's a decklist!
2x [Jaina, Lady of Theramore]
2x [Alchemist Finklestein]
1x [Brother Keltan]
2x [Crusade Commander Entari]
3x [Crusade Engineer Spitzpatrick]
3x [Adam Eternum]
2x [Swift Palomino]
2x [Sister Colleen Tulley]
2x [Father Gustav]
2x [Veteran Crusader Aliocha Segard]
3x [Anduinn Wrynn]
3x [Flint Shadowmore]
4x [Lady Bancroft]
2x [King Varian Wrynn]
3x [Weldon Barov]
4x [Tuskarr Kite]
3x [Blessing of Kings]
3x [Vigil of the Light]
4x [Stormwind City]
4x [The Call of the Crusade]
4x [Darkness Calling]
2x [Proving Grounds]
Top 3 Paladin Cards
3. [Blessing of Kings]
2. [Hammer of Justice]
1. [Penance]
Overrated: [Uplifting Prayer]
Underrated: [Glimmer of Hope]
-----ROGUE-----
Going into the World Cup, it looks like Rogue is going to be a very…well…rogue deck choice. If you haven't figured it out yet, the current configuration of Zorks just isn't a good deck right now. It has decent synergies, but it's a dog against most of the other big decks in the format. Early in the format's life this deck was performing very well at the RCQs, but once more tournament reports got out, and people started adapting to the format, Zorks kept fading further and further back, until Orlando happened, and it fell off the map.
At the world cup I think we are going to see some very different versions of this deck. Much of the power of Rogue comes from its strong discard, and it's ability to dismantle control decks. But the big problems that Rogue decks have faced in the past were lack of card draw and finishing off those control decks. [Tuskarr Kite] helps with part one and some innovations are needed to fix part two. My thought process on this version of Rogue is to try and beat the other control decks. [Band of Vile Aggression] is a control deck’s nightmare, and when it is combined with [Poach] and [Junkboxes Needed] to clear out their threats and answers it creates some very advantageous situations. I also wanted to note that I decided on Alliance for this deck, because I think it is one of the only decks that can actually utilize [Burly Berta]. In this environment I have had a lot of trouble getting her to work, but with [Poach] and [Stab in the Dark] it's much easier. I would also like to note that [Burgle] may be the best card in the format.
[Gyro of the Ring]
2x [Ysera the Dreamer]
4x [Mikael the Blunt]
4x [Burly Berta]
3x [Adam Eternum]
3x [Lord Jorach Ravenholdt]
3x [Weldon Barov]
2x [Pappy Ironbane]
3x [Dimzer the Prestidigitator]
3x [Band of Vile Aggression]
4x [Poach]
3x [Stab in the Dark]
3x [Deadliness]
4x [Tuskarr Kite]
3x [Victimize]
3x [Burgle]
3x [Eye of the Storm]
4x [Junkboxes Needed]
4x [A Question of Gluttony]
2x [The Torch of Retribution]
Top 3 Rogue Cards:
3. [Junkboxes Needed]
2. [Burgle]
1. [Poach]
Underrated: [Burgle]
Overrated: [Deadliness]
Good Luck to everyone attending the World Cup!
Andrew Trebing
Andrew Trebing is a regular Darkmoon Faire competitor, having Top 8ed multiple events across the years. Most recently he finished in 4th place at the 2010 North American Continental Championship. Andrew can be found locally in northern New Jersey where he recently graduated with a psychology degree in order to accomplish two things: improving his bluffing skills and tricking the top players into giving him their decklists.
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