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“Who died and made you ****ing king of the zombies?”
Ed, Shaun of the Dead
This weekend was an enormous few days of gaming, with a number of Realm Champions now flashing V.I.P cards on the road to the World Championships in Amsterdam. Having won a realm qualifier that was even larger than the United Kingdom Realm Championship, I sleeved up some cards and headed to Luton with Amy aiming for back to back Realm Top 8s. The only problem was which deck to sleeve...
Unless you have been living under a rock since the World Cup, the deck to beat was almost certainly [Spark] Combo. With a variety of builds doing the circuits, either way you were heading into your tournament knowing that you had to have a game plan to handle the ensuing [Feral Spirit] onslaught while being ever wary of a [Great Elekk] powering up a [Spark]. I always hate to play the best known deck because I don’t like being in a position where my opponents know what I am doing and are prepared to the teeth for it.
As such I always try and play the answer, and heading into this metagame I had figured that answer to be [Marundal the Kindred]. 13/13 [Avatar of the Wild]? Five gangly ghoul tokens ready to eat brains after wiping my board? Random [Gift of the Earthmother]s making every Worgen under the sun even harder to deal with? Marundal’s power takes care of them all.
Unfortunately I had no time to really test, and only a few ideas of what I wanted to do. I really wanted to break out a brew of Paladin [Scimitar of Sirocco] backed up by [Urn of Forgotten Memories] to keep bringing back Marundal, [Adam Eternum] and the suite of amazing Alliance two drops, and I thought the arrival of [Muradin Bronzebeard] would send that list over the top. That was until I realised Paladin had nothing else going for it besides a couple of draw effects.
Speaking of Assault on Icecrown Citadel treasure cards, let’s take a trip back to February and the morning-after-the-night-before where I qualified for this fine event. Amy and I were back up at the crack of dawn having driven through the Peak District fog, snow and all at midnight due to mice in the hotel room, and we were on our way to another qualifier in Stoke. On the way I cracked out my best friend (the iPhone), and stumbled across a thread leaking all the cards. Two caught my eye and excited Amy more than a sunny day on the beach: [Fel Trade] and [Phylactery of the Nameless Lich].
At first I thought the concept to be simply Battlegrounds material, but insanely fun. I built a Goblin Warlock deck that tried to make sure you always had [Exxi the Windshaper] and [Bath’rah the Windwatcher] in play for a fun 20 damage, and messed around with a version of Bogmara that focused more on Orgrimmar after Ross Silcock and Tom Battcock showed me their list, but none were tasty. I really wanted to break out [Ymirheim Chosen Warrior]s and use [Fel Trade] with the Phylactery for plays more awesome than a [Poach] and [Junkboxes Needed] to the throat, but I really didn’t want to give up [Dethvir the Malignant] or [Dimzer the Prestidigitator] for [Dalronn the Controller]. Queue ponying around on Famous Social Networking Site #1™ and seeing Joey Zellmer saying how he had found an awesome deck months before the event. Ever curious I asked him for it and it was a Dalronn deck. I made a few changes to it and this is what I came up with and played this weekend.
Hero - [Dalronn the Controller]
Master Heroes – 1
1 [The Lich King]
Allies – 28
8 [Ymirheim Chosen Warriors]
3 [Hesriana]
3 [Mikael the Blunt]
4 [Dreadsteed]
3 [Marundal the Kindred]
2 [Corvus Promaethon]
2 [Pappy Ironbane]
2 [King Varian Wrynn]
1 [Sindragosa, the Frost Queen]
Abilities – 14
4 [Fel Trade]
4 [Lesson of the Nether]
4 [Tuskarr Kite]
2 [Ritual of Summoning]
Equipment – 4
4 [Phylactery of the Nameless Lich]
Quests and Locations – 14
3 [Eye of the Storm]
4 [Concerted Efforts]
4 [A Question of Gluttony]
2 [Torch of Retribution]
1 [Cleansing Witch Hill]
The first thing to know about this list is that I completely skipped on one card which makes a bunch of match-ups a lot better and also forgot the other existed even though Joey reminded me about it the night before. The former is [Ryno the Short] and the latter [Blue Suede Shoes], both of which appear in Pat Eshgy’s Top 8 build from the Azshara realm final (and I know Joey was talking to Pat quite a bit). The deck’s plan is fairly simple: make a bunch of guys that replace themselves and then turn them into the King or Sindragosa. If people were wondering on the aforementioned #1 Social Network site what the ‘Nexus’ deck was, this is it. The original name (now changed to Zombie-Go after people kept pointing out the similarity between the Ymirheim and Squadron Hawk from another game) stemmed from WWE’s stable The Nexus, who seemed to be a never-ending stream of weaker members before their leader got involved to deliver the final blow to John Cena or whichever face it was that week. I liked the idea that the [Ymirheim Chosen Warrior]s were delivering really small beats and forming a wall before Big Man Varian came down to blow everyone else away.
[Fel Trade] is a really fun card. I do like that you can just turn a bunch of guys into something that should win you the game. Unfortunately I had no time to really test with it due to not having a playgroup or mws right now (working nights sucks, for those who have never had such a pleasure), so I went into the Championship relying heavily on the few Monday nights I’d messed about with it and all the ideas spinning through my head. The biggest card I had added myself that Joey hadn’t was [Ritual of Summoning]. As you always have a bunch of guys but not always Fel Trade this meant I could find any legal ally (normally the two missing copies of the King) that would end the game right there and then.
I was banking on a lot of people not having a clue what to do with it, and that Marundal would wreck a lot of game plans. I think a large part of my success with Triton those many moons ago was that people did not know what [Scimitar of the Sirocco] was good for, and I was hoping to translate that success with Dalronn and just have a fun day’s gaming. I wanted to piggy-back into the draft on 5-1 and then rely on my preferred format to carry me into the Top 8, where I would hopefully bemuse more people.
Round 1 – [Jumo’zin] Resource Control
This was apparently a favorable match-up. It is definitely favorable if you have Ryno and/or Blue Suede Shoes, because you know you have about twenty turns to wait before you need to go off, and then you can go off with protection from [Hibernate] and [Utopia]. My opponent Joseph mulliganed into a hand with three [Innervate] and two [Avatar of the Wild], and had a [Netherbreath Spellblade] for posterity. This is an almost perfect hand against me because he will always draw a ton of cards and therefore eventually find the answers. I Lessoned him out of the first Hibernate and immediately traded into the King, and he played a bunch of Innervates and drew another. I then tried to aggro him out with Marundal and five Ymirheim, but I knew immediately I had gotten greedy and sure enough a Utopia came down. I made a Lich King but with your graveyard always being shuffled by three [Torch of Retribution]s and a severe lack of allies in Jumo’zin, he was never really going to do much. The first big Avatar died to a Marundal, but he then got a healing system online and I kept drawing Phylactery instead of something threatening.
Ideally I wanted Ritual of Summoning which I never saw, but I can’t blame that for this loss which without the protection afforded by forgotten cards was never really going to be smooth.
0-1
Round 2 – Lanthus Abberation Aggro
So the perfect start, and I then get to face the deck I wrote about last time with three added Murradin Bronzebeard. How do I know this is exactly the deck I wrote about? Because I gave it to Amy to play in the first place. Awesome...
Fortunately the little Worgen guys really don’t like your zombie wall unless they pump up with Gift, and Amy got me to 26 before the King ended the game after she failed to draw one of the four Hibernate in the deck.
1-1
Round 3 – Bogmara Trade Aggro-Combo
I got paired down to Kat playing Bogmara, and whilst I was not one hundred percent certain that is was pure balls-deep aggro I was semi-sure that as she was good friends with Ross that it was the [Fel Trade] build. I mulliganed into zip and was not happy when I saw a turn one Onnekra into flip + [Twilight Vanquisher Knolan], especially as I had to Fel Trade my own [Dreadsteed] to make a Mikael to wipe her board. She had no quests and no Kite I could see, I managed to zombie-up and turn her [Orgrimmar] off with [Cleansing Witch Hill]. I Lessoned, saw no Hesriana and made Varian, and she didn’t draw one of the deadly succubus allies needed to survive.
2-1
Before I continue on my merry journey I’m going to point out that as I lost my first round, Amy being 0-3 and having just beaten a pair-down who was also now 0-3, I knew I had the worst tiebreaker in the room. All I wanted to do was win-out to 5-1 the core, get into pod one, and then a single win would carry me through to the Top 8.
Round 4 – Sepirion Angry Men Aggro
Andrew Lam has been around as long as me and he always plays a deck with lots of angry red men in it. Fortunately for me this match-up is fairly favorable due to the wall of guys and Marundal for [Feral Spirit]...until you see a [Fork Lightning] fry said Marundal. I was at twenty two damage and I knew that I could lose to burn even if I made a King. He completed [That’s Abominable!] and discarded two Feral Spirit, but didn’t find the burn and extended the hand shake before the King sliced him up.
3-1
Round 5 – Kinivus Spark
Here we go, a match-up that is favorable and would go a long way to fixing my tiebreakers as Paul Graham is a stand-out chap who has a good record of 3-0ing drafts. I mulliganed into Ritual of Summoning, Sindragosa, The Lich King and an [Eye of the Storm]. I Hesriana a Mikael, and then I Hesriana his turn four Mangi. I still don’t have anything vaguely exciting, but more worryingly I don’t have Marundal or Fel Trade to find Marundal. I get my zombie-combo online and stall him a bit, and it gets to turn eight with me facing four Spirit Wolves and two [Tuskarr Kite]. I have a Dreadsteed in play that I Kite myself, but still don’t find either of them. Paul only has Eye of the Storm up on four counters, so I’d already made a mental note not to play Ritual despite me having a ready Hesriana and Ymirheim. My Eye is on three counters, and I’d just drawn Corvus. The correct play: recruit Corvus, Lesson his hand for the second Elekk (having Kilrogged one earlier), and pass the turn, exhausting his four puppies and hope I find Marundal off of the next card.
What happened? I paid eight for Ritual.
3-2
My first big play error of the day, and whilst I think I’d lost that game due to the sheer card advantage Paul had been racking up with his double Kite, I was not massively impressed with myself. I’d also now blown my chance of getting into the superior pod one (where 6/8 would Top 8).
Round 6 – Koo’zar Rush
What’s not to love about this match-up? It’s explosive as hell so I know I need to gain control turn three and then set-up zombieland before Mr. Jonny Roberts can top deck to victory. I was not impressed that my turn two Dreadsteed was killed by [Shadow Word: Anguish]. However it had baited that out, so turn three after he flipped and made a lot of exhausted ferocity men, my Mikael was safe to clean up. I then walled up, made the King, and he scooped.
4-2
Not the greatest position to be in, and I was not terribly thrilled when I found out pod one would have seven drafters, as would pod two. Bye into top eight? Sure. Don’t mind if I watch you all do it. Would love to know the policy on this but with no time to contest it as I had no idea how to prove that with 35 players left pods one and two should both be eight deep I just decided to get on with it. My pod had three of the Scottish guys (they draft every week), Tom who had recently joined a couple of Magic players in playing the game locally with Amy (knows how to play cards), somebody I’d never met before (joker in the pack) and Paul “Don’t Play Like A Donkey Against Me You Donkey” Graham.
Pack One: Nothing exciting, I open Gallywix and take [Zuur], get passed another [Zuur] that I vacuum up as well as an [Emerald Wanderer]. I guess the four-drop slot is fine, right? I get a [Koeus] and two of the 2/1 1 drop Draenei that isn’t my preferred [Emerald Captain]. I see no class cards at all but it’s pack one, so I stick to the Alliance nature plan and hope to get some better quests and a class in five minutes time.
Pack Two: I open [Boomer], who I am not passing anywhere even if it means I am the much feared third hunter. I take some more men but none of the nice 2/3 two drops. I get passed [Varandas Silverleaf] so I’m sure the guy isn’t in blue. I get one of the ‘if nature dealt’ quests and pick up a lot of Mage burn and a [Mana Shift], but I don’t like mage as a class in the format.
Pack Three: I open [Aspect of the Wild]. Well okay. You’re not a [Charmed Ancient Bone Bow] but I’ll be damned if I’m now not playing Hunter. Do I see [Steady Shot] or [Tesla]? Of course not, but I do find a [Blast Trap]*. I don’t see many more Alliance guys or good quests, in fact nothing I saw was very exciting and I took every 2/1 I could find, ending up with one [Emerald Captain] and four [Hira]. Trust me, I wasn’t happy about it either but it was that or a bunch of bad Paladin cards.
My game plan? Always make sure I have Boomer or Varandas on turn two (with a [Finding the Source] to power Varandas...I know, I didn’t want that quest in my deck either but you need thirty somehow right?). Then it would be everyone in the Hummer so we can get to the Zuur party and hope I find Aspect.
Round 7 – Red Hunter
What do you know, the other hunter. Great, let’s play ‘how many Tesla do you have?’ game. Game one has the dubious record for being the fastest game I have ever won in any format...ever. Turn one Hira, pass, turn two Boomer, 0/6 protector, kill your guy and make the three drop 3/3 Mend dwarf, scoop. Game two was thankfully tighter as I didn’t want to start believing that I had somehow drafted a genius rush deck (I hadn’t), and he edged me after I couldn’t answer his Sudden Shot combo with the 1/7 Time is Money guy that can ping for one despite having double Koeus. Game three I rushed him out.
5-2
Round 8 – Blue Druid
So, I’ll just let you guys know now that I didn’t draft any equipment hate except for a lone [Landro’s Lil’ XT]. I was scared to death by King Genn and then realised Blast Trap was good against 4+ costed allies (this is important for the Round 9 story). Game two he made a [Grim Campfire] and I windmill slammed the robot onto the field.
6-2
Round 9 – Blue Rogue
Do you remember that really bad play I made against Paul Graham in round five? Well I’m now playing Paul again. If I win, we both Top 8 (we don’t know tiebreakers or standings but I knew four 6-3 would go in and that he had one of the best tiebreakers for it due to his constructed losses both making a home in pod one). If he wins, I probably end up on the bubble and moan for a few hours about pod one having seven people in it, and as such three of them having byes into the Top 8.
Game one he scoops to my second Zuur (recurring Zuur) after I make Aspect. Game two I keep trying to Blast Trap weenies much to my own embarrassment with Stuart (on table one next to us) rightfully laughing at me. He uses double [Excessive Force] on [Jarrod Gravon] to make me cry, and I almost manage to regain control of the board but I don’t draw a meaningful man for a long time. Game three I have a really bad mulligan and despite having Varandas I find no quests to use with him. I still try and Blast Trap weenies to give away more free information, and I’m wiped out to fatal by turn seven.
6-3
Final standings are posted and I hitch a lift into quad foil Varian’s for my Zombie-Go at 10th. Paul makes Top 8 alongside Tom from our pod. Ultimately I don’t regret my core choice except for not having bothered to look properly through my Drums block folder for Ryno. It’s a very fun deck to play, although you certainly don’t need anything other than two Kings and two Ritual of Summoning. That means you can drop the Master Hero and Sindragosa for juicier early plays. I don’t even really blame the draft either. The boosters seemed really lack-luster and if I hadn’t opened insanely good rares in packs two and three I would never have been on the bubble in the first place.
And being realistic, no matter what I’d have played, had I made it, I’d have lost to Stuart in the Top 8 regardless. I hope that was a fun read, and next time I’ll be taking a look at how War of the Elements opens up some interesting options for the Core format.
Song of the Tournament: Bodies – Drowning Pool
-Jack Fejer
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