I was really looking forward to this event for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was the first time for me to join an official Realm Champs. Previously I missed the one in Prague even though I was qualified and the second one I joined was unofficial. Secondly this event was offering closure to the Worldbreaker only Core format. Now I’m finally able to dive into the new set and test it in the emerging and crazy Classic metagame.

Testing, Testing, Testing...

Choosing a deck for this event was no easy task. Team Problem was testing all the different options right after the World Cup in Paris and week after week the conclusion was the same. There is no deck to win it all, everything is good. In his weekly article Philip Martin called it “Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock”, which is exactly how I felt about it. I didn’t want to play the same deck as in Paris, but after all this time of frustration and frantic testing I finally came around and made my choice. Jeremiah Karvok was the one. I strongly felt that Death Knight would be a better pick, but I knew exactly how to play Stuart’s Warlock and I felt good with it. I’ve made a final test on a battleground, which was held 1 week prior to the Champs and I went 7-0 with it.

My final decklist was almost an exact copy from Paris with exception of two cards. I traded [Kel’Thuzad] and [Sava'gin the Reckless] for [Conqueror Yun’zon] and [Canessa the Shadow].

Hero: Jeremiah Karvok

Allies: 36

3 [Saurfang the Younger, Kor'kron Warlord]

4 [Dreadsteed]

1 [Conqueror Yun’zon]

3 [Sava'gin the Reckless]

4 [Hesriana]

2 [Munkin Blackfist]

4 [Deth'vir the Malignant]

1 [Thrall, Warchief of the Horde]

1 [Sardok]

1 [Skumm Bag'go]

1 [Rhuunom]

2 [Mias the Putrid]

3 [Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen]

4 [Broderick Langforth]

2 [Vuz'din]

1 [Canissa the Shadow]

 Abilities: 13

3 [Lesson of the Nether]

4 [Tuskarr Kite]

3 [Bloody Ritual]

3 [Summoning Portal]

Equipment: 2

2 [Talisman of the Horde]

Locations: 3

3 [Kor'kron Vanguard]

Quests: 6

2 [Darkness Calling]

4 [For Great Honor]

Most part of this deck is well known, but I’d like to explain a couple of changes that I’ve made here:

[Talisman of the Horde] – We have [Vuz’din] and [Munkin Blackfist] in the deck, so why do we need it? I’ve cut 1 [Vuz’din] and 1 [Munkin Blackfist] from Stuart’s list to accommodate those cards and I tell you they’ve won me a couple of games on their own. The original inclusion was mainly to fight [Gladiator’s Regalia]. This deck had no response to the big armor except for a perfect [Lesson of the Nether]. Even though Velindra deck lost her popularity after Paris I’ve kept the talismans due to the following reasons:

• It’s awesome against [Death Wish], most often getting rid of both [Greaves of Ancient Evil] and the prep armor.

• It’s still good against high cost equips like [Netherbreath Spellblade], Regalia and [Jin’rokh, the Great Apocalypse].

• It can destroy opposing Kites – this might seem weak, but it is awesome! You just cut an opposing Kite, or multiple Kites and go on with your rituals to outdraw your opponent. Even when you destroy your own Kite (you shouldn’t if you play smart) it’s still beneficial for you.

• It’s another means to get rid of excessive [Voice of Reason]s.

• Thrall can fish it out from the graveyard!

[Conqueror Yun’zon] – I’ve spied this tech in Tim Rivera’s version. Tim had played 2 copies, but I couldn’t fit the second one. This guy is perfect. He is not only awesome against Death Wish, but also helps with Saurfang, Berta, Adam and Muradin. The best part is you can surprise your opponent and he might not realize that his Saurfang lost his Ferocity, or that he can’t escape with his Adam anymore.

[Canissa the Shadow] – Finally my own tech. I wanted to have this girl in my deck as a perfect response to Spark combo (switching off hero’s power in response to Spark) and [Kel’Thuzad]. She is a trump card that can turn the stakes of the battle in your favor during last turns; she is also not useless earlier as she can do so many tricks during the game.

Location, location, location...

The tournament took place in Krakow. It’s a really nice city with a grand castle, famous for its dragon. The event was to be held in a public library not far from the station. We took a train from Warsaw at 06:00 am and reached our destination just in time to register around 10 am. The place was awesome! It was very clean and spacious. The organization was great and we even had free food and refreshments for everyone! The announcements were in both Polish and English and there were no problems with communication. We had a whooping amount of 64 players, so the competition was fierce.

The whole event, while sponsored by CZE was organized by BARD Company from Poland. On the above picture you can see our TO proudly wearing his company’s badge.

Core, Core, Core…

Round 1 vs Buda, Wojciech – [Vorix Zorbuzz]

This was a fun game. I was not surprised when I saw Vorix as Wojciech “Theo” is a well known Rogue player from Wroclaw. He opened with [Seal Fate] hitting for 2 and Uruka for another 4. I was not taken aback by this early damage as I knew the deck well. I was sure that Theo has added his own twist to the strike-out Poison Rogue, but with enough drawing power and Dethvirs I supposed it would be fine. T1 I attacked with Kor’kron and T2 I played a [Dreadsteed]. Wojciech took out my [Tuskarr Kite] with his [Junkboxes Needed,] which led me to force playing a Sava’gin on T3. He answered with Spinning Fate, which was successful, but I quickly followed with a second Dethvir combined with Lessons getting rid of the blasted shuriken.

At that time my opponent had 3 poisons and [Titan-forged Rune] in his hand, but I was out of cards so the Rune was useless. In the next turns I was putting some pressure even though some poisons were on me. A [Skumm Bag’go] from the top closed one of Theo’s quests cutting him from drawing extra cards and getting an advantage. The next turn I got a [Darkness Calling] resulting in drawing 2 [Broderick Langforth], which was sick! Wojciech was overwhelmed with my herd and luck giving me a first win of the day.

1-0

Round 2 vs Schneider, Vit – Durzion, Champion of A'dal

When I saw Durzion I was pretty confident that it will be a good match-up for me. I haven’t tested much against this deck, but it’s ruled by [Hesriana] and outdrawing your opponent. Vit started with a [Holy Guardian] T2 and some Taste of Divinity harassment on my Dreadsteed. I decided to eat the guardian with my Hesriana keeping a Sava’gin + Dreadsteed for an Elekk kill. Mr Schneider didn’t hesitate to quickly push his elephant on the table after the threat of Hesriana targeting it was gone. I tried to kill the mount, but failed to my own succubus reducing shadow damage by 1 due to Holy Guardian’s power.

We’ve both got a [Tuskarr Kite] around T4, but then I got Talisman and seeing that it’s the only drawing power my opponent has I used it to kill both Kites. I quickly refilled with [Bloody Ritual] being conscious of my life total as a holy priest can explode in your face just out of nowhere. After cutting my opponents draw the game was pretty one sided. I was just building up my table position, when Vit dug for answers. He found Ossus, which pushed me into a frantic search for another copy of my beloved EA [Hesriana]s, which came 2 turns after and enabled me to finish the game quickly. 2-0

Round 3 vs Sowinski, Michal – Erondra Frostmoon

Michal is one of the top players in Poland and I had an unfavorable match-up with him. That was going to be a very interesting duel. The only decks that I wanted to avoid during this tournament were Death Knights and I’ve got one on the 3^rd round. It was not that bad, I could’ve got him Round 1 and mess my tie-breakers up. He opened with Grumdur and I had a Broderick. T2 I played a good old [Dreadsteed]. On T3 he left 3 resources, which could have been a Darkness Calling. I risked Lessons, which was countered with [Strangulate]. T4 he safely played [Scimitar of Sirocco]. I followed with Dethvir, which was obliterated by [Corpse Explosion] devouring my deceased Broderick.

T6 Michal got [Deathcharger] and Berta instantly attacking for 2 while drawing him a card. I top decked a quest, Hesriana’d his mount, which let me kill his dwarf lady. I was on full defensive, putting just 3 damage points on him during the whole game. I tried Skum Bag’go shenanigans with Thrall to cut his draw from quests and I was on a good way to stabilize the board when he drew another Deathcharger to add a final touch to my hero’s life total. 2-1

Round 4 vs Krol, Jaroslaw – Kinivus the Focused

Jaroslaw is a good player with many tricks up his sleeve. He says he plays for fun and he does, but it won’t stop him from crushing you if you drop your guard down. For this tournament he picked Kinivus Spark combo over his own Exxi – Bath’rah deck as he didn’t expect to meet so many Warlocks. He bluffed earlier that he plays an exact copy of Remi Lacorre’s version, but in the end he was a lot closer to Jan Palys’ list.

This time I simply opened with [For Great Honor] followed by a [Dreadsteed] T2 and Sava’gin T3. Jaroslaw stopped my big Troll with his Truncheon played at the end of my turn and then got a [Tuskarr Kite] on the board. I got rid of the kite with [Talisman of the Horde]. T4 he played [Feral Spirit] and I searched up another copy of [Sava’gin the Reckless] with a [Summoning Portal] to kill one wolf, which was successful. I got my copy of the Kite on the table and I started to draw a lot and build up pressure. My opponent tried to clear the board with Mikael and [Wavestorm Totem], which gave him back some of the lost tempo. In the end I got Thrall accompanied with a newly fished Sava’gin, which forced Jaroslaw to [Spark] it. When I drew [Canissa the Shadow] I was confident that nothing can be done now to stop me from winning this game. 3-1

Round 5 vs Kunachowicz, Piotr – Andarius the Damned

Obvious affliction-lock is obvious. Piotr was playing a control version with [Undercity] and lots of discard. I actually felt good about playing it as Jeremiah is fine with playing from the top

It started as a discard battle. Every one of us got to see opponents hand twice and get 2 cards out of it. Piotr got rid of my [Tuskarr Kite] and one of the Dethvirs. I got rid of his Dethvir and Cairne. The Tauren was a very important card at the time as Piotr had two copies of [Tabards of the Illidari] on the table and no other ally in his hand. He was left with Thrall in his hand and I had only [Hesriana]. Then I top decked a [Tuskarr Kite] and that was it. I was drawing 2 cards against his 1. He got a Dethvir on board, which was killed by my Conqueror Yun’zon. His Thrall never saw play and I was totally dominating the board with a “forever alone” Dreadsteed on his side only. 4-1

Round 6 vs Sass, Mateusz – Nicholas Merrick

I was a bit surprised to see Mr Merrick on the last round of Core, but it only proves that Mateusz had a good deck. Unfortunately for him I was totally in favor while playing Mages.

The game was very fast paced. I was lucky enough to have 2 Brodericks on the opening hand and I put them to good use during the first turns. T4 Mateusz got [Adam Eternum] on the table, which I spanked with my amazing horse’s shadow damage and wanted to finish him off, or scare him with my hero attacking for 2. Mr Sass got me into a trap as he switched my hero’s powers off with his Mage quest and I got my face smashed against Adam’s foot.

On the same turn I played Dethvir and [Lesson of the Nether] to see what else Mateusz was planning. He had 2 Spitzpatricks and I got rid of one. T5 Adam was traded with my Deth’vir and an Argent Crusade gnome entered the game. Not showing any concern I played another Deth’vir and Sardok. My opponent went on defense invoking a [Blizzard] and drawing some cards. On my turn I put all damage on the Undead Warlock and got [Nicholas Merrick] to a massive 24 damage leaving him on 1, the charge was led by [Saurfang the Younger, Kor'kron Warlord] powered by locations. There was not much left to do for Mateusz, but he didn’t give up until the end, he got [Brittilize] and [Blizzard] on the table, Spell suppressed my Dethvir and left one resource open to complete [Rituals of Power] in case I placed a face-up resource. On my turn I Stashed Sava’gin for which he had no answer. 5-1

The Core Constructed part was done and I finished 4rth. I had really good tie breakers and was looking forward to the draft.

Draft, Draft, Draft….

It was supposed to be fun, but this particular draft was a nightmare. In the first booster I was getting signals that Alliance is more or less free, but then it wasn't and I had to get a couple of Horde weak guys. In the second booster Alliance was totally cut out and I was forced to take Horde. In the third booster there was almost no Horde! I had to pass some very good cards to just fill the curve. I also opened 2 bombs, which gave me nothing as in the second booster I got a bow and on the third I opened Unholy Ground, which I had to pass to get an ally on curve. In the end I got a semi-good tempo Warlock with [Fear]s and [Searing Pain]s, but nothing really awesome. First pod was really challenging and people knew how to draft, which was a really valuable experience.

Most of the drafting part is a blur and I didn’t take many notes while battling to get into top 8, but I will try to underline what was the key in those games.

Round 7 vs Gajda, Michal – Jai Dawnsteel

Michal was one of the guys on my right who was stealing the Hordies. He got a very neat deck with great weapons. Game one he smashed me with [Warmace of Menethil] and Game 2 he did the same with T2 Venerable Mass of McGowan. I was doing my best to stay on curve, but my Fears couldn’t help against those equipments. 5-2

Round 8 vs Sass, Mateusz – Arturius Hathrow

Mateusz was sitting to my left and I passed [Unholy Ground] to him, so I was expecting him to play a Death Knight. He surprised me with an Alliance Druid, which was very well built. Both games were very close with me staying on curve and fearing what I could to get advantage. He happened to have [Earth and Moon], but fortunately I was able to play around it and push for the kill. [Mahna Lightsky] and [Kerzok Plixbloom] really shined in those games. 6-2

Round 9 vs Sowinski, Michal – Valerie Worfield

I had a chance to take revenge on Michal for the round 3 loss and I fully took it. As he went 6-0 in the Core part and now in the 9^th round he had 7 wins and a guaranteed top 8 spot he seemed to be very relaxed about his play. I unleashed my tempo strategy, building advantage with fearing his bigger allies and pushing with damage. He won one game with [Thrandis the Venomous], which proved to be an awesome card, putting even more pressure on me, but finally I got through with [Kloxx Dedrix] stopping him from killing me instead in the final game. 7-2

That summed up the swiss part. We had our top 8, which featured:

Tomas Kuchta

Michal Sowinski

Michal Gajda

Wojtek Wojcik

Marcin Filipowicz

Oldrich Mahdal

Wojciech Buda

Bartosz Dziech

We had to leave the library, which was closing at midnight, so our party moved to the BARD’s gaming store which was already prepared to host the last 3 rounds. It was very late in the night, but a pro player wannabe needs to have his endurance checked.

Top 8, Top 8, Top 8...

Quarter-finals vs Wojcik, Wojtek – Spellweaver Jihan

Wojtek is a previous Polish National Champion and the only player in Poland who has reached a DMF top 8 twice (once in Prague and now in Paris). He is often playing a deck of his own and he puts a lot of thought behind every card he includes. Unfortunately for him I again had a really good match-up against Mages.

First game I opened with a Broderick T1, Dreadsteed T2 and Vuz’din T3. As he didn’t have a taste in hand he had to play 2 [Ashnaar, Frost Herald] to kill my Vuz’din with his hero. I followed with a [Hesriana] cleaning his board, and then I played [Tuskarr Kite] on T5 and Saurfang T6. He was completely bare of any answers.

In the second game he failed to draw [The Taste of Arcana] and [Blizzard], which put him in a very difficult situation. I again was on the curve with T4 Deth’vir + Lesson of the Nether, T5 Saurfang, T6 I made a mistake as I haven’t noticed that he couldn’t bounce Adam Eternum and I Hesriana’d his Mikael instead. Eventually it had no impact on the game as my board position was supreme. I countered his Tuskarr Kite with Talisman and went straight for the win.

Semi-finals vs Dziech, Bartosz – Emek the Equalizer

I was really happy that Bartosz made it. The first reason was that he is from Poland, so I vouched for him defeating Tomas Kuchta. The other reason is that I haven’t had a chance to play against him in a really long time. It was fun to meet in the top 4 to play and chat. The funny thing is that I was not aware of him attending the event for about 5 rounds. There were so many people and he was mostly staying at the tables 1-3, which were somehow hidden from my sight.

His deck of choice was [Emek the Equalizer]. I was fine with that as I had a good deal of success while playing against the Undead Priest. This of course didn’t mean that the game would be easy.

In the first game I was lucky enough to get 1 Broderick T1 and then a Dreadsteed T2, which helped me to kill his 2 consecutive Sivandras easily. I got Kite on the table and he used [Mist of Corrosion], but to my surprise he was naming an ally – wanting to get rid of the pesky horse. I had lots of allies in my hand, so the mount remained. He then [Oppressed] my Kite and got rid of my Dethvir with [Divine Fury], but I was already ahead with more cards and he was struggling. A [Bloody Ritual] T7 combined with a [Lesson of the Nether] sealed it for me. I was fully refilled and Bartosz was stripped of one of his two Dethvirs in hand. He was forced to draw some cards from the late Kite and [Shadowfiend], but it didn’t help him much.

The second game was very similar. I was able to outdraw him with the Kite and cut his hand with an occasional [Lesson of the Nether]. My notes from this game are a bit vague, but what I know for sure is that he had a Dethvir, which was killed by my Tauren tokens pumped up with Kor’krons. He was also playing some [Divine Fury] abilities into my own Dethvir. On T5 he skipped a resource due to the lack of cards to place. Overall he got me to 17 points of damage before totally burning out.

Finals vs Sowinski, Michal – Erondra Frostmoon

And suddenly I was there. The finals! I was one step away from grabbing my beloved VIP card. I was to challenge Michal for the third time this day and this time he had a really serious look on his face. He was actually defending the title as a previous Eastern Plaguelands Champion!

Out of all the decks in top8 I was supposed to have the worst match-up against him, but I was far from giving up and started to shuffle my deck. The overall finals atmosphere was awesome. It was past 01:00 am but a lot of people remained as spectators. Everyone was having fun and we had the head judge at our table watching over us.

First game was amazing. My starting hand featured 3 [Broderick Langforth], 2 [Sava’gin the Reckless], 1 [Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen] and a [Summoning Portal]. I obviously kept and decided to rush him. “Sowa” had 2 Grumdurs, which failed to stop me as I was tearing my way through with my hero and allies. T4 I placed a Deth’vir, which took in all damage from [Corpse Explosion], T5 I summoned [Hesriana] and devoured his Berta. T6 I top decked Saurfang and pushed for even more damage. Michal was amazed to see that he skipped one resource turn 5 leaving him at only 5 resources on turn 6 and unable to cast the Army. He quickly conceded that game confident to win the other 2.

The next game he was on the offensive. He again opened with Grumdur, but then got Ashnaar, Berta and Scimitar. T3 he placed a [Tuskarr Kite], which I quickly destroyed with my Talisman to cut his draw. He was pushing me with damage, so I had to defend. I had a Dethvir, which was again destroyed by Corpse explosion. Then on T6 I Hesriana’d his Berta. He used Army to destroy my succubus and got a ghoul. All in all I was left on 24 points of damage. I stabilized my board position with Munkin, Sardok and Dethvir and hoped for the best. Michal only had to draw one of his 4 Deathchargers. He completed [Darkness Calling] to draw 2, then on his turn he followed with [The Overseer’s Shadow] to draw another 2 plus he drew 1 at the start of his turn. He didn’t find the horse, which led me to overkill him next turn with Saurfang dealing a complete 12 from double Kor’kron and Dreadsteed!!

Problem Eastern Plaguelands?

It was a really long day, but a day well spent. I’m really looking forward to the next season when I will be challenged to defend the title of the Eastern Plaguelands Champion. I’m also curious how CZE will fix the issue of all the VIP players wanting to play on the first table ;)

I’d like to thank all the attendees of this season’s Realm Champs and I hope to see you on the next one.

Before that I will be visiting Cologne to try my luck with Classic, so if you’re going then see you there. Don’t hesitate to say hello if we meet!

• Gnimsh