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"I do not understand this...'mouse magic' that makes me do thine bidding."
Edwin, Baldur's Gate
So just over a week ago there was a Darkmoon Faire in Köln. It was of course a Classic format event, and this article series exclusively handles Core until I write my World Championship article in November. So why make reference to it?
Quite simply, the winning deck was very interesting for me because it was similar yet opposite to the Core deck I won my Noblegarden event with. So today I'm going to look at both those decks, show you the differences in both legal cards and strategies, and then show you where I think the deck falls for your NACC and EUCC gauntlets.
Let's start off with the deck that won the big prizes.
Krzysztof Morzyc - 1st Darkmoon Faire Köln (Classic)
Hero - [Spellweaver Jihan]
Allies - 23
4 [Lady Bancroft]
4 [Burly Berta]
3 [Mikael the Blunt]
3 [Adam Eternum]
3 [Myriam Starcaller]
3 [Weldon Barov]
3 [Muradin Bronzebeard]
Abilities - 23
4 [The Taste of Arcana]
3 [Spell Suppression]
3 [Brittilize]
3 [Blizzard]
4 [Mana Sapphire]
3 [Nether Fracture]
3 [Arcane Barrage]
Quests & Locations - 14
3 [Eye of the Storm]
4 [A Question of Gluttony]
3 [Forces of Jaedenar]
2 [Rituals of Power]
2 [Corki's Ransom]
Side Deck - 10
3 [Counterspell]
3 [The More, The Scarier]
2 [Terokk's Shadowstaff]
2 [Mana Shift]
Total: 60
So we have a few of the Alliance's big allies, as well as a nice spread of interrupts plus the ubiquitous [Corki's Ransom] & [Myriam Starcaller]. The deck wants to control the opposition whilst putting down key threats in specific match-ups. Myriam, Muradin and [Arcane Barrage] give you reach that has to be answered immediately.
This is what I played at the Easter egg hunt.
Jack Fejer - 1st Stoke-on-Trent Noblegarden (Core)
Hero - [Spellweaver Jihan]
Allies - 27
4 [Mikael the Blunt]
4 [Burly Berta]
4 [Ashnaar, Frost Herald]
3 [Elder Achillia]
3 [Adam Eternum]
4 [Magni the Mountain King]
3 [Muradin Bronzebeard]
2 ['Scrapper' Ironbane]
Abilities - 25
4 [Everlasting Cold]
3 [Spell Suppression]
4 [Brittilize]
4 [Blizzard]
4 [Tuskarr Kite]
1 [Mana Sapphire]
3 [Arcane Barrage]
2 [Mana Shift]
Quests & Locations - 9
3 [Eye of the Storm]
4 [Wanton Warlord]
2 [Rituals of Power]
Total - 61
Yes, yes I know it's my token 61 card deck but that's how I roll. Just knock off a [Brittilize] as a starting point if you're really unhappy. What I want to do now is learn from Krzysztof's deck and apply it to my experiences with my deck in order to make it gauntlet worthy for you guys.
You have just had the pleasure of looking at two very similar but different lists, and not just because of format. You'll notice that I completely forwent interrupts despite how well [The Taste of Arcana] plays with Jihan'a flip. This was a purposeful choice, as I wanted to see how often I could freak players out into mistakes by floating one resource in their turn. It turns out very often, people made the bad play decision of avoiding the Taste that was never there all to frequently.
For a tournament such as Noblegarden I was happy to experiment without the signature interrupt, but at a Continentals I'd definitely pack at least the Tastes just like Krzysztof did. In my experience being able to efficiently disrupt turns 3-5 can swing tempo massively in your favour. Playing out Ashnaar or Berta on turn three and then interrupting their [Tuskarr Kite] yields huge returns on your investment.
The bigger problem is replacing [Nether Fracture]. The card that answers all is a player favourite, but I don't like paying 4 for [Nether Fissure], and equally I find [Mystic Denial] too slow for a deck like this that wants to be aggressive. They're very good cards but too top heavy for this deck's plans.
What is perhaps far more useful are the [Counterspells] found in Krzysztof's sideboard. [Feral Spirit], [Shadow Dance] and [Bloody Ritual] are just some of the key abilities in the format we just don't want to resolve. If you really want to annoy that Druid player with [Innervate] we can even consider [Spell Ricochet] to let you draw instead, but I think [Counterspell] has the edge here.
If we bring over [The Taste of Arcana] and maybe three [Counterspells], we need to cut something from my deck. I definitely found that as much as I love [Everlasting Cold] and [Elder Achillia], they just don't have a place in this format. There wasn't a single match where i felt i wanted either card, and plenty where I'd have been happier with one of the interrupts. Everlasting Cold just isn't as good as Broderick, and definitely not niche enough in any match-ups (unlike a Warrior's [Mortal Slash]. Before I delve deeper into the decks, I am already looking at the following changes to my Core build of the deck:
-3 [Elder Achillia], -4 [Everlasting Cold]
+4 [The Taste of Arcana], +3 [Counterspell]
This immediately creates a problem with the quest base that I used. [Wanton Warlord] is great when you're paying one, but losing [Everlasting Cold] means we definitely should be looking to replace it. The interrupts mean we can consider [The Boon of Remulos] to further psyche out opponents and then draw when they play around feigned (or faithful) interrupts, but [A Question of Gluttony] is equally valuable even though this deck likes to be more aggressive in Core and is less likely to close to free. For current testing, let's go with Boon.
I really liked [Rituals of Power], especially as it can catch average [Spark] and [Kel'thuzad] players off guard. Many also forget about it with regards to Broderick. There's no doubt that we need more draw though, as much as I like Magni. I'm going to experiment with one less Blizzard and Brittilize, the deck draws a lot so we should see them when we want to with three anyway.
-4 [Wanton Warlord], -1 [Brittilize], -1 [Blizzard]
+4 [The Boon of Remulos], +2 [A Question of Gluttony]
We can now look at perhaps the biggest difference between my deck and Krzysztof's - the allies. My old deck wanted to apply pressure, and that is still something I want to do. I also want to be able to answer the inevitable rise in tokens. Even though I've yet to find a token deck I really like from War of the Elements, I know lots of players will be throwing down [Avatar of the Wild], [Feral Spirit] and [Blazing Elemental Totem].
What we sacrifice here is either ['Scrapper' Ironbane] or [Mana Shift] for [Marundal the Kindred]. Marundal is the blanket answer to any number of influential cards right now, and is one of those cards I think is the key Rock to answer initial meta Scissors.
It's a tough choice, but despite the position of [Tuskarr Kite] in the meta the additional interrupts leave me to believe I should keep 'Scrapper' for now even if just to force [Scimitar of the Sirocco] decks to replay the sword for a tempo loss. If we find Mana Shift to be quintessential we can always add it back later.
-2 [Mana Shift], -1 [Magni the Mountain King]
+3 [Marundal the Kindred]
You will have probably noticed that I ran four Kites, whilst Krzysztof ran four Sapphires. I still haven't decided if this is because of preference. I do not like to play a Sapphire blind on three without backup. My luck dictates that it is immediately hit by [Koeus] or [Oppress]. With the Kite, despite being a much worse top deck with an empty hand, provides steady draw I don't want to part with. More draw doesn't hurt though, especially as we can't play [Dimzer the Prestigitator] with [Arcane Barrage] before the first wave of 2011 Class Starters.
-1 [Mikael the Blunt]
+1 [Mana Sapphire]
This leaves us with the following deck for an Alliance Mage gauntlet deck.
Hero - [Spellweaver Jihan]
Allies - 25
3 [Mikael the Blunt]
4 [Burly Berta]
4 [Ashnaar, Frost Herald]
3 [Adam Eternum]
3 [Magni the Mountain King]
3 [Marundal the Kindred]
3 [Muradin Bronzebeard]
2 ['Scrapper' Ironbane]
Abilities - 25
4 [The Taste of Arcana]
3 [Counterspell]
3 [Spell Suppression]
3 [Brittilize]
3 [Blizzard]
4 [Tuskarr Kite]
2 [Mana Sapphire]
3 [Arcane Barrage]
Quests & Locations - 11
3 [Eye of the Storm]
4 [The Boon of Remulos]
2 [A Question of Gluttony]
2 [Rituals of Power]
Total - 61
This deck offers you some neat tricks, with the added bonus of winning a game from nothing with [Arcane Barrage] or [Muradin Bronzbeard]. I love having must answer threats, and the best thing about Arcane Barrage is it gives Mage a card other decks cannot stop.
This deck definitely doesn't like Aberration. Your best answer is to make Ashnaar and eat their men before the Draenei is eaten by a swift [Envoy of Mortality] shot to the head. Where it excels is against other midrange decks, and the control decks that can't handle your draw power when it's twinned with the presence on the field. Being albe to shoot [Dethvir the Malignant] for 5 and still be able to cast Arcane Barrage as a kill spell later in the game is definitely a powerful play.
I hope you enjoyed my contribution, and I'd definitely be interested to hear your opinions on the quest base (which is never perfect). Would you have found space for Weldon or Bancroft? Maybe this deck is better with Broderick and Dethvir?
Until next time!
Jack Fejer has been a consistent mainstay in the WoW TCG writing community. He has been playing the game, doing tournament coverage, and writing for various sites in the community since 2006. He is also one of the biggest voices for the United Kingdom in the WoW TCG, and has been working on his own website and community for the UK, Zapped Giants, since the start of the game.
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