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This last weekend, I attended the Darkmoon Faire in Philly. We arrived early on Friday morning. We showered and headed out to get food. I have to say that the location for this event was awesome. Most of the time, you have to search for a good place to get food near an event. Being a fat kid, my eyes lit up upon entering the Reading Terminal Market. There was food as far as the eyes could see. I think that if I tried to eat at every place in this market, it would take me weeks. For those who missed out, I am sorry.
I wanted to play the Core event at 5pm, so I sat out of the Throne of Tides prerelease side event. Little did I know that event was set for one game matches and easily finished before my Core event.
The core event went pretty meh. I ended up in 11th place after playing pretty poorly in a couple of matches.
After that I entered a Cake Draft. The details can be found here.
We won the draft and the victory of our spoils can be seen below.
With the cake in our bellies, we went to bed.
I decided to play Death Knight for this event. This was my final decklist.
Hero: [Zin'sul]
Allies: 34
4 [Bronze Drake]
4 [Bronze Warden]
4 [Rosalyne von Erantor]
2 [Telor Sunsurge]
4 [Fungus Face McGillicutty]
4 [Obsidian Drudge]
4 [Sava'gin the Reckless]
4 [Gargoyle]
4 [Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen]
Abilities: 11
4 [Frozen Core]
3 [Death Strike]
4 [Unholy Ground]
Equipment: 8
4 [Etched Dragonbone Girdle]
4 [Scimitar of the Sirocco]
Quest/Locations: 7
3 [Challenge to the Black Flight]
4 [Twilight Citadel]
I decided to play this list because I felt that it was the best [Etched Dragonbone Girdle] deck, when it does not draw [Etched Dragonbone Girdle]. The combination of [Unholy Ground] and [Scimitar of the Sirocco] allows you to win games without the girdle. [Unholy Ground] creates card advantage by itself by trading little men for larger ghouls. Scimitar allows you to win without Girdle by being aggressive and attacking them with all your allies before other girdle decks can beat you through card advantage.
Let’s go over the choices in the deck.
One drop allies: 4 [Bronze Drake], 4 [Bronze Warden], 4 [Rosalyne von Erantor], 2 [Telor Sunsurge]. We built the one drop package this way, to combat a [Boomer]. The most important turn against Hunter is when they play a turn two [Boomer]. This makes [Rosalyne von Erantor] the best one drop in the deck. The eight one drop dragons are a given, because they work to kill a [Boomer] when combined with [Frozen Core], they work with the Girdle, plus they get insane when you have [Unholy Ground] and [Etched Dragonbone Girdle] in play. The [Telor Sunsurge] rounds out the one drops because he works with the plan of killing a [Boomer] with a [Frozen Core] plus he is great for jumping in the way of an [Avatar of the Wild].
4 [Fungus Face McGillicutty]. It may seem weird to play this ally over [Obsidian Drakonid], but the cost difference is the reason why. You only really want this type of ability against the Hunter deck. This ally comes out a turn earlier, and that is exactly what you need against [Aspect of the Wild]. If you play this on turn three, it will allow you to stop them from playing [Aspect of the Wild] or let you trade with an ally while removing the Aspect from play.
4 [Obsidian Drudge]. Best Obsidian dragon in the format. There are so many targets ([Corrupted Eggshell], [Etched Dragonbone Girdle], [Charmed Ancient Bone Bow]) for this ally. Playing less than four in this deck would be a mistake.
4 [Sava'gin the Reckless] & 4 [Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen]. The best stash allies in the game, which also lets us cheat on resources. They both double as good men with Scimitar. They also help you with aggro matchups.
4 [Gargoyle]. Another anti-aggro matchup card. He is very good at what he does.
4 [Frozen Core] & 3 [Death Strike]. Cards that combo with one drops to kill a Boomer before your opponent can play an [Aspect of the Wild].
4 [Unholy Ground]. The reason to play this deck over another class. This will make all your one drops you draw later in the game turn into real threats. It also gains you card advantage allowing your allies to pull double duty.
4 [Etched Dragonbone Girdle]. I hope I don’t have to explain this.
4 [Scimitar of the Sirocco]. Works well with the flip, plus it allows you to steal games from other decks, by attacking their hero with every ally you have.
3 [Challenge to the Black Flight]. The deck wanted more card draw. This was the best option.
4 [Twilight Citadel]. Best location ever.
We expected a lot of Hunter and with the plan we had, we felt confident in that matchup. The matchup against Paladin will be strictly determined by the number of [Hammer of Justice]s your opponent draws. If they are able to stop you from swinging your Scimitar, this matchup can be really rough. The worst matchup can be the [Gift of the Earthmother] Druid deck. Their allies are similar to yours, except big allies can be a problem.
My mulligan conditions for my matchups are:
Death Knight: Mulligan for [Scimitar of the Sirocco]. If you are able to attack with all your allies, before your opponent can attack them, you should win the matchup easily.
Druid: Mulligan for Death Strikes. You need to be able to destroy an ally in response to a [Gift of the Earthmother]. Do not be afraid to take some damage early to make sure they cannot resolve one. Make no mistake about it; you will be the control deck in this matchup.
Hunter: Mulligan for hands that can destroy a turn two [Boomer]. Hands that have that plus a Fungus Face can be the nuts. You will win these games through attrition. Your girdle will draw you cards and Unholy Ground will keep their allies in check in the midgame. Always be careful of [Avatar of the Wild]s.
Mage: Hahaha, good one.
Paladin. Mulligan for [Etched Dragonbone Girdle] and [Obsidian Drudge]. Be ready to be in for the long haul. Scimitar also goes a long way in this matchup.
Priest: Same as Mage.
Rogue: I know there is a deck that is [Rogue], but we couldn’t find the right combination of cards to make it playable.
Shaman(Red Aggro or Nature). Mulligan for hands with [Frozen Core]s or [Death Strike]s. If you are able to keep their allies off the board, it is hard for them to win. You have better opportunities to gain card advantage and dealing with their early wave will usually be enough for you to win the game.
Warlock(Red Aggro). Same plan as Shaman.
Warlock(Toolbox). Mulligan for [Scimitar of the Sirocco] or [Unholy Ground]. These two cards will allow you to take out their important allies like [Jhuunash] and [King Genn Greymane]. After killing the big guys, killing their hero is easy.
Warrior. Same plan as Paladin.
I ended up going 8-3 with this deck alongside Robert Swarowski. My losses came to the mirror, Druid, and Paladin.
As is, I would not make any changes to the deck. If you are not over playing block decks, I suggest you give it a try. If you have any questions, shoot them over to me in the forums.
-Tim
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