Happy festivus, happy new year, and welcome to 2012. Daily Metagame's second year is now underway, and what better way to kick things off than with a boatload of Core Constructed decks to play at your upcoming Battleground and Realm Qualifier events? Right? Right! Let's get to it.

Kicking things off, this one is an idea that I dismissed while trying to find some deck options for a few friends that are attending DMF Los Angeles. Note: I do not feel this concept is going to get you into the top 16 of a Darkmoon Faire. It may, however, surprise some people at a Realm Qualifier and can be a ton of fun to play at a Battleground.

Hero: [High Magus Olvek]

Master Hero: 4

4 [Kalecgos]

Abilities: 44

4 [Fire Blast]

4 [Glaciate]

4 [Glacial Tomb]

4 [Cold Front]

4 [Blistering Fire]

4 [Arcane Barrage]

4 [Focus Magic]

4 [Vortex]

4 [Scorch]

4 [Arcane Missiles]

4 [Ripple]

Equipment: 4

4 [Bottled Knowledge]

Locations: 4

4 [Throne of the Tides]

Quests: 4

4 [Seeds of their Demise]

Play a [Focus Magic] on turn 4/5 with a zero cost ability on top, play lots of cheap abilities all costing between 0 and 1 resource, play [Kalecgos]. The deck's game-plan is simple enough, as winning usually comes through duplicated [Blistering Fire]s, [Arcane Barrage]s (the first card to hit the resource row if you don't have a [Bottled Knowledge], by the way), or even just twin copies of [Fire Blast] and [Arcane Missiles].

[Scorch] serves a solid purpose of board control so that [Kalecgos] can actually get you to another turn, if you're lucky enough to flip one off of a [Focus Magic]. The [Focus Magic] serves as the engine that turns [Kalecgos] on, and it also restocks your hand when it's copied by your Master Hero's effect. Never row this card. It's that important to your deck, and it's one of the only ways Mages can keep up in cards with other decks.

There are, of course, some very big flaws to this concept which is why I dismissed it as a DMF candidate for some friends. The first reason is consistency. There are times you just don't have enough gas to get your Blue Dragon Aspect online. It happens. If there was one more ability I can play for no resources in this deck, like [Arcane Spikes] which sadly is not Core legal, I'd consider this a potential contender.

The other problem is also, well, kind of a big deal: [Commander Ulthok]. I don't know if you got the memo, but this guy's a pretty big game in Core right now with the Monster plate classes. The deck concept of "trade in Stash for Ulthok, run a traditional Girdle control deck" is a serious contender for DMF LA, and this deck suffers greatly because of that.

With Crown of the Heavens coming up, things get a bit better with the tools already revealed (namely [Overload], which helps stop the Ulthok problem). Nonetheless, right now, the deck can be a fun surprise to unleash on unsuspecting opponents at your local Battleground or RCQ. There are some other cheap Mage cards that could go into this deck as well, so feel free to experiment and find a build that suits your tastes.

Up next is, in my opinion, a more competitive variation on the "play a [Focus Magic], win the game" strategy that Kalecgos tries to support.

Hero: [Rumi of Gnomeregan]

Allies: 35

4 [Magni, the Mountain King]

4 [Apprentice Teep]

4 [Tidal Elemental]

4 [Nami Dabpox]

4 [Rufus Claybourne]

4 [Laetho Moonbranch]

4 [Faenis the Tranquil]

4 [Azure Skyrazor]

3 [Edwin Vancleef]

Abilities: 21

4 [Scorch]

4 [Arcane Missiles]

4 [Glacial Tomb]

3 [Fire Blast]

3 [Focus Magic]

3 [Twisted Arcana]

Equipment: 4

4 [Bottled Life]

This deck, unlike the previous one, falls into the category of aggro-combo. It's not playing for a late-game, but if needed it can try to assemble the right number of Elusive allies into play for a big [Azure Skyrazor] turn. The deck is not unlike the Alliance Druid deck that finished 6-0 at Worlds this year, and it borrows the idea from Jaron Tomsky's "Thrall-In" concept, except it replaces the free ally that just dies to a [Mazu'kon] or something for a card that can win the game the turn it comes down (the Skyrazor).

The deck is built to dominate games if it wins the die roll, and only when you mulligan into an awful hand should you be really feeling powerless on the play. The tempo of going first is huge here, as you have the capability of swarming the board with too many allies for the opponent to answer before Skyrazor comes down and makes quick work of the match. [Focus Magic] serves as a random "refuel" card here. Sometime it hits a redundant and unnecessary ally. Other times it hits a zero cost ability and you "go off". In essence, its' never been bad since its resolution dictates have you go play the game from that point on.

On the draw, your Elusive allies that make opposing [Sava'gin the Reckless] Stash triggers way too good will go into your resource row, while you play cards that give you more than one ally. You'll have to play for a combo win on the draw, and [Edwin Vancleef] helps out tremendously. He and his thugs are hard to kill in a single turn without lots of effort from the opponent, and a following turn [Azure Skyrazor] can end things quickly.

Oh, and you'd be surprised how often Rumi's flip finishes things. The two damage is randomly amazing when you know the opponent will be backpedaling after you "go off" with Skyrazor, and with the lack of healing in decks outside of those with a Shaman hero or [Faenis the Tranquil], it can be brutal.

One of the decks that has gained more popularity since Worlds, thanks to Michael Barnes and his Top 16 finish at The Metamart 5k event in Austin, is Monster Warrior. I've seen variations of the deck's hero with both [Rawrbrgle] and [Hogger], and both have their advantages, though I think [Rawrbrgle] might cause some minor influences on a player's mulligan whereas it is more clear what deck someone is playing if they see [Hogger]. My current version of the archetype uses [Rawrbrgle], for the same reasons that Luca Magni chose to run the hero at Worlds (throwing off mulligan decisions from opponents, and its power to pump [Gnash] and [Commander Ulthok] when you really have nothing better to do).

Hero: [Rawrbrgle]

Allies: 17

4 [Bronze Warden]

4 [Commander Ulthok]

3 [Obsidian Drudge]

3 [Obsidian Drakonid]

3 [Gnash]

Abilities: 16

4 [Furious Strike]

4 [Enraged Regeneration]

3 [Shockwave]

3 [Chaotic Rush]

2 [Heroic Leap]

Equipment: 19

4 [Etched Dragonbone Girdle]

4 [Perdition's Blade]

4 [Polished Breastplate of Valor]

3 [Shalugdoom, the Axe of Unmaking]

2 [The Horseman's Horrific Helm]

2 [Rock Furrow Boots]

Locations: 4

4 [Twilight Citadel]

Quests: 4

4 [Seeds of their Demise]

Just a note, it's [Rawrbrgle] or [Hogger]. It's up to you. I don't honestly know what the correct choice is. Probably [Hogger], but the Murloc hero can randomly mess with people's heads. Other than that, it's a pretty typical Girdle deck, cutting out the faction cards for [Commander Ulthok], and then some abilities and equipment.

The deck can lock up games with its armor and [Enraged Regeneration], and the [Rock Furrow Boots] can help give the deck some speed in being able to actually end a game. The big card of the deck, and perhaps one of the best cards in this format, is [Chaotic Rush]. If unanswered, the card completely hoses [Mazu'kon] as well as [Dagax the Butcher], both representing the top dogs of the format (HordeStone, Ooga Booga Paladin, and Hans GC). It's a lot easier to win games when you know the opponent has no allies that will just kill you out of nowhere.

The reason for going green over red or blue is simple: Ulthok. Play him, name a card you have problems beating, win the game. Against most Horde decks, the first card you name will be [Mazu'kon]. Against others, it will be [Dagax the Butcher]. Second and third copies of Ulthok are probably naming what you know they have in hand. Sometimes, you can land an Ulthok and steal a win. One horror story from Worlds was Luca Magni playing an Ulthok and naming [Mazu'kon]. The opponent, devastated, removed the three copies of the Horde ally that were sitting in his hand. Ouch.

Also, it's a Girdle Control deck so blah blah Citadel blah blah Girdle blah draw cards blah blah so many cards blah. I mean, how often do you have to hear about this draw engine to understand that it's good, right?

Next up, Murlocs.

Hero: [Grglmrgl]

Allies: 37

26 [Murloc Coastrunner]

4 [Slippyfist]

3 [Nibbler]

4 [Boomer]

Abilities: 19

4 [Poison Tipped]

4 [Concussive Barrage]

4 [Unleash the Swarm!]

4 [Monstrous Upheaval]

3 [Disengage]

Quests: 4

4 [Seeds of their Demise]

In case you may be wondering why [Poison Tipped] and [Murloc Coastrunner]s have been a hot item at the online vendors, this is probably why. I'd go into detail about the deck, but well...just read [Poison Tipped] and then look at the class the Murlocs all are.

I'd go into more detail on this one, but Kyle McGinty has a more in-depth article (and probably a much more refined decklist) coming later this week, so be sure to tune in for that. If you were hoping to keep this deck a secret for DMF LA, I've got news for you: the cat's out of the bag!

Hmm. I haven't posted a Horde deck yet. That's odd. Well, here's one.

Hero: [Gaxtro, Bilgewater Marksman]

Allies: 29

4 [Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen]

4 [Sava'gin the Reckless]

4 [Mazu'kon]

4 [Emerald Tree Warder]

4 [Boomer]

4 [Gispax the Mixologist]

2 [Jaron, Herald of the Hunt]

1 [Ka'tali Stonehusk]

1 [Al'akir the Windlord]

1 [Malfurion Stormrage]

Abilities: 15

4 [Aspect of the Wild]

4 [Avatar of the Wild]

4 [Concussive Barrage]

3 [Noxious Trap]

Equipment: 4

4 [Breathstone-Infused Longbow]

Locations: 4

4 [Throne of the Tides]

Quests: 8

4 [Warchief's Revenge]

4 [Seeds of their Demise]

A mish-mesh between the two Horde Hunter decks from Worlds, this concept looks to capitalize on playing multiple game-plans no matter the matchup. You can start off fast with [Boomer] into [Aspect of the Wild], which is always a great start. You can control the board on the draw with cheap removal and Avatar tokens against aggro decks, while leaning on cards like [Boomer] and the ol' Breathstone into [Mazu'kon] play to lock up the mid to late game.

One of the nice strengths to this build is that, if you don't have a turn 4 [Mazu'kon], you can Gispax into turn 5 [Al'akir the Windlord], which people are starting to learn is a very nice ally in this format. Gispax against the Girdle decks also helps you pay for your resource drops later in the game, as it turns irrelevent cards in that matchup into [Emerald Tree Warder]s, which when combined with the number of quests in your deck that can be completed for no cost, will easily refuel your hand. A turn 6 against control matchups where you play two [Emerald Tree Warder]s and complete a face-up quest or two after Stashing some ally can easily refuel you for another fuel turns.

[Aspect of the Wild], by the way, is quite awesome against [Mazu'kon] if you're looking to preserve your board. It also goes well with your flip by negating the effectiveness of [Mazu'kon] the turn it comes down.

There are two downsides to this deck: one is its lack of healing. Sometimes you just die against Hans GC for taking too much damage, and unfortunately you do have some problems against the Dagax/Bottle plan for that reason. The other issue is lack of ability removal, which means a GC deck that has multiple [Grand Crusader]s can be troublesome. Your hope in these situations is to power through those decks with your own cards, as your allies and abilities are all very good as doing a job.

Back to the blue team!

Hero: [Janvaru the Thunderspeaker]

Allies: 25

4 [Windspeaker Nuvu]

3 [Garet Vice]

3 [Vakus the inferno]

4 [Loriam Argos]

4 [Rufus Claybourne]

4 [Bella Wilder]

3 [Dulvar, Hand of the Light]

Abilities: 12

4 [Infusion of Earth]

4 [Primal Strike]

4 [Riptide]

Equipment: 12

4 [Bottled Cunning]

4 [Bottled Elements]

4 [Crul'korak, the Lightning's Arc]

Locations: 4

4 [Fordragon Hold]

Quests: 7

4 [Seeds of their Demise]

3 [Corrosion Prevention]

Open up with some nature allies, drop a Crul'korak, pump up your weapon, and go to town. Or get a fast-paced Nuvu start. Or just get them to 10 damage or so, pump up an ally, and kill them out of nowhere with [Bottled Elements]. This deck plays as an aggressive Crul'korak nature deck, but it can also play like a combo deck thanks to [Bottled Elements].

Dulvar plays well with this strategy as well in case your early aggression is halted. He's very difficult to answer, is difficult to stop with access to [Bottled Cunning] allowing him to punch through protectors, and he can let you win damage races you have no business winning. This guy's the real deal with the right support, and he doesn't look too shabby with an [Infusion of Earth] thrown on him either!

That's all for today's big list of Core decks. There are, of course, the main contenders that came out of the Worlds testing. I specifically wanted to look at some other options today, so that people who are getting into testing for DMF LA or the RCQs this month have a starting point on where to go if they'd like to expand on these ideas. All of the builds could use some more fine-tuning, and of all the decks, the two I've been happiest with are Monster Warrior and Crul'korak Shaman. Maybe you'll come to different conclusions.

Have fun with your testing folks, and best of luck at RCQs this month!

-Mike Rosenberg