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I would like to start off by thanking the Daily Metagame staff for giving me the opportunity to write for their website. When Tim asked me if I would like to write for a new WoW TCG website that was launching soon, I got very excited. I was eager to get back to writing about the game I enjoy playing.
There are a few factors which helped me decide to start writing again about the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. First, I like the people working on the Daily Metagame website and know that they are going to give their full effort in making the website better every day for its readers and users. Another aspect I like is that I get to have more freedom in my writing; if I don’t think a card is good or as good as people think it is, I can be up front and let you know how I really feel about it. Lastly, I was able to pick what I wanted to write about, which is a competitive article series.
Each article I write will cover the current format people are playing to prepare for. Whether it would be a Darkmoon Faire, Realm Qualifier, Realm Championship, or National Championship, I will write about it. As I consider myself more of a competitive player, although I do enjoy playing for fun, I think you would benefit more from articles about serious deck ideas or strategies rather than just listening to me talk about decks that have a theme or that are made to beat up on a Raid Boss. Today’s article will be about Core and the changes that the format has gone through in its brief history. Let’s take a look at the early stages of the Core format and how decks have established themselves throughout the season.
Core was announced as an official format back in January and right away I started testing for the upcoming Realm Championships and the North American Continental Championships that followed. After a few test sessions I quickly became aware of how fast [Ringleader Kuma] was in the format and was having a high win percentage with the deck against everything I was throwing at it. In a new format, beatdown decks usually dominate early because the top tier decks are unknown and control decks take time to learn what the right answers are to have in the metagame. Here is the list my friend Zach Efland won the Feralas Realm Championships with; it is also the same list I piloted to a second place finish at NACC this past season.
Hero: [Ringleader Kuma]
Allies: 23
4 [Offender Gora]
4 [Broderick Langforth]
4 [Bloodsoul]
4 [Marksman Glous]
4 [Spectral Kitten]
3 [Munkin Blackfist]
Abilities: 20
4 [Feral Spirit]
4 [Crackling Purge]
3 [Incendiary Totem]
4 [Storm Shock]
2 [Squall Totem]
3 [Fork Lightning]
Equipment: 3
3 [Edge of Oblivion]
Quests: 14
4 [For Great Honor]
4 [Tabards of the Illidari]
3 [Dr. Boom!]
3 [Falling to Corruption]
I ran the same deck at Nationals that I did at Realm Champs, so you would think that I did not put any effort into it between the two tournaments. On the contrary, I did indeed put a good amount of time in testing for Nationals; it just was not the best testing and I got tunnel vision. I was testing against a lot of the same decks from Realms and I tested with the same people. So we came up with the same results and this is why I ended up playing the same deck. I think it is really important to try and test with several different people and/or groups of people. I also like the idea of playing online against random people and even playing in as many events as possible to get real tournament practice even if it is at a casual level.
Andrew Trebing's Kuma list at Nationals was far better tuned for the metagame than mine was and had much better answers for the mirror match and [Army of the Dead] or [Corpse Explosion] with 4 [Nathanos Blightcaller]’s and [Wind Shear]. I wish my Kuma list looked anything close to his for Nationals, and if it wasn’t for him getting a little unlucky in the Semifinals against me, he more than likely would have went on to win the tournament.
Andrew Trebing
Hero: [Ringleader Kuma]
Allies: 22
4 [Offender Gora]
4 [Broderick Langforth]
2 [Bloodsoul]
4 [Zugna, Windseer Apprentice]
4 [Spectral Kitten]
4 [Nathanos Blightcaller]
Abilities: 21
4 [Feral Spirit]
3 [Chain Purge]
3 [Wavestorm Totem]
4 [Lesson of the Elements]
4 [Tuskarr Kite]
3 [Wind Shear]
Equipment: 4
4 [Signet of Manifested Pain]
Locations: 4
4 [Eye of the Storm]
Quests: 9
3 [Orders from Lady Vashj]
3 [Wanton Warlord]
3 [Death to the Traitor King]
As players begin to better understand the format and learn what decks are tier one, players can build decks that have the tools and are geared towards beating the likes of [Ringleader Kuma] and [Death Wish] solo, which won both Continental Championships. Deck builders did just that at Darkmoon Faire Antwerp, with a few interesting builds that caught my eye including the eventual winning deck played by Christian Kurze. Here is the [Zaritha] Control Alliance Shaman deck that he played to a flawless finish at Darkmoon Faire Antwerp with 17 straight wins:
Hero: [Zaritha]
Master Heroes: 2
2 [Highlord Tirion Fordring]
Allies: 20
1 [Weldon Barov]
1 [Iravar]
2 [King Varian Wrynn]
1 [Collidus the Warp-Watcher]
4 [Mikael the Blunt]
4 [Adam Eternum]
1 [Pappy Ironbane]
2 [“Scrapper” Ironbane]
4 [Crusade Engineer Spitzpatrick]
Abilities: 20
3 [Wavestorm Totem]
3 [Squall Totem]
4 [Ancestral Awakening]
4 [Wind Shear]
3 [Chain Purge]
3 [Tuskarr Kite]
Equipment: 3
3 [Voice of Reason]
Locations: 4
4 [Eye of the Storm]
Quests: 11
4 [Darkness Calling]
4 [A Question of Gluttony]
3 [Everfrost]
Famous deck building genius GuillaumeWafo-Tapa played a version of [Zaritha] at the World Championships this past year. The format there was Classic and the deck did just fine, as he was playing at the top tables all day with it. The deck is fueled by [Ancestral Awakening], being able to search out one of the deck's many powerful silver bullets, and it uses [Squall Totem] and [Wavestorm Totem] to slow down the opponent. [Wind Shear] is also another nice versatile card acting as a [Counterspell] or an [Exhausation] if you need to buy a turn.
With Worldbreaker coming out any day now, The Burning Crusade block will rotate out of the Core format losing the following sets: March of the Legion, Servants of the Betrayer, Hunt for Illidan, and the Black Temple Raid Deck. You would think that would make drastic changes to any deck in the format, but [Zaritha] loses almost nothing from the rotation. The singular [Collidus the Warp Watcher] will no longer be legal, but the card is not a staple in any way for the deck, it's just a reset button if you happen to fall behind so far in the game. It would also lose its hero [Zaritha] if it was not for the Shaman being reprinted in the Class Starter deck. While it is not necessary for a deck, it does sure help to have a good flip that you are going to use every time that makes an impact on the game. [Zaritha] will be around in Core for a good while.
Shaman has been a really popular class as of late, but a class that has not been utilized for quite some time is Rogue. At DMF Antwerp Stefan Urban played a Horde Rogue control deck in the form of the Troll hero [Zorak'tul] to a top 4 finish. Here is the list:
Hero: [Zorak’tul]
Master Hero: 1
1 [Kel’Thuzad]
Allies: 25
4 [Johnny Rotten]
1 [Munkin Blackfist]
3 [Zalan Ragewind]
4 [Thrall, Warchief of the Horde]
3 [Lord Jorach Ravenholdt]
3 [Vuz’din]
4 [Swift Raptor]
3 [Vexmaster Nar’jo]
Abilities: 14
4 [Poach]
4 [Tuskarr Kite]
4 [Deadliness]
2 [Carnage]
Equipment: 4
2 [Band of Vile Aggression]
2 [Blackout Truncheon]
Locations: 4
4 [Eye of the Storm]
Quests: 12
4 [Darkness Calling]
4 [Junkboxes Needed]
4 [The Overseer’s Shadow]
This is a pure control deck playing mostly reactive allies at every drop: [Vexmaster Nar'jo], [Johnny Rotten], [Vuz'din], [Lord Jorach Ravenholdt], and [Zalan Ragewind]. The deck even uses the [Swift Raptor] mount to heal and keep your hero alive against opposing beatdown decks. What really puts the deck over the top is the quality hand destruction it has with [Junkboxes Needed] and the new addition of [Poach] from Icecrown. [Zorak'tul]'s flip is very useful in the deck and will be used almost every game since [Johnny Rotten] and [Lord Jorach Ravenholdt] are Rogues.
[Zalan Ragewind] really shines in this deck, almost guaranteeing you will be able to blow up an opposing equipment or ability by forcing your opponent to exhaust their hero with [Lord Jorach Ravenholdt], [Eye of the Storm], and the hero’s flip. It also works well with [Deadliness]. The deck just has lots of synergy and is worth taking a look at. [Vexmaster Nar'jo] is the only card that is lost with the rotation when Worldbreaker releases. The card is by no means necessary for the deck, and there shouldn't be a problem replacing it.
The last deck I wanted to talk about is a deck I have already mentioned a bunch, and that is Andreas Both's [Ringleader Kuma] deck that he finished second with at Antwerp. Here is the list:
Andreas Both
Hero: [Ringleader Kuma]
Allies: 25
3 [Saurfang the Younger, Kor’kron Warlord]
2 [Nathanos Blightcaller]
4 [Quakelord Razek Warhoof]
3 [Spectral Kitten]
3 [Bloodsoul]
4 [Marksman Glous]
4 [Broderick Langforth]
2 [Offender Gora]
Abilities: 13
4 [Feral Spirit]
3 [Wavestorm Totem]
2 [Squall Totem]
2 [Chain Purge]
2 [Wind Shear]
Equipment: 7
4 [Signet of Manifested Pain]
3 [Edge of Oblivion]
Locations: 3
3 [Kor’kron Vanguard]
Quests: 12
4 [Tabards of the Illidari]
4 [The Boon of Remulos]
2 [Orders of Lady Vashj]
2 [Spirit Totem]
Even with everyone knowing that [Ringleader Kuma] will be a popular deck choice, people can be ready for it and still lose to it. Andreas’ biggest change to the deck is adding [Saurfang the Younger, Kor'kron Warlord], giving it a better late game threat by fetching up a [Kor'kron Vanguard] to threaten your opponent with even if they are able to clear the board of your allies. Unlike [Zaritha], Kuma was not reprinted in the Class Starter Decks and will no longer be legal for Core when Worldbreaker releases. The hero may be gone, but the Horde beatdown strategy certainly is not. As long as [Broderick Langforth] is around, fast Horde ally decks will still be viable.
It will be interesting to see what Worldbreaker brings to the format, how it will have an effect on the decks that I have talked about, and what whole new decks it will create. Is Worldbreaker going to be a set like Scourgewar was; giving us countless constructed quality cards that made whole new decks, or will it just add a few key cards to existing decks that need an extra boost? We will just have to wait and see.
Later!
-BillyP
William “BillyP” Postlethwait is a professional gamer who has been winning high-level gaming events for years. His successful finishes did not stop in the WoW TCG, which he proved by winning the 2009 World Championship in Texas. He followed this up with a top 2 finish at DMF Las Vegas in 2009, as well as a top 2 finish in the 2010 North American Continental Championship.
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