Testing for Indy Part I - Aggro and Control

So I covered what I’m kicking around in terms of decks I want to test for Reborn Indy. Will I win with a midrange pile I brew up? I doubt it. But I hope I do well because the playmats are gorgeous! Classic is a format I’ve spent way too much time looking at the past few years. To the point that the game’s most open and diverse format is starting to feel a little old to me - maybe even stale. That obviously can’t actually be true, but it feels that way sometimes. There wasn’t much info on Classic towards the end of the game and had there been more info things might have been even less diverse than they were. Who knows how the format would have shaped up if the pros of WoW TCG past had invested as much time testing and exploring Classic the way they did the larger formats. The high tier deck selection might have expanded but it also might have narrowed. Anyway, today we’ll take the first step in giving the known quantities of the Classic format a once-over. Chances are this is what you’ll be facing in Indy and how you should prepare!

The Many Tests of Classic

One thing I tend to do when I’m toying around with new Classic deck ideas, tinkering, or selecting existing lists is to run them up against the known decks of the format. There’s a lot of tests your deck needs to pass before you can really entertain the thought of it doing well at a Classic event. Maybe you feel unstoppable against an ally-based strategy because you’re packing all the answers. But then you remember decks like Death Wish, Vorix, and Slow Mage will just blank all your ally removal by not offering you targets. Likewise there’s a lot of tests that new cards you want to try out need to pass. A card like Archdruid Fandral Staghelm might look like a really appealing sleeper at first glance, but then you remember the popularity of Hesriana. She is almost a test in and of herself!

There’s also the “x does it better” test. Find a loop or synergy that can win you the game on turn 6? Turn 5? You’re a lot slower than the Crabbyfin combo so why not just play that? Often I find myself seeing the pieces come together for a deck and then realize I should just be a playing an established deck that does the same thing I want to do… only better. Lastly, you need to know what’s out there before you can gauge whether your deck will be predator or prey in the room. So let’s do a quick review of what tests your deck will need to pass if you’re looking to do well in Indy!

The Aggro Test

Aggressive decks are a fine strategy in Classic. Early allies in WoW TCG are known for their massive size-to-cost ratio and often come with helpful abilities to boot! There are decks that just lose to a one-drop, one-drop, one-drop curve and you need make sure your deck can interact early on to avoid such a loss. There are a lot of tools to combat and stifle aggro decks though which makes the games a bit of a crap shoot at times. While all-in aggro isn’t the most popular choice for Classic, you need to make sure your deck can stand up to the aggro test else you’ll get blindsided in a 10 minute long 0-2 match. Here’s some examples of what to look out for in Indianapolis:

Hero: Souldrinker Bogmara

4 Bloodsoul
4 Broderick Langforth
4 Cairne, Earthmother’s Chosen
4 Hesriana
4 Rosalyne von Erantor
4 Twilight Vanquisher Knolan
4 Dagax the Butcher
4 Jadefire Scout
4 Bazul, Herald of the Fel
4 Takara, Timewalker Warlord

4 Lesson of the Nether
4 The Promises of Darkness

4 Bottled Void

4 Orders From Lady Vashj
4 If You’re Not Against Us…

Sidedeck:
4 Cromarius Blackfist
4 Munkin Blackfist
2 Skumm Bag’go

This list is straight from the gallows of the Random’s Thoughts’ dungeon where you can read more about it. It’s an all-in aggro deck featuring a ton of free stuff (Cairne, Lessons, Knolan) and a strategy you need to be aware of. Being one turn too slow to respond to what it’s doing is a game loss. Stumble twice, and you’re done. Decks like this really pressure you to include enough early interaction that you can consistently draw a piece.

Hero: Master Sniper Simon McKey

3 Rufus Claybourne
3 Vakus the Inferno
4 Magni the Mountain King
3 Jadefire Scout
4 Grumdak, Herald of the Hunt
4 Garet Vice
4 Fang
3 Lady Bancroft
4 Ashnaar, Frost Herald
4 Weldon Barov
3 Mikael the Blunt

4 Avatar of the Wild

4 Envoy of Mortality

4 Report to Goldshire
3 One Draenei’s Junk…
1 Dr. Boom!
2 Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!
3 Ring of Trials

Sidedeck:
3 Banzai
1 Lady Bancroft
1 Rufus Claybourne
4 Jeishal
1 Mikael the Blunt

This is Brad Watson’s list from one of the Metamart’s 3k series events in 2012. I’m hesitant to call this archetype and especially this specific list an aggro deck as aggro doesn’t really describe what this deck does very well. For a quick history lesson, the term midrange developed when card players wanted a new term for what they were calling aggro-control at the time. A deck that plays the aggressor in the control matchup and the controller in the aggro matchup is a midrange deck. From that standpoint, Brad’s list and similar ones is more of a midrange deck. But it has some fantastically aggressive draws so we’ll let it sit at the aggro lunch table. Learn this deck. Master the matchup. If you don’t know how to deal with the tempo-dictating games this deck plays you will get eaten alive.

Hero: Tyrus Blackhorn

4 Sardok
4 Jadefire Scout
4 Bazul, Herald of the Fel
4 Warbringer Arix'amal
4 Jadefire Hellcaller
4 Hesriana
3 Rhunoom
2 Eredar Strategist

4 Curse of Midnight
4 Lessons of the Nether
4 Unholy Power
3 Banish to the Nether

4 Signet of Manifested Pain
2 Miniature Voodoo Mask

4 Dark Horizons
4 If You're Not Against Us...
2 Dreadsteed of Xoroth

Sidedeck:
3 Soul Inversion
2 Bloody Ritual
2 Fel Blaze
1 Banish to the Nether
1 Miniature Voodoo Mask
1 Eye of Kilrogg

This is just an example list rather than something that placed well. The Tyrus lists of old were quite a bit slower and light on allies, but here we’ve sped things up a bit. No matter what version of Tyrus you’re facing, assume they can curve allies into an Unholy Power plus flip turn with the right draws. You need to be ready for that. Unholy Power is one of the main reasons to play ability hate in the format and you need to know what a Tyrus deck is doing and play around the ever-important turn 4 very carefully.

The Control Test

Control is a strange thing in Classic. With so many of the allies being so aggressively built on the front end of the curve, there is a lot of pressure on the control decks to have the right answers and get them early on. Or in the case of other control styles, to set up a brick wall capable of withstanding the oncoming barrage. Probably the neatest thing about the Control archetype in Classic is that it is diverse in every way from its answers to its win conditions. If you’re looking to pass the control test, you’ll likely need to devote a few sidedeck slots to it and keep decks like the following in mind:

Hero: Varanis Bitterstar

2 Ysera the Dreamer

3 Mana Sapphire
4 Nether Fracture
3 Brittilize
3 Slow
4 Blizzard
4 Fizzle
3 Mystic Denial
3 Arcane Barrage
1 Flickers from the Past
4 Spell Suppression

3 Conjured Cinnamon Roll
3 Ebonweave Robe
2 Netherbreath Spellblade

4 A Question of Gluttony
3 Silvermoon City
4 For Great Honor
3 Rituals of Power

Our source didn’t provide a sidedeck for David Chen’s list from the Metamart 5k series, but just imagine some more early removal, some equipment/ability hate, and additional threats/draw. This deck has one goal: slow the game down. Its namesake ability Slow does just that and the rest of the deck is full of additional ways to grind the game to a halt. Once you get into the later stages you can do things like use Netherbreath Spellblade and/or Flickers from the Past to get back key abilities. The deck wins with Ysera, Blizzard, Barrage, or Brittilize but the most common way you win is by your opponent giving up!

Hero: Lord Benjamin Tremendouson

1 Bulwark of the Ancient Kings
1 Amani Mask of Death
1 Jin'rohk, the Great Apocalypse
1 Shadowmourne
1 Hailstorm
1 Betrayer of Humanity
2 Wraith Scythe
3 Guardian's Plate Bracers
3 Greaves of Ancient Evil
1 Greaves of the Martyr
2 Mantlet of Abrahmis
2 Gravitational Pull
1 Girdle of Razuvious
4 Vindicator’s Brand
1 Smite’s Reaver
1 Cloak of the Shadowed Sun
2 Fleshwerk Throwing Glaive

2 Bloody Ritual
4 Heroic Throw
4 Death Wish
4 Keys to the Armory
3 Reconstruct

1 Retribution of the Light
3 Big Game Hunter
4 A Rare Bean
4 Concerted Efforts
3 Tanks for Everything, Dalaran

Sidedeck:
4 "Chipper" Ironbane
1 Shuriken of Negation
1 Titanium Frostguard Ring
1 Lionheart Helm
1 Demonslayer
1 Mekkatorque, King of the Gnomes
1 Kel'thuzad

This type of control deck is quite a bit different than Mage. Here the basic game plan is to turtle up by playing a piece of armor every turn for the first few turns, leverage weapons (and in this case Death Wish) as value-generating ally removal and win conditions, and use abilities to support these things. There are a lot pay-off cards people can use after hiding behind armor for the early and mid game, but the main strategy people gravitate toward is the deck above called Death Wish. It has a lot of synergies like Death Wish, Tanks for Everything Dalaran, and Greaves of Ancient Evil. But the most important to be prepared for involves Jin’rohk, the Great Apocalypse, Heroic Throw, and Reconstruct. With those cards in hand, the Death Wish pilot can get Jin’rohk out on turn 7 and destroy three of your non-hero cards of their choosing. Your three best allies. Three of your resources. Every deck will have some kind of target for its effect. Much like how important I mentioned being prepared for turn 4 against Tyrus is, you must have some kind of game plan going into turn 7 against Death Wish. Else you will likely be put so far behind you’ll never catch up.

Hero: Vorix Zorbuzz

4 Broderick Langforth

4 Poach
4 Gouge
4 Slay the Feeble
4 Deathblow
4 Seal Fate
3 Thud!
3 Kidney Shot
1 Raze
3 Ruthlessness
2 Burgle
4 Surge of Adrenaline
3 Overkill
2 Carnage

3 Boundless Agony

3 Eye of the Storm
2 Junkboxes Needed
4 For Great Honor
4 The Ring of Blood: The Warmaul Champion

Another Metamart 5k list with no side deck, but you get the picture. Sylvester D’Agostino was likely running Purloin, Devious Dismantle, early ally removal, and had some other specific hate cards rattling around in there. The goal of this deck is to pick your opponent’s hand apart, slow down their game by exhausting/killing their allies, and then nuke their hand plus blow up their board with this deck’s namesake card: Overkill. There are a couple versions of Vorix and some are more burn-focused, others more controlling, some featuring No Mercy, most featuring Poison the Well. But this particular list is just an example of what to expect when you see a Rogue. The games can be tricky and feel like a push your luck scenario as Rogue has access to a lot of sweepers. There’s a lot of tough decisions to make in a game against a Rogue, but as when facing any deck with targeted discard I recommend spending extra time and energy on your mulligans. If your hand has absolutely no chance of winning if Poach’ed or Junk Box’ed, I’d be a little more likely to send it back than the usual medium hand.

Future Tests

So that’s Control and Aggro in Classic for ya. If I had to guess, at least a few of these kinds of decks possibly even variations on the very decks that I listed will show up to Indy. Again, with so little data on the least-popular format from when the game was alive it’s hard to make bold statements. I’m glad the Reborn Circuit is giving us the opportunity to kick the year off in the Wild West of WoW TCG that is Classic. It should be a good time! Keep a lookout for the second part of this article where I’ll cover Combo and Midrange in Classic. In the meantime, don’t forget to study!