Battle Report – Dec.23, 2007

Battle Report – Dec. 23, 2007
Format: Constructed (9 players, 4 preliminary rounds + Finals)

Hero: Gorebelly
Tourney rank: 1st
Final score: 4-1
Tourney points: 9 (2 per win, 1 per loss)
Total points for December: 33

The March of the Legion pre-release tourney was only last weekend. Cards from the new set were legal for today's tournament. Once again, I had to decide which new cards to put in the deck and which ones from the old pool need to be taken out. There are so many outstanding cards from the new set that I had to let go some old ones that I thought I'd never take out. I've played with them for so long they've become staples in my decks.

For this tournament, I felt that most if not all players were going to play rush because it normally takes a while for players to evaluate and finalize new dynamics for control decks. So I wasn't too worried about going against control and I tweaked my deck to play even tighter and faster in a foot race.

My most interesting matchup was with Angel Jay. I think this is the first time I faced him in a tournament so I didn't know what to expect. I have heard, though, that he uses unconventional plays so I knew it was going to be a fun game. He brought Taheo Skyspeaker, the new Horde druid hero. When I read the flip power, I couldn't decide whether he was going rush or control. It turned out to be another speed deck but with some very interesting combos.

At one point in the game, he played For the Horde! and attacked with about 3 allies. That really caught me off-guard. I mean, seriously, when's the last time anyone played For The Horde? He also played that piece of armor that puts 2 damage on your hero every time you drop a resource. Yikes! It gets better. During one of his turns, with that piece of armor in play, he played the 1-drop E'sad which means I have to put the top card from my deck into my resource row and, therefore, putting 2 more damage on my hero. And if I don't kill his new ally, it attacks for 4 next turn. Did I mention he uses unconventional plays?

Anyway, I lost our preliminary round matchup. I faced him again in the finals where I prevailed but it was a very close game. I think Angel Jay's reputation for using non-traditional but very effective decks is well-deserved. Good game!

Round 1: Jim Paul - Elendril
Result: win

Round 2: Teodi - Omedus
Result: win

Round 3: Angel Jay - Taheo
Result: loss

Round 4: Wynne - Radak Doombringer
Result: win

Finals: Angel Jay - Taheo
Result: win

Tournament winner: me
Tournament runner-up: Angel Jay