I figured I'd chime in with my initial impressions.
First of all, I took out the Jin'rohk for Betrayer of Humanity once you guys suggested it within about 5 seconds of having the idea pointed out.
Side deck is currently as follows:
-4 Cromarius Blackfist (your deck is notorious bad against ongoing abilities, and while it's awkward as hell that you run 8 of them, you can play around that fact. As is, Cromarius is still one of the best ways to affect the board while adding to your offense, and he's the right health to Hysteria/Death Pact combo with)
-3 Zalan Ragewind (hate for solo decks; it's not unrealistic to force their hero to ready with Eye of the Storm)
-1 Army of the Dead (the 4th comes in against any dudes deck)
-1 Girdle of Razuvious (Mage, you want armors and this one adds more to the board)
-1 Sword of Justice (dudes and mage, once you figure out what you don't want)
My initial impressions are:
-Death Pact is terrible. I'm not surprised. I wanted to live the dream of giving my ally Hysteria and then benefiting from it just as much, but it rarely comes up. As for what these should become, I'm inclined to think that they should be another ally. I'm almost considering Mograine, given how top-heavy the deck can get and how desperate I am for a Death Knight ally that isn't terrible that lets me use my flip more effectively (I obviously love playing Vanessa Fairgraves so having to keep her in my hand can suck). This is probably just a bad idea, and may become main-deck Zalan.
-Betrayer is pretty bad when you draw it. But it's worth running, as the games where you Girdle it into play aren't even close.
-Hysteria is absurd. The ongoing is such a powerhouse, can let you kill opponents out of nowhere, and makes your hero a very reasonable source of removal.
-The Overseer's Shadow is the MVP quest of the deck, almost always drawing me 3 cards and usually 2 cards at worst.
-The Greathelm is amazing. It randomly helps against the damage race and protects me from damage packets I need to prevent.
-A Question of Gluttony is fine in this deck, even with 1-drops. On the draw it is absurd when you can complete Question for free before playing Broderick, as it puts you immensely ahead in the ally match-ups.
-Army of the Dead is a sweet back-up plan. That card's not even close to fair.
-Sword of Justice is sick. I didn't realize how much I'd love playing it until I realized that I could always make sure it has 5+ counters. The strike cost on it sucks, but it's a nice way to kill heroes out of nowhere and all but neutralizes protectors when you're on the strike-out plan/attackers when you are on the Army plan.
I have not, unfortunately, gotten to play against any control Mages, which is a match-up I am concerned over. I intend to force my way into a few matches against that later this week. So far though, I'm loving this deck. It's not bad!
Are there specific situations you're worried about that make Cromarius a superior choice to Vuz'din for you in the side?
ReplyDeleteHow does this deck deal with something as powerful as Boots of Utter Darkness with X Mount? Sure you flip on the first one, but after that what happens? Especially if they have a kite too and you can't Eye/Zalan.
ReplyDeleteYour plan against that game one would be to build up a board-state where you can kill them in a single turn; that's the turn you'll flip on their boots, or Army so that your hero can attack. Now, if they have some way to counter your turn on top of Boots/Mount or w/e, then you're just dead, but that's the same with most aggressive decks (oh I'm dead to this unless I draw a 3-4 outer).
ReplyDeleteMaybe Tal'zin instead of Lord Darion Mograine? He's a Death Knight for Krog's Flip, and his ready effect can pretty reliably occur with the deck's weapon focus, giving him good synergy with Hysteria.
ReplyDelete