Call to Arms: Write About Your Local Battlegrounds!

Run Good Club wants to hear about your local Battleground events!

Having just read some reports at the Cryptozoic Volunteer forums, it appears that Battlegrounds numbers are going up. That being said, what is your weekly Battleground scene like? Where do you play, what days, what time, how many show up, and what do you all play there?

I'd like to get some details. Preferably something nice and typed up. I'm looking for weekly Battleground reports that can help advertise your area here on the blog to other readers so that they know that your store is hosting Battleground events!

If you'd like to submit a report, send it to me via private message on the Cryptozoic forums. My name there is 'Rosenfloggen'. Ideal reports that I'll post will be between 500-1000 words in length. You don't have to be a master writer; just include the detailed I included above, maybe with a personal spin on what you play/how long it's been this big/what your hopes are for the future of Battleground events.

I look forward to hearing your stories!

Discussion: Icecrown!

If you haven't checked out our sponsor's store over on the right-hand size of this page, I'd suggest you do so. Especially if you haven't seen all of the rares and epics from the Icecrown expansion. Ron's got them all up for pre-order right now.

Finished looking? Awesome. Now, onto today's discussion topic: What do you think of the rares and epics in this exciting new set? Share your thoughts!

I'll do a follow-up article this weekend sharing my outlook on the rares and epics in general with this set. Monday will include a Financial Analysis article on everything, so be sure to check in to my blog for that!

Discussion: Icecrown Previews (and a look at Gale Winds from a Boomkin Fan)

Things have been bare around here lately while I take a breather/find some full-time work/play too many games (it's been the dreaded Magic Online has has sucked away some of my time these past few days!). Of course, Cryptozoic has been good about providing some daily content thanks to the Icecrown previews. One of those cards, Gale Winds, was something I took a liking to the moment I heard about it from the Ggslive livestream during Gen-Con.

Getting Hysterical - Initial Impressions

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!

What do they need? - Death Knights

I will try to get an article out tomorrow on this subject. It may involve a fun little home-brew that explores a few mechanics of the Death Knight that has been ignored. However...




...with the exception of the top 8 and quick exit from Randy Brasher at the 2010 North American Continental Championship, the Death Knight has been practically non-existent in top level play. Why is that, and what kind of card can you think of that may come out in Icecrown that could solve their problem?


Stay tuned tomorrow for a little bit from me on the subject!

More on Clock Management by Mike Rosenberg (a follow-up to yesterday's discussions)

Continuing yesterday's discussion, I'd like to go a little more in-depth on the natures of the Brad versus Niles quarter-final match at Worlds. While I touched on my opinion a bit already, I wanted to go into further detail on what I think of the match as well as relating it to my general opinions on the current state of end-of-match procedures and clock management.

The Subject of Slow Play by Mike Rosenberg (Article and Discussion)

There has been a lot of talk recently on the topic of time management and slow play. This is not exclusive to the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, and has recently become a hot-button topic with Magic: The Gathering since recent discussions about clock manipulation from Tomoharo Saito, one of the most well known pro players from Japan and a candidate for the 2010 Magic Hall of Fame. I was not at Grand Prix Columbus, the event where this discussion stemmed from, and I do not know Saito personally, so I will refrain from offering my opinion specifically about him in regards to this subject. There are plenty of people who have done that anyway, including some of his friends on the Pro Tour as well as spectators from the event. You can read more up on the Saito story, along with some great debate on the subject of clock manipulation, over at Billy Moreno's blog by clicking here (this is the same blog that was featured here yesterday).

Discussion Topic: The best deck from Worlds

I was inspired by the talks on the official World of Warcraft TCG forums regarding the top 8 decks from the World Championships, as there was a lot of discussion regarding what people expected and didn't expect to see.

So, let's hear it! Which deck do you think was the 'best deck' for that event? Slow Mage? Death Wish? Kungen? Warlock? Which deck do you feel was the best choice for that event?

Discussion Topic: Bans?

This is a little thing I'll be doing here every few days in order to inspire discussion in the competitive gaming community. I'll bring up a topic of discussion or debate that may relate to a game or a player, and I'd love to hear your opinions on these topics in the comments section of this blog post!

It's easy to argue that the World of Warcraft Trading Card game is pretty healthy. Sure, there have been some cards that could definitely be argued as 'unfun' after a little while (I'm looking at you Myriam Starcaller!), but nothing that has appeared overly powerful.

So...has that changed at all? This game is nearly finished with its fourth block, and there are definitely some powerful interactions in the Classic Constructed format. Are any 'too powerful'? Perhaps there is a card that really bugs you, or that you think sees way too much play for it to be healthy for the game. What are your thoughts?