Deck (52 cards)
2x Trugg
1x Grukth
2x Tass'daesh
Zultan Bloodletter

2x Sir'kan
2x Pelanth
3x Ballista Crew
1x El'can The Wily
2x Green Hag
3x Temb'w'bam
2x Zentis
3x Gunda
2x Judge Aaecus

3x Viper Whip
2x Lightning Bolt
2x Incinerate
2x Ball Lightning
2x Disintegrate
2x Churning Wrath
2x Blind Vengeance

2x Bracers of Deflection
2x Camel
2x Ring of Vorn
1x Shroud Of Lost Souls
1x Chime of The Aerie
1x Ivory Scepter
2x Ivory Ring

I went through a few variations on Zultan before I settled on this. I started with a Cav version running G'rath, Judge, and various other fighters. It was awful. I went for a higher level version (w/Kuls), and it worked better, but still a poor man's version of Scyrax. Finally, I scrapped the Cav idea, finally seeing how crap G'rath is, and went low-level blitz. After some tweaking and playtesting, I ended up with this.

I was not overly confident coming into this Tourny. Zultan had disappointed me over and over again in playtesting. I still feel he's just not 'all there' yet, needing another card to pull him together. He's just so vanilla that it is tough to figure out what to do with him. Still, being a level 5 Throg Wizard with 4hps is enough in this environment.

Most of my games were very close. Unlike Scyrax, Zultan wasn't dominating anyone. I won through a mixture of speed and snipe, a play style I'm very comfortable with. If I couldn't bust ranks entirely, I tried to set up a kill shot with Lightning Bolt or ViperWhip (occasionally boosted by Blind Vengeance) by attacking the second rank, bouncing Zultan up front when necessary. Pelanth was a clutch card, boosting my army's attack when I needed it for high AC's, and healing Zultan. Churning Wrath out of one of my many support wizards was hit-or-miss; for every time it was a boon to me, there was one where it was a dead card with no one to cast it. Ball Lightning was effective as always, occasionally netting me two wounds from Zultan's react. Zentis was effective, but many times I found I didn't want to push anything back...but when I needed him, he came through for me. I hardly ever drew the Chime, but the Shroud and Scepter showed up enough when I needed them.

A note on the new starts: The Throg start is VERY all-or-nothing. Plenty of factions are (rightly) scared of seeing it across from them, but it has its share of problems. You have no variation in your first two actions; it's very luck based (better win initiative/hit with those strikes!); finally, it's as thin as paper. If you don't get them, they'll tear through your ranks in a heartbeat, regardless of what they are starting - even if you do win initiative. This happened to me several times during the Tournament. The Freek start (3x Ryan, 1x Angus, 1x Scarlett) is more effective overall, especially out of Keziah. It is much more versatile, quicker, and more likely to hit and do damage.

Anywho, on to the report! (or as much as I can remember).

Round 1: Naram-Sin, piloted by Rich Dalbo
Won 2-0(?) (1-0-0)

So, first round, Naram-Sin. I was surprised; didn't see how Naram was helped by SoO significantly. Still, not worried - it's Naram, he'll be coming up. I just have to bust those ranks before he goes beastmode. My surprise deepened when I saw he started 3x Duanna and 2x The Vessel. Odd, but OK. Then he drops another Duanna, and realization dawns: he's playing an all Duanna deck. I laughed, but you'd be FRIGGIN SURPISED how annoying that is. Kill a Duanna, play a Duanna. Kill a Duanna, play a Duanna. I ran out of bloody strikes! Well, not the first game, but the second game took me a bloody while to kill him. Finally had to run Zultan up to take some shots on Naram (who never ate a Thrall once, of course). Honestly, he might have killed me once...I really don't remember. I did eventually win, and it was easily the most fun I had all tournament. Rich was a blast to play against.

Round 2: Setrokh, piloted by Kevin leech (Emerald Dawn)
Won 2-1 (2-0-0)

I don't remember too much about this game. This deck is a Vacarorccoco special, and he switched out the Gunda start for the Tass/Trugg start, and man is that not good for Setrokh. She needs stability (and Kast) to get her beefy guys out and killing. Yeah yeah, Mornington Mornington. You can still beat that start with Gundas if you're fortunate. Can't remember how I lost, or which game it was, though I think it was the first. I do know my alternate 3x Gunda/2x Temb start came in handy here. I believe he got character screwed one of the game I won, and the other I think I just got into position to snipe him. His ranks were just not stable enough...but he did end up finishing 6th, so what do I know?
Yes, he whacked me good with a Beyond The Grave once. Good idea to put that in!

Round 3: Drasek, piloted by Tony Williams (Wanderer)
Draw 0-0 (2-0-1)

Hey everyone, guess who can still play Dragons? The only thing keeping him from swamping me with Dragons turn one was the fact that he didn't draw any. I know he could have played them. And the only thing that kept me from swarming him was his enormous amount of stall...er, sorry, 'healing', Fylgia, and my dice crapping out on me at the worse times. I missed a shot at crippling his ranks on the first turn, and he ever so slowly built back up from there. I had a couple more kill shots on him (I believe; he may have been able to heal them had I hit), but rolled too low. Scepter of Life is a HUGE friggin addition to Drasek's arsenal, and kept both Drasek and an Ebonscourge (which he finally played on turn 3) alive far longer than they should have been.

The game was like a slow, heavy pendulum that started at me, and inexorably swung over to Tony. When time was called on our first game, it was getting increasingly obvious he was going to win - the only question was how much longer it would take. (A lot, if I kept passing Blackwind checks like I did ). Much like the game against Fish's Pinion in the last tournament, I relish games like this. The cat-and-mouse maneuvering, with me always trying to position myself for the kill shot, and my opponent deftly deflecting my blows, is just so...Warlord to me. Not as much fun as munching Duannas, but a lot more stimulating. Kudos to an awesome deck Tony!

Round 4: Niobe, piloted by Sporty Jones (sportydjr).
Lost, 0-2 (2-1-1)

So, I haven't mentioned one of the more awesome things about this tourny. One of the participation prizes was a custom d20, with the shape of my fair state, New Jersey, painted over the '1'. Cries of "JERSEY!" could be heard throughout the day as people critical failed. Definitely one of the high points of the tournament.

I chose a black die, and MAN did it like to show me the Garden State, so I didn't roll it much. Of course, as is my particular idiom, I misplaced some of my dice prior to this match. That damn Jersey die was still there though. Sporty lines up against me, with the most paper thin start imaginable (2x Ryan, 1x Aida, 2x Dreiga), and I CANNOT ROLL ABOVE A 5. I was so distracted I made approximately 209362382 play errors before Sporty curb stomped me. I got up, found Tony, and either a)got some of my dice back from him or b)stole some of his dice. Whatever happened, he was very gracious about it.

2nd game was worse than the first. Honestly, it was over so fast, I couldn't even tell you if I got the courtesy of a reach around before he bungholed me.

Sporty, as a good friend, was kind enough to play another round against a much more calm Bach. Of course, I curb stomped him. This did make me feel better. Seriously, I likely would have given up hope at that point, I was so disgusted. Sport would go on to make the top 4, which is the only reason I ended up squeaking in, so I owe him double thanks.

Round 5: Krenthor, piloted by J
Won 2-1(?) (3-1-1)

At the time, I was pretty sure I was out of it, so I played this game pretty calm. Plus, J is an old friend of mine (who was also out of it!), so we just tried to have some fun. Krenthor is a beast, but I wasn't overly worried about him. He comes up front himself, so all I have to do is sit there with my kill shot and weather the storm. It's a game me and J have played for years - him with the big nasty front line fighter, me with the craft sniper. I think he took the first game (I may have swept him), but I know my alternate start came in handy once more. His Krenthor was a character light version, focused mostly on strike generation from his WL. He got screwed on movement two of the games I won. Really, pretty much it right there. I know one game he did get an Obliterate off, but it just wasn't enough.

Thanks to Sport taking out Cedric's Logan, I squeaked into the cut at #4. My friend Alex was unbeaten in Swiss, stealing my Top Nothog crown away from me, and Sport landed at #3. FatKid rounded it out at #2 with another Vacaracococo Special (Keziah). 3 out of the top 4 were from my South Jersey crew! Surely one of us would go home champion, proving once and for all our superiority over the stinking, polluted, Mafia-infested suburb of NYC known as North Jersey. (note: ironic foreshadowing)

Semifinal: Krenthor, piloted by Alex (BB.)
Won 2-1 (4-1-1)

Alex's deck was similar to J's, I believe (hopefully he will post it up soon). I expected him to play his extremely nasty Setrokh deck, but he went with Krenthor. His Setrokh deck is the best I have seen, but I think Alex is in love with Obliterate.

1st game he won initiative. I could go on, but when two Tass/Trugg starts are facing each other, it's really all you need to know. Actually, even though he stunned me up front 1st turn, I had an opportunity to win. I blind vengeanced before he broke my ranks entirely, and didn't take another melee strike, holding onto the Viper Whip I drew. Next turn, with Krenthor in the front rank, all I needed to do was make my power attack check, hit, and hope he missed Zultan's DC save. Alas, I played too fast, and failed to play the Sir'kan I drew to cover the strike; he canceled it with Shelter The Weak, and I scooped.

I was not about to play the luck game again, so I switched to my Gunda/Temb start. Major difference, as he can kill one Gunda at best before I whack his other Tass'daesh with Temb. This proved to be the move that won me the match, as he could never get past my defenses. I believe the second game I crushed him, as he got movement screwed. The final game, I teased out a Stubborn with Zentis, and finished him off with Viper Whip. The curse of the top seed strikes again! Needless to say, I sympathized.

Finals: Keziah, piloted by FatKid.
Lost 1-2 (4-2-1)

Finally in a final! I was a bit nervous, to tell the truth. Maybe FatKid was too...I stopped counting his play mistakes after about 5. [Censor: poo], I started making some of my own - I thought it might be Finals match etiquette, you know?

First game I rolled over him. My dice liked me, and I managed to get around his early Song of Strength with some timely multi-wounding. Did you know Ryan Mornington has a +0 skill? Just one of the many reasons I'm unimpressed with him.

Second game, he won initiative, drew Song of Strength again, and...well, yeah. Since Keziah doesn't need to be in the second rank, I really had no shot once my ranks collapsed.

Third game was a bit more even, and I had an opportunity to crush his ranks with a Ballista crew shot. on the second turn. However, I simply didn't roll what I needed, drew crap (BOTH Ivory Rings), and didn't have enough time. Game went south for me from there. Chris and/or Bobby can likely give you a more detailed description of this match...it's entirely possible they were paying closer attention than either me or FatKid.

That match was a lot of fun, and I couldn't have lost to a cooler guy. Congrats to FatKid! And thanks for picking the silver sword; I ended up with an awesome black sword that looks a lot like the sword Zultan is holding.

Thanks to Chris for putting on a great Tourny, and Kevin for once again hosting it at POP's. We all had a blast there, and look forward to the next one!

The best defense can be a good offense, hence why I changed the start. Against the FreeKs, if he hits with both first strikes, he is officially stable for the first turn unless theyre playing some kind of weenie blitz. Kast is terrible and not worth the slot. If I need them to swing that fast, he can just Bullrush.

Regarding your deck, awesome job dude! You're a Chain Lightning short of a tournament win... and he can't Beyond the Grave you when you kill him with it

Quick question, how was Judge Aecus in this deck?

I was darn surprised I did so well. I really expected to crash and burn. I could hardly get him to work, let alone beat anyone early on.

Aaecus was a target, not much more. There's not a lot of movement, so I didn't get him up front ready often. He's still awesome, but not when seemingly everyone is playing good characters. Iffy on if he stays in there.

I might switch the deck around a bit, focus more on sniping. Debating throwing a Extension Scroll in. Blind Vengeance + Viper Whip is a nasty little combo. There were several times during the tourny I needed just one more rank. Warlords that plunk down in the second rank are toast for me...those third rankers are a pain in the ass.

Possibly Chain Lightning. I've had it in and out of the deck like 3 times. I really despise that card though. Thinking about Hungry Spirits too. Green hag makes that darn scary.

I'm still mixed regarding Hungry Spirits being an awesome card or not. Ironically, the fact that it can spend someone makes it a lot easier to cancel!

Re: Chain Lightning, the main argument I can see for it is that you run Ivory Ring, making that last shot a lot more successful.

The Rings might come out.

Or at least down to 1. Getting two in that crucial round in the finals really cheezed me off. Using it to pump up a Chain Lightning strike from Zultan is very low percentage (have to draw Wizard to equip it to, keep wizard alive, then use Chain Lightning).

Agree on Hungry Spirits. Fighters have some awesome stun/spend hate cards. Sir'kan can stop them, thankfully, but it may not be worth it. I'm mostly salivating over having a Green Hag (or two!) next to Zultan when it goes off.

Zultan drives me bloody nuts. Scyrax, after a while, I got a feel for what belonged with him. Zultan, I only got a handful. Viper Whip, Sir'Kan, Ballista Crew, Green Hag, Ball Lightning, and Pelanth are the only non-starters I know will be in his deck. The Chime and Shroud, too, but those are just essential Wizard cards. Disintegrate likely too. After that...

Fair enough. Seeing you do well with him is inspiring me to give him a shot. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Also, regarding this:



This was your first finals, so it's expected that you would be nervous. And yes, it was very apparent not necessarily in your gameplay as much as little things, like off-handed comments, questions regarding used abilities, etc. Im sure the fact that everyone was watching added to the pressure. The problems and play errors come from overthinking your moves from being nervous but that should be gone the next time around.

I wouldn't say the Fatkid was nervous until he lost game 1. Niobe mentally drained him the match before. As for his play errors, I watched him for a lot of the tournament and to put it bluntly, he just played outright sloppy. He didn't know Scarlett had Marksmenship until deep into the tournament Thus is the issue with being handed a deck 2 hours before the tournament and being told to go play!

Now imagine how good that deck gets if Fatkid remembers all the feats his characters have?

This is pretty much the same type of deck I've played since Dezi in the beginning of Epic. Blitz, destabilize the second rank, then snipe. I don't know why i resisted designing his deck like this for so long.

I think that Keziah deck simply outclasses my Zultan deck. I could have won with good luck (win initiative, hit with my first two Tassdaesh strikes), but that's really it. He has very little reason to come out of the 3rd rank, and the deck is just too fast. The finals match and the match against Tony's Drasek is why I'm leaning heavier on the 'snipe' than on the 'blitz'. All the Warlords I'm worried about are 3rd rankers (Drasek, Keziah, Dimitr, Scyrax). The fact FatKid didn't play half his reacts and still stomped me just hammers that point home.

I wouldn't say he "stomped" you, he was one Ballista Crew hit on Han of the Ferry from losing the match. If he loses Han, a lot of your little strikes and general strategy changes (as does his) and you probably win that game. As I said, that turn in game 3 was the ENTIRE match. Very hard fought battle.

Well considering Zul'tan is an upfront guy wouldn't you want to put in Power Word:Kill?

Who ever said Zul'Tan was upfront?

*snicker*

I do go up there, but it's very situational. I spent most of the Drasek game in the front rank, but hardly ever moved out of the second against Krenthor, except for a kill shot.

@Flippy: The thing about PWK is it's only good in the front rank. Putting cards like that in the deck requires your WL to be in a certain rank, and restricting yourself in that manner prevents you from reacting to the opponents deck.

PWK is like Al Davis. All he ever wants to see is deep passes, so he's constantly drafting big strong armed QB's and tall track star WR's with hands of stone so he can have his deep passing game, and screw the rest of the team. All they can do is pass deep, but they never get an opportunity because their line sucks and they have no running game, and it's painfully obvious to their opponent what they're going to do.

Remember, He even questioned the deck's strength right before the tournament.

But yeah, he did a good job of figuring out how it worked.

Deck (50 cards)

24 Characters

2x Trugg
1x Grukth
2x Tass'daesh
Zultan Bloodletter

3x Sir'kan
2x Pelanth
3x Ballista Crew
1x El'can The Wily
3x Green Hag
3x Temb'w'bam
3x Gunda

18 Actions

3x Viper Whip
2x Lightning Bolt
3x Incinerate
3x Ball Lightning
3x Disintegrate
2x Blind Vengeance
2x Hungry Spirits

8 Items

1x Bracers of Deflection
2x Camel
2x Ring of Vorn
1x Shroud Of Lost Souls
1x Extension Scroll
1x Staff of Storage

Not gonna start a new thread, because this was severe friggin deja vu. Plus, I don't remember most of the tourny. Plus, I'm dead tired.

Took a lot of items out in an effort to, you know, draw some friggin spells to get Zultan's react off reliably. Taking out the Chime made me cry real tears. I put in one Extension Scroll for 3rd rank Warlord kill shots. I drew it several times. I either didn't need it, or never made the check. Real tears, man.

Hungry Spirits is his kill card. The DC is low, but I find if you have someone roll enough checks, they'll roll low eventually. It was a clutch include I was very happy with. Most of the time...when I lost, it was because I needed a Lightning Bolt instead.

4-1-0, Top Swiss, lost in the first round to Chris's Keziah deck. Yes, the same deck FatKid beat me with in the Proxy tourny. No, I'm not gonna curse. I'm all done.

Not sure on the order I played people...

I believe I played Oremm first. He played Mad Mel. It was a Instructor's Set deck that focused mostly on Mel with a bunch of out of faction weenies. Throg Blitzed 'em bad first game, second game was a bit tense when he stealthed in, but he really just didn't have enough offense to slow me down. 2-0

I think I got Cedric's Logan next. I was a bit worried here - Zultan does most of the work in this deck, so I ain't not gonna spend him. Oh yeah, double negative, rules of proper speech be damned. Where was I? Oh, we danced, we laughed. His ranks started breaking, he moved up. I moved up. At the end of the day, my range strikes can target within one rank. Logan's can't. That was pretty much it. 2-0

Panda's Lady Of Pain came next. I'd heard my friends cry about this, but I hadn't had the privilege of facing him. Hell, I think he took down a Drasek Dragon Drop deck. She's, uh, friggin annoying. She kills her own tempo, but if you can't take advantage of it, you're screwed. I think I lost the first game...I remember rolling darn bad, but he just had all the right moves. Pretty sure a Submerge factored in there. Second round was intense. I hit him with a Sir'kan/Hungry Spirits/Green hag/Zul'tan's React combo, put a couple wounds on him...and finished him off with a Ball lightning. 3rd game was still tight, but not as lucky. [Censor: poo], who am I kidding; most of the games I win with him come down to a roll here or there. This would be the 'game I had most fun during.' You know you had a good game when we're both seriously talking about drawing the third match. Anyhows, I Ball lightning, 2-1

Lunch break! Woo! Had a cheesesteak. Didn't like it. Never order cheesesteaks outside of the Tri-State area. Words to live by.

Me and Alex (BB.) are both undefeated, so we know we're facing each other next round. He's playing Setrokh. We both know the decks are evenly matched, and will likely come down to initiative on turns 2 or 3. Alex suggests drawing, and we both make the cut. I, an [Censor: exit], want to play it out, for I am no coward, but a man who will feast on the blood of his enemies. And I want top faction. Which it turns out there was no prize for. I don't care - please see third sentence back.

So, Set'rokh vs. Zultan. First game was tight; I think he rolled through my Trugg/Tass start, or maybe I rolled through him. Oh! That's right, he drew [Censor: poo]. I think. Still, i didn't break his ranks right away, and next turn he started pulling characters. I did manage to draw his WL in range, sitting Zultan up in the front rank and just taking some hits while I plastered her (Hungry Spirits, again). 2nd game, same thing. He had an opportunity to move Setrokh back that turn...I'd have likely stunned her forward, but not killed her. We played another couple games, in which he creamed me one, and the rolls just went his way the second. Hey, he's new. Look at his post count, everyone point and laugh! Oh, yes, he went on to lose the next match, and was knocked out of the cut...which set the stage for me facing NT's Keziah deck again. Please refer to fourteenth sentence back. I am that. Karma is a [Censor: dog], and she ain't mine. 2-0.

Last round was against...um, Lenny? I think. Played Morghen. I almost never play Morghen. I mean, I know what he does and all, but he's just not popular around here. I think I drew a Disintegrate early on, but used it one something else...or I just never saw the damned things. Anyhows, more inopportune rolls, added just a complete inability to deal with his offense, got my butt swept. Like, convincingly. Really needed those disintegrates - he kept sticking the Mantle on a Tyyphera - the two hit points were just enough to keep me from being able to kill him in the right amount of actions. The deck looked damned solid. 0-2.

1st round of finals, NT's Keziah. I know I have to get to him quick, and get Keziah in the 2nd rank at least first turn. He simply throws up too much beef for me to chew through. His opening hand was Song of Strength, Barret, Han/or some other level 4, a Submerge, and something else really good. . Uh huh. Still, I manage to get him in the power I before running just short/missing that last strike. Long story short, I don't draw enough offense second turn, and conceded shortly thereafter. 2nd game...same opening hand, or similar. Certainly SoS and Barret. Oddly, same outcome - I still have just enough offense to get him into power I before he's throwing up characters. This game went on a loooooong time. I had a small handful of shots at breaking his ranks early on - I was told later I had an opportunity to kill a lone Angus in the 2nd rank with a Ball Lightning, but failed to notice tass'daesh is, like, a Wizard - but had to quickly shift into survival mode. I did manage to chew through his beef for a bit, but his slow-but-steady accumulation of Instructor's set items and characters makes it difficult. Eventually, I realize I just have to do what I can to bring her forward, and manage to get her in range of some strikes. At this point, I'm focusing everything I can at her, but it's just not enough - her AC is too high, and she has a zillon defend checks. I get ganked. I felt better about my performance, this time. So, A for effort!

I should probably stopped [Censor: dog] about Zultan after I do so well with him consistently, but I really can't help it. You get a feel for a Warlord after playing him a while, and Zultan has "Quadruple A" baseball player written all over him - beats the stuffing out of minor league pitching (Zultan smokes lesser Warlords/factions that can't handle the blitz), but when he gets to the majors, he just can't match up to major league pitching (loses to top Warlords: Keziah, Morghen). He's good, but way too seat-of-the pants right now - even when I'm winning, there's a lot of luck involved. He's got the potential to be a star...maybe if he adjusts his swing, finds a new approach (the next expansion gets him some more melee strike generating spells), and he'll find a place on the 25-man roster of the big league club (Tier 1).

I'll stop torturing that analogy now.

Had a blast at the tourny guys, good seeing you all. Catch you at Summer Campaign!

Good job Bach. Eventually you'll break through and win an event.

I think I have a meta solution for Keziah without drastically re-working the deck: Counterspell. Stops that pesky Song of Strength. Considering Dimensional Rift too - both are powerful cards, and I think I need 2x of one or the other in here.

Counterspell allows me to trigger Zul'tans react (though unlikely to be effective), and also stops LUYV and all the other spell blitz decks in the environment. Dimensional Rift is more offensive, and is friggin awesome for busting an I-formation or screwing over a lot of heavy Cav and Dragon decks.

I've got one spot at least with the Extension Scroll coming out.