US National 2012 Constructed Deck Lists - pt. 2

by Terence Jason Dorman

Now that you've all had a chance to peruse the deck lists from 5th-13^th place, it is time to take a look at the decks that made the cut to Top 4. I am please to say that each of these decks are wildly different from each other and really do a good job of representing what The Spoils Constructed has to offer.

I particularly enjoy that there is even a split between deck styles with two combo decks (one being fast and one being slow), a control deck, and an aggro deck (with control elements). Add in the fact that four of the five trades are represented in these decks (Rogue is absent although I'm sure that will be different by next year) and you have an extremely well rounded Top 4.

Instead of talking about the decks in general, though, let's dive into the lists.

Nick “Lowercase” Dorman - 4^th Place - “The Pledge, The Turn, The Prestige”

• Tournament Faction

• Resources (15)
• Greed x6 (2 starting)
• Violence x4
• Exploitation x4
• Rage

• Characters (21)
• Dwarvish Grimalkin x4
• Framptle Tramwibbler, Lord of Bling x4
• Samuel Gristwalter x4
• Gideon, the Ultimate Warrior x4
• Gus VanBaymaven x2
• Flabbergasting Philosopher
• Plunging Shriever x2

• Tactics (31)
• Extravagant Contusion x4
• Anatidaephobia x4
• Prestige Inversion x4
• Delectable Boon x4
• Limited Liability x4
• Dark Awakening x4
• Walk the Plank x2
• Miraculous Regeneration x2
• A Blazing Zero x2
• Tactician Vacation

• Locations (4)
• Gilded Yurt x4

• Items (4)
• Phalludrix, the Impotenator x2
• Siege Machine x2

• Total: 75

I hate this deck. I don't hate it because I think it is bad, but instead because I had to playtest against it for the two weeks leading up to Gen Con and playing this deck over and over can be a bit mind numbing. That said, though, it is an extremely solid long-game combo deck that can certainly catch players by surprise.

The idea of this deck is to STALL STALL STALL until it has built up a huge amount of resources and has the six pieces of the puzzle in hand or in play (although some can't be in play until the moment of combo-ing out).

The combo is as follows:

1. Have the following cards in hand/in play – Gideon x4, Siege Machine, and Limited Liability.
   (1a. Have a Tactician Vacation in hand if you feel like playing it safe.)

2. Play the Limited Liability.
3. Play Siege Machine (if you haven't played it earlier).
4. Play all four Gideons (or three if you had one out already).
5. Use the Siege Machine's ability to cause your opponent's faction to lose five influence.
6. Repeat Step 5 until your opponent is at zero influence (usually only requires five or six uses at most).

This process requires you to have a minimum of 18 resources ready (22 if you are saving for the Tactician Vacation) to play all of the cards and use the Siege Machine six times, which should hopefully be enough to end the game.

Needing six cards in hand and eighteen resources probably seems like a lot of work, but it really isn't for this deck. The deck has tons of ways to stall while building its hand and resources. The most common way it builds its hand (and by extension its resources) is to manipulate Gilded Yurt and Dwarvish Grimalkin to just drill through its own deck.

The huge hand size allows the deck to find its stall cards, which include Framptle (devastatingly annoying when combo'd with Yurt), Samuel “Sammy Bones” Gristwalter, and Flabbergasting Philosopher (also annoying when combo'd with Yurt). Add in the control elements found in Gus VanBaymaven, Plunging Shriever, Delectable Boon, Walk the Plank, and various kills cards, you have a sweet recipe for keeping the board clear long enough to find the necessary pieces to the puzzle.

This deck almost makes me laugh in that, having playtested against it so much, it could probably win just by adding some aggro characters to the deck and punching through each turn for a couple points of damage. I can see the appeal of the combo victory, though, because it has a lot of style and is definitely harder to counter.

“The Pledge, The Turn, The Prestige” is one of those decks that really demonstrates the risk/reward scenario found in playing the long game combo deck. If it manages to find the time to set up (which it did numerous times in the tournament) it is extremely difficult to stop. If it gets shut down early, though, it could have a hard time recovering as it needs to stabilize to get going again.

John Westcott - 3^rd Place - “RI OTK”

• Tournament Faction

• Resources (24)
• Elitism x6 (2 starting)
• Rage x3
• Greed x3
• Obsession x10

• Characters (2)
• Cantankerous Claywork x2

• Tactics (42)
• 31337 x4
• All-Nighter x4
• Obsessive Compulsion x4
• Ameliorate x4
• Research Investment x4
• Invent x3
• Dark Awakening x2
• Hilarious Refrigerator Alarm x2
• 0p3r47i0n 1337 H4x0r5 x2
• Writ of Reclamation x2
• Limited Liability x2
• Tactician Vacation
• Rouse
• Day of the Tentacle
• A Blazing Zero
• Bask Bile
• Shriever Attack
• Inhibit
• Hammer Smash
• Cock Block

• Items (11)
• Epiphany Ball x4
• Crest of Obsession x4
• Pepper of Insanity
• Luteoderm Goliath
• Unbearably Heavy Shoes of Teleportation

• Total: 77

I really don't know what to say about this deck that hasn't been said in the past, particularly in Hampus Ericksson's extremely detailed article discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the deck.

What I can say, though, is that I was both glad and sad to see this deck turn out at Gen Con. With all of the talk surrounding the deck last year, I was shocked to see that none of the players brought the deck to the 2011 National Constructed Championships. As such, I was delighted to see that at least one person brought it this year so we could see how it fared against other top decks.

On the flip side, though, I was sad to see it as I was worried that it would dominate the field and turn players away from the game. I'm not going to knock the technology found in the deck or the skill it took to cook it up as both are top notch, but it is already well known that this deck has the potential to turn players away from the game due to how it plays. Thankfully, John is a stand up guy and none of his opponent's had a problem playing against him or the deck, so there were no issues with it this time around.

It probably also helps that the deck was handily beaten by Dan Sotelo's deck in the Top 4 round and didn't take down the tournament, so it shows that the deck CAN be beaten. That said, though, the deck is still extremely powerful and I am still in favor or errata'ing Research Investment as the card (and probably this deck) will only get more powerful.

The list John brought with him to Gen Con is identical to the list Hampus wrote about months ago with one difference: Hilarious Refrigerator Alarm. This card wasn't available yet when Hampus wrote his article and I think it is an obvious addition to the deck. It is such an obvious addition, in fact, that John didn't even bother to cut any cards to put it in and instead just upped his deck count to 77.

Normally, upping your deck count would decrease your odds of a particular card when needed, but that kind of math is almost irrelevant for this deck. When it is combo'ing properly (which it does pretty well), it has an incredible amount of card search and deck reduction (via Research Investment) that those two extra cards, and the increased variance that they bring, are negligible.

I didn't have a chance to play against John or watch any of his games (I was too busying going to time in three out of my five games), so I can't comment on his play or how the deck operated in this field. What I can tell you, though, is that John wrote an excellent article recounting his experiences with the deck, and that article will go live next week!

Matt “Moxless” Kucklinca - 2^nd Place - “I Want a #$%king hat!”

• Tournament Faction

• Resources (15)
• Rage x2 (starting)
• Greed x9
• Exploitation x4

• Characters (25)
• Deadly Striker x4
• Plunging Shriever x3
• Property Condemner x2
• Derelict Seafarer x4
• Dragon Archer x2
• Vilghame Manewaft
• Spitting Sarume
• Dwarvish Grimalkin x4
• Erotic Assassin x4

• Tactics (31)
• Dark Awakening x4
• Noble Sacrifice x4
• Alluring Quicksand x3
• Miraculous Regeneration x2
• Mau Party x4
• Prestige Inversion x4
• Extravagant Contusion x3
• Delectable Boon x4
• Chain Reaction
• A Blazing Zero x2

• Items (5)
• Crest of Greed x4
• Phalludrix, the Impotenator

• Total: 76

Choosing to run the same trades that he did in last year's National Constructed Championships, Matt “Moxless” Kucklinca managed to land a repeat performance, coming in second place yet again. I know for a fact that he isn't happy about missing the title two years in a row, but he still has to be proud of his consistent performance.

Playing an updated version of his deck from a year prior, Moxless amped up the aggressiveness of his deck by removing the popular Montgomery Blatherscythe and instead focusing on constant pressure via strong characters and retrieval.

Between Dark Awakening and Miraculous Regeneration, Moxless can almost claim to have 33 characters in the deck rather than the 25 listed, some of them entering play at “Tactic Speed” thanks to Dark Awakening. Add in the retrieval possibilities found in Derelict Seafarer (my personal favorite addition to the deck and certainly an underrated card) and the amount of times he can bring characters (or kill cards) back from the Discard Pile is astonishing.

Couple the constant flow of characters with the wealth of kill cards in the deck (14, which leaps to 20 if you count Delectable Boon and Dragon Archer) and you have the makings of an aggro deck with tons of pressure. I can't think of many decks that can handle this type of pressure, and that is certainly evident when you consider that this deck came in Second Place in a field full of competitive decks.

What I really like about this deck is that it screams “advantage.” Mau Party provides hand and influence advantage, Regeneration provides resource and board advantage, and the powerful characters add to board advantage just by being there. If Moxless is playing right, this deck should always have at least three of the four advantages (board, hand, resources, and influence) at any given time, essentially meaning that the opponent is constantly on the back foot.

On a completely separate note, I am really glad to see Phalludrix show up in two of the Top 4 decks. I kind of want to take credit for that as they are both found in Team Hopper decks and I put Phalludrix in any deck I build that contains one Rage threshold, so I like to think my brother and Moxless got this idea from me. I'm sure they'll both dispute that, though, so only time will tell if I get the credit I rightfully deserve.

Dan Sotelo – National Constructed Champion - “Barney”

• Tournament Faction

• Resources (15)
• Obsession x11 (2 starting)
• Neurosis x4

• Characters (24)
• Devilfang Thunderhoof x4
• Violating Anomaly x2
• Mesmerizing Enchantress x3
• Witty Worm x3
• Wanton Wizard x4
• Defiler of Innocence x4
• Obscene Astrologer x4

• Tactics (26)
• Quotidian Misfire x2
• Desolate x4
• Ritual of the Double Monkey x4
• Muddle x2
• Forget x3
• Rouse
• Spatchcocking x2
• Eccentric Inquisition x4
• Redonkulous x4

• Locations (3)
• Cryptic Athenaeum x3

• Items (7)
• Crest of Obsession x4
• Inadequate Wand x3

• Total: 75

This is it. The National Constructed Championship winning deck list. The winner-winner-chicken-for-dinner deck. The one that there can be only one of.

For the two months leading up to Gen Con, this was the deck to beat during Team Hopper playtesting sessions. At any given point Dan probably has ten to twelve decks, but this is the one that lost only a handful of times in a full two months of playtesting. Sadly, I never beat the deck no matter what I put up against it, and I'm sure a few other Team Hopper players have to say the same.

In my personal opinion (and I'm sure Dan's as well), this is the best deck in the format right now (although Dan admits it needs some tweaks). I've seen it beat everything that was thrown at it, including the Research Investment OTK deck, Rage Sligh, and popular Ass builds. The only deck that I can recall giving it trouble is my brother's Fourth Place deck (who beat Dan in the Swiss rounds), but even that match-up isn't so bad for Dan's build.

The reason I think Dan's deck is so good is that it can be extremely versatile. It can open with a bang if it wants/has to, completely decimating the opponent's hand on turn one via two Ritual of the Double Monkeys that can hit for four cards total. Even an opponent who goes second will be left with four cards in their hand after their first turn, and that is assuming they only played a resource on their turn and passed.

The deck can also lay back and be subtle though, pinging for a few points of damage each turn via Witty Worm by keeping the board clear. It isn't too hard for this deck to keep the board empty when it has Redonkulous, Desolate, Forget, and Defiler of Innocence taking out characters before they hit the table.

If you are thinking the deck would lose if it doesn't find these cards, think again and take a look at how much search/retrieval it has. Crest of Obsession and Inadequate Wand provide extremely powerful Tactic search while Rouse and Wanton Wizard (which can be coupled with the Wand) fill the retrieval role. Add in Cryptic Athenaeum for a little card draw and extra bounce tricks (Wanton Wizard again) and this deck is likely to always have what it is looking for.

The deck becomes amplified even further when you take a look at the power cards. Eccentric Inquisition, which Dan plays four of, is arguably one of the best tactics in the game and can shut down many other decks. Violating Anomaly, a favorite of fellow Team Hopper member Joe Yackel, is a strong body with tons of tricks. On top of those you have Devilfang Thunderhoof, who is an absolute powerhouse in this deck as it provides big damage and discard potential.

The deck is then rounded out with a bit more control and resource options. Mesmerizing Enchantress can shut down aggro decks and provide an extra turn of stabilization if needed. Obscene Astrologer effectively makes most of the tactics in the deck free, which allows Dan to build his hand and resources. Quotidian Misfire and Spatchcocking provide fun control that can be devastating when played back to back, and Muddle allows the deck to terminate and benefit from scary tactics the opponent may play.

In essence, this deck kind of does everything. The only thing it can't seem to do (from my experiences playing against it) is win quickly, but that isn't much of an issue. It doesn't do damage fast (barring an early and unstopped Devilfang), but it quickly puts its opponent in a situation in a losing situation. Barney is a strange deck in that it doesn't win fast but is “winning” very early into the game.

That wraps up my analysis of the Gen Con National Constructed Championships deck lists. Feel free to talk about these decks in the forums and post your thoughts and opinions regarding my assessment of the decks. Lastly, be sure to check back next week as John Westcott gives his own detailed report of how he fared with the Research Investment OTK deck.