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Zoroaster



Last Updated: 8/15/2006

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 30
Sign: Virgo

Country: UK
Signup Date: 8/15/2006
Thursday, January 10, 2008 
You're about to witness the deck that is three months behind the meta. This deck, if played at the World Champioships could quite possibly have owned every deck there (if they'd let the fact it was playing MotL cards slip.

As it is, it's so far behind the meta that more recent decks chew it up and spit it out for breakfast. But anyway, I give you control Daspien...

Daspien Bladedancer

2x Isannah, High Priestess of the Aldor
2x The Abominable Greench
3x Varimathras
4x Vindicator Zalreth
4x Doshura Risestrider
3x Guardian Steelhorn

4x Hide and Stab
4x Gouge
4x Hardpacked Snowball
3x On The Brink
4x Purloin
4x Vanish
2x Spirit Healer
3x Sprint

4x Forces of Jaedenar
3x Counterattack!
4x Solanian's Belongings
3x It's a Secret to Everyone


Why would it own Worlds? Because up until March the only way to kill your opponent was through directly attacking them with either your hero or their allys. Even the control decks eventually won by pounding face.
Good luck ever trying to get an attack to land on Daspien after turn three. Almost every control card locks out more than one attack, making it very easy to keep damage off your hero. Eventually you will have to enter the fray but with Zalreth backing you up you only do so once a Greench/Isanah lock is on the cards. At which point you develop your board for a one turn kill while the opponent languishes in a zero attack state.
Sprint + Snowball is one of the dirtiest tricks in the game. If you haven't got any allies in play then there's no point throwing it at Daspien, he'll just throw it right back straight away.
What I feel makes this attack control setup better than say Mage or Paladin is that for a start you have more options. Secondly, most of the effects will hit a hero or an ally equally. Mage is hindered by a lack of hero stopping powers, whilst Paladin is forced into Avenger's Shield as the only expensive method.


Why doesn't it do so well in March?
Because decks like Blaize/Firepower and Grenan/Focus fire large direct damage spells right to the dome without worrying about that pesky attack step. You're dead on turn six when you haven't played a card because their was no reason to. Until Rogues get a low cost Blessing of Freedom effect, you're wide open to it. No, Veil of Night is not good enough.
Secondly, hand destruction is big in March. The Shadow priests are comig out the wood work, and in an environment where they're popular it's better to drop as many cards onto the table as fast as you can rather than try and keep your answers in your hand.

So, it's a deck three months behind the meta. If over time we see a return to tournaments exclusively dominated by the on table attacks, then rogue control will have it's moment. Until then though it's an archetype that turned up just at the right moment to made redundant.
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