After competing against nearly 400 world-class card flippers, I found myself needing two wins to secure a spot at the World Championship Top 8 table. Sunday’s Constructed play was so close, I could taste it. My dream? To attain tournament victory and, more importantly, play against the best players for a chance to don that championship crown. There was a small matter of a trophy, bragging rights, and a little check for $100,000, but who really cares about that stuff?

Since the inception and release of the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, I have followed the development, collected the cards, traded for scratch-offs, and flown to competitive events around the country and world. I love this game. Nothing would have meant more than to win the first World Championship. As I checked my standings before taking my seat at my final Draft table, I thought back to when I printed the demo decks off the website and read the rules for the first time. I recounted my first tournament in Orlando, Florida; opening my first Leeroy Jenkins; playing in my first Darkmoon Faire; and watching the game grow both locally and internationally. There was a sense of pride, and a slight tingle swept over my body as I thought back over the last year and all of the experiences this game has provided.

In the early part of 2007, I had the opportunity to begin writing for the official UDE website. Within a couple of months, I jumped on board with StarCityWoW.com. This game was quickly becoming a huge part of my life. I spent tons of hours a week playing the game on every different level. I spent even more time reading articles, reviewing the forums, and searching for anything I could find related to the World of Warcraft. I read novels, drafted with friends, and played online with strangers. I had trekked to Austin, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois; met and played cards with a bunch of dudes in the summer during my trip to Amsterdam; and finished off the year with a trip to Darkmoon Faire Philadelphia.

The tournament organizers were calling for players to take their seats, and my entire WoW TCG life flashed before my eyes. What an outstanding journey. In many ways, I am one part casual and one part pro card player. I love to fool around with wacky ideas, I like to root for the underdog, and I like to spend hours playtesting in hopes of dominating huge events. Perhaps the most rewarding experiences are the connections I’ve made with other people: every day, I talk online with players from Asia, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa about playing this game. I keep regular communications going with friends all across North America and meet new players on a daily basis.

When I travel to these international events, it is inexplicably awesome to finally meet and shake hands with a player whom I’ve been talking to for the last couple of months. My jaw has dropped on occasion when I casually bump into great card players—players who made my favorite decks or won that National Championship that I read about. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with other online personalities and ended up having dinner with all the great players—and all because I was picking out rares at the vendor tables.

This World Championship experience provided the total package. I was very fortunate to talk with many of you, sharing funny stories, relating tales of a loss, or making another connection in our growing community. Not typically one to wax sentimental, I really had a lot of emotion driving the final rounds of my Day 2 experience.

To jump forward, however, and talk about the outcome would be a disservice to the epic road paved on the way to those final rounds. During the tournament, I kept some pretty extensive notes on each match, because I wanted to present a hybrid journal / tournament report, citing the ups and downs, new learning experiences, and wondrous events contained within the Championship weekend.

Last week, you were able to read through the article that I wrote right before my departure to San Diego. I included the decklist that I planned on playing, but like all players, I settled on a list with a couple of modifications. During the Day 1 Constructed portion of the Championship, I played this exact list:

Hero: Victoria Jaton

Allies

4 Andiss Butcherson

4 Apprentice Merry

4 Jeleane Nightbreeze

3 Izza Spindleflame

Abilities

4 Mortal Strike

4 Slam

4 Rend

4 Heroic Strike

4 Cleave

Equipment

4 Gauntlets of Vindication

4 Perdition’s Blade

4 Stellaris

2 Eskhandar’s Collar

Quests

4 One Draenei’s Junk . . .

3 The Dying Balance

4 Corki’s Ransom

Round 1: Nelson Cazon (Red Rogue)

Out of the hundreds of players attending the event, it seemed like fifty percent of the field was sporting a Team Germany crest on their black shirts. While about thirty-five German players made the trip, Germany’s strong card-flippers made up forty percent of my Day 1 opponents. Out of my fifteen opponents all weekend, six hailed from different continents. I really appreciated the diversity in the field and the true international appeal we have in this game. It makes for tons of great stories and exceptional play experiences.

In my first round, I sat down at a table of three other players. I was flanked by John Hall, my teammate, and stared down two Team Germany players. Nelson was my opponent, and John drew Jonas Skali as his first-round showdown. Both Germans flopped down Rogues, but Nelson chose red while Jonas selected blue. In testing, our Warrior deck had posted fifty-fifty results against Rotun Daggerhand, and slightly better results against Daspien Bladedancer. Both Rogue heroes offer an uncomfortable pairing against the Warrior. They proved to be a solid choice throughout the weekend and provided one of the best nut draws in the Championship environment. Occasionally, Rogues put together an early game capable of knocking an opponent out on turn 5.

One motivation for taking Victoria to the big dance was the slight bit of uncertainty and deception involved in running the deck. Opposing players made several “mistakes” throughout the Constructed portion of the event because they assumed the build was similar to the solo Vicky build piloted to success in the most recent Darkmoon Faire London. Rather than suiting up for the later game and quick dual-wielding beats, we were looking for an early rush-and-burn win condition.

This “surprise factor” probably secured victory in this match. In our first game, Nelson hit a rough draw. I was forced to play a no-quester, but had many of the essential pieces of the end-game puzzle needed for victory against the Rogue. After I played my third Mortal Strike, Nelson commented on the differences in the game plan and build. He indicated that he expected a different type of Victoria deck. His adjustments, however, were stellar, as he finished the second game with ease. While I was only able to pile about 4 damage on his hero, he used his turn 6 flip to slap my Warrior down to the critical 31. Interestingly, I had won a game on Nelson’s play, and he beat me when he was on the draw. The player going first in this match did not win simply due to a starting advantage.

Going into game 3, I contemplated my side deck. I assumed the role of the aggressor, taking out my prior main-decked Korthas Greybeards and packing in all four copies of Eskhandar’s Collar. My draw brought a ton of quick pain, but turns 4 and 5 found Nelson destroying my equipment with Dismantle and picking off my burn cards with Purloin. I lost my dagger on the field and a Mortal Strike from hand. After a couple of quest completions and turns drawing, I was able to reassemble my hand and dropped a Perdition’s Blade with the Gauntlets of Vindication. Nelson exhausted two resources and laid a Dismantle on the board. He decided to destroy the weapon. After the effect resolved, I dropped three copies of Rend on his hero. He looked stunned. I had not had the opportunity to play Rend in our prior games. If he had more information about the deck, he might have made the correct decision to destroy my Gauntlets rather than the Perdition’s Blade. At the beginning of my next two turns, Nelson took 6 damage. The extra 12 from Rend allowed me to win the mid-game race.

1-0

Round 2: Daniel Piechatzek (Red Rogue)

In a very similar match, Daniel put me through the ringer in one of the closest matches of the day. He won the first game in convincing fashion. He used his early-game setup, which included multiple blades and other cards that pumped his daggers, to put me solidly behind the proverbial eight ball. On the turn before I lost the game, I had a chance to put 24 damage on Daniel’s Rogue. I still felt like I didn’t have a shot at winning the game due to the fact that a next turn flip would deal me fatal damage, so I kept the workings of my deck a secret and took the brutal loss, dealing only 4 damage to his 37!

In the second game, I drew a nutty no-quester including tons of great cards for the match. I went first and began my march toward an early end game. I think I was able to play double Heroic Strikes and double Mortal Strikes to finish the red Rogue off. In the final game, however, I found myself in a tight position. On the second turn of the game, Daniel used One Draenei’s Junk . . . and revealed three cards with a cost of 1, 2, or 3. Two cards were instantly recognizable, but the final card was in German and did not look familiar. As I asked for a translation, a cold chill ran down my back as he stated the card was Pick Pocket. This card is typically not one of my favorites, but on this occasion, it was exceptionally bad, as I happened to have three copies of Mortal Strike in my hand. I stared blankly as he took the Pick Pocket and sighed as he spent turn 3 making me discard the three amazing cards from my hand.

Rather than burn Daniel out for an easy victory, I jumped into the grind and traded blows. A late-game Slam allowed me to bump his dual-wielding shredder out of the game by landing him exactly at 27 damage.

2-0

Round 3: Louis Spector (Gorebelly Solo)

The universe plays funny tricks. Nearly a year ago I printed off a couple of copies of demo decks and tried to learn this game. After some trial runs and borrowing a deck from a friend, I wrangled up some packs and starters. I live in a small, seaside town north of center city Tampa, Florida, and searched the area for a card-playing partner who would not mind sitting around flopping cards and working through the mechanics. There was this veteran Vs. System player who lived a couple of miles away who had expressed some interest in preparing for the $10K event in December 2006. After playing some other games, we started throwing around Shadow Priest decks, worked on Warlock, and made our first attempts at making a viable Shaman build. Time passed, and we became huge fans of the game. We played hundreds of games over the course of dozens of weekends. But life got in the way of our card nights, and Louis moved to Ohio, where he continued playing with guys like Keebler Powell. Three hundred and sixty-five days later, I hear the announcement of our feature match pairing over the PA system at the World Championship.

While the feature match arena is a good place to find a comfortable chair, it is no place to find a friend. The tournament leaders often face off in hopes of one person finding success while the other tastes defeat. This time would be no different, and while two friends entered undefeated, only a single player would walk away the winner. Louis always demonstrated a penchant for playing wacky combos and nontraditional cards, so I knew he would have some unexpected tricks for me. Although Gorebelly was a tried-and-true tournament favorite, I trusted very little of my previous knowledge about popular builds.

It turns out that Louis was piloting a hybrid deck that used dual wield, combo features, and healing, with some of the excellent new equipment like Doomplate Legguards. We played some really close matches. In the first game Louis dropped me to 28 health before I was able to close the deal. One more turn, and I was toast. After side decking, I stuffed in additional Collars to tip the solo match in my favor while he stuffed in Hardpacked Snowball, which combo’d well with his Rak Skyfury. When I tossed the Snowball back onto Gorebelly after losing an attack, he dropped the Rak, put the ready effect on the chain, and transferred the Snowball onto his 1-drop. The whole thing left his Warrior with an out to the exhausting snow fight and left me needing help. In game 2, I used every bit of effort to take him to 29 health, but I lost the game on the next turn. Game 3 held the same tight finish, but I was able to swing for some big beats and dropped a Mortal Strike in response to his healing attempt. Sadly, I handed my good buddy his first loss.

3-0

Round 4: Julian Hammer (Pally)

One of the best matchups for Vicky is the Horde Paladin. The Warrior comes screaming out of the gate, puts on early burn, sets a clock, and forces the Pally player to find solutions to a dire situation. Because Pally decks don’t often have ways of clearing away cards like Rend, the game plan involves setting an early turn Rend—or two—and bumping up the damage with the Gauntlets of Vindication. Izza Spindleflame presents some real problems. I often looked for one or two copies and left them quietly on the board.

In the first game, I was able to get a jump start with some attacking allies and early burn. I set two copies of Izza and chose not to attack. By turn 5, the Pally was in range for some direct damage, and I piled it on. If we went to turn 6, there was a chance that the Pally could clear the board with mass removal, and going to turn 7 would have allowed for Vorden the Shadowbringer trickery with Are We There, Yeti?.

In the second game, I just repeated the initial game plan and worked around problematic cards like Blessing of Freedom and negation cards. Julian attempted to go on the offensive, but he was only able to stack on 20 damage before the Warrior’s reckoning did the Blood Elf in. Wish I could have seen this matchup on Day 3 . . . it was a dream for our deck.

4-0

Round 5: Adrian Capilitan (Warlock)

It was hard to assess which type of Warlock I would be facing when I sat down across from Adrian. He was playing Zenith Shadowforce, and I was contemplating the possibility of control, hand disruption, and facing the famed Wondervolt combo. Adrian is a unique guy with a good disposition. He was one of the great sportsmen from the weekend, and he was a tough player in our three games. After having my beloved Mortal Strikes and fancy weapons stripped from my hand by Eye of Kilrogg, I faced the real possibility that I may be top decking on turn 4. Fortunately, I found a weapon that missed the deck’s prying “Eyes” and plucked key cards like Cleave off the top of my deck at key times. I was able to deal about 34 damage and battle late-game healing efforts to win the first game.

In our second game, it felt like I was powerless to stop the continual healing and answers that were packed in Adrian’s control deck, At one time I got him to 25 damage, but I ran out of steam as he dropped a certain healing Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker. After his Nemesis Skullcap paired with the restorative powers of the 7-cost Pally, I watched as my dreams of ending the game slipped away. When he filled his board with protectors and dropped King Magni Bronzebeard, all I could do was stare at my card-less hand and blink. Stunned, I gently swept all of my cards into a neat little pile.

In game 3, I hit an amazing draw and faced little of the disruption I came to expect in the previous games. I made a solid run at the Warlock’s health totals and ended the game with only 2 damage on my hero. I wondered if Adrian slipped the Wondervolt combo in from his side deck, but I had no real evidence of that game plan.

5-0

Round 6: James Kandziolka (Gorebelly Solo)

At this point, the day began feeling like a dream. While all of my matches were tough and many of the games were very tough, I swam through an ocean of decks and tech finding myself unbeaten in round 6. I try to be a very humble guy. I have been on every side of tournament luck and fortune. I have gone 6-0 and 0-6 in huge tournaments. I have posted a 9-1 Day 1 finish at a major event, and have fallen just about everywhere else in between. After you pass the halfway point, you start to feel like you are in a position to make a real run at the top tables. Experience has shown me, though, that you can easily lose out if the bones of fortune tumble the wrong way. This round was going to decide what kind of day it was going to be. James and I were summoned to the high air and comfortable seating found in the feature match area.

I think that card-playing phenom Mike Dalton and his New Jersey crew rolled into the tournament playing very similar decks. I had taken the Gorebelly combo deck to Darkmoon Faire Philadelphia and was very familiar with the amazing aspects and tremendous power found within it. It could win nearly unwinnable matches: when you think you’re almost out, you pile on 50 damage and call it a game. The deck is timeless. The deck is tough and it represented a very close match for our build. James had waltzed through the day undefeated and was definitely a solid pilot. In our first game, James took me to 28, and I whittled him down to 29. We threw down big weapons, enhanced the damage, and looked for some combo-esque striking. In the end, he stamped my deck with a bunch of damage and an early loss.

The second game in the match followed suit. I got into some combo pieces, and he had a rough draw. I hit him for a ton of damage a turn earlier than he thought I might be able to, and I stole a win. If we would have moved to the next turn, he would have taken the match. It seemed like we were both so evenly matched that a difference of one card and sometimes a single damage point could turn the tide. In our final game, James hit me with the cruelest card that a deck can play against Vicky. He cleared my Stellaris and Gauntlets of Vindication from the board with a single Crushing Blow. That card is so scary and debilitating that I intentionally make corrections in the way that I play, the cards that I row, and how far I extend, for fear that my game plan will come to a crashing halt when my precious weapons and armor are destroyed.

I held back a second copy of the weapon and drew a second copy of the armor. All that was lost was time, but giving up a rebuilding turn can be a questionable loss when facing the combo-riffic stylings of the Gorebelly solo deck. James did not get his weapon early enough in the game. He brought me to 14 damage, but I was able to get back on the damage train and finished strong.

James rolls with some interesting folks, and any friend of Mike Dalton is a friend of mine.

6-0

Round 7: Matt Spreadbury (Rogue)

Matt and I have a friendly ongoing rivalry. We faced off in the early days of the game in the semifinals at Darkmoon Faire Austin. I have had the chance to play every member of Team Cheatyface (except maybe Matt Loomis) and always relish in the challenge. Each of these guys (and gal) can play the game and bring top-level competition to each outing. While Matt did stand me up for a chicken wing–eating contest (I will assume due to some Top 8 business, or perhaps fear!), he did manage to hand me my first loss in the tournament.

The epic, tech-packing Rotun Daggerhand deck proved to be a strong matchup against our lady Warrior. In our first game, I imagined that I could race to the end. Matt reported a rough draw, and I was able to combo out for a quick win. In the second game, Matt spent his time chipping away my weaponry and left me behind in the damage race. I had included four Eskhandar’s Collars in hopes of hitting the item in the match. Our testing showed that this card was typically a swing card in the match, but recurring removal kept the good Warrior down and Matt took the second game.

In game 3, I had a perfect setup for combo-ing for the win. I kept the mysterious no-quester that had been so good against the other Rogues, but I ran into some tech and great draws that ensured my loss. On turn 5, I went for the win. Matt had four open resources and two cards in hand. I used Heroic Strike to pump my weapon and swung into the shifty Rogue. Matt Vanished. I had the Mortal Strike in hand but it got Kicked, and those two cards and four open resources spelled the perfect retort to my only hopes.

I want to take the time to thank Matt for all the great matches and congratulate him on the amazing Top 8 run he had. This guy is a force, and I look forward to breaking our lifetime tie in our next match. Technically, I think I get a win for Austin, a loss for San Diego, and a win for the wing-eating contest!

6-1

Round 8: Dajo Eberlei (Solo Victoria)

The German competitors were tons of fun, and all brought a very high technical skill level to the tournament tables. I regret having to face so many during the first day. It seemed like Dajo avenged all prior German losses with the sound beating that he handed me in the eighth round. He packed Crushing Blow, and it blew me away. I took a solid stomping in our first game. He suited up in full gear, pumped his weapons, and started healing with Wraith Scythe. I dealt about 30 damage but could not stay in step with the healing and giant, pumped weapons. I think at one point Dajo dual wielded Wraith Scythe and Timeslicer. The Slicer hit my hero and healed 11. This was too tough to handle.

My notes for the next game look something like this: sad face, dual wield, “Crush Blow,” and “Shield Bash,” flanked by another sad face. I think Dajo had an answer for every threat I presented. It was not even close. I blame his excellent play skill for putting me in a rough spot. In testing, our deck nearly always took down the slower Warrior. Dajo took this one for Germany.

6-2

Round 9: Cheng-Yu Ku (Warlock)

After having a really solid run for the first part of the day, I really wanted to walk away 7-2. While the second day’s drafting was going to be tough, this would put me in a position in which I could reach the Top 8 with a 5-1 Draft day. I’ve spent a lot of time drafting, but a perfect 6-0 Draft day is an amazing feat that I have never accomplished. It seemed like that single game cushion would make attaining my goals a little more likely.

Cheng-Yu Ku piloted the Warlock with the PX-238 Winter Wondervolt combo. In the first game, I was able to pile on 28 damage before he really got going. In game 2, the Warlock was pretty crafty and came back from 27 damage by dropping the combo and dealing 28 damage in a single turn. The last game was close and dragged on into very late turns. With the aid of Cleave and other clutch cards, I was able to race the Warlock to fatal damage. He brought my Warrior to 23 but was not able to hold off the multiple threats of attacking allies, burning allies (Izza), Rend, and the weapons.

7-2

After nine of the most intense rounds of tournament play, I posted some strong results. My TAWC teammates landed all over the board with a couple of players earning 7-2 records, some with 6-3, and a few having rougher times. Upon reflection, I am impressed with the level of play skill and competition at the Championship, but I don’t think I’d expect anything less at a tournament with this much on the line.

I’m going to complete this article and Day 2 coverage in a crossover event with StarCityWoW.com. Most of you check out my articles on both sites, but this time you can catch the first part of my tournament report on WoWTCG.com and the subsequent article covering the Limited portion of the event on the Star City site. Thanks for reading, and make sure you check out the highs and lows in the second half of the report, as I face down Chris McMurry, Erik van der Laan, Tim Batow, Armando Bulnes, Stefan Urban, and others in a run at the Top 8 at the first ever World of Warcraft TCG World Championship.