The Evolution of the Rogue Class in WOW TCG: Preparing for Ulduar

Rogues. Some people love them, most people hate them. It is an interesting class to play in the WOW TCG. It has gone through many changes since the first booster set, and we're here to explore what it was like, and then develop a deck from humble origins.

You were either playing [Kayleitha] or [Timmo Shadestep] from set 1.

Neither is 'spectacular' in any sense, but the bar had to be set somewhere. [Cold Blood] looks like a fun card, and for cost 1 card draw it is amazing. However- it forces you to specialize into Assassination. Back then, only Timmo could play this card, but ret-conned rules allow any rogue to pick a talent and omit other talents.


Rogues work by a system of dealing damage with weapons and then applying abilities that either affect board advantage or deal DOTs (damage over time) to a target. [Crippling Poison] is one of those staple rogue cards that should be played in raid sets from Onyxia up to Icecrown Citadel- but it is a useless card in the Ulduar raid because the boss does not rely on a resource based system.


[Deadly Poison] is still a good card. For 1, you can attach it to a damaged character and begin dealing 2 consistent nature damage over time. With the pool we have so far- I would throw this into a deck. Gouge, especially in Ulduar could be a critical damage mitigation card for the cost of 1. However, exhausting bosses and minions like that works on a system of diminishing returns. There is a chance that your card will fail and be discarded, effectively the same as an interrupt. I'd throw it in.


The concept of 'stealth' was introduced in this set. It bypasses protectors. This can be handy in certain situations, but you should know which situations require this card. [Stealth] may be a good sideboard card. It would allow you, for 1, to hit the boss with damage and get through protectors. [Eye of Rend] is another card I would throw in the deck, simply because of its cost and what it does. So what if it has a defense value of 0?


In Ulduar, [Coup de Grace] is a very situational card. Some minions have starshield, which is effectively Will of the Forsaken. It's a situational card that I would pass on for now, but some may want to put it in their sideboard; and that is ok. Unless you've buffed up your weapons or you're swinging a big honker, [Sinister Strike] isn't worth it in my opinion; unless you are running a combo deck. [Barman Shanker] is an excellent basic weapon, and although expensive it will give you a [4/s2] against exhausted heroes.


[Scarlet Kris] is a good basic weapon and I would include it. [Devilsaur Leggings], although not helpful now could be a huge board advantage in Ulduar against trash mobs or allies without starshield. We'll consider that card in the future. [Krol Blade] is another staple and I love the card. Absent of putting in heroes or quests, that is what I would run in a HOA deck that isn't a combo deck. Obviously it needs a lot of work to be raid ready. Remember- PVP can be an entirely different ball game, and that isn't our end goal.

Through the Dark Portal booster set came out next, and this is where I was personally introduced to the card game in 2006 or 2007.  Cards like [Purloin] are great for PVP or for raid sets Onyxia to Icecrown Citadel, however they won't be of help in Ulduar. [Vanish] is a very good card like Blink, except that you don't get to draw a card. I think it's worth side boarding.


[Master of Deception] will run you permanent stealth until the card is destroyed. If you are going to go the subtlety route, you want that card. [Slice and Dice] is worth playing in combo decks, but only later in the game in my opinion. Scimitar of the Nexus Stalkers is a nice [2/s1] weapon that I would use to replace [Scarlet Kris]. [Ambush] can be a very, very nasty card- but only if your hero is in stealth. [Distract] can be a huge damage mitigation card for 3, but only thru diminishing returns. It's worth adding to the deck in my opinion.


[Kick] introduces Rogue's first interrupt. For 3, you can deal 2 melee damage AND interrupt an ability card played by an opposing hero. That hurts, and it is a staple.[Ring of the Unliving] is cool, but Rogues are not Paladins or Priests. You will die eventually. Now you COULD play [Mugger's Belt], and in Ulduar that discard would deal melee damage. However, that card costs 6. And don't get me wrong, [Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker] is an epic weapon, but the cost is prohibitive in Ulduar, or in many raids for that matter.

Up to this point you could pick your hero and your allies and quests and you are on your way to having a legacy deck for Magtheridon's Lair. For that raid, you can build up to March of the Legion and be good for legacy Magtheridon. Good luck with that.....


Because of a hiatus I took with the game, Outlands is the set that I have the least amount of experience with in the WOW TCG. But let's see if we can improve upon our equipment/ability pool any further. For Ulduar we will go up to Icecrown Citadel to remain legacy legal.


[Anesthetic Poison] is a great card to include from raid sets OL to ICC because it takes things away from the boss. In Ulduar this card will translate to a pay 1, deal 1 when exhausted effect, so it isn't the most special thing out there. If you go the [Combat] route, then [Surprise Attacks] is your card. Be careful though. Most classes have to balance out high card costs. Classes like Rogues and Mages have to be careful with low card costs- because you will end up with an empty hand if you do not have adequate draw power. I think we will roll Combat spec with this Rogue.


[Deadly Brew] will come in handy with cards released much later, but right now it is really only applicable to decks that rely on poison cards. It is till something to ponder though. For the combo deck afficionado, appropriately, [Filthy Tricks] and its corresponding card art are a must. [Latro's Shifting Sword] was an idea.... but I think at this point I am happy with the changes; and that is adding one card. If I want to build a slightly ally heavy deck, which will be good for Ulduar- you should stop around 9-10 cards for a 3x to 4x playset for abilities and equipment. Just my experience testing....

[Rogue Training] would be an excellent card for earlier raids, but not for Ulduar. [On the Brink] is similar- it is really only meant to add combo cards. [Whispering Blade of Slaying] though is definitely something to consider, since... well... rogues use daggers. [Sprint] would give you a bit more survivability, and it should at least be side boarded. If you want to run a real nasty deck full of nothing but characters with stealth- look no further than [Thick as Thieves]. I think I'll run that.

So [Blade Twisting] is a thing. When you hit an ally once it is destroyed (diminishing returns) and then the boss discards a card (1 dmg). This would be even more powerful in earlier raids, but the card can serve as a board wipe. I like [Distract], but [Blade Twisting] fits more into the theme of this deck. [Cloak of Shadows] is definitely a side board card. I took a look again at [Hourglass of the Unraveller] as I was going to throw it in- but I'm not running anything huge. [Unbalance] would have been the perfect replacement for [Distract]. I think I'll axe [Eye of Rend] because I want both [Unbalance] and [Blade Twisting] in there. I hate to get rid of [Gouge], but we are short on daggers here.

There was nothing of particular use in Hunt for Illidan, so onto the Drums of War set we go.I remember playing [Black Amnesty] in the past, and for a small cost you can remove yourself from combat, which is awesome. I like that a bit more than [Gouge]. Still, [Gouge] is a great card. [Pernicious Poison], which may be replaced in the future, is definitely a lot better than [Deadly Poison]. [Slay the Feeble] and [Thud] are good, but I don't have the room for them and I am not giving up [Kick].

So far, [Barman Shanker] and [Kick] are the oldest surviving cards in the deck. They are both great, so I do not want to get rid of them. For Ulduar, [Cloak of the Shrouded Mists] is a must. Some bosses throw around huge amounts of damage. If able, you can put all of the damage on your hero and chain the exhaust power to reduce it to nill. Sometimes you have to make hard choices in what stays and what goes. This one isn't easy, but I will axe [Pernicious Poison] for this power. [Shuriken of Negation] and [Victimize] are honorable mentions, but they don't fit the premise of this deck and the interrupt is too costly. Still though- you do get it back. In the next set, [Blackout Truncheon] is an annoying card, and a good one for PVP- but we don't need it in this deck.










[Boots of the Whirling Mist] are awesome. The problem is that it doesn't stop a generic interrupt from happening, making [Kick] slightly more powerful. HOWEVER, once [Kick] is done and over with it gets discarded. For 2 you can interrupt something targeting your hero and get a armor point out of it. For kitties- that will take your druid out of combat. I hate to replace [Kick], but I will in this instance. [Aggressive Infiltration] is the tits, and I am going to axe [Surprise Attacks] to do it.

That [Barman Shanker] is still hanging around; it is pretty impressive. But for now, this deck is looking pretty good. [Angry Dread] is a common staple we always used to build decks with- but it doesn't fit into the deck theme. I am not particularly fond of anything out of Wrathgate, so we will move onto Icecrown, the final set for our legacy legal Rogue.


[Fan of Knives] peaks my interest, but this is something I would side board and wait to see if it was worth it in an actual raid. I would throw it in instead of [Thicker than Thieves], but I have plans for the latter. In fact, I think I will replace [Unbalance] with [Fan of Knives]. [Unbalance] is good, but there are other ways I am exhausting opposing cards. [Hailstorm] is another card to consider, but for now I would side board it or forget about it.


And that is how I would get it started folks. In the future I might just expand upon it up to Reign of Fire, but these are the equipment/abilities I would use for this deck:

Download the image and scroll to see the entire card pool.

Mage Theory Crafting for Ulduar WOW TCG

With Ulduar 2.0 nearing halfway completion, I began looking at cards to see how I wanted the raid boss to deal with certain lock downs and other issues. It got me to thinking about creating a legacy deck to run through Ulduar. In Ulduar there are two deck formats: Standard and Legacy. Standard can use any card from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, and Legacy restricts the cards you can put into the deck from Set 1 to Icecrown, and anything in between that time. The raid deck was designed to fight versus legacy decks.

So how about a mage? Fun times.

Right off the bat, [The More, the Scarier] scores value. There are times where bosses will have multiple minions out. It can happen during Ignis, XT-002 or Auriaya for example. Having this nifty card can wipe away some of the issues. Plus- the dang thing is utilitarian and handy as hell. Every mage should try to incorporate this card. During the active days of the card game this card went for a decent chunk of change, even in Classic format- but now that the game is over, feel free to proxy this sum' bitch away!

[Arcane Burst] is another AOE attack to keep in mind, especially because of the cheap play cost. Remember though- the more cheaper cost cards you play, the more card draw power you will need before your hand is empty. That is why I like taking a progressive cost approach to deck buiding.

You wouldn't think it by looking at it, but I have found that [Blistering Fire] has helped a ton, especially in the early game if the raid isn't getting up to speed with damage. For 1 cost, you can fling 3 damage at the boss. Great cost/damage ratio for that card. [Frost Ward] is a great card to use during the Hodir encounter, when he begins throwing around tons of frost damage. [Living Bomb], if you are lucky enough to draw it on turn 1, and you don't die before it goes off, can certainly help in a raid, but it is up to the end user to decide whether the risk is worth it.[Sear] may also have some use against allies with high health values that were damaged, especially during the Thorim and Ignis encounters. It is a lot easier to pull off because the card is instant- and I recommend considering this card.

For fights where massive damage is coming down, "as the raid leader chooses", you pop [Shield Of Distortion] as a Death Knight or a Mage and laugh out loud all the way to the bank. I would be one to use this strategy during fights like that, especially against the Assembly of Iron.  For the cost of ONE resource, you can prevent a massive amount of damage from taking place by having the raid leader pile it all on your intended target. Assuming the damage isn't melee. [Arcane Warding] is worth a look if someone is attempting to protect a big ticket ally dealing a lot of damage. For fights like XT-002 Deconstructor, where he is swinging 15 damage per hit, a card like [Blink] might just save your rear end.

Now using [Blizzard] will get interesting. If you can get your hand size to have no maximum, you can play this and, for the rest of the game, assuming the boss will not get to the ability- keep the field locked down. The below image will create a lockdown, especially if you are playing a classic deck. If you are running just legacy, you will have to play [Blizzard] and ["Gigantique" Bag] to initiate the combo.

[Counterspell] will be a bread and butter ability, however during the Ulduar raid, interrupts are governed by a mechanic called diminishing returns. The first interrupt goes off 100% of the time, the next 75%, the next 50%, 25%, and then the chance halves from there. [Mystic Denial] will also be bread and butter, but it counts for two ticks of diminishing returns.

Mages inherently have lower ability costs, and this can lead to running dry very early on in the game, sometimes before turn 6. This is why card draw in mage decks is useful- but you have to balance card draw, interrupts and damage to make an effective deck.

When we played Naxxramas, we built decks in a rigid format where one player was responsible for all heals, another for all tanking, and so on. We figured out quick that Naxxramas was able to lock down and isolate the healer, wiping the raid. When we switched to a distribution model, meaning that damage/dps/heals was distributed among the ally pool in the game, it was a lot easier to win raids.

With a solid raid team that wants to win, the ally pool can be built together as a team. You will want equal parts DPS, PROTECTOR and MEND allies (or allies that heal). Allies that do a bit of any combo of roles are excellent. For alliance, [Woodsie Leafsong] is almost a required staple. For horde, you want to play [Blood Knight Kyria].  If you are playing either faction, these allies are essentially crucial to a raid build.

The quest lineup is up to you, but I recommend packing some card draw. As for equipment- it's a good idea to include around 5-8 pieces (cards) of armor. Not having to take the full brunt of attacks is a sweet, sweet thing indeed.

It will be a fun experience in Ulduar, and a mage may provide critical to the success of the raid.

Ulduar Homebrew Making a Comeback

Well- I kind of swore I wouldn't pick up the WOW TCG again- especially with it being a dead game. My roommate coaxed me into starting up the Ulduar project again after we ordered the Pathfinder Card Game.

We are going to run a few decks through their paces and see how they do in the 'first quarter'- Ignis, Razorscale and XT. The chance of death on XT, in tests- averaged about 40%. I will make the files available for those interested in playing Ulduar TCG style. If this rekindles and we have friends over- I'll have to find old booster packs as loot.

Ulduar, once we get the hang of it- will be taped for RobsGamingNetwork. It is a pilot-free raid that will kick your ass.

Ulduar Project Part 4: Prototype Template For Cards

This is still a prototype template for the cards for the Ulduar raid. I like the way they've come out, thanks to Microsoft Powerpoint.

Ulduar Project Part 3: XT-002 Deconstructor Alpha 2.0

I'll be working on XT today. Currently he is in Alpha, which means I have not tested him in a real raid scenario. His abilities have been refined and restructured. Originally this boss had no focus and just dealt damage. Because XT is at the final part of one of the boss sections, I want him to hit like a truck and punish raiders unless they play with strategy. This helps to authenticate the fight as a gear check. Up to turn 3, XT is pretty solid. Here are XT's tables: There's enough information in the table to deduce what will occur during the fight. Each turn, the boss automatically triggers the power, and each turn a light bomb token will enter play. A "turn" denotes each boss player's turn.

Ulduar Project Part 2: Razorscale

When Ignis derps, his minions die when the boss dies. The next boss player's turn, Razorscale enters the fray. This fight was designed to rough the raiders up for XT, and if novice mistakes are made Razorscale will kill the raiders. The fight mechanics to this boss in the video game seem simple, but a few inherent rules must exist to make this work.


"Razorscale has "When Razorscale is dealt harpoon damage (not by the following roll of a die) put a harpoon token on Razorscale.  At the start of the boss player's turn, roll a die. If it rolls 4 or 6, Razorscale is brought down from an automatic harpoon blast and can be dealt damage by means other than a harpoon. When the boss player's turn begins again, Razorscale ascends and becomes invulnerable to damage not from harpoons. When Razorscale has 6 harpoon tokens, transition immediately to phase 2.""



In the raid you had to get the harpoons repaired and use them to bring Razorscale down to damage it. Here, at the start of each boss player's turn a harpoon appears. It takes 6 harpoon strikes to bring Razorscale down. It will cost 5 resources to use a harpoon. Because in the online game you could actually chain her down to earth before phase 2, I introduced a mechanic so that there is a 33% chance a spear and chain from somewhere unexplained will pull it down. You can then damage it in phase 1. It is theoretically possible, however unlikely that Razorscale can be killed before the transition into phase 2.


Turn 1: Devouring Flame
We start this dish with 7 fire damage to a random raiding hero. Blood Elfs with Silvermoon City out: better pick fire resistance for this fight. Unless specified otherwise, abilities activated by the boss can be chained. Things go easy during the buildup phase as damage from Ignis should have been healed by now.


Turn 2: Fireball
On turn 2 razorscale will fling a 5 dmg fireball at a random raiding hero along with a nasty DOT token. This DOT token can be taken care of like a normal ability. It should be dealt with or healed off because of a modifier in phase 2 making it worse. The DOT deals 4 fire dmg per boss turn.


Turn 3: Add Spawn
Lovely! adds. Dark Runic Warriors enter play with a destroy random ally as a power. This will help out the boss to clean house- as the field is going to get busy by this point. If the raiders were quick to get Razorscale down she will enter phase 2 and become damageable from the ground.


Turn 4: Flame Breath
Razorscale won't play nice anymore. Every raiding character will be dealt 3 fire dmg. Then, a random raiding ability, ally or equipment goes bye-bye. If everybody derps and gets to turn 5... come on people....

Turn 5: Add Spawn
A repeat of turn 3 for turn 5 and each following turn. Have fun with that.

Phase 2


We need to discuss a few inherent qualities before we begin. These items of analysis merely spawn adds at the beginning of the fight.

"When Razorscale enters phase 2, put two [2/3] Protectors into play with "When this ally defends, destroy target random ally", and a [3/4] attacker with "When this ally attacks, destroy 2 random abilities or equipment"."

Turn 1- Fuse Armor
Razorscale gets a NASTY damage buff. If it would deal fire damage, +3 is dealt instead. Hope you took care of that DOT.

Turn 2- Wing Buffet
Here is an annoying power for the raiders. Opposing raiding exhausted cards cannot ready during their next owner's turn. I hope you hung onto something solid and didn't get knocked off the Storm Peaks.

Turn 3- Hardened Armor
If Razorscale would be dealt damage, prevent 2 of it. Per packet.

Turn 4- Devouring Flame
Razorscale deals 7 fire damage to all raiding heroes. Destroy opposing target random random ability, ally or equipment. Now we aren't playing nice. Better kill the dragon before we derp. The random pop of an ability, ally or equipment helps create a sense of urgency if it isn't already there.

Turn 5- Add lockdown
Hey that's ok. If you want to take your time, let these adds lock down your field.

Put two [2/3] Protectors into play with "When this ally defends, destroy target random ally", and a [3/4] attacker with "When this ally attacks, destroy 2 random abilities or equipment".
If you have a competent healer and everyone deals a respectable amount of DPS, Razorscale is do-able. I have tested it in simulation and I like where it is at. For lazy peon decks, they defeated Razorscale with on average 66% of their health remaining. XT is NOT going to be fun. Or will it? It's still in alpha.

Ulduar Project Part 1: Ignis the Furnace Master

Ulduar has certainly been a challenge. In wanting to design a homebrew raid, I picked Ulduar because of its length, it's peculiar aspects and because it was frequently requested to Cryptozoic and Upper Deck Entertainment. So I'm doing it.

Introduction
Replicating the exact fight from the MMO will be a bit difficult; as it involves kiting adds into a falling lava stream and then chilling them to weaken the boss. I wanted a straight up tank and spank for Ignis, but he will spawn adds around Turn 4. Ignis has 4ATK and 14 health. Before I divulge too much, let's start with how the experience goes each turn:

Turn 1
The players go first. When it is the bosses first turn, he activates Scorch. This will hit all raiding characters for one fire damage, taking care of any 1 drops with 1 health. Because this deck is automated, the boss will then attack a random raiding hero.

Turn 2
Flame Jets kicks in, if any raiding character is exhausted, Ignis deals 4 fire damage to it. If damage was dealt to a player's character that way, he cannot play abilities his next turn. This was to replicate being smacked into the air.

Turn 3
Turn 3 gets interesting. This turn the slag pot is introduced- and someone gets dunked in it for 10 fire damage (random raiding hero). If they survive, which they should- they gain a power that lets them pay two less to play cards until Ignis is destroyed.



Turn 4
Turn 4 is where constructs come in. They have protector and ferocity. They won't attack because automated protectors will remain ready. They have 4 ATK and 4 HEALTH, and they must be dealt with or turn 5's power will keep triggering.




Turn 5+
Strength of the Creator will give Ignis Assault 7 (in addition to his ATTACK VALUE) if more than 0 constructs are in play. This power will continue to stack until raiders defeat Ignis.



Unless you are really dumb about playing this raid, raiders should be able to kill Ignis. He will hurt you though if you don't begin taking care of him soon. When he dies, Razorscale comes into play on the boss player's next turn. Razorscale's events then trigger, and that will be our next fight. I have Ignis where I want him, and I'm happy with him.