Joseph’s Brew – The Grand Tournament Control Warrior (Non Dragon)

Introduction

Hello, once again. Joseph Scalise here, jumping over from Weekly Legends to deliver you another article relating to the constructed side of The Grand Tournament (which I am absolutely crazy excited for). While my first pass was aimed at analyzing the most powerful constructed cards in the set, this time around I will be focused on decks and deck construction. Anyone who has seen my series or watched me play knows that I am a brewer at heart. Hitting legend is fine, but I always strive to find the most interesting or creative ways to reach the orange diamond. Brewing is my favorite part of card games, and despite what some certain rope-loving streamers think, this set is certainly going to shake up the meta. Not only was this desperately needed, but it also means that many new decks will rise from the chaos that will surely come in the next few weeks. New cards have two purposes in cards games: to either strengthen existing decks or create entirely new ones.

One thing I should make clear before we begin is that the lists are first takes. They are by no means refined, which would be impossible due to the cards not being in the game yet, but they are shells that will serve as a great place to start brewing. When I (or anyone) builds a deck you just start with a shell, play test that shell and see what needs to be tweaked or improved. Not every card in the set is going to give birth to a new deck, and not every deck you theorycraft is going to end up being good. However, this article is not just for the decks laid out below, it is also to show exactly how you want to think when you begin brewing. There is no way to know exactly what will come from the Grand Tournament, but the decks below are ones that I am excited to try, and I will most likely be playing all of them at some point next week.

Control Warrior

While Patron has been the king of the crop for sometime, Control Warrior got a huge jolt from this set. While the improvements we have seen with The Grand Tournament are nothing new, sometimes you don’t need a new, exciting way to play. Sometimes you just need some more of the good stuff. Varian Wrynn is the first card that needs to be discussed in this section, as he will alter the way the entire deck is crafted. While it is often strange to change an entire deck’s makeup over one card, this is exactly what we are going to do here. As the whole community has noted by now, Varian does not work all that well with battlecries. As such, I think his inclusion could shift the legend package to much more effect-oriented finishers. Here, I have included cards that get insane value when dropped into play for free, but are still solid on their own, such as Sneed’s Old Shredder and Ysera. Ragnaros the Firelord is also a great option here. While I cut Alexstrasza (who I have found to be less and less necessary as the days go by) I just couldn’t cut Grommash Hellscream due to his sick combo potential. Of course, this could be the wrong move, but I think Justicar Trueheart gives Warrior more ways to survive, meaning that the dragon could become less necessary in the future.

Some people have cut down on the early game of Control in order to make room for different late-game options as well as a second Brawl or the inclusion of an Ironbeak Owl. I am not a fan of that move, and would rather just play a huge number of high-impact minions. This build may not be the cleanest list, but Revenge gives you a great, cheap tool against aggro, and you have plenty of ways to take over the later turns. Since I wanted to go with a bigger, armor-oriented deck, I also cut Emperor Thaurissan (a card I have never liked in this list) for Justicar Trueheart. This, along with two Shieldmaidens, doesn’t hurt your six drop count and enables you to stay alive much longer than you normally would. Varian gave Control Warriors a gigantic finisher, but I don’t think you can just throw it into the current build. You want to tweak the numbers a bit, and figure out what finishers you should use. That may take some time, but it should be easy to do as Control Warrior has never really cared about what it uses to end the game.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. Speculation, speculation and speculation. I am so ready for Monday it isn’t even the least bit funny, and I am going to crack my packs ASAP and get crafting. Be sure to check out my other brews:

• The Grand Tournament’s Control Paladin (Non Dragon)
• The Grand Tournament’s Tempo Mage
• The Grand Tournament’s Midrange Shaman (Totem)
• The Grand Tournament’s Control Warrior (Non Dragon)
• The Grand Tournament’s Token Druid
• The Grand Tournament’s Midrange Hunter (Beast)
• The Grand Tournament’s Aggro Warlock
• The Grand Tournament’s Malygos Shaman
• The Grand Tournament’s Dragon Priest

All of these builds excite me, and I’m not sure which one I am going to bring to the ladder first. I am most intrigued by Demon Aggro, Token Druid and Tempo Mage, but Dragon Priest and Maly-Shaman also look so fun. I will return to Weekly Legends next week, where I will start to actually play the new decks, and I cannot wait for that as well. Hope you guys enjoyed this and my “top ten” article, and I hope you are as ready as I am. Remember, you never know what to expect on the new ladder, so have fun, get testing, and play what you love. Until next time, may all of your Legendaries be golden!