Sjow on The Grand Tournament: Where Are We Now?
October 07 2015
A month and a half ago Sjow gave us a breakdown of what he expected out of The Grand Tournament. One of the main draws for the expansion were all the new Dragon cards and the new control decks they may enable. Now that the expansion has had some time to settle, let's take a look back and see where we stand.
-- Hayl
Nobody should be surprised to hear me say that Patron Warrior is still a tier one deck. While there were cards released to try and reign in the deck none were effective at hard countering the strategy. Chillmaw was the card which seemed to have the most potential to counter Patron.
Those were my thoughts on the card before playing with it. As it turns out, Chillmaw only really plays out similar to an extra board clear or a Loatheb. The board clearing effect is useful if Patron is going for a modest combo but is useless against an OTK. In terms of the OTK, Chillmaw is a Loatheb in the sense that it only delays for a turn while the Warrior sets up to kill you on the follow-up.
Overall I think that Patron is slightly worse in the meta compared to where it was before TGT. That said, it's still very strong.
This is a new deck which nobody really expected (editor's note: Neirea did kind of call it!). The prevailing thought going into release was that Mysterious Challenger did not represent enough value to overcome the downside of having to play Paladin secrets.
As it turns out, however, the upside of curving into Mysterious Challenger is more than strong enough for the card to see play. While all of the secrets can give the deck some embarrassing draws, the explosive potential and solid average-case scenario have proven to be enough.
Another point on the deck is that it can sometimes be unfun to play against. Despite this I do think this deck is good for the game since it adds more complexity. The only real downside is that Secret Paladin struggles with Patron.
This is a change I expected; granted, I expected Living Roots to play a bigger role. Darnassus Aspirant, however, is the real MVP. Aspirant gives the Druid deck some much needed consistency in the early game and helps secure what was once their worst matchup. The faster builds of Mage used to be a nightmare for Druid given their access to Mirror Entity. Aspirant is the perfect counter to that secret because it's a cheap minion and the Mage does not get the Battlecry but does get hit by the Deathrattle.
-- Hayl
The Patron in the Room
Nobody should be surprised to hear me say that Patron Warrior is still a tier one deck. While there were cards released to try and reign in the deck none were effective at hard countering the strategy. Chillmaw was the card which seemed to have the most potential to counter Patron.
"In the current meta, Chillmaw will also help counter Patron Warrrior. If you bait out all Executes there is no way they can combo past this Taunt."
Those were my thoughts on the card before playing with it. As it turns out, Chillmaw only really plays out similar to an extra board clear or a Loatheb. The board clearing effect is useful if Patron is going for a modest combo but is useless against an OTK. In terms of the OTK, Chillmaw is a Loatheb in the sense that it only delays for a turn while the Warrior sets up to kill you on the follow-up.
Overall I think that Patron is slightly worse in the meta compared to where it was before TGT. That said, it's still very strong.
A New Challenger Mysteriously Appears
This is a new deck which nobody really expected (editor's note: Neirea did kind of call it!). The prevailing thought going into release was that Mysterious Challenger did not represent enough value to overcome the downside of having to play Paladin secrets.
"This is a more speculative pick. Mysterious Challenger has a potential for card advantage which cannot be denied. While it's true that Paladin secrets are generally not good, getting them for zero mana and no cards could make them quite powerful. I do not exactly know yet how the deck will work but I could see aggro or midrange Paladin running Mysterious Challenger along with Avenge and Competitive Spirit.
The downside to Mysterious Challenger, of course, is that you risk drawing less than great secrets. I think that while this card may not be great yet, he's one to keep an eye on for future expansions."
The downside to Mysterious Challenger, of course, is that you risk drawing less than great secrets. I think that while this card may not be great yet, he's one to keep an eye on for future expansions."
As it turns out, however, the upside of curving into Mysterious Challenger is more than strong enough for the card to see play. While all of the secrets can give the deck some embarrassing draws, the explosive potential and solid average-case scenario have proven to be enough.
Another point on the deck is that it can sometimes be unfun to play against. Despite this I do think this deck is good for the game since it adds more complexity. The only real downside is that Secret Paladin struggles with Patron.
Druid is Back on Top
This is a change I expected; granted, I expected Living Roots to play a bigger role. Darnassus Aspirant, however, is the real MVP. Aspirant gives the Druid deck some much needed consistency in the early game and helps secure what was once their worst matchup. The faster builds of Mage used to be a nightmare for Druid given their access to Mirror Entity. Aspirant is the perfect counter to that secret because it's a cheap minion and the Mage does not get the Battlecry but does get hit by the Deathrattle.
![[image loading]](/liquidhearth-staff/Hayl_Storm/Sjow/GrandTourneyLookback/SjowTGTLookback_DarnAsp.jpg)
Top Five Game Breaking Cards
5. Murloc Knight: Hands down the best Inspire card in the set and gave Midrange Paladin the boost it needed.
4. Justicar Trueheart: This is a strong card in many decks and has successfully seen play in Warrior, Paladin, and Priest.
3. Twilight Guardian: Chillmaw is nice but this guy is the reason Dragon Control decks are playable.
2. Darnassus Aspirant: The reason why Druid is a top tier class once again.
1. Mysterious Challenger: This guy created a new Paladin archetype all on his own.