by Mike Rosenberg

Yesterday it didn’t take me long to find at least half a dozen players that hadn’t yet selected their deck for the main event.

Even this morning, before the player meeting, players have been scrambling to get the last few cards together for those finally-locked-down lists. Scraping together the commons and uncommons has been one of the most daunting tasks for these procrastinators. Instead of people asking around for Grand Crusaders and Mazu'kons, the cards people were having real problems finding were things like Parexia, Herald of the Shadows and Crime Scene Alarm-o-Bot.

If that wasn't an indicator of things to expect today, then I don't know what is.

While players should not be surprised to see some Rohashu, Zealot of the Sun action tomorrow, a number of players have chosen to avoid the Grand Crusader menace. Their choices? Decks that specifically aim to hate on both Paladin and the Shaman decks taking advantage of Devout Aurastone Hammer (also known as HordeStone.) The answer to both of those decks, or at least their World Championship variations, appears to be Priest. Not only does the class support cheap, instant speed removal for Grand Crusader, it also packs some nasty discard effects which can brutalize decks hoping to play big beaters like Mazu'kon.

The other talk of the tournament, going into the start of the main event, has been of the interaction between the Winter Veil Disguise Kit and Crime Scene Alarm-o-Bot. The decks based around this little combo, often given nicknames like Snowglobe or Snowbo-Cop, can by fronted by any of a couple of heroes, and many players were trying to work out which version was best.

Popular Snowbo-Cop decks before this went with Alliance Paladin, as Bottled Light plus Grand Crusader ensured a solid deck structure that aimed to keep Crime Scene Alarm-o-Bot and other cheap Protectors in play. Win conditions for this particular deck revolve around Worldbreaker Block superstar Sinestra, which provides more than enough allies with Grand Crusader to end games instantly.

However, with talk of Stealth, and possible tech cards such as Ruby Stalker, players have looked to other classes in hopes of a better option. Warrior and Warlock both have their advantages, and both have access to Worgen heroes to go with King Genn Greymane (which Stealth cannot get around). Warlock also offers up Sarmoth, another ally that is immune to many of the possible countermeasures.

Outside of these two big talks of the event hall, you can expect some familiar faces from the Realm Qualifiers. Hunter, in both Alliance and Horde variants, Monster Warrior decks, Poison Tipped Murlocs, and more should be in showing tomorrow.

Which decks will our players go for today? If you want to find out, stick with us, as we'll be bringing you feature matches, class and faction breakdowns, and updates on how the Core Constructed format is shaping up!