by Mike Rosenberg

As at every major Constructed event, players are currently scrambling to pick up those last minute purchases from our Darkmoon Faire vendors: The Metamart, run by the inimitable Damien Dufresne, and Warcraft Gaming Center (now owned by the guys from Arcane Brilliance.) Whether it's picking up cards that they had not planned to purchase, or if it's filling out slots for a last-minute deck change, players give us a wealth of information on what to expect tomorrow with their purchases at the card vendors that are on-site.

Ben Isgur, veteran gamer and one of the people working at Warcraft Gaming Center, had a couple of interesting notes about how sales have progressed through the day.

The biggest tidbit concerned the popularity of Commander Ulthok, the Monster ally that limits a player to a Monster hero, but comes with a game-altering effect when it enters play. "We cannot keep Ulthok in stock, offline or online," Ben said. Given that bit of info, I guess we can expect at least a couple of players tomorrow representing one of the popular Monster heroes from Throne of the Tides.

While the popular Horde cards, such as Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen and Mazu'kon, are selling well, the big highlight of the weekend has been the increased popularity of Alliance cards. The reason? Winter Veil Disguise Kit and Crime Scene Alarm-O-Bot. For those that missed the announcement, Winter Veil Disguise Kit received an errata which remove non-fire attackers from combat if they ever attack Snowmen. The Winter Veil Disguise Kit can turn an ally like Crime Scene Alarm-o-Bot or King Genn Greymane into a Snowman. This two card combo creates a frosty defense that the most battle-hardened army cannot get over (assuming, of course, that they're lacking the fire allies necessary to melt a Snowman.)

"Given how things are selling, I predict that the faction split tomorrow will be 60% Horde, 5% Monster, and 35% Alliance," Ben added.

Over at The Metamart, Damien confirmed a few of the things I learned over at Warcraft Gaming Center. In particular, he confirmed Commander Ulthok as a hot seller. In general, most of the cards he expected to be popular, such as Poison Tipped, the Disguise Kit combo, and the usual faction staples are all selling well. The big requests, however, are Al'Akir the Windlord and – wait for it – Dispel Magic.

Yes. People are looking for the reprinted Priest common, indicating that players are ready to sleeve up with a Priest hero tomorrow. The reason? We'll find out tomorrow for sure, but it's most likely due to the fact that Priests have access to Devout Aurastone Hammer and also have some hard-hitters such as Parexia, Herald of the Shadows.

So it looks like a few surprises might be incoming tomorrow, with Alliance, Monster, Murloc, and Priest likely to be represented. Will they be able to stand up to the major players of the format? We'll bring you live coverage of the main event starting tomorrow, with feature matches a-plenty. Be sure to check back!