Deck Combo inside: Soul link, Ash'ergi, Zaistor

John "Pututoy" Say of WoW.Skillze for this week talks about combos. Let's take a look at what he has to say:

If there's one thing I love about this game, it's the sheer amount of combos and synergies that the card pool has to offer. The myriad of possibilities, combined with the amount of brainpower players all around the world use to come up with the next big deck concept, gives us a lot to work with. Oftentimes, we end up with outright Janky combos that only work well in the Limited or Casual scene (combos like Donna Callister + BoDivinity / BoWisdom or Debros + Hidden Enemies), though at times we strike gold in Combos that only seem janky, but actually do work well in competitive play (like Barak the Shamed + Ring of the Unliving + Berserker Rage).



This brings me to an old janky combo I encountered when I was just learning about the game. Back in the days of HoA, Bryan Lyons came up with this janky combo in his TCGPlayer article: Soul Link + Noggenfogger Elixir + Blood Guard Mal'Wani. The way the combo works is to use the elixir to make Blood Guard Mal'Wani indestructible, and then use Soul Link to put a bajillion damage on him, then swing for a bajillion damage. This combo was considered janky at best because of the sheer inconsistency of Noggenfogger Elixir. If you did not roll the right amount, then the setup would have been all for nothing. Still, nothing is more fun than swinging for a gazillion or two. (DISCLAIMER: Bajillion and Gazillion are NOT real numbers. Do not attempt to use them to look smart in your next exam or presentation.)

Since those days, tons of new cards have been released for the game. With those new cards came new cards that might just make the combo work. I figured it might be time to take a second look at that Janky combo.

The first step in fixing this combo is to make it more consistent. Fortunately, 2 new cards give us the Noggenfogger's effect without needing to win a die roll. First of which is Zaistor the Vigilant. For 3 resources (2 to play, 1 to activate), you can make sure that your Blood Guard Mal'Wani will be indestructible without having to go on your knees and beg a higher power to make your die roll come out the way you want it. Zaistor also serves as insurance for whatever bombs your deck might be playing, making sure that spot removal is out of the question.



The next card comes from the Crafting Redemption Program, and is considered as one of the less appreciated of the lot - Eternium Runed Blade. Whereas Zaistor only makes your allies invulnerable for 1 turn, the Blade makes them invulnerable indefinitely, so long as it remains in play. Of course, it has the drawback of not allowing players to play any more allies. But it's not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you have an advantageous board position anyway.

Next on our agenda to fix the combo is to find an alternative to the Blood Guard. Awesome as he may be, he does have a very serious drawback in the combo. One protector is all your opponent needs and he can laugh at the futility of the Blood Guard's attack. Good for us though that Fires of Outland gave us Ash'ergi. This buffed up Blood Guard boosts a higher starting Atk power, and more importantly, the keyword Stealth.
If you opponent cannot deal with him, he is sure to go though whatever defenses your opponent will try to set up. Of course, with Zaistor and the Blade backing him up, it's highly unlikely your opponent will be able to anything but cry as he whacks away for who knows how many damage.



Now we need the right deck for the combo to work with. Good thing though that this is a warlock-only combo, and gives us access to some of the better cards for trying to screw with your opponent's board and tempo. Warlock staples like Eye of Kilrogg and Steal Essence are no-brainers for a deck that requires a little setting-up for it to take off. Shred soul is also there to take care of stuff your nukes can't handle, while Invoke the Nether is there to take care of all threats at the same time. As a bonus, these 2 cards work despite having Eternium Runed Blade in play, making sure your own weapon doesn't stop you from removing opposing threats on the board.

Finally, the combo needs a Plan B - what if things don't go according to plan? Maybe Ash'ergi hit some spot removal before you can get Zaistor or the Blade online. Maybe you don't even draw Ash'ergi, or any of the combo pieces in the first place. The multitude of draw effects available via quests will make sure that bad draws are a rarity. Chasing A-Me 01 gives you a second chance to pull of your combo. If it really doesn't want to go your way, the beauty of the combo pieces is that even without your kill condition, it’s not the end of the world. Soul Link plus any ally in your board with Eternium Runed Blade out makes your hero essentially unkillable, allowing your other allies to whack away at your opponent even without their big brother Ash in play. No Soul Link available? Sarmoth with the Eternium Runed Blade also makes your hero untouchable. No allies? Use the Blade to lock the game while slowly finishing your opponent off with Siphon Life. The synergies available with the Blade allow the deck to pull of a win even without a straight-forward combo. It's not really recommended, so use only when out of other options.



After all considerations, here is the final deck list we end up with:

Janktastic Radak

Hero: Radak Doombringer

1 Abominable Greench
4 Ash'ergi
4 Doshura Risestrider
1 Ishanah, High Priestess of the Aldor
3 Sarmoth
4 Thulthun
4 Zaistor the Vigilant

3 Eye of Kilrogg
3 Invoke the Nether
3 Shadow Bolt
3 Shred Soul
3 Siphon Life
4 Soul Link
4 Steal Essence

3 Eternium Runed Blade

1 Blueleaf Tubers
3 Chasing A-Me 01
3 Counterattack!
4 Donation of Silk
4 The Name of the Beast



This deck gives you a chance to play an out of this world combo during your next event. It greatest strength, however, is not in the combo itself. But rather, the surprise factor it has in the metagame. Very few decks are prepared to deal with infinite damage combos when they don't know what to expect (which is why the Wintervolt combo has made sporadic top 8 appearances a couple of times). Even when the odds are stacked against you, consider this deck an exercise in overcoming adversity. Just because a combo is labeled as Janky doesn't mean it can't pull out a win when it really matters. We haven't even explored the possibility of adding other cards to the deck. So until next time, have fun with the deck, and if you find a janky combo lying around somewhere, think twice about labeling it as such. Maybe it's just waiting for its potential to be unleashed.