Chaos Wins!

Anthony's Chaos Space Marines won best painted at our recent Sprue Posse RTT. You can see his full list here.



Anthony's Daemon Prince with Warptime.



And another with Nurgle's Rot.



A Chaos Sorcerer leads the Nurgle Daemon Princes to victory.



A Nurgle Obliterator



Obliterators deep strike into enemy territory and seek to spread the blight.



Plague Marine squads and their Rhinos.

As a tournament organizer, my preference for these RTT's is to not play in them. I prefer to organize and report rather than play and I want to keep entry slots open for people not affiliated with our gaming club. This day however we need an extra body or two to fill up slots. Absolute Blue was gracious enough to take on my usual full time organization and judging duties for the tournament. I entered as a participant.

My tournament list is here. I like Orks at smaller point levels and I am confident in playing this list since I've play-tested it extensively. Here is a round by round report:

Round 1 - Joaquin Atwood - Space Marines

This game was a Dawn of War / Annihilation. Joaquin places a tactical squad on the table. I hold everything off and roll on with triple wagons covering triple buggies and then walking lootas and kannons.

Joaquin drop pods in a Dreadnaught and Immobilizes the Nob Wagon. I put Loota and Kannon fire into his Whirlwind and the Drop Pod on turn 2 and destroy them. My other Wagons survive shots from missiles with cover saves and get to the center of the table.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

He outflanks with his Land Speeder and Scouts and wipes my Kannon unit. All my Lootas retaliate and kill both units. I try to ignore the Land Raider and put shots into the rest of his units. I Deffrolla his Vindicator to death, I blow up a Rhino with Lootas. I eventually wipe his Tac Squad with Shoota shots. I try to Deffrolla his Land Raider and fail. He wipes all 3 of my buggies eventually but when all is settled I've caused more carnage. The game ends on turn 6.

Result: Orks win 7 kill points to 5.

Round 2 - Anthony Wang - Chaos Space Marines

This game was Pitched / Capture Control. I sometimes am tempted to go opposite corner on objectives in this game, but this time I put my objective straight across from his in the near corner and try to play for the win.

I defer to him and he moves forward with his 2 Daemon Princes. He does not deep strike with his obliterators, but does with his terminators and just takes shots at my wagons but rolls poorly and doesn't do anything with lascannon fire. He gets a bit too aggressive with his Daemon Princes however. On my first turn of shooting I shoot one to death with Kannonz and Lootas and then wipe the other one with a Nob mob charge from a battlewagon.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

After he loses his DP's I surge forward with two of my wagons getting cover fire from my Lootas. I keep one Wagon back sitting in the corner on my objective.

His terminators show up in my back field and fail to harm my Battlewagon with Melta shots. The bad scatter from the deepstrike put him outside of 6" making the shot less than optimal. I kill off two of them with shoota spam from the wagon platform at the bottom of the turn but he still manages to wipe a kannon unit and a couple lootas with the lone terminator before I can finish it off.

Meanwhile near his objective I try crashing everything I have on top of his objective. I've wrecked all 3 rhinos with my shooting but he's turtled up behind the rhino wall with all of his troops and obliterators. I attempt to deffrolla his lines. One he death or glories. The Nob wagon gets back there. The remaining boys that fell out of the DOG'd wagon assault his marines. The remaining buggies contest his objective. He can't kill everything on the objective before the game is over.

Result: Orks win 1 objective to 0

Round 3 - Ryan Shepard - Tyranids

My list isn't really optimized for the 5 objective seize game. This deployment is spearhead. I pay for it here with only three scoring units. Shep's list is difficult for me to defeat because my lootas, usually all-stars again light mech transports, are terrible against his list. I do have Rockitts and Kannonz however. I have absolutely no reliable answer to Tyrannofexes though short of a full nob assault.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

Shep fans out his army putting some gaunts and a tervigon into the left, center, and right portions of the battlefield in an effort to swarm objectives. A Tyrannofex blows up the Nob wagon right off the bat. My remaining transports surge forward split to each side. The Buggies take shots at his tervigons with limited success. The Lootas basically have one target: Hive guard, whom I shoot and manage to kill almost all of over the course of the game.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

The Nobs run to the closest objective and end up assaulting an killing a Tyrannofex. Another wagon is blown up and the boyz that spill out clean up some gaunts. My other boy unit shoots gaunts in the corner but tries to keep distance from a closing Tyrannofex.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

As the game wears on it's becoming obvious I'm not going to win. The swarms of endless gaunts eat my boys. My nobs are contesting the objective and I end up killing a tervigon and a bunch of gaunts in the ensuing explosion but there are still 2 tervigons on the board and far too many gaunts camped on objectives to kill them all in time. I manage to contest one objective with a crippled buggy.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

I am able to wipe another gaunt unit of the far side objective but cannot score it because a Tyrannofex is sitting there as well. I can't even score my home objective. I don't have enough troops.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

I did some damage to his army but simply don't have the numbers to score enough objectives. He crippled my mobility and killed a troop. I couldn't get to his home objective and couldn't score my own without conceding some mid-field.

Result: Tyranids win 1 Objective to 0.

Round 4 - David Greenspoon - Eldar

The final round is pitched battle / annihilation. David is playing a hybrid eldar list with both monstrous creatures and wave serpents.

I deploy like so:

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

I win the roll and am on the play, I loota spam his warwalkers a blow up two and weapon destroy the third. I put kannon fire into his wraithlord, move my wagon on the left side 7" and then put shoota shots into nearby infiltrating snipers and move my other wagons and buggies 12-13" into the center of the table.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

He responds by turbo-boosting his wave serpents and positions melta shots into my wagon. He kills a buggy with my failed KFF cover save.

I debark my wagon with the nobs to assault the wounded wraithlord but end up just killing it with rockitt buggies instead. I then deffrolla an avatar, and put a full kannon barrage into it to finish it off. My lootas pepper shots at wave serpents but don't get any exciting results on the damage table.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

He meltas a wagon and then bladestorms the boyz that fall out. They manage to survive with cover saves. My remaining boyz in a wagon finish off his guardians. My nobz then assault his howling banshees. I put more lootas and rockitt buggies into his wave serpents and finally wreck them. I finish off the lame warwalker and fire dragon unit.

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

From 40k_SpruePosseRTT_June5th

The game ends on turn 5.

Orks win 8 kill points to 2.

So those are my tourney results. A 3-1 record and I lost to Shep, who ended up winning the tourney. Good enough for second place. I'm pleased with my list for the most part but I think I'll try to find some points for a fourth troop, either a small boy unit or grots so that I have more flexibility in the seize games.

Orks can do well if they have enough strength 7 and strength 8 shooting to suppress enemy fire. This enables the mobile units to get wherever they need to go in one piece. In all the games I won, the deffrollas got to ram things. In the game I lost, they never made it.

Full army lists of the competitors in Sprue Posse RTT #3 are below. You can find the final standings and round results here. Special thanks again goes to Aero Hobbies and Games for hosting this event. Our next RTT is scheduled for July 24th.

All army lists are maximum 1500 points.

The Winners:

First Place

Ryan Shepard - Tyranids



HQ

Tervigon (Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs)

Troops

Tervigon (Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Onslaught)
Tervigon (Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Onslaught)
Termagant x 10
Termagant x 10

Heavy Support

Tyrannofex (Rupture Cannon)
Tyrannofex (Rupture Cannon)

Elite

Hive Guard x2
Hive Guard x2
Hive Guard x2



Second Place

Mark Maun - Orks



HQ

Big Mek (Kustom Force Field, Heavy Armor)
Warboss (Power Klaw, Cybork)

Troops

Boyz x 18 (Shoota) w Nob (Power Klaw, Bosspole)
Boyz x 18 (Shoota) w Nob (Power Klaw, Bosspole)
Nobz x 5 (Cybork x5, Power Klaw, Ammo Runt, Bosspole, Heavy Armor) w Painboy and
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Armor Plates)

Heavy Support

Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Armor Plates)
Battlewagon (Big Shoota, Deffrolla, Red Paint, Armor Plates)
Kannonz x 3 (Ammo Runt x 3)

Elite

Loota x5
Loota x5
Loota x5

Fast Attack

Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)
Warbuggy (TL Rockitt)



Third Place

Mike Northover - Tau



HQ

Shas'el (Missile Pod, Hard Wired Mult-Tracker, Targeting Array, Plasma Rifle)

Troops

Fire Warriors x 6
Fire Warriors x 6 w Devilfish (Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Flechette Discharger, Multi-Tracker, Targetting Array)
Kroot Squad x 10 w Kroot Hounds x 6
Kroot Squad x 10 w Kroot Hounds x 6

Heavy Support

Hammerhead Gunship (Ion Cannon, Two Burst Cannons, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker, Target Lock)
Broadside Battlesuit x2 w Shield Drone x2
Broadside Battlesuit x2 w Shield Drone x2

Fast Attack

Pathfinder x 7 w Devilfish (Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Flechette Discharger, Multi-Tracker, Targetting Array)

Elite

Crisis Battlesuit (Team Leader, Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Hard Wired Multi-Tracker, Targetting Array)
Crisis Battlesuit (Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Multi-Tracker)
Crisis Battlesuit (TL Missile Pod, Target Lock)



Best Painted

Anthony Wang - Chaos Space Marines



HQ

Daemon Prince (Wings, Mark of Nurgle, Warptime)
Daemon Prince (Wings, Mark of Nurgle, Nurgle's Rot)

Troops

Plague Marines x5 (Melta x2) w Rhino (Smoke)
Plague Marines x5 (Melta x2) w Rhino (Smoke)
Plague Marines x5 (Plasma x2) w Rhino (Smoke)

Heavy Support

Obliterators x2
Obliterators x2
Obliterators x2

Elite

Terminators x3 (Combi Melta x3)



Remaining Lists:

Joaquin Atwood - Space Marines

HQ

Lysander

Elite

Sternguard Veteran x6 (Combi Melta x2)
Dreadnaught (MM) w Drop Pod

Troops

Tactical Squad x10 (Flamer, Missile Launcher) w Rhino
Tactical Squad x10 (Plasma, Missile Launcher) w Rhino
Scout Squad x5 (Combat Blade x4)

Fast Attack

Land Speeder Storm

Heavy Support

Land Raider (TL Lascannon x2, TL Heavy Bolter, Power of Machine Spirit)
Whirlwind
Vindicator



Josh Gianuzio - Imperial Guard

HQ

Company Command Squad, Master of Ordinance, Officer of the Fleet (Sniper x4, Camo Cloaks)

Troops

Veterans x10 (Plasma x3) w Chimera (HB, Pintle Stubber)
Veterans x10 (Plasma x3) w Chimera (HB, Pintle Stubber)
Veterans x10 (Melta x2, Flamer)
Veterans x10 (Melta x2, Flamer)

Elite

Sky Marbo

Fast Attack

Valkyrie (Rocket Pods)
Valkyrie (Rocket Pods)
Scout Sentinel x2 (Lascannon x2)

Heavy Support

Leman Russ Battle Tank (Lascannon, Pintle Heavy Stubber)
Leman Russ Battle Tank (Lascannon, Pintle Heavy Stubber)



David Greenspoon - Eldar

HQ

Avatar
Farseer (Doom, Fortune, Spirit Stones)

Elites

Fire Dragons x 6 w Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones, Scatter Laser)
Howling Banshees x7 w Exarch (Executioneer) w Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones, Bright Lance)

Troops

Guardians x10 w Shuriken Cannon
Dire Avengers x8 w Exarch (Blade Storm, 2 Avenger SC) w Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones, Scatter Laser)
Rangers x5

Heavy Support

War Walkers x3 (Scatter Laser x6)
Wraithlord (Flamer, Shuriken Catapult, Wraithsword)




Levi Joos - Orks

HQ

Warbooss (Cybork, Attack Squig, Heavy Armor, Power Klaw)
Big Mek (Kustom Force Field, Power Klaw)

Elite

Loota x5
Loota x5
Loota x5

Troops

Nobz x7 (Cybork x7, Waagh Banner, Powerklaw x2, Big Choppa x2, Combi Rockitt x2, Bosspole x2, Ammo Runt x2) w Painboy
Boyz x18 (Shoota, Rockitt) w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole)
Boyz x11 (Slugga) w Nob (Powerklaw, Bosspole) w Trukk (Ram, Plank)
Gretchin x19 + Runtherd

Fast Attack

Deffkopta (TL Rockitt, Buzzsaw)

Heavy Support

Battlewagon (Deffrolla, Kannon, Plank, Riggers, Stikkbomb Chukka)
Battlewagon (Deffrolla, Kannon, Plank)



John Mann - Blood Angels

HQ

Librarian

Elite

Sanguinary Priest

Troops

Assault Squad x4 (Melta x1) w Sergeant w Razorback (Lascannon, TL Plasma)
Assault Squad x4 (Melta x1) w Sergeant w Razorback (Lascannon, TL Plasma)
Assault Squad x4 (Melta x1) w Sergeant w Razorback (TL Assault Cannon)
Assault Squad x4 (Melta x1) w Sergeant w Razorback (TL Assault Cannon)

Heavy

Devastator Squad x4 (Missile Launcher x3) w Sergeant
Devastator Squad x4 (Missile Launcher x3) w Sergeant

Elite

Terminator Assault Squad x4 (THSS) w Sergeant (Lightning Claws)

Fast Attack

Attack Bike Squad x2 (Multi-Melta x2)



Casey Sinclair - Eldar

HQ

Avatar
Farseer (Spirit Stones, Singing Spear, Fortune, Guide)

Troops

Dire Avengers x6 w Exarch (2 Avenger SC)
Dire Avengers x9 w Exarch (2 Avenger SC, Bladestorm) w Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones, TL Shuriken Catalpules, TL Missile Launchers)
Guardian Jetbike x4 (Shuriken Cannon x1)

Heavy Support

Warwalker x3 (Scatter Laser x6)
Wraithlord (Flamer x2, Bright Lance, Missile Launcher)
Fire Prism

Elite

Fire Dragons x4 w Exarch (Crack Shot) w Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones, TL Shuriken Catalpules, TL Missile Launchers)



Brad Townsend - Chaos Daemons

HQ

Herald of Tzeentch (Master of Sorcery, Bolt of Tzeentch, Chariot)
Herald of Tzeentch (Master of Sorcery, Bolt of Tzeentch, Chariot)
Herald of Tzeentch (Master of Sorcery, Bolt of Tzeentch, Chariot)

Troops

Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x5 (Bolt)
Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x5 (Bolt)
Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x5 (Bolt)

Elite

Bloodcrushers of Khorne x6 (Instrument, Fury of Khorne)
Fiends of Slaanesh x5
Fiends of Slaanesh x5

Fast Attack

Screamers of Tzeentch x5

Heavy Support

Daemon Prince (Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch)
Daemon Prince (Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch)

Final Standings of the RTT are now available.

Update: Full army lists for this tournament can be found here.

Standings

Place Name              Feder Rtg Loc Score Buch. Progr. Berg.

  1   Shepard, Ryan                   4       9.0   10.0  9.00
 2-3  Maun, Mark                      3       7.0    8.0  3.50
      Northover, Mike                 3       6.5    7.5  5.00
  4   Townsend, Brad                  2.5    10.5    7.5  5.50
 5-8  Joos, Levi                      2       9.0    6.0  2.00
      Wang, Anthony                   2       8.0    5.0  1.00
      Sinclair, Casey                 2       5.5    3.0  2.00
      Mann, John                      2       5.0    4.0  1.00
  9   Greenspoon, David               1.5    10.0    4.0  1.50
 10   Giunzio, Josh                   1       8.5    2.0  0.00
 11   Atwood, Joaquin                 0       8.5    0.0  0.00

Round information is below:

Results Round 1

Dawn of War / Annihilation

No Name               Result   Name    

1 Atwood, J (1)        0:1    Maun, M (6)
2 Northover, M (7)     1:0    Giunzio, J (2)
3 Greenspoon, D (3)    0:1    Shepard, R (8)
4 Sinclair, C (9)      0:1    Joos, L (4)
5 Mann, J (5)          0:1    Townsend, B (10)
6 Wang, A (11)         1:0    BYE     

Results - Round 2

Pitched / Capture and Control

No Name               Result   Name    

1 Joos, L (4)          0:1    Shepard, R (8)
2 Maun, M (6)          1:0    Wang, A (11)
3 Townsend, B (10)    .5:.5   Northover, M (7)
4 Greenspoon, D (3)    1:0    Atwood, J (1)
5 Giunzio, J (2)       0:1    Mann, J (5)
6 Sinclair, C (9)      1:0    BYE     

Results - Round 3

Spearhead / Seize Ground w 5 Objectives

No Name              Result   Name     

1 Shepard, R (8)      1:0    Maun, M (6)
2 Northover, M (7)   .5:.5   Greenspoon, D (3)
3 Wang, A (11)        0:1    Townsend, B (10)
4 Mann, J (5)         0:1    Sinclair, C (9)
5 Atwood, J (1)       0:1    Joos, L (4)
6 Giunzio, J (2)      1:0    BYE      

Results - Round 4

Pitched / Annihilation

No Name              Result   Name     

1 Townsend, B (10)    0:1    Shepard, R (8)
2 Joos, L (4)         0:1    Northover, M (7)
3 Maun, M (6)         1:0    Greenspoon, D (3)
4 Wang, A (11)        1:0    Giunzio, J (2)
5 Atwood, J (1)       0:1    Mann, J (5)

The 3rd Sprue Posse RTT starts tomorrow at 11:00 AM PST. Details on the what and where are here. I'll try to get results up here ASAP before the full wrap, including pictures, batreps and army lists later this weekend.

We will be doing 4 rounds of Swiss at 1:45 each which is unusual for an RTT since most only have 3 rounds. We aim to get the absolute best competitors together at the top tables in the latest possible rounds.

If you're in the Los Angeles area come out and join us tomorrow either as a competitor or a spectator!

We had our paint/build night last evening and Shep was finishing up some conversions for his Tyranid's army. His initial inclination when building this army was to try and avoid using models that required conversions. GW didn't cooperate however. They decided that Tyranofexxes and Tervigons were going to be some of the best MC's in the codex. Thus the dillemma. Shep bought some carnifex boxes and went to work creating T-Fexes with Rupture cannons and then creating Tervigons from the same kit but using a liberal amount of green stuff.

Green stuff fills the gaps on this converted Tervigon and he uses part of Termagaunt to represent a hatching gaunt.

From 40k 5/26/2010

From 40k 5/26/2010

Below we see a Tyrannofex also from the Carnifex kit with a converted rupture cannon. Pretty straightforward.

From 40k 5/26/2010

I look forward to seeing these painted up and on the battlefield!

With the wrap of Pro Tour San-Juan we can finally take a look at the top performing block constructed decks at the tournament. The results show a dynamic field with plenty of options and play styles.

A Complete list of the top Zendikar block constructed lists from Pro Tour-San Juan can be found here:

Additional deck list analysis from Chaos Wins! can be found here and here.

The top performers and deck archetypes that reveled themselves in the constructed portion of the event are outlined below.

Mono Green Ascension

Land

1 Dread Statuary
13 Forest
4 Khalni Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures
4 Arbor Elf
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Kozilek's Predator
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Nest Invader
1 River Boa
4 Vengevine
4 Wolfbriar Elemental

Spells

3 Beastmaster Ascension
4 Eldrazi Monument

Sideboard

1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Forest
2 Gigantiform
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Naturalize
2 River Boa
3 Tajuru Preserver

This deck was all over the top of the Swiss at Pro Tour-San Juan. It's a straightforward deck with efficient green beaters, mana ramp, and then augmentation spells that make them gargantuan, indestructible and/or flying.

I like how this decklist can quickly ramp out to 4 mana and beyond and flood the battlefield with creatures before finishing with a bang. Leatherback Baloth out of the board can foil decks with lighter creatures. River Boa punishes blue. It's a surprisingly simple deck that can just generate enormous threats very quickly and overwhelm an opponent trying to develop their defenses.

Red Deck Wins

Land

4 Arid Mesa
11 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Smoldering Spires
4 Teetering Peaks

Creatures

4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
4 Kargan Dragonlord
4 Plated Geopede

Spells

4 Burst Lightning
4 Devastating Summons
4 Searing Blaze
4 Staggershock
4 Zektar Shrine Expedition

Sideboard

4 Goblin Ruinblaster
2 Kitesail
1 Mark of Mutiny
4 Punishing Fire
4 Tuktuk the Explorer

This one didn't perform as well as ascension did, but it was just as prevalent. Nothing fancy here. Just quick goblins backed by burn and late reach spells to finish. I found Kitesail to be an interesting if inelegant sideboard choice (but apparently effective). Ruinblasters are boarded in to foil control decks.

UW Planeswalkers

Land

4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Evolving Wilds
6 Island
6 Plains
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Sejiri Refuge
4 Tectonic Edge

Creatures

4 Sphinx of Lost Truths
4 Wall of Omens

Spells

4 Cancel
3 Day of Judgment
2 Everflowing Chalice
4 Gideon Jura
1 Into the Roil
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Journey to Nowhere
3 Spell Pierce

Sideboard

1 Day of Judgment
2 Deprive
4 Kor Firewalker
3 Kor Sanctifiers
3 Luminarch Ascension
2 Vapor Snare

This is your gold plated control deck. Pretty standard UW fare here. Permission spells, Wrath of God board sweeping, card draw and library manipulation and then fat finishers late game. Reminds me of "The Deck" by Brian Weismann played way back in 1996.

An assortment of hate comes out of the board. Kor Firewalker stifles Red Deck Wins. Luminarch ascension for the mirror. Vapor Snare is standard fare against quality creature decks.

UG Ramp

Land

1 Evolving Wilds
6 Forest
5 Island
3 Khalni Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures

4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Nest Invader
3 River Boa
4 Vengevine
4 Wolfbriar Elemental

Spells

2 Eldrazi Monument
2 Into the Roil
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Unified Will

Sideboard

3 Deprive
4 Narcolepsy
2 Paralyzing Grasp
1 Pelakka Wurm
2 Tajuru Preserver
3 Vapor Snare

UG Ramp was also very successful. A simplified if potentially more efficient version of the RUG deck while slightly more complex than mono green ascension. It combined quality green creatures with permission spells and Jace for card draw and library manipulation effects. Additional creature control elements come in from the board including the powerful Vapor Snare to beat down the mono green variant on this deck.

Vampires

Land

4 Marsh Flats
15 Swamp
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures

4 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Kalastria Highborn
4 Malakir Bloodwitch
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Vampire Nighthawk

Spells

2 Grim Discovery
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Mind Sludge
2 Urge to Feed

Sideboard

3 Consuming Vapors
4 Contaminated Ground
2 Hideous End
1 Mind Sludge
3 Smother
2 Tectonic Edge

Vampires didn't get a whole lot of help from Rise of Eldrazi, but it still had a presence in the field because it had so much power from Zendikar and Worldwake. There were several variations on the theme, but the above incarnation created by Lukas Jaklovsky was one of the most successful.

The deck uses efficient black vampires and quality black removal. Mind sludge, if not countered, usually means game over if board position is established. Vampires was a force pre Eldrazi and it's good to see that it's still viable in this format.

That's a good look at the competitive decks in this block constructed format. A good mix of mono colored creature rush and multi colored control variants. Zendikar block constructed will be a healthy format for casual kitchen table play for years to come.