After dropping a couple of Fel Armors, you are just a couple of cards away from the win, even if your opponent has taken 0 damage the entire match. There are several things that the deck needs to do to take advantage of the late game, and most Warlock decks are quite capable of making those later turns.
Coming off the super-speedy final weeks of Heroes of Azeroth–only Constructed, many players were looking for a deck to slow down the rush. Warlock decks have always been popular due to their tools. They offer a variety of answers for many situations. They can meet rushing armies with Rain of Fire and Infernal, or they can march into the later turns of the game sporting control-centered cards like Sarmoth and Curse of Agony. In addition to the excellent array of combat tricks like Steal Essence and removal like Shred Soul and Shadow Bolt, the dark spell casters netted some outstanding draw power in the form of The Haunted Mills. The deck has other options that are seeing play as well, including a throwback to Life Tap.
The Warlock deck is a marker against which most National hopefuls are going to be measured. The deck is a tournament front-runner and has the ability to change and adapt into an increasingly powerful deck depending on the environment. While the deck has some natural enemies, most bad matchups can be crowded out of the environment by other top-performing favorites. Cat Form decks are lightning fast and give the Warlock fits; however, the Phadalus decks are shutting down the kitty and aiming for the extinction of the feline Druid decks.
As I watch Regional action these days, I have become as interested in the winner of the Swiss rounds as I am in the Top 4 finishers. Most players are gunning for those Onyxia Hide Backpacks and still play hard to go undefeated in the initial rounds of the Regional Qualifier tournaments. The next time you see somebody walking around with one of those hot red bags, ask about the deck he or she piloted to success. Watch the matches and the final rounds of your local tournaments; it seems as if there is always a Warlock deck blazing a trail up the standings.
Nationals is a two-day format. Going X-0, X-1, or X-2 will put players in an outstanding position to make the National Championship Top 8 if they prepare for the Day 2 draft. If you are looking for a solid deck with strong, broad matchups across the existing field, then take a deep look into the offerings of the Warlock deck. The deck can go in several directions, including the addition of more early-game control like two to three copies of Rain of Fire, or additions that look to out-control the other control matches like the slower Curse of Agony. The deck needs to think about having answers to Gorebelly, so putting Malfunction in your main deck or side deck might be a good idea. If you are able to beat two-thirds of the field, then you may just have the perfect choice for a National Championship.
Right now, I am working on three or four different Warlock decks. I love the style of the current build, but I have some old-school ideas with Dizdemona and am also working on taking the deck in an entirely different direction. Over time, I am going to throw up some lists that give some insight into my preparation for the event. I am sure that there will be at least one or two strong Warlock decks hiding among the gauntlet of tournament hopefuls.
