Building on a Budget has never featured a Warrior deck. For the twenty weeks of this column¡¯s existence, the Warrior has yet to make an appearance. Not even a cameo. Surprised?
 

When you think about it, it¡¯s really no wonder: for a class that bases so much of its identity on the use and abuse of equipment cards, whipping something up for the budget-minded player can be a Herculean task.

 

That changes this week. For the thrifty sword-swinger, the frugal armor-wearer, and the parsimonious item-buyer, we present to you Fillet, Kneecapper Extraordinaire¡ªthe Gnome Warrior with a (budget) plan.

 

Hero: Fillet, Kneecapper Extraordinaire

 

Allies (10)

2 ¡°Chipper¡± Ironbane

4 Steelsmith Joseph Carroll

4 Unen Rataan

 

Abilities (8)

4 Escape Artist

4 Heroic Strike

 

Equipment (33)

3 Edgemaster¡¯s Handguards

2 Krol Blade

4 Latro¡¯s Shifting Sword

2 Lionheart Helm

4 Major Healing Potion

4 Masons Fraternity Ring

3 Onyxia Hide Backpack

3 Platinum Shield of the Valorous

4 Scarlet Kris

4 Timeslicer

 

Quests (10)

2 A Final Blow

4 Big Game Hunter

4 Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!

 

 

Allies

 

Usually, it¡¯s nice to have a lot of allies¡ªunless you¡¯re a misanthropic solo class like the Warriors, Paladins, and Hunters of the world who don¡¯t think they need anybody¡¯s help to survive out there.

 

What chance do these guys have of succeeding?

 

Plenty, apparently. Decks based around a single hero and his or her vainglorious need to accessorize have been around since Heroes of Azeroth was the only set on store shelves. It works, in part, because equipment tends to have more staying power than allies. There¡¯s a very narrow band of cards that can take out the dreaded gray-bordered cards¡ªbut nearly everything printed on cardstock can kill, maim, or otherwise neutralize (sheepify?) allies. So, why run any fragile critters at all?

 

A few of them can come in handy, despite a Warrior¡¯s best efforts to be antisocial. These are their stories.

 

Steelsmith Joseph Carroll: The classic bad boy. What¡¯s his vice? Sheet metal, apparently . . . or whatever that shiny element stuff from the ground is called in World of Warcraft. The more swords, plates, rings, kick-knacks, gobbledygooks, and big ugly medallions you¡¯ve got, the larger Steely¡¯s buzz gets. His 1 cost becomes a killer bargain even with only two or three pieces of equipment. When Joe is firing on all cylinders, he can take over games all on his own (I mean, if you don¡¯t count all the bling).

 

Unen Rataan: The belligerent one, the rabble-rouser. After dashing across the table with his own brand of pugilistic intent¡ªat a bargain-basement price, I might add¡ªhe encourages you to do the same! An effective, if fragile, replacement for Girdle of Uther, Unen will surprise you with how effective a clock he is in the early game, and how useful he remains later on.

 

¡°Chipper¡± Ironbane: Here¡¯s a guy with no sense of property rights. He¡¯ll come to your house, break a few lamps, smash a bit of furniture, and go to town on your Blessing of Wisdom. He doesn¡¯t care . . . as long as the price is right. With Alliance Warlocks siding in the PX-238 Winter Wondervolt combo with increasing regularity, keeping this guy in the reserve can provide insurance against the card-intensive lock.

 

Abilities

 

Like allies, abilities are not the central focus of this Gnome Warrior¡¯s ambitions. Rather, they only complement the equipment-based strategy.

 

Heroic Strike is a momentary boost of lethalness for a very small price. If Red Bull gives you wings, Heroic Strike gives you a rocket jetpack worthy of James Bond. Adept at taking down bad guys that are too bloated for conventional weaponry, or putting the finishing touches on a depleted opponent, Heroic is the budget-friendly solution to the lack of Deathdealer Breastplate and its ilk at uncommon slots. Don¡¯t forget, this thing pulls double-duty for all of your dual-wielding needs . . . twin Latro¡¯s Shifting Swords will be swinging for a mighty 12 ATK for the cost of one Heroic Strike!

 

Escape Artist provides the finesse. Part of this Gnome-only ability is the potential to whisk your hero away from what could be a very ugly combat¡ªand that¡¯s the less impressive part! The more relevant aspect of Escape Artist is the power to negate any bric-a-brac that your opponent attempts to play on your hero. This ranges from the severely debilitating Hammer of Justice or Hardpacked Snowball, to the mildly irritating Fire Blast (that is, unless you¡¯re about to die from said Fire Blast). It can even interrupt an entire Chain Lightning if your opponent does the standard play of aiming the first shot at you!

 

All this and more at 1 resource point. It¡¯s hard to say no.

 

Equipment

 

Now, we reach the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me: the equipment.

 

The bad news is that a lot of very fine pieces of bling are unavailable to our wallet-conscious build. The good news is that many uncommons and commons can approximate the effects of their more rarified cousins, while adding a unique twist of their own.

 

Lionheart Helm is a must-grab against opposing solo decks that liberally coat on the armor, or against the one-shot prevention effects like Power Word: Shield or Blessing of Protection. Helm is the sort of card that could make its way into the side deck to boost your numbers at other slots . . . it all depends on the sort of decks you expect to see.

 

While many weapons in the deck are already free to swing, there are a few that are not: Krol Blade and Latro¡¯s Shifting Sword, to be precise (unless you have two of the latter). That¡¯s where Edgemaster¡¯s Handguards comes in, freeing up your resources to continue the arms race while fending off the enemy combatants.

 

Masons Fraternity Ring is a powerhouse in Limited that often gets overlooked in the Constructed world. It isn¡¯t to be missed for the value-minded, however. The Frat Ring does two great things: First, it pumps your ATK, albeit not directly to your weapon. You can¡¯t defend and get the bonus, for instance, but this only means you have to plan ahead a bit more. Second, you can have two in play at the same time! A great boon when many of your cards don¡¯t play nicely with others of their own kind.

 

We know that the slug-like solo control strategy won¡¯t be setting any land-speed records any time soon. Platinum Shield of the Valorous from March of the Legion will grow quickly in size with only ten quests in the deck to play face up. You will be surprised by how effective this card ends up being.

 

You know Steelsmith Joseph Carroll loves him some Major Healing Potion. Not only are they cheap to play, but you can also have as many of them out there as you like, and they all count toward his bonus. Not to mention they artificially boost your starting health total!

 

Double Latro¡¯s Shifting Sword is the deck¡¯s Holy Grail, the central objective. With both pieces on the table, you can slice, dice, and flamb with abandon.

 

Okay, maybe not flamb, but you get my point.

 

Powerhouse offensive and defensive swings, in combination with your ATK boosters, can wrap up a game quite quickly. You won¡¯t even miss the more expensive alternatives.

 

Timeslicer is free to swing and grants you the all-important dual wield . . . for the price of only one more starting resource point than Scarlet Kris. While both of them effectively defend against early swarm, the ¡¯Slicer is definitely the knife to keep around in the long run.

 

Onyxia Hide Backpack, from the first-ever Raid Deck, has a lot of useful potential. While you could play out as many as you want (though why you would, I¡¯m not sure), its best use is as a little card-advantage engine. Instead of gumming up your hand with extra copies of gray cards that are already in play, you can ditch them with just a simple activation, netting you whole new cards. With half the deck sporting gray card frames, it¡¯s hard to go wrong with the Little Backpack That Could.

 

Quests

 

We¡¯re running a tighter ship than usual here for quests. Only three make the grade: Big Game Hunter (which is all kinds of self-explanatory in a Warrior deck packing thirty plus pieces of equipment), Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!, and A Final Blow.

 

A Final Blow is a strong new play for equipment decks, providing cards for the greedy item-hoarder at a significant discount. I¡¯d love to play more here, but Big Game Hunter is better for setting up your game in the first play, and Finkle gives Steelsmith Joseph Carroll staying power, which is crucial for keeping your attack diversified in terms of threats.

 

With only ten quests, successfully playing this build will require putting the correct cards face down when you need to make a new resource. Stay keenly aware of your upcoming plays, what helps you the least, and what you can and cannot play to the board; this information will be key to making the correct lay down each time.

 

A note here: considering this is a budget deck, a switch from the Gnome Fillet to the Human Victoria Jaton is a pretty easy transition. You just have to shave Escape Artist in the process, leaving you open to the Hammer of Justice and Hardpacked Snowball effects again. The upside? You can add a quest like Manhunt, which is primed to deal with the pesky and ubiquitous Shadowfiend. This is really a gut call on your part; take stock of what local players are playing. If the environment is more controlling, you may want to stick with Escape Artist.

 

Rares and Epics

 

We could retread old ground here and refer to Wraith Scythe, Eskhandar¡¯s Right Claw, and all those oldies-but-goodies. Instead, I¡¯d like to take a look at some new highlights from March of the Legion: Gear Upgrade and Piercing Howl.

 

Gear Upgrade strikes me as one of those cards you can really build decks around. Since cheapo equipment like Major Healing Potion already occupy slots in a deck like this, the sacrificial aspect of the Upgrade can be mitigated quite a bit. What you get in return is the chance to play fewer copies of various equipment while adding narrow ¡°one-of¡± types to search for when you desperately need them. Gear Upgrade might be one to look out for in the coming season.

 

It¡¯s hard to deny how devastating Piercing Howl looks on the surface. Not only are you negating whole turns¡¯ worth of your opponent¡¯s investment, but you are also potentially preventing them from drawing anything new for three whole turns. Any card that combines tempo and card advantage into one tidy basket deserves experimentation.

 

See you in seven!

 

Have deck ideas or suggestions you¡¯d like to see featured on the next Building on a Budget? Email me at achengddh at yahoo dot com!