10. Ogres
Boulderfist Warrior
Crushridge Ogre
Frostsaber Prowler
Signature Player: Jean-Philippe Theriault
This was clearly one of the top teams of the Core Set, offering a good game against most other parties. Thanks to Matt Whaite's brilliant addition of the Frostsaber Prowler, this was a strong antidote to Kialas before Spoils of War was released. Ming Zhang came a couple of rolls away from winning the Charlotte DMF with this squad.
9. Harukas
3 Haruka Skycaller
Signature Player: All of Europe
Playing lots of the most powerful, well-balanced figure in the game is never a bad strategy. This was the rare party that began the game on the top tier and remained there after Spoils of War was released. Metagame changes were unfriendly toward Kialas, its worst matchup, while the addition of Chain Heal greatly boosted the party's survivability. Camping the center, killing stuff that comes close, and using uber stats plus boatloads of heals to never die has always been a strong strategy.
8. Death by a Thousand Cuts
3 Zomm Hopeslayer
Signature Player: Hans Joachim Hoh
After seeming not quite good enough for much of the game's lifetime, three Zomms burst onto the scene with a fairly dominant perfomance at the 2009 World Championships. Zomms showed that with Expose Armor, a boatload of Saps and Evasions could be very strong in a movement-based scenario. Zomm's 1 speed attack means he can attack every time he moves, giving him a massive tempo advantage. Zomm was a pretty great team.
7. Trip Mages
3 Irana
Signature Player: Ian Stickland
It may seem strange to list Ian as the signature player here when he in fact played trip Ruby Gemsparkles, not Iranas, but I give the nod to Ian as the first to do well in major events just sporting the Mages. I always envied Ian, since his games ended after about 10 minutes and he was always able to take a break, while my games constantly went to time. Ice Block made Iranas the best Mage team, with the option of playing it aggro or with Block—the versatility kept the opponent guessing. Mike Pozsgay pioneered trip Iranas, but he didn't play Mages in DMFs as often as Ian, so I'll save Mike's name-drop for another party. For those who are surprised that Mages rank this high, don't be. Whether it was Rubys in Core or Iranas today, the team is brutally good, depending on the map. Trrip Iranas weren't nearly as good on the Worlds map, for example.
6. Kialas
3 Kiala
Signature Player: Yours Truly
The best party in the Core Set, in my opinion. The party had many matchups that were almost impossible to lose. DoTs, Santurias, and Fear gave the party a lot of power. Did I mention that Fear is awesome? Good times. Sadly, Kialas were massively outdistanced in Spoils with the advent of things like Zoo, Vashj, and Mortimers.
5. Velen Wall
Prophet Velen
Graccus
Savin Lightguard
Signature Player: Corle Huffman/Matt Whaite
I should also mention Ben Stoll here, since he won the Boston DMF, but I'll give the nod to Corle and Matt because they had a heavier hand in creating the party. Velen Wall is the ultimate survivalist party—it's even better than Harukas. This team uses Savin and Bulwark of Azzinoth to deadly effect, shooting Velen's fast magic attacks and protecting at the same time. Combining Bulwark with Graccus's damage absorption and Flash of Light made killing Velen awfully difficult. If Graccus is critting on his Flashes, then this team can be almost impossible to beat.
4. Zoo (Kaustron)
Jaina Proudmoore
2 Vindicator Kaustron
Signature Player: Ben Isgur
This insane blend of Pets and DPS was a threat to beat anything, and it made half the metagame not worth playing. The party also managed to give opponents and pilots alike a series of blinding headaches, due to the difficult calculations. How many pets would attack, and on which ticks? Oh, by the way—Ben won a bunch of DMFs with it. This team could definitely rank higher.
3. Zoo (Elanna)
Jaina Proudmoore
2 Elanna Starbreeze
Signature Player: Derek Richardson
Props to Derek and his crew for taking a good thing and making it even better. While the Pet madness can't rival Kaustron, the lower honor and the rapid fire archery made it as good as the original . . . and maybe better.
2. Vashj plus whatever
Lady Vashj
Bloodscale Wavecaller
Crushridge Ogre
Signature Player: Anyone named Mike
You could put this below both Zoos, and I wouldn't really argue with you. But Vashj was so instantly ubiquitous after the Spoils release, and the team demanded that you have a plan for dealing with her if you were going to play in any serious event. Besides, we did have Vashj vs. Vashj in the U.S. National Continental Championship. Whether you played the Rethligore version, the Wavecaller version, or the new Savin version in Vegas, there's still nothing that matches Vashj's speedy kills.
1. Morts
3 Mortimer the Malign
Signature Player: Mike Pozsgay
I did say that this list was made on the basis of pure power, and I can't think of any other team that could possibly take the top spot. Yes, other teams like Vashj, Zoo, or Velen Wall did beat it in some big events, but I can't think of a single team against which Morts is an actual underdog. It's probably a 55% favorite against those three teams, and it's even better against virtually everything else. If you doubt me, ask yourself—what other team was good enough that the World Championship format was designed to nerf it? Enough said.
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