Hey there, thanks for taking a look over here! This list is made to have a good time, for people who would rather slam than plan, and for those whose wallets tremble at the mention of Philosopher’s Stone. I’ll do my best to explain what’s going on, along with replacements for most of the uniques. First and foremost though, this list is all about consistently getting to gamble on Shapeshift/Knighthood. If you’re not ok with letting fate take the wheel and want a more patient, controlled approach this list won’t be for you. (But don’t let that stop you from reading if you want!)
THE GAMEPLAN!
It’s pretty simple, you want to send really big guys directly toward your enemy while ignoring basically everything but their rapidly lowering life total. You’ll usually want to go second, allowing you to drop a summoning sphere turn one directly onto the enemy’s space. Then you simply push pressure onto their faces with large minions and surprise summons. You’re trying to get them to death’s door as quickly as possible while keeping at least one minion close enough to get that final blow, though you can also step your avatar toward theirs in the final moments to slap them yourself. The deck doesn’t run many ways to refill hands or health, so don’t be afraid to make very aggressive plays. If you respect the enemy too much, either in their damage or setup, you’ll run out of resources and be dead In the water. This deck looks to play off no more than 5-6 sites and draw a spell almost every turn, so you really want to hit the gas pedal with that in mind. Now let’s talk about…
THE MULLIGANS!
These are about the only things you need to think hard about to pilot this deck. I’m gonna split this into two segments, one for the spellbook and another for the atlas.
For the spellbook, you’re looking for any of your combo pieces. Knighthood + Any sir/knight (you don’t want Dame Brito because she can’t resurrect things yet) + an ordinary mortal/way to search one. This is the first hand combo you’d like to see, but it’s not the only one. Knighthood is a card you only want if you’ve got both the ordinary and the unique to play it off, otherwise feel free to toss it back and dig for a summoning sphere or shapeshift. You always want to push damage as fast as you can, and shouldn’t get too invested in keeping your combo. Some other great opener card combos are Aramos Mercenaries + Summoning sphere, any early minion + Shapeshift, Sisters + Raise Dead + any Shapeshift target, or even something like Sphere, Four Waters, & Sir Morien. Four Waters in particular is pretty great, allowing you to slam heavy minions incredibly fast and is usually an instant keep. For things you DON’T want to keep in your opener, you’re looking at any of the Shapeshift targets, duplicate Spheres, Dispel, and the mystic duo Merlin & Morgana. Unless you have a way to cheat out cards from the yard, you want the bigger minions back in the deck to pull with a kelp cavern and the mystic duo really aren’t playable until you’ve got a push going. They both play unique roles we’ll discuss later. You obviously don’t want to keep a second sphere or Dispel, unless you KNOW your enemy is going to play heavy into stalling artifacts/enchantments.
For the Atlas, I like to split my sites into 3 categories. You’ll want a threshold fixer, like any tri-land, quad land, or valley. Second you’ll want a tower, it doesn’t matter which but you’ll need that mana burst. Finally, you’ll want EITHER a deck fixer site like Wizard’s Den, Kelp Cavern, & Crossroads or an interactive piece like Pillar, Pyre, & Boneyard. What you choose depends on whether you’re trying to push your plan, in which you want the consistency of a fixer. Alternatively, if you’re trying to stop the enemy’s plan (Archimago, DS, etc) you’ll look for that interactive element. Honestly, you’re usually not wasting a mulligan slot on more than 1 atlas card, between the 12 towers and abundance of fixers, you’ll usually draw into a good mix naturally. Or, you’ll draw 3 dark tower and wonder who you angered in the celestial court! Just mulligan as you see fit, and remember you’re always betting on good fortune so don’t stress too much.
Phew, that was a LOT of reading huh? I hope there isn’t any more….(this is called foreshadowing, but my fingers hurt and I needed a break. Ready? Alright, it’s time for)
THE SINGLE CARD CHOICES! (They’re all single, no dating at the workplace)
Here I’ll post the name of the card and a little info about why it was chosen along with replacements, I’ll also separate this into spellbook & atlas. Thanks for reading this far, and feel free to replace anything with anything if you just wanna jam
Four Waters Of Paradise - Alright I know you’re not gonna like this, but this card is SOLID here. It’s such a massive discount that there really isn’t a great replacement for it, but I understand not wanting to buy one. So if you’re not looking to drink the water, you’ll have to mix one yourself. Specifically, Mix Tera/Ignis/Aer are my suggested ones. Aqua is a little weak in this list, but if it’s all you’ve got feel free to mix it up!
Merlin - Our resident magic man seems like a weird include in the deck with a billion minions, but he’s here for two reasons. One, he gives you a chance to cast a Shapeshift or Knighthood from the top of your deck. That added consistency is VERY welcomed. Two, he allows you to “peek” into the future by looking at that top spell. This allows you to plan a little better for your current turn, or let you see what a shapeshift will offer you. He’s not all powerful however, and can easily be swapped out for a third copy of apprentice wizard or a grandmaster wizard if you’d like to.
Morgana - The evil part of our mystic duo, she pulls 3 cards into her hands and offers us a few upsides. One, she has stealth and can sneak toward your enemy before transforming herself with something like a shapeshift or strike an avatar at death’s door herself for that final push. Two, those three cards are very nice because this deck just doesn’t have that kind of draw. Three, if she goes down she sends her hand to the cemetery with her. That’s 3 potential raise dead/boneyard targets just waiting for your call! Of course she’s also a pretty penny, so you can replace her with an apprentice/grandmaster wizard if you’re so inclined or a pact with the devil if you’re REALLY set on drawing specifically 3 cards.
The Fomorians - These lumbering cards are both large & resistant to usual removal (drown, bury, earthquake). They can push great pressure onto the opponent and avoid a lot of problematic sites by swimming/digging their way to victory. I’ve opted to play them because my local scene has a LOT of Water/Earth control lists and a fair share of Archimago earthquake spam as well. If your scene is different or you don’t want to fetch some bulk giants, you can replace these boys with any 6 “large beat stick” style cards you want. They’re mainly shapeshift targets anyways, so keep that in mind.
Midland Army - Alright I’ll be totally honest, this is here because it’s cool. 8 power, can tap to bombard the top of a nearby site, AND summons foot soldiers on death? What more could you ask for! Honestly, this can be replaced with any other good shapeshift target, I’ve played with King Of The Realm, Great Old One, and even The Ninth Legion.
Shapeshift/Knighthood - These are your primary ways to “cheat” cards into play, and aren’t replaceable unless you’re going to change the whole list up. I think if you don’t own these, you shouldn’t play this specific list until you have them. You can totally play pure aggro with flamecaller/sorcerer but I wouldn’t pilot this. It’ll just be boring for you, and I don’t want that for you. You deserve better than that!
————little break for the atlas side————
Dark/Lone/Gothic Tower - These are 100% necessary. The burst of mana is how this list spits out the whole engine, and without them you wouldn’t get off the ground fast enough to contend with aggro. Please don’t replace them, this is another one of those “if you don’t have it look at other options so you aren’t bored to death”.
Unique 3-4 threshold Sites - Yes I’m grouping them all together, no I won’t apologize! They’re all just here because they serve the best way to get the dual thresholds you’ll need, but can be replaced with any of the dual sites from Alpha/Beta (Aqueduct, Ruins, Windmill, Lighthouse, Oasis, & Steppe) or Annual Fair from Arthurian Legends. I don’t recommend Wedding Hall because it provides no mana, and you don’t even run the bride and groom….unless you do? In which, give it a shot but the lack of mana will hurt.
Deck Fixer Sites - Oh no he’s blocking them together again! This includes Kelp Cavern, Wizard’s Den, & Crossroads. They’re very helpful for consistency but can be replaced with any of the discount lands (Town, Major City, & Camelot) and additional copies of dual thresholds sites.
Interaction Sites - Last time I promise, these include Funeral Pyre, Pillar, & Boneyard. I play this specific set because I see a lot of Archimago/Deathspeaker and want to stop them from abusing the yard/my Boneyard. Feel free to replace these with Dual threshold sites or other interactive pieces like Smokestacks, Sinkhole, & Rift Valley.
——super cool transition to the matchup sheet——
MATCHUPS!
I’m gonna be totally honest with you, it’s all up in the air. You have the tools to deal with plenty but your gameplay relies heavily on fate and high rolls. Some better matchups I’ve found have been against aggressive lists like Druid and sorcerer, as you can play bigger things faster.
Waveshaper/Geomancer control has been favorable because of the Fomorians and aggressive nature of the deck itself.
Archimago/Deathspeaker are pretty tough, you’ve gotta get really lucky to keep them off resources and take them down before they get their plans online.
Again though, the beauty of this list is in its shock. Nobody seems to expect the “random madness” this deck churns out, so it’s always a fighting chance! However, there’s also the chance you shapeshift into nothing and get so far behind you lose. Thats just the luck of the draw. Finally, we have the SIDEBOARD segment. I don’t own a sideboard for this list, but will make one soon. I would just stuff it with tools to counter various matchups, and swap them in/out while playing around the core of the list. Or just don’t run one and tempt fate even more than you already are by playing this list, it’s what I’m doing!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Alright, thanks for reading this. It was a lot of words to say “Big stuff go hit stuff” but I hope you enjoyed and learned a thing or two. This is my first public list, so feel free to ask any questions or just yell at me in the comments for making you read all this. I hope everyone has a good time at their next event, may you drop a midland army turn 3
With Care,
Weddfire