Hello all - my name is Joey. This is a list that I created and refined off of originally from the BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS (1st Place League S4) deck created by @Nvekmm which won season 4 of the TTS League. After playing a version of this deck at SorceryCon 2024 and missing out on the top cut (9th place, 5-2) due to getting blasted by two Archimagos, I decided to attempt a swing at a Mono Air deck that deviated more from the pure cheap minion aggro of BIRDS.
To be clear, relatively cheap airborne minions and the wildly flexible ability of the Avatar of Air are still the bread and butter of this deck, but it can now curve out into a mid-range game if neccesary. At Gen Con 2025, it went 6-1, beating 2 Druids, 2 Pathfinders, 1 Archimago, and 1 Enchantress. It only lost to a nasty Geomancer deck played by Ira.
Like BIRDS, the list is mostly aggro fliers with artifact support. You slap down as many bodies as you can, split them up to avoid Poison Novas and Earthquakes, then use your aerial advantage to strategically pick your opponent apart while slowing downthe enemy with defensive sites like Bottomless Pits, Sinkholes, Perilous Bridges, and even Bower of Bliss.
Below are some highlights of why certain cards made the cut:
Potentially controversial, but I've never been big on Palliburrie Bats or their combo with Highland Falconer. Yeah, you can get two bodies on the board quick with 2 mana, but the 1 health non-airborne unit is too easily dealt with and doesn't jibe with the deck. Plus, the burrowing feature of the bats isn't very helpful now that I took out Devil's Eggs. Tooth Faeries have a special ability that - let's be honest - won't be helpful 80% of the time. However, it has won me games when I can prevent a chunky opposing minion from blocking at the start of my turn. Definitely a Bats upgrade in my opinion.
An airborne 2 power minion that can effectively reach anywhere on the board. Especially in a game where the opponent has Gnome Hollows, they're amazing. Vastly underrated even in the midgame.
I was on the fence for the longest time with these (what if they fall into the Bottomless Pits!?) but now I'm a believer. Lots of people think that the randomness is a downside - it really isn't, it's more of a weird form of evasion - and that 3 cost 4 body is amazing. Play this deep in the void and watch your opponent sweat figuring out how to block it.
A must add with new rules noting that attacks on sites are strikes. Important for midrange beef.
Very hard to remove 4 power minions. Again, important for midrange beef.
Getting too cute? Maybe. But these won me at least 2 games at the Gen Con Crossroads tourney. Still a 3 for 4 like Headless Haunt, but with the abiliy to be cast to your opponent's site directly. Worst case, I can usually cast him to one of my unique/elite sites for defense if my opponent has no sites to use. Yes, it's still risky, but IMO less risky than Headless Haunt.
An automatic finisher for only 2 mana with AoA's positioning ability. If in a rough spot, the ability to do 2-4 damage to a crowded minion field is also versatile.
What's better than Disenchanting your opponent's artifacts? Taking them for yourself. Controversial within my local play group, but I believe this to be a versatile card that's worth a deeper look. Against an opponent who's artifact heavy (Battlemage, Archimago, Deathspeaker), you can force your opponent to drop all their items and then typically swoop in with your AoA's superior movement ability (or Cloud Spirit) to grab them. If you're not playing against an artifact heavy deck, the first strike for all your minions ability can be extremely helpful for clearing things out if you have plenty of minions on the board but the opponent is matching you.
Still the ultimate removal spell with upside. Just practice your blowing technique.
With the rules change noting attacks on sites are strikes, Mask is a Godsend for decks with a lot of minions (of which, this is 60% minions). Be sure to not play it too early - typically only if you can take someone to door. Nothing like having a couple of Assassins come from the void to strike out of nowhere for 12 damage. Guisarme I am less convinced of in this deck - it was my 50th addition, and I might take it out for future use. The likely quick loss of it into the enemy's hands is a big negative in my opinion, and doesn't work as well in a deck full of several smaller to midrange minions.
Getting these early and burrowing them has won me a few games back in the 40/20 days, but it's not consistent enough to get that off. So otherwise, they often just don't work fast enough to be worth it, or are completely dead draws in the late game. Add that they can potentially come back to haunt you in teh right situation, and it's just not worth the hassle.
Have come back to haunt me much more often than they've helped. Especially with AoA's movement ability, you don't want to constrain yourself to one part of the board like that.
Yes, 3 cost 4 power is amazing, but the randomness was useless to me in games maybe 50% of the time. When it works, it's great, but when it doesn't it just loses you games.
See my note under Tooth Faeries. I never feel like I'm building value when I cast these guys.
Shawn for getting me into this game, and spending way too much time theorycrafting and playing test games.
Pascal for being a great hang at Gen Con and also helping with playtesting!
CJ for being a great guy in general and helping me with a few suggestions (Bower of Bliss helped win me a Gen Con game!)
Nvekm for the original Birds list - it made me realize AoA was always going to be my favorite avatar!
Hope to get to see you, dear reader, at any events I may attend in the future!