We are running this deck to be as utility-based as possible with a heavy emphasis on the collection to have the answer you need to a wide range of scenarios. This deck is fine with going either first or second and it's definitely conducive to a mid-range strategy that can extend/scale itself to the late game if necessary.

**Update (2/18/26):

• Traded out 2x Searing Truth (not as reliable as I expected) and Added x2 Drought to combat a water-heavy meta
• Traded out 1x Bind Evil to maximize the amount of Banish Evils in the deck, having the ability to target any region has proven way too beneficial in more cases than not
• Traded out 1x Intrepid Hero to maximize the amount of Redmane Hyenas in the deck which doubles as additional GY hate
• Shifted lands around for additional threshold consistency (tracked in deck history). Specifically of Note: Removed City of Souls as it exposed me to guaranteed death blows more than once
• Traded out 2x Betrayal for 2x Infiltrate to be able to hold onto the minion for the right time is generally more advantageous in this deck. Infiltrate being 1 less mana and 2 less fire threshold are also exceptionally important for tempo
• Traded out 1x Peacemaker Arbalest for 1x Torshammar Trinket to enable creature alphas and versatility**

The ideal opening hand for spells - One or a mix of the following:

• Vile Imps or Lesser Blood Demons - for early removal/value and to turn on later Redmane Hyenas
• Kettletop Leprechaun - So you can continue to draw spells at the beginning of turn
• Toolbox - Consistency and additional ways to draw key cards, most of which are in the deck
• Landmass - while more expensive then artifact ramp, it helps build out the board for greater hits with Border Militia and Guards as the game progresses and is less vulnerable to removal/being destroyed.

The ideal opening hand for sites - One or a mix of the following:

• Pebbled Paths - for defense against more aggressive decks
• Active Volcano, Fertile Earth, Steppe - make sure not to neglect threshold
• Silent Hills - Works multiple angles in this deck. It can work as an auxiliary to Pebbled Paths to nullify enemy charge, it will pop early minion wards nearby, and it will silence detrimental Genesis effects from your above-rate minions (Lesser Blood Demon, Corruptor Freak, Greater Blood Demon, Shackled Demon), and will temporarily silence minions like Pudge Butcher to allow for repositioning.

The deck's goal is to continually put out more valuable minions than your opponent, while keeping the board clear (via Bind Evil, Begone, Betrayal) with the Persecutor's fantastic range that can accrue free movement from your own minions.

As the game progresses though, so does the strategy a bit. I've included 2x Border Militias (+1 in the collection) as wells as 2x Guards! to either help put the final nail in the coffin, or conversely work as a way to provide the deck more time if you're behind and need to rebuild. The additional free movement Persecutor takes can make spells like Guards! hit at the maximum or near maximum amount of units produced (7-9). I've enabled flex support for this plan as well with 3x House Arn Bannerman, and Boudicca (both good w or w/o foot soldiers), as well as 1x Torch and Pitchfork in the collection.

The mana curve was designed to stick mid-range as the Persecutor can also act as a flex to inflict damage if necessary, hence the inclusion of the 2x Peacemaker Arbalests which scale the avatar's damage nicely, but will also work fantastically on a minion like Intrepid Hero in tandem with the Persecutor turning anything evil for additional easy one-hit removals.

**Cards I'm Experimenting With**

Sites:

• Wizard's Den - Additional card draw, but worried about more non-threshold producing sites

Artifacts:

• Amulet of Niniane - Being so mobile makes you way more vulnerable to taking magic to the face. This may be valuable.

Magic:

• Lash - Double value from larger minions as positioning isn't an issue