You can now check my performance and latest games on sorceryrec.com!
Won a small league in aug and came in 2nd place on a 32 player Cornerstone - (list should be similar to this one)
In:
Out:
About the deck
This is a control deck built around , aiming to outlast the opponent, dominate the mid/late game, and win through inevitability rather than early pressure.
My thought process while building this deck was to use as a tool to overwhelm, not depend on. The deck is capable of winning without casting a single spell from the graveyard. Don't be afraid of hates, push through them
Efficient interaction
Redundancy
High spell density
Flexible Atlas and Spellbook that adapt to matchups
The goal is simple: survive early, stabilize the board, then lock the game down until the opponent runs out of meaningful plays.
Strengths
Excellent late game
Strong card advantage through 's ability + several ways to draw cards
High flexibility
Very good against midrange and slower strategies
Weaknesses
Low minion count
Can be vulnerable to explosive early aggression (chargers, , )
Requires careful sequencing and resource management
Misplays are heavily punished
Can struggle if forced into low-resource games early
This deck rewards patience and precision.
Core strategy
DON'T BE AFRAID TO MULLIGAN.
Optimize the position of your sites and units.
Use your cantrips just to draw cards.
Chain your tutors.
Use 's ability.
Ok this is a control deck, but let's go more in depth and divide the main strategy into 4 separate phases:
Crisis → Control → Pivot → Win
Crisis Phase
The world is on fire and you need to survive.
Start the game by greeting your opponent (important!) and assuming your Avatar is already in trouble
Mulligan according to your opponent's Avatar and try your best to predict their main strategy
Buy as much time as possible in the first 3 turns.
A well placed defensive site can prevent your opponent from attacking you for 1-3 turns. Sites are your best early game answers to threats:
- really strong against aggro, shutting down chargers
- good against every deck, placing this on turn 2 directly above 's starting position forces your opponent to take a detour and usually buys you 2+ turns
- same as above, but you can also play this as your first site if you have another defensive site in hand, as it can prevent an early or from being attacked by a or minions controlled by an later in the game. + is crazy good later on too, even if you're on DD
Manage your draws and plan ahead:
Usually we want to draw 3 spells before drawing sites again BUT
Don't be afraid to draw sites for the first couple turns if you didn't get any defensive ones in your first 3 + mulligan
Remember: life is a resource! Don't be afraid to take some damage here and there, don't try to kill everything, you won't have the mana nor the cards to do so
Use your , , to handle relevant minions
can be used to tutor a specific answer early, but ideally we want to chain tutor for another common sense with spare mana to fill out our graveyard OR tutor for an early to ramp
Unless you have a in hand, you're probably handling one minion at a time, so your goal here is to be patient and reach 5 mana to proceed to the Control Phase
Control Phase
This phase usually starts when we hit 5+ mana and after our first "crowd control" effect resolves, which can be one of the following:
- don't hesitate to kill your own minions, position yourself and kill as much enemy minions as you can
- same as above, and always be aware of possible site placement manipulation. Be mindful of the cost. This can be done defensively or aggressively ()
- at least -1 minion to care about every turn
- is kind of a pain to achieve early on, but if you do, this site wipes the board for 0 mana and you're able to follow it up with a meaningful play
After that the opponent might be left with little to no minions on board, or even running out of gas, but be prepared for game changing spells and keep managing your game plan:
You're at 5+ mana, and so is your opponent
Evaluate what you have in hand vs. what threats you need to deal with
Don't rush! You don't need to get to that 8 mana + 1 site to cast asap (or at all really)
Usually it's best to settle at 6 mana and draw as much spells as you need to stabilize the board first
Be mindful of opponents trying to site lock and stiffle you
Be ready to counter or play around hate sites (, , , , , , )
Try your best to avoid being put at Death's Door. Once you're at DD, there's no turning back and it's gonna get exponentially harder to win the match
Look out for , the amount of healing provided can be overwhelming with multiple copies. Don't forget about the cost
, , , and self mill cards like and help you dig your spellbook
Keep controlling the board and chaining . As always, look for specific targets when needed, but the last one most often should be or (see Pivot Phase)
Don't overdo it:
Pay attention to the time limit - usually 45 min in tournaments
Try not to waste time, be wary of your opponents too and remind them there's a time limit (politely, because they are also thinking hard at this point)
Always ask yourself "who is the beatdown?"
Look for windows to pivot and proceed to the next phase
Pivot Phase
It's very important that you understand this is somewhat of a trial and error phase, and you might succeed and proceed to the win or even return back to the Control Phase:
- helps us defend very well but also is one of our main tools to pivot from a reactive playstyle to a more proactive one. When combined with 's ability, it is possible to create a surprising amount of tokens that can turn the game upside down VERY quickly.
- I don't know what to say, this card is just great and depending on what you have in hand + graveyard you can wipe the board while recovering to full health. Be weary of
- cast and recast to deal high amounts of damage. Searchable with any left in our graveyard
Win Phase
You have become inevitable: overwhelm them with damage and win.
- used to be the main win condition but now with a 60-card spellbook there are games we just don't draw this elite. Still, you can use it to deal 10 damage to your opponent's avatar, probably wiping their board and leaving them at DD (or close to it), just to finish them off next turn recasting with 's ability. Don't forget you need to have 1 site in hand to be discarded. Also, be aware that experienced opponents might move their Avatar closer to you as the game progresses, so you have to be careful when casting this spell.
- redundancy, works as a mini and is castable 1-2 turns earlier
- as stated above, the amount of tokens this deck can produce is insane and can win you the game out of nowhere. Position your tokens in a way that your opponent is in check at DD
- can be used to quickly drain your opponents life and is a great finisher
, - extra ways to kill an opponent at DD
Opening hand & Mulligans
What You Want to See
At least one of the defensive sites
A stable mana setup - you must be able to cast your early spells, so consider their thresholds
Low-cost removal
and/or
Hands with a clear plan for the first 2-3 turns are usually keeps.
What to Mulligan
Hands with no early interaction - ship away any sites in order to dig for defensive ones
Hands that rely on expensive spells or 3+ threshold spells - Don't worry, there's a lot of shuffling, you'll see that or again. Hopefully.
Hands that lack consistency - sites with or spells in hand, etc
As a rule:
Focus on your defensive sites, they alone should provide you enough time to develop your game plan, everything else you can get is a bonus. Surviving the early game is the main priority.
Matchups
As a rule of thumb: DO NOT place your sites in a big T during early/mid game!
vs Aggro
Mulligan aggressively for early answers
Avoid greedy decisions
Be careful using life as a resource
Stabilization is more important than anything else
A single source of healing can win you the game
Site placement:
Avoid multiple contact points and try to funnel as much as possible to make good use of your , mass removal and defensive sites. They usually can't afford placing more than 5-6 sites.
Kinda the same mindset as against aggro, but you don't need to be as tight. They might go for 8+ sites and try to lock you, so plan your site placement making sure that you can absolutely get to at least 8*
Small Block (might be risky if not playing first*)
aggro, shutting down chargers
