 on the Sorcery Discord) has been an active 

 community member since Alpha playtesting and has placed in the top 8 in the Sorcery League. You can often find him answering rules in the dedicated Sorcery Discord channel - if you haven't already joined the community,


This week, Justin breaks down how he plays the Sparkmage with a deck he has efficiently labeled... “Sparkmage Aggro."

You can view Justin's full deck list on Sorcery’s deckbuilder 

Deck Inspiration: What inspired you to create this deck? What theme or concept behind this deck makes it stand out?

I thoroughly enjoy the Sparkmage ability. Upon first reading it, I found it incredibly cool, and I immediately envisioned going all-in with it. This deck's theme revolves around a teleporting ball of lightning, and the Sparkmage is set to play a significant role!

Key Card Choices: Tell us about some of the key cards in your deck and why you included them. How do they synergize with your deck's strategy?

The Teleports play a crucial role as the deck’s victory hinges on the Sparkmage. It’s vital to position the Sparkmage close without tapping, so they can their ability. But let’s be clear - Kythera Mechanism stands out as the deck’s top card. Sparkmage, Lightning Bolt, Thunderstorm, Headless Haunt, and Raise Dead all share the word random. Mechanism puts in a lot of work, letting you hit what you want to hit. 

There are several other notable cards, Poisonous Dagger enables the Sparkmage to eliminate any minion and handle those with 5 of more power with ease. Highland Princess proves valuable for fetching the Kythera Mechanism or a Core. Every card in the deck serves a purpose, and the majority, excluding artifacts, Blink, and Lightning Bolt, share a commonality of requiring two air threshold allowing the Sparkmage to get a lot of work out of them.

Playstyle Tips:  What's the recommended playstyle for this deck? Are there any specific strategies or combos that players should be aware of when using it?

This deck is aggro, though not the type that secures a win by turns 3 or 4. It thrives on aggression once you have sufficient mana, allowing you to teleport near your opponent and consistently inflict 2-6 damage per turn. While it has the potential for a fast win, the deck’s strategy revolves around reaching 6 to 8 mana swiftly. Once there, the goal is to approach your opponent, cast spells to accumulate threshold, and tap for damage.

I love casting teleport, then 2 lightning bolts and tapping to deal 4 with Sparkmage, if all of that hits the opponent's avatar you just did 10 damage in one turn.

All the minions in the deck serve the purpose of maintaining pressure and facilitating the ability to deal 2 damage with the Sparkmage. Take, for instance, the card Phantasmal Shade, often overlooked due to its vulnerability to anything that strikes it. However, in this deck, it is a valuable asset. For a cost of 3 manage, I acquire a 4-power minion, and coupled with the Sparkmage, I can deal 2 damage. It is really good.

Matchup Insights: How does your deck perform against popular archetypes in the game? Are there any particular matchups where it excels or struggles?

This deck excels against the prevalent Earth air Midrange meta, primarily due to its effective response to their minions, especially with the inclusion of Poisonous Dagger. This allows for a successful defense against their threats while also maintaining the ability to match their damage output, ranging from 4 to 10 damage per turn.

Playing into aggressive Battlemage decks, I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that this deck can hold its own against such aggressive Avatars. The proximity of the opponent didn’t bother me much, considering that my Sparkmage thrives in close quarters. With all my minions dealing 3 or 4 damage, except for the Highland Princess and Grandmaster Wizard, the Battlemage struggles to eliminate most of them unless they have equipped weapons.

I look forward to diving into the next season of the Sorcery League with this deck and am eager to explore how it fares against some of the most skilled Sorcery players in the community!

Justin can be found on the Sorcery Discord and is a participant in the ongoing 

Join in the discussion of the Sparkmage in the 

How to Play Aggro Sparkmage with Justin

How to Play the Pathfinder with ZachAttack

Well known for his strong performances in the Sorcery League, ZachAttack, as he is known on the 

 has a tremendous depth of experience with 

, including a finals match with the Pathfinder Avatar in Season 2 (we won't spoil anything in case you haven't 

Zach breaks down how he plays this particular Avatar with his battle-tested deck list “Pathfinders Revenge."

You can view Zach's full deck list on Sorcery’s deckbuilder 

Q: Deck Inspiration: What inspired you to create this deck? What theme or concept behind this deck do you think makes it stand out?

Back when I started playing in January, no one was playing Pathfinder. I went through the first Sorcery League and noticed only 6 games, out of over 150, were played with it making it the second least used Avatar (the first being Avatar of Fire with only 1 game played).

I thought it had a pretty powerful ability but anytime I used it people recommended I use a different Avatar. 

“Sorcerer would be better, Seer would be better,”

The initial idea was to ramp mana, since the Pathfinder can play a site every turn, to get out big minions that weren't as feasible to get out with other Avatars because it would take too long to get the mana to play them. The deck evolved over time to become a deck that focuses on stalling the game until you can play heavy hitters with cards like Bury, Divine Healing, and Root Spiders. This deck works uniquely from others because you don't have to spend turns to draw sites, meaning you fill your hand with minions you may not play for a few turns but also lots of removal cards.

Q: Key Card Choices: Tell us about some of the key cards in your deck and why you included them. How do they synergize with your deck's strategy?

There are only a few cards that have stayed in the deck since the first iteration of the deck. Cards like Common Sense let you search for Ordinaries, Bury lets you kill a minion very easily for cheap, Blink allows you to cycle cards and get your Avatar out of tough places, and Grapple Shot helps to get additional damage out of your minions.

These are all staples for Earth and Air decks. The only minions that were in every iteration of my deck were Rootspider, Highland Clansmen. Rootspider is a great defensive card disabling any minion above it when burrowed and Highland Clansmen isn’t used in other decks because oftentimes it's too expensive, but with Pathfinder you can get it out in a timely manner.

Q: Playstyle Tips: What's the recommended playstyle for this deck? Are there any specific strategies or combos that players should be aware of when using it?

With this deck, you want to mulligan your high-cost spells so you can start the game with removal or stall cards like Bury and Rootspider. One hidden combo that not many people realize is Pudge Butcher doesn’t have to fight the unit he drags, meaning you can use Pudge to drag in your own Pathfinder and place sites on the other side of the board if you get locked in by an opponent with Blink in hand! Another not commonly recognizable strategy are my water sites. You may wonder what they are doing in there since the deck doesn’t use any water minions but the true purpose is anti-bury. 

If you play a big threat (Daperyll Vampire, Sky Barron, Pudge Butcher) your opponent will want to immediately remove it, typically by means of Bury or Earthquake because it is the best removal for large creatures. By playing it on a water site it prevents your opponent from burying it for one turn.  If your opponent doesn’t have earth it doesn’t matter but it's good to have just in case.

Q: Matchup Insights: How does your deck perform against popular archetypes in the game? Are there any particular matchups where it excels or struggles?

This deck performs exceptionally well against most Avatars but faces challenges against early aggro decks and the Avatar of Earth. The Pathfinder poses a significant threat to the Deathspeaker, especially considering the prevalent win condition of Nimbus Jinn, which becomes ineffective if your Avatar is situated on a Rootspider or within Gnome Hollows.


Battlemage also struggles against this deck due to the absence of small minions for consumption. The mobility of Pathfinders adds another layer of complexity, preventing easy targeting for the Flamecaller's ability or your opponent executing a Grapple Shot maneuver on your Avatar after turn 2, given your ability to avoid line of sight.


While this deck may have a favorable matchup against the Avatar of Earth, the use of Earth sites inadvertently buffs the opponent's Avatar. In such matchups, a cautious and defensive playstyle with blockers becomes crucial. The general consensus is that stalling out any Avatar (except Sorcerer) positions you well, leveraging superior card draw and a wealth of options. Eventually, your opponent will deplete their resources, resorting to top-decking for a favorable outcome.

ZachAttack can be found on the Sorcery Discord and is a participant in the ongoing 

You can join in the discussion of the Pathfinder in the 

How to Play the Pathfinder: Pathfinder's Revenge Deck Guide with ZachAttack

Introducing the four elemental preconstructed decks, the easiest way to start playing 

. Each of these decks contains 36 spells and 16 sites dedicated to one of the four classical elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. On top of that, each deck is led by a powerful Avatar that shapes the way they approach the game.

Led into battle by the static-inducing Sparkmage, this deck focuses on mobile minions and magic that can deal damage from afar. Keep an eye out for the Lucky Charm, as it will add an element of precision to several cards that have powerful but random abilities like Lightning Bolt and the Headless Haunt.

Sorcery: Contested Realm Air - Beta Precon Decklist

With the Geomancer at its back, this deck focuses on straightforward strength, both in individual size and in numbers. Look for minions with a low mana cost for their power like the autumn unicorn, and for ways to flood the board with 1 power foot soldiers like Border Militia and the Ordinary Village sites.

Sorcery: Contested Realm Earth - Beta Precon Decklist


The Flamecaller will burn everything on his path to victory, with a deck that isn’t afraid of collateral damage. Keep your opponent guessing as explosions and flaming projectiles appear from unlikely directions thanks to minions like the Sacred Scarabs and Colicky Dragonettes, and several variations of fire magic.


You can read more about the Flamecaller 

Sorcery: Contested Realm Fire - Beta Precon Decklist


At the beck and call of the Waveshaper, this deck uses a strong home-field advantage to stall their enemies. Blunt your opponent’s early push with minions like the Brobdingnag Bullfrog and Tufted Turtles, while you build momentum to eventually turn the tide with massive minions like the Diluvian Kraken.

Sorcery: Contested Realm Water - Beta Precon Decklist


How To Play

Formats

Constructed

Draft

Sealed

Gameplay & Guides

How to Play Aggro Sparkmage with Justin

How to Play the Pathfinder: Pathfinder's Revenge Deck Guide with ZachAttack

Introducing the Beta Elemental Preconstructed Decks