Sometimes, a single booster pack can change everything.
For Cassandra Hughes, that moment came when her husband returned from a learn-to-play event run by Emmett Stokes and the Golden State Avatars, beaming with excitement and holding a Sorcery: Contested Realm Beta booster, left unopened so she could share in the experience.
Inside her pack? A Pathfinder Avatar. The rest, as they say, is history.
A casual TCG player at heart, Cassandra was quickly drawn into the tactics and grid-based play of Sorcery and soon local game store visits became a regular ritual. By November 2024, Cassandra found herself traveling to Las Vegas to attend the community-run Sorcery Con as a family trip.
This spring, she entered her first local Constructed tournament, the Golden State Gauntlet in Sacramento, and surprised even herself by taking home the championship title. Her Avatar of choice? Pathfinder.
With Sorcery Organized Play Cornerstone events kicking off next week at 4 locations, followed shortly by events at Sorcery stores around the globe, there will be plenty of opportunities for communities to gather and play in events in the months to come. Today, we're proud to spotlight Cassandra’s journey - and the deck that helped her carve out a win.
The Golden State Gauntlet Champion Deck
Explore Cassandra's Deck on Curiosa.io, Sorcery’s official deck builder.
Cassandra: The main theme of the deck is aggro, utilizing air and fire elements. However, it’s not quite as fast as typical aggro decks and has a slightly higher mana curve to utilize the Pathfinder’s ability to play sites. The primary goal for me is to lean towards surprise damage. For example, utilizing Grapple Shot or Warp Spasm to effectively double the damage a minion can do on a turn, or using charge to attack an unprotected site.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ESSENTIAL CARDS IN THE DECK?
Cassandra: “I don’t necessarily know that I’d label them ‘essential’ cards, but some of my favorites are Blink, Blaze, Jihad, Infernal Legion, and Panorama Manticore.
Blink and Blaze both increase mobility, which expands the area I can attack, or can be used for evasion, too.
Jihad is always lovely as it increases attack range in a way and improves power. Playing Jihad and Monstrous Lion to directly attack an enemy Avatar for 5 damage is always great.
Infernal Legion can provide some nice unexpected damage since it deals 3 damage at the end of my turn to other units, so it hopefully does something before my opponent can remove it.
Panorama Manticore is another high-power creature. I love the airborne and lethal combo, which makes it more difficult to attack.
Since I usually have a bit more mana than typical aggro decks, I can do combos like Jihad + Monstrous Lion, Infernal Legion + Blink, or Sir Pellinore + Warp Spasm in the same turn to help guarantee damage before my opponent can react.”
What are Some of Your Favorite Tactics to Use with this Deck?
Cassandra: "I included both the Ruby Core and Amethyst Core to help with threshold, since dual-color Pathfinder can sometimes make it difficult to achieve the thresholds I need with random site draws. I also included Blink because I appreciate mobility, and it can be useful for repositioning my Pathfinder to continue placing sites if I get boxed in.
Blaze is another of my favorite mobility cards - it can help me attack an unprotected site, with the bonus of killing weak minions along the way. I almost took Blaze out of the deck before playing at the Gauntlet, based on advice from some local players, but I added one back in after my husband was incredulous that I had removed them (Blaze is one of his most hated cards for me to play against him).
In the championship round of the Gauntlet, I drew that Blaze the turn I got my opponent to Death’s Door and was able to finish them off with it the next turn.
One of the deck’s strengths is that it doesn’t burn out as fast as a typical aggro deck, but the downside is that I typically can’t keep up with traditional aggro decks either. A strength of the Pathfinder is being able to play a site almost every turn, but the drawback is not being able to tactically place sites or choose thresholds when needed.
As I mentioned, it’s usually a bit slower than true aggro decks, but if I can outlast and control the board state early on, I can gain power and start doing damage once my opponent has played most of the cards out of their hand. It’s usually faster than the typical control deck, but it also has a surprising amount of mana, allowing me to play high-cost combos and deal significant damage in a turn that can’t be countered."
Final Thoughts and Future Plans
Cassandra: “It’s performed surprisingly well, especially considering it’s a Pathfinder deck. People were pretty surprised to see a Pathfinder in the Top 8 of the Golden State Gauntlet, which was cool and exciting for me. One play that was incredibly lucky happened when I was playing against my husband, and he had gotten me to Death’s Door.
He had Sir Lamorak positioned to suicide on one of my creatures the next turn and hit my avatar with his deathrite - but I played Cloud City with the Pathfinder ability and was able to move Cloud City into an adjacent void to get out of Lamorak’s range, allowing me to turn the game around and win.
I’ve been considering adding some site destruction, like Hamlet’s Ablaze, to this deck, but I’m also excited to try new Pathfinder variants too. I know Pathfinder isn’t usually the most competitive option, but I really love it and want to keep experimenting with it for now.”
Write Your Own Story at a Cornerstone Event
Cassandra’s journey from casual newcomer to a store champion is a great example of what Sorcery can be all about - discovering great art, finding your people, and forging your path through the realm.
As our Cornerstone organized play events ramp up at stores worldwide, now’s your chance to write your own story. With four events happening this weekend and more launching around the globe in early August, there’s never been a better time to jump in, meet your local community, and see where the realm takes you!
Find a Cornerstone event near you on the Sorcery Play Network now! It's time to Play!
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