Some druids walk on quiet paths through misty glades. Others carve their way through the realm itself.

, a Water/Fire build that earned him the title of Gen Con 2025 Crossroads Champion this past weekend.

As the first major tournament in the Crossroads circuit, this event helped define what top-level 

 can look like: an unforgettable blend of community and competition, yes, but also a showcase for player creativity in constructed deckbuilding.

With participants traveling from around the world, the sold-out 128-player event brought together veteran competitors, fearless innovators, and fresh challengers alike, all hoping to leave their mark on the grid and earn a place in 

 history as the champion of our first-ever Crossroads event.

In the end, Nate emerged victorious, and today, he’s sharing the insights behind the deck that helped him dominate the battlefield and claim the crown.

Explore Nate's Gen Con 2025 Crossroads Championship deck 

How long have you been playing Sorcery, and what drew you to the game?

“I was fortunate enough to get in on the ground floor - I backed the Kickstarter with my twin brother after catching a random Team Covenant stream. Like most, I was drawn in by the amazing art, but I also loved the physical, nuanced deckbuilding and tactile gameplay. It combined several of my hobbies in a way I couldn’t resist.

Being ‘early’ to explore a new meta has always interested me, and Sorcery’s launch gave me that opportunity. Finally, the chance to grow and help develop a new community at my local game store was very appealing, and as a result, I’ve met some awesome players and people! (Shout out to my Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas folks!)”

What was your goal with Hot Springs Druid? What kind of deck is it?

 “This has been a long journey to reach the deck I ultimately took to GenCon. I have always enjoyed decks that were very ‘on the board,’ meaning they leveraged clever positional strategy and minion interaction. With that in mind, I initially conceptualized the Water Fire "Hot Springs" Druid in December 2024 and have been refining it ever since. 

After the Arthurian Legends tournament and the success the site Pond provided me, allowing me to run an Air/Water deck with a single copy of Wyvern that I could cast every time I saw it, despite having zero Earth sites, I became very interested in leveraging Pond's power in a constructed format.

As I looked through the available beasts, I noticed a high concentration of powerful beasts that created incredible tempo when cheated out early in both Fire and Water. In addition to those beasts, access to some of the most powerful Uniques, which were highly impactful on their own but also offered strong synergy with other deck components. Finally, having water in the deck provided a unique advantage by offering protection against burrowing effects, which was the most prominent form of removal at the time due to the popularity of Earthquake and Bury. 

All of these factors came together to form a Swiss army knife of a deck - an early aggressive strategy supported by resilient, large minions in the early to midgame, culminating in high burst damage potential from a few two- or three-card combinations."

What are your primary goals when piloting this deck?

"I would categorize this as an Aggro deck, aiming to overwhelm in the early game, though that isn't its only aspect. Usually, the goal is to establish an early board presence by managing your opponents' early plays with the combination of Tawny, Desert, Vile Imp, or Quarrelsome Kobolds, and sneaking in some cheeky chip damage early. One of the key strengths of this deck is that it doesn't rely on 3 or 4 minions and then run out of pressure.

Instead, you can support your midgame with an early threat like a 5-power airborne or stealthed beast, or refill your hand with Morgana le Fay or Pact with the Devil (sacrificing Tawny). As I mentioned, it can serve as a kind of Swiss army knife, so the strategy can vary from game to game and hand to hand. Sometimes you'll work to facilitate a strong Ruler of Thul or Boudicca, which might cause you to play more conservatively than with a hand containing Jihaad and Monstrous Lion."

Which cards are essential to the deck’s success?

 “I would say that the most essential cards to this deck's success can be found not in the spellbook, but in the Atlas. The greedy threshold of this deck, with multiple double and triple affinity cards, requires a site composition that can allow you to play things on a curve and timely.



For this, I would say this deck very well may not exist without Floodplain, Pond, and finally the power of the Ordinary Fire Sites (the Deserts). Floodplain's ability to bridge the gap from one to two water thresholds enables significant consistency for several reasons. Most simply, it lets you play your water cards on time more consistently. The more nuanced benefit it provides is that it allows you to keep hands with only one water site (being Floodplain) to play your early Redcap Powries/Jihad, Disintegrates, and Polimorphs, as you will not have to draw a site to meet the 2 Water and 2 Fire thresholds, respectively.

Additionally, with the realm's defensive sites and constant infestation of Rootspiders, Floodplain's ability to flush the annoying arachnid from its hidey hole helps, or flooding a Perilous Bridge, allowing a Lugbog Cat to be summoned on top, really keeps the pressure up!

Pond, and ignoring the threshold of the next beast cast to it can allow you to continue to draw spells, rather than chase that second Fire for your turn 3 or 4 Monstrous Lion, and more spells, generally equals more ways to win.

Finally, the humble Ordinary Fire sites, the Deserts. The damage deserts provide is extremely strong on offense to kill enemy minions, but ironically, their Ordinary rarity provides much-needed protection from decks that attack threshold with Atlantean Fate or Peasant Revolt."

Are there any unique combos or tactics you love to use?

“This deck has reached some popularity since its inception ~9 months ago, and this win, so some of these combos may not seem very unique now, but I love them nonetheless!

My all-time favorite card in the deck, and an absolute "must remove" card, Sir Agravaine, in conjunction with... any attacker can provide you to push a ton of burst damage through blockers. Sir Agravaine going to war with 7 frogs is not only a hilarious image to imagine, but is also incredibly effective as the subsequent 7 attacks will trigger Sir Agravaine 7 times for 21 damage!

The recent Codex update provided some incredible boons for the list and Druid in particular, enabling cards like Selfsame Simulacrum to be run with more viability, at the bare minimum (or bear minimum in this case), copying a Bruin, resulting in two incredibly defensive bodies for 4 mana as they now don't both absorb the damage dealt to your Druid.


Finally, one of the latest additions is Polar Explorers. This card has single-handedly won me so many games (and you could argue even the finals of the Crossroads). 

Polar Explorers lets you infiltrate your opponents' back row, meaning their front-line defenses are null and void. Got a Redcap Powries in hand, but your opponent has a Pebbled Path in the middle of the board? No Problem! Play Redcap to your backline and charge backwards! Your opponent has a big minion out of range of your Pollimorph? Play Polar Explorers to the same site as Tawny, and fly the omniscient owl around the globe to get in range to commence frogification! 

I can not sing enough praise of the somewhat unassuming Polar Explorers."

Are there any specific cards you include or purposely left out of your deck?

“With defensive sites being all the rage in an Archimago meta and the deck being on fire, it is a safe assumption that an easy solution would be to include Smokestack of Gnaak. However, in my testing, I found the card did more harm to my game plan than to my opponents. With how much the deck relies on its sites' abilities, Smokestacks was cut from the deck less than 1 week to the Crossroads. Also, the determination that flooding was an ability provided to sites in the recent Codex meant that my Smokestacks would prevent my Geyser from drowning my opponents' burrowed minions (Root Spider), which was the final straw for the card.

In this iteration, I have Courtesan Thaïs, as the card is considered one of the better solutions while facing Archimago. While there were fewer archimago's than I anticipated, the card was paramount and instrumental in a few matches going my way.

Finally, my favorite tech card, Boneyard. With the anticipation of facing an abundance of Archimago, I know their decks don't generally run very many minions. Also, with access to Funeral Pyre and many of my hard removal banishing their minions, I found that it was reasonable to construct situations in which I could play a one-sided Boneyard to get a free charge unit, double dip on a powerful genesis (Morgana le Fay), or bring back a powerful passive effects (Boudicca/ Ruler of Thul).

Finally, with the concentration of charge units, it was reasonable to play Boneyard even if your opponent was going to get a minion, as they wouldn't be able to use it to block your charge unit, due to their having summoning sickness."

What do you see as the deck's main weakness?

"Like with anything in this game, some weaknesses can be exploited to Hot Springs' detriment. The largest being Water and Fire's lack of Aura and Artifact removal. In a meta that was more accommodating to Enchantress, I'm not sure Hot Springs would be viable, as they can comfortably play and utilize their auras to maximum effect.

With that being said, in most of my recent tournaments, I have noticed that two popular decks in this meta can give Hot Springs a problem consistently, Avatar of Air with Rolling Boulder, and the Mirror Match (yes, it's its own worst enemy) as in those tournaments I have been knocked out in the top 16 or higher by a fellow "Hot Springs" Druid enjoyers."

 “I am amazed by the success of Hot Springs Druid! I've seen versions of it in the top seats of almost every tournament since its rise in popularity. I think the deck has an extremely high floor, meaning it is comprised of cards that can construct a win even when not firing on all cylinders, but in the hands of someone who has dug into the minutiae of potential interactions, outcomes, and variance, the deck's potential ceiling is one of the highest in the game. 

I think there were a few turns in the final match at the Crossroads that will go down as my all-time favorite plays, as they were pretty nuanced, but I won't spoil those - you'll need to watch the finals gameplay for yourself!

In its current state, I feel the list runs very well and is pretty tuned. That being said, one of the beauties of card games like Sorcery is that you can't get complacent, so I try to consider meta when landing on a list. I know I mentioned it once before, but building decks is almost as much fun to me as playing them. In that vein, I am always excited to test new things out! (Looking at you, 

Write Your Own Story at a Crossroads Event

Nate’s victory at Gen Con was just the first step in this year’s Crossroads journey. Five more events will put players to the test, with the next stop in the 

. From there, the circuit travels to Australia and across the United States, ending in Las Vegas this November.

Think you have what it takes to claim a title of your own?

See the full Crossroads schedule and start your story here: 

sorcerytcg.com/organized-play?tab=crossroads

Gen Con 2025 Crossroads: Champion Deck Breakdown

There are moments that remind us why we do what we do.

This year at Gen Con, we were deeply moved and more than a little overwhelmed by the passion, excitement, and support from the 

From the first players in line on Thursday morning to the final event wrap-ups on Sunday evening, it was a weekend we’ll never forget.

We came to Indianapolis to unveil something special: 

, our boldest and most experimental release yet. A limited box filled with draconic might and the visionary art of Ed Beard Jr., it was met with incredible enthusiasm far beyond what we could have even imagined. We were blown away by the excitement and humbled by the demand for reproductions of Ed’s hand-painted creations.

To mark the occasion, Ed recorded a personal message on the final day of the convention to thank everyone who supported 

 and made the weekend so meaningful. From heartfelt conversations to long lines for signatures, your support for our artists means the world to us.

In the event hall, the focus may have been on tactical gameplay, but it was clear that folks came ready for fun. While we had packed events throughout the event, and our first Crossroads Championship brought together 128 skilled players for a day of fierce competition, memorable moments, and genuine camaraderie. Congratulations to all who participated, and to our finalists for their incredible performances!

You can explore the Gen Con 2025 Crossroads Championship Top 8 Decklists below:

Events like this offer a valuable snapshot of how players are building and piloting decks, and we’re still actively combing through the data we have. While this is just one of six Crossroads events, it serves as a helpful touchpoint, validating some of our internal views, surfacing unexpected innovations, and helping shape the future of 

We’re always excited when we have new insights to digest, and this event, coupled with the Crossroads events to come, will give us plenty to explore.


Across the 128 decklists entered into the Crossroads Championship, several standout cards emerged acrossed the Crossroads Championship. With 

 cards available, we’ve come a long way since our first 

We continue to see the prevalence of cards that require little or no elemental threshold, Ring of Morrigan and Torshammer Trinket being prime examples. Not only do they synergize well with each other, but they also slot seamlessly into Druid decks (see: the fearsome Torshammar Tawny!). Similarly, Ring of Morrigan finds tremendous value in recycling Trinket, creating a loop of replaceable pressure.

Cards like Daperyll Vampire and Grim Guisarme have understandably surged in popularity following the recent update allowing strikes to target sites. These changes ushered in a more midrange, minion-heavy tournament environment, which allowed 

 cards like Swap and Day of Judgement were available in this Crossroads event, they were often manually added in primers or noted outside the standard decklist form. We’re still taking a closer peek at how their inclusion may have influenced deckbuilding, as Swap in particular has the potential to turn long-standing staples into liabilities when played into the realm.

When it comes to Atlas cards, adaptability is king. Valley of Delight and Mirror Realm outshone the Towers - a testament to the importance of being able to meet element thresholds and adapt on the battlefield.

One of the most exciting aspects of events like this is seeing which Avatars players choose to bring into the fray, and what that says about 

Across 128 participants, natured called and the Druid led the pack by a large margin, with 29 players opting to harness the power of nature’s wrath. Following closely were Sorcerer (17), Battlemage (12), and Elementalist (9), each offering their strengths and weaknesses. All Avatars except the Spellslinger, Dragonlord, Avatar of Fire, and Avatar of Water saw play.

We can’t wait to see the community dive deeper into the findings from this event. Thanks to Gen Con volunteer David C. (Floating Skull), the Gen Con Crossroads event data has been collected and is available now in the 

 Discord’s #gen-con channel. If you’re analyzing decklists, breaking down trends, or sharing gameplay from the event, be sure to post your videos and insights in the 

Behind the Scenes: Artists, Volunteers, and Partners


, both artistically and personally, continue to shape the soul of the game. Jeff was a joy to have at the booth, and you couldn’t ask for a better combination of talent, kindness, and industry wisdom. Keep an eye out of his work in our upcoming set, 

thank you for welcoming players, running demos, organizing events, and doing the thousand unseen things that keep our booth and events running. Your dedication is what turns a busy convention into a warm and inviting community space. And it’s safe to say, there is nothing at Gen Con quite like the 

We return from Gen Con humbled, grateful, and inspired to keep building something extraordinary.

Whether you joined us in Indianapolis or cheered us on from afar, thank you. 

is more than a game. It’s a gathering of stories, and we’re thrilled to have you as a part of our tale.

Stay tuned for more updates on our upcoming events at SCGCon and Pax Australia.

Gen Con 2025 Recap: Thank you for An Unforgettable Weekend

Relive the epic finals of the Gen Con 2025 Crossroads Championship as Nate “Duo” Smith battles Fuenfrappe in a high-stakes Druid vs. Druid showdown. Truly a masterclass in top-level 

Once you’ve enjoyed the battle, don’t miss our 

 for a full breakdown of the winning list - spoiler warning!

Gameplay: Gen Con 2025 Crossroads Championship Finals Match

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Gen Con 2025 Crossroads: Champion Deck Breakdown

Gen Con 2025 Recap: Thank you for An Unforgettable Weekend