Germany's Grand Contest Brings Sorcerers Together in Gelsenkirchen

Published 8 September 2026

This past weekend, 110 Sorcerers gathered in Gelsenkirchen for Germany’s 2026 Grand Contest, hosted by our friends at White Rabbit Community Game Store.

Players traveled from across Germany, elsewhere in Europe, and beyond, the weekend brought plenty of competition, but most importantly time together around the tables with fellow Sorcerers.

Watch the Finals on the White Rabbit Livestream

Seven Avatars Enter the Top 8

One of our favorite things about Grand Contests is seeing what players bring to the table, and Germany gave us a remarkably diverse Top 8.

Although Necromancer ultimately claimed the championship, no single Avatar dominated the Top 8. Archimago, Elementalist, Battlemage, Sorcerer, and Geomancer all fought their way into the final eight alongside a pair of Pathfinders.

That’s seven different Avatars among eight players, leaving plenty for competitors to consider as future Grand Contest’s approach. The Top 8 also gave us a Battlemage deck with the unforgettable name “Bling-bling Battleboy.” The gauntlet has officially been thrown, future competitors may need to bring not only a strong deck, but an equally inventive deck name!

At the time of the German Grand Contest, decklist tracking in the new Sorcery Events System was not yet available. Now that it’s live, organizers can require players to submit a decklist before checking in, with the system keeping a snapshot of the deck they submitted.

That should allow us to share more deck and metagame statistics from future events. For now, you can explore the Top 8 decklists from Germany below.

Top 8 Decklists

You can see the full German Grand Contest results here.

Niek Claims the German Grand Contest

After battling through the field, Niek V. piloted Necromancer all the way to the German Grand Contest title, defeating Jean-Baptiste F.’s Archimago in the final.

And that won’t be the last we see of Niek! He and the team at Aquila Games will be helping bring the Grand Contest experience to Belgium this December. Tickets are available now.

Congratulations, Niek!

Thank You, White Rabbit

A Grand Contest takes a lot of work behind the scenes, and we’re incredibly grateful to Heiner, Sascha, and the entire team at White Rabbit Community Game Store for welcoming Sorcerers to Gelsenkirchen and putting together such a memorable weekend. If you’ve ever attended a White Rabbit event, you’ll know the kind of welcoming experience they provide, and this weekend was no exception.

Thank you as well to the judges, volunteers, and everyone who gave their time to make the German Grand Contest possible.

And, of course, thank you to the 110 Sorcerers who showed up to play, compete, catch up with friends, and spend the weekend enjoying Sorcery together.

The Grand Contest Continues

Congratulations again to Niek, our German Grand Contest Champion, and to everyone who joined us in Gelsenkirchen!

The Grand Contest circuit rolls on, and Niek will find himself on the other side of the table later this year, helping the team at Aquila Games bring the Grand Contest experience to Belgium this December.

Germany’s Grand Contest in Gelsenkirchen on September 5–6 kicked off a busy month for Sorcery. Next up is SCG CON Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, from September 11–13, followed by the Grand Contest Prato at Magic Maze in Prato, Italy, on September 26–27.

We’ll see you at the next one!