Lindsey Crummett

On August 15-16, the Auckland Card Show, New Zealand’s largest gathering of its kind, returned with players, artists, collectors, and gaming communities from across the region.

For Sorcery, the weekend marked its largest event to date in New Zealand. There was original artwork on display, the New Zealand Grand Contest to be decided, and plenty of people encountering the game for the first time.

As part of the Auckland Card Show’s scavenger hunt, visitors to the Sorcery booth were asked to open a pack and offer their best wolf howl. Those willing to answer the call received a Grey Wolf promo and another stamp in their show book.

It did not take much convincing! People got into it, and soon howls could reportedly be heard well beyond the booth.

For plenty of visitors, the scavenger hunt brought them to Sorcery for the first time. Once there, they opened their packs, looked over the original artwork on display, asked questions about the game, and sat down at the tables to play.

The centerpiece of the weekend for Sorcery was the New Zealand Grand Contest, which brought together 43 players from across New Zealand and Australia. The Constructed competition began Saturday, with the Top 8 returning Sunday morning to determine the New Zealand Grand Contest champion.

And there was still plenty of Sorcery to come. In addition to the on-demand Learn to Play sessions, 13 teams, totaling 39 players, returned to the tables Sunday afternoon for Team Sealed.

Across the 43-player tournament, 19 different Avatars made their way to the tables. Necromancer was the most-played Avatar with six players, followed by Geomancer and Sorcerer with four each. Beyond those most popular choices, the field quickly opened up, with 16 other Avatars represented by three or fewer players.

Seven of those Avatars made it all the way to the Top 8. Geomancer was the only Avatar to appear twice, joined by Deathspeaker, Imposter, Avatar of Air, Persecutor, Savior, and Bladedancer.

Daniel “Henchmen” Mackenzie - Deathspeaker

In the end, it was Daniel “Henchmen” Mackenzie and his Deathspeaker who emerged victorious, earning the title of 2026 New Zealand Grand Contest Champion. Congratulations, Henchmen! Full coverage of the championship match, featuring commentary from Erik’s Curiosa, will be released later this week.

Sorcery artist Lindsey Crummett joined the show following Saturday’s tournament, with a line of players and collectors waiting to meet her. Throughout the weekend, Lindsey signed cards and prints, talked with visitors, and met plenty of people familiar with her work from across Sorcery.

Original Sorcery artwork was also on display at the booth, including pieces many visitors had only ever seen reproduced on cards. Among them was a new painting from Paul Carrick, the latest artist to join Sorcery, whose first piece will appear in 

And some of the artwork stepped right off the cards.

Cosplayers could be spotted throughout the Auckland Card Show dressed as familiar characters from Sorcery, including a wandering Druid, Ironclad, and Persecutor. Even the humble Monk depicted in 

 made an appearance. Naturally, he spent the event handing out rocks.

Crowning a Grand Contest champion did not mean the end of play. On Sunday afternoon, 13 teams of three returned to the tables for Team Sealed, with two players needing to win their matches to secure the round for their team. Among them were groups of friends, community members, Erik’s Curiosa staff, and families. For Sorcery Game and Graphic Designer Sean Goodison, the event became an unexpected opportunity to share the game with his two brothers.

“Only a week before the event, my two brothers, one older and one younger, let me know they were both coming up and were going to play in Team Sealed,” Sean shared. “I was very excited. This was the first time in their lives they’d ever gone out to play a game even semi-competitively.”

“They’ve only ever played games with very close friends and family, the literal definition of kitchen-table players,” Sean said.

“And it was great. Just a great afternoon of cracking some packs and building some decks.”

Sean’s younger brother had also celebrated his birthday shortly before the event and, while opening packs with his brothers, pulled a Merlin.

Sean wasn’t the only member of Erik’s Curiosa to get into the action. Several other members of the team joined the field, including Founder and Creative Director Erik Olofsson and members of the Sorcery design team and staff.

Rumor has it that Erik Olofsson’s team left Auckland undefeated. Consider that a challenge for the 

The 2026 Organized Play season heads into a busy September, beginning with SCG CON Dallas from September 4–6 and 

 from September 5–6. The action continues at 

Wherever the road takes you next, we’ll see you at the tables.

Mastery, Creativity, and Wonder at the New Zealand Grand Contest

Today we’re revealing the Frost Mage, the second of two Avatars headlining 

, releasing worldwide on November 13, 2026. Where the Lavamancer looks to turn up the heat, the Frost Mage aims to knock the competition out cold.

Let’s break the ice and take a closer look at what the Frost Mage brings to the realm.

For those who’d rather win the long game than force it, the Frost Mage is a study in patience. While the Lavamancer wants to tear the board apart, the Frost Mage wants to lock it down, one frozen minion at a time. As a master of ice, you don’t need to destroy your opponent’s threats outright, you just need to make sure they never get to use them. Every turn, your Avatar ability lets you encase a nearby minion in ice, disabling it and preventing it from taking damage until your next turn. Will you use this to shut down your opponent’s minions or to protect your own?

Here’s where the Frost Mage deck stops looking passive and starts looking dangerous. Encasing minions in ice buys you time, but Shatter is where that time turns into tempo. For a single mana, Shatter rewards careful planning by destroying disabled minions outright.

Aria Wraith, which you might have spotted in the background of our Painting the Realm preview, is an example of the kind of payoff the deck can build towards. She slips onto the board with Stealth, patient as the ice itself, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The Frost Mage’s Spellbook rewards cunning over brute force. Each minion encased in ice becomes another opportunity to dictate the pace of the game, forcing your opponent to play on your terms.

 continues Sorcery’s philosophy of unparalleled quality with a premium magnetic-closing box built for play, travel, and storage.

The custom foam insert keeps everything secure during travel while removing the foam provides enough room to comfortably store both decks fully sleeved, making it the perfect home for your 

 collection long after your first contests.

The two decks feature 69 never-before-seen cards, giving veteran Sorcerers exciting tools to explore while offering new players a complete introduction to 

These cards feature the work of both returning Sorcery artists and creators making their debut in the Realm. Among them is The White Death, illustrated by recently announced Sorcery artist Paul Carrick, marking his first contribution to 

Premium magnetic-closing storage box with custom foam insert

Frost Mage vs. Lavamancer arrives worldwide on November 13, 2026 through your favorite local game store.

Whether you’re introducing a friend to Sorcery or discovering 69 brand-new cards for the first time, Frost Mage vs. Lavamancer is designed to be picked up, played, and enjoyed straight out of the box.

Ask your local game store about pre-ordering your copy today. If you’re a retailer looking to carry Sorcery, visit our retailer page to connect with your preferred distribution partner to learn how to bring Frost Mage vs. Lavamancer to your community.

Then join us on launch day as players around the world unleash these new Avatars onto the Realm, and watch some of the world’s best Sorcerers put them to the test live at Avatar of the Realm.

Find out more about Frost Mage vs. Lavamancer 

Meet the Frost Mage: Frost Mage vs. Lavamancer

We wanted to give you advance notice of an upcoming change to the Sorcery Play Network.  As Sorcery continues to grow, we’ve made the decision to move the 

Sorcery Play Network to our own tournament platform.

Carde.io has been an important partner in building and supporting the Play Network over the years, and we’re incredibly grateful for their work and support as we take this next step. 

This transition will begin later this week, with the new platform expected to come online August 31.

To make this transition, the Sorcery Play Network will go offline beginning 

During this window, the following Sorcery services will be unavailable:

Sorcery Shop will also go offline beginning August 28

 and is expected to remain unavailable for approximately two weeks.

Our priority is to preserve the information that players and organizers need while making the transition as smooth as possible. If the downtime needs to be extended, we’ll share updates with the community.

Cornerstone event scheduled on the Sorcery Play Network between Friday, August 28 and August 31

, we’ll contact you directly using the email address associated with the account hosting the event.

If you’re running a regular local event or casual meetup during the downtime, you can still run your event, but you’ll need to manage it manually while the Sorcery Play Network is offline.

We’ll have more to share about the new Sorcery Play Network as we bring the platform online, including what players can expect from the transition. We’ll also be sharing additional details directly with stores and organizers, including information about accessing and using the new platform.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we make the move. We look forward to welcoming you to the new Sorcery Play Network soon!

Important Updates on the Sorcery Play Network

Scheduled Downtime

Cornerstone Events During the Transition

What Comes Next

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Mastery, Creativity, and Wonder at the New Zealand Grand Contest

Meet the Frost Mage: Frost Mage vs. Lavamancer