We caught up with Sorcerer Jackson Hawkins, fresh off his victory at Vincon to hear about his winning deck “WindCon.” With all the excitment of the event, Jackson has been inspired to start his own Sorcery YouTube channel. In addition to his overview of his winning deck below, you can find a video with gameplay on his channel!
You can find Jackson's decklist here
"WinCon"
Deck Inspiration: What inspired you to create this deck? What theme or concept behind this deck do you think makes it stand out?
The Avatar of Air was the primary inspiration for this deck. I just find it incredibly fun and have dedicated my time since July to tuning a list using it. Its ability can unlock the potential of my spells and keep me out of harm's way. Where other avatars hit hard or have card advantage, Avatar of Air has a mobility and tempo advantage. This has let me create a pretty unique style of aggro and I believe a mono-element deck stands out amongst the currently multi-colored metagame. It is also important to note that this specific version of the list was designed for VinCon’s best-of-one environment.
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?
Free City: This site primarily acts as an obstacle for heavy hitter decks like Avatar of Earth and Battlemage. You can also use the Avatar of Air to push small minions onto the free city to use it as removal.
Phantasmal Shade: The heaviest hitter in the deck. Cards like Blink and Chain Lightning can help it land attacks unblocked.
Rolling Boulder: A bizarre card that is especially strong in the hands of the Avatar of Air. AoA’s ability to move without tapping means you can line up the boulder for maximum effect the same turn you push it. You can also summon the boulder directly into the hands of a minion so that it can be pushed toward a better site for you. This card is at its best when held until the turn you plan to push it, playing it early means your opponent can begin to play around it and potentially even push it before you.
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?
Build a board that benefits the strength of Air. Don’t feel pressured to build straight forward into your enemy. Play the voidwalk and airborne minions that can attack the back line and diagonally from the sides. Use the avatar’s ability preemptively to avoid grapple shots and teleporting Pudge Butchers. Play your minions atop or behind your avatar to avoid losing them to lightning and fire bolts. Then use your avatar’s ability to fly that minion into the enemy once they are ready to attack. Finally, keep your hand healthy. You don’t need to play a minion every turn. It is often stronger to hold onto some and keep using the small minions until the enemy is forced to use their big removal spells. Then drop the other minion and keep the pressure on.
Matchup Insights: How does your deck perform against popular archetypes in the game? Are there any particular matchups where it excels or struggles?
This is a versatile deck that often has many potential lines. The more you play, the more you see. It excels against slow decks and goes toe to toe against mid-range and other aggro. It can and has beaten everything from Avatar of Earth midrange to Sorcerer control. If you want a deck that has a chance against everything and always has tools at its disposal then I recommend my Mono-Air Aggro.
