The avatars of Sorcery: Contested Realm serve as your personas for exploring the Contested Realm, and it's not a decision to be made lightly! They determine how you explore and interact with the Contested Realm and are a pivotal piece of not only tying together the mechanical aspects of your deck but also the narrative experience. Will you be a shrouded Battlemage, aggressively scouring the void for artifacts of exceptional power? Or maybe you wish to take a more nefarious route with the Deathspeaker playing with the boundaries of death itself?
No matter which Avatar you select, there's a whole realm to explore! To aid in this exploration, we caught up with Adam "Zalem" Ray, the owner of GamesAhoy, to talk about how to build an Enchantress deck, a powerful avatar able to manipulate the magic of the realm to their desire!
You can view Zalem's full deck list on Sorcery TCG's official deck-building site Curiosa.io
Q: Deck Inspiration: What inspired you to create this deck? What theme or concept behind this deck do you think makes it stand out?
I come from a background in competitive TCG background, and I almost always played a control deck of some form whenever a new set was released. It is recommended to play "aggro" decks at these times since you never really know what to prepare for with your control "toolbox" in a new meta, but I loved the challenge of deckbuilding against the odds and the rewarding feeling that followed after performing well in early tournaments. I've always loved control in TCGs, but Sorcery makes control strategies very difficult since there aren't many ways to respond to an opponent on their turn. I saw that as a worthy challenge!
Q: 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?
I wanted to discover what a control deck might look like in an environment where you can't reliably prevent your opponent from doing what they want to do. Burn was the obvious choice early on, but Enchantress stole my heart with her uniqueness and her ability to surprise and confuse opponents who simply weren't prepared to play against such an unconventional effect, namely the animation of auras into oversized minions.
The key cards in Enchantress Control are the auras, of course, but also the draw effects that enable you to access those auras. Everything else is either mana ramp or control. Cards like Apprentice Wizard and Grandmaster Wizard are crucial for delving further into the deck or replenishing resources, but Wildfire and Thunderstorm are the stars of the show! Both of these auras can deal damage during the turn they enter the realm and are highly likely to remain in the realm until their controller's next turn. Enchantress can then animate one or more of them for devastating returns simply by casting spells.
In this deck, Wildfire and Thunderstorm can remove minions, protect sites, attack sites, or finish Avatars at Death's Door, all while evading many of the common removal spells in the current meta, such as Bury, Drown, and Earthquake. Wildfire occupies one site but has mobility. Thunderstorm occupies four sites, some of which can be land, while others are water. This means that both can be strategically positioned to avoid drown and bury effects!
Q: 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?
Patience is important when playing Enchantress. Sites should be played horizontally to delay aggressive starts from the opponent but also to set up a perfect 2x2 area of sites in the corner on which a mana-rich Abundance aura can be played should it be drawn. Most of the payoff spells in this deck require four or more mana to cast, so controlling the game in the early turns is crucial. Eight mana is usually a sweet spot for Enchantress Control, and laying the groundwork for an effective assault on the opponent usually requires many turns of defensive maneuvers.
Q: Matchup Insights: How does your deck perform against popular archetypes in the game? Are there any particular matchups where it excels or struggles?
Enchantress Control can be a powerful deck in practiced hands against most of the popular decks in the current meta. Most decks have trouble finding answers to auras, but decks that harness the power of Common Sense to easily fetch a Dispel or Disenchant can put a damper on progress at very little cost. Battlemage Aggro is another deck that Enchantress can struggle against in many matchups since it can quickly close the gap between its Avatar and the Enchantress, making both Wildfire and Thunderstorm less impactful or dangerous to play in any offensive manner.
Enchantress is my favorite Avatar, and I hope all who try it remember to have fun and keep playing!
You can view Zalem's full deck list on Sorcery TCG's official deck-building site Curiosa.io.
Join in the discussion of the Enchantress in the Sorcery: Contested Realm Facebook group.
