Updates:

8/30

CORNERSTONE RESULTS

Went 3-1 again in the swiss rounds and lost in the Semis

R1 Steam Druid - Win - On the play

R2 Mono Air Avatar of Air - Win - On the draw

R3 Steam Druid - Loss - On the draw

R4 Mono Air Avatar of Air - Win - On the play

Top 4 Cut

Quarterfinals Fire/Earth Sorcerer - Win - On the play

Semis Air/Water Druid - Loss - On the play

My first loss was mostly due to me playing a water site in the corner in an attempt to funnel most charge minions in the center but losing out to a [[Lugbog Cat]] that I wasn't able to deal with.

Second loss my opponent had an amazing start being on the draw, getting 2 cores and essentially getting perfect threshold by turn 2 while being ahead of me a full turn My next few draws were essentially bricks, getting [[Screaming Skull]], [[Grim Guisarme]], and [[Daperyll Vampire]]. Pair the lackluster draws with a very lackluster [[Browse]], I wasn't able to find the answers to deal with my opponent's early ramp.

8/23

CORNERSTONE RESULTS

Ended up going 3-1 in the Swiss rounds and won in the finals.

R1 Earth/Water Druid - Win - On the draw

R2 Earth/Air Geomancer - Win - On the play

R3 Steam Druid Loss - On the play

R4 Earth/Air/Fire Pathfinder - Win - On the play

Top 4 Top Cut

Semis Fire/Air [[Ignis Rex]] Dragonlord Win - On the draw

Finals Earth/Air Geomancer - Win - On the play

8/2

GENCON RESULTS

Ended up going 5-2 in the Crossroads event.

R1 Elementalist - Win - On the play

R2 Steam Druid - Win - On the draw

R3 Air/Earth Avatar of Air - Loss - On the draw

R4 Mono Air Sparkmage - Win - On the draw

R5 Steam Druid - Win - On the play

R6 Birds Avatar of Air - Loss - On the draw

R7 Air/Water Avatar of Air - Win - On the draw

I had prepared the deck to have better odds against Druid/Archimago and unfortunately got paired against Avatar of Air multiple times while also being on the draw for the majority of our games. Playing against AOA while on the draw is the worst matchup for this deck based on previous data due to both of us trying to establish tempo early in the game, and typically ends up going to whoever ends up being on the play.

First loss was against last years Gencon Winner and was mainly due to being too passive with our cards in hand for fear of early [[Rolling Boulders]] and [[Earthquake]]. Opponent played multiple [[Pudge Butcher]] by turn 7 as well as turn 2 [[Perilous Bridge]] into [[Highland Princess]] for [[Ring of Morrigan]]. Opponent also played early [[Shield Maidens]] which complicated a lot of the early turns. We drew mostly [[Lugbog Cat]] in the early game with multiple [[Tactical Move]] so unfortunately the [[Pudge Butcher]] and [[Dalcean Phalanx]] were too much to deal with.

Second loss our opponent played [[Perilous Bridge]] turn 2 again and maintained tempo throughout the game playing only Airborne minions and getting [[Rolling Boulder]] on turn 4 to deal with our turn 3 [[Lugbog Cat]]. Opponent also played 2 [[Sinkhole]] while staying at 4-5 mana for those turns and having the perfect draw/removal for any of our threats. Did not get any early [[Troll Bridge]], [[Sugarplum Pixies]], or kills spells to deal with the early aggressive board and lost to opponent consistently top decking answers to keep the tempo.

Very frustrating to be OTD against 3 different minion heavy AOA considering the majority of the field was Druid. Did not play against any decks that did end up 6-1 or better.

7/17

Going all in on the double strike package adding in 2 [[Mask of Mayhem]] and removing 1 copy of [[Flaming Sword]] and [[The Black Plague]]. Also switching out [[Philosopher's stone]] in favor of [[Amethyst Core]], main reason being that with the higher artifact count in the list the deck needs more mana and not mana discounts. Also changing out 2 [[Watchtower]] for 2 [[Lookout]]. I am taking a gamble in case my opponent plays [[Infiltrate]] on my [[Daperyll Vampire]], but hopefully with the 2 extra [[Lookout]] I can play around the opponent's early and midgame and know when to press my advantage and when to hold back. Removing [[Smokestacks of Gnaak]] and [[Valley of Delight]] for a set of [[Wizard's Den]]. The deck has multiple ways to get around defensive sites like [[Perilous Bridge]] and with [[Free City]] now becoming less relevant due to recent rules changes, we can opt for more card advantage with the extra draw, at worst it's a card filter but at best we can get our finishers when we need them and get more information earlier in the game.

7/12

Recent rules changes involving [[Battlemage]] and being able to proc strikes on sites have encouraged a more artifact heavy version of the deck. [[Flaming Sword]] was in previous iterations of the deck but fell out of favor, now that there is the potential to draw multiple cards off a single attack with [[Battlemage]] the sword is back in town. Adding another copy of [[Daperyll Vampire]] since she can now heal off of sites which is a huge change. And finally, adding [[Grim Guisarme]] to take advantage of the double damage that we can get off with our avatar. Definitely a gamble against minion heavy decks but against slower decks that rely on spot removal for our minions, the [[Grim Guisarme]] allows us more burst with less minions on the board.

6/15

Recent match losses at events mainly due to not being able to deal with 4 power minions as more people are playing cards like [[Monstrous Lion]], [[Askelon Phoenix]] and just red charge minions in general. Adding in 3 copies of [[Torshammar Trinket]] and removing [[Maddening Bells]] for better trades for our 3 power minions as well as some additional damage when the board is clear. Adding [[Watchtower]] to also help with Stealth and [[Infiltrate]]. Also adding [[Troll Bridge]] in place of [[Broceliande]] and [[Babbling Brook]], very useful to circumvent early [[Tawny]] damage as well as keeping the opponent at bay while we set up big swings that include swinging with [[Battlemage]].

6/12

While [[A Midsummer Night's Dream]] is powerful against mortal heavy decks, [[The Black Plague]] is almost always useful. Getting to deal with early minions from across the board and being able to kill solo big minions in the midgame provides more utility throughout the game. Also removing [[Maddening Bells]] to play [[Whirling Blades]]. Very powerful potential board clear magic that can swing the game when paired with [[Daperyll Vampire]].

6/11

Faeries were useful at the time when less people were playing fire decks but with many of the early game interactions against fire being really unfavored now, early minions like [[Tooth Faeries]] and [[Ribble Boggart]] don't get to live long enough to earn their value. And cards like [[Nelly Longarms]] and [[Sir Pelleas]] just didn't feel impactful enough when on the backfoot so the minion base is being changed for [[Daperyll Vampire]] for some much needed lifegain, and [[Polar Explorers]]. Having [[Polar Explorers]] in hand near the start of the game allows us to play our sites more defensively while still being able to mount a good offense when we decide to get to the other side of the board.

5/23

The main reason for losses in the deck have been troublesome sites, mainly [[Gnome Hollows]] and [[Free City]], and powerful artifacts and auras like early [[Angels Egg]] or [[Jihad]] and [[Ring of Morrigan]] so adding in two [[Disenchants]] and one [[Smokestacks of Gnaak]] and keeping the one [[Maddening Bells]].

5/22

Removing [[The Faerie Queene]] and 1 [[Screaming Skull]] and adding 2 [[Maddening Bells]]. [[The Faerie Queene]] was very lackluster in this list and at 3 power was very susceptible to getting removed with any removal spell i.e. [[Lightning Bolt]], [[Magic Missiles]], or [[Firebolts]]. Lately I've seen more and more [[Archimago]] players and I've been consistently losing to [[Ring of Morrigan]] so [[Maddening Bells]] is meant to assist more in these matchups and will be played similarly to how [[Avatar of Air]] uses them with cheap fliers and [[Phase Assassin]] as the carriers of it.

05/13

Adding [[Phase Assassin]] back in and removing [[Sir Tom Thumb]] and 2 [[Hounds of Ondaros]]. Sir Tom could never really be played turn 1 and playing [[Phase Assassin]] turn 2 will always be the stronger play, and almost all the other Air lists are running [[Perilous Bridge]] so this helps getting consistent damage in as well. [[Tactical Move]] for a quick Stealth refresh is also very useful.

Compared to the Shrink the Frog list that won SorceryCon this list is a lot more minion heavy going from 22 to 26 minions and reducing the number of artifacts and magics. Another major change is the minion base and I've removed [[Phase Assassin]], [[Highland Falconer]], [[Palliburrie Bats]], and [[Merlin]]. Replacing them for a myriad of Faerie type minions giving the deck a better early game and also benefitting from cards like [[Brocéliande]], which also benefits our beast type minions, and [[A Midsummer Night's Dream]].

From the magics I've removed cards like [[Degradation]] and [[Attack by Night]]. I've also upped the number of [[Tactical Move]] since it's just as useful as [[Grapple Shot]] in this minion heavy version of the deck.

Pros & Cons of [[Battlemage]]

Pros:

Highest starting power of any Avatar
Can't be targeted by hard removal spells i.e. ([[Bury]], [[Drown]], [[Banish]], [[Chaos Twister]])
Great target to hold and keep artifacts due to resiliency
Excels at early damage

Cons:

Weak to direct damage, especially against Charge Minions and damage Spells like [[Firebolts]], [[Craterize]], [[Arcane Barrage]]
Requires mobility from spells to get around the realm, no movement spells = Snailmage
Starts to lose advantage against draw based Avatars by turn 5-6 i.e. [[Sorcerer]], [[Geomancer]], [[Pathfinder]]
Hindered greatly by sites like [[Free City]], [[Gnome Hollows]], and [[Perilous Bridge]]

SPELLS

ARTIFACTS

[[Aquamarine Core]], [[Mix Aer]], and [[Philosopher's Stone]] allows you to begin moving your [[Battlemage]] earlier due to not tapping as often for Sites. These artifacts accelerate your deck and help with outpacing your opponent.

[[Ring of Morrigan]] is the powerhouse staple artifact of the format. This gives [[Battlemage]] a damage boost and can turn the tempo around immediately upon being played, especially with the Magics that are available within Air and Water. Because you will most likely be around the center of the board or on your opponents side of the realm, you'll be able to ping anything for much needed life gain.

[[Screaming Skull]] is the perfect pairing for [[Battlemage]] as it works in tandem with the [[Battlemage]] passive and can generate additional card advantage/board advantage if you can checkers your way through your opponents weaker minions.

[[Mix Aer]] is preferred over [[Four Waters of Paradise]] due to the mana cost difference. Since the majority of the spells in the deck are air and cost 3 or less, [[Mix Aer]] is definitely more efficient. You typically wouldn't want this in your opening hand unless you know you can have a big turn 2-3 after cracking the [[Mix Aer]].

AIR

MINIONS

Faeries are now taking over this deck and the first one to highlight is [[Tooth Faeries]]. 2 power airborne for 2 is already above rate and it's additional effect of tapping nearby enemy units can force your opponent to position their minions differently since tapping them would remove their ability to block. This really helps with early interaction because you can hit your opponents site with the [[Tooth Faeries]] on turn 3 and shoot a potential [[Magic Missiles]] or [[Grapple Shot]] without being body blocked by [[Tooth Faeries]]. [[Gyre Hippogriffs]] are still a staple in almost any Air deck because of the immediate value it provides with Charge. Pairing this with an early [[Mix Aer]] or [[Pond]] and you get ahead on the board and can get an early life lead. With [[Ring of Morrigan]] being so strong it's important to get this out as often as possible, and [[Highland Princess]] helps us tutor our favorite 1 cost artifact. While there are 3 other options to take with [[Highland Princess]], you will almost always be grabbing [[Ring of Morrigan]] because of how powerful [[Ring of Morrigan]] is in either swinging games back in our favor or getting so ahead off of the extra damage value that our opponent is permanently behind on the board. New flex minion added to the deck is [[Hounds of Ondaros]]. Because this minion is a beast type there is a way to cheat it out early with [[Pond]]. This unit is very durable because it doesn't die to [[Earthquake]], [[Atlantean Fate]], or other displacement type spells. [[Hounds of Ondaros]] also provides extra utility by revealing nearby Stealth units such as [[Morgana La Fey]] and [[Phase Assassin]].

MAGICS

[[Grapple Shot]] is your bread and butter in this deck because it accomplishes your main goals, additional movement and extra damage. Being able to drag your [[Battlemage]] across the board to deal direct damage is great because the struck unit does not strike back and your [[Battlemage]] is free to attack again. You would normally reserve this for extra damage on your opponent, but if using [[Grapple Shot]] as a removal spell keeps you ahead on the board it's better to use it for that purpose. [[Tactical Move]] is another great Air Spell from the AL Set due to how basic it's ability is. Additional movement on any of your units is immediate board presence and the fact that [[Tactical Move]] allows you to move any number of your units in any region two steps is massive for only 2 mana and a single threshold. This is a step above [[Blink]] that is limited to only a single unit. Even though [[Tactical Move]] doesn't replace itself, it's effect alone is strong enough to be worth it especially because many of your units have Airborne that can move across the entire realm. The fact that you can do this as well as moving your [[Battlemage]] to an enemy minion for potential card draw is massive. Next we have [[Browse]]. [[Browse]] is one of Air's strongest spells that will almost guarantee a new useful card in hand, and the second portion of [[Browse]] is now relevant because of [[Kelp Cavern]]. And finally we have [[Feast for Crows]], another OP card in the right hands. At worst this Spell lets you see your opponents hand and entire Spellbook, which is immense value for only 3 mana, but if you have experience in a plethora of matchups you'll have a higher success rate of naming relevant cards. A few staple cards to name can be [[Common Sense]] or [[Earthquake]] for most Earth decks, [[Grapple Shot]] or [[Magic Missile]] in most Air decks, [[Vile Imp]] or [[Firebolts]] in most Fire decks, or [[Atlantean Fate]] against Water decks. You can also name your opponent's potential win conditions such as [[Craterize]], [[Arcane Barrage]], or [[Major Explosion]]. [[Feast for Crows]] targets definitely vary depending on the Avatar your opponent is using so the more experience you have, the better your decisions for naming cards will be.

AURAS

[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]] is one of the new additions included in the Faerie Package. This is a very situational Aura and is dependent on having a Faerie on the board so it can potentially be a dead card in hand. However, against a deck that utilizes foot soldiers or a lot of the AL Sir's this aura is board breaking. Even if you don't have a Faerie on the board you can still flash disable Mortals such as [[Morgana La Fey]] to remove Stealth and banish [[Phase Assassin]] in the Void. And if your opponent has some sort of effect that allows them to burrow or submerge their Mortals you can kill them that way as well.

WATER

MINIONS

[[Sugarplum Pixies]] is among the new additions to the deck's Faerie Package and after testing against most decks in the meta this is probably our most useful Faerie type minion. Being able to untap a nearby ally including our [[Battlemage]] makes the Charge effect that opponents have essentially halved since we can defend against the majority of Charge minions with our Avatar or another minion besides [[Sugarplum Pixies]]. Another added benefit from this minion is that we can continue to race against aggressive decks while keeping more potential blockers after attacking. Another Faerie addon to the deck is [[Ribble Bogart]]. Because it only requires a single water threshold we can almost always get this minion out early with a tower on turn 2. While this minion does not have any inherent resilience to the majority of removal spells, if our opponent doesn't deal with it immediately in the early game, it can definitely snowball with the right rolls. Potentially getting 12 damage turn 3 if you roll +3 power and have [[Grapple Shot]] in hand, or even 18 damage if you have the miracle [[Brocéliande]]. For the last Faerie addon we have [[Nelly Longarms]]. This minion is mostly used as a deterrent to keep your opponent from playing along the same row but can also be quite flexible when you pair her with a well timed [[Tactical Move]], dragging a minion or even the opposing Avatar from a difficult spot like a [[Free City]] or a [[Gnome Hollows]]. Next we have [[Lugbog Cat]]. At 4-power and the ability to be played on an opponent's water site this is a step above the already amazing 3 cost minion [[Autumn Unicorn]] and outclasses most minions before turn 5 and beyond. [[Questing Beast]] is just a great beater of a minion at 5 power, and while the Lethal ability on it is negligible, the Stealth on it makes it a powerhouse with having inherent movement at the end of your turn. Pair this with a [[Grapple Shot]] and you can deal half of your opponents life in a single turn from just these two cards. [[Ruler of Thul]] is still your All-Star minion in this deck. It pumps not only your minions but also your [[Battlemage]] +1 power and connects the top and bottom realm for your units only, allowing your units to rush to your opponent's sites/units in their backline. On top of this, [[Ruler of Thuul]] has charge. So he provides an immediate benefit in damage, mobility, and buffs.

MAGICS

Water gives you access to great tempo swinging combat tricks in the form of [[Shrink]] and [[Pollimorph]]. These spells help keep your [[Battlemage]] healthy and ahead on board because while clearing your opponent's board because you won’t be taking as much damage and you’ll be drawing for every minion you attack and kill. [[Pollimorph]] is meant for minions that are harder to kill, i.e. airborne. This spell also banishes the minion and cannot be interacted with later on in the game via [[Deathspeaker]]/[[Pillar of Zeiros]]. [[Shrink]] is meant for higher power units that are +4 power, but can also be used on lower power units in case you want to preserve more life throughout the game. One thing to keep in mind is that both [[Shrink]] and [[Pollimorph]] become cheap kill Spells when you have a [[Ring of Morrigan]] on your [[Battlemage]] being able to ping and kill on cast.

AURAS

[[Atlantean Fate]] is arguably still the strongest Water card in the game and is a great finisher card against opponents that keep their Avatars in sites like [[Free City]] or [[Gnome Hollows]]. Most decks are still not playing Water so the threshold conversion from [[Atlantean Fate]] is also a game finisher, but it is important to keep in mind that this Aura only affects Non-Ordinary Sites.

DUAL THRESHOLD

MINIONS

[[Blue Knight]] provides one of the best mechanics from the most recent set with producing lance artifact tokens. These are single use tokens that give the bearer +1 power on their next strike and gives them first strike as well. This is a great combat trick for your minions and especially for [[Battlemage]] because it can help preserve your life and even allow you to still attack the enemy Avatar while you're both at Death's Door.

SITES

Air

[[Lone Tower]], [[Gothic Tower]], and [[Dark Tower]] provide an additional 1 mana on the turn they are played if it's the only copy among your sites. These sites are amazing with the [[Battlemage]] game plan since you get to play cards ahead of the natural curve of the game. This gives you the capability to play turn 1 [[Tooth Faeries]], turn 2 [[Ribble Boggart]]/[[Grapple Shots]], turn 3 [[Hippogriffs]]/[[The Faerie Queen]]/[[Ruler of Thul]]. Playing minions ahead of curve is what makes tower sites so powerful in any Air deck. These Sites also give you the possibility of insane starts if you have an early Core or [[Philosopher Stone's]], i.e. turn 2 [[Gyre Hippogriffs]].

[[Lookout]] is powerful because of the information you gain from looking at your opponent's hand. Also gives you valuable info to be able to name more optimally with your [[Feast for Crows]].

[[Observatory]] allows you to stack your next 3 spells in the most optimal way while also giving you information on what your next few turns may look like. Keep in mind that your [[Highland Princess]] will shuffle your deck so you can always change the top Spells in case you're not liking the next few draws.

[[Cloud City]] is an extremely versatile site that can give you many options throughout the state of the game due to the mobility it can offer. It's also a great Site to hinder [[Enchantress]] decks since it leaves a void in its place once moved.

[[Merlin's Tower]] allows you to play multiple Spells early in the game thanks to the Magic cost reduction. Since none of our Magics cost more than 3, you can play any spell for free with this effect as long as you have the threshold for it.

Water

[[Pond]] is our favorite Site from AL because it allows the deck to rely a little less on Threshold in the early game. This Site is such a boon for this deck because we get to play all of our Beast type minions a turn early such as [[Lugbog Cat]] on turn 2, [[Gyre Hippogriffs]] turn 3, or [[Questing Beast]] turn 4.

[[Floodplain]] is a staple site to play if you ever SPLASH Water in any deck. It provides an additional Water threshold if necessary, allowing you to keep your site count low while still being able to play those crucial double threshold Spells. [[Floodplain]] also creates a threat to any deck that uses burrowed minions, i.e. [[Root Spider]], since it can flood an adjacent site and kill any burrowed minion at that site. We can also use the Flood effect to play [[Lugbog Cat]] atop an Adjacent enemy Site and give our [[Sir Pelleas]] additional options for movement.

[[Babbling Brook]] is an amazing Water card from AL. This Site definitely feels like [[Quagmire]] but with a lot more utility because it's able to remove Stealth from nearby minions. This can also cancel out your opponent's [[Infiltrate]] because it gets cancelled whenever Stealth is removed from the infiltrated minion. This Site also helps with better establishing your next turn and being able to stop your opponent's early aggression.

Finally we have [[Kelp Cavern]]. If this Site is in your opening hand it gives you a lot more flexibility with your Spell Mulligan choices because you can prioritize early game, bottoming your 4-5 cost Spells, and be able to place them back on top of your Spellbook in the future. Because of this Site the Spell order from [[Browse]] is definitely more important and you have to be more deliberate with the order you bottom the remaining six Spells.

Dual Threshold

[[Lighthouse]], [[The Colour Out of Space]], [[Tintagel]], and [[Joyous Garde]] provide both Air and Water threshold and playing one will already meet the threshold requirement for almost half the Spells in your Spellbook. [[The Colour Out of Space]] works well with this deck due to [[Battlemage]] playing a low amount of Sites per game and the two Unique Sites from AL also do well since we will always have space in our back row. Keep in mind that [[Earthquake]] does have the ability to remove these thresholds depending on placement, making Units and Artifacts on these Site susceptible to Bury once they lose their threshold.

Starting Hand Tierlist (Not Legible on Mobile)

S-Tier: A-Tier: B-Tier:

[[Grim Guisarme]] ______________[[Daperyll Vampire]] _____________ [[Magic Missiles]]

[[Polar Explorers]] ______________[[Shrink]]

[[Grapple Shot]] _________________[[Pollimorph]]

[[Gyre Hippogriffs]] ______________[[Screaming Skull]]

[[Ruler of Thul]] _________________[[Questing Beast]]

[[Ring of Morrigan]] ______________[[Disenchant]]

[[Feast for Crows]] _______________[[Blue Knight]]

[[Lugbog Cat]] ___________________[[Atlantean Fate]]

[[Browse]] ______________________[[Sugarplum Pixies]]

[[Highland Princess]] ____________[[Wizard's Den]]

[[Phase Assassin]] _______________[[Cloud City]]

[[Mask of Mayhem]] ______________[[Observatory]]

[[Torshammar Trinket]] __________[[Merlin's Tower]]

[[Pond]] _________________________[[Troll Bridge]]

[[Lookout]]_______________________[[Tactical Move]]

[[Floodplain]]

ANY TOWERS

ANY MULTI THRESHOLD SITES

ANY CORES

The deck is always a work in progress, and as of now this is the current version I play exclusively.

Leave a comment if you have any suggestions and have fun!!!

Shrink the Frog (Cornerstone RESULTS)

@Count Tolstoy