I made it to the finals of YetiCon 2024 and we ended up splitting prizes after a wrong ruling resulted in a muddled game state. I got 1st place on paper and got the dust.

My opponent played [[Courtesan Thaǐs]] and then flipped my [[Druid]] to make [[Bruin]] before casting my [[Grapple Shot]] on Bruin to hit me for 4 which would then be redirected to Bruin. We all assumed that this was possible but I asked in the rules channel on the Discord to make sure. When we didn’t get an immediate response, we just went ahead with it. Three turns later, we were informed that Grapple Shot could not have been used this way since projectiles cannot hit allied units on the site of the projectile’s origin. after we realized this, my opponent said that he wanted to concede the game rather than potentially win by breaking the rules. I offered to keep playing it out and/or prize split; his choice. We ended up playing it out and prize splitting. He won the game but it’s hard to say how things would have gone if I hadn’t lost Bruin and Grapple. We split the prizes so that he got the Champion promo (which was all he really wanted from the event) and I got the Dust and Death’s Door foil. Overall, it was an awesome event! Over the weekend over $8000 was raised for the Wounded Warrior charity and good times were had all around!

Finally, the Primer!

Welcome to the depths of water-heavy Druid. This particular build takes a control/midrange approach - aiming to prolong the game until you can summon a massive minion to slay your opponent! This deck is better at beating aggro and midrange decks but and can struggle against some versions of [[Archimago]] control. Most Archimago decks rely on [[Earthquake]] and [[Bury]] as their main removal options for large minions though so having so many water sites in the deck can render those spells useless.

Core Strategy: Release the Kraken!

[[Diluvian Kraken]], [[Great Old One]], [[Island Leviathan]], [[Seirawan Hydra]], and [[Muirid Fomorians]] are the big finishers in this deck and while you typically don't want to see these minions in your opening hand, they are typically how you are going to win the game. If you have a [[Mix Aqua]] in your opening hand then it can definitely be worth holding onto a massive minion rather than shipping it to the bottom in the mulligan.

Against aggro and midrange opponents, these minions will typically outclass any units they can throw at you. With the big mana investment comes great risk though. If you're against a fire deck, you'll want to be very wary of things like [[Disintegrate]] or [[Poison Nova]] which can undo all of your hard work or [[Infiltrate]] which can turn your winning position with Great Old One into a savage beating. Against many earth decks, your minions will be safe from the likes of Bury and Earthquake as long as they stay on your water sites but as soon as they set foot on land, they'll be vulnerable. Against earth, you'll often want to set up to get double damage from one of your big minions by either pairing an attack with [[Grapple Shot]] or [[Helpful Hob]]. This way you can maximize damage - hopefully putting your opponent to Death's Door - before they can untap and get you with Bury. Because you're investing a ton of mana into your large finishers, you're often going to want to engineer a board-state in which you can knock the opponent to Death's Door all in one turn. This can take a lot of patience and planning though. Understanding when you need to use your large minions defensively can be tricky and there are lots of situations where you will win or lose games based on how you handle damage races.

Core Strategy: Survive through the early and mid-game.

This deck has a lot of high mana-cost minions and as such, it runs the risk of drawing too many expensive cards and being unable to function in the early turns. When you are playing against more aggressive decks, you'll want to prioritize spells such as [[Lugbog Cat]], [[Tufted Turtles]], [[Angel's Egg]], [[Pollimorph]], [[Mariner's Curse]], [[Lightning Bolt]], [[Atlantean Fate]], and [[Drums of Doom]]. [[Troll Bridge]], [[Babbling Brook]], and [[Bog]] will help slow things down and bridge the gap until you have more mana to deploy more powerful cards. Typically, you'll want to mulligan most cards that cost 4+ mana and try to be able to start casting spells on the 3rd turn. The Mix Aqua's will allow for exceptions to this rule but be careful about keeping a Mix in your opening hand if you don't have a large minion to go with it.

Utilizing Druid, Tawny, and Bruin

Understanding when to flip is a tricky thing for most Druid decks and it changes from game to game depending on how things play out. This deck is often flipping much earlier than most of my other Druid lists. This is partly because there are no [[Torshammar Trinket]]s to pair with Tawny but [[Drums of Doom]] also plays an important role in this deck's ability to survive into the late-game. In general, you'll want to keep Tawny around much longer against Archimago or other minion-light decks. Against aggro and midrange, you'll be flipping for Bruin and maximum Drums effect much sooner.

Once you lose access to Tawny, [[Dream-Quest]] becomes almost useless unless you draw [[Lady of the Lake]] which is the only other spellcaster in the deck. Losing Tawny also makes things like [[Mesmerism]], [[Snowball]], [[Disenchant]], [[Shrink]], and [[Pollimorph]] more difficult to use because of their proximity/grid considerations. Tawny can be very good paired with Drums of Doom so don't feel like you need to flip Druid as soon as you get Drums.

Individual Card Explanations:

[[Mariner's Curse]] - In a water-heavy deck, this card can rack up insane amounts of value against any opposing deck with minions. Paired with [[Riptide]] it can be devastating!

[[Riptide]] - In addition to the synergy with Mariner's Curse, Riptide can be a fantastic way to finish the game when you're opponent is at Death's Door. If your Druid is flipped, simply pull the enemy avatar towards you for the ping effect! Forcing enemy minions to move into vulnerable positions or shifting your own units into more favorable positions makes this card super versatile.

[[Atlantean Fate]] - This card has become a bit worse after the release of AL and the increase in Ordinary sites being played. It is still one of the best cards in water though and you'll rarely be unhappy to see it.

[[Mix Aqua]] - In general, I don't advocate for the use of Mixes because it sets you up to lose two cards for a single card from your opponent. In this deck, the large minions that you'll summon with the Mix are either immune to Lethal or have Submerge which allows you to protect your investment from most removal. While this is a control deck that typically wins in the late game, you can secure a quick victory by cracking the Mix and summoning a huge minion on turn 4 or 5!

[[Ring of Morrigan]] - Yep, still broken in half. If you're playing a deck that doesn't want Ring of Morrigan, you're probably playing the wrong deck (assuming your goal is to maximize your winrate).

[[Pnakotic Manuscript]] - While this card is not something you typically want to see against aggro, it is incredible against slower decks like Archimago. Tawny, [[Tufted Turtles]], [[Plague of Frogs]], and [[Tadpole Pool]] all go very nicely with this card. Manuscript and Turtles is just a free card every turn!

[[Angel's Egg]] - With several Submerge minions, you can often cast your Eggs underwater where they are virtually untouchable. This card is one of the best ways to survive for as long as you need to win.

[[Drums of Doom]] - Against opponents who are using minions to win the game (that's most of them) - Drums and a flipped Druid can be oppressively powerful. There is some tension between Drums and your massive minions but in most cases, you can summon the big beaters underwater where they are safe from things like pings from fire sources or projectiles from Archimago.

[[Lugbog Cat]] - With mostly water sites in your atlas you shouldn't run into any trouble with placing this card where you want it. Lugbog Cat is one of the most important cards in the aggro matchups so definitely be on the lookout for this in your opening hand if you're across the table from a Sorcerer, or Flamecaller opponent!

[[Sir Pelleas]] - The ability to move freely through nearly all of your sites is fantastic! No matter where you summon Pelleas, he is likely to be able to either attack or block just about anywhere on the board.

[[The Lady of the Lake]] - With so many good artifacts in the deck, it's nice to have a way to recur them if your opponent has [[Dispel]] or [[Shatter Strike]]. Getting back a dead [[Ruler of Thul]] or Sir Pelleas can be nice too. Even at its worst, a 3-power spellcaster with submerge isn't bad at all!

[[Tufted Turtles]] - These little beasts can be so valuable. They're not great against things like [[Firebolts]] or [[Arcane Barrage]] so if you draw them against Archimago, you'll typically want to place them out of line of sight. Paired with [[Pnakotic Manuscript]] or [[Drums of Doom]] these little cabbage-chompers can really put you in a fantastic position.

[[Helpful Hob]] - Play a second site for the turn. Play a site and flip for Bruin. Attack twice with a huge minion. Heck, even just attacking for 8 with a Lugbog Cat can be a huge deal! Draw 2 cards instead of 1 with your Turtles and Manuscript combo...there are so many possibilities that get unlocked by this unassuming little fellow.

[[Ruler of Thul]] - A solid contender for the best water card ever, Ruler allows you to win games out of nowhere. Because Sorcery has virtually no instant speed interaction, players have to take preemptive measures to defend themselves. Surprise damage is one of the most effective ways to with the game and the damage output potential on from this card is just insane. This card is particularly good against opponents who are defending their front row with sites like [[Free City]], [[Gnome Hollows]], etc.

[[Questing Beast]] - While the stealth and additional movement can be a great way to finish the game once your opponent is at Death's Door, Questing Beast is actually one of the most underwhelming cards in the deck. With 5 power, the Lethal ability doesn't really add much in most cases and 5 mana is a lot to spend for 5 power. It's good enough here but I think that you could swap this out for a number of other things if you want.

[[Seirawan Hydra]] - [[Poison Nova]] is a popular card in the current meta and as such, Hydra isn't as indestructible as it might look. It's still a fantastic card though and many decks will have a very hard time dealing with it.

[[Muirid Fomorians]] - With both Burrowing and Submerge, these Giants are very difficult to kill. They'll eat just about any minion your opponent can throw at them and they dodge some of the most powerful removal spells in the game in [[Earthquake]] and [[Atlantean Fate]].

[[Diluvian Kraken]] - 8 mana is sure a lot to spend on a minion but this one packs some serious power and has the ability to kill almost anything nearby when it surfaces. One really nice trick you can pull with this is to have it Submerged on a [[Floodplain]] and use the Floodplain to turn your opponent's adjacent site into a water site, then you can use [[Undertow]] to pull the Kraken onto the freshly flooded enemy site before tapping to surface and kit your opponent and any nearby minions for 8!

[[Great Old One]] - The Grandmother of Cosmic Horror is the most powerful minion in the whole game. One smack from Great Old One will likely put your opponent to Death's Door and flooding the entire realm means that you'll never have to worry about a [[Root Spider]] or [[Earthquake]] for the rest of the game.

[[Dream-Quest]] - This is one of the best cards to pair with [[Tawny]] when you're looking for specific cards. I'll often search for Drums of Doom or Pnakotic Manuscript depending on the matchup.

[[Plague of Frogs]] - This card pairs so well with Manuscript, Ruler of Thul, and [[Snowball]] but it can also be a fantastic way to stem the bleeding against aggro decks.

[[Shrink]] - Shrink is amazing with Tawny and can be very helpful against any large minion that is threatening to put a serious dent in your life total.

[[Blink]] - In this deck, Blink is very good when used with [[Floodplain]] and a large submerged minion. Flood the enemy site, Blink the submerged monster under the flooded site, then pop up for a huge attack!

[[Disenchant]] - I typically like most of my decks to have access to at least one copy of this kind of effect.

[[Lightning Bolt]] - Answers early aggressive minions and can finish the game when your opponent is at Death's Door. I don't think this deck needs Lightning Bolt but it's a solid card for sure.

[[Pollimorph]] - With Tawny's spellcasting prowess, the nearby restriction on Pollimorph is virtually erased!

[[Riptide]] - One of the most flexible and powerful cards in the deck for the mana. I've won so many games because of this card and I won't ever cut down from 4 copies.

[[Drown]] - With so many water sites, having access to a single copy feels pretty good.

[[Grapple Shot]] - Grapple is one of the best cards in the game and pairs so nicely with things like [[Lugbog Cat]] in the mid-game or any of your huge monsters in the late-game. With Druid you can also flip for Bruin and immediately capitalize on Grapple.

[[Mesmerism]] - This card is INSANE! Tawny effectively removes the proximity restriction and allows you to steal any minion from just about any position.

[[Snowball]] - You can use this card either defensively by pushing opposing minions onto the far side of the realm or you can use it offensively with Plague of Frogs. Many of your minions are large enough to survive most Snowball situations so you can bowl your monsters across the board to get right in your opponent's face.

[[Annual Fair]] - Buying water threshold to unlock [[Island Leviathan]] can be incredibly powerful. I'm not 100% sure that this deck needs to run this card but so far, it's felt pretty solid.

[[Babbling Brook]], [[Bog]], and [[Troll Bridge]] give you very powerful defensive options from your atlas. Troll Bridge is particularly nice with things like Riptide or [[Maelstrom]].

I hope you have fun with the deck and if you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave them in the comments section.

Druid’s Deep - Finalist @ YetiCon 2024

@Kyle