GOTHIC UPDATE (26/06/2026):

Before I mention the changes done to the deck, the "Elementalist" update below is no longer valid. That deck started to become less about Knights and more about just being a greedy deck. Although it has nothing to do with this deck any more, you can still see it here: https://curiosa.io/decks/cmebfgnrj00bojp04cjcxl2ls

Changes to further please our Bride (26/06/2026):

Decided the notion that if we go full combo we will just lose most if not all games is still true but despite this I still really want it to happen so im playing 2 wedding hall now.

The Knights are all invited to the Special Day, we make use of [[de vermis mysteriis]] to ease their entrance.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Everything below this line is outdated but will remain for posterity.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The [[Elementalist]] update: https://curiosa.io/decks/cmayjtz1c00p9js045psulfgp

This deck got more and more greedy as time passed by that it became clear that a switch to Elementalist was probably the safe and smart decision. Other than a small flavor loss of no longer having a Knight as our avatar and abandoning the Wedding Hall plan (since we no longer have the cost reduction from the Templar, we cannot afford to have sites that do no provide mana) the deck's essence remains in tact. It is simply more consistent and arguably better with the Elementalist after all the changes that have been made.

The [[Wedding Hall]] Update:

Due to the shift of the deck to Elementalist, I absolutely wanted to maintain this deck with Templar because it is just so sweet and full of flavor. Sticking to this thought process, and because we now have the greedy version piloted by a new avatar, I wanted to refocus this deck towards the [[Wedding Hall]] combo and try to make that marriage happen. In case you wish to play the deck as it was before the Elementalist addition or the new laser focus on the Marriage Combo, I have listed all the cards that I have changed. Feel free to revert those changes and enjoy the primer below. Most of the primer still remains relevant to this new list however with our deeper focus on the Bride and Groom some cards it references may no longer be applicable. For example, all Water cards (except for [[Sir Mordred]] have been cut (also, I could not bring myself to cut [[ruler of thul]] since he is just too good in this deck and also our sites still allow for water splashing). I needed a deeper focus on Earth cards that can draw me sites so I could not justify as greedy a site base. Water took the hit because: 1) Earth has [[Land surveyor]] and [[kettletop leprechaun]] and [[tithe]] which also fuels [[knighthood]] and allows for the Village sites that generate 1 power tokens (perfect for the curve) and 2) Air and Fire present the strongest knights the game has to offer as well as the spells included.

Changes from original Templar list to Marriage Combo Templar:

-1 Mix Terra -------------> +1 Kythera Mechanism

-1 Mix Aqua -------------> +1 13 Treasures of Britain

-1 Sir Tom Thumb -----> +4 Land Surveyor

-1 Blue Knight ----------> +1 Purple Knight

-1 Sir Agravaine -------> +2 Yellow Knight

-1 Sir Pelleas ----------> +1 Royal Bodyguard

-2 Vengeful Heir ------> +1 Sir Priamus

-1 Feast for Crows ---> +1 Knighthood

-1 Sir Gawain ----------> +1 Leap Attack

-1 Sir Ironside ---------> +3 Raise Dead

-2 Grapple Shot ------> +1 Lightning Bolt

-1 Dame Britomart ---> +1 Wedding Hall

-1 Queen of Midland -> +1 Windmill

-1 Mad Dash -----------> +2 Common Village

-2 Blaze -----------------> +2 Humble Village

-3 Lighthouse ---------> +1 Ruins

-1 Annual Fair ---------> +1 Simple Village

-3 Aqueduct ------------> +2 Steppe

-3 Oasis -----------------> +1 Pillar of Zeiros

Notes on the Cards Removed:

The intention for the mixes in the original build were rush out the knights early as well as fix threshold. With this build we are focusing more on actually achieving the combo and have a lot more early plays. We don't need this kind of acceleration anymore though I still kept two. We mostly cut water so thats why the Aqua is gone and because the deck's emphasis is higher on Earth threshold, I felt we no longer needed that typing of fixing so Terra is cut.
The Knights that were

Notes on the Cards Added:

(to be continued..)

[[SEE BELOW THIS LINE FOR PRIMER AS IT PERTAINS TO ORIGINAL LIST WITH TEMPLAR:]]

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[[Wedding Hall]] is a cool card, there is no doubt and as much as we are secretly always trying to win that way, we need to be honest and realize that the likelihood is extremely low. Finding three specific Uniques and having them all live for a full turn cycle is extremely hard. The following breakdown keeps the proper beatdown plan as the main focus, but never forgets where it truly wants to live. Let me take you on a journey....

We are of course utilizing the [[Templar]] avatar ability to play over stat'd Minions faster and cheaper than our opponent in an attempt to dominate the Realm. Our collection of minions is primarily Knight, Sir and Dame based in order to effectively abuse the Templar's ability but we are not forced into only playing with these subtypes. You will notice that not all knights are being played and as much as it pained me to cut [[Sir Tristan]] he simply costs too much for his stats. After playtesting as much as I have with this deck, it is not only about good abilities, but mostly about the stats. The minions need to come down quick, be very hard to remove and in addition be good on their own. What inevitably occurs throughout the course of the games is that you end up in a 1 for 1 or sometimes 2 for 1 state as your opponent chops down your soldiers. This of course is bad, but the good news is that they often leave their mark before being dealt with. Because they usually do their thing, and then get killed, its crucial not to play cards whose text relies solely on other minions still being around. [[King's Council]] for instance will likely draw you 2 cards most of the time, but at any chance you get a third or more you are probably winning.

Every non-knight/sir/dame minion is the deck plays a vital role and after many changes and tweaks to the decks, the ones who remain have proved their worth. Their concepts are simple enough: If they cannot benefit from the Templar ability they must cantrip (with some exceptions). [[highland princess]] finds much needed mixes or a game ending [[Ring of Morrigan]]. [[Queen of Midland]] while seemingly over costed for her stats, has helped keep me in the game and is an absolute bomb of a minion. She is vital because you will definitely run low on cards playing everything you can each turn and she helps keep you in the game. [[Lady Iseult]] doesn't exactly cantrip but because she saves your minions and allows you to replay them, she fills a sort of virtual card advantage engine. They must kill her first, which is exactly what you want, so you can continue to beat face with your over stat'd minions. Here are the exceptions:

Exception 1: [[The lady of the lake]]

She can be replaced by a card that resummons from the graveyard but the fact that she allows you to pick the one you want and then gets reshuffled into the deck for future use is 100x more valuable. Recurring a [[Sir Pellinore]] is pure filth. She is still quite possibly the last minion on the chopping block but so far she deserves the slot. If a cut needed to absolutely be made, i would have to start by considering her though.

Exception 2: [[Vengeful Heir]]

similar to Lady of the lake, the recursion of your power houses puts immense pressure on the opponent to constantly have answers to high health minions that threaten to end the game.

Exception 3: [[Ruler of Thul]]

I like to jest that this is actually a Rule of Thul deck. At some point in the game, the gears shift from in your face pressure, to behind the scenes defense. Building your board in a safe way, staying back to protect your avatar loosens your opponents concerns and builds toward a surprise alpha strike. the fact that he both has charge and offers +1 power work hand in hand to crush your opponents soul in a moments notice. This guy brings the pain. [[Seven-League Boots]] is a cute addition to the deck but offers the same kind of "oopsies, gotcha" that we are aiming for with Thul. Not to mention what happens when you equip these things to [[Sir Balin]].

Opening Hand/Mulligan:

Its important to know what you are playing against to help determine what you should keep, what you should mulligan towards and how worried you should be if things do not go according to plan. For instance, keeping or mulligan'ing into a slow hand vs Fury Road likely means you're just dead. It is already a very difficult matchup but the fact that your minions are so heavily stat'd means you can put up a good fight against most of what they're doing. You just cant afford to be on the backdrop straight out of the gate.

Sites: Typically I mulligan sites a lot less than I do spells because for the most part your sites will take care of the thresh requirements in the first few turns and the diverse set of sites we are packing put in a lot of work towards this end. I will mostly mulligan sites of redundant threshold and duplicate sites as the diversity is more important. Other than this, try not to keep sites that don't provide mana early on, namely [[wedding hall]]. As much as we want to see this site at some point, we really (really) cant afford to be seeing it as one of your first 4-5 sites. [[Camelot]] is a powerhouse early game site, despite not providing threshold, especially if you can find [[Tournament Grounds]]. Putting Camelot at your starting location provides the highest chance of benefiting you without assisting your opponent as the card is symmetrical. [[Annual fair]] and [[Valley of delight]] are fixers which means they will round out what you are missing. You really don't want to playing these sites until you have established some amount of sites in the realm so you can round out the missing thresh. The best time to draw these sites is as site-draws #4-6.
Spells: This is pretty easy because we are an aggro/beatdown deck so really prioritize your Knights that cost 2-4. We can play them immediately and start the pressure right away. You should mulligan away all Magic in favor of Minions. Let the deck naturally draw you into your Magic to help clear space for already summoned minions or for ending the game post-pressure. An exception to this rule might be one of your [[King's Council]] but really only if the other two cards are both Uniques and can come out early and consecutively. You should feel good drawing 2 from your Council. I will generally always keep at least 1 Mix in my opening hand and when I do, will mulligan to a higher cost Dude to really terrify the opponent. Without a Mix, mulligan all high cost minions. Getting to 5 mana is rather easy with this deck so, its also not that crazy to keep a [[queen of midland]]. The card draw is just that important.

Notes:

The Mixes are 10,000% better than all cores in this deck. It is much better to be able to push out a 6 drop on turn 2 than it is to have the extra mana provided by the cores throughout the game especially since you will not need these tiny boosts as you get to 5-6 sites (which you will get to as you flesh out your thresh requirements)
[[The Round Table]] should be played in the same way that you play your minions/build you board: against water, prioritize land sites, against earth decks prioritize water sites. [[Earthquake]] is the bane of your existence. [[Feast for Crows]] will almost always name this card otherwise.
[[Grapple shot]], [[Leap Attack]] and [[Whirling blades]] are all extremely crucial parts of not only opening pathways to ensure you can safely attack with your big boys and girls but also provide the necessary conditions to end the game once you get your opponent to death's doors. I strongly recommend not playing around with these cards/quantities. Because of the difficulty this deck can experience ending the game, these all become much praised and prayed for cards throughout the game.
We have difficulty dealing with burrowed minions so [[Root Spider]] can become a problem (our forced movement cards will help with that specific card however). Build your board according to the implications of your opponents threshold.
[[Queen Guinevere]] is one of the top cards in the deck and provides a lot of surprise and potentially recurring damage. The minion she untaps can be anywhere in the realm which is especially powerful. She threatens to end the game quickly with the burst damage potential she provides. If unable to protect her, try to play her after you have 1-2 minions ready to attack already in the realm. She pairs especially well with [[Grapple Shot]].
Don't underestimate [[Sir Lancelot]]! With a [[grapple shot]] to the opponent avatars dome, he delivers a nice 13 damage swing. Not to mention an addition 4 if you also have [[queen Guinevere]] out. Fun times.

CONSIDERATIONS

Consideration #1 (08/04/2025): I have been wondering if [[Adept Illusionist]] truly deserves a spot here of if they're too slow/narrow. I am considering replacing them with another [[Blink]] or [[mad dash]] and possibly [[torshammar trinket]]. ~~see (17/04/2025) updates~~

Consideration #2 (18/05/2025): I might need to cut the Seven-League Boots. Which is sad times, but the explosive turns it can provide might not be worth the facts that a) usually your opponent ends up in possession of the boots after they kill your minion and b) they can be a dead draw as they are a conditional card ~~see (19/05/2025) update~~

UPDATES

Quick Update (28/03/2025): removed 1 Steppe for 1 Windmill. After playing a bit more, Air/Earth can be a bit taxing so I wanted an extra site that provided both.

Update #2 (02/04/2025): sad times have arrived but we must say Good night sweet princess to Lady of the Lake. After playing some more games, I am constantly reminded of how critical free movement is for this deck. The ideal card to me for this is [[Blink]] since it also draws you a card. My problem continues to be not being able to close the game once they're at death's door so this is why I'm not putting something like [[Fade]] or [[Vanishment]]. It is with heavy heart that Lady of the Lake gets the chop because she is not being chosen for being a bad card. In fact her ability is still heavily desired. If you have experienced [[Vengeful Heir]] then you know. She has been chosen because as a non knight minion, with 3 water threshold she simply holds the spot of "hardest requirement" to cast. I will be trying to find a way to get her back in. Until then, [[Blink]] joins the fight.

Update #3 (17/04/2025): I went ahead with consideration #1 above and swapped the Illusionists for the [[Trinket]] and a [[Mad Dash]] but I'm still wondering if [[Blink]] #2 is just better than Mad Dash.

Update #4 (28/04/2025): I have been craving Earth threshold lately. For this reason, 1 [[Mix Ignis]] is removed and replaced by 1x [[Mix Terra]]

Update #5 (05/05/2025): I have had too many games over the past three days of drawing that trinket and it doesn't do anything for me. Sadly it was the wrong inclusion. I have also been getting smoked by [[Blaze]] a lot so I decided to try it out as it is a perfect way to continue helping to solve the decks issue of closing the door. For this reason I have made the following changes -1 Trinket, -1 [[leap attack]], +2 [[Blaze]]

Update #6: (19/05/2025): [[Courtesan Thais]] replaces the [[seven-league boots]]. It occurred to me that this card provides a near guaranteed way to end the game when you get opponent to death's door. You are very likely to put the opponent to DD by attacking their avatar directly (or their avatar's site). Taking control of their next turn means you can just use their Avatar to attack into one of your dudes.

Here Comes the Bride

@Childe Roland