GOTHIC (They're heeeeere):

- I will be keeping all information below this section frozen in place as it provides everything you all need to know about the foundation of this deck and where it comes from (see also this deep dive deck analysis by me). Journey with me now as we see where Gothic takes us:

Gothic Updates:

16/12/2025: Originally kept 8 deserts afraid of ward, but not really seeing any at the moment. I cut 2 Deserts for 2 more [[Molten Maar]]. Removed Onslaught and Detonate from the Collection to fit 2 more hellhounds. If i start missing the extra ping, ill bring it back and probably remove the Blooms, I have not been fully impressed with these sites.
16/12/2025: Removed the [[corrupter freak]] since Jihad alone isn't enough to consistently drop this guy in the opponents territory and at only 2 power it dies way too easily after causing us life loss. Trying [[mazuj ifrit]] in it's place, at 4 power it will have a much easier time living, can trade with [[Lugbog Cat]] and the like and with airborne can be a menace. We also only lose life on the beginning of the turn so if they do kill it right away, it causes no life loss and likely a lot of resources early on from the opponent. Also dropped 1 Trinket to try [[torrid omphalos]].
19/12/2025: Replaced [[raze]] in the collection with [[flame strike]]. Raze is cute but Flame Strike is a DD finisher that we can Toolbox for.
22/12/2025: debating whether or not blood mana and ghostfire belong here but I haven't yet seen them in a game. Will report back. (see 24/12/2025 update)
23/12/2025: Yesterday I played against [[The Rack]] and it absolutely blew my mind. Although it truly shines in the [[Interrogator]], it still provides an insane opportunity to close the Death's Door meanwhile making it difficult for the enemy avatar to run away. It also shines a bright line on [[Quarrelsome Kobolds]], [[vile imp]], [[ring of Morrigan]] and [[monstrous lion]]. It also makes [[colicky dragonettes]], [[firebolts]] and [[minor explosion]] hit their target a lot easier. As you can see, the application is insane and its value in the deck is hard to argue. I have personally not been enjoying [[silver bullet]] in this deck due to its Tapping requirement. I almost never want to tap my Witch for this application, so since I only have 2 targets in the Collection, and since our toolbox/common sense can already find ample new DD finishing cards I am cutting [[Silver bullet]] in favor of [[The Rack]]. Adding 1 [[Bury]] to the Collection.
24/12/2025: I have been thinking about [[Blood Mana]] pretty much every day and ultimately came to the conclusion that we do not want to dump our hands. If the opponent is able to deal with that burst, we probably lose 100% of the time. I decided to cut it and the [[petrosian cavalry]], plus move a [[vile imp]] to the Collection to try out [[barging barghest]]. I've seen it showing up in various aggro decks and I do like the extra movement. It also synergizes incredibly (probably our best target) with [[the rack]]
31/12/2025: I'm shifting completely away from Common Sense towards [[toolbox]]. Earth threshold requirements are getting lower and lower but Land surveyor, Quake and Gigantism remain ever crucial as support. Removed [[the rack]] because in the end we are attacking sites a lot more; this card is happy to be sleeved in an interrogator Deck. I also moved [[bury]] to the collection and removed [[minor explosion]] and [[ghostfire]] since Flame Rift does these things better for our purposes.
02/01/2026: Decided to drop the [[slumbering giantess]]. The 5 power has been a lot of fun but lately i've been craving more and more cards that "do something" when drawn off the top of the deck. Also, previous changes have been reducing the amount of cards that can ping her awake making her less reliable. I cut 1 desert and 1 active volcano to re-introduce the multi-thresh sites. I feel more comfortable playing them knowing we now have [[vindictive nation]]. I also re-introduced [[silver bullet]] despite what was written above. Water is proving to be a serious threat in Gothic and more Mono Water or heavily water-influenced decks are showing up. We can absolutely hose these decks with [[drought]] but Drought is not a contender for the main deck. Enter Silver Bullet. It replaces 1x [[Searing Truth]] which now resides in the collection. Replacing the Giantess is 2 [[Sinterfee]] for dealing with annoying prison sites and focusing opposing removal to one of our weaker minions. I added a third Colicky since it is also a 3 drop and the projectile it fires can help deal with Necro's Skeletons or even break Wards.
06/01/2026: I'm starting to doubt [[torrid omphalos]]. Every time i've drawn it in this deck, it feels clunky and not what I want to prioritize. Don't get me wrong, the Omphalos are out of this world amazing cards but for some reason, this deck is the only one so far where im doubtful of them. It feels weird typing this because I know how much we crave cards in this deck. If I do cut it, I might start by trying [[salt the earth]]. Again with more and more water decks and prison sites seeing play, these types of effects are proving to be a premium. It also works very well with Rift Valley and Sinkhole as card #5 that can wreck the opponents mana, threshold and utility site placements. Will return to this update after I spend more time thinking about it.
07/01/2026: Okay finally, I decided to drop the Omphalos and the 2 Searing Truth i had in the main. I always prefer to prioritize damage dealers before card draw in a deck like this so I figured these cards are just a distraction. Searing Truth remains a two of but in the collection with Silver Bullet being increased to 2. It clicked today that it doesnt need to be our Witch who uses it as it grants any bearer the right to cast a spell. 2 bullets also means higher consistency in finding DD finishers (Truth and 1 Hotwheel which was also moved the collection) as well as Drought for those pesky mono water players. In total, I removed 2 Truths, 1 Hemogoblin, 1 Omphalos, 1 Hotwheel and added 1 Salt the Earth, 1 more trinket, sinterfee and bullet, as well as trying our [[Warp Spasm]]. Spasm can be great at being another Gigantism/Blaze of Glory (kind of), chipping away at 40% of the opponents health as well as an amazing token clearing option.
13/01/2026: I played a bunch this past weekend and, despite how many new tools we have to finish the game when opponent is at DD I struggled in every game to actually find these abundance of finishers. Its either just a weekend of bad luck, or the increase to 60 cards has a larger skewing effect than anticipated. I used this update to remove powerful but inconsistent cards in order to add more cards that have an immediate and impactful effect off the top of the deck and increased DD finisher potentials. Also i have found that since the release of Gothic, opponents decks/cards are forcing me to play more than 4 sites. It is unclear if this is a me problem or a result of the new meta, but it has encouraged me to add a few more 5 drops. The changes are as follows: ADDED: [[Courtesan Thais]], [[The Inquisition]], a fourth [[Firebolt]] and the third [[Hotwheel]]. REMOVED: The great famine, salt the earth, rasputin and hemogoblin. I absolutely love Hemogoblin and I am sure he will return but for now, he is too low stat'd doesnt help in negative situations and I am simply not running into much lifegain. Also there is a bit of redundance with Blood River.
24/01/2026: replacing [[angry mob]] with [[gift of the serpent]]. it costs 2 less which means we can toolbox + gift on the same turn. Mob almost always requires you to already have the toolbox in play. no body hurts, but the card draw might be interesting.
02/02/2026: Really craving [[greater blood demon]] and [[grigori rasputin]]. I will go into more detail when i've got time but this is my current consideration after the past week of testing. 03/02/2026: I will either go into more detail about this or delete this update, but both are pending more data. 27/02/2026: Still testing this dooder, but I brought it down to 1 copy. I still really like the body it has and am willing to keep it but in my pursuit for more immediate damage I'm also trying 2 [[Ignited]]. I'm not initially excited about it and if I was to evaluate this card on its own merit I would not include it. Im treating it more like firebolts #5-6 that can damage sites. The more I play the more I think i actually love this card in our deck....
04/02/2026: had to cut [[glastonbury tor]]. ran into a game where I needed to play a site in my opponents territory to maintain tempo and react to their previous turn. Decided to draw a site for turn, my 5th in the game, and it was Tor. Everything spiraled downhill from there. Even if this is a freak occurrence, im not willing to put myself in that position ever again. Also as a very aggressive deck by nature, we are usually inclined to build into our opponents territory for other reasons. Tor does not contribute to this plan at all. I added another Desert but we can also consider another Village or possibly even bring back [[Cursed Land]].
24/02/2026: Played some games last night and in terms of site saw only deserts, villages and poisoned well. Consistently having that free soldier on turn 1 feels so incredible it truly is making reconsider the sites again dropping everything besides Steppe, Sinkhole and Rift Valley and then just maximizing Villages and Deserts. Ill have to keep thinking about it.

Notes:

[[molten maar]] and [bathing barghest]] have been interesting inclusions, with Maar being a confirmed inclusion and Barghest approaching that position as well. If you are on the play and have a hand that includes Maar, Barghest and [[redcap properties]] and you are first to play to the Realm or are playing to a non threatening Realm, I recommend prioritizing the Hellhound first, Barghest second and saving Redcap (charge minions as the last option). Redcap is great at attacking into/handling board presence immediately where the other needs a turn to become active. I also recommend, in this scenario, playing your first two sites on the back row and the Molten Maar as your first front row site (square 8 or 13). You will not be able to reliably do this on the draw. maar]] and [bathing barghest]] have been interesting inclusions, with Maar being a confirmed inclusion and Barghest approaching that position as well. If you are on the play and have a hand that includes Maar, Barghest and [[redcap properties]] and you are first to play to the Realm or are playing to a non threatening Realm, I recommend prioritizing the Hellhound first, Barghest second and saving Redcap (charge minions as the last option). Redcap is great at attacking into/handling board presence immediately where the other needs a turn to become active. I also recommend, in this scenario, playing your first two sites on the back row and the Molten Maar as your first front row site (square 8 or 13). You will not be able to reliably do this on the draw.

Recent updates have introduced more 2 drops. Im not crazy about how low these cards' stats generally are, but im also happy to have more chance of dropping an early beater, especially considering the new card advantage tools we are playing. Against more decks, don't be afraid to drop a Hemogoblin on turn 2.

During mulligan try not to keep more than 1 non-minion. Generally I love keeping Infiltrate because it is such an amazing tempo play. Also, remember that firing off a Firebolts on turn 2 is a great play for us, especially now that we have 4.

Remember you can give your [[Silver Bullet]] to a [[Barging Barghest]] in the void to keep the Bullet safe and then crack it for [[Searing Truth]] when the opponent is at Death's Door. A lot safer than letting it sit under our avatar where it can be destroyed, burried or swapped.

use your firebolts as early as possible against slower decks, but they are also good removal vs other burn/aggro decks and amazing vs Ward. Despite this, if you have to choose between a firebolts and playing a minion on an empty field, it is generally better to commit to the board. You maintain the tempo a lot better with stats on board.

[[Savior]] is a crazy intense matchup. After a full night of testing, its clear this is our enemy but I went into the games very scared and came out of them just a little worried. We have a lot of tools to help in this matchup which is nice. [[Earthquake]] is king and so are the Deserts. In this matchup, if you have [[infiltrate]], try very hard to pair it with a Desert.

[[Infiltrate]] is feeling better than ever. Keep it in your opening hands if you are going first. Keep it if youre going second and have a curve. I love the tempo this card provides.

If we bring [[cursed land]] back the reason is to pair it with [[sinkhole]]. If we do the sinkhole on turn 4 "trick" detailed below in the 24/10/2025 update then the best site to be on that turn is cursed land. Mulligan it away if you dont also have sinkhole. Risky path to take with a highly favorable payoff.

Turn 1 Village for a foot soldier has become my absolute favorite turn 1 play. Must find a way to add more Villages.

if you decide to keep [[ignited]] remember that at 2 power and with the clause of dying at EOT, this card pairs very well with [[warp spasm]] and [[blaze of glory]]. It is also nice with [[blaze]] and [[gigantism]] since the 2 mana makes it much easier to double up on these cards for a surprise swing. These pump spells are at their best when you can "gotcha" your opponent.

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Gothic First attempt additions/changes and Collection with explanations:

Added:

1x [[Silver Bullet]] - It seems wrong to not play this or Toolbox. There are just so many cards that we would love to play but can't due to how precise this deck and its playstyle is and how situational some of those cards can be. So having access to them is still nice but freeing up to 10 slots for a more focused gameplan is better. See below for a collection breakdown.

1x [[Toolbox]] - same reasoning as above.

2x [[hemogoblin]] - This is probably my new favorite card in the deck. Its applications are amazing. You can drop this guy at almost any point and curbing their life total will always be good. He probably belongs in every aggro deck but is especially impactful here since we are compounding every turn with 2 additional life loss. Just imagine dropping an Opponent to 8 life, knowing they either have Vampires or a whole bunch of Divine Healing and then slamming the Goblin. Just incredible.

2x [[corruptor freak]] - experiemental option, not sure if ill keep it but it seems very strong. Without [[jihad]] the first turn means we are taking damage but if it lives, he produces 5 damage per turn which is a powerful outlet at 3 mana and 1 fire pip.

3x [[hotwheel]] - Most exciting DD finisher. Almost guaranteed win once opponent is at DD. Arguable to put 1 copy in the collection but I am not convinced the Collection should be occupied by cards that we are craving in our main deck. This thing is a [[vile imp]] on steroids. Love it

1x [[Blood mana]] - Generally speaking we care more about stats on board than our life total. Turn 1 or 2 playing a 4 cost charger sounds very strong. Also, if this thing can give me a Redcap and a Saracen on the same turn im very excited about it. I can still see it being cut eventually as its a major Card disadvantage if used at the wrong time or overall incorrectly. If your hand is Redcap, Saracen, Blood Mana then you will be out of cards in 1 turn. It better translate to enough of a push that this is fine. Potentially risky card.

1x [[ghostfire]]

1x [[blaze of glory]] - Best aggro card in the game currently? This card pops in every direction, literally. Even outside of this deck, this card can do so much damage with Lethal cards or even [[sir pellinore]]. Also another great Death Door Finisher.

1x [[active volcano]] - this deck is threshold hungry, so very happy to see these sites

1x [[autumn bloom]] - unsure if these will just be re-cut for the [[valley of delight]]

1x [[desert bloom]] - unsure if these will just be re-cut for the [[valley of delight]]

2x [[Fertile earth]] - same as Volcano, but when we want double earth, we really want double earth. Early opinion is that this is a godsend card.

1x [[Molten maar]] - Because we crave cards in our hand, and our Avatar is by no means a Card Advantage avatar, it seems theoretically strong to put a 3 power minion on the board without having to lose a card in your hand. We would otherwise by playing redcap which is also a 3 power, but in this instance we can keep the charge minion for an opportune moment.

2x [[vindictive nation]] - One of our biggest problems has always been opposing cards that interfere or wreck our sites/threshold. This card punishes the hell out of opponents for trying to do so. If my sites are going to get messed up, rearranged or flooded anyways I am happy as hell to now let me opponent know they just lost 4-28 life.

Removed:

1x [[Courtesan Thais]] - removed to reduce 5 cost cards, amazing finisher but can be a dead card and also as a Unique less likely to be seen, therefore less crucial to the deck.

1x [[Dispel]] - moved to collection as it is quite a conditional card

1x [[Arid desert]] - this and all sites below were chosen simply because they appeared the most cut-able for what we added. nothing major to these choices.

1x [[Common Village]]

2x [[poisoned well]]

1x [[impenetrable copse]]

1x [[Colour out of space]]

2x [[valley of delight]] - see Bloom sites above

Collection:

1x [[carrion beetle]] - who doesnt love graveyard hate vs those pesky Deathspeaker and Archigmagos!

1x [[detonate]] - 1 cost death door finisher

1x [[dispel]] - really hated drawing this card naturally pre-gothic but always felt like we needed it just incase. sounds exactly like what a collection card should be.

1x [[hellhounds]] - see [[molten maar]] above

1x [[onslaught]] - not really sure about this card, unclear if we will ever have a board state that supports. im not really sure if our deck wants this but it is in our colors and interesting. will update this one later.

1x [[searing truth]] - such a beautiful multipurpose card. can dig us deeper if we gas out and also serves as an elegant DD finisher. Exciting to win games via this card!

1x [[angry mob]] - one of the sweetest collection cards. kill a scary minion and have 3 power on board is no joke.

1x [[raze]] - might cost too much but the idea is there. the more we can cripple the opponent the better off we will be. too costly for maindeck but i can see many situations where we fetch this card.

1x [[poison nova]] - used to be in the list but was cut for a more aggressive approach. Loved it every time i drew it though so definitely happy to be able to reinclude it.

1x [[ravenous werewolf]] - another experimental DD option, the movement +1 and charge means we can hit our opponent from awkward angels. unclear if this is better than any other Ordinary rarity DD finisher

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Preparing for December 5th:

Very excited for what Gothic will bring. Currently Air/Fire is looking strong but I will do my best to maintain this one as a Fire/Earth deck as every time I play it, the Earth splash truly feels like where Witch belongs.

Here are some early contenders to consider adding to the list (this doesnt take into account currently uplayable cards in Beta/AL that may become viable in the Gothic Meta):

FIRE:

1) [[Shackled Demon]]. I love the 4 cost 5 power minions, even more so at 1 threshold pip. In our deck we only have Morgana and the Witch as spellcasters which means more often than not you will sacrificing a Drain to wake this thing up. At first glance it seems worth it when you consider Saracen raiders is coming down at 4 to deal 3 damage. Waking the demon up in exchange for a Drain also means 3 damage for 4 mana (math) but it is much harder to kill and then also threatens another 5 the following turn.

2) [[Demonic Contract]]. Will probably go in most if not all red decks that feature demons. Unclear how many demons this card requires you to run which could change things. Tutor effects, searching for "any" card is beyond powerful.

3) [[Corruptor Freak]]. Without Jihad you are eating the first 2 damage, so it feels bad if this guy dies. But next turn he threatens to cause 5 damage. Paired with Witch drain is threatening 7 damage from a 3 cost. Very strong contender, starts off as a comparable [[Quarrelsome Kobolds]], ends off being much better in terms of damage output)

4) [[Flayer]]. High likelihood you will see this card in "every" Fire deck.

5) [[Searing Truth]]. Card is absolutely insane, likely to become a top 3 DD finisher. Against slower decks and early on, use it on yourself to push ahead. Late game kill your opponents with it.

6) [[Hotwheel]]. A [[vile imp]] on steroids, striking multiple units is good. This can also back as a DD finisher, rolling forward into the Avatars starting location and striking it).

7) [[Redmane Hyena]]. This is similar to Carrion Beetles below, not sure if worth it just for the banish. Once thats done (and if it isnt against a relevant avatar) he just sits there as a 2 power unit. If by chance Demons are popular enough to make this guy a 2 cost 4 power, things get much more interesting.

8) [[Ravenous Werewolf]]. Its interesting because its common sense-able, and is another charge minion but i dont think the +1 movement at the cost of 1 extra mana makes him worth it. Mostly adding it because we should at least look at every charge minion but, yeah unclear that this is actually better than [[petrosian cavalry]].

9) [[Grief Larvae]]. A one sided (only 1 turn) [[Devil's Egg]]. we are not playing the egg because its a slow burn, 3 cost that doesnt really impact anything aggressively enough. That said, this dude is a 1 cost, much easier to cast and even double cast. Being burried also means he can come up to attack stuff or the site for additional damage. Board impact is low, but free damage on a minion is interesting to at least consider.

EARTH:

1) (Honorable mention): [[Revered Revenant]]. 1 cost for 3 power is very nice, 1 threshold is even cleaner. Unfortunately the ability probably renders him not that great and likely requires a dedicated Ward deck

2) [[Entombed]]. We are already not playing [[Bosk Troll]] because its a bad topdeck, but burrowing here is interesting. likely wont make the cut though.

3) [[Carrion Beetles]]. If Blood River replaces [[Funeral Pyre]] this in an interesting card that can sit in your hand until required and casting it burrowed means you might even get at least 1 damage from it. Were playing it for its genesis, everything is underwhelming so this will probably end up in a Deathspeaker deck more than likely.

4) [[Noisome Twosome]]. This is a real contender; sticky minions are amazing for aggressive decks (especially with the witch drain. Leaving behind a skeleton, even though just a 1 power, just means more potential chip damage and requires another resource to be used by your opponent... also never forget [[gigantism]]!)

ARTIFACT:

1) [[Flame of the First Ones]]. Since were okay with our minions dying after 1 attack this risks ending up in the hand of the opponent. It could backfire and seems more risky than just playing [[devil's egg]]. Do note, this is a very strong card, it will shine in [[Pathfinder]] and other decks with active Avatars.

2) [[Silver Bullet]]. Most if not all decks will play this. Its just too versatile.

3) [[Toolbox]]. Same thing, might even replace [[Common Sense]]

SITES:

1) [[River of Blood]]. Already using it, card is amazing. Totally shuts down [[Angel's Egg]] and the healing factor of the Ring. Also makes Diving healing less of a pain. 3 of, unless you want one in your Collection.

2) [[Esatz Platz]]. Rough that it comes at the cost of playing a site and losing one simultaneously. You still have the mana the turn you make the switch so it can fix your threshold. Unsure if we truly need it here. We are fragile as it is with our sites.

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[[This section below is dedicated to the BETA/AL era, all individual updates can be found at the bottom.]]

MAJOR UPDATES (17/09/2025):

(I am changing the deck often based on what I'm experiencing during gameplay. I am keeping all notations even if a card is no longer in the deck because the info is still relevant and there is always the chance that cards either return or get cut along the adapting process)

I wanted to put this update at the top so anyone reading this can see the changes I made before reading the rest of the primer and possibly getting confused by some things that may seem contradictory. The first thing I need to clarify is that although [[Frontier Settlers]] is praised in the original primer, you probably noticed it is no longer featured in the deck's current state. I still very much believe in both the card and what is written below but the reality is, meta's change, decks change, play patterns change. These are all acceptable and encouraged parts of evolving card games and player skills (both our own and our opponents). At the moment, and as noted in the "Steam Druid Reality" section below, both my own personal meta and seemingly the game's meta in general have become a lot more aggressive, and overall fast. This is due in large, if not entirely, to the rule change made where Units attacking sites now count as Strikes. This rule change improved cards like [[grim guisarme]] and encouraged a more aggro approach to competitive games. If you are simply curious to the changes made from the original list, the cards I removed can be found in the Maybeboard. The cards I added are: 1 Vile Imp, 2 Colicky Dragonettes, 3 Quarrelsome Kobolds, 1 Saracen Raider, 2 Blaze, 1 Great Famine, 1 Lava Flow, 2 Torshammar Trinket.

Let's talk about the removal of the Settlers, Cores and 1 War Horse and then we can discuss the new additions:

[[Frontier Settlers]]

Look, if you read the primer before this update, I know what you're thinking... believe me, I do. I have the same thoughts. And yes, despite them being cut, I still believe everything I wrote below. However, the reality is, one must adapt to their surroundings or get left behind. If the meta were to slow down/favor combo and/or control decks, the first thing I am re-inserting into the deck is the Settlers. For the time being though, the extreme requirement on threshold they present (needing 2 earth on turn 2 and then immediately 2 fire on turn 3 raises too many problems when your opponent throws a cat in your face on turn 2) mixed with their negligible power makes them a liability at most points of the game if you do not see them on turn 1-3. By removing them, in the context of a very fast and aggro meta, we no longer need to warp our opening sites around the above mentioned taxing requirement, we can safely mulligan spells that are suboptimal at the beginning and it allows us to play less greedy site base which protects us from very popular cards like [[earthquake]] and [[Atlantean fate]]. If there was a way to ensure this card was in the opening 2-3 turns I would never cut it, no matter how fast the meta is. For now, however, I need to prioritize the rest of the deck in the face of the aggression I'm experiencing. Without Settlers we may find ourselves naturally drawing a site one turn more than if they were there and as much as I despise this reality, we are not always seeing the settlers in every game anyways, and by reducing the early game threshold tax we are less likely to whiff on site draws, so this should balance itself out.

[[Ruby Core]] [[Onyx Core]]

This one goes hand in hand, sort of, with the removal of the Settlers. Since we are not as taxed anymore with our threshold, and we are more than happy with the way the deck curves out side by side the witch's drain, it seemed good to remove the cores since outside of turn 1, they can be awkward and outright horrendous top decks. Our deck has a singular blood-shed related focus and drawing a core off the top in the mid game can be game losing. Save your cores for the extra greedy lists or the ones that draw multiple cards throughout the game. Here, we just want to be Furious and Burn them All so lets gear our deck towards this objective removing what isn't conducive.

[[War Horse]]

War horse is great, it gets our guys in position, makes Pudge even better and also lets a unit from the back come in for a surprise attack. However, it only has 2 power. If you've ever had your Horse killed by an Imp or even worse an attacking 3 power minion then you know how detrimental the set back can be. I removed one because I absolutely still want to abuse all of its upsides, but I don't want to necessarily see it very often early on. This is not a 2 drop. Its a unit that costs 2 and is best used for utility purposes. Dropping from 3 to 2 isn't a drastic shift in visibility but it is enough to not see it as often in the opening hand and removes the temptation of just simply playing it as a 2 power charge unit too early.

[[Vile Imp]]

I'd rather have this guy at 3 than Horse. Im never sad to see an Imp and air dropping it on a Jihaded site is much better than the horse. Direct damage wins games. Id like to be able to see this guy once or twice and still have access to an additional one as a target for common sense. This addition is probably long overdue.

[[Colicky Dragonettes]]

Let's all unite in our hate for Tawny (when were not playing druid). We already want double fire on turn 3 and this guy not only sends a projectile but then also threatens to smash for 3. At the very least, firing off a projectile and then being able to defend against/trade with an opposing redcap is really nice. Worst case scenario we can use this units ping + an attack from our own redcap to make a "1 for 1" trade with pesky Cats or Bruins. Also don't forget this projectile can snipe a win from across the map when the opponent is at DD.

[[Quarrelsome Kobolds]]

Stole this from Steam Druid. I think we get the point here. Also similar reasoning to Dragonettes. Plus, give these guys a Trinket or 2 and tell me you're not in love. I dare you.

[[Saracen Raider]]

I had the slots available, and this card is amazing. Like vile imp, this addition is likely happening later than it should have.

[[Blaze]]

One of the best movement related spells. This helps us move and attack without being intercepted, getting extra damage in by attacking sites that are undefended and likely out of the way. In addition to that, it serves as secondary Bruin killer. Yes, Druid is a big problem for us.

[[The Great Famine]]

I had Cave In in this slot but Great Famine is among the absolute best removal cards in the game. They both deal well with Vampire and the fact that is also remains for an extra turn until there is nothing to kill means we have a chance to get an extra Drain in from the Witch but also deters opponents from moving in. This card is highly conducive to the decks game plan and I just wish I had put it in earlier.

[[Lava Flow]]

Death Door finisher, kills big beefy minions, deals with root spiders and also rips Bruin in half. I might replace this with a second Bury but I'm curious to try it.

[[Torshammar Trinket]]

Completely busted card in almost any deck, especially a super aggressive one. Compounded with the fact that we are draining every turn, this 1 extra damage provided is no joke and goes a long way.

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Original Primer + Updates:

I love this Avatar. Everyone I speak to either really wants it to work or believes it to be among the worst, least supported Avatar the game currently has to offer. This may change drastically with the release of Gothic but until then we will use what we have available to us to make as big of a splash as possible with Frazetta's Witch.

The main goal is here is to stop playing Sites as soon as possible and start draining. Sounds familiar if you are used to playing with Sorcerer, but instead of trying to bury the opponent in card advantage, here we are just trying to bury them. The first few Drains feel slow but trust that they add up, especially when you start introducing the chip damage from your other units. The ideal site count is 4. Our top end is 5 and sometimes we may want to play two spells at the same time in the late game so 6 sites is the max. The best thing to do is stop at 3, Drain until you need the 4th site. Play it and repeat until 5 is needed. You do not need to lay down 4 sites consecutively unless you get screwed by the mulligan. Get to 3 and assess the board/your hand and only play more as needed, not simply because you can. If you need 4 sites in the first 5 turns, and in the absence of drawing sites via your units, a very strong line of play with this deck is to use your turn 4 to double draw. You play your first 3 sites and on turn 4: draw a spell for turn, tap the witch the draw a site and then play a 3 or less cost card. This sets up you to drop a site next turn and then start draining to the end game without missing a spell draw. Don't be tempted by the Tax effect. Generally speaking each time you Tax instead of Drain, you realize at the end of the game, should you lose, that this was typically where you went wrong. There is a time and place for Tax effects and it is called Death's Door. Speedrun your opponents life total to zero and then introduce the tax effect to make their remaining existence very difficult.

In order to achieve maximum effectiveness of The Witch's Drainage, we must rarely be in a position where we use a turn to tap her to draw a site. It is also highly highly recommended that you do not use a turns draw phase to draw a site due to her lack of card advantage, despite having access to [[Morgana le Fay]]. Every draw matters. Rely on [[Kettletop Leprechaun]] and [[frontier settlers]] to get you your extra Sites. [[Common sense]] for the Leprechaun is usually always a good early game play. The Leprechaun is also great at getting 2-4 additional damage in since opponents are sometimes hesitant to kill them and give you the site draw. Prioritize the Settlers if possible as they directly play a site for you. They are secretly (or blatantly) your most important early game card. Mulligan hard for them and protect them. [[Onyx Core]] goes the extra mile in this list espeically since it allows for a turn 2 settlers + drain from the Witch. Settlers can play your third site for you the following turn opening the path for your charge minions and allowing for yet another drain. In the event of Threshold deficiencies, you will need to do less favorable plays like the ones I advise against but these are exceptional situations. The [[ruby core]] helps get us to the extra red threshold we need without having to worry about too many desperate searches through our atlast.

This deck teeters between aggression and control but the plans do not interfere with each other because the controlling pieces help prolong your Avatar's life meaning she can keep draining in the absence of aggressive units/cards. [[Hillock Basilisk]] is a very annoying unit that locks down two squares and usually allows for at least 1-2 hits. It has 3 power which means the turn it swings you get a whopping 5 damage off your opponent's life (remember by this point we are definitely already or at the very least started Draining. [[Clamor of harpies]] is a card that I needed to play against a few times before understanding its power and value. Remember above how much importance I assigned to [[Frontier Settlers]]? Well harpies just smash this type of card and those exist in every deck. Then they also have Airborne so its another 5 damage swing on the follow up. highly recommend this card in your fire decks. [[Poison Nova]] and [[Cave-In]] do the thing they are here for, just efficient removal and clears the path for you as well. [[infiltrate]] is likely one of the best Aggro-Control crossover cards that exist so far. Being able to steal their minion so it can no longer pressure you and then also being able to smash one time with it really push our game plan acres forward. The rest of the magic is made up a tool box kit for [[Common Sense]] depending the situation you are in. [[Firebolts]], [[Minor explosion]] and [[Vile Imp]] help clear the way or just end the game when the opponent is at death's door.

Final Notes for the remaining cards not yet mentioned as they have highly important functions that deserve their own spotlight:

[[Amulet of Niniane]] + [[Root Spider]]:

We all know what spider is capable of throughout the game, with almost any deck. Its role here, alongside the Amulet is to make the witch untouchable (especially at Death's Door) while we utilize her various abilities. With the Amulet equipped and the Spider beneath her site, she is essentially untouchable. Your opponent will need multiple cards to get in and finish you off. Amulet is a flex spot though as it is technically a card that can be a dead draw. Im currently using [[Boudicca]] in its place.

[[War Horse]], [[Pudge Butcher]] and [[Earthquake]]:

War Horse serves the dual purpose of beating a charging beater but is also essential for moving our Immobile Pudge Butcher around to maximize the effectiveness of her Projectile. We are aiming to line the Pudge Mommy up with the opponent avatar so that we can deliver a hefty loss of 7 life (5 from pudge + 2 from the Witch drain)

[[Jihad]] and [[courtesan thais]]:

jihad is one of the most insane, powerhouse of a card I've played with or against in this game. Air dropping your aggressive units in their face while draining for 2 every turn is absolutely brutal. Courtesan Thais is our Death's Door finisher. Bring them to 0, slam our seductress and use their own spells against them to claim the Realm!

[[Queen of Midland]]:

Earth and Fire from what I have seen/experienced has the worst approach to card advantage as it focuses on other aspects of TCGs like removal and aggression. I have always had good success with the Queen of Midland and do feel like this deck reaches top tier status if we can keep our hand full. The drain for 2 feels like it is more impactful in this deck than the extra card draw provided by the Sorcerer so I wanted to fill the gap of extra cantrip/card draw with the Queen. Our hand will empty quickly, we will usually be sitting at 1-3 cards in hand which will more often than not trigger her and give us extra cards per turn while maintaining the ability to drop our opponents by an additional 2 life points each turn.

[[Vivien the Enchantress]]:

I started off strongly believing that the Witch is the best avatar for Vivien to be paired with but the more I play with this version, the more I feel like Vivien is better in a Tax Witch deck as opposed to an aggressive one. I write this two days after winning a game by virtue of being able to drain for 4 thanks to Vivien so I am now very confused with her privilege of occupying a card slot. I really want to add [[Boudicca]] to this deck and am wondering if Vivien gets cut for it. They share a threshold pip requirement but Boudicca costs 1 less which means we have less need for the extra site and she also provides a crazy amount of damage potential. Boudicca will likely make it in the deck no matter what, but I am still unsure if it comes at the cost of Vivien's slot.

27/08/2025: The Utility Slots:

As much as I believe this to be as close to a final list as well see before Gothic there are always flex slots. Here and in any other deck no matter how well it does. If you take this decks core you can proceed in two ways: fill flex slots with focused cards or fill them with utility cards. I've chose then Utility approach. The following cards are not required for the deck but are incredibly powerful in it, fulfilling their utility roles:

1) [[clamor of harpies]]

2) [[hillock basilisk]]

3) [[queen of midland]]

These are not pieces I am recommending to be cut from the list, I love the role they play and am very happy with their inclusion. That said, these are the cards I would cut in order to make the deck more streamlined and 100% focused. Off the top of my head the most likely cards that would take their place would be along the lines of [[ring of morrigan]], [[blaze]] and [[grim guisarme]].

10/09/2025: The Steam Druid Reality:

Early testing vs Steam Druid was honestly pretty positive. We are probably the weaker deck overall, but the games were nice. This past sunday we did exclusive testing vs Steam Druid (SD from now on) and it was a pretty miserable experience. Of course no deck or pilot is perfect, and off days happen but it still made me wonder if perhaps the matchup truly is that bad. One thing I kept noting was the fact that we have a decent amount of units with 2 or less attack that just get traded so freely into by the SD attackers like redcap. 3 power redcap killing our war horse and remaining in play is very scary. Not to mention when you start to bring the Trinket into the equation. Against other decks, efficient removal like Bury takes care of a lot of their 4 power beaters or life gain cards like Vampire. Against SD, water sites make bury cards totally meaningless until the unit enters our zone but by then perhaps the damage is done. Im not going to totally warp this deck around that one matchup, but I will be adding a maybe board of cards that can be swapped in if your meta is mostly water/SD/4+ power minion based.

Beta/AL Updates:

05/06/2025: Without access to [[Highland Princess]] and considering the fact that I don't actually want to always see it, the [[Amulet of Niniane]] can be a bit awkward. Of course, there are moments where I wish It was still in the deck but it is not frequent enough to fight the decision to swap it out in favor of [[Boudicca]]. I am still pondering if the correct cut is [[Vivien the Enchantress]].
19/06/2025: I removed [[Annual Fair]], [[Imperial road]] and [[Wizard's Den]] for [[Fields of Camlann]], [[rift valley]] and [[mirage]].
21/07/2025: Despite the rule change only taking effect on Gothic's release and that we have no support yet for the extra 10 card collection, I decided to add to this deck to a 10 card sideboard that would turn the deck into 60/30 for preparation games. Added cards are: [[ring of morrigan]], [[onyx core]], 1 [[Saracen Raiders]], 2x [[vile imp]], [[crusade]], 1 [[common sense]] and 2x [[disintegrate]], 1 [[monstrous lion]]
27/07/2025: I realized after many a games, [[philosopher's stone]] was only offering a 1 mana reduction, as I was not really double casting each turn. In this regard, [[Onyx core]] is doing the same 1 mana provision but also fixes threshold. It even allows for turn 2 draining if you have it with [[Frontier Settlers]]. Enabling a turn 3 [[pudge butcher]] is also no joke.
06/08/2025: The sad, but perhaps necessary, day has arrived. [[Vivien the enchantress]] has been cut in favor of [[gigantism]]. Gigantism not being in the deck since day 1 is a big oversight. Card is clearly bonkers alone and even more so with an additional drain 2 from the Witch. Taking Vivien's slot translates to a card that costs 1 less, has 1 less threshold pip requirement and provides instant value once played. I have also removed [[caerleon upon-usk]] since it has water threshold in it and that makes no sense for a deck playing with [[root spider]]. [[Funeral Pyre]] has been doing nothing for me so I replaced it with Deserts. The sites shifting meant I could squeeze in more Ordinary sites which helps a ton vs [[Atlantean Fate]].
08/08/2025: I've been thinking a lot about [[Grim Guisarme]]. It probably belongs in here but it hurts to cut anything else. It might end up replacing one of the extra 10 cards required for the deck once Gothic arrives. Otherwise the only card I can think to cut at this moment is 1 of the [[Clamor of Harpies]]. Will return to this after more thought.
04/09/2025: I keep shifting between 3 [[red desert]] and 3 [[funeral pyre]] depending on the meta im playing in. Ideally I would like to keep all the deserts to deal with the abundance of Druid's out there but Funeral Pyre also works wonders vs Archi and Deathspeaker. That said, testings vs Archi indicate we might actually still be favored. I have won games where the Archi gains 14 life. Maybe I will just settle on not depending on Pyre since the MU might already be favorable. Lots to decide.
03/10/2025: Im wondering if, considering the power level of Frontier Settlers, if we should put it back. The thought would be to replace the 4 Kettletops with 3 Frontier Settlers and either an Onyx Core to help with the threshold, or a Swiven Scout for extra information. If we go the swiven scout route, I might also drop 1 Common Sense for a 2nd Scout. 07/10/2025: Decided to give the Settlers + Core a try. Will Swap out the Leprechauns and report back.
17/10/2025: I was trying to make a point in the past by not playing [[ring of morrigan]] but, similar to a comment I heard about using a crosshair in DOOM speed running: "If I dont use the tool that others are using, then I am the cause of my own setbacks"
20/10/2025: this one is awkward because a) [[frontier settlers]] is among the best cards in the deck as an early game card and b) [[kettletop leprechaun]] is better than [[land surveyor]] because of the extra damage... however.... we are so desperate to not waste a turn drawing sites and sometimes we really need a site immediately that I am now considering if maybe the 4 slots dedicated to onyx+settlers or leprechaun, should in fact just be given to Land Surveyor....
24/10/2025: okay the SCG Melbourne finals were posted recently and I saw then filthiest sinkhole line and now all I want to do is put 2 sinkhole in every aggro deck I have. This is actually very painful because this build would absolutely love to make that same play with sinkhole but sinkhole also goes against what we are inherently looking to do. It causes us to lose a site which means one more turn of drawing and then tapping the witch to regain that site. That is 1-2 self forced turns on not draining. I am writing this to imply I'm still considering the plan because it's possible the upside of sinkholing in the same way displayed in that game might actually net us more damage than we lose by having to draw and play more sites.
29/10/2025: decided that I wanted more ordinary sites because I live in constant fear of Atlantean Fate. also Druid and Tawny are really annoying so I decided to replace Vesuvius and River of Flame for 2 more deserts. Essentially I replaced two "low % high ceiling" sites for 2 consistent sites. If you don't face these same issues then you can ignore this update.
01/11/2025: Land Surveyor has been feeling very very good. The impact is truly felt when you top deck this type of card on turn 4/5/6 and he draws you your 5th site. You begin to see the difference with its value compared to Leprechaun. Getting sites 4 and/or 5 immediately is seeming more important than the extra power. Will keep testing but it's feeling nice.

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Furious Witch's Road

@Childe Roland