Overview

The main purpose of this deck is to play a ton of minions that generate value within the first turn that you play them. This usually takes the form of replacing removal or utility Magics and finding a minion that can fill it's role, but can also be something like Estranged Loner, because it leaves a body behind if your opponent removes it in the first turn cycle. This should keep you (at least) even with your opponent on board, and then allow you to use the minions that you used to trade to get higher value pieces back from the cemetery if the game starts to drag. It's worth emphasizing that the deck isn't aggressively trying to activate Dragonlord. I would say I activate between 0 and 3 times a game, but when I do, it's always an extremely high impact play.

Auras:

Atlantean Fate:

The only notable thing here is that I play my Atlantean Fate pretty aggressively (sometimes even on turn 3 or 4 off of a Mix Aqua) if I'm playing against a deck that isn't playing water. Cutting off threshold that early can catapult you really far ahead, and can be hard for an opponent to come back from.

The Great Famine:

Famine is mainly used as a removal spell/creature deterrent, but also shines as submerged/burrowed removal in a pinch. It's also worth noting the super fringe case of moving one of your own minions into the Famine, activating Dragonlord, and then stacking it so the famine trigger happens first, and then Dragonlord. This can allow you to get one more minion in the bin if you have a high priority target you want to get back, or even to get the minion that you just put there back into hand, if it has a strong Genesis effect. It also works well for triggering Deathrites that may be useful! Just always think out of the box and check to see if Famine can do anything for you, and place it accordingly.

Artifacts:

Mix Aqua and Four Waters of Paradise

Single use ramp has been fairly hotly contested in this game on whether it's good enough or not. The main argument against it is that it can be a dead draw in the late game when you need something impactful, whereas the main argument for it is that it can ramp you into a high value minion way ahead of curve, or allow you to double spell and play two 3 drop minions on turn 3, for example. It's great for all of the normal reasons in this list, but the thing that pushes it over the edge for me is that it can turn on Dragonlord activations in a pinch. If I'm on 6 mana and need to play The Green Knight, I can crack a mix, play the Green Knight, and then still activate Dragonlord with the remaining 3 mana, which can help turn the corner from behind.

Ring of Morrigan

Not much to say here. It's boring, but it's good. Definitely not a requirement in the list; if you're on a budget (but still playing Dragonlord for some reason lol), just play a third....

Toolbox

I went back and forth between Toolbox and Bullet for a while on this list, and honestly feel you can go either way with it. You get some pretty strong Exceptional options if you go Bullet (Searing Truth being the most notable, but things like Mimic, Drought, Geyser, etc. are all good). The main reason I went Toolbox was honestly just mana efficiency while keeping flexibility. I'm personally not too afraid to play a turn 2 toolbox on my avatar and let it hang out for a couple of turns. This play gets a lot worse with Bullet, where you have to tap to cast the spell. This can put you pretty behind on tempo, whereas the alternative could be a T2 Toolbox into T3 Hamlets Ablaze on an opponent's Troll Bridge or Thin Ice. I'll get into the collection cards at the bottom.

Magics:

We're going to skip into Magics, because going through all of the minions is going to be a FAT wall of text...

Swap

Swap is great. Anything from stealing an opponent's Ring and putting a minion in their face, to getting threats out of your hair, Swap does everything!... As long as there's two good targets... And they're in the right position. That being said, even though it's a situational card, it's still good enough to play 3 of, and will absolutely win you games. I think it's definitely a preference on playing 1-3, but you should always play the first copy.

Infiltrate

I'm not sure if my pre-Gothic brain is poisoning the post-Gothic brain, but I feel that 2 Infiltrates is still always worth it. Just try to set it up so that it's not easy for your opponent to break the stealth.

Pact With the Devil

I think this is far and away one of my hottest takes with this build, but I think Pact is great. The deck is currently running 7 spellcasters with a Fenvale Muse in the collection, bringing it to 9 chances at a spellcaster, and in my experience, this has been enough to justify it. I wouldn't necessarily keep it in every opening hand (but absolutely would if I had an early Muse), but when you cast it, I think it just puts you so far ahead. Don't forget that you can draw any combonation of cards; I normally draw two spells and one site, but three spells is always good in the late game. Also, the fact that you're sacrificing the spellcaster can be a good thing here! Lets daydream for a second: You play Morgana, and somehow manage to play all 3 of her spells (or maybe just the relevant ones). We can have Morgana cast the Pact, drawing us 3, and then activate Dragonlord to put Morgana back in the hand, which sets us up to draw three again. It sounds like fantasy land, but I've successfully pulled this off multiple times, and it always feels unfair.

Minions Minions and More Minions:

I think the best way to group this is by the purpose of the minion. Most minions in this list play multiple roles, but I'll specify the main thing it's doing, and then expand on any alternative purposes in the deep dive.

Removal:

Despite not running a lot of Magics for removal, this list has a TON of flexible removal in the form of minions. We treat our charge minions as single target (albeit blockable) removal spells, as well as lots of fun Genesis or activated abilities that put us ahead. This is honestly what most of our minions are doing: either trading one for one, or eating something out of nowhere and then sticking around for added value later.

Ignited

This list LOVES Ignited. I realistically should be playing all 4, but have a hard time cutting somewhere else. It's mainly used as removal (trading with an opponent's 3 power minion is ideal, but I have no problems using it on a 2 power minion or a high impact 0-1 power minion), but can also be used to push damage to get the opponent to door, or close to it. I've also successfully used Ignited to deal the Death Blow, using River Rapids to push the Ignited into attacking position. Ignited is the perfect banishment fodder for Xeraphine Konrul's ability; it comes into play for cheap, impacts the board, and then goes and patiently waits in the bin to get banished so we can replay a Lord of Lies that got removed. What a guy.

Fey Changeling

Number two only to Ignited. Being summoned anywhere, Fey Changeling can turn a sticky spot into a winning position very quickly. Bouncing an opponent's minion and then blocking with it is super efficient, and will put you ahead on board often. The fact that it can either be brought back with Dragonlord's ability or be used as cheap banishment fodder makes this one of the cards you're always happy to see.

Redcap Powries and Monstrous Lion

These guys play a similar role to Ignited, except they stick around when they're played! That's pretty neat. That being said, I'm still not usually too afraid to trade across the board with them, because it'll always feel like a 1 for 1.3 trade as long as you're at parity.

Saracen Raiders

Same as above, but the main reason we're playing one is just in case we need it for the death blow, or to remove a hard to access high impact enemy minion. I would generally avoid banishing it unless it's for something else that wins the game, since it can add death blow pressure late game from the cemetery.

Sir Agravaine
Mimic
Lacuna Entity
Sir Mordred
The Green Knight
Death Dealer
Pied Piper of Hameln
Lord of Lies
Balor of the Evil Eye

Value Plays:

Adept Illusionist
Estranged Loner
Aino
Lugbog Cat
Morgana Le Fay
Ruler of Thul
Selfsame Simulacrum and Evil Twin
Maiden, Mother, Crone
Panorama Manticore
Questing Beast
Xeraphine Konrul

Utility:

Fenvale Muse
The Lady of The Lake
Doctor Demetrius

Still Steamy (SC26)

@Thoren