Hey all, thanks for checking out my list!

I’ve been a Druid player since the beginning of the Arthurian Legends meta where I found success with an off-meta Earth, Air, Fire list during the time that the mono-fire Druid lists dominated the meta. After the Druid received an errata just before Gothic’s release which changed how it played, I stopped playing the Avatar for a bit and spent time brewing up new paths.

As a control list, Hook, Line and Sinker is the culmination of me brewing to maximize Druid’s ability (without focusing the list around Tawny). The MO is flipping for the bramble effect on nearby allied sites and using supporting spells and sites to get the most out of that effect.

Tawny:

Players still want to remove her as they did in the AL meta so sites like Pilgrim’s Shrine are fun turn 1 plays that allow Tawny to leave the starting site and take ward with her when she moves on turn 2. Ideally you want to play first so you can play a water site left of your starting site and move her off before the realm is connected to your opponent’s sites. Tawny is bait for me right now. I don’t rely on her but do try to keep her around in the back lines to move up and Polimorph if possible.

Bruin:

Bruin is still something opponents want to remove as quickly as possible from the board, so I built around Earth and Water to open up the ability to play both Royal Body Guards and Selfsame Simulacrum to either copy Bruin or copy Royal Body Guards and give my Druid more protection.

Opening:

Ideally, I want to start with a Briar Patch and a Troll Bridge in hand for use on my front lines with either a Deep Sea or Pilgrim’s Shrine to use as a starting site. We get a free Spellcaster on turn 1 so I am a little loose with opening spells, but getting a Pudge Butcher, Nelly Long arms or Meathook is always a keep and the third site in hand will support casting that on curve. Winter Nymph is a great turn 2 play to pump the brakes on any charge lists you may face.

Early game:

Get your square of 6 sites established so that you have good coverage when you flip Druid and gain the Bramble effect. I often build to 5 mana (leaving a void in the back line on either side of my starting site) before I am ready to flip and then draw for my 6th site after flipping. The deck runs a lot of 4-5 power minions and I am not afraid to play them more defensively if I get them out on curve. Because the checkmate setup will be focused around having minions ready to swing when we pull the enemy Avatar to our back line for the kill.

Mid / late game:

We’re playing control so we have a lot of different ways to remove problematic enemy minions and beefy minion support to defend our sites early/midgame. The goal of the mid / late game is to draw into minions like Nelly and Pudge to lock down columns / lanes with their hook effects or an artifact like Meathook that can be used on Bruin, Gargantula, Sacred Stag etc., to go turn 5-6. Often time, if you catch your opponent off guard and pull their Avatar to your back line with Meathook while Druid is flipped, it’s GG if you set up right because it’s hard for them to get away. Cards like Led Astray are perfect for moving your opponent’s out-of-reach Avatar into columns that are in range of allied minions with meathook or hook effects.

Standout Cards:

—Drums of Doom

When Druid is flipped and enemy minions take 1 damage for entering nearby allied sites due to the Bramble effect, Drums can stall the game out until you get Pudge, Nelly or a meathook on one of your minions. Once you have it equipped, enemy minions die as soon as they enter a nearby allied site when pulled.

—Swap

Swap is a great card as we all know, but is super helpful and becomes removal when Drums is active because you can swap an opponents big minion to your site and kill it as it enters while your minion swings for damage.

—Royal Bodyguards

What’s better (and more annoying) than 1 Bruin? Having the potential for three by including Royal Bodyguards or five by using Selfsame Simulacrum.

—Selfsame Simulacrum

This list is full of both Earth and Water staples / threats meaning you have a lot of different cards you could copy with Selfsame depending on the situation you find yourself in. It’s super flexible and offers a lot of utility depending on what you need most at the current moment.

I have used SS to disable my own Bruin that had been infiltrated by my opponent to get him back and have a blocker on Death’s Door. Selfsame is an MVP in this list of bruiser minions and can change the game with a good choice!

—Earthquake

With water splashing everywhere in the meta, often times Earthquake is something I use to rearrange clogged up board states towards the end of game and open up lanes where my hook projectiles can find the enemy Avatar and bring them into the Druid’s mire. Even though water is popular and you don’t always get the value of burying enemy minions, being able to rearrange sites is huge! It’s also nice to use after your opponent’s avatar has been pulled to your back line to move any minions they play to their back line (buying you a turn before they can defend) or burying them were played to land sites.

Hook, Line and Sinker

@Dominic