This deck is still under construction and needs further testing. The current list is intentionally experimental and will likely require changes, including removing around five cards to make the deck more focused and consistent.

The goal of this primer is to explain the idea behind the deck, the role of the main cards, and the lines I am currently testing.

Overall Theme

This is a [[Magician]] combo Reanimator deck built around one obsession: making an Avatar behave very differently from most other decks in Sorcery.

Instead of playing with a traditional split between a site deck and a spellbook, this deck uses the [[Magician]] structure of 60 cards together. That changes how the deck feels, how it finds its pieces, and how it approaches the opening hand.

One of the main reasons to use [[Magician]] here is that the full 60 card deck increases the chance of opening with a complete or nearly complete combo. Since sites, acceleration, discard outlets, reanimation effects, and threats are all shuffled together, the deck can naturally open with more functional combinations than a traditional two deck structure.

The core idea is simple: put large threats into the cemetery early, then bring them into play before the opponent is ready. The deck can do this through [[Raise Dead]], [[Carrionette]], [[Boneyard]], and [[Orpheus' Crossing]], while using artifacts and utility sites to support fast hard casting when needed.

A key detail is that [[Raise Dead]] can bring a minion from the cemetery to any location. This turns reanimation into a positioning tool. A large threat can appear near the opposing Avatar, on a vulnerable site, or in the exact location where the opponent is least prepared to answer it.

[[Falling Star]] is also a very powerful piece in this deck. In some games, a turn one Tower, plus [[Four Waters of Paradise]], plus placing [[Falling Star]] on top of the opponent's starting position can create a brutal setup. By turn three, the deck may be able to place a large threat directly on the opponent's site while [[Falling Star]] is already pressuring that area, dealing damage to creatures and the Avatar.

At its best, the deck can present a huge threat on turn two or turn three. At its worst, it can still play a slower control game with life gain, removal, card draw, positional pressure, and recurring Undead threats.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

1. Explosive early turns - The deck can create very fast pressure by discarding a large minion with [[Sisters of Avalon]] or [[Forgotten Tomb]], then bringing it back with [[Raise Dead]], [[Boneyard]], [[Carrionette]], or [[Orpheus' Crossing]].

2. Better combo openings with [[Magician]] - Because [[Magician]] plays all 60 cards together, the deck has a better chance of opening with a real combination of sites, acceleration, discard outlets, and reanimation pieces.

3. Reanimation with strong positioning - [[Raise Dead]] can bring a minion from the cemetery to any location. This makes the deck's biggest threats much more dangerous, because they are not only coming back early, they can also appear exactly where they create the most pressure.

4. Early pressure with [[Falling Star]] - [[Falling Star]] gives the deck a way to pressure the opponent's starting area before the big threat arrives. When combined with a Tower, [[Four Waters of Paradise]], and an early reanimation line, it can create a very hard board state for the opponent to recover from.

5. Multiple ways to cheat big creatures into play - The deck is not dependent on a single card. [[Raise Dead]], [[Carrionette]], [[Boneyard]], and [[Orpheus' Crossing]] all support the Reanimator plan in different ways.

6. Strong late game threats - Cards like [[Great Old One]], [[The Doom of Dilmun]], [[Lord of the Void]], [[Nightmare]], [[Army of the Dead]], and [[Mephistopheles]] give the deck several ways to overpower the opponent if the game goes long.

7. Good access to acceleration - [[Highland Princess]] can find important (1) cost artifacts such as [[Amethyst Core]], [[Key to the City]], [[Kythera Mechanism]], and [[Mix Aer]]. These cards help the deck move faster and enable early big turns.

8. Cemetery control and recursion - The deck can use the cemetery as a resource, but it also has tools like [[Pile of Skulls]] to control what stays there. This matters both for improving [[Raise Dead]] outcomes and for disrupting opposing cemetery strategies.

Weaknesses

1. The deck is still being refined - The current list is not final. It needs more testing and likely needs to remove around five cards.

2. Some hands may be too slow or unfocused - Because the deck is trying to combine acceleration, discard, recursion, control, positional pressure, and large threats, some opening hands may have the wrong mix of pieces.

3. [[Orpheus' Crossing]] can be risky - [[Orpheus' Crossing]] can create powerful early turns, but it can put you at Death's Door very quickly. It should only be used when the reward is worth the risk and when the board state is safe enough.

4. Cemetery disruption can hurt - Since the deck relies heavily on putting the right minions into the cemetery, opposing cards that remove or punish cemetery strategies can slow the deck down.

5. Big threats still need timing and positioning - Big minions are powerful, but the deck still needs to manage where and when they enter the realm. A badly placed threat can give the opponent time to stabilize.

Strategy

Plan A: Fast Reanimation

The primary plan is to put a large minion into the cemetery early and bring it into play before the opponent can properly respond.

A strong opening line looks like this:

1. Use [[Forgotten Tomb]] or [[Sisters of Avalon]] to put a large threat into the cemetery.

2. Use [[Boneyard]], [[Raise Dead]], [[Carrionette]], or [[Orpheus' Crossing]] to bring that threat into play.

3. Use positioning to pressure the opponent immediately.

Some of the best early reanimation targets are [[Great Old One]], [[Nightmare]], [[Army of the Dead]], [[The Doom of Dilmun]], [[Lord of the Void]], and [[Mephistopheles]].

[[Raise Dead]] is especially important in this plan because it does not only bring back the threat. It can place that threat at any location, creating immediate pressure wherever it matters most.

Plan B: [[Falling Star]] Pressure

[[Falling Star]] gives the deck another way to create early pressure.

One of the strongest patterns is:

1. Open with one of the Towers, such as [[Dark Tower]], [[Gothic Tower]], or [[Lone Tower]].

2. Use [[Four Waters of Paradise]] to accelerate the game plan.

3. Place [[Falling Star]] on top of the opponent's starting position.

4. By turn three, use [[Raise Dead]] or another reanimation effect to place a large threat directly on the opponent's site.

This line can pressure the opponent's Avatar and creatures at the same time. It also makes the reanimated threat much harder to ignore, because the opponent is already taking damage and losing board presence in the same area.

Plan C: Control and Stabilize

If the fast combo does not happen, the deck can slow down and play a more controlling game.

[[Daperyll Vampire]] helps stabilize by removing smaller minions and healing through strike damage. [[Draconian Bonekite]] can clear minions and create Skeletons. [[Nightmare]] can remove threats without needing to attack them directly. [[Whirling Blades]] and [[Chaos Twister]] can act as removal or finishers depending on the board.

The deck can also hard cast large threats with help from [[Four Waters of Paradise]], [[Wiccan Tools]], [[Amethyst Core]], [[Mix Aer]], [[Dark Tower]], [[Den of Evil]], [[Gothic Tower]], and [[Lone Tower]].

Plan D: Recurring Undead Pressure

[[Infernal Legion]] and [[Army of the Dead]] are important because they are Undead. That means [[Carrionette]] can bring them back from the cemetery to a nearby location.

This gives the deck a recurring pressure plan that does not rely only on [[Raise Dead]].

[[Book of the Dead]] also supports the longer game by allowing the deck to keep using discarded or destroyed minions over time.

Opening Hand and Mulligans

Because this is a [[Magician]] deck, the opening hand is one of the most important reasons to play this Avatar.

Since all 60 cards are shuffled together, the deck has a better chance of naturally opening with a mix of sites, acceleration, discard outlets, and reanimation pieces. This makes it more likely to start the game with a real combo line already available.

Cards I Want to Keep

[[Highland Princess]] is one of the best early cards because she finds the cheap artifacts that make the deck faster. She can get [[Amethyst Core]], [[Key to the City]], [[Kythera Mechanism]], or [[Mix Aer]], depending on the hand and the line I need.

[[Forgotten Tomb]] is one of the best ways to start the Reanimator plan. If it puts a large minion into the cemetery early, cards like [[Boneyard]] and [[Raise Dead]] can create a very fast threat.

[[Boneyard]] is one of the most important sites in the deck. It can bring a large minion into play very early, especially after [[Forgotten Tomb]] or [[Sisters of Avalon]] puts the right creature into the cemetery.

[[Sisters of Avalon]] helps feed the cemetery while also giving the deck more control over what gets discarded. It is one of the cleanest ways to prepare a strong [[Raise Dead]] or [[Boneyard]] turn.

[[Raise Dead]] is one of the main combo cards. It becomes especially strong when the cemetery has been prepared with a specific large threat. Since it can bring that minion to any location, it can turn a good opening into immediate board pressure.

[[Falling Star]] is worth keeping when the hand already has acceleration, a Tower, or a fast reanimation line. It becomes much stronger when the deck can pressure the opponent's starting position and then place a large minion directly into that same area.

Cheap acceleration is worth keeping when the hand has [[Amethyst Core]], [[Key to the City]], [[Mix Aer]], [[Kythera Mechanism]], [[Four Waters of Paradise]], or [[Wiccan Tools]], because these cards can lead to fast starts and early hard casting lines.

Hands I Usually Want to Mulligan

Hands with only large minions and no setup - Large minions are the payoff, but they need discard, acceleration, or a reanimation effect to matter early.

Hands without acceleration or cemetery setup - If the hand does not have a way to move faster or put threats into the cemetery, it may be too slow.

Hands with [[Orpheus' Crossing]] but no safe follow up - [[Orpheus' Crossing]] can be powerful, but it is dangerous if the hand cannot immediately turn it into a winning position.

Hands with too many situational cards - Cards like [[Toolbox]], [[Pile of Skulls]], or late game threats can be strong, but they are not always what the deck wants early.

Single Card Discussion

[[Falling Star]] is one of the most powerful pressure pieces in the deck. It works especially well because this deck can place large threats in unexpected locations. If [[Falling Star]] is already damaging the opponent's starting area, a later [[Raise Dead]] can bring a huge minion directly into that location and immediately increase the pressure.

A strong example is a turn one Tower, [[Four Waters of Paradise]], and [[Falling Star]] placed over the opponent's starting position. By turn three, the deck may be able to put a large threat directly onto the opponent's site, while [[Falling Star]] is already damaging creatures and the Avatar in that area.

This creates a situation where the opponent has to answer both the site pressure and the huge creature at the same time.

[[Highland Princess]] is one of the most important consistency cards in the deck. Her main job is to find the cheap artifacts that accelerate the strategy. The most important targets are [[Amethyst Core]], [[Key to the City]], [[Kythera Mechanism]], and [[Mix Aer]]. These cards help the deck create faster turns, cast large minions earlier, and set up combo lines before the opponent has enough time to react. [[Kythera Mechanism]] also has a special role because it can help control the probability around [[Raise Dead]], making it easier to bring back the right threat.

[[Sisters of Avalon]] helps put large minions into the cemetery, which is exactly where this deck wants them. It enables early [[Raise Dead]], [[Boneyard]], [[Carrionette]], and [[Orpheus' Crossing]] lines.

[[Daperyll Vampire]] gives the deck a strong control tool when the fast combo does not happen. It can help remove smaller minions and recover life, buying time for the deck to find its bigger plays.

[[Legion of Gall]] helps control dangerous traps or collection based answers that may come from cards like [[Toolbox]] or other effects that access the collection.

[[Grandmaster Wizard]] accelerates the deck by drawing more cards. Since this deck needs to assemble specific pieces, extra card flow is very important.

[[Infernal Legion]] is one of the important Undead threats in the deck. Because it is Undead, it can be brought back with [[Carrionette]]. It can also be hard cast when the deck has enough acceleration.

[[Lord of Fear]] supports one of the deck's main creature types. Most of the minions in the deck are Evil, with 13 Evil minions among the 21 total minions. [[Lord of Fear]] allows those Evil minions to attack more freely, which can create very strong pressure once the deck has established a board.

[[Mephistopheles]] is one of the large threats in the deck. It can be used as a powerful payoff when the deck can cheat it into play early or support it later through acceleration.

[[Army of the Dead]] is powerful because it is both a major threat and an Undead minion. That means [[Carrionette]] can bring it back from the cemetery. It also helps the deck defend itself and generate more bodies against decks that produce many minions.

[[Draconian Bonekite]] is both removal and board development. It can remove minions and create Skeletons, which helps the deck stabilize against wider boards.

[[Nightmare]] helps remove important threats without needing to attack them directly. It is also a large creature, making it useful both as interaction and as a win condition.

[[Great Old One]] is one of the deck's biggest threats. Even though it is a Monster, it can still be brought back with [[Raise Dead]]. It can also be hard cast with support from [[Wiccan Tools]] and [[Four Waters of Paradise]].

[[The Doom of Dilmun]] is an (A) minion that can be hard cast in this deck. It is also a difficult threat to remove once it enters play.

[[Lord of the Void]] can be devastating when it enters the game early. Removing or controlling opposing sites can slow the opponent down and give this deck more time to dominate the board.

[[Four Waters of Paradise]] helps cast large creatures early or enables fast combo turns. It works especially well when the deck has already put a large threat into the cemetery and wants to follow up with [[Carrionette]] or another powerful spell.

[[Toolbox]] gives the deck access to collection cards. It can find removal, answers, or even a finisher such as [[Death's Door]], depending on the matchup and game state.

[[Book of the Dead]] gives the deck a longer game plan. It allows recurring use of creatures that were discarded or destroyed, especially in games where the first big threat is not enough.

[[Pile of Skulls]] is currently being tested as a way to control the cemetery. It can remove smaller minions like [[Sisters of Avalon]] or [[Highland Princess]] from the cemetery so that [[Raise Dead]] has better odds of finding the important threats. It can also remove threats from the opponent's cemetery, which is useful against [[Archimago]] or other decks that rely on cemetery recursion.

[[Browse]] helps find the cards needed to complete a combo or find an answer.

[[Blink]] helps draw more cards and can also move minions when positioning matters.

[[Raise Dead]] is one of the main combo cards in the deck. It becomes especially strong when the cemetery has been prepared with a specific large threat. The most important detail is that [[Raise Dead]] can bring a minion from the cemetery to any location. This greatly increases the pressure created by the deck, because a reanimated [[Great Old One]], [[Nightmare]], [[Army of the Dead]], [[The Doom of Dilmun]], [[Lord of the Void]], or [[Mephistopheles]] can appear exactly where it creates the biggest problem for the opponent.

This makes [[Raise Dead]] both a combo card and a positioning tool. It can create pressure near the opponent's Avatar, attack weak areas of the realm, or force the opponent to deal with a huge threat in a place where they were not prepared.

[[Chaos Twister]] can be a finisher, but it can also help in situations where the board becomes difficult to control.

[[Whirling Blades]] can work as removal or as a finisher. It gives the deck another way to close games or clear important threats.

[[Boneyard]] is one of the key cards in the deck. It can bring a large minion into play as early as turn two or turn three. A strong line is to play [[Forgotten Tomb]] early, put a large minion into the cemetery, and then use [[Boneyard]] to bring that threat into play before the opponent has a proper board. In longer games, [[Pile of Skulls]] can help clean the cemetery first, making [[Boneyard]] more likely to bring back the best possible threat.

[[Dark Tower]], [[Gothic Tower]], and [[Lone Tower]] accelerate the deck and help support the larger casting costs. They are especially important in hands that want to combine early pressure, [[Four Waters of Paradise]], [[Falling Star]], or a fast hard casting line.

[[Den of Evil]] is very strong here because most of the deck's minions are Evil. It helps support the deck's main creature package.

[[Forgotten Tomb]] is one of the best setup sites in the deck. It can put a large threat directly from the top of the deck into the cemetery, enabling early [[Boneyard]], [[Raise Dead]], [[Carrionette]], or [[Orpheus' Crossing]] turns.

[[Observatory]] helps control the top of the deck. This matters because the deck wants to manage what goes into the cemetery and improve the quality of future draws.

[[Orpheus' Crossing]] works similarly to [[Boneyard]] in some situations. If a large minion reaches the cemetery early, [[Orpheus' Crossing]] can bring it into play very quickly. The risk is that it can put you at Death's Door as early as turn two, so it should only be used when the payoff is strong and the opponent is unlikely to punish you immediately.

[[Wizard's Den]] helps draw cards and accelerate the deck's access to its combo pieces. It also creates an interesting discard angle when the opponent attacks it, because discarding a large minion can actually help this deck.

Matchup Dependant Advice

Against aggressive decks - Against aggressive decks, the priority is survival. [[Daperyll Vampire]], [[Draconian Bonekite]], [[Nightmare]], [[Whirling Blades]], and [[Army of the Dead]] become very important. The deck should avoid risky early [[Orpheus' Crossing]] lines unless they clearly stabilize the game or create a winning threat.

Against control decks - Against control decks, the goal is to apply pressure early and force answers. [[Lord of the Void]] is especially strong if it can disrupt the opponent's sites. [[Raise Dead]] is also very threatening here because it can place a large minion at any location, forcing the opponent to answer pressure in places where they may not be ready. [[Book of the Dead]] and Undead recursion through [[Carrionette]] can also help maintain pressure after removal.

Against cemetery decks - Against other cemetery strategies, [[Pile of Skulls]] becomes much more important. It can remove opposing threats from the cemetery while also improving the quality of your own [[Raise Dead]] targets.

Against wide minion decks - Against decks that flood the board, [[Army of the Dead]] and [[Draconian Bonekite]] are important. [[Army of the Dead]] helps defend and create multiple bodies, while [[Draconian Bonekite]] can remove several minions and generate Skeletons.

Collection Cards

The collection package is still under testing, but [[Toolbox]] gives the deck flexibility.

The main idea is to use collection cards when a specific matchup demands a specific answer. They can be used for removal, protection, disruption, or as a finisher.

One possible finisher option is [[Death's Door]], especially in games where the deck has already pressured the opponent and needs one final way to close.

Final Notes

This deck is still evolving. The current version is built around the idea of a [[Magician]] Reanimator shell that uses acceleration, cemetery setup, positional pressure, and large Evil or Undead threats to create powerful early turns.

The next step is to keep testing the list, identify the least consistent cards, and remove around five cards to make the deck more focused.

The core idea, however, is clear: put terrifying creatures into the cemetery, bring them back before the opponent is ready, and force them to answer threats that should not be on the board that early or in that location.

Inspiration

Magician Monstrosity (The Original)

Lord of Mephisto

A kind of Magic - Nos pique de Magic 🇧🇷

@Argentoni