Friendships were forged and the Realm was contested at the community-run 

 on March 9th at Game Grove in Hurricane, West Virginia. Known for its supportive atmosphere, Game Grove also serves as the home base for the popular YouTube channel 

, a broadcast dedicated to insightful TCG commentary and Hawaiian shirt modeling.

As Sorcerers battled throughout the day at this 

, one champion emerged victorious to claim the title of Game Grove Champion. We caught up with event winner Noah M., better known as Azerea on the 

, to discuss his experience and explore the deck he piloted to victory!

Azerea traveled from Orlando, Florida, to the event, embarking on a 13-hour drive with his brother, who also served as his primary Sorcery opponent back home. Logging over 800 miles of travel roundtrip to compete in one of 

's landmark events. Little did they anticipate what was to unfold. After a grueling day of navigating through intense competition in the 6-round Best of 1 Constructed format, both brothers advanced to the finals, setting the stage for a showdown between siblings for the first and second-place titles.

“Facing my brother in the final match was surreal, and honestly, it brought tears to my eyes afterward,” Azerea shares. “We had joked about reaching the top 2 throughout the entire drive up, so it was truly a dream come true when it actually happened.” Despite being frequent opponents, Azerea emphasizes, “That match was one of the closest and best games of the event, and it was the only time I’ve ever successfully pulled off the Jinn, Ghost Ship, Ultimate Horror combo.”

It was Azerea’s brother who introduced him to 

 and who, with except one Sorcery league game on TTS, had been his sole opponent.

Play like the Champion of Hurricane, West Virginia

When it came to deck brewing, Azerea built around the subtype of Spirits, providing a thematic but effective decklist anchored around the Deathspeaker. He explains his approach below...


' full deck list on Sorcery TCG's official deck-building site Curiosa.io here:

1st Place @WVCCQ - Midrange Deathspeaker Spirits

Q: What is the theme behind your deck? What makes it stand out?

The theme is just reanimating powerful spirits through Ghost Ship. I had a lot of people interested in the Deathspeaker Avatar aspect of the deck. I was initially playing the Seer with it, as I wanted a bonus effect in addition to playing a site each turn, but I didn’t find the Seer to be consistent enough, so I added a Land Surveyor and changed my avatar to Deathspeaker and the deck skyrocketed in its successes.

Q: What’s your philosophy when brewing decks?

I always try to make something I find fun and interesting, no matter what TCG I'm playing. So, Spirits stood out to me because they had a lot of cool effects with Ultimate Horror, Lord of the Void, Ghost Ship, and Grim Reaper. So, I decided to build a deck based on it and keep working on it until I felt it was good enough. The deck I used in WV was probably the 8th or so iteration with many trial-and-error attempts. My general philosophy for deck building is "Make something that's fun to play" because ultimately, that's what the game is about. I was just lucky enough to stumble into something that was not only fun but strong in the current meta, which surprised everyone at the event.

Q: Key Card Choices: Tell us about some of the key cards in your deck and why you included them. How do they fit with your deck's strategy?

The key cards are Ghost Ship, Ultimate Horror, Lord of the Void, Evil Presence, and Cloud City. Ghost Ship is the core of the deck, allowing you to consistently bring back your spirits while being a big body itself.

Ultimate Horror is an extremely strong card that can summon all of our main attackers from the cemetery other than Phantasmal Shade, Nimbus Jinn, and Grim Reaper. It's a Spirit as well, so you can summon it back and get multiple Genesis triggers from Ghost Ship and even Deathspeaker if you need to. This card can just completely overwhelm your opponent with bodies all of which have 4 or more power. Even if it hits only 1 minion from the cemetery, it's huge value.

Lord of the Void seems weak at first, but it's a spirit with Voidwalk, so it can be resummoned by both Ghost Ship and Ultimate Horror. You can usually keep it in the void safe from your opponent and you're just getting rid of one of their sites each turn while potentially putting your Ghost Ship back in the void. It's especially strong against the sorcerer matchup as they tend to only have 5 or 6 mana out and would have to spend their starting draw on a site and their avatar action on playing it, going from drawing 2 spells a turn to none. If they don't do that, they eventually just run out of mana and can't do anything.

Evil Presence is an incredibly strong aura that with recent changes affects void spaces allowing it to give your Ghost Ship Charge. You can then replay it to give whatever Ghost Ship summons charge as well. Also, using it with Grim Reaper gives your opponent no chance to deal with Reaper before it can attack. It's a very powerful card that helps maintain pressure against your opponent.

Q: Having piloted it to success, are there any other tweaks you would make to the deck now?

Yes, before the event, I removed a Lightning Bolt for Whirling Blades and, after having played it, I want to add a Lightning Bolt back as I had found myself looking for it quite often during the event. I want to keep the Whirling Blades, so I might take out the Chaos Twisters for two Whirling Blades as they achieve similar goals, but Whirling Blades can do so much better. The only downsides are that they are 1 more mana cost and I need a minion in play to use it on. I wanted to run a Philosopher’s Stone, but I wasn’t able to get one before the event, so I used a Mix Aer instead. There are also a few changes to the sites I made just to make the threshold requirements more consistent. Just a quick note, I’ve made some of these minor tweaks to the list linked above!

Following the West Virginia Qualifier, Azerea and his brother have 

. Their first video? A comprehensive deck tech for the deck he played during the event. Be sure to check it out and leave a comment!

Play like the Champion of the West Virginia Courtesan Cup

 is about storytelling, unraveling the mysteries of the Realm, and creating memorable tales through your adventure and battles with friends.

We’ve previously explored thematic decks as a way to further enrich your storytelling, setting up epic narrative clashes between 

Sorcery: Contested Realm’s Beta edition 

boasting an expansive set of over 400 cards, the potential to craft unique and flavorful decks is virtually limitless.

, who was inspired by recent theatrical releases to create three themed decks that will allow you to explore the Realm one desert Dune at a time.

At the helm of this deck is the Battlemage, rumored to be the fabled chosen one destined to lead the freed people of the deserts in reclaiming the Realm. Utilize auras like Sandstorm to mask troop movements or retreat to hidden desert Sietches using the Kingdom of Agartha. The Battlemage relies on hit-and-run tactics, the power of mobile troops, as well as the desert itself.

Minions enlisted in this deck are a diverse array of warriors and mystics embodying the desert spirit. Rimland Nomads, hardened by their harsh environment, take no damage from the desert and boast enhanced mobility, while the Sisters of Silence can strip nearby minions of their non-basic abilities, leaving adversaries vulnerable to the relentless desert onslaught.

However, no Desert Power deck would be complete without the inclusion of the iconic Worms, towering behemoths that roam the desolate landscapes of the Realm. Adding a little extra spice to the largely mortal-based deck, the Sand Worm and Conquerer Worm serve as powerful allies in the battle for Realm supremacy.


The Occupying Forces seek to tame deserts and extract their wealth, using bastions of civilization and industry such as the Smokestacks of Gnaak or the impressive Pillar of Zerios as their bases of operation. Ruthless and willing to do anything to wrest control, the Occupying Forces can call down considerable firepower in the form of Craterize and Meteor Shower, as well as utilize disciplined troops and impressive weapons of war.

These decks are two of three that can be played together, with an eye toward flavor and fun, more so than balance. Take turns with a friend trying to defeat the occupying forces of the Realm!


- Play as the prescient Seer (complete with court intrigue!)

- Play as the occupying forces of the Realm

What tweaks and changes would you make for an even more thematically flavorful experience?

We'd love to see your themed decks, whether pulling together themes within the Realm itself, your own stories, or in the recreation of powerful preexisting stories. 

Desert Power: Sand Worm-Themed Decks in Sorcery: Contested Realm

, the first fan-run convention for all things 

 was a huge success, a testament to both the dedication and talent of its organizers, as well as the dedication and enthusiasm of the larger Sorcery community.

Amidst a weekend of excitement and camaraderie, Gilbert Mederios from Providence, RI, emerged victorious in the convention's Constructed event - claiming the “Unland Cup” for himself!

For Mederios, SorceryCon wasn’t just about the competition; it was about the shared moments and experiences that make gaming events memorable. “The organizers of SorceryCon did an amazing job,” Mederios notes, citing the venue choice and smooth facilitation of the scheduled events, “they really stepped up to the challenge to provide a great experience for everyone involved.”

When it came to deck building, Mederios embraced a philosophy rooted in adaptability and strategic foresight - looking to bring a hyper-aggressive earth/fire deck centered around the Sorcerer as his avatar. He graciously offered to share his wisdom with the community.

You can view Mederios' full deck list on Sorcery TCG's official deck-building site Curiosa.io here:

Q: What inspired you to create this deck? What is the concept behind your deck?

, crafted by Scourage Alters. It’s a hyper-aggressive earth/fire deck that leverages the Sorcerer as a card draw engine. To tailor it for this specific event, I made a few strategic substitutions to tilt the deck towards more aggression, titling it "

" (LSGL). Essentially, this deck capitalizes on opponents’ slower setups (I see you Deathspeaker!) and by only needing 5 sources of mana to operate, I can then pressure the opponent with two spell draws per turn and a low mana curve of potent threats.

Most lists in Sorcery currently are trying to build to a large endgame where they control the board and win with an overwhelming advantage. LSGL is primarily focused on controlling the opponent by getting their life total to 0 as fast as possible.

I always try to play the deck that has the best chance of winning. When I was preparing for SorceryCon, I playtested all of the decks with any traction on Curiosa.io and the Sorcery League. I actually didn’t make the final decision until Friday, the night before the event! With it being a best-of-1 format with no sideboard, I noticed many players were changing lists to include more copies of dispel and larger cards (6+ mana) to their lists to be better in the Deathspeaker mirror. I originally wanted to play Deathspeaker, but pivoted to Fury Road to go under the larger decks I expected to face. I even swapped out 2 Wicked Witches, an excellent card in the list with so many synergies, for an Autumn Unicorn and a Petrosian Cavalry to tilt the deck toward more aggression. That combined with the card Blaze allowed me to consistently clear up Deathspeaker minions and win games.

Q: Key Card Choices: Tell us about some of the key cards in your deck and why you included them. How do they with your deck's strategy?

Most decks in Sorcery have built-in value or draw engines (Pathfinder, Deathspeaker, etc.). This deck includes the Sorcerer as a way to keep pressure on. The mana curve in the deck is low, allowing the Sorcerer’s draw engine to ignite after reaching 5 mana, much earlier than it could with most current decks.

Colicky Dragonettes, Slumbering Giantess, Bosk Troll, Autumn Unicorns, this deck surrounds itself with creatures that are slightly above the curve/power ratio to lean on the opponents and keep pressure... and then there’s Blaze.

Blaze is a unique effect that allows greater mobility, a very underrated part of this game so far, and a good amount of damage to smaller creatures. I’m looking at you Vile Imp and Apprentice Wizard…

Blaze can even be used to wake up the Slumbering Giantess and kill your opponent's Root Spiders with your own, not to mention finishing off the enemy Avatar when they are at Death’s Door.

Having been playing since the first day of the Beta release, Mederios built up his Sorcery experience through a starter deck league and weekly drafts, and he is excited for future games at his LGS, 

How To Play

Formats

Constructed

Draft

Sealed

Gameplay & Guides

Play like the Champion of the West Virginia Courtesan Cup

Play like the Champion of the West Virginia Courtesan Cup

Desert Power: Sand Worm-Themed Decks in Sorcery: Contested Realm

Desert Power: Sand Worm-Themed Decks in Sorcery: Contested Realm

How to Play like the Champion of SorceryCon - Constructed Champion Deck

How to Play like the Champion of SorceryCon - Constructed Champion Deck