Part Four: My First Cornerstone

9 September 2025

In part one of this series, I declared loyalty to the Battlemage Avatar and set myself some goals to spice up Cornerstone Season for myself. This kicked off in New Zealand with three events in the South Island of New Zealand, in Dunedin, Invercargill, and Christchurch. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend these events, but from what I’ve heard, all three were a lot of fun. This past weekend was my first opportunity to attend a Cornerstone, so I will go over my event and my thoughts on a couple of things in the world of Sorcery.

Part one of the series can be found here:
https://bardsword.com/2025/07/09/part-one-battlemage-is-my-cornerstone-champion/

Achieving Goals

So, a quick recap of my five goals and how I’m progressing with them.

The first goal was to attend three events. I have one in the books and one planned for the 20th of September. The third is still up in the air. There are three more possibilities, but one’s in the South Island, and details for the other two Auckland events aren’t set in stone, so it would be pretty funny if I failed the easiest of the five goals.

My second goal was to attend an event in the South Island. There is one more opportunity, but with the expense of air travel these days, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to. However, I have decided to attend Crossroads Melbourne in the West Island of New Zealand, so perhaps that counts.

The third goal is to make the top cut / top eight of an event. Technically, I achieved this, but I’m going to roll this one forward to try and achieve it in a constructed event as well.

My fourth goal is to win a Cornerstone event. Have I ticked this one off? Read on to find out.

And finally, number five, the bonus goal, is to see a Rainbow Battlemage Avatar awarded. This is an interesting one. When I set this goal, I felt like Battlemage was a strong contender in the meta. However, with the recent rule change, I feel like Battlemage’s chances have dropped dramatically.

In the next section, I will quickly go over how I feel the rules and meta shift has impacted Battlemage and how it affects my Cornerstone Season.

A Grim Shift in the Meta

All it took was one little rules change to change everything. Grim Guisarme, Mask of Mayhem, and Daperyll Vampire being able to benefit from striking sites has dramatically altered the meta. Now, it’s more dangerous than ever to leave minions on the board. If the opponent starts their turn with a five-power minion on the board, that can easily be doubled to 10 and doubled again to 20 with something like Grapple Shot for six. This insane burst potential means games can end quickly and from out of nowhere. This also means that four- and five-power minions are more significant.

This is terrible news for Battlemage. Now Battlemage has to pack even more answers to big minions, whilst having their most precious resource, their life total, being even more critical. Even being at 16 opens the door to a sudden burst to zero.

Earlier in the year, before the rules change, I was playing Grim Guisarme in Battlemage as an answer to Archimago’s life gain, but now that everyone is playing this tech, everyone is expecting it, and the element of surprise is gone. Battlemage’s unique burst damage is now available to everyone.

So bigger minions, more burst damage, swingier games. It’s a tough field for Battlemage. What does this mean for my goals and decision to take Battlemage to Cornerstone and Crossroad events? Is Battlemage now just a terrible choice in this meta? Is it poor form to renege on my self-imposed challenge and switch to another Avatar?

Dragonlord is Powerful and Fun

With the release of Dragonlord, I’ve been distracted away from testing Battlemage and instead have been experimenting with various Dragonlord decks. Overall, these have been fun and powerful and offer some interesting builds.

Dragonlord-Xeraphine has been my pet deck for the last few weeks, and it’s been a lot of fun. More concerning for my challenge is that it feels like a strong choice into the current meta. Being able to recur impactful minions like Morgana and the Green Knight means this deck can win the long back-and-forth minion-versus-removal match, whilst having game against fast decks that have lots of smaller minions.

Overall, I will decide on whether to stick to Battlemage after the upcoming constructed Cornerstone event later in the month.

Sealed Cornerstone Deck Build

My first Cornerstone event was a sealed event, three packs of Beta and three of Arthurian Legends. Sealed is my favourite format, over draft and constructed, as the added randomness adds some spice to the mix. It also means I don’t have to endlessly test decks in preparation for the event. But this did unfortunately mean no chance to put Battlemage to the test at my first event of Cornerstone Season.

Cracking packs to kick off an event is a great way to inject excitement into the room. And true to form, a foil Philosopher’s Stone was opened, sparking everyone’s excitement levels to 10.

My sealed pool was an interesting one. I had great removal, a bloat of good minions in the three-drop slot, two bombs that pulled me in two completely different directions. Unfortunately, my piles were just a little bit light to go solidly into only two Elements, so my choice was to either go three colours or play some filler.

Here is my pool and the deck I played with on the day. I would be interested to hear what other people would do with this pile. Ultimately, without big minions and powerful finishers, I would have to rely on speed. Two Sly Fox and a Pendragon Banner formed the core of my game plan.

Build that I played: https://curiosa.io/decks/cmf9buai900g9jl04jodsqvc3

Second possible build: https://curiosa.io/decks/cmf9chuat00iwjl04dtnon3l4

This second list was what I initially built before I got nervous about missing thresholds and removing the Air splash. It increased my chances of hitting my three drops on curve, but took out some power.

Second potential build: https://curiosa.io/decks/cmfacp6ys00k8l704jiyf0vxg

This build is a totally different path that I only considered the day after the event. On the day, I dismissed Earth as it appeared shallow. I think I got a bit blindsided by Water due to the double Sly Fox and Lugbog Cat, but in a field with Ordinary Deserts and fewer Water sites, this might have been a mistake. Overall, I think the Ninth Legion is too difficult to cast to consider and my Air isn’t strong enough to justify it. Maybe the correct answer is Fire-Earth with just a light Air splash? But this is the fun of Sealed, and with a time limit, it can be hard to identify the best course in the moment. Much like in constructed, I do let myself get carried away by personal preference, and the Sly Fox duo was too much to ignore.

Sealed Game Results

There were four rounds on the day, and overall I felt confident with my deck. It was a decent pile with a plan.

My first game was against Louis. Louis is a skilled player who I’ve faced in many final rounds of tournaments over the years. Getting this pairing in round one was an interesting way to start the day. At least I had all my brain power intact to throw at this game.

This was a fun game with lots of back and forth plays. His Belmotte Longbowmen on turn three was countered by a Submerged Coral-Reef Kelpie to the site in front of it. This is the kind of three-dimensional play that I love about Sorcery.

There were many interesting decisions, but my Firebreathing and Lava Flow got solid two-for-ones, swinging the game to my favour.

My second game was against Grant. A while back in a draft event where first prize was an Alpha Binder, he beat me in the finals, so another formidable opponent. Unfortunately, Grant stumbled on threshold, and I was able to execute my Sly Fox Pendragon Banner plan successfully. Grant had fielded Sparkmage, an Avatar with an inbuilt counter to Sly Fox, so I got lucky to win this game.

Third game was against Peter, a player who you might know from his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@feriomadrox
Peter is a cunning opponent, who enjoys disruptive strategies and tricky plays with Avatar of Air in constructed.

My brain power was flagging by this point. Sorcery events really take a toll. I had brought a chocolate bar for just this moment, but the sugar dumped fuel into my nervous system rather than into my brain. Adrenaline began to take over. Peter was playing a disruptive deck with cards like Bailey and Hamlet’s Ablaze, which could have really blown me out if I had played the three-element build.

I managed to take the win through consistent minion pressure, meaning I was into the finals.

The final round was against Andre, a newcomer to the Auckland scene. Andre was playing a superb Fire-Air deck with a solid curve and good top-end threats. The game devolved into minion-removal-minion-removal, dragging us into the late game, where my deck would eventually flounder. We both cast Firebreathing and Lava Flow to great effect, highlighting the power of these splashy Fire cards in this format.

Eventually, the game got to double Death’s Door. I had a Sly Fox under his Spellslinger’s feet to threaten a finishing blow the next turn, but a Major Explosion got me first. So good game, and well done to Andre for taking the win.

Cornerstone Results

So, 3-1 made for second place. It’s always frustrating to get so close to the win, but such is the nature of games.

I want to thank FTW Events for their successful Cornerstone Event. Their events are always a highlight for me and something I can mark on the calendar and look forward to. I was honoured to receive a Swap promo for my contributions to the Play It Forward programme – and for writing an article or two. If you are a new player in New Zealand interested in Sorcery, there are sets of Ordinaries available to kickstart your collection just for the price of postage. Send me a message and I can link you the Discord.

Battlemage Update

Following the Sealed event, there was Constructed. I begrudgingly took out Battlemage over Dragonlord. It’s time to start getting a bit more serious with my testing. I immediately sleeved up my Swap to take the new toy for a spin.

My three games were against Enchantress, Avatar of Air, and Dragonlord-Ignis Rex. I got the 3-0, proving that Battlemage is an effective Avatar to play when you’re braindead from playing all day. I think this is the biggest reason for taking Battlemage to tournaments.

A Legacy

With each of my opponents on the day, you may have noticed a pattern. There is a rich history of competition between us. As time goes on in Sorcery, the memories and experiences weave into a rich tapestry. The ‘meta’ is so much more than just the decks people play; it’s the legacy and history formed over time.

It’s also great seeing new players achieve success as it means they are more likely to come to future events, creating an environment where we can push each to greater heights and learn from each other, whilst forming friendships and in-game rivalries.

Watch out, Australia

Getting to Crossroads Melbourne was a bit of an ask this year, but after a lot of consideration, I decided that I will attend. It’s just too much fun.

I had such a great time in Melbourne last year, attending two tournaments at Plenty of Games, so I am looking forward to returning. With PAX as well, it will be an incredible week – even if I go 0-2-drop with Battlemage.

There is a massive group of New Zealanders heading over for the Crossroads in Melbourne, so it will be fun to see if we can get more Kiwis into the top eight than Aussies. It’s good that the All Blacks aren’t playing Australia the same weekend or this might spill over into an international incident.

Gothic Release…?

There are whispers in the darkness, a new shadow over the realm. Gothic is going to change everything. Is it possible that Crossroads Melbourne will be the final big event of Beta-Arthurian Legends? I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the realm of Arthurian Legends, but I am so ready for Gothic.

My pick for Gothic release date is still Halloween, October 31st, with an announcement six weeks before on the 19th of September (the most important day of the year).

You can read some of my predictions about Gothic here:

https://bardsword.com/2025/06/16/five-predictions-for-gothic/

Conclusion

My first event of Cornerstone Season is in the books. Event two is close, where I can finally put Battlemage to the test. Melbourne will be the highlight of my year, and then Gothic on the horizon. I’m having a lot of fun with Sorcery. I hear some talk about a lull? I don’t know what that is.