Common Sense Sorcery Podcast

Mock Court may have fundamentally changed how Sorcery: Contested Realm decks need to be built.

In this late-night brewing session, Force of Phil breaks down the evolution of his Immortal Throne Magician deck and explains why Mock Court represents a new kind of “universal guardrail” for deck construction.

The previous version of Magician leaned heavily on Frog synergies, Sunken Treasure, Deep Sea Mermaids, Plague of Frogs, 13 Treasures of Britain and other engines that could generate enormous amounts of card advantage.

But Mock Court changes the equation.

If a single turn-one card can make your ordinary minions effectively unplayable, Phil argues that the answer isn't necessarily finding a way to beat Mock Court — it's building your deck so that Mock Court doesn't punish you in the first place.

That leads to a completely different Magician build.

This version moves away from the Frog package and toward Fire/Earth, with a dense collection of card-draw engines, Cores, Wiccan Tools, Philosopher's Stone, Searing Truth, Morgana Le Fay, Demonic Contract, Blood Mana, Poison Nova and the Immortal Throne combo.

We also get deep into:

• Why Mock Court is a “universal guardrail”
• Why the Frog version of Magician struggles against it
• Searing Truth as the replacement for Sunken Treasure
• Wiccan Tools + Philosopher's Stone
• Demonic Contract and unique Demons
• Why Magician wants extremely dense card draw
• Managing the deck's inherent Site flood
• Immortal Throne scaling
• Kythera Mechanism + Chaos Wish
• How Fields of Kamlin and Mirage help against aggro
• Building the Collection for Demonic Contract
• Example opening hands and mulligan decisions
• Why adhering to Mock Court may actually make Magician a better deck

This is still an early version of the list, but Phil is already seeing a lot to like.

What do you think? Is Mock Court forcing Sorcery deckbuilding in a healthier direction, or is it simply shutting down too many strategies?

00:00 Mock Court Changes Magician
02:52 The Frog Magician Build
06:00 Why Mock Court Breaks the Old Deck
10:30 The New Immortal Throne List
16:00 Demonic Contract & Card Advantage
21:00 Searing Truth Replaces Sunken Treasure
25:00 Sites, Mirage & Fields of Kamlin
29:55 Building the Collection
36:50 Goldfishing & Mulligan Decisions
43:30 Final Thoughts on Universal Guardrails

Mock Court may have fundamentally changed how Sorcery: Contested Realm decks need to be built.

In this late-night brewing session, Force of Phil breaks down the evolution of his Immortal Throne Magician deck and explains why Mock Court represents a new kind of “universal guardrail” for deck construction.

The previous version of Magician leaned heavily on Frog synergies, Sunken Treasure, Deep Sea Mermaids, Plague of Frogs, 13 Treasures of Britain and other engines that could generate enormous amounts of card advantage.

But Mock Court changes the equation.

If a single turn-one card can make your ordinary minions effectively unplayable, Phil argues that the answer isn't necessarily finding a way to beat Mock Court — it's building your deck so that Mock Court doesn't punish you in the first place.

That leads to a completely different Magician build.

This version moves away from the Frog package and toward Fire/Earth, with a dense collection of card-draw engines, Cores, Wiccan Tools, Philosopher's Stone, Searing Truth, Morgana Le Fay, Demonic Contract, Blood Mana, Poison Nova and the Immortal Throne combo.

We also get deep into:

• Why Mock Court is a “universal guardrail”
• Why the Frog version of Magician struggles against it
• Searing Truth as the replacement for Sunken Treasure
• Wiccan Tools + Philosopher's Stone
• Demonic Contract and unique Demons
• Why Magician wants extremely dense card draw
• Managing the deck's inherent Site flood
• Immortal Throne scaling
• Kythera Mechanism + Chaos Wish
• How Fields of Kamlin and Mirage help against aggro
• Building the Collection for Demonic Contract
• Example opening hands and mulligan decisions
• Why adhering to Mock Court may actually make Magician a better deck

This is still an early version of the list, but Phil is already seeing a lot to like.

What do you think? Is Mock Court forcing Sorcery deckbuilding in a healthier direction, or is it simply shutting down too many strategies?

00:00 Mock Court Changes Magician
02:52 The Frog Magician Build
06:00 Why Mock Court Breaks the Old Deck
10:30 The New Immortal Throne List
16:00 Demonic Contract & Card Advantage
21:00 Searing Truth Replaces Sunken Treasure
25:00 Sites, Mirage & Fields of Kamlin
29:55 Building the Collection
36:50 Goldfishing & Mulligan Decisions
43:30 Final Thoughts on Universal Guardrails

What exactly is a guardrail card, and what happens when one becomes universal?

In this Sorcery: Contested Realm theory episode, Zac and Phil break down the concept of guardrail cards and why they believe Mock Court may be the first true universal guardrail in Sorcery.

The distinction is important.

Cards like Garden of Eden and Mismanaged Mortuary act as specific guardrails. Garden of Eden forces Sorcerer players to account for its effect, while Mismanaged Mortuary can force Archimago and other graveyard-focused decks to adapt. But neither card affects the entire card pool.

Mock Court is different.

Because it costs zero mana and taxes ordinary minions, the argument is that every deck playing ordinary cards has to account for the possibility of an opponent opening on Mock Court. On the play, that can potentially disrupt the early turns where ordinary minions are designed to be deployed.

And that leads to the bigger deckbuilding question:

If a card exists that can punish an entire category of cards, should that category still be part of your deckbuilding equation?

We also get into:

• What makes a card a universal vs. specific guardrail
• Why Court of Equity doesn't necessarily invalidate Elites and Uniques
• The relationship between card rarity and power level
• Why Ordinary cards may be uniquely vulnerable to taxation
• Turn economy and why early-game disruption matters
• Why removing Mock Court from the metagame could eventually bring Ordinaries back
• The idea of an oscillating metagame
• Why Overflowing Court may not provide a complete answer
• How Mock Court compares to cards like Tax Collector and Witch
• Whether the existence of Mock Court actually means players should stop playing Ordinaries altogether

Phil's central argument is that Mock Court is fundamentally different from a card that simply answers a strategy: its existence potentially changes what is considered reasonable to put into every deck in the first place.

Is that a problem? Or is this exactly what a healthy metagame should look like?

Let us know what you think.

00:00 — What Is a Guardrail Card?
02:28 — Mock Court vs. Specific Guardrails
05:59 — Why Rarity Matters
08:18 — The Problem With Taxing Ordinary Minions
10:58 — Turn Economy & Mock Court
13:00 — Does Mock Court Make Ordinaries Unplayable?
16:18 — Should Everyone Just Play Mock Court?
19:06 — The Oscillating Metagame Problem
21:53 — Can You Actually Answer Mock Court?
25:56 — What Does This Mean for Sorcery Deckbuilding?

⏱️ Chapters

What exactly is a guardrail card, and what happens when one becomes universal?

In this Sorcery: Contested Realm theory episode, Zac and Phil break down the concept of guardrail cards and why they believe Mock Court may be the first true universal guardrail in Sorcery.

The distinction is important.

Cards like Garden of Eden and Mismanaged Mortuary act as specific guardrails. Garden of Eden forces Sorcerer players to account for its effect, while Mismanaged Mortuary can force Archimago and other graveyard-focused decks to adapt. But neither card affects the entire card pool.

Mock Court is different.

Because it costs zero mana and taxes ordinary minions, the argument is that every deck playing ordinary cards has to account for the possibility of an opponent opening on Mock Court. On the play, that can potentially disrupt the early turns where ordinary minions are designed to be deployed.

And that leads to the bigger deckbuilding question:

If a card exists that can punish an entire category of cards, should that category still be part of your deckbuilding equation?

We also get into:

• What makes a card a universal vs. specific guardrail
• Why Court of Equity doesn't necessarily invalidate Elites and Uniques
• The relationship between card rarity and power level
• Why Ordinary cards may be uniquely vulnerable to taxation
• Turn economy and why early-game disruption matters
• Why removing Mock Court from the metagame could eventually bring Ordinaries back
• The idea of an oscillating metagame
• Why Overflowing Court may not provide a complete answer
• How Mock Court compares to cards like Tax Collector and Witch
• Whether the existence of Mock Court actually means players should stop playing Ordinaries altogether

Phil's central argument is that Mock Court is fundamentally different from a card that simply answers a strategy: its existence potentially changes what is considered reasonable to put into every deck in the first place.

Is that a problem? Or is this exactly what a healthy metagame should look like?

Let us know what you think.

00:00 — What Is a Guardrail Card?
02:28 — Mock Court vs. Specific Guardrails
05:59 — Why Rarity Matters
08:18 — The Problem With Taxing Ordinary Minions
10:58 — Turn Economy & Mock Court
13:00 — Does Mock Court Make Ordinaries Unplayable?
16:18 — Should Everyone Just Play Mock Court?
19:06 — The Oscillating Metagame Problem
21:53 — Can You Actually Answer Mock Court?
25:56 — What Does This Mean for Sorcery Deckbuilding?

⏱️ Chapters

I took Enchantress to Grand Contest Baltimore and finished 12th with a 5-2 record — and honestly, I think I left Top 8 on the table.

This is a full breakdown of my Enchantress list, my tournament run, the matchups I faced, and the two mistakes that ultimately cost me my final two losses.

This is the same “Dankest Enchantress” list that won the Cornerstone about a month earlier, built around a resilient midrange Enchantress shell with cards like Acid Rain, Black Plague, Thunderstorm, Wildfire, Poison Nova, Abaddon Succubus, Coinxie, Fate Changeling, Order of the Sacred Torque, and Abundance.

I'll walk through every round:

• Necromancer — surviving a blisteringly fast opening
• Wave Shaper — using Scatter and Riptide to fight the board
• Sorcerer — where one major board-state mistake cost me the game
• Imposter — another mistake involving Sphere of Animosity and Flame Collar
• Steam Sorcerer — a brutally close game where Garden of Eden saved me
• Flame Collar — another aggressive matchup that came down to the final turn
• Archimago — controlling the graveyard and eventually turning the corner

The biggest lesson from the tournament wasn't that the deck needs a complete rebuild. It was that I need to play the deck better. I made two mistakes in my losses that I immediately knew I wanted to eliminate before Avatar of the Realm.

I also talk about why I'm so high on this version of Enchantress, what I'd change going forward, and why I think a Top 8 is eventually coming.

If you want to follow the Enchantress testing, theory, and tournament preparation, check out the Enchantress tier on Patreon.

Can Enchantress make Top 8 at Avatar of the Realm?

I took Enchantress to Grand Contest Baltimore and finished 12th with a 5-2 record — and honestly, I think I left Top 8 on the table.

This is a full breakdown of my Enchantress list, my tournament run, the matchups I faced, and the two mistakes that ultimately cost me my final two losses.

This is the same “Dankest Enchantress” list that won the Cornerstone about a month earlier, built around a resilient midrange Enchantress shell with cards like Acid Rain, Black Plague, Thunderstorm, Wildfire, Poison Nova, Abaddon Succubus, Coinxie, Fate Changeling, Order of the Sacred Torque, and Abundance.

I'll walk through every round:

• Necromancer — surviving a blisteringly fast opening
• Wave Shaper — using Scatter and Riptide to fight the board
• Sorcerer — where one major board-state mistake cost me the game
• Imposter — another mistake involving Sphere of Animosity and Flame Collar
• Steam Sorcerer — a brutally close game where Garden of Eden saved me
• Flame Collar — another aggressive matchup that came down to the final turn
• Archimago — controlling the graveyard and eventually turning the corner

The biggest lesson from the tournament wasn't that the deck needs a complete rebuild. It was that I need to play the deck better. I made two mistakes in my losses that I immediately knew I wanted to eliminate before Avatar of the Realm.

I also talk about why I'm so high on this version of Enchantress, what I'd change going forward, and why I think a Top 8 is eventually coming.

If you want to follow the Enchantress testing, theory, and tournament preparation, check out the Enchantress tier on Patreon.

Can Enchantress make Top 8 at Avatar of the Realm?

Grand Contest Baltimore delivered one of the most diverse Top 8s we've seen in Sorcery: Contested Realm — and Imposter finally took down a major tournament. Christian piloted Imposter to the championship after an incredible run through the Top 8, including a dramatic final against Gideon's Necromancer.

We break down every deck in the Top 8, including Imposter, Necromancer, Elementalist, Sorcerer, Pathfinder, and Geomancer, and talk about what the results tell us about the current Sorcery metagame. The Fire aggro package is showing up everywhere, Earth is becoming an important answer to aggressive decks, and Imposter continues to demonstrate just how much flexibility it has.

We also dive into our own Baltimore results. Zac finished 11th on Enchantress with 15 points, narrowly missing Top 8 on tiebreakers, while Phil finished as the highest-placing Magician at the event. Phil also came away with some important lessons about Cores, Dole Chance, frogs, Wiccan Tools, and playing around the surface/subsurface interaction.

Finally, we talk about the tournament itself — the 65-player field, the extra round, software problems, the tournament's growing pains, and why the community around Sorcery continues to be one of the best parts of the game.

Keep contesting the realm!

00:00 — Imposter Wins Grand Contest Baltimore
01:37 — Christian's Incredible Imposter Run
03:03 — The Top 8 Decks
06:24 — Sorcerer & the Fire Aggro Package
09:06 — Geomancer & the Enchantress Results
14:07 — How Imposter Plays Against Enchantress
15:20 — Phil's #1 Magician Finish
17:58 — Dole Chance, Frogs & Wiccan Tools
22:22 — How Diverse Was the Top 8?
23:28 — Tournament Logistics & Baltimore's Growing Pains

⏱️ Chapters

Grand Contest Baltimore delivered one of the most diverse Top 8s we've seen in Sorcery: Contested Realm — and Imposter finally took down a major tournament. Christian piloted Imposter to the championship after an incredible run through the Top 8, including a dramatic final against Gideon's Necromancer.

We break down every deck in the Top 8, including Imposter, Necromancer, Elementalist, Sorcerer, Pathfinder, and Geomancer, and talk about what the results tell us about the current Sorcery metagame. The Fire aggro package is showing up everywhere, Earth is becoming an important answer to aggressive decks, and Imposter continues to demonstrate just how much flexibility it has.

We also dive into our own Baltimore results. Zac finished 11th on Enchantress with 15 points, narrowly missing Top 8 on tiebreakers, while Phil finished as the highest-placing Magician at the event. Phil also came away with some important lessons about Cores, Dole Chance, frogs, Wiccan Tools, and playing around the surface/subsurface interaction.

Finally, we talk about the tournament itself — the 65-player field, the extra round, software problems, the tournament's growing pains, and why the community around Sorcery continues to be one of the best parts of the game.

Keep contesting the realm!

00:00 — Imposter Wins Grand Contest Baltimore
01:37 — Christian's Incredible Imposter Run
03:03 — The Top 8 Decks
06:24 — Sorcerer & the Fire Aggro Package
09:06 — Geomancer & the Enchantress Results
14:07 — How Imposter Plays Against Enchantress
15:20 — Phil's #1 Magician Finish
17:58 — Dole Chance, Frogs & Wiccan Tools
22:22 — How Diverse Was the Top 8?
23:28 — Tournament Logistics & Baltimore's Growing Pains

⏱️ Chapters

Sorcery: Contested Realm's next set may be taking us on a very different kind of adventure.

Captain Baldasar has appeared again, and that has us asking a much bigger question: is Sorcery finally beginning to develop an ongoing narrative?

Zac and Phil break down the first hints about the next Sorcery set, including the possibility of a pirate-themed adventure, exploration, recurring characters, and what Captain Baldasar's return could mean for the future of the game.

We also look back at games like Legend of the Five Rings and how its evolving characters and tournament-driven story created an incredible level of player investment. Could Sorcery eventually capture some of that same magic?

Then we get into some of the characters we could potentially see return, including Veristus, Thyas, Young Master Damon, and Captain Baldasar, while debating how much named-character storytelling Sorcery actually needs.

And because this is Eternal Durdles, we couldn't possibly end the episode without getting distracted by Annual Fair, Deep Sea Mermaid, Return to Nature, mulligan rules, and some absolutely cursed rules-lawyering.

Finally, we talk about Baltimore, Avatar of the Realm, Enchantress, and what we're actually playing at the next big event.

What do YOU think the next Sorcery set is going to be? Pirates? Exploration? The Void? Something completely different?

Let us know in the comments!

00:00 Sorcery's Next Set Is Coming
02:25 Is It Actually a Pirate Set?
03:02 Captain Baldasar & Recurring Characters
06:00 Could Sorcery Build a Real Story?
09:40 Which Characters Could Return?
14:00 Our Predictions for Returning Characters
18:40 Could We Explore the Void?
21:30 Preparing for Baltimore
23:00 The Deep Sea Mermaid Rules Rabbit Hole
27:00 Enchantress & Final Baltimore Prep

⏱️ Chapters

Sorcery: Contested Realm's next set may be taking us on a very different kind of adventure.

Captain Baldasar has appeared again, and that has us asking a much bigger question: is Sorcery finally beginning to develop an ongoing narrative?

Zac and Phil break down the first hints about the next Sorcery set, including the possibility of a pirate-themed adventure, exploration, recurring characters, and what Captain Baldasar's return could mean for the future of the game.

We also look back at games like Legend of the Five Rings and how its evolving characters and tournament-driven story created an incredible level of player investment. Could Sorcery eventually capture some of that same magic?

Then we get into some of the characters we could potentially see return, including Veristus, Thyas, Young Master Damon, and Captain Baldasar, while debating how much named-character storytelling Sorcery actually needs.

And because this is Eternal Durdles, we couldn't possibly end the episode without getting distracted by Annual Fair, Deep Sea Mermaid, Return to Nature, mulligan rules, and some absolutely cursed rules-lawyering.

Finally, we talk about Baltimore, Avatar of the Realm, Enchantress, and what we're actually playing at the next big event.

What do YOU think the next Sorcery set is going to be? Pirates? Exploration? The Void? Something completely different?

Let us know in the comments!

00:00 Sorcery's Next Set Is Coming
02:25 Is It Actually a Pirate Set?
03:02 Captain Baldasar & Recurring Characters
06:00 Could Sorcery Build a Real Story?
09:40 Which Characters Could Return?
14:00 Our Predictions for Returning Characters
18:40 Could We Explore the Void?
21:30 Preparing for Baltimore
23:00 The Deep Sea Mermaid Rules Rabbit Hole
27:00 Enchantress & Final Baltimore Prep

⏱️ Chapters