12th Place at 2026 Grand Contest Baltimore w/Enchantress

You don’t have to be a rocket-science wizard to know that I would continue my undefeated, back-to-back Cornerstone champion run with Enchantress in Baltimore for the 2026 Grand Contest. One year ago, Phil took {Archimago} to 12th place in Baltimore after learning to play only days before we started the Common Sense podcast. I aimed to rank above that in a major event. 

If you have followed my {Enchantress} journey, you are likely aware of my build, but I’ll briefly discuss my theory for those who haven't been riveted by the last four months of effort making {Enchantress} the dark horse of the metagame.

Card Quality Over Card Quantity

This is the basic theory when building {Enchantress}, since there aren’t ways to acquire extra cards. Each card needs to provide an advantage in the Realm, either by trading for several of the opponent’s cards or by gaining meaningful tempo or position to overwhelm any engine or card advantage they might have. You’ll be served to see this episode from just after Gothic’s release regarding Rectangle Theory:

{Enchantress} does not accrue rectangles (cards or tokens). Her strengths are power and versatility, not power or versatility, which is {Animist}’s bottleneck. Enchantress’s auras represent board presence/control, damage, and disruption. Each aura’s base effect is worth a card and then further affects the board by animating into a minion. Converting damage or removing opposing rectangles is how card quality can provide card equity.

Imagine a scenario where your opponent has three minions. You cast {Wildfire} to kill one minion. On a later turn, you attack another minion. The next turn, the opponent casts {Bury} on {Wildfire} or trades their third minion to remove it from the Realm. That {Wildfire} was worth three of the opponent’s cards. That's their starting hand! 

Enchantress rewards those who identify what resources matter in the Realm and determine where to allocate resources for maximum impact.

Round One vs. Gavin — [fire][air] Necromancer 

The first round is always hard for me. My deck never feels sufficiently shuffled after a deck check to ensure I’m playing my intended 101 cards. As a result, I felt as though I had a slow start against Gavin, who was dressed to kill. 

Early plays, such as {Desecrator Kite} and {Forsaken}, had me on the back foot. My hand was controlling, but I needed secure footing in the Realm. I Toolboxed for {Murder of Crows} to keep opposing hoards at bay. 

My {Sacred Stag}s and the {Order of the Sacred Oak}s transformed me from a victim to a perpetrator. Gavin was low to the ground, and by surviving his early onslaught, my cards outclassed his in the mid-to-late game.

Round Two vs Brendan — Waveshaper

Brendan’s {Waveshaper} list had me nervous. I’ve struggled against {Waveshaper} because {Maelstrom} lets them pull my minions to one square. I {Scatter}ed my minions away from the {Waveshaper}’s clenches. 

Brendan recorded this match, which will offer a more in-depth look in the near future. The key plays were my ability to affect the board with movement spells. Freeing my {Sacred Stag} and {Order of the Sacred Oak} was clutch. He had to split turns between drawing sites and locking down a minion, letting {Wildfire} or {Thunderstorm} deal some fast damage. 

Round Three vs. Tom H — [earth][water][air] {Sorcerer}

I was happy to see Tom, who has been on my radar since last year's Crossroads event. Tom always hovers at the top tables. In D.C., we talked about 90s CCGs. When he sat down across from me, I was less thrilled, knowing it would be an extremely challenging match.

I was fortunate to draw an early Garden of Eden. My minions flowed well as we traded resources. The pivotal turn was when Tom placed {Acid Rain} on {Garden of Eden}. I panicked and made a series of mistakes.

Tom’s {Acid Rain} and {Abaddon Succubus} were on my side of the Realm near {Thin Ice}. {Thunderstorm}, positioned correctly, could kill the {Acid Rain} and likely remove the demon a turn later. 

I drew {Coy Nixie} and got too excited. Being too focused on the value of drowning everything, I cast {Coy Nixie}, animated his {Acid Rain}, and lured the {Abaddon Succubus} before playing {Thunderstorm} on top of his Avatar. At the end of the turn, I hit his Avatar for 3 damage and moved to drown his {Acid Rain} and {Abaddon Succubus}. To my horror, Tom pointed out that {Acid Rain} turned off my {Thin Ice}. 

I had to make a call for the type of player I want to be at an exhibition-style event. If there was a Rainbow Foil on the line, I’d have called a judge for a rewind, as no new information had been gained. It’s 100% legal and within the rules for me to do that. But it didn’t feel good to make such a glaring error and then take it all back.

Tom is a good dude, and he deserved to win after I made such a ruinous error. At that moment, I had to decide whether I wanted to take it all back. I decided to let the play stand. It was brutal and would likely mean I’d lose the match, but I really don’t like rewinding that much. 

This game was within my grasp, and I shanked it pretty badly. However, I believe that if I had made the correct play, I would have swung this game in my favor. As a result, Tom took me out a turn or two later. I walked away with a resolution to play tighter.

Phil’s note: Phil agreed that not rewinding the play was the right call. Learning from our mistakes is how we become better players, and the rewind rule can strip that from us. There is less incentive to learn and grow if we can take unlimited redos after any number of game actions. Ultimately, rewinding to undo a mistake removes the consequences that make mistakes meaningful drivers of future improvement.

Round Four vs. Christian — [fire][water] Imposter

OH BOY. Christian is another known quantity at these events! He ultimately won this Grand Contest. 

His {Imposter} play was immaculate. It's a matchup I really enjoy, because it rewards knowledge. I was an early {Imposter} truther myself. Christian’s list was aggressive, but I faded his early rush and even {Wildfire}d {Morrigan le Fay}. 

Things were looking great for me as I stabilized and healed. My hand, however, was too defensive. {Mesmerism} was stuck in my hand due to the [water][water][water][water] threshold, and {Infiltrate} never had a good target. {Sphere of Animosity} locked the Imposter toward the edge of the Realm, and I was keen to maximize my position. I really wanted {Mesmerism} to be live. 

BRUTAL MISTAKE. 

I drew a site instead of moving permanently out of the range of his {Imposter}’s obvious {Flamecaller} attack. He hit me for 11+ damage to Door me. I spent the next few turns fading {Sorcerer} draws and pivoted to become the aggressor. I was a turn away, but {War Horse} and {Quarrelsome Kobolds} knocked me out. 

It was an epic finish, and I wasn’t upset since I knew my mistake was my misplay. Both of my losses were preventable with tighter play. My deck was performing well; I was just a step behind. 

Round Five Felipa — [fire][water] {Sorcerer}

My round five opponent introduced herself as Shea, so I’ll refer to her as such. This was Shea’s first big event. 2-2 is pretty impressive for a debut event. My first big event was a Mirage MTG PTQ in 1996, where I finished 1-6. My lone win was a bye against a no-show opponent.

Shea’s [fire][water] {Sorcerer} was pure gas. {Lugbog Cat} and {Lacuna Entity} are a midrange nightmare for me. I had to spend the early turns casting {Fey Changeling} to slow her down so I could develop. 

{Lugbog Cat} came in hot but was bounced, then {Pollimorph}ed. {Wild Fanatic}s dashed in for early damage to put me on the back foot. {Whirling Blade}s swung things back in my favor. 

The last few turns, I stayed out of range of her burn and charge minions. A {Lacuna Entity} drowned my {Order of the Sacred Oak}. This match was much closer than I’m used to, and I was fortunate to have drawn {Garden of Eden} early enough to shut down her additional card draw.

Round Six vs. Leland — Flamecaller

After getting dunked on my {Imposter}’s {Flamecaller} mask, I did not look forward to another {Flamecaller} encounter. Leland’s deck was hyper-aggressive, so I was lucky enough to endure the early game. 

Their {Salt the Earth} made me stumble for a turn, but I stayed out of range of their Avatar’s ability. As I got them to Door, they {Toolbox}ed a {Blink} to Door me. I was worried because I didn't have a kill in hand, and was sure they did. Thankfully, I drew {Whirling Blades} to end it. If I wiffed, {Searing Truth} would have finished me off.

Round Seven vs Giuseppe — Archimago

4-2! I clawed my way back! Giuseppe flipped over {Archimago}, and I was relieved. {Archimago} is a great Avatar and a really strong deck, but it's a devil I know. I’m undefeated in competitive play vs. {Archimago} because it’s a match I’m familiar with; I knew to prioritize {Funeral Pyre} and {Mismanaged Mortuary}. 

The early game was dominated by Soldier tokens and {Kettletop Leprechaun}s. I wanted to stay above 10 life after {Archimago} reached [8] mana. My turn four was an {Abundance}; my turn five was a {Silence} plus {Whirling Blades} to clear the {Kettletop Leprechaun}, Soldier tokens, and a {Root Spider}. 

This allowed me to stunt Giuseppe on mana since {Kettletop Leprechaun}’s deathrite didn’t trigger, and the {Silence} allowed prevented {Abundance} from ramping him.

Giuseppe was on the back foot since I could attack with {Abundance} without him gaining the mana it would otherwise have provided. Eventually, a {Dispel} stopped my onslaught, but I held the stronger position, and {Funeral Pyre} crippled his cemetery. 

The game ended when my {Scatter} moved {Archimago} into the range of damage. {Archimago} remains a powerful deck against the field, but their removal is often soft against the stickiness of auras. 

In this match-up, {Enchantress} is the beatdown. You can’t give {Archimago} time to accrue resources. My Atlas was well positioned to disrupt their cemetery, so it cost me little to fight their plan if I drew to those sites naturally. 

12th Place

I finished 5-2 for 12th place. My two losses were my fault. I had full agency over my result. I stumbled, but had I played just a little more heads-up, we could be showing off Common Sense’s first big win. I guess I’ll have to wait until Avatar of the Realm.

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Featured image: {Enchantress} by Jussi Pylkäs