Sewer Rats Is G.O.A.T.ed in Immortal Throne Magician

Sorcery: Contested Realm · by ForceofPhil · August 21, 2026

Since trying to break {The Immortal Throne} in {Magician}, I've tried many different packages to draw as many cards as possible to assemble the pieces to scale the throne and sit atop it alone. While cards constantly move in and out of the list, the {Sunken Treasure} package has remained constant.

A quick recap: the best opening sequence is {Croaking Swamp} on turn one, a two-mana generating site (e.g., {Dark Tower}, {Lone Tower}, {Gothic Tower}, {City of Plenty}) on turn two to cast {Sunken Treasure}, which can only conjure under {Croaking Swamp} where the frog token is.

This opening led to so much velocity that I'd have played eight {Sunken Treasure} if it were possible. It took me eight months, but I've finally found the way: {Sewer Rats}.

Sewer Rats???

That's right. {Sewer Rats} was the hidden gem in the Realm I was hunting for. Turn one: play any site, cast {Sewer Rats} to its subsurface. Turn two, play a two-mana generating site, cast either {Sunken Treasure} or {Buried Treasure}, and the {Sewer Rats} is guaranteed to surface it to start turn three.

{Sewer Rats} is the bridge between both treasures and allows for much more consistent mulliganing to the best openings. {Sewer Rats} and {Buried Treasure} also pave the way for {City of Glass} to match the potency of {City of Plenty} on turn two for purposes of deploying a treasure; a tower or {Mountain Peaks} on turn one will turn on {City of Glass} on turn two to cast a {Buried Treasure}.

Immortal Magician by ForceofPhil

Of course, the list is a work in progress, and the upcoming {Frostmage} vs. {Lavamancer} set is likely to shake things up (excited to add {Tundra}!),

DECKLIST_START

Minions (10)

4 {Sewer Rats} [1][water]
1 {Highland Princess} [2][air][air]
2 {Salmon of Knowledge} [3][water][water]
1 {The Lady of the Lake} [3][water][water][water]
2 {Grandmaster Wizard} [6][air][air]

Magics (13)

1 {Plague of Frogs} [1][water][water][water]
1 {Browse} [1][air][air][air]
4 {Gift of the Frog} [2][water][water]
2 {Return to Nature} [2][water]
2 {Four Fat Frogs} [4][water][water]
2 {Dhol Chants} [5][air][air]
1 {Chaoswish} [6][air][air]

Artifacts (19)

1 {Aquamarine Core} [1]
1 {Amethyst Core} [1]
1 {Ruby Core} [1]
1 {Key to the City} [1]
1 {Kythera Mechanism} [1]
1 {Ring of Morrigan} [1]
2 {Silver Bullet} [2]
1 {Shrine of the Dragonlord} [2]
1 {Four Waters of Paradise} [2]
1 {Pnakotic Manuscript} [2]
3 {Sunken Treasure} [3]
2 {Buried Treasure} [2]
1 {Panpipes of Pom} [3]
1 {The Immortal Throne} [4]
1 {13 Treasures of Britain} [4]

Auras (1)

1 {Atlantean Fate} [5][water][water]

Collection (10)

1 {Ferryman's Coin} [1]
1 {Exhume} [2][earth]
1 {Dredge} [2][water]
1 {Swap} [3][water][water]
1 {Scatter} [3][air][water]
1 {Buried Treasure} [3]
1 {Four Fat Frogs} [4][water][water]
1 {Poison Nova} [5][fire]
1 {Gnarled Wendigo} [6][water]
1 {Muirid Formorians} [7][water][water]

DECKLIST_END

Collection Considerations

I am trying to find space to get the {Onyx Core} back into the deck, but [earth] is the least important splash, and {Key to the City} has more text against problematic hate sites like {Garden of Eden} or the new Court cycle.

Speaking of, {Sewer Rats} first ability to be cast to any site is potent against hate sites because it'd be much easier to convert {Raze}. I've played {Raze} in my collection of previous builds (using {Fey Changeling} similarly), but would need to adjust the thresholds to support [fire][fire] without {Wiccan Tools}.

The spread in the collection is meant to let {Silver Bullet} function as a modal spell for any mana cost needed to trigger it. I like {Ferryman's Coin} in the one-drop slot since it pays for itself. I have thought about {Fourberie Knot} to help defend against thicker minions while at Death's Door, but haven't tested that yet.

Depending on what you expect to face, {Fey Changeling} or {Invigorate} are reasonable inclusions. To help combat aggression, I've previously played {Poisonous Dagger} to combo with {Ring of Morrigan}. My current theory is that {Panpipes of Pom} can help frog tokens trade for opposing minions.

Going Full Frog

I have been impressed by the full frog package as a means to create power engines. {Pnakotic Manuscript}, {Dhol Chants}, and {13 Treasures of Britain} all reward copious allies in the Realm.

I played {Gift of the Frog} in earlier builds but found it inconsistent because I wasn't playing many minions. Getting the frog on turn two only happened if I also opened {Croaking Swamp}. {Sewer Rats} is, however, so good and enables full value {Gift of the Frog} on turn two.

The Math of Card Draw

The only card in the game at the time of this article's publication that draws a card for [1] is {Pendragon Legacy}. That's an outlier. There are a plethora of cards that draw a card for [2], including the Gift cycle and {Wiccan Tools}. To me, that suggests the reasonable rate to draw a card is [2]; anything more than that is overpaying.

As a result, I wouldn't consider drawing a single card for [3] — no {Apprentice Wizard} or {Deep-sea Mermaids}. {Grandmaster Wizard} is exactly on rate: three cards for [6] is [2] per card.

Through this lens, {Sunken Treasure}, {Buried Treasure}, and {Salmon of Knowledge} are above rate, even if they require a hoop to jump through. I'd rather jump through hoops than pay more mana.

Frogs, Rats, & Treasure

I'm very high on the potential of this shell, and I'll report back as I test it further.

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Featured image: {Sewer Rats} by Brian Smith