“Circe of the lovely hair, the dread goddess who spoke with a human voice.”
—Homer, the Odyssey
November 2026 is a big month for Sorcery: Contested Realm. Across the Atlantic, players from the New World can enjoy Avatar of the Realm in Boston, MA, the year's biggest Organized Play event, bringing together hundreds of sorcerers for a weekend dedicated to the game.
Meanwhile, we folks from the Old World did things a little differently in France. No massive championship, no international gathering, no grand production. Just a good old-fashioned Cornerstone tournament in Paris.
But we're a bunch of diehards. We have it in our blood. So we gathered for the local Cornerstone on Nov. 11, the day France celebrates the end of World War I. Needless to say, it’s a day to come together and enjoy our sweet liberty. For us Realm contesters, that means casting spells at each other!
Events are still somewhat scarce around here, even in the Paris region, so we try to make the most of them. Most importantly, we enjoy the time spent together. Maybe that's the whole point of the game after all.
There Be Tournament Grounds!
In 2025, I had the privilege of winning this very same event with Enchantress, my go-to Avatar. Gothic wasn't out yet, and we were still playing 50-card Spellbooks. Looking back at that tournament, I remember relying heavily on my rules knowledge and on the element of surprise, while most players were still firmly attached to the established 
Druid archetype. Through twists and turns, Enchantress's magic did the trick, and I was crowned 2025 Paris Cornerstone champion.
This time around, things were a little different. Well, for my opponents, at least. Not for me. Of course, I had to bring Enchantress again. The embodiment of Circe in the Odyssey, the famous witch, charmer...enchantress.
I've been playing the deck for most of the year, testing various iterations and archetypes. It might not be the most successful Avatar out there, but it's the one I enjoy most and feel most comfortable playing right now. I have to confess I like breaking the rules, and Enchantress does exactly that in the way I enjoy. That's probably why I keep coming back to it.
Hearing the Call of the Sea
When it comes to Enchantress, two main archetypes are worth considering:
is the more aggressive build, relying on explosive combo turns with cards like Blaze of Glory, Warp Spasm, and Whirling Blades. I've tested it the most over the past year, and it remains a strong contender.
However, recent mana rule changes have made increasingly attractive again. Abundance, in particular, has become much more powerful. Previously, its additional mana was only available on your next turn. Now, you can use it immediately, meaning playing Abundance over four sites effectively gives you an extra right away. This lets you deploy another Aura in the same turn and build significant momentum.
That's the direction I chose for this tournament: a control-oriented build with a small splash. provides the core engine through Abundance, Silence, and Acid Rain, while brings Thunderstorm, Black Plague, and Sphere of Animosity. Wildfire is the key reason to include , providing an additional damage engine.
Supported by a versatile creature package and a handful of removal, movement, and burst-damage spells, the strategy is about controlling the board, building momentum through Auras, and eventually turning them into threats.
Enchantress by Thibault M.
Minions
3 Coy Nixie
3 Fey Changeling
3 Order of the Sacred Oak
2 Orm Infestor
2 Abaddon Succubus
2 Sacred Stag
2 Daperyll Vampire
1 The Green Knight
1 Death Dealer
Magics
1 Blink
1 Lightning Bolt
2 Magic Missiles
2 Pollimorph
1 Riptide
2 Scatter
2 Infiltrate
1 Mesmerism
3 Poison Nova
3 Whirling Blades
1 Major Explosion
1 Wrath of the Sea
Auras
2 Acid Rain
2 Silence
2 Sphere of Animosity
1 The Black Plague
3 Thunderstorm
3 Wildfire
2 Abundance
1 Atlantean Fate
Artifacts
1 Ring of Morrigan
2 Torshammar Trinket
1 Shrine of the Dragonlord
2 Toolbox
Sites
1 Babbling Brook
1 Dark Tower
3 Funeral Pyre
1 Garden of Eden 
1 Gothic Tower
1 Joyous Garde
3 Lighthouse
1 Lone Tower
1 Merlin's Tower
2 Mismanaged Mortuary
3 Oasis
2 Perilous Bridge
3 Ruins
3 Thin Ice
3 Troll Bridge
1 Wuthering Heights
Collection
1 Just a Rock
1 Zap
1 Disenchant
1 Displace
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Magic Missiles
1 Riptide
1 Drown
1 Extinguish
1 Murder of Crows
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Round One vs Lan - Enchantress
The first round was an Enchantress mirror. My opponent was playing a more -oriented build, relying on Entangled Terrain and a network of Walls to control the Realm.
As always in the mirror, Aura positioning was critical. I established an early presence with Silence and Thunderstorm in the middle of the board. Keeping Thunderstorm within Silence's area of effect let me keep it around longer than usual, providing a steady source of damage.
I eventually reinforced my position with The Green Knight, which put my opponent under considerable pressure. He took control with King of the Realm, but I removed the King and eventually finished the game with my own creature.
A good start to the tournament, and a reminder of how important positioning is when playing Enchantress.
Round Two vs Sylvain - Savior
Sylvain was playing an Grey Wolves deck, and I knew I had to prevent him from establishing a board presence. His strategy relied on building a pack of Grey Wolves, often protected by Ward, so I approached the game as a control matchup.
The key moment came when he untapped with Moonsong Talagelum and developed his board further with Lady Iseult. I used Toolbox to fetch Murder of Crows, stripping away the Wards and opening the way for Scatter to reposition Lady Iseult. This allowed me to deal with her before dismantling the rest of his board.
What could have been a very threatening turn ended up being a complete reset. With most of his Minions cleared, I took control and closed out the game.
Round Three vs Gabriele - Archimago
My opponent was a good friend who would eventually (spoilers) go on to win the tournament.
I had a good start, deliberately mulliganing some Sites to find Funeral Pyre. This let me remove a crucial Common Sense from his cemetery early, while developing my own board with Thunderstorm, Sacred Stag, and Order of the Sacred Oak.
The pivotal moment came when I had to choose between Sphere of Animosity and Acid Rain. Worried about a potential Dispel, I chose Acid Rain to protect my Sphere of Animosity. In reality, he didn't have Dispel and cast Divine Healing, bringing himself back to 20 life.
Looking back, I probably should have played Sphere and forced him to answer. Having already removed Common Sense from his graveyard, I reduced his chances of finding Dispel, and maintaining pressure mattered more than playing around a card he might not even have had.
The game remained extremely close, and I was really close to ending it. I escaped a difficult position with Scatter, using it to remove a Root Spider with Silence and kill another Minion with an animated Aura, while turning around cards he could use to kill me. I regained the upper hand, but he eventually found Earthquake, moved away from the Sphere of Animosity, aligned himself with me, and recast Firebolts from his graveyard for lethal.
A frustrating loss, especially since I felt I had the game within reach, but we both agreed it was a great game nonetheless, and Gabriele made all the right calls. It was a good lesson in assessing when to commit and take risks, and not giving your opponent too much time.
Round Four vs Francis - Sorcerer
My fourth opponent was playing a rather unusual Sorcerer build, relying on difficult-to-interact-with Minions such as Lord of Lies and voidwalkers, alongside an Evil-themed package, including Black Mass and Eclipse.
It was a relatively slow game, and I had to be patient. The turning point came when he played Lord of Lies and removed two of my creatures, seemingly taking control of the board.
I sandbagged a Poison Nova because I didn't have an obvious site in my Realm. My only access to the threshold came from Shrine of the Dragonlord, making the play particularly difficult for him to anticipate.
When he committed more resources to the board, I finally unleashed Poison Nova, removing three of his most important Minions at once and completely reversing the situation. I then took control of his Daperyll Vampire with Mesmerism and gradually built enough pressure to close the game. Sphere of Animosity, combined with an Orm Infester advancing underground, eventually provided the finishing blow.
Round Five vs Pierre - Imposter
The final round was against another good friend, playing Imposter. He joked before the game that whoever played Abundance first would probably win, given the enormous tempo swing it provides.
I managed to get mine down first, but Imposter's ability to be Enchantress meant the game quickly became a little battle over Abundance itself. My opponent could threaten my own engine, so positioning and timing became particularly important.
It was even more complicated because his site, The Void, sat right in the middle of the board. Since the site also counts as Void, any Aura animated there would immediately die. I was hoping to draw Acid Rain or Atlantean Fate to deal with it, but neither showed up.
So I had to be particularly careful with my Thunderstorms, constantly repositioning them to keep pressure on his Avatar. Eventually, we both found ourselves very low on life. He used Highland Princess to fetch Amulet of Niniane, correctly identifying that protecting himself from magic was one of his best ways to survive.
I'd held Whirling Blades for a few turns, and I knew it was probably my last chance to win. I managed to bring him to Death’s Door by the skin of my teeth.
With Wildfire spent and The Void making it difficult to reach him with animated Auras, I had to wait for the right opening. With no minions left on my side and his Avatar positioned two steps away, I used my Enchantress as the target for Whirling Blades, letting her strike his Avatar without taking damage herself. It was enough to secure the win.
Looking back, this was a real war of attrition. My opponent built his Realm exceptionally well, making it hard for me to use my cards efficiently. I think I ultimately won by maintaining a small advantage in the life race, giving me some cushion to operate, and by holding Whirling Blades until the exact moment it could win me the game.
It was all a Dream Quest…
I finished the tournament with a 4-1 record and a Top 3 finish. My only loss came against the Archimago player who eventually won the entire event.
Overall, I was very happy with how the deck performed. I couldn’t win the French Cornerstone back-to-back, but I am glad I fiercely defended the title! And Gabriele is more than worthy to wear the Crown of the Victor! Only makes me want to nab it next year!
The tournament offered a good variety of matchups and once again showed what I enjoy most about playing Enchantress: managing resources, carefully positioning Auras, and finding the right moment to turn a seemingly harmless board into a lethal threat.
I’d like to thank the Enchantress community, especially Zac, who spearheads the archetype, for refining the deck and finding new ways to beat our opponents.
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Featured image: Silence by Marta Molina
