Written by Jonathan Fisher

I’m a new Sorcery: Contested Realm (SCR) player. In this article, I recap my experience finishing second overall at SCGCon Atlanta on Jan. 9-11, 2026, with Deathspeaker. I'll explain my card choices, experience over the table, and what I'll try next.

Deathspeaker by Jonathan Fisher

Artifact (9)

1 Amethyst Core
1 Onyx Core
1 Philosopher's Stone
1 Ring of Morrigan
2 Silver Bullet
3 Toolbox

Minion (40)

4 Cemetery Rats
2 Arjaro Exorcist
1 Highland Princess
4 Land Surveyor
3 Novice Necromancer
1 Sister Stefania
3 Sisters of Avalon
3 Skeleton Mage
1 Virgin in Prayer
3 Apprentice Wizard
1 Jack the Ripper
1 Sir Bors the Younger
1 Varistus the Evictor
1 Bane of Aventis
2 Gargantula
1 Archangel Gabriel
1 Archangel Michael
2 Legion of Gall
2 Master Necromancer
2 Grandmaster Wizard
1 Wraetannis Titan

Magic (11)

1 Browse
2 Cast into Exile
2 Gift of the Wolf
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Bury

Collection (10)

1 Carrion Beetles
1 Divine Healing
1 Just a Rock
1 Town Priest
1 Zap!
1 Dispel
1 Exorcism
1 Bury
1 Monster Hunter
1 Raise Dead

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Brand New Gothic Player

If you’re wondering, “Why not ?” Well, I’ve been playing SCR for less than one month. I fell in love with the game and dove right in. The need to build an Atlas and Spellbook hooked me overnight. A brand-new store had opened nearby, called Cold Foil Heroes. You may have heard of this shop, it’s only 5 minutes away for me!

I picked up a Beta precon set, played a game with my brother, and then stared at old 40K models sitting on my shelf. I thought to myself, "How many boxes of Sorcery could I convert these models into?" My first Beta box had three cores, one of which was foil. The non-foils were Onyx Core and Amethyst Core. Destiny was calling.

Onyx Core & Amethyst Core

Reading through cards as I opened them, Land Surveyor, Apprentice Wizard, and Deathspeaker caught my attention. What a fun value engine. I have the two cores for these elements. Let’s brew!

I sorted all of my and cards, pulling any minions with genesis abilities and carefully reading all minions to see if they had an effect upon entering the Realm. Sir Bors the Younger removes stealth. Jack the Ripper kills a mortal. Varistus kills something in the void. I was hooked on my value addiction.

Watching every YouTube video I could, I searched for inspiration and found self-mill:

Whoa! Gothic gave us new enablers that dump cards into the cemetery. Sites having game effects I would actually pay mana for were a big deal.

Many sites have effects I’d expect cost mana or work only if I deployed a relic to it, but instead, the effects are free. If we draw from the Atlas and Spellbook at the same ratio, we are twice as likely to find a specific site.

I was fascinated and dug in, considering playing a tournament despite having picking up SCR fewer than four weeks prior.

Deathspeaker in Atlanta

Many cards didn’t come up in the six rounds in Atlanta, but the early game and repeatable value are the deck's strengths.

It can leverage one-for-one removal since Deathspeaker can rebuy minions from the cemetery. The Observatory, Cemetery Rats, and Shallow Grave were incredible; functioning as draw filtering: Observatory looks at the top three, Cemetery Rats and Shallow Grave mill what I don't want to draw. Typically, I milled minions I wanted in the Cemetery.

Deathspeaker's ability wants cards that pack a punch in their genesis. Archangel Michael, Gargantula, Grandmaster Wizard, and Master Necromancer are all-star value cards to rebuy with Deathspeaker. Master Necromancer drops four of its six total power across Skeleton tokens. Gargantula is the best card in the deck — 4 power for 4 mana that cocoons a minion on genesis. I never mulligan it and want to draw both every game.

Skeleton Mage is an all-star. Lightning Bolt and Gift of the Wolf can hit the opponent directly and are reasonably priced to flashback with Skeleton Mage. I surprised opponents with the ability to add an unexpected four to six power to kill larger minions or strike their Avatar to Death's Door early.

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Silver Bullet and Legion of Gall were disappointing. They will find homes eventually, but the cost of tapping my unit weighed too heavily on Silver Bullet's value proposition relative to Toolbox. My opponents weren’t using their Collections enough to justify including Legion of Gall. One copy is still correct since a single copy can clear six cards from an opposing Collection, which shuts down spawning Shoggoths and removes relevant cards from an opponent's Toolbox. Otherwise, spending five mana to remove three Collection cards isn't justifiable.

The Tournament

My first three rounds involved Root Spiders. I read that card before the event, but I didn’t realize so many people play them. They constantly locked down angels, but I found ways to chip damage and close with Lightning Bolts and Zap!

Following my third round, I brainstormed with my opponent on how to kill Root Spiders, but all we could come up with was a burrowed Cemetery Rats plus Gift of the Wolf.

I reached into my Toolbox most often to cast Bury and flash it back with Skeletal Mage, but every time I drew Toolbox, I asked, "Should this tutor Zap! or do I need it now?” Zap! is a huge closer. Three cards in my deck that can tutor Zap! is a huge boon when planning an endgame.

opponents are a problem. I can’t bury their problematic minions in their sites, so I had to wait to use my removal for when they stepped onto my sites. I lost to Mitch, who played an unanswered Lilith into Pied Piper of Hameln, two cards I didn’t read before the event. After reading Pied Piper, I said, “Yeah, okay, I’m gonna go walk the hall. Congratulations.” Perhaps I should have toughed it out, but he had already lured a unit, stolen a minion with Lilith, and established a frontline of Troll Bridge and Thin Ice. It was round five, and I made the choice to relax before the final round of the Swiss.

I felt I was firing on all cylinders through the first four rounds. Milling (i.e., discarding cards directly from Spellbook to cemetery) was working. One of my opponents banished my cemetery three times, which still wasn't enough.

I learned plenty in a match against Harbinger, where I had to wait for their minions to step onto my sites before targeting them with Magic. I learned to handle Root Spiders, which, although frustrating, felt rewarding.

Each card had a moment to shine. Jack the Ripper ripped one of my minions on my opponent's Avatar to set up an undefendable attack. Bane of Aventis took control of my opponent's only blocker so I could strike for the kill.

Virgin in Prayer rewarded critical cards, such as Archangel Michael. Master Necromancer and Grand Wizard flooded my board and hand with value, and my legion of two-drops ensured that my early plays protected my borders.

Six rounds were incredible. During the event, I traded my tickets for Arthurian Legends packs and opened Ring of Morrigan!

Note for clarity: In competitive rules enforcement level (compREL) events where decklists are collected, it is illegal to change your decklist in the middle of the event. If a tournament does not collect decklists, then it is up to the Tournament Organizer's discretion if decks can change mid-event.

What Next?

I want a bigger top end. Deathspeaker gets grindy but struggles to close. The Lighting Bolts and Gifts of the Wolf are important for pushing damage, but branching into more robust top-end would help. I want to splash , though the double-threshold sites reward playing two elements. offers more closing power.

Tapping to convert Silver Bullet was too steep a cost. I’m not sure what else to do with the Collection yet, but it could be 10 Ordinaries.