On May 16, 2026, I finished in third place in a field of 45 players at the inaugural Assorted Animals Tournament Grounds event in Montreal. I piloted my Elementalist deck called TurboRedneck 8.2.
Elementalist — Third Place
Auras (4)
4 Hamlet's Ablaze
Artifacts (6)
3 Torshammar Trinket
3 Toolbox
Minions (38)
3 Colicky Dragonettes
3 Headless Haunt
1 Morgana le Fay
2 Mazuj Ifrit
3 Phase Assassin
3 Quarrelsome Kobolds
3 Redcap Powries
4 Screamer
3 Slumbering Giantess 
2 Sturmgeist
2 Avenging Angel
3 Gyre Hippogriffs
3 Saracen Raiders
1 Rebecks
1 Sir Pellinore
1 Highland Clansmen
Magics (12)
3 Cast into Exile
2 Grapple Shot
2 Infiltrate
2 Betrayal
3 Whirling Blades
Sites (30)
4 Arid Desert
4 Dark Tower
4 Gothic Tower
4 Lone Tower
4 Red Desert
4 Remote Desert
2 Sinkhole
4 Vast Desert
Collection (10)
1 Zap
1 Dispel
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Magic Missiles
1 Boil
1 Bury
1 Drown 
1 Incinerate
1 Highland Clansmen
Opens TCGPlayer Mass Entry with the full decklist pre-loaded.
Select Sorcery: Contested Realm as the Product Line, then click Add to Cart.
Deck Concept
The combination of Elementalist with the Lone Tower, Dark Tower. and Gothic Tower provides an opportunity to play the most efficiently costed minions on turn two. Casting high-value stat-line minions on curve is a sound strategy. My Elementalist build pushes that game plan as early and aggressively as possible.
Mulligans
Ideally, for spells, mulligan for a hand of three minions that cost three mana. The deck contains 27 -cost minions. It’s fine to have one -cost minion if you have a desert and two different towers as opening sites.
For sites, two deserts and one tower are fine. If you open Slumbering Giantess, ensure they're castable on turn two with a desert to play on turn three to wake them up.
Disruption
Most of the spells in this build are dual-purpose in that they may be played offensively or defensively. Grapple Shot and Whirling Blades may be used as minion removal, extra Avatar damage, or Death's Door solutions.
Infiltrate and Betrayal often provide a favorable two-for-one trade or deal additional damage in a tempo race; dealing extra damage to my opponent and moving their minions out of blocking range is usually my primary choice. This build aims to close games fast.
Cast into Exile is my only clean removal spell in the Spellbook. It's inexpensive and versatile against most minions. In my local meta, players often like to use cards like Mix Aer, or Carionettes to accelerate The Doom of Dilmun. Cast into Exile is an inexpensive, effective answer that also handles other sticky minions like Hounds of Ondaros or Seirawan Hydra.
It’s important to include a versatile removal spell for those huge threats. I don't want Cast into Exile in my opening hand. Rather, it’s a backup plan in a moment of need.
Key Points
Hamlet's Ablaze may be kept in the opening hand if you have two other -cost aggressive minions like Slumbering Giantess, Redcap Powries, or Headless Haunt. A turn two Hamlet's Ablaze on an opposing forward site, then replaced rubble for a big -cost minion on turn three can be absolutely devastating.
Whirling Blades with Headless Haunt is often effective.
Sir Pellinore is often a three-for-one, killing the various Lords and drawing a card, or coming in for [five] damage against an opposing site.
Submit Your Article To Eternal Durdles!
Subscribe to Eternal Durdles on YouTube!
Subscribe to Common Sense: Sorcery podcast on YouTube!
Featured image: Elementalist by Elvira Shakirova
