I love Pick Up and Play products like preconstructed decks (precons). There is, however, a missed opportunity, as only two or so box sets are available. Not a miss by Erik’s Curiosa, but rather the Sorcery: Contested Realm (SCR) community. This article attempts to condense the reasons I enjoy these products so much, the efforts I put into iterating on them, and the difficulties I faced while doing so.
It is unanimous that precons are great products, as they are strongly recommended by the community to new players. They are great for learning the fundamentals and introducing new mechanics, whilst also having a splash of Sorcery’s quirkier cards. My opinions may differ from most, as I believe precons can still be fantastic outside introductory games.
Years after their initial release, I still have great fun with the precons, which helps when introducing new players. Precons function as a board-game-style pick-up-and-play option. The current four distinct but thematically connected decks are excellent for alternative multiplayer formats (e.g., Two-Headed Dragon and four-player free-for-all (a.k.a. Chaos)).
Imagine having an entire suite of precons. Each has a different level of complexity, theme, and set of mechanics to choose from, depending on a player’s skill level, mood, and game mode. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Why wait? There are plenty of different Avatars.
Creating Four Precons
I set a goal to create another set of four decks. The decks would have to share a set, have their own theme, not be prohibitively expensive, and, most importantly, be fun.
Arthurian Legends (AL) is the only set so far without precons but features four new avatars. Building precons for them seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I failed miserably.
I ended up with two decks, and they weren't fun. The limited card pool, especially the sites, made it challenging to avoid games feeling stale or one-sided. I struggled to find the time to playtest.
Precon Holy Grail
@evbot had already created a set of four unique precon decks for the AL avatars! They featured different element pairings, but had similar rarity make-up, and strong themes I didn't capture in my lists:
Witch Precon
Aura (1)
1 A Midsummer Night's Dream
Artifact (1)
1 Fourberie Knot
Minions (24)
2 Omnious Owl
3 Hyper Sprites
2 Shellycoat
1 Sir Tom Thumb
3 Sugarplum Pixies
2 Tooth Faeries
1 Blue Knight
1 Nelly Longarms
1 Ribble Boggart
1 Shameless Squire
1 Sir Pelleas
3 Helpful Hob
1 Seelie Court
1 The Wild Hunt
1 Unseelie Court
Magics (10)
1 Degradation
3 Grievous Insult
2 Led Astray
2 Whirlwind
1 Vanishment
1 Shapeshift
Sites (16)
2 Babbling Brook
4 Bog
1 Brocéliande
3 Fae City
4 Lookout
2 Troll Bridge
Archimago Precon
Artifacts (2)
1 Ring of Morrigan
1 Golden Harp
Minions (14)
2 Omnious Owl
2 Redbreast Robin
2 Sisters of Avalon
1 2 {Reckless Squire" data-game="sorcery">Purple Knight 2 {Reckless Squire}
1 Mounstrous Lion
1 Sir Balin
1 Sir Lamorak
2 Vikings
Magics (20)
1 Arcane Barrage
2 Charge
1 Cast into Exile
2 Magic Missiles
2 Power of Flight
2 Tactical Move
2 Burning Hands
2 Vanishment
3 Arc Lightning
1 Firebreathing
1 Ball Lightning
1 Lava Flow
Sites (16)
2 Beacon
4 Bonfire
1 Funeral Pyre
2 Lookout
1 Perilous Bridge
2 Poisoned Well
3 Treetop Hideout
1 Wizard's Den
Templar Precon
Aura (3)
1 Castle's Ablaze
2 Hamlet's Ablaze
Artifact (5)
1 Goswhit Helmet
2 Sword and Shield
1 Horn of Caerleon
1 Pendragon Banner
Minions (19)
2 War Horse
2 Field Laborers
2 Reckless Squire
1 Vengeful Heir
3 Yellow Knight
2 Brother Knight
2 Lumbering Giant
1 Siege Giant
1 Sir Morien
1 Sir Priamus
1 Spearmarshal
1 Sir Lancelot
Magics (10)
2 Charge
1 Knighthood
2 Burning Hands
2 Joust
2 Rescue
Sites (16)
2 Bonfire
3 Briar Patch
3 Common Village
1 Cursed Land
4 Forge
1 Funeral Pyre
2 Tournament Grounds
Druid Precon
Aura (2)
1 Wall of Brambles
1 Sylvan Splendor
Minions (27)
1 Frisky Red Squirrel
3 Grain Sparrow
3 Sly Fox
3 Squeakers
2 Thieving Magpie
1 Lugbog Cat
2 Pigs of the Sounder
1 Verdant Knight
3 Brown Bears
2 Lake Afanc
1 Wolpertinger
1 Grand Old Boar
1 Questing Beast
1 Sir Yvain
2 Wyvern
Magics (7)
2 Grievous Insult
1 Duel
1 Rescue
1 Stone Rain
2 Snowball
Sites (16)
1 Babbling Brook
4 Bog
3 Hunter's Lodge
1 Pebbled Paths
4 Pond
2 Troll Bridge
1 Varmint Warrens
Over a couple of weeks, I played a few games with them and made some tweaks. They by no means have the same polish as the official decks, but are a great place to start if you are looking to make something similar.
I recommend tweaking Archimago first. In order to keep the deck buildable for most players, I removed the Ring of Morrigan. With only AL magics, it feels clunky and underpowered.
Witch
Aura (2)
1 A Midsummer Night's Dream
1 Sylvan Splendor
Artifact (1)
1 Fourberie Knot
Minions (26)
2 Thieving Magpie
3 Hyper Sprites
2 Shellycoat
1 Sir Tom Thumb
3 Sugarplum Pixies
2 Tooth Faeries
2 Blue Knight
1 Nelly Longarms
1 Ribble Boggart
1 Sir Pelleas
2 Weightless Squire
3 Helpful Hob
1 Seelie Court
1 The Wild Hunt
1 Unseelie Court
Magics (7)
1 Degradation
3 Grievous Insult
2 Led Astray
1 Vanishment
1 Shapeshift
Sites (16)
2 Babbling Brook
4 Bog
1 Brocéliande
3 Fae City
2 Lookout
2 Stream
2 Troll Bridge
Archimago
Artifacts (2)
1 Merlin's Staff
1 Golden Harp
Minions (16)
2 Omnious Owl
1 Redbreast Robin
1 Fine Courser
2 Sisters of Avalon
1 Purple Knight
1 Reckless Squire
2 Keening Banshee
1 Mounstrous Lion
1 Sir Balin
1 Sir Lamorak
2 Vikings
1 The Ninth Legion
Magics (18)
1 Arcane Barrage
2 Charge
2 Cast into Exile
2 Magic Missiles
2 Power of Flight
2 Burning Hands
1 Vanishment
3 Arc Lightning
1 Firebreathing
1 Ball Lightning
1 Lava Flow
Sites (16)
2 Beacon
3 Bonfire
2 Lookout
1 Perilous Bridge
2 Poisoned Well
3 Treetop Hideout
2 Wasteland
1 Wizard's Den
Druid
Aura (2)
1 Wall of Brambles
1 Sylvan Splendor
Minions (26)
1 Frisky Red Squirrel
3 Grain Sparrow
3 Sly Fox
3 Squeakers
2 Thieving Magpie
2 Kettletop Leprechaun
1 Lugbog Cat
2 1 {Salmon of Knowledge" data-game="sorcery">Pigs of the Sounder 1 {Salmon of Knowledge}
1 Verdant Knight
2 Brown Bears
1 Lake Afanc
1 Wolpertinger
1 Grand Old Boar
1 Questing Beast
1 Sir Yvain
1 Wyvern
Magics (8)
2 Grievous Insult
1 Duel
1 Rescue
1 Shapeshift
1 Stone Rain
2 Snowball
Sites (16)
1 Babbling Brook
3 Bog
2 Hunter's Lodge
1 Pebbled Paths
3 Pond
1 Stream
4 Valley
1 Varmint Warrens
Templar
Aura (3)
1 Castle's Ablaze
2 Hamlet's Ablaze
Artifact (5)
1 Goswhit Helmet
2 Sword and Shield
1 Horn of Caerleon
1 Pendragon Banner
Minions (19)
2 War Horse
2 Field Laborers
2 Reckless Squire
1 Vengeful Heir
3 Yellow Knight
2 Brother Knight
2 Lumbering Giant
1 Siege Giant
1 Sir Morien
1 Sir Priamus
1 Spearmarshal
1 Sir Lancelot
Magics (9)
2 Charge
1 Knighthood
2 Burning Hands
2 Joust
2 Rescue
Sites (16)
2 Bonfire
3 3 {Common Village" data-game="sorcery">Briar Patch 3 {Common Village}
1 Cursed Land
4 Forge
1 Funeral Pyre
2 Tournament Grounds
I remain conflicted about whether this series should continue with other avatars. Should this long-term project isolate four decks, each emphasizing its set? Alternatively, would it be more fun to have a suite of individual themed decks, something like Card Kingdom’s Magic: The Gathering (MTG) Battle Decks?
Battle decks are low-cost, low-power, theme-heavy individual decks intended to be balanced against each other. They are similar to precons but could more reasonably be unbound by set, similar rarity counts, and a different deck size (e.g., 40/20 instead of 36/16). Either would be an endeavor.
Battle Decks throw away the official sets, making it easier to chip away at and potentially more fun.
If you’ve made it all the way through, please let me know any and all thoughts on the topic, the deck lists, or which series of decks you would prefer.
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Featured image: Sorcery: Contested Realm Precons
