If you could run a fourth, fifth or sixth copy of your best cards wouldn’t you do that?
Convoke enables that exact opportunity.
So why does it only see play in less than 30% of possible decks?
Convoke sees play in 50.8% of Sigrith decks which points to players understanding its value in those decks.
However, only 25.3% of Griza and 13.8% of Auric decks.
If you're building a deck with access to Order of the Shattered Throne cards and Convoke isn't in the list, you're leaving real, measurable value on the table.
Convoke allows you to search your deck for any Basic unit. For 2 Echo you gain the ability to have almost any unit in your hand.
This solves two problems at once.
First, consistency: it functions as extra copies of your cards.
Second, it answers specific board states, letting you fetch exactly the piece a given matchup calls for, or deterring your opponent from committing removal to a unit they know you have multiples of.
The cost of convoke cannot be overlooked. It costs 2 Echo and forces you to plan one turn ahead.
That is not nothing, but it is easier to mitigate than people may first think.
Standing on Starcast Halls turn 1 is pretty easy, and turns this into a 1 Echo spell. The fact that you have access to Order of the Shattered Throne units means you can easily produce more Echo throughout the game.
The cost associated with Convoke is very small compared to the boost in consistency it gives you. You go from a 67% chance of seeing a specific card by turn 2 to a 90% chance of seeing it.
These two decks explain why Convoke works. They just use it differently.
Londriel plays Convoke as insurance. Her opening hand wants a Valcarist Priest or the opportunity to get one as soon as possible.
Convoke is the backup plan if that Priest doesn't show up. Once the first Priest is down, Convoke usually goes and gets Brighthold Custodian or a second Valcarist Priest (they are that good!).
Sigrith treats Convoke as a genuine toolbox. Early, she's fetching a Priest same as Londriel, trying to bank Echo early.
Once she's got one or two Priests already on the field, Convoke stops being a fetch-the-plan card and starts being a read-the-opponent card.
Search for an offensive piece, a Citadel Crossbowman. A very strong unit for 3 Echo.
8 inches of range and the ability to deal 5/3 damage means this unit can threaten your opponent's units from a good distance away.
The downside it has with Reload is not major as that allows you to move back to safety so they don’t get charged.
Grab a defensive piece, the Knight of Astaris is great for helping your units get hit less and when they do, they don’t need to be the ones to take the damage, the Knight can use Protection.
when you start to turn the corner in the game and you need to get aggressive, you can turn this defensive unit into an offensive one with that 4/2 damage stat line.
This is a great unit in Sigrith and never a bad pick with Convoke.
There are plenty of options to grab in Sigrith’s deck to help solve problems in the battlefield. You rarely have a bad choice because of how high quality the basic units in Order of the Shattered Throne are.
You can even grabbing a second Valcarist Priest if there are multiple expensive units in your hand.
Convoke gives Sigrith a versatile toolbox to get what is needed.
A deck having such versatility cannot be underestimated.
Griza's inclusion rate sits at 25.3%, roughly half of Sigrith's.
Griza’s ability Soul Sacrifice allows this spell to be played for 2 HP instead of Echo. Making it practically free.
Griza also unlocks targets neither Sigrith nor Londriel have access to. The signature pick is Tragedy of Greed.
This unit hits for 4/2 and since it is a Spirit, it gives Griza extra reach through the Spirit Master ability.
The versatility here is great as you can search up Mashr to play with Deadly Demise.
This allows you to defeat your opponent’s unit but because of Mashr’s Convoke Fallen ability you can search up and play for free a basic fallen unit. Mitigating any downside of losing one of your units.
If you thought Brighthold Custodian was good in Londriel or Sigrith, wait till you see what Griza can do with this unit.
The Masarin Deathsinger’s ability Mockery allows for a card to be drawn whenever an opponent scores a Critical Graze on a unit within 6 inches of the Deathsinger.
The Brighthold Custodian can force an opponent to Critically Graze a nearby unit by using its Distract ability.
This is very powerful synergy as it is repeatable card draw each turn. Very few Seekers have access to consistent card draw, those that do need to take advantage of it.
Convoke is only included in 13.3% of Auric decks, the lowest of the four, and it's the clearest case of a deck leaving value on the table.
With the introduction of the reinforcement packs there is a new archetype available for Auric. It focuses less on equipment synergy and more on taking advantage of the factions and abilities that the deck has access to.
The deck revolves around two main units:
The Citadel Crossbowman can shoot for 5/3 damage once per activation with 8 inches of range. That leaves another action available to the Crossbowman, which means they are great targets for the Avakran Flute.
They can use that extra action to Battlecry another unit to attack or move. Having a Citadel Crossbowman target another Crossbowman to shoot through Battlecry allows you to get a lot of extra shots.
Convoke is the piece that ensures this deck hums along consistently. It is the 4th and 5th copy of the Citadel Crossbowman. It goes along great with the 5 Battlecry cards in the deck (2x Avakran Flutes & 3x Spirit Shamans).
This deck is a ton of fun! You can put out a large amount of range attacks consistently and because your units are so cheap you are swarming your opponent so fast they have a hard time keeping up.
Iryana and Aratan allows your units to gain Swarm 1. Discordant Voice can use it's Unleash ability for an "out-of-activation" charge. Combined they can trigger Swarm easily for your ranged units, allowing you to chew through your opponent's units with ease.
Convoke is the card that guarantees the engine actually comes together. Crossbowmen out but no Battlecry unit? Convoke gets one. Battlecry unit and one Crossbowman down? Convoke gets the second Crossbowman.
Whatever piece of the puzzle is missing, Convoke finds it, and because the deck is drawing cards and has backup copies available, the opponent can't remove their way out of it.
Sigrith and Londriel already know the answer. Griza and Auric are the two decks where a single change closes a measurable gap in consistency.
This new Auric archetype is a lot of fun and could be a contender to dethrone the current "Equipment Matters" deck for Auric as the new go to.
Convoke is the fourth, fifth, and potentially sixth copy of the best card in your deck.
These findings are hereby entered into the Grand Archive.