Grand Endeavor wins games (Sigismar & Wingspan) [Standard]

I brought Sigismar & Wingspan to the AWOL Monday Weekly on 2025-03-24 and the AQZ Championship on 2025-03-27.

The list I brought to AWOL included no permanents while the list I brought to AQZ included two copies of Grand Endeavor (R). The Grand Endeavor-less list went 4-3 for 48th of 163 while the Grand Endeavor list went 5-1 for 11th of 119.

The decklists

Differences in the Grand Endeavor (R) list:

• +2 Foundry Mechanic (F)
• +2 Grand Endeavor (R)
• +1 Ozma (C)
• -2 Ordis Attorney (R)
• -1 Tiny Jail (R)
• -1 Jack Frost (F)
• -1 Sticky Note Seals (C)

The big difference was shifting around rares to make room for the Grand Endeavor (R)s. Foundry Mechanic (F) becomes much more compelling when your early-game progressions matter more and you can high-roll into a D3 Grand Endeavor (R).

Since Grand Endeavor (R) will ideally close out the game before an expensive character or permanent takes over the game, I felt comfortable cutting Sticky Note Seals (C) and replacing it with Ozma (C) to go along with the increased number of 1-drops.

Notes

The list with Grand Endeavor (R) felt much stronger. Where the other list could occasionally run out of steam just before the finish line, Grand Endeavor (R) provided inevitability.

The consistency of Sigismar’s curves thanks to the quantity of cheap characters in the deck meant that if my opponent slipped at all on D1, D2, or D3, Sigismar could easily pull into an expedition lead. This usually ended up being a death sentence when followed up with Grand Endeavor (R).

I felt the lack of 1-drops in the list without Grand Endeavor (R). In comparison, the full set of Foundry Mechanic (F)s in the Grand Endeavor (R) list played great. The deck wants to run 1-mana 1/1/2s; permanents just provide extra incentive to do so. This is even more true thanks to my Charge! uniques. I imagine the case would be similar if you have access to token generators.

Teija & Nauraa felt like the hardest matchup for Sigismar. Anchored plants can outsize your characters over two days. Their boosted characters blank Tiny Jail, and The Spindle, Muna Bastion turns off Teamwork Training (C) as well. It didn’t come up for me, but it should in theory be harder to find a Grand Endeavor (R) window, since anchored characters mean they can sometimes pay to remove your landmark and come out ahead even if they didn’t play a character that afternoon.

Uniques

The Frog Prince: 6/7

After Sigismar plays two other characters, for 3 mana this will generate 6/6/6 distributed in your choice of 2/2/2 increments. Depending on how your opponent plays, it’s a huge advantage to be able to either spread things out to narrowly win both expeditions or to pile stats on one side to close out the game.

The fact that this is an arrow ability means it’s a must-sabotage, otherwise you’ll land a blowout two days in a row.

Paper Herald: 6/7

This Charge! unique can earn a 2-0 on D1 or D2: alongside one other character and your Sigismar Recruit, it’ll pump out 4/4/3 worth of stats for 2-mana. Its low cost of 2 is a huge deal, since it’s not impossible to play this for 5 or 6 boosts on the final day of the game.

I like that it’s flexible on the back-end as either a cheap after-you or a free 1/1/1 with the support ability. Both play well with additional Charge! (C)s.

Ozma: 6/7

This unique has gotten better since the change to Ozma (C) because it’s no longer fighting for slots with Sigismar’s best common.

This one Charge!-es your board, including your Ordis Recruit, making its floor a 2/3/3 that draws you a card, comparable to a Baba Yaga (F). Ideally, however, you’re playing this on M6 or M7 alonside at least two other characters for a hard-to-remove +4/4/4 with a card draw on top. If you’re at M8 or above, you probably don’t care about the card draw and are just looking to close out the game with the Charge! (C) effect.

The back-side will rarely be played, but that’s not a big deal if it’s already drawn you a card.

AWOL

Featured game: Round 5.

R1 (W): Fen & Crowbar

• I managed a D2 2-1 against my opponent’s Haven Seiringar (F) due to its 0 in water, and I was able to maintain that lead throughout the game.
• The Frog Prince (U) earned a landside 2-0 on D4.
• Fen engineered a push against the back-side of The Frog Prince (U) using a Cernunnos (U) with a Hooked and an Amahle, Asgarthan Outcast (U) with a The Sandman (R) effect. They were unable to hold me back for a second day in a row, however.

R2 (W): Kojo & Booda

• I pushed against Booda on D1 and managed to pull ahead on D2 with a 2+1+1 sequence.
• This was a scrappy early/mid-game with plenty of sabotage and minimal card advantage on both sides.
• I maintained the 1-expedition lead throughout the game and closed it out with a 2-0 The Sandman (F) finisher. Had my opponent represented more stats, I could have slept my own Ordis Attorney (R) for an overwhelming advantage on the following day.

R3 (L): Afanas & Senka

• I started with a weak, common-only hand but was at least able to 1-0 against a Baba Yaga (R) with an Ordis Spy (C) on D1.
• My opponent was able to 1-1 against my big Paper Herald (U) and Ozma (U) days, though they had to work for it.
• Once I got within 2 expeditions of victory, my opponent was able to overwhelm me with their multi-boosted Kadigiran Mage-Dancer (R)s and spells recurred with Sleight of Hand (F).
• I tried to hold onto Teamwork Training (C) and Tiny Jail (C) as long as possible but felt pressured to mana them in the mid-game in order to have strong days with my uniques. Only afterwards did my opponent develop their must-remove threats which shut me out.

R4 (L): Teija & Nauraa

• In the above scenario, the Spindle Harvesters (R) will always be boosted by noon on the next day (be it by Ogun (F) or something else), so it needs to be removed. I’d support either immediately firing off the Teamwork Training (C) or leading with the Foundry Mechanic (F) hero-side to bait out the Ogun (F) and leave up enough mana in case of The Spindle, Muna Bastion (R). I mistakenly led with Ordis Cadets (C) hero-side which tapped me out of Teamwork Training (C) after The Spindle did come down. Worse still, this preventing me from going 2-0 with the Paper Herald (U) because I didn’t place enough characters companion-side.

• Letting the Spindle Harvesters (R) stay out was disastrous. My opponent’s Lyra Thespian (U) kept it anchored for the following two days.
• Tiny Jail (R) felt quite bad here: even if I wanted to pay the tough from The Spindle, Muna Bastion (R), all of my opponent’s characters had a stat greater than 3 thanks to the boosts. Comically, I drew into two more copies at once.
• I got to 1/3 but couldn’t close the game out due to my opponent’s reanchored plants. Grand Endeavor (R) would have won in this spot.

R5 (L): Teija & Nauraa

• The best keep here was: Teamwork Training (C), Ordis Trooper (R), and Ordis Cadets (C). Leading with Ordis Cadets (C) wins two progressions against Dracaena (C) where e.g. Ordis Gatekeeper (C) does not. A D2 Ordis Cadets (C) means my Teamwork Training (C) can target a 3-cost character.

• Instead of the Ordis Cadets (C), I kept and led with the Ordis Gatekeeper (C). This went 1-1 against my opponent’s D1 Dracaena (C) instead of 2-1. When my opponent led with an anchored Aloe Vera (R), I wasn’t able to generate two characters with 2 mana and as a result couldn’t target it with Teamwork Training (C).
• I held onto early Teamwork Training (C)s, but Floral Tent (C) meant I had to fire one off just to win an expedition rather than to remove an anchored characters. The other hit an Aloe Vera (R) reanchored by their Spindle Harvesters (U) but left me out of removal for the Harvesters (U) themselves.
• I was unable to play The Frog Prince (U) on M6 due to being low on cards and only having 2-drops. I got two bureaucrat triggers but fell behind 3/2.
• Tiny Jail (C) hit one of their Spindle Harvesters (U) but their other Spindle Harvesters (U) reanchored their board with the help of an Ogun (F) and was enough to close out the game.

R6 (W): Teija & Nauraa

• The Sandman (F) slept an Aloe Vera (R) to get a 2-0 on D2.
• On D4, my Paper Herald (U) Charge!-ed a board of five characters for another 2-progression day.

R7 (W): Teija & Nauraa

• I played a Tiny Jail (R) on my opponent’s Spindle Harvesters (R) on D1. They 1-0-ed with an Ogun (F), but I was happy to deny their anchored resupply.
• I replayed the Tiny Jail (R) to de-anchor my opponent’s Spindle Harvesters (R) under a Floral Tent (C).
• Teamwork Training (C) through The Spindle, Muna Bastion (R) was well worth it to remove an anchored Aloe Vera (R) and 1-1.

• My Charge! Ozma (U) and Paper Herald (U) closed out the game when played alongside two Ordis Cadets (C).

AQZ

Featured game: Round 4.

R1 (W): Treyst & Rossum

• I got a free 2-0 on D1 while my opponent set up their The Ouroboros, Lyra Bastion (R).
• In the scenario above, I considered Tiny Jail (R) on the Tinker Bell (U) to guarantee another 2-0. However, this would have let them use Tinker Bell (U)’s support ability to return one of their uniques to hand and accumulate two scrap counters. Instead, I just passed, content to give up a progression to force my opponent’s reserve to overflow. I could then play the Ordis Spy (C) on the following day to sabotage whichever unique they didn’t lead with.
• Their Avalanche (C) looked pretty good when it swept up my Foundry Mechanic (F), Ordis Spy (C), and Ordis Recruit. The only downside for them was that I was able to replay the Foundry Mechanic (F) which let me trade expeditions.

• In the above scenario, my opponent could play a 3/3/3 and a boosted 2/2/2 to block both sides, but I would then have a removal target. If they used their Haven to boost their 3/3/3 out of range, their 2/2/2 wouldn’t be enough to block.

R2 (L): Teija & Nauraa

• My Charge! uniques on D2 and D3 got me off to a 1-expedition lead.
• My opponent dropped a Spindle Harvesters (U) that could anchor on boost. I hadn’t seen any removal spells, so I wasn’t able to remove it.
• I weathered the storm, but immediately after, their Aloe Vera (R) resupplied into another Spindle Harvesters (U). I still hadn’t seen removal, so an Ogun (F) reanchored their entire board.
• My instinct tells me that 3x Teamwork Training (C), 2x Tiny Jail is a healthy number of removal spells. I’m chalking this one up to variance of not seeing one until over halfway through my deck.
• The one thing I could have done was to keep an Ordis Spy (C) from the opener to sabotage e.g. an Ogun (F), but their Spindle Harvester (U)s were both played from reserve when they were the first player.

R3 (W): Sigismar & Wingspan

• In the scenario above, my opponent tapping out for their Ordis Spy (U) let me play The Sandman (F) companion-side to advance on water, sleep my Ordis Recruit for a 3/3/3 on the next day, then win hero-side with the Ordis Trooper (R).
• Going into M6, I was ahead 3/5 and went for a Grand Endeavor (R) despite my opponent leading with an Ordis Trooper (R) and representing 5 mana for Sticky Note Seals (C). They ended up not having removal for it, and it won me the game.

R4 (W): Nevenka & Blotch

• On D2, I need to lead with the Foundry Mechanic (F) to leave mana up for Ordis Spy (C). I could have sabotaged the Hathor (C), but I was fine with them bouncing a Martengale (R). What I was worried about is them playing and bouncing a Magical Training (F). That’s exactly what they ended up playing, and I had the sabotage on hand for it. It’s far more important to hit the Magical Training (F) itself in case they have other ways to recur it, such as Ouroboros Inkcaster (R).
• My Charge! Paper Herald (U) landed a surprise 2-0 on D3.
• My opponent generated card advantage by looping their Kadigiran Mage-Dancer (U) and their Kappa (U).

• The Sandman (F) can sleep and boost the Ordis Recruit to guarantee a progression, but this allows my opponent to win a side with their Lyra Thespian (C). Baba Yaga (R) on either side goes 0-1 to Kappa (U) and a non-6 die roll. This is worth it, though, since it minimizes their Kappa (U) value, forces their reserve to overflow, gets the Baba Yaga draw now, and saves The Sandman for a more important day.
• On the following day, The Sandman (F) emptied an expedition to earn a critical 2-0.
• Grand Endeavor (R) at 1/4 meant I didn’t have to work for the final progression.

R5 (W): Sigismar & Wingspan

• My opponent had our Baba Yaga (F)s mirror each other in a slow opening.
• I got a Foundry Mechanic (F) into reserve on D2 in case I were to draw into Grand Endeavor (R) on D3.
• Teamwork Training (C) won an expedition and denied an Ordis Attorney (R) draw, which one of the stronger things it can do in this matchup.
• In the scenario above, I led with Ordis Cadets (C) hero-side, planning to follow up with a Foundry Mechanic (F) hero-side, then only contest their Ordis Attorney (R) with Baba Yaga (R) if it looked like the hero side was secure. This sequence doesn’t give my opponent a good Tiny Jail (R) target while also forcing their reserve to overflow if they make two non-Tiny Jail (R) plays. They ended up having to play the Tiny Jail (R), resulting in a 1-0 in my favor.
• My opponent had the Sticky Note Seals (C) for my Grand Endeavor (R), but my Foundry Mechanic (F) was still enough to 1-1.
• I was able to 2-0 when my opponent dropped The Monolith, Ordis Bastion (C). My two Charge! uniques in tandem secured the final progression.

R6 (W): Sigismar & Wingspan

• Paper Herald (U) secured a 2-0 on D1 as the second player against a Baba Yaga (F).
• In the screenshotted scenario, I considered holding back the Foundry Mechanic (F) to go 0-1 instead of 1-1 with the goal of playing Grand Endeavor (R) a day early. It’s especially compelling because I’m already low on cards and that would be a 1-card day. I ultimately decided against it because I would be the second player, and the line loses to sabotage.
• Because I was low on cards, I had to run out The Frog Prince (U) as a 3-mana 2/2/2, which was fortunately enough to trade expeditions.
• Grand Endeavor (R) went unanswered.
• The threat of The Frog Prince (U) in reserve forced my opponent to play an early Teamwork Training (C) to keep me below four characters. This meant my Baba Yaga (F) in the expedition I was already leading in was enough to close out the game.