Did pretty good at Gaming Giant's store championship with this list.
Out of 26 entrants, this was the matchup spread:
[Swiss: 4-1]
Game 1: Loss vs Dragon
Game 2: Win vs Haven
Game 3: Win vs Forest (by time)
Game 4: Win in the Dirt Mirror (but I was going first)
Game 5: Win vs Aggro Sword
[Top cut]
Game 6: Win vs Midrange Sword
Game 7: Win vs Dragon
Game 8: Lost the Mirror (went second)
Overall this list is very strong if you can secure tempo, and has good draw power and curves with the use of Bellringer, Teachings of Creation, and Runic Guardian. The cards I wanted to always see in my hand were Runic Guardian, Crafty Warlock, and Alchemist's Workshop, however if you happen to start with Juno you might want to keep it and avoid bottom decking her.
The biggest issue was not using Fire Chain, and there were a few scenarios that I could not clear because I took the spell out of the deck. I'm really considering replacing the 3rd Merlin and 1 Price of magic with fire chain just to have that option available. In cases where you can't, you would instead load an Alchemist's Workshop and Demonflame Mage to kill early targets.
Don't be afraid to drop an Ancient Alchemist on curve. It becomes a huge threat for your opponent and she's bulky enough to take two hits that early into the game. You don't even have to evolve her the following turn, just her pressence on the board is enough to pressure your opponent's options. Merlin is good at finishing games with the double Demonic Strike Procs, and Erasmus is capable of nuking a lucifer or other big boards.
I perfer to go first with this deck, with the exception of the forest matchup. The dragon matchup is heavily based on you going first as well, and you have the tools to slow down their gameplay with drops like Runic Guardian, Urd, Gabriel, and Crafty Warlock. In particular, they will think twice about popping Warlock if you evolve him because the stacks generated will give you ammo for Juno's Lab and Erasmus. Forte and Genesis Dragon are also not very threatening since you can load up on Guardform Golems. I'm also considering adding Mythic Golem instead of Alchemical lore in order to have a bigger temo swing.
