The Gnome Riders are only Immolation targets, which sorta works when his mark is Earth. It's just that it will slow him down an entire turn most of the time, and that turn will often be crucial in a Golem rush.
Well, I can see you're trying to mix a golem rush with Earthquakes. I see little use for the Novas if you're not going to splash more, and Quintessence is out of place and expensive. You'd need all the novas to power it, and it won't be useful that late into the game since this is a rush and the Golems will be big by then.
If you're going to use novas, add an Arsenic or Vampire Stiletto. If not, remove the Quint and get Immolations and 0-cost targets like Photons or Sparks. I may also recommend Fire Pendulums over Earth Pendulums and Fire Pillars. That way, you could even add another Earthquake. Rage Potions are going to be better than Fire Bolts most of the time, especially since this deck has trouble getting enough fire quanta to play everything.
An example of a deck that focuses on your strategy:
593 593 593 5f6 5f6 5f9 5f9 5f9 5f9 5f9 5fa 5fa 5fa 5fa 5fa 5fb 5fb 5fc 5fc 5gi 5gi 5gi 5gi 5gi 5gi 61p 61p 61p 61p 61pFocus is everything with rushes. This version worked splendidly for me, though I don't really find the Earthquakes that useful, to be honest. Good luck. =)
Oh, and tournaments are different every time. There's no use trying to build anything before the rules are up for each week.
