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Sirturmund’s & MonteXristo’s Seasonal Lineups

This is, folks: Seasonal Tournament tomorrow!
Draven Lor Level up art

Rally Never Dies

Triple Rally is surprisingly well positioned for yet another Seasonal. With Kai’Sa maintaining her spot at the top of the Tournament meta, the best strategies will involve banning her. With Kai’Sa banned out, the other decks left at the top are all control-flavored and therefore weak to rally. Scouts and Poppy Taric are the two decks that best capitalize on this mechanic. 

Sivir Kai’Sa

Regions
Demacia
15 cards
Shurima
25 cards
Rarities
29 100
champion
6
epic
5
rare
11
common
18
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
3
1
11
2
7
3
8
4
8
5
0
6
3
7+
Champions
6
4
Sivir
3
Sivir
5
Kai'Sa
3
Kai'Sa
Landmarks
1
2
Preservarium
1
Preservarium
Followers
22
1
Voidling
3
Voidling
2
Belvethi Elder
2
Belvethi Elder
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Durand Protege
1
Durand Protege
3
Merciless Hunter
3
Merciless Hunter
4
Void Blaster
3
Void Blaster
5
Radiant Guardian
2
Radiant Guardian
9
Void Abomination
3
Void Abomination
Spells
11
2
Blinding Assault
3
Blinding Assault
3
Cataclysm
1
Cataclysm
3
Quicksand
2
Quicksand
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
5
Concerted Strike
2
Concerted Strike
5
Golden Aegis
1
Golden Aegis

Scouts

Regions
Demacia
31 cards
Bilgewater
9 cards
Rarities
28 300
champion
6
epic
3
rare
18
common
13
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
6
1
16
2
6
3
3
4
6
5
3
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Miss Fortune
3
Miss Fortune
5
Quinn
3
Quinn
Followers
23
1
Fleetfeather Tracker
3
Fleetfeather Tracker
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Durand Sculptor
3
Durand Sculptor
2
Marai Warden
3
Marai Warden
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Vanguard Sergeant
3
Vanguard Sergeant
4
Island Navigator
3
Island Navigator
6
Genevieve Elmheart
3
Genevieve Elmheart
Spells
11
1
Demacian Tellstones
1
Demacian Tellstones
1
Ranger's Resolve
2
Ranger's Resolve
2
Inspiring Light
2
Inspiring Light
2
Sharpsight
3
Sharpsight
5
Golden Aegis
3
Golden Aegis

Poppy Taric 

Regions
Demacia
22 cards
Mount Targon
18 cards
Rarities
25 900
champion
6
epic
3
rare
6
common
25
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
5
1
16
2
3
3
8
4
8
5
0
6
0
7+
Champions
6
4
Poppy
3
Poppy
4
Taric
3
Taric
Followers
19
1
Fleetfeather Tracker
3
Fleetfeather Tracker
1
Solari Soldier
2
Solari Soldier
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Esmus, Breath of the World
3
Esmus, Breath of the World
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Laurent Protege
3
Laurent Protege
5
Mountain Sojourners
3
Mountain Sojourners
Spells
15
2
Guiding Touch
3
Guiding Touch
2
Pale Cascade
3
Pale Cascade
2
Single Combat
2
Single Combat
4
Bastion
1
Bastion
4
Relentless Pursuit
1
Relentless Pursuit
5
Concerted Strike
2
Concerted Strike
5
Golden Aegis
3
Golden Aegis

This lineup goes after anyone on double or triple control. While Kai’Sa’s worst matchup is Pirates and other aggro, this lineup isn’t particularly scared – because our decks are capable of playing Challenger control to stay on top of the board, we can effectively minimize the damage we take from their early game units.  

If you’re playing this lineup the dream is running into Darkness, FTR, Heimer Jayce – knowing they will be banning Kai’sa lets you easily decide on your own ban. Take Heimer Jayce off the table (PnZ removal lets them easily deal with your threats), and have a field day cutting through Darkness and FTR like they’re butter! You will also want to ban out any Kai’Sa mirrors that you may encounter, as both Poppy and Scouts will struggle to find a win against the overstatted Evolve units.

Other decks you could look at in this lineup are Ekko Zilean (although do note that this change will force you into a Darkness ban). Gwen Noxus may also be a good choice, as it should give all the control decks a very hard time in the end-game. 


Aggro COPIUM

Aggro is pretty copium this time around but I know that, like me, some of you will want to at least take a look at it. Even if you’re not considering bringing triple aggro yourself, it doesn’t hurt to have some idea of what a triple aggro lineup may look like – you can expect to see at least one player on it during your Seasonal run.

Nightfall

Regions
Shadow Isles
21 cards
Mount Targon
19 cards
Rarities
24 000
champion
6
epic
0
rare
13
common
21
eternal
Mana cost
3
0
14
1
15
2
4
3
3
4
1
5
0
6
0
7+
Champions
6
2
Diana
3
Diana
4
Nocturne
3
Nocturne
Followers
18
1
Boisterous Host
3
Boisterous Host
1
Lunari Duskbringer
3
Lunari Duskbringer
1
Stygian Onlooker
3
Stygian Onlooker
1
The Flight
3
The Flight
2
Lunari Shadestalker
3
Lunari Shadestalker
3
Doombeast
3
Doombeast
Spells
16
0
Fading Memories
3
Fading Memories
1
Heavens Aligned
2
Heavens Aligned
2
Pale Cascade
3
Pale Cascade
2
Unspeakable Horror
3
Unspeakable Horror
2
Unto Dusk
3
Unto Dusk
3
We Stand Together
1
We Stand Together
5
Moonlight Affliction
1
Moonlight Affliction

Pirates

Regions
Noxus
19 cards
Bilgewater
21 cards
Rarities
29 200
champion
6
epic
6
rare
6
common
22
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
12
1
7
2
7
3
6
4
2
5
6
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Miss Fortune
3
Miss Fortune
4
Twisted Fate
3
Twisted Fate
Followers
21
1
Jagged Butcher
3
Jagged Butcher
1
Legion Rearguard
3
Legion Rearguard
1
Legion Saboteur
3
Legion Saboteur
1
Precious Pet
3
Precious Pet
2
Legion Grenadier
3
Legion Grenadier
2
Marai Warden
3
Marai Warden
4
Zap Sprayfin
3
Zap Sprayfin
Spells
13
2
Make it Rain
1
Make it Rain
3
Noxian Fervor
3
Noxian Fervor
3
Sigil of Malice
1
Sigil of Malice
5
Eye of Nagakabouros
2
Eye of Nagakabouros
6
Decimate
3
Decimate
6
Riptide Sermon
3
Riptide Sermon

Annie Kat Ziggs

Regions
Noxus
24 cards
Shurima
16 cards
Rarities
23 200
champion
6
epic
0
rare
9
common
25
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
14
1
9
2
11
3
1
4
2
5
3
6
0
7+
Champions
6
1
Annie
2
Annie
3
Katarina
2
Katarina
3
Ziggs
2
Ziggs
Followers
24
1
Baccai Reaper
3
Baccai Reaper
1
Legion Rearguard
3
Legion Rearguard
1
Legion Saboteur
3
Legion Saboteur
1
Treasure Seeker
3
Treasure Seeker
2
Imperial Demolitionist
3
Imperial Demolitionist
2
Legion Grenadier
3
Legion Grenadier
3
Merciless Hunter
3
Merciless Hunter
4
Captive Greyback
1
Captive Greyback
5
Ruin Runner
2
Ruin Runner
Spells
10
2
Ruinous Path
3
Ruinous Path
3
Might
2
Might
3
Noxian Fervor
2
Noxian Fervor
6
Decimate
3
Decimate

The goal of a triple-aggro lineup this season would be to go after the anti-Kai’Sa/anti-control lineups. You can find a niche by building your lists to be favored in aggro mirrors while continuing to prey upon anti-Kai’sa options like Azir Irelia. I would suggest that you scrim into this (or similar) lineup before Saturday – it is not unheard of for top players to fall short of their Seasonal expectations because they didn’t practice their aggro matchups and were blown out as a result. 

Your ban strategy will be to remove the deck with 

the most healing – this will usually be Feel The Rush. You’re probably keeping Kai’Sa up more often than not, but that deck is just so overly powerful compared to the rest of the meta that it is never really a bad idea to remove it. Other good bans can be Ekko Zilean and Scouts, as they are both traditionally quite good into aggro.

As for alternate decks… well, you’ve got me stumped here. I had a hard enough time finding three aggro decks for a lineup, so coming up with other options is tough – there really aren’t any good aggro decks at the moment. If you wanted to make some swaps you could add Kai’Sa, Sion, or Katarina Yasuo , and Annie Jhin will also fit. I would not suggest Spiders, but it is an option for those of you who still have faith in the list. 


Midrange Reckoning

This is a lineup that I am really considering pivoting to. Fellow MaRu Squad member Shadawx came up with it after our friend Trivo showed us his new Gwen deck. This lineup is built around three generally strong decks that aren’t weak into aggro, and have the ability to threaten control with their own end-game. 

Thresh Nasus

Regions
Shadow Isles
33 cards
Shurima
7 cards
Rarities
28 200
champion
6
epic
4
rare
12
common
18
eternal
Mana cost
3
0
7
1
12
2
5
3
5
4
3
5
3
6
2
7+
Champions
6
5
Thresh
3
Thresh
6
Nasus
3
Nasus
Followers
23
0
Ravenous Butcher
3
Ravenous Butcher
1
Baccai Reaper
3
Baccai Reaper
1
Hapless Aristocrat
1
Hapless Aristocrat
1
The Wings and The Wave
3
The Wings and The Wave
2
Cursed Keeper
3
Cursed Keeper
2
Fading Icon
3
Fading Icon
3
Blighted Caretaker
3
Blighted Caretaker
4
Camavoran Dragon
1
Camavoran Dragon
4
Spirit Leech
3
Spirit Leech
Spells
11
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Hate Spike
3
Hate Spike
3
Black Spear
2
Black Spear
4
Rite of Negation
1
Rite of Negation
7
Atrocity
2
Atrocity

Sivir Kai’Sa

Regions
Demacia
15 cards
Shurima
25 cards
Rarities
29 100
champion
6
epic
5
rare
11
common
18
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
3
1
11
2
7
3
8
4
8
5
0
6
3
7+
Champions
6
4
Sivir
3
Sivir
5
Kai'Sa
3
Kai'Sa
Landmarks
1
2
Preservarium
1
Preservarium
Followers
22
1
Voidling
3
Voidling
2
Belvethi Elder
2
Belvethi Elder
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Durand Protege
1
Durand Protege
3
Merciless Hunter
3
Merciless Hunter
4
Void Blaster
3
Void Blaster
5
Radiant Guardian
2
Radiant Guardian
9
Void Abomination
3
Void Abomination
Spells
11
2
Blinding Assault
3
Blinding Assault
3
Cataclysm
1
Cataclysm
3
Quicksand
2
Quicksand
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
5
Concerted Strike
2
Concerted Strike
5
Golden Aegis
1
Golden Aegis

Trivo Special (Gwen Kat Elise)

Regions
Noxus
18 cards
Shadow Isles
22 cards
Rarities
29 700
champion
6
epic
5
rare
14
common
15
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
8
1
14
2
4
3
6
4
3
5
3
6
2
7+
Champions
6
2
Elise
1
Elise
3
Katarina
2
Katarina
4
Gwen
3
Gwen
Followers
22
1
Boisterous Host
3
Boisterous Host
1
Precious Pet
2
Precious Pet
2
House Spider
3
House Spider
2
Phantom Butler
3
Phantom Butler
3
Arachnoid Sentry
2
Arachnoid Sentry
4
Ruined Reckoner
3
Ruined Reckoner
5
Fallen Reckoner
3
Fallen Reckoner
6
Eternal Dancers
3
Eternal Dancers
Spells
12
1
Ravenous Flock
3
Ravenous Flock
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Hate Spike
2
Hate Spike
2
Vile Feast
2
Vile Feast
10
The Harrowing
2
The Harrowing

The goal of this lineup is to have a generally good matchup spread – you have no hard or soft targets, but also no glaring weaknesses.

Thresh Nasus and Gwen Noxus both have good game into aggro as they are capable of matching the board early while also having access to removal tools like Vile FeastVile Feast. Gwen Noxus also has excellent game into the control side of the field due to its top-end: The HarrowingThe Harrowing and AtrocityAtrocity.

You may have to be a bit concerned about getting Thresh Nasus through Darkness or Feel The Rush, but it’s not impossible – play conservatively and don’t over-extend into their removal spells. Remember that both decks will be forced into tapping out at one point or another: their own threats are not cheap, and have to be established at some point if they want to win. Use your opponent’s mana constraints to your advantage and take the chance to move in for the win. 

Your ban strategy with this lineup is going to be removing Kai’Sa first and foremost. Secondarily, you’ll want to be protecting your weakest link – that may mean removing Feel The Rush, or it may mean banning Pirates if there’s nothing better to take out. Ezreal Kennen can also pose a threat, so be wary.

Alternate deck choices for this lineup include Deep, Scouts, Poppy Taric, and I even believe Timelines can be a decent inclusion. No matter what you do with this lineup make sure that you’re not making yourself too weak into aggro, and that you maintain your good midrange matchups. 


Mix and Match

Then again… why make your life more difficult by thinking of a third good aggro deck, when you can just mix and match and play Kai’Sa Akshan as your third “aggro” deck?

Pirate Aggro

Regions
Noxus
18 cards
Bilgewater
22 cards
Rarities
29 200
champion
6
epic
6
rare
6
common
22
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
12
1
7
2
6
3
6
4
3
5
6
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Miss Fortune
3
Miss Fortune
4
Twisted Fate
3
Twisted Fate
Followers
21
1
Jagged Butcher
3
Jagged Butcher
1
Legion Rearguard
3
Legion Rearguard
1
Legion Saboteur
3
Legion Saboteur
1
Precious Pet
3
Precious Pet
2
Legion Grenadier
3
Legion Grenadier
2
Marai Warden
3
Marai Warden
4
Zap Sprayfin
3
Zap Sprayfin
Spells
13
2
Make it Rain
1
Make it Rain
3
Noxian Fervor
3
Noxian Fervor
5
Eye of Nagakabouros
3
Eye of Nagakabouros
6
Decimate
3
Decimate
6
Riptide Sermon
3
Riptide Sermon

Kai’Sa Akshan 

Regions
Demacia
15 cards
Shurima
25 cards
Rarities
29 100
champion
6
epic
5
rare
11
common
18
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
3
1
15
2
5
3
5
4
9
5
0
6
3
7+
Champions
6
2
Akshan
3
Akshan
5
Kai'Sa
3
Kai'Sa
Landmarks
2
2
Preservarium
2
Preservarium
Followers
23
1
Voidling
3
Voidling
2
Belvethi Elder
3
Belvethi Elder
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Petricite Broadwing
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Durand Protege
2
Durand Protege
3
Merciless Hunter
3
Merciless Hunter
4
Void Blaster
3
Void Blaster
5
Radiant Guardian
2
Radiant Guardian
9
Void Abomination
3
Void Abomination
Spells
9
2
Blinding Assault
3
Blinding Assault
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
5
Concerted Strike
2
Concerted Strike
5
Golden Aegis
2
Golden Aegis

Jhin Annie

Regions
Runeterra
28 cards
Noxus
12 cards
Rarities
22 000
champion
6
epic
0
rare
3
common
31
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
12
1
15
2
7
3
3
4
0
5
3
6
0
7+
Champions
6
1
Annie
3
Annie
4
Jhin
3
Jhin
Followers
28
1
Crackshot Corsair
3
Crackshot Corsair
1
Legion Rearguard
3
Legion Rearguard
1
Legion Saboteur
3
Legion Saboteur
2
Boomcrew Rookie
3
Boomcrew Rookie
2
Imperial Demolitionist
3
Imperial Demolitionist
2
Solari Sunhawk
3
Solari Sunhawk
2
The Stagehand
3
The Stagehand
2
Tusk Speaker
3
Tusk Speaker
3
Arachnoid Sentry
1
Arachnoid Sentry
3
Doombeast
3
Doombeast
Spells
6
3
Noxian Fervor
3
Noxian Fervor
6
Decimate
3
Decimate

This lineup is playing what most folks consider the current two best LoR decks: Pirate Aggro and Kai’Sa Akshan. Do these two make sense together? In short, yes. They beat most of the field, while being very good at stealing wins from their supposed counters. 

So how do we finish up this lineup? The curse of the third deck is always a difficult one, but I have decided to go with the more aggro-oriented path and suggest Annie Jhin. The idea is that this will increase your odds of beating other Kai’Sa lineups, and Annie Jhin is well equipped to win some matchups against control if needed. 

Ideally we are looking to leave open Kai’Sa decks, and other midrange archetypes not called Scouts. We can also easily overrun decks that take a long time to set up, such as Viego Evelynn or Udyr variants. 

In terms of bans, my main suggestion is to ban Pirate Aggro, since it has a great matchup into both our Kai’Sa and Annie Jhin. Following that, you’re looking to ban Feel The Rush from the control player side. I like our odds into more board-oriented control like Darkness and Heimer Jayce than I do against Feel The Rush. 

For alternate style, you can go a less aggressive approach and instead choose a more midrange plan, replacing Annie Jhin with something like Poppy Taric or Ekko Zilean. This gets close to triple Rally lineups, but gives up the Scouts slot for a more successful Pirate Aggro slot. Can you imagine if we could play both Pirate Aggro and Scouts in the same lineup? One could only dream. 


Control But Not Really 

Welcome to control in Legends of Runeterra! In this game it’s not just about removing your opponent’s units – a lot of our control decks themselves rely on board presence and even Nexus burn. These three are good examples of that. 

Darkness

Regions
Shadow Isles
15 cards
Bandlecity
25 cards
Rarities
23 800
champion
6
epic
0
rare
12
common
22
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
3
1
15
2
2
3
7
4
3
5
9
6
1
7+
Champions
6
4
Veigar
3
Veigar
5
Senna
3
Senna
Followers
19
1
Byrd, The Bellringer
3
Byrd, The Bellringer
2
Conchologist
3
Conchologist
2
Darkbulb Acolyte
3
Darkbulb Acolyte
2
Twisted Catalyzer
3
Twisted Catalyzer
4
Stilted Robemaker
3
Stilted Robemaker
6
Ixtali Sentinel
3
Ixtali Sentinel
7
The Rekindler
1
The Rekindler
Spells
15
2
Pokey Stick
3
Pokey Stick
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Mist's Call
2
Mist's Call
4
Withering Wail
1
Withering Wail
6
Hidden Pathways
2
Hidden Pathways
6
Minimorph
2
Minimorph
6
Vengeance
2
Vengeance

Heimerdinger Jayce SI

Regions
Piltover & Zaun
31 cards
Shadow Isles
9 cards
Rarities
26 900
champion
6
epic
3
rare
11
common
20
eternal
Mana cost
5
0
6
1
8
2
7
3
3
4
3
5
7
6
1
7+
Champions
6
4
Jayce
3
Jayce
5
Heimerdinger
3
Heimerdinger
Followers
11
1
Adaptatron 3000
2
Adaptatron 3000
1
Forge Chief
3
Forge Chief
2
Ferros Financier
3
Ferros Financier
3
Hextech Handler
3
Hextech Handler
Spells
23
0
Production Surge
3
Production Surge
0
Thermogenic Beam
2
Thermogenic Beam
1
Piltovan Tellstones
1
Piltovan Tellstones
2
Mystic Shot
2
Mystic Shot
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Aftershock
1
Aftershock
3
Flash of Brilliance
3
Flash of Brilliance
6
Piercing Darkness
2
Piercing Darkness
6
Shock Blast
2
Shock Blast
6
Vengeance
3
Vengeance
9
The Ruination
1
The Ruination

Twisted Fate Nami SI

Regions
Bilgewater
23 cards
Shadow Isles
17 cards
Rarities
36 800
champion
6
epic
12
rare
11
common
11
eternal
Mana cost
2
0
6
1
9
2
6
3
5
4
6
5
2
6
4
7+
Champions
6
3
Nami
3
Nami
4
Twisted Fate
3
Twisted Fate
Followers
11
2
Coral Creatures
3
Coral Creatures
4
Zap Sprayfin
2
Zap Sprayfin
5
Fleet Admiral Shelly
3
Fleet Admiral Shelly
8
Wiggly Burblefish
3
Wiggly Burblefish
Spells
23
0
Fading Memories
2
Fading Memories
1
Go Hard
3
Go Hard
1
Shadow Isles Tellstones
3
Shadow Isles Tellstones
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Double Trouble
3
Double Trouble
5
Eye of Nagakabouros
3
Eye of Nagakabouros
6
Vengeance
2
Vengeance
10
The Harrowing
1
The Harrowing

The reason I’m leaning more towards a board-heavy style of control is due to needing early blockers against Pirate Aggro and Kai’Sa decks. All three of these decks provide us with a lot of units, thus allowing us to chump-block round after round until we get to stabilize and focus on our win condition. 

Our main targets will be traditional aggro decks – think Jhin Annie and Spider Aggro. We are also favored versus Pirate Aggro, but keep in mind playing around their Riptide SermonRiptide Sermon or other such tools. 

Because we are going with a unit-heavy approach, we also gain some points against Rally decks such as Scouts and Taric Poppy. I wouldn’t count on reliably beating them, but at least you’ll do much better than with regular control. 

I would be very fearful of Kai’Sa decks if I was running this lineup, so that should be your main ban – of it was just Kai’Sa it wouldn’t be a problem, but with Void AbominationVoid Abomination too it means they can usually close the deal quick than you can win. 

Other bans include Freljord decks, especially Feel The Rush. Their access to Ravines and Avalanches could be brutal against most of our decks. 

If you wanted to swap things around, another unit-heavy control deck is Deep. It would spot right in while still fitting with our general gameplay. You can also slot in one of the traditional control decks such as Feel The Rush or Anivia. 


I Believe I Can Beat Kai’Sa

Everyone is talking about how you should just permaban Kai’Sa. And they’re probably right. But we don’t like listening, do we? So here’s one lineup if you want to still hard-target Evolve variants. 

Nasus Kindred

Regions
Shadow Isles
33 cards
Shurima
7 cards
Rarities
30 700
champion
6
epic
7
rare
8
common
19
eternal
Mana cost
3
0
4
1
12
2
5
3
11
4
0
5
3
6
2
7+
Champions
6
4
Kindred
3
Kindred
6
Nasus
3
Nasus
Followers
14
0
Ravenous Butcher
3
Ravenous Butcher
1
The Wings and The Wave
2
The Wings and The Wave
2
Fading Icon
3
Fading Icon
3
The Undying
3
The Undying
4
Spirit Leech
3
Spirit Leech
Spells
20
1
Rite of Calling
2
Rite of Calling
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Hate Spike
3
Hate Spike
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Black Spear
2
Black Spear
4
Crumble
3
Crumble
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
7
Atrocity
2
Atrocity

Sejuani Gwen

Regions
Freljord
19 cards
Shadow Isles
21 cards
Rarities
23 600
champion
6
epic
0
rare
11
common
23
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
5
1
17
2
4
3
3
4
0
5
6
6
5
7+
Champions
6
4
Gwen
3
Gwen
6
Sejuani
3
Sejuani
Followers
20
1
Boisterous Host
3
Boisterous Host
2
Phantom Butler
3
Phantom Butler
2
Ruthless Raider
3
Ruthless Raider
2
Tusk Speaker
3
Tusk Speaker
2
Vulpine Wanderer
2
Vulpine Wanderer
3
Doombeast
3
Doombeast
7
Ancient Yeti
3
Ancient Yeti
Spells
14
1
Three Sisters
2
Three Sisters
2
Inner Beast
3
Inner Beast
2
Unspeakable Horror
3
Unspeakable Horror
3
Formal Invitation
1
Formal Invitation
6
Vengeance
3
Vengeance
7
Atrocity
2
Atrocity

Pirates 

Regions
Noxus
18 cards
Bilgewater
22 cards
Rarities
29 200
champion
6
epic
6
rare
6
common
22
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
12
1
7
2
6
3
6
4
3
5
6
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Miss Fortune
3
Miss Fortune
4
Twisted Fate
3
Twisted Fate
Followers
21
1
Jagged Butcher
3
Jagged Butcher
1
Legion Rearguard
3
Legion Rearguard
1
Legion Saboteur
3
Legion Saboteur
1
Precious Pet
3
Precious Pet
2
Legion Grenadier
3
Legion Grenadier
2
Marai Warden
3
Marai Warden
4
Zap Sprayfin
3
Zap Sprayfin
Spells
13
2
Make it Rain
1
Make it Rain
3
Noxian Fervor
3
Noxian Fervor
5
Eye of Nagakabouros
3
Eye of Nagakabouros
6
Decimate
3
Decimate
6
Riptide Sermon
3
Riptide Sermon

Hot off the presses we open up with Nasus Kindred. An archetype that has risen in popularity over the past week in part because of its excellent matchup against all Kai’Sa variants. I recommend doing some practice with this deck before the Seasonal ,as it is very tough to play correctly. 

The other two decks are familiar for those who frequent our articles. Sejuani Gwen is one of the best counters for Kai’Sa out there, and Pirate Aggro is the second best deck in the game for similar reasons. 

Our gameplan is simple: See Kai’Sa, Destroy Kai’Sa. 

And if we don’t see Kai’Sa in our opponents line up… 

… then we just surrender. 

Just kidding! The good thing about these three decks is that they still possess very respectable win rates on their own against the rest of the meta, allowing us to be able to outplay and steal wins even against “counter” lineups. 

Ban wise, I would probably just ban Pirates since Nasus Kindred does struggle versus the deck. Following that, we would want to target hard control decks: VengeanceVengeance can be too big of a delay against any of our champions in these decks. 

If you wanted to switch it up, you could go even further into the deep end with Ezreal Kennen or Yasuo Katarina, both of which do well versus Kai’Sa decks.


About the authors

Sirturmund is a long-time player of the game, having played LoR since beta. He has found competitive success in the past year with a couple of seasonal top cuts finishes, rank 1 ladder placements, and first spot in a Qualifier of Mastering Runeterra's Championship. Best known for being one of the very few to still bring Star Springs to tournaments, you can find Sirturmund lurking around all the social media sites absorbing anything he can about the game!

MonteXristo has been playing the game since closed beta and has consistently made it to masters every season he’s been active.  His accomplishments include having peaked in the top 20, taking first place in the “Streamer Sideboard Showdown” and LPP Riot Grand Prix. When he’s not writing for Mastering Runeterra he keeps his card-slinging skills sharp by playing in the Runeterra Academy tournament, with his team The Wobbly Wombats!


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