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Sirturmund’s & MonteXristo’s Recommended Lineups

Need a Bo3 lineup for Tournaments or Gauntlets? Sirturmund and Monte got you covered!

Recalls with a side of SPOOK!

An evolution of Monte’s personal lineup from last week, this lineup looks to bully Thralls and Viego. It also gives you a fighting chance into some of the Demacia decks running around. 

Ahri Bard

Regions
Ionia
31 cards
Runeterra
9 cards
Rarities
23 400
champion
6
epic
0
rare
10
common
24
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
14
1
15
2
3
3
8
4
0
5
0
6
0
7+
Champions
6
2
Ahri
3
Ahri
4
Bard
3
Bard
Followers
18
1
Byrd, The Bellringer
3
Byrd, The Bellringer
1
Dancing Droplet
3
Dancing Droplet
1
The Mourned
3
The Mourned
2
Esmus, Breath of the World
3
Esmus, Breath of the World
2
Navori Conspirator
3
Navori Conspirator
3
Shadow Assassin
3
Shadow Assassin
Spells
16
1
Ionian Tellstones
2
Ionian Tellstones
1
Recall
3
Recall
2
Nopeify!
3
Nopeify!
2
Twin Disciplines
3
Twin Disciplines
4
Deny
2
Deny
4
Homecoming
3
Homecoming

Azirelia

Regions
Ionia
27 cards
Shurima
13 cards
Rarities
25 000
champion
6
epic
2
rare
7
common
25
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
13
1
12
2
6
3
3
4
6
5
0
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Azir
3
Azir
3
Irelia
3
Irelia
Landmarks
3
2
Emperor's Dais
3
Emperor's Dais
Followers
21
1
Dunekeeper
3
Dunekeeper
1
Shadow Apprentice
3
Shadow Apprentice
1
Sparring Student
3
Sparring Student
1
Treasure Seeker
2
Treasure Seeker
2
Ribbon Dancer
3
Ribbon Dancer
2
The Stagehand
2
The Stagehand
4
Field Musicians
2
Field Musicians
5
Blossoming Blade
3
Blossoming Blade
Spells
10
1
Rite of Calling
2
Rite of Calling
2
Lead and Follow
1
Lead and Follow
2
Syncopation
1
Syncopation
2
Twin Disciplines
2
Twin Disciplines
4
Homecoming
1
Homecoming
5
Defiant Dance
3
Defiant Dance

Spooky Fish

Regions
Bilgewater
26 cards
Shadow Isles
14 cards
Rarities
33 900
champion
6
epic
9
rare
13
common
12
eternal
Mana cost
2
0
3
1
10
2
9
3
5
4
5
5
2
6
4
7+
Champions
6
3
Nami
3
Nami
4
Twisted Fate
3
Twisted Fate
Followers
10
2
Coral Creatures
2
Coral Creatures
4
Zap Sprayfin
2
Zap Sprayfin
5
Fleet Admiral Shelly
3
Fleet Admiral Shelly
8
Wiggly Burblefish
3
Wiggly Burblefish
Spells
24
0
Fading Memories
2
Fading Memories
1
Shadow Isles Tellstones
3
Shadow Isles Tellstones
2
Answered Prayer
2
Answered Prayer
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Double Trouble
3
Double Trouble
3
Tentacle Smash
3
Tentacle Smash
5
Eye of Nagakabouros
2
Eye of Nagakabouros
6
Vengeance
2
Vengeance
10
The Harrowing
1
The Harrowing

With Azirelia and Ahri Bard as your core, you should have no trouble playing into any lineup centered around big units.

HomecomingHomecomings and Ionian TellstonesIonian Tellstones should let you continually bounce any major threat, unit or landmark. Spooky Fish also gives you access to landmark removal through Shadow Isles TellstonesShadow Isles Tellstones, and you can beat out any frostbites from Thralls simply by having NamiNami on the board.

This lineup is going to suffer into aggro – if you see anyone on Jhin Annie or other decks of that nature, you’ll want to remove them from the equation.

Bard Poppy can also be somewhat troublesome for our decks, as their critical mass of Challengers makes it very difficult for us to keep on the board – you can consider banning it out as well. 

If you’re looking for a different deck to play in this lineup, you could try Aphelios Viktor or Akshan Infinite. Both of these decks have similar matchup tables to the rest of the lineup, and may even be a better fit than Spooky Fish.


Let’s Bully Thralls

This lineup seeks to do one thing, and one thing only – beat Thralls.

If you go to any stats site and you look for Thrall's worst matchups, these three decks are what you’ll find. 

Akshan Infinite

Regions
Piltover & Zaun
16 cards
Shurima
24 cards
Rarities
17 100
champion
3
epic
2
rare
11
common
24
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
11
1
18
2
7
3
0
4
0
5
3
6
1
7+
Champions
3
2
Akshan
3
Akshan
Followers
13
1
Dropboarder
3
Dropboarder
2
Clockwork Curator
3
Clockwork Curator
3
Station Archivist
3
Station Archivist
3
Vekauran Vagabond
3
Vekauran Vagabond
7
Thrumming Swarm
1
Thrumming Swarm
Spells
24
1
Counterfeit Copies
3
Counterfeit Copies
1
Rite of Calling
3
Rite of Calling
1
Scrying Sands
2
Scrying Sands
2
Called Shot
1
Called Shot
2
Careful Preparation
2
Careful Preparation
2
Iterative Improvement
3
Iterative Improvement
2
Time Trick
3
Time Trick
2
Time in a Bottle
3
Time in a Bottle
3
Quicksand
1
Quicksand
6
Sands of Time
3
Sands of Time

Fizz Riven

Regions
Noxus
15 cards
Bandlecity
25 cards
Rarities
26 000
champion
6
epic
2
rare
12
common
20
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
12
1
13
2
8
3
5
4
0
5
2
6
0
7+
Champions
6
1
Fizz
3
Fizz
3
Riven
3
Riven
Followers
24
1
Blade Squire
2
Blade Squire
1
Yordle Squire
2
Yordle Squire
2
Assistant Librarian
2
Assistant Librarian
2
Bandle Commando
2
Bandle Commando
2
Grandfather Fae
3
Grandfather Fae
2
Runeweaver
3
Runeweaver
3
Gleaming Lantern
3
Gleaming Lantern
4
Rainbowfish
2
Rainbowfish
4
Ruined Reckoner
3
Ruined Reckoner
6
Papercraft Dragon
2
Papercraft Dragon
Spells
10
1
Elixir of Wrath
2
Elixir of Wrath
1
Fae Sprout
3
Fae Sprout
2
Pokey Stick
3
Pokey Stick
3
Might
2
Might

Blades and Pyrotechnics

Regions
Noxus
23 cards
Shurima
17 cards
Rarities
23 200
champion
6
epic
0
rare
9
common
25
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
14
1
9
2
11
3
0
4
3
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
5
Ruin Runner
3
Ruin Runner
Spells
10
2
Ruinous Path
3
Ruinous Path
3
Might
2
Might
3
Noxian Fervor
2
Noxian Fervor
6
Decimate
3
Decimate

I decided to put this lineup out there because I think lineups centered around Thralls will continue to be prevalent. Annie Kat Ziggs & Akshan Infinite are both still relatively new to the metagame, and I thought it’d be cool to showcase them in a lineup together that highlights their strengths.

Outside of beating Thralls, this lineup should be good into most opponents that aren’t Demacia. 

We will struggle with most forms of Demacia, and as such it’s a good place to spend our ban. Be it Pantheon, Illaoi, or Bard Poppy, all three are going to give us hell.

It’ll come down to your own familiarity to decide which ban is best – Akshan has a slightly better time into Pantheon, while Annie Kat Ziggs beats it, so you may consider leaving Panth and ban out a worse matchup like Poppy Bard.

Alternate decks? Anything you like that beats Thralls. You could swap out Fizz Riven for something with a better Pantheon matchup, and you might be okay to soft-target it as well. You could swing this lineup more aggressively or more combo-y and either direction will work for you!


No Funny Noises!

Bard makes a funny noise, we don’t like Bard in this house…

I kid of course, but I don’t kid about how good this lineup should be at beating Poppy Bard. This is another stats-driven lineup – I went to Legna's https://www.llorr-stats.com/ and looked at Poppy Bard’s worst matchups to come up with it…

… which is why we’re playing Bard Galio as our own Bard deck. 

Bard Galio?

Regions
Demacia
34 cards
Runeterra
6 cards
Rarities
26 300
champion
6
epic
3
rare
8
common
23
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
6
1
14
2
7
3
8
4
2
5
0
6
3
7+
Champions
6
4
Bard
3
Bard
7
Galio
3
Galio
Followers
27
1
Byrd, The Bellringer
3
Byrd, The Bellringer
1
Fleetfeather Tracker
3
Fleetfeather Tracker
2
Brightsteel Protector
3
Brightsteel Protector
2
Durand Sculptor
3
Durand Sculptor
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Laurent Protege
2
Laurent Protege
3
Vanguard Redeemer
2
Vanguard Redeemer
3
Vanguard Sergeant
3
Vanguard Sergeant
4
Silverwing Vanguard
2
Silverwing Vanguard
4
Swiftwing Flight
3
Swiftwing Flight
Spells
7
2
Sharpsight
2
Sharpsight
2
Single Combat
3
Single Combat
5
Golden Aegis
2
Golden Aegis

Jayce Heimerdinger

Regions
Shadow Isles
7 cards
Piltover & Zaun
33 cards
Rarities
29 500
champion
6
epic
5
rare
13
common
16
eternal
Mana cost
5
0
6
1
8
2
5
3
4
4
3
5
6
6
3
7+
Champions
6
4
Jayce
3
Jayce
5
Heimerdinger
3
Heimerdinger
Landmarks
2
3
The Forge Of Tomorrow
2
The Forge Of Tomorrow
Followers
13
1
Adaptatron 3000
2
Adaptatron 3000
1
Forge Chief
3
Forge Chief
2
Ferros Financier
3
Ferros Financier
3
Hextech Handler
3
Hextech Handler
7
Albus Ferros
2
Albus Ferros
Spells
19
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
4
The Box
1
The Box
6
Assembly Line
3
Assembly Line
6
Shock Blast
1
Shock Blast
6
Vengeance
2
Vengeance
9
The Ruination
1
The Ruination

Viego Shurima

Regions
Shadow Isles
19 cards
Shurima
21 cards
Rarities
19 600
champion
3
epic
5
rare
7
common
25
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
6
1
8
2
12
3
4
4
0
5
5
6
5
7+
Champions
3
6
Viego
3
Viego
Followers
16
1
Treasure Seeker
3
Treasure Seeker
2
Aspiring Chronomancer
2
Aspiring Chronomancer
3
Camavoran Soldier
3
Camavoran Soldier
3
Merciless Hunter
3
Merciless Hunter
4
Baccai Sandspinner
2
Baccai Sandspinner
7
Invasive Hydravine
3
Invasive Hydravine
Spells
21
1
Rite of Calling
3
Rite of Calling
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Ancient Hourglass
3
Ancient Hourglass
3
Quicksand
3
Quicksand
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
6
Vengeance
2
Vengeance
7
Atrocity
2
Atrocity

The idea is that we’re able to either go bigger than Bard Poppy, or that we can deal with their major threats relatively easily with hard removal. You could swap to Viego Noxus rather than Shurima, if the deck suits you better, but the Shuriman list has the statistically better matchup. 

Outside of Poppy, this lineup should have no trouble into any aggro decks, and it should have game into a lot of the other midrange lineups out there as well. Nami piles may be a bit tricky, but with SharpsightSharpsight and hard removal you should be able to come out ahead in those matchups as well.

The problem lies with Disc, Thralls, and Fizz Riven. While some of our decks actually have okay matchups into some of them (Viego Shurima into Thralls, for example) all three of these decks can prove to be a major hurdle for our lineup. You should aim to ban them if you see them, and if they’re all together… just game on them!

Deck swaps for this lineup include Poppy Bard over Bard Galio, Viego can take a stroll from the desert into the Noxian barracks, or you could play Pantheon in this lineup but – if you do that you may want to look at the matchup tables and try to jig it so all three decks then have a favorable Thralls matchup.


No Time To Think

I spoke about it a bit last week, but I believe Aphelios Zoe Vi is the best tournament/Bo3 deck in the current meta. While last week I went a bit more obscure on ways to beat it, this week we go with a more basic lineup of decks that are powerful in their own right.

Thralls

Regions
Freljord
17 cards
Shurima
23 cards
Rarities
29 900
champion
6
epic
5
rare
15
common
14
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
9
1
12
2
5
3
5
4
3
5
6
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Lissandra
3
Lissandra
5
Taliyah
3
Taliyah
Landmarks
9
1
Frozen Thrall
3
Frozen Thrall
2
Preservarium
3
Preservarium
4
Blighted Ravine
3
Blighted Ravine
Followers
8
2
Clockwork Curator
3
Clockwork Curator
2
Harbinger of Thralls
3
Harbinger of Thralls
3
Kindly Tavernkeeper
2
Kindly Tavernkeeper
Spells
17
1
Imagined Possibilities
3
Imagined Possibilities
1
Three Sisters
3
Three Sisters
2
Time in a Bottle
3
Time in a Bottle
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
6
Promising Future
3
Promising Future
6
Sands of Time
3
Sands of Time

Jarvan Poppy Bard

Regions
Demacia
34 cards
Runeterra
6 cards
Rarities
25 800
champion
6
epic
2
rare
11
common
21
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
8
1
10
2
4
3
12
4
5
5
1
6
0
7+
Champions
6
4
Bard
3
Bard
4
Poppy
2
Poppy
6
Jarvan IV
1
Jarvan IV
Followers
26
1
Byrd, The Bellringer
3
Byrd, The Bellringer
1
Fleetfeather Tracker
3
Fleetfeather Tracker
1
Penitent Squire
2
Penitent Squire
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Brightsteel Protector
2
Durand Sculptor
3
Durand Sculptor
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Laurent Protege
2
Laurent Protege
3
Vanguard Sergeant
2
Vanguard Sergeant
4
Silverwing Vanguard
1
Silverwing Vanguard
4
Swiftwing Flight
2
Swiftwing Flight
4
Vanguard Bannerman
3
Vanguard Bannerman
Spells
8
2
Sharpsight
2
Sharpsight
4
Relentless Pursuit
1
Relentless Pursuit
5
Concerted Strike
2
Concerted Strike
5
Golden Aegis
3
Golden Aegis

Scouts

Regions
Demacia
34 cards
Bilgewater
6 cards
Rarities
28 100
champion
6
epic
3
rare
17
common
14
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
7
1
15
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
1
Penitent Squire
2
Penitent Squire
2
Brightsteel Protector
3
Brightsteel Protector
2
Durand Sculptor
3
Durand Sculptor
2
Petricite Broadwing
3
Petricite Broadwing
3
Vanguard Sergeant
3
Vanguard Sergeant
4
Island Navigator
3
Island Navigator
6
Cithria the Bold
3
Cithria the Bold
Spells
11
1
Ranger's Resolve
2
Ranger's Resolve
2
Blinding Assault
3
Blinding Assault
2
Sharpsight
3
Sharpsight
5
Golden Aegis
3
Golden Aegis

What I love about this lineup is that we are not giving the opponent any time to think or breathe. All three of these decks put the opponent on a clock, where any wrong move can cause them to die in a single turn due to multiple Thralls or well-timed rallies.

The idea is that all three of our decks do well against slower-type decks.

And we do very well against our main target, Aphelios Zoe Vi – while that deck does possess a plethora of early units, they usually do not have enough pressure to stop your Demacia decks before they take their advantage.

Other slower control decks, like Elise Annie and the growingly popular Twisted Fate Nami Shadow Isles lists are also weak to all of our decks, allowing us to take advantage of anyone bringing even a single control deck. 

While Thralls is not exactly favored into aggro decks, our two Demacia decks surely are, which allows us to sometimes steal match wins versus aggro or burn opponents when we manage to draw our heals with Thralls.

Our biggest weakness comes from go-tall Demacia decks – like Pantheon Yuumi, Illaoi Demacia, or Bard Galio – which tend to have a few really big units and therefore present a major challenge to our lineup, since it makes attacking into them really awkward. They also usually have removal, in the form of Concerted StrikeConcerted Strike or Single CombatSingle Combat, to remove our key pieces like Miss FortuneMiss Fortune or PoppyPoppy. I would prioritize my ban on those go-tall decks.

The second ban priority would go against ViegoViego decks, both the Noxus and the Shurima versions. It is the same problem as Demacia, where eventually their Viego and Encroaching MistEncroaching Mist get so big that we are never able to safely attack into them. 

If you are looking for alternate decks, you can go one of two routes.

One option is to commit to triple Demacia Rally – in which case I might suggest Pantheon Yuumi or even Sivir Akshan Demacia – but both of these will lose you points versus Aphelios Vi Zoe.

The other option is to go to Freljord, and run decks like Feel The Rush, Anivia SI or Timelines, as they all have good match ups versus Aphelios Vi Zoe.  


Outskilling Your Opponent

When coming into this week’s recommendations, there were two things I had in mind: Give you all a good Aphelios Zoe Vi lineup, and give you all a good Noxus midrange control lineup.

Maybenexttime took it a step further and combined the two, so this lineup will be a highlight on his choice for the Semifinals of Aegis Esports’ league.

Annie Elise

Regions
Noxus
23 cards
Shadow Isles
17 cards
Rarities
29 800
champion
6
epic
6
rare
9
common
19
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
12
1
14
2
6
3
7
4
0
5
0
6
1
7+
Champions
6
1
Annie
3
Annie
2
Elise
3
Elise
Landmarks
5
1
Ravenbloom Conservatory
3
Ravenbloom Conservatory
4
Catalogue of Regrets
2
Catalogue of Regrets
Followers
7
2
House Spider
3
House Spider
3
Arachnoid Sentry
3
Arachnoid Sentry
8
Captain Farron
1
Captain Farron
Spells
22
1
Go Hard
3
Go Hard
1
Ravenous Flock
3
Ravenous Flock
2
Disintegrate
1
Disintegrate
2
Glimpse Beyond
2
Glimpse Beyond
2
Unspeakable Horror
2
Unspeakable Horror
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Scorched Earth
3
Scorched Earth
4
Whispered Words
3
Whispered Words
4
Withering Wail
2
Withering Wail

Aphelios Zoe Vi

Regions
Piltover & Zaun
24 cards
Mount Targon
16 cards
Rarities
22 600
champion
6
epic
0
rare
6
common
28
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
11
1
15
2
9
3
0
4
1
5
1
6
3
7+
Champions
6
1
Zoe
2
Zoe
3
Aphelios
3
Aphelios
5
Vi
1
Vi
Followers
22
1
Lunari Duskbringer
3
Lunari Duskbringer
1
Zaunite Urchin
3
Zaunite Urchin
2
Boom Baboon
3
Boom Baboon
2
Ferros Financier
2
Ferros Financier
2
Flame Chompers!
3
Flame Chompers!
2
Mountain Goat
2
Mountain Goat
3
Sump Dredger
3
Sump Dredger
7
The Winding Light
3
The Winding Light
Spells
12
1
Poro Cannon
3
Poro Cannon
2
Mystic Shot
3
Mystic Shot
2
Pale Cascade
2
Pale Cascade
3
Get Excited!
3
Get Excited!
6
Celestial Trifecta
1
Celestial Trifecta

Ezreal Caitlyn

Regions
Noxus
15 cards
Piltover & Zaun
25 cards
Rarities
28 400
champion
6
epic
4
rare
13
common
17
eternal
Mana cost
2
0
5
1
8
2
18
3
3
4
3
5
0
6
1
7+
Champions
6
3
Caitlyn
3
Caitlyn
3
Ezreal
3
Ezreal
Landmarks
2
1
Ravenbloom Conservatory
2
Ravenbloom Conservatory
Followers
12
2
Ferros Financier
2
Ferros Financier
2
House Spider
3
House Spider
3
Arachnoid Sentry
3
Arachnoid Sentry
3
Station Archivist
3
Station Archivist
8
Captain Farron
1
Captain Farron
Spells
20
0
Thermogenic Beam
2
Thermogenic Beam
1
Ravenous Flock
3
Ravenous Flock
2
Mystic Shot
3
Mystic Shot
3
Piltover Peacemaker
3
Piltover Peacemaker
3
Scorched Earth
3
Scorched Earth
4
Statikk Shock
3
Statikk Shock
5
Tri-beam Improbulator
3
Tri-beam Improbulator

One thing all three of these decks have in common is their great access to removal. From the P&Z tools, to Noxus tools, and even Shadow Isles, opponents are going to have a hard time keeping their key units alive.

By combining these three decks, you get a weird mix of a matchup table where you end up being even versus many of the common lineups in the meta. This gives you room to outplay and outskill your opponent, and not outright lose the match at the matchmaking stage.

So what are some of the decks that we should be favored into?

First, all forms of aggro or burn decks should struggle versus our lineup. We have enough cheap units and removal to stop their early aggression and stabilize.

Second, these decks do really well in stopping Pantheon Yuumi or other similar Demacia midrange decks that rely on a few units going tall, rather than a wide board presence.

Similarly, we are slightly favored into Viego decks for the same reason: we can stop their few big units. 

As always though, there are always some archetypes you really don’t want to see. Thralls is the first one that comes to mind, as it will do very well into all three of our decks – do not get baited by your access to Scorched EarthScorched Earth as that is usually not enough against a good opponent to beat them.

Next would be Sun Disc, for similar reasons. While Aphelios Vi does well versus them, our two other Noxus decks do not.

Lastly, control decks like Feel The Rush and Anivia could be problematic against our Noxus midrange decks as well. So keep an eye out for those.

As the title of this lineup implies, there are a lot of other matchups that come down to skill and your ban phase decision. This lineup is one that more than anything will require you to know and play your decks very well, so I would only recommend replicating Maybenexttime’s lineup if you have played these decks before. I think that, in the right hands, this lineup could be very powerful. 


The Shurima Shuffle

Shurima lineups were all the rage last season… what happened to them?

Well, I think they are being a bit underutilized, and that QuicksandQuicksand is still a very powerful tool. So, today, I bring you what I think might be the best current triple Shurima lineup. 

Sun Disc

Regions
Shurima
40 cards
Rarities
27 700
champion
6
epic
3
rare
15
common
16
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
7
1
9
2
16
3
8
4
0
5
0
6
0
7+
Champions
6
3
Azir
3
Azir
4
Xerath
3
Xerath
Landmarks
7
1
Ancient Preparations
3
Ancient Preparations
1
Buried Sun Disc
1
Buried Sun Disc
2
Preservarium
3
Preservarium
Followers
13
1
Dunekeeper
1
Dunekeeper
2
Clockwork Curator
2
Clockwork Curator
2
Rock Hopper
3
Rock Hopper
2
Soothsayer
1
Soothsayer
3
Endless Devout
3
Endless Devout
4
Desert Naturalist
2
Desert Naturalist
4
Golden Ambassador
1
Golden Ambassador
Spells
14
1
Rite of Calling
2
Rite of Calling
3
Ancient Hourglass
2
Ancient Hourglass
3
Quicksand
3
Quicksand
3
Rite of the Arcane
2
Rite of the Arcane
3
Unraveled Earth
3
Unraveled Earth
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation

Viego Shurima

Regions
Shadow Isles
18 cards
Shurima
22 cards
Rarities
20 500
champion
3
epic
6
rare
6
common
25
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
5
1
9
2
12
3
5
4
0
5
5
6
4
7+
Champions
3
6
Viego
3
Viego
Followers
17
1
Treasure Seeker
3
Treasure Seeker
2
Aspiring Chronomancer
3
Aspiring Chronomancer
3
Camavoran Soldier
3
Camavoran Soldier
3
Merciless Hunter
3
Merciless Hunter
4
Baccai Sandspinner
2
Baccai Sandspinner
7
Invasive Hydravine
3
Invasive Hydravine
Spells
20
1
Rite of Calling
2
Rite of Calling
2
Glimpse Beyond
3
Glimpse Beyond
2
Vile Feast
3
Vile Feast
3
Ancient Hourglass
3
Ancient Hourglass
3
Quicksand
3
Quicksand
4
Rite of Negation
3
Rite of Negation
6
Vengeance
2
Vengeance
7
Atrocity
1
Atrocity

Taliyah Malphite

Regions
Shurima
29 cards
Mount Targon
11 cards
Rarities
29 300
champion
6
epic
5
rare
12
common
17
eternal
Mana cost
0
0
6
1
8
2
11
3
4
4
6
5
2
6
3
7+
Champions
6
5
Taliyah
3
Taliyah
7
Malphite
3
Malphite
Landmarks
9
1
Ancient Preparations
3
Ancient Preparations
2
Preservarium
3
Preservarium
3
Dragon Roost
1
Dragon Roost
4
Salt Spire
2
Salt Spire
Followers
12
1
Chip
3
Chip
2
Rock Hopper
3
Rock Hopper
3
Endless Devout
3
Endless Devout
5
Herald of the Magus
1
Herald of the Magus
6
Stonebreaker
2
Stonebreaker
Spells
13
2
The Absolver
2
The Absolver
3
Ancient Hourglass
1
Ancient Hourglass
3
Quicksand
2
Quicksand
3
Rite of the Arcane
2
Rite of the Arcane
3
Unraveled Earth
2
Unraveled Earth
4
Rite of Negation
2
Rite of Negation
5
Celestial Wonder
2
Celestial Wonder

It is all about the mid- to late-game value with this lineup. All three of these decks play at similar speeds, peaking at around round seven and eight. The idea is that we have enough tools from Shurima to fight off the opponent’s aggression and get to our win condition before them.

And all of our decks do surprisingly well into Thralls, allowing us to hard-target the most popular deck in the meta.

From there on, the match up tables will vary. Two of our decks do well into Noxus midrange piles for example, giving us a potential edge over them during the ban phase. All our decks do well against some cheesy Elusive or Overwhelm strategies, and do well versus slower control decks. And we especially punish decks that rely on attacking with keywords like Elusive or Quick Attack (for example Ekko Zilean) as they eventually have to attack us even through Quicksand.

Our boogeymen are the Demacia decks, like Pantheon Yuumi and Poppy Bard Jarvan. They have both removal (through Concerted StrikeConcerted Strike) and the pressure (through Golden AegisGolden Aegis) to run us down before we can stabilize.

We also do not do very well into decks that can entirely ignore our QuicksandQuicksand, such as Riven Fizz or Aphelios Fizz – units with Attach sure are tricky to play around.

Triple aggro lineups are also problematic, especially against Sun Disc and Malphite Taliyah, so be mindful of those as well.

In terms of alternate decks, we could in theory play Thralls ourselves, but then that leaves us in the mercy of the mirror if we run into other Thralls players. The other option is going back to Ziggs Taliyah instead of Malphite Taliyah, although I do not believe the deck is as powerful as it once was. 


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!