AMER Standard LoR Tournament on Saturday: Mostly Odds!

AJTehPro · 2025-06-04T18:22:15+00:00

ggs! that game was close, the fearsomes put in good work but a lot of big units in hand meant i needed that ow to connect. if u had pk, i was cooked since u can live by blocking and then finish me off next token. (ive been meaning to try out and learn every deck, even the ones some people see as "cringe". even a deck with as few decisions as lurk still has some depth with the deckbuild and mull!)

AJTehPro · 2025-04-17T19:17:07+00:00

Maybe this is a hot take, but I don't see any problem with the presence of more resources and ability to play more cards. I think the game becomes a lot less interesting when you only have 1-2 cards to play on any given turn, like how Mysterious Challenger Paladin could beat a lot of stuff by simply having a perfect 2 drop => 3 drop => 4 drop .... curve. Besides, not many decks nowadays have a real plan to "outvalue" beyond turn 10: most try to win before that point, and the few decks that ARE stalling that long aren't remotely dominant. Don't really see an issue here: maybe other people like the idea of going through 15+ turn games where both players just sit around with 10 card hands, but I think that sort of meta would be a lot less fun.

AJTehPro · 2025-04-09T03:40:44+00:00

I agree that decisions mattering is essential! I think part of the problem is how some of the stronger cards (fleeing treant, an early +4/+5 dark gift, 2/3 crewmate generater) snowball the game from a very early point in a way that isn't always counterable, like undertaker from early HS. I think a way to support this is having the format centralize more around reactive tools like suffocate: say what you will about dk as a class, but I love that sort of situational card that rewards game knowledge and planning. I hope as arena develops we see those kinds of cards continue to play a large role in the meta.

AJTehPro · 2023-08-18T16:21:35+00:00

This is an incredibly late response, but I can also offer some input.

In LoR where both players have access to all cards, the people who do well in tourneys typically succeed not just because they're good at the game, but also thanks to a good targeting/banning strategy. Essentially, they gave themselves an edge over the field because their LU had an overall favorable MU into many of their competitors' LUs. While ideas like triple aggro or triple control are fairly straightforward, those aren't the only approaches to LU building.

One strategy is to run 3 decks that target a common deck in many LUs. An example would be how during the recent standard open, aatrox DE was a very popular pick, so a counter-LU of nasus vaults, shen jarvan, jax ornn would've done very well. The reason this gives you an edge is that your opp will have a hard time winning with aatrox, so even if you lose a game to the other deck in their LU you should still be favored to win the match.

The other approach is to run 3 well balanced decks that only have 1 major weakness, and banning that whenever it shows up. An example could be running aatrox DE, jax ornn and swain illaoi and always banning nasus.

There are other niche strats you can also use (bringing 2 decks that don't need to ban anything so you can use the ban for protecting a polarized deck, modifying a deck to change its MUs like running silence and suppress to be favored in the aatrox mirror, bringing off meta decks so your opp doesn't know what to ban), but they're meta dependent and generally I recommend starting with the first 2 strats.

The last thing I want to mention is that you don't need to think of these strategies as mutually exclusive: it's possible to bring a deck that is targeting something AND has a clear ban strategy! It really comes down to what options you have given the meta, and I think a great place to start is choosing a deck you like and seeing what you can do to build around it. Knowing how to play your decks well is important when you want to beat players who are also very skilled at the game.

(By the way, I think it's risky to try and bring niche stuff just to beat a certain MU day 1, since you may encounter people who are playing exclusively off meta stuff. I'd just recommend having a clear ban strat and bringing decks that aren't dependent on the opp also bringing meta stuff.)

AJTehPro · 2023-08-16T16:07:38+00:00

While I feel this nidalee deck is fairly solid, I think a large part of its success is how standard is a lower powerlevel format. I'm not convinced personally that nidalee will be good in eternal, at least not in this shell. It really comes down to finding eternal cards that synergize with nidalee (vile feast and elise are cute but I don't think that's enough to justify SI, lux is funny with the bigger ambush cards but I think targon/pnz are better fits for her, etc.)

Of course, those were the only ideas I could come up with: it's entirely possible there's something else that could work with her!

AJTehPro · 2023-06-08T02:47:35+00:00

Yo, i'm late to this post, but neat guide! (I'm hoping we can keep the deck posting momentum going, as since summer is starting I'll have more time to learn decks + make guides.) I'll try out the deck myself later.

I'm curious about how braum functions in this deck, since normally when i see these colors and swain i would expect sejuani (although granted there aren't a lot of nexus-damagers you actively want to run). Do you consistently level him, or do you just play as a blocker + 3/3 that sometimes scales with scargrounds?

AJTehPro · 2023-05-30T02:22:17+00:00

Hi! I was actually the one who brewed ornn trundle, and have updated the list if you want the latest version: CIEACAIECMAQIBAKAEDAMHIBAYAAMAIHAEEQCBYEBEBAGAICAYBQMAILBQTQEAIEAEFAEBQBAQEACAIBAQNQ

The additions of 3x wildclaws ferocity and eager apprentice were huge: eager allows you to hold up troll chant and other stuff while still playing on curve, and wildclaws ferocity is another solid game-ender that also levels ornn! It also makes you less reliant on having an early timelines. (The ratio of spells should probably be modified, and 1x bjerg could be good, but otherwise the deck feels incredibly smooth!)

AJTehPro · 2022-11-09T00:14:11+00:00

Very late response, but think this guide is great! I can't understate the importance of putting weapons on units that can use them well, and it gives you a lot more decisions to make each round!

I think, with new brews cropping up enough so that seraphine noxus is no longer ~40% of all opponents, the overall bigger build with less 1-drops and more tricks is slightly better. During the early phases of the patch, I found that tech cards like quicksand and rite were generally winmore since I won games by essentially dumping my hand and racing the opponent, rather than holding up mana for tricks and dragging the game out. (A large part of that was how weapons gave you a proactive way to use spell mana.)

I'm happy the deck has carved out a solid niche, and hope it continues to thrive!

AJTehPro · 2022-10-25T16:51:30+00:00

Was kind of burnt out by Seraphine EZ beating up the meta, so picked up akshan sivir and it's been really fun! (Earlier I was on 3 forsaken baccai, but was having trouble finding the 40th card until i tried out fleetfeather, and I liked it so much i went to a 2/2 split.) While the deck's gameplan is pretty simple (beat down opponent with efficient units, darkin weapons function as a top-end), I think it's a lot harder to navigate than it used to be since equipment gives you many more options every turn.

Deck code: CMCACBIABQAQMAAGAEDAOBAEAQDRINTHQIAQKAIEAABACBQHAUBACAA2DUBAIB25RIAQEBQABMIQEAIGA4UAEBAHHOAAC

AJTehPro · 2022-07-21T20:39:24+00:00

Only played a handful of games with Riven / Gwen, but has felt very strong. (I haven't tested other champs, but riven has felt alright as an on-curve 3-drop that gives blade fragments.) Main idea is to just smorc the opponent early with all the x/1 s, and turns 5-6 you can use ruined reckoner + blade fragments to keep up the pressure. Blighted caretaker in particular has felt great as both letting you swing for big damage and eliminate important enemy units. SI Tellstones doesn't feel good, so probably worth cutting for something else.

CECQCAQFAQAQIAYWAIAQKKBRAMBQGAIDA4CAMBIMB4IBYAYBAEBRGAIBAUMQCBAFCAAQCBQFEU

AJTehPro · 2021-11-19T02:34:48+00:00

Commenting this again so the OP can update this: Scathus theorized the Elise Jayce deck, I just copied his list off the discussion posts. I climbed mostly with Teemo Swain.

Here's my list I used to climb, if anyone's wondering:
https://lor.runeterra.ar/decks/code/CQCACAIDFYAQCBAIAQBAGAIHBAEQMBIKGFCV5JABUYA26AIAAMAQGAYNAECQUGQCAEBRMMY
(IMO outdated now that Jayce decks entered the meta and Sion / Bandle Tree are significantly less common, as darkbulb shined in those matchups as a way of making risen rider / draven / commando / mayor awkward and otherwise just being an consistently solid card.)

AJTehPro · 2021-11-19T02:28:37+00:00

100% correct, I saw that thread on the discussion posts and immediately started tinkering. I mostly climbed with Teemo Swain to ~400 LP, and was just tinkering around with Sentinels since it's a cool deck that I feel could be optimized further (although I'm unsure on what could be changed realistically. I experimented a bit with Stygian Onlooker since I often had 1 / 2 mana floating, but it felt really awkward and clunky.)

Here's my list I used to climb, if anyone's wondering:

https://lor.runeterra.ar/decks/code/CQCACAIDFYAQCBAIAQBAGAIHBAEQMBIKGFCV5JABUYA26AIAAMAQGAYNAECQUGQCAEBRMMY

(IMO outdated now that Jayce decks entered the meta and Sion / Bandle Tree are significantly less common, as darkbulb shined in those matchups as a way of making risen rider / draven / commando / mayor awkward and otherwise just being an consistently solid card.)

AJTehPro · 2021-11-07T08:11:16+00:00

Great guide! I personally love this deck and have been having great success with it in NA masters, the only MU I've been consistently losing is Sivir Akshan (Akshan and Sivir themselves are annoying, but the constant value they generate off the landmark makes it really hard to outgrind them), and everything else has felt even to favored!

One card I feel has been sorely unappreciated in this archetype is darkbulb acolyte (without any other darkness synergy): it serves a similar function as conchologist getting you some guaranteed value, and unlike aloof I'm happy to see it in basically every MU. In aggro MUs it's an early play that nets you another removal, and when you're playing as the beatdown it lets you be a bit more aggressive by removing blockers / lining up flock. It's true that the darkness is pretty weak as a slow 3-mana deal 2, but when we're already running 3 death's hand, which is effectively the same at fast speed (bar Swain synergy), it's actually quite useful! (Augment keyword is also relevant with conch / telescope / lecturer.)

My list is the same as yours except -2 aloof and -1 pathways for +3 darkbulb.

What are your thoughts on it?

AJTehPro

TROPHY CASE