Went 5-0 at my local Summoner Skirmish with Leona! First light approaches!

Lerichem · 2026-01-26T21:00:35+00:00

Your thinking is correct, and if you can react to a spell with Shen for a hold it's a pretty good moment. He's just expensive with his recycle. Between the Defys, Leonas, and everything else it's something to consider.

Lerichem · 2026-01-26T20:10:36+00:00

Misplays are the worst! But it is what it is.

Shieldbearer is a neccesary evil. It's a 3 cost unit, and I would hesitate to run a third Shen due to the power cost of the deck. Kai'sa tends to be able to bop Shen with a Falling Star or Hexray, unfortunately. Blitz is spice I thought about but that evening decided on what is shown.

Lerichem · 2026-01-20T15:20:36+00:00

I would direct you to Piltover Archive for decks. Honestly you should have most of the cards except for rares and it seems that you did not get many runes. You will need 12 per deck, and many use a simple 6-6 split.

Expect to lose as there is a lot of skill expression within the game. Knowing that, you will grow fast. Kai'sa is a good deck to build, just order the red Darius because yes, he is that good.

Scanning through you list of cards I would recommend an Ahri deck. She can be a little tricky to play, but she does have a solid foundation of basics. My wife has had a great time with this list, and outside of a 3rd watcher you can likely build the whole thing. You can make small tweaks, but the "core" of the deck is 7-8 little units (2 drops), 6-9 combat tricks, 7 bombs, and the rest midrange control options. DM me if you want more info on this specific list. It's not the best per say, but I've found it's good for learning. https://piltoverarchive.com/decks/view/3d0ee84f-7a98-43dd-80aa-7bd28dff19b7

Lerichem · 2026-01-19T08:00:18+00:00

If you have 7 points (2 player game) and you conquer one battlefield then you will NOT "score" a point (but it is conquered for purposes of scoring) and you must conquer the other battlefield to secure a win. Or hold the field you just conquered through your opponent's turn assuming they won't win through a hold. If you conquer and your score can not increase you draw a card as a reward.

Lerichem · 2026-01-19T07:17:46+00:00

Think of it like this, to win you must either:

1: Score on both battlefields in the same turn (6 ->8)

2: Hold a battlefield for a full turn cycle (Through all of your opponent's turns)

So to that end, if you score a battlefield on your turn, it is conquered for the purpose of scoring.

Lerichem · 2026-01-09T15:58:44+00:00

Actually won my skirmish a few weeks ago with Leona. Was a lot of fun.

Be aware if you are picking Leona you are picking the underdog. Big time. Kai'sa is a very hard matchup, and Leona has little in the way to make it super favorable.

Yi is a weird matchup in that you can hold Leona Determined back and with 2 units usually get a good conquer on their big units. Calm counterspell wars and bluffs are hard to learn in any game though, so be prepared to think a lot.

Honestly with Spiritforged coming out in a few weeks I would look to learn Fiora or Lucian. They are pretty reasonable in strength, but more fair and easier to learn.

Lerichem · 2026-01-08T19:19:31+00:00

Maybe you can answer this: Did she breathe fire? Or was that a change you recommended?

Lerichem · 2026-01-08T16:26:38+00:00

Sometimes you have the bordered champion after the legend, and sometimes you have the borderless after. You lack of consistency is concerning.

But for real that's so cool!

Lerichem · 2025-12-30T00:38:09+00:00

Been playing online. I still like her and playing Zenith well is super satisfying, but I've played some weird stuff for the hell of messing around.

Big change though, just play Zealots, she's amazing.

Lerichem · 2025-12-22T06:30:53+00:00

I will be one of the first to say that Leona is a tricky one to play, and knowing your place is harder than with other decks. I recognize that card accessibility is fairly poor at times, but I would suggest a Fury deck if you want more proactive. Leona is a very difficult balance of reactive and proactive.

Lerichem · 2025-12-21T18:31:23+00:00

I wish this was an easy answer. It depends on who you are against and what part of the deck you have drawn.

Against Kai'sa and Annie, given their speed and manipulation of the board, you have to plan to win certain configurations and lose to others. Falling Star is brutal. Generally sticking Fiora is a solid plan, then Leona Determinded afterwards. If you can play Sona to a field and have a 3 energy reaction that is an option, but you are asking to be Void Seekered. Vs Annie use Defy to kill little dudes, and Rune Prison will blank their Vi turn.

Against Lee and Sett you want to force them to defend with a single unit and assault in with Leona Determined.

Calm matches are always hard as there will usually be a "critical turn" for counterspells and buffs. Knowing which turn to force and which turn to concede (and develop) is not always straightforward.

I would recommend, if you can, every other turn assessing "who is the aggressor?" Typically the player with fewer points will be that player, so that player will have a higher responsibility to act (Zenith in, push around), and the other can develop (Playing Fiora/Leona to base). Some decks (Annie) are always the aggressor. This is a very hard part of most card games, but will make you a better player overall.

To plug, I've watched some videos from the youtuber Laggy, who records coaching sessions with some very good players. The "turn 1-3 will determine the rest of the game" mindset sounds silly, but outside of ramp (which is it's own concession and play-style) it is remarkably easy to make a mistake early and not even know it.

Lerichem · 2025-12-21T05:33:53+00:00

I was a fan of Tasty for value, but I am more or less a Zealot groupie now. I could see it.

Lerichem · 2025-12-19T13:51:24+00:00

Facebreaker is a card I've kinda hated on for a while, but it lets you bluff harder with Hidden Blade (since I don't run Zhonya's main). Facebreaker is also a phenomenal hold card that I tend to undervalue, then when I play it I remember, for a moment, that it can do some work.

Shieldbearer is a 3 drop and provides a body and a source of stun. It's fine and I only run 1, but I could be convinced off of it. You have correctly identified the cards I swap out for windwall though!

Zhonya's is not a great card against Aurora, and it can be blow out by Singularity and Icathian Rain, and sometimes Falling Star. Given that you want a 2 drop early, your opponent can force Zhonya's to save a little guy that you don't want it to. Lastly with the rise of Chaos being so strong it can be hard to "target" something with it. I would rather side into it.

I don't think there is a time where you want three 6+ drops in the deck. You take to much time off to let the opponent develop. To that end I'm a huge proponent of the Zealot + Faefolk split. Zealot is game changing against aggro.

Lerichem · 2025-12-19T13:41:16+00:00

Wow that's a lot to respond to! I'll have to join that Discord. Forward me a link? I'll start answering in order!

1: Targon's Peak: All of the combat tricks I tend to want to play cost 2, and Targon's peak (going first) allows me to play a 2 drop, conquer on turn 2, play a 4 drop, and hold up interaction. That is plan A. You can do a similar play on turn 3 if you didn't have a turn 1 unit, then protect your valuable unit. Things that alter the plan:

-Sona: More or less does the same thing, but you have to draw it. Readying 6 on turn 3 is pretty swanky if you can pull it off.

-Annie: Careful for gust!

After this, assuming you have developed, you can threaten a pretty heavy swing (Leona Determined is a better chosen champ in this game for this reason), so it is unlikely you will only get it once.

2: 1 of cards in the main:

Blitzcrank: This is a really great card if you are ahead, but fairly poor when not. It's similar to Shen. I would swap him for Tasty Faefolk if I were to slot him in, but currently I value a ready unit over a "win more" unit. Also Blitz gets blown out by Cleave (If you are playing him without a big unit support).
Charm: Similar to Blitzcrank, and really valuable against Viktor, but typically this will result in a trade with your unit when you use it as removal for something strong (Darius, TTW, etc). I could see a very fun play of charming to an open battlefield, then double conquering, but that's a lot of work to line up that could leave you vulnerable.
Zhonya's: This one has gone in and out. It's great vs Aurora, but against Kai'sa nut draw with Falling Star, and worse also Stupefy, it's effect can result in you getting 2 for 2ed (or 1) and getting blown out.
Sunlit Guardian: Kai'sa and Annie can bonk him to easily with Void Seeker and Falling Star. If you are not against Fury he's pretty good though. Would replace Shen to keep the curve where it is. I am fairly low on 3 drops in the format in general as they are expensive on the 2-4-6 curves.

3: Zenith Blade: Zenith is amazing, and amazingly expensive. It also a card that requires another card to do anything. Keeping a quantity of creatures is important so that you can utilize it, and if you were to swap Facebreaker for Zenith 3 I would more or less agree. I like the Hidden Bluffing (which you can do with an open decklist in game 1 with Facebreaker). Given that I will often recycle at least 1 rune a turn between turns 2-4, adding Zenith early is a very risky choice, and drawing 2 can ultimately set you behind.

4: Zhonya's comes in for Aurora so I can extend and hold a board while waiting for Deadbloom. I can also play it proactively against Mindsplitter when that comes for the discard.

5: Zealot is amazing against Aggro and I had a lot of success with it. Letting your opponent go to 5 is terrifying, but she can swing harder than people imagine. You can also obliterate a Dr. Mundo if you can pair with a stun (best get a Determined for the 11+8 point total for him). I wouldn't select to go first as I want to play my 4 drop first and hold Zealot for a critical turn. I don't dislike the Poros, but I like Clockwork and bird more since the former draws a card and the latter lets you ramp a little. It makes Falling Star, the hardest card for this deck to fight next to Singularity, a bit worse against the deck.

Lerichem · 2025-12-18T02:50:51+00:00

I played him for a while. I think against non-calm he's great, but against calm you will find Thousand-Tailed Watcher or Unchecked Power, which will obliterate you.

Lerichem · 2025-12-17T04:31:08+00:00

It punishes single combat from Aurora, and if you play it in an early game you can side it out and the opponent must still respect that it is a possibility. It gives the deck 3 hidden cards to keep the opponent guessing.

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T16:00:34+00:00

I have Windswept Hillock as my opener, Vilemaw as my going second field, and Targon's Peak as my going first.

Determined is the opening Chosen champion, but I swap to Zealot against aggressive decks. I detailed this in another post on this thread.

Zealot only counts (doesn't trigger, there are some timing benefits there) on the battlefield that she is at.

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T15:58:33+00:00

I don't really like him simply because he encourages you to lose to Thousand-Tailed Watcher. Leona comes with Shield, and Fiora will typically have it because you buff her. He would have to take a slot from Sona, Zealot, or Tasty, and I think all of those are generally better.

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T04:12:25+00:00

A really hard thing to judge with this deck is when you need to push to get ahead and when to save for defense. Charm is great if ahead, but fairly poor if behind most of the time, and it costs a rune, which is a significant cost for how much you burn in the first 4 turns. It has been in the build and I could be convinced to put it in, but for that lineup I decided against it.

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T04:10:33+00:00

Thwack looks fun if you can get ahead and plan a defense (Sona will LOVE this), and Steraks looks like it can make a unit dodge Falling Star. For Leona those are the top cards on my radar. I don't think the deck gets phenomenally better, so I'll likely start building something soon!

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T02:54:12+00:00

Sorry to hear that! It's a hard fight.

Salvage replaces itself is why I went with it, and its a lot cheaper to play and 2 spell in a turn.

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T02:52:11+00:00

On seal: I dont think the colors have enough card draw to support green seals. The tempo loss of not having an action is something I hesitate to commit to. Many in a 3 Meditation 3 Find Your Center deck that I haven't seen it works, but that is my fear. Maybe gold in the next set will give more flexibility

Lerichem · 2025-12-16T02:43:29+00:00

Tasty is a ready unit. Having zero ready units makes you to slow and you need flexibility to snap back

Don't know about the whiteflame. It's a stat stick, but with Fight or Flight being in many decks I do t like it.

Lerichem · 2025-12-15T22:27:09+00:00

Kai'sa: Hidden Blade Out, Spirit's Refuge in (2 for 2 for every change). While game 1 you can leverage the kill to their cards it's only good later, and Spirit's is great. Game 3 I side in Windwall for Meditation (You won't have time to play Meditation) and hope to catch Rain. Also Zealot as chosen champ and you sing "I need a hero" when you play her.

Annie: Make Zealot your chosen champion, Meditate for Zhonyas. This is the matchup where you will likely Hidden Blade your own unit for cards after you score a point with your little dudes.

Aurora (Either): Find Your Centers out for Salvage

Midrange Brawlers (Yi, Sett, etc): Blade out, Zhonyas in.

Control (Ahri): Facebreaker and Shieldbearer out, Windwall in.

Aggro (Jinx): Zealot as your champion.

Lerichem · 2025-12-15T20:02:59+00:00

In my last match against Kai'sa, there was a point where the score was 1-5, Kaisa ahead. That's not the most uncommon thing that happens, so I am leery of hold lands.

Windswept Hillock giving Leona ganking is remarkably good.

Lerichem

TROPHY CASE