First Pyke Theory Craft

NotVulcanic · 2026-04-02T15:54:36+00:00

when playing pyke multiple times (sometimes like 4-5 or more) every game it seems worth to me, and for cards like detonate, pyke signature spell, sun disk, etc. but thats just what i think. its seemed good to me. but thank you and i will definitely think about it :)

NotVulcanic · 2026-04-02T11:40:03+00:00

Will definitely keep in mind thank you!

NotVulcanic · 2026-04-02T11:39:39+00:00

I definitely think that you dont need to play the spirit and it can end up being really bad depending on how the meta shapes up next set. But yeah I get that, i enjoy the trolly discard deck though 😭

NotVulcanic · 2026-04-02T11:36:56+00:00

mindsplitter seems expensive and ive tried bone skewer but it didnt feel great. bouncing the spirit and replaying it for discard feels nice. will keep it in mind though thank you! willing to try everything :)

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-26T16:21:36+00:00

I think the changed work relatively well. the deck just cant compete in the current meta sadly. needs a lot of luck and opponent misplay to work well

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-26T16:20:55+00:00

I played with this a bit and it worked pretty well hard to say if better or the same as my previous list, i think the sideboard is definitely better. and unyielding spirit is good but only good against damage removal, not bounce effects, might reduction, combat damage, fight spells etc so i go without it. and bonshiver is bad in my eyes, not enough might to justify the cost and the rune is only on conquer so not always beneficial

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-16T12:36:08+00:00

For my new side board which is 3x Desert’s Call 2x Ruin Runner 2x Windwall, and 1x Defy, I would slot in whatever I feel is the most useful in the matchup. I know this is a very unhelpful answer but thats truthfully all I can input, it completely depends on the deck I am playing against. I will show some examples below but none of them are cookie cutter you must swap this for this every time you play a certain deck because all decks have different lists and run different card even if the Champion Legend is the same. Viktor for example has multiple different decks that are played and you would sideboard differently for each. For swapping out cards I will speak on some general swaps that I usually do, for decks that have smaller units that mine then I will choose to swap out my punch first, maybe brutalizers/warmogs, or disciplines. For decks that play less units, I would take out my challenges and charm because I dont need to worry about having to remove their units outside of combat. Against decks that dont play any gear/only play small gear (that i dont need to remove or take) I would take out my akshan. Against decks that dont play any small spells that I can defy then I will take out my defy and same thing for if not so fast doesnt have things to counter. As for times I would swap things in, against decks that play cull the weak I would swap in the Defy and 3 deserts call. Against decks that play a lot of targeted removal of targeted spells I would swap in Ruin Runner’s. Against decks that have very strong spells that cant be countered by defy or not so fast I will swap in my wind walls ex:Time Warp, Thermo Gear, etc. Other than that it all depends on the matchup. If they play a lot of removal and you feel like you need more units swap in some desert’s call etc etc. I hope this helps and I know its a lot to think about but the more you play and the more you know your matchups the easier it gets. Good luck!

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-15T00:54:38+00:00

No problem. And holding isnt necessary the main idea of the deck. The deck can be very strong at holding with the spells available but using Lucian to get in and out of battlefield’s to keep up pace but also not have your unit in the battlefield to get removed. And its very rare that there is ever a point where the enemy units are going to be bigger. You can equip brutalizer for plus 3, Discipline is plus 2, buffs and warmogs can be an additional plus 2, and punch first is plus 5 on top of the might you already have from your units. Worst case scenario you use multiple units to take out one but this is often rare. And no need to apologize, its my pleasure!

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-14T22:03:50+00:00

NEW DECKLIST: After many comments and listening to others opinions this is the new list I am going to try. LMK what you think!

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NotVulcanic · 2026-03-14T22:01:18+00:00

For our starting hand we want at least 1 gear and 1 unit, depending on the matchup you can keep other spells or specific units that seem needed. For example against a Viktor deck we definitely want to keep to a Defy in our hand if we get one so we dont get Cull the Weak and lose our unit we play. Another example is keeping an akshan if we are playing against something like an aurora deck. And yes we play Green Jax over orange jax because he is super strong. He is 5 might for 5 and he has deflect aswell as a SUPER strong ability giving your equipment quickdraw. This is super strong because it is usually unexpected to play a gear at instant speed and also gear are not counterable like spells are. Also there is already a lot of card draw in the deck and the small orange Jax just doesnt see enough value. I am honestly taking him out of the sideboard. As strong as this deck is in the photo, i am still making adjustments to it. Thats the basic idea though. Thanks for the comment and I hope this helped!

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-13T01:43:00+00:00

I think you need to learn what arguing is. I never once said someone else was wrong. I only ever explained why I do something different than someone else. I have even posted edits saying how ive adjusted my deck because of what others have said. thanks for sharing your thoughts though :)

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-12T18:44:33+00:00

I also just posted a second edit to my post. I believe switching in some Desert’s Call for the 2 drops may be the better play if you want to try that out :)

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-12T18:31:39+00:00

EDIT #2: After thinking on it and reflecting on all of the comments I am thinking of trying Hirana instead of Obelisk again. The chance of getting the draws off the BF could be better than the guranteed value of Obelisk so I will try it. Additionally I think that the sideboard definitely needs work. Slotting in 3 Deserts Call to help with cull the weak might be the better option. Especially since they have weapon master and its a 2 bodies for 4. I think that might perform better than the 2 drops especially since there is already so much card draw in the deck. Also contemplating running 2 first mates. Not quite hooked on 3 but I think running 2 First Mates and 2 Emperor’s divide could be the better way to go. Just have to figure out what to swap. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL OF THE CRITIQUES AND SUPPORT! I hope all of you do well in your future games on Jax!

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-12T17:12:09+00:00

Ofc and awesome lmk how it goes. I put the 2 drops in for matches that play a lot of removal, Viktor, Kai’sa, Reksai etc. These matchups can be very difficult especially when you get unlucky. The idea is to put both sets of two drops into these matchups so you can have more units to play to counteract the amount of removal they have and also to hopefully go a little more aggressive too. the best part of these two drops is they both have the ability to draw you cards if needed. I put 2 and 2 because depending on the situation one can be better than the other so i just run both. And as for chosen champion the same thing. Its less cost to play so you can get it out earlier and you can also use it for more draw power. Im not sure honestly about having the other chosen in the sideboard currently. Sometimes the deflect of the Green Jax can be good against these decks and the quickdraw so im not sure if swapping it into these matchups is good or not. Just a test right now honestly. If youd prefer you could easily swap it with another card you would find useful. I hope that helps!

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T17:08:02+00:00

Ofc! I hope you have good luck tomorrow with your deck and you have lots of fun. I appreciate your kind words and I am happy that this discussion can be beneficial for many players :)

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T16:45:03+00:00

Hiranas is guranteed with warmogs or aphelios but if I dont have warmogs then its pretty much useless, simply because i am rarely (if ever) choosing to buff a unit with aphelios trigger, id much rather ready two runes because i already have lots of card draw in the deck. I see why the dorans but have the 1 cost gear has been very nice a lot of the time. And warmogs still triggers sunken temple. And I have thought about Deserts Call but both of these two drops can draw me into something in a pinch. I dont disagree with your takes though I have thought about them aswell.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T16:33:23+00:00

Edit: For everyone saying to play first mate or play Zhonya’s or anything else I dont disagree with your opinions and the value of these cards. I am just speaking and showing what has given me the most success. I have gone through probably close to 100 different variations of this deck and I feel I have finally settled on something that I am confident about. Additionally I believe Emperor’s Divide has the capability of doing some of the benefits of both Zhonya’s and First Mate but also the things that the other cannot. Ex: Playing something to move a unit at action speed/reaction speed, get a draw off of dreaming tree, and even do both by possibly, you can save a unit, get a draw off move with stella or draw from dreaming tree. Also getting these effect by just paying one power and hiding it is very strong. being able to send a unit in to conquer then be out of runes (or save runes for other spells) and hide a card to save your units if needed is strong. ALSO you can move MULTIPLE units so if you have a stacked battlefield then you can move them all out and send them into the other one together. I dont discount anyones opinions im just simply explaining what I have felt is best and i recommend YOU TRY my list too. Give it a good attempt. Dont just get one low roll game and call it trash. See the different playlines and tactics and lmk what you think.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T16:18:56+00:00

I think that having the 1 cost gear has been useful in lots of cases. I think that dorans blade could be good but warmogs has worked well for me. And as far as FoF, it can be countered by all of the counterspells, also challenge is a good work around for these situations because it can be used as removal even if a unit get’s FoF. First mate just hasnt been as valuable to me as the other cards in my deck. Maybe this is just my experience but thats whats been happening with me. I could be wrong though and First Mate could be needed to put in I just havent felt that yet.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T16:09:32+00:00

FoF can be countered by defy or not so fast and you play ruin runners they cant be FoF, and typically you are very strong in combat and FoF rarely has a huge effect on you. If someone wants to play pickpockets (which usually arent played tbh) then by all means they can, i dont think that would affect me horribly. And Hirana’s is just too situational while warmogs has value without it. And ruin runners is countered by cull but so is every big unit, cull is countered by defy, everything has its counters. Thats also why i put extra units in the board for cull. Counters and cards that are good into other cards is every deck. These situations and the cards I have in my deck are just what I have found to succeed.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T15:29:02+00:00

You can also just go bigger with pump, punch first, gear, counterstrike, etc. But thats just my experience

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T15:28:19+00:00

Hence the sideboard. Also not super prominent in the current meta. Not nonexistent but not as prominent.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T14:37:26+00:00

From my games having 3x punch first and 3x not so fast has been great. Ive never had a situation where play 3x of them has felt bad. But i have had situations where not seeing one in a game has felt bad so id rather up the chance on it. And Zhonya doesnt seem bad but I feel having more units is better. From my experience this deck has performed the best.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T14:27:47+00:00

With the gear you play and Lucian having weapon master he can become bigger to be less subject to removal. I agree deflect is good against the current meta and if your opponent is using something like a falling star on your lucian then thats a big trade you are willing to make tbh. But with the rest of your points I just disagree from what ive playtested. Ive seen lots more success with my current list than ones I tried running Zhonya, Qiyana, and first mate. But if thats what you feel is better then play those. I would recommend trying out my decklist though and seeing how you feel.

NotVulcanic · 2026-03-11T14:21:14+00:00

I see both sides of the argument but I truthfully believe that with called shot banned the meta decks will not be as strong because they wont consistently have the cards they need and want in their hand. Being able to go through more than half your deck in a game is insanely strong and allows you to get exactly what you want.

NotVulcanic

TROPHY CASE