Call of the Mountain expansion releases tomorrow, and we've been theorycrafting up a storm of awesome deck ideas to try as soon as it does! Here are the top 12 that we're excited to see how well they do. 

A quick note before you craft anything: if this expansion is comparable to the last, you'll get a free copy of Nocturne, Trundle, and Lulu at the respective Level 28 region reward so take that into consideration if you're close to that level and/or short on resources.


1.) Enter Sandman, featuring Nocturne & Diana

Nocturne Card Image Diana Card Image

Hypothesis: L2 Nocturne and Diana are easy to level and each has the potential to close games.

Execution: An aggressive SI + Targon deck totally dedicated to Nightfall synergies.

Why it could work: Between SI and Targon, there are a lot of Nightfall units--not to mention Fading Memories, which can be used to trigger the Nightfall condition and give you a Nightfall unit to play on the same turn.

Why it might not: Diana and Nocturne have fantastic value when they are alive and leveled up, but it might be a case of "putting all your eggs in one basket".


2.) Woodland Critters, featuring Lulu and Lucian 

Lulu Card Image Lucian Card Image

Hypothesis: Ionia support + Demacia aggression = new hyper-aggro.

Execution: Lulu's support package combined with the usual suspects from Demacia and a couple Relentless Pursuit.

Why it could work: We've already seen what War Chefs can do for Demacia in general; now there are even more powerful support cards.

Why it might not: Lulu's support ability is fixed, so its value will fall off dramatically the longer the game goes on. 

Bonus: Who doesn't want to see the opposing nexus annihilated by Swole Squirrel?


3.) What an A-Sol!, featuring Aurelion & Braum

Aurelion Sol Card Image Revitalizing Roar Card Image Mountain Scryer Card Image 

Hypothesis: Celestial cards are going to be fantastic.

Execution: A Targon allegiance deck that uses Dragon's Clutch to tutor Aurelion Sol and splashes some Freljord ramp and survival tools.

Why it could work: The value in some of the Celestial cards is mind blowing.

Why it might not: The main deck cards themselves provide very meager board presence, so you are extremely dependent on invoking good affordable celestial cards early to shore up your defense.


4.) 1-800-TRUNDLE, featuring Trundle & Tryndamere

Trundle Card Image Tryndamere Card Image Warmother's Call Card Image

Hypothesis: Behold will make control archetypes like Warmother's Call decks really strong.

Execution: A Freljord + SI Warmother's framework substituting out Anivia for Trundle.

Why it could work: Behold could take this archetype's biggest weakness -- that so many cards are unplayable until late game -- and turn them into assets.  

Why it might not: Even with Behold, this is still a very slow deck that is highly dependent on drawing well.


5.) CuddleFish, featuring Lulu & Fizz

Lulu Card Image Fizz Card Image  Help, Pix! Card Image

Hypothesis: L2 Lulu + Fizz are a spectacular combo -- for 1 mana, you can give her Barrier and turn him into a 5/5 Elusive.

Execution: A vulnerable-heavy Bilgewater + Ionia deck from streamer Wigglytoph.

Why it could work: Support units excel when they also take away good blocks, plus both Lulu and Fizz are very easy to level.

Why it might not: Moving out of Freljord means the loss of Fury of the North and Battle Fury, and we haven't seen many successful Fizz decks without those 2 cards yet.


6.) No Equal, Featuring Taric & Fiora

Taric Card Image Fiora Card Image

Hypothesis: Targon uber-Supports want Challengers to protect them.

Execution: A Fiora framework that swaps Ionia for Taric and a few of Targon's perma-buff support units.

Why it could work: Demacia already excels at controlling the board, and units that grow in stats every attack escalate danger quickly.

Why it might not: Fiora has been in a slump for a while, and its not clear that Bastion plus some support will be enough to pull her out.


7.) Sibling Rivalry, featuring Leona & Diana

Leona Card Image Diana Card Image

Hypothesis: Daybreak and Nightfall will synergize with each other.

Execution: A Targon-heavy deck build around Leona and Diana with Ionia for Deny and Recall.

Why it could work: If you can start the round playing a Daybreak card and then follow up with a Nightfall card, it creates insane value.

Why it might not: It's a very linear deck that hates to open-attack. I added Ionia to give it a few tricks, but will that be enough?

Bonus: Leona and Diana have a lot of fun voice lines if they are both on the field at the same time.


8.) Big Big Buffs, featuring Taric & Braum

Taric Card Image Braum Card Image  Mountain Sojourners Card Image

Hypothesis: Permanent buffs have exponential value when combined with keywords like Challenger, Regeneration, and Overwhelm.

Execution: A marriage of Targon's Support package with Freljord's beefy durable units.

Why it could work: Braum and Stalking Wolf provide Challenger, which could give the Support units enough survivability to see the coveted Mountain Sojourners chain. 

Why it might not: Those Challengers are the only direct interaction with the opposing board -- all the spells are single-target buffs to try to maximize Taric's value -- plus it's very vulnerable to silence effects.

Bonus: People might finally stop looking at me funny when I say Scarmaiden Reaver is actually a really good card!


9.) Who You Gonna Call?, Featuring Kalista and Darius

Mistwraith Card Image Risen Mists Card Image Stalking Shadows Card Image

Hypothesis: Risen Mists and Stalking Shadows are the last elements to make Mistwraiths a threat again.

Execution: An SI allegiance deck that seeks to maximize Wraithcallers and Mistwraiths with Darius splash for a finisher.

Why it could work: The biggest limitation of this archetype was how inconsistent it is to generate Mistwraiths, and now there are 50% more cards that generate one immediately plus a spell that let's you dig for a free copy.

Why it might not: This deck is going all-in on the Mistwraiths, a unit who only has 2 HP.

Bonus: You can taunt newcomers with "this is what the first month of open beta felt like!" 


10.) Championless Encroaching Shadows Burn

Encroaching Shadows Card Image Shark Chariot Card Image

Hypothesis: Encroaching Shadows bestows outrageous buffs which should allow us to burn our opponent quick.

Execution: An SI + Ionia aggro deck looking for cheap, difficult-to-block units and ways to multiply Shark Chariot.

Why it could work: The potential upswing is huge--for 1 mana and Nightfall, you can summon a 5/3 fearsome Stygian Onlooker who will also re-summon all your Shark Chariots. 

Why it might not: Giving all your future units Ephemeral tag means you're on a clock.

Bonus: You get +100 hipster points for playing a championless deck on launch day.


11.) Swain 2.0, featuring Leona & Swain

Leona Card Image Swain Card Image

Hypothesis: Combing Leona with Swain allow you to bully board and potentially connect Swain to the nexus a lot quicker.

Execution: A deck from steamer BruisedByGod that takes the existing Swain archetype and substitutes out Bilgewater AoE for a Leona Daybreak package.

Why it could work: All the Daybreak units provide a lot of board presence.

Why it might not: The synergy between the Leona's Daybreak package and Swain's progress / L2 skill is tenuous.


12.) Championless Swole Squirrel OTK

Swole Squirrel Card Image

Hypothesis: That Woodland Critters deck from earlier didn't have enough Swole Squirrel.

Execution: A championless Noxus + Ionia deck from streamer BomberTV that seeks to maximize squirrel power.

Why it could work: It has Swole Squirrel.

Why it might not: It is possibly a meme deck.

Bonus: Did I mention this deck can get Swole Squirrel from 3/4 to 36/4 in a single attack round?


What decks are you looking forward to playing? Have you pre-made yours in our deckbuilder yet? Let us know in the comments below!