Hail, Champions! Boy did Riot reveal a bounty of new toys coming out in this new patch! And its release is closing in fast, so let's jump straight into some of the best theorycraft decks we've seen over the past 24 hours!
Aphelios
Let's start with LoR's newest champion, Aphelios. First off: Streamer NicMakesPlays created this Zoe + Aphelios Invoke deck very similar to the Targon Allegiance decks we showcased last week.
Nic also revisited his Nightfall aggro deck, keeping Diana and thinning out many of the SI cards to fit in the new The Sky Shadows and The Veiled Temple.
Another other popular partner for Aphelios is Viktor. Viktor has been underwhelming so far, but this patch's buffs plus the nerf to Hush might bring him back into the fold. His free Hex Core Upgrades combined with Aphelios' passive means you are almost guaranteed to generate a new Moon Weapon each round, and if you flip both Champions you can play Moon Weapons for 0 mana.
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If you're looking for something a little unconventional, here's a neat deck from streamer Cephalopod featuring Aphelios, Swain, and Arrel the Tracker. Arrel hasn't left much of an impression so far, but there's some definite synergy with Aphelios' Moon Weapons. There's also some potential with Swain: Gravitum can stun-lock a potential blocker, Calibrum can remove it outright if it has too low health, and Infernum can allow Swain to overwhelm into the nexus through a blocker.
Gluttony
Gluttony can be a tough sale -- not only is it 1 mana more expensive than Glimpse Beyond, but its limited exclusively to allies with Last Breath all to essentially "upgrade" a unit on board to something +1 mana more expensive. You really need to your deck to take advantage of that tutor effect, and many immediately went to the potential Anivia + Gluttony -> The Rekindler + free Anivia + egg combo. We have several such decks in our library; the one that caught our eye was this one from cheeserdude.
Streamer TheBlackBoss had a different thought -- using Gluttony on The Undying to cheat out 4-drops like Ancient Crocolith and Wraithcaller in a more aggressive SI allegiance deck.
Powder Pandemonium
Powder Pandemonium is an interesting card -- obviously it has a lot potential upside, but it's a little awkward to actually build around since it requires you to both have a large number of Plunder cards and ways to consistently activate them to make it valueable. Streamer 4LW came up with this promising MF + GP update featuring Jagged Taskmaster.
Dragon came up with a different take in the Champ Select Discord: using Powder Pandemonium to progress They Who Endure. This might be the first time we saw a viable option for TWE outside of Shadow Isles, and Freljord does offer a few Plunder cards of its own to sweeten the deal.
Starbone
Starbone was a fun-looking card even before RubinZoo shared the heartwarming story behind it. We've seen it give rise to a lot of "dog" decks; our favorite so far is this one from kiskidiego that goes all-in on forming a "pack o doggos", including 3x Iceborn Legacy and 1x Pack Mentality.
Of course, if you want a more competitive / less flavorful version of the deck, you have a few options. We like this updated Zoe + Viktor deck from Zinke28 which basically sets up like an Targon Allegiance deck with Viktor splashed.
Troll Gifts
Troll Gifts is an interesting card -- not only does it have the potential to permanently grant anything regeneration, but you can also use it as a permanent stat boost to anything that already has regeneration. Streamer Cephalopod build this around Soraka + Braum + Star Spring -- you can either give the regen to a high-health target like Broadbacked Protector or Tarkaz the Tribeless, or you can give it to Braum and turn him into a 2|7 with challenger and regeneration.
Zinke28 has a different idea: updating a The Scargrounds deck with Tahm Kench and Troll Gifts. If Tahm Kench has, he can eat a new target every round with near impunity. Or just use Braum and TK as control tools to tie up blockers and allow your Scargrounds-buffed allies to hit Nexus.
That's all the theorycraft decks we have for now. Obviously there are so many more synergies with new cards we didn't even have time to get to -- Wild Claws + Darius! Stress Testing + Rummage + Twisted Fate! Teemo + Rush + Flurry of Fists! There's just so much new potential in this patch, and so little time before it goes live!
What are you excited to play? Share with us below!
Comments
is Aphelios so good? at a first look I am not so excited ...
He is on tf powerlevel and we know how busted tf is.
He stands just like tf for massive card advantage and given how good his tools are to slow down the game its no wonder that we currently have one big targon control fest in Runeterra.
Some of these look really fun.