New Runeterra Decks for Zilean, Irelia and Malphite! Theorycrafting for the Guardians of the Ancient Expansion

The Guardians of the Ancient Expansion lands later today! Here are some of our top picks for decks using all the new cards, including 2 decks for each champion!

Zilean Go Hard

The first champion we are looking at is none other than Zilean. When summoned, Zilean puts Time Bombs in your deck that have inherent synergy with the Predict keyword. With a deck full of Predict, using cards such as Ancient Preparations and Time in a Bottle, you can keep finding your Time Bombs or Go Hard. Eventually, with the amount of draw this deck has, you can cast a devastating Pack Your Bags. A levelled Zilean can also allow you to keep casting fleeting copies of Time Bomb and Go Hard that you played the round before, ultimately winning the game by attrition. Khahiri the Student and Khahiri the Returned provide great value as you will be predicting many times with this deck.

Zilean Gangplank

For a deck that focuses more on the Time Bomb aspect of Zilean than predicting, comboing with Powder Kegs is the way to go. With a keg on the board, each Time Bomb has the potential to clear your opponent's board. This gameplan is complemented with the useful aggro and plunder tools in Bilgewater in Jagged Butcher, Black Market Merchant and Petty Officer. The Dreadway was recently buffed to be 8 cost, and as such can be a great way to close out the game alongside Riptide Rex. Otherwise, there is plenty of reach with Ruinous Path, Warning Shot and Parrrley!

Irelia MF

From one aggro Bilgewater to another, Miss Fortune has synergy with Irelia and her army of Blades. Blade Dance, a new mechanic introduced, gives a free attack with the blades that you summon. This way, you can turbo level your Miss Fortune. The rest of the deck has a very low curve, essentially trying to go under all the new unrefined decks you will face on the first days of the expansion. Although, Zinneia, Steel Crescendo can attack with the blades for extra reach late on in the game.

Irelia Azir

Another champion that Irelia and the Blade Dance cards have synergy with is Azir. Azir levels up when you’ve summoned 10 units, which you can achieve in no time at all with this deck. Sparring Student and Greenglade Duo can grow massively with each Blade Dance, and you can use Syncopation to keep your big threats safe from enemy spells and blockers. There is also some recall synergy with cards like Lead and Follow and Retreat so you can play your Dancing Droplet’s or activate Blade Dances again and again. Sandstone Chimera is an extra threat you can play cheaply later in the game.

Malphite Taliyah

The third champion released in the Guardians of the Ancient Expansion is Malphite, who has synergy with summoning lots of landmarks. When you have summoned 12 mana worth of landmarks, Malphite will level up, enabling you to play Unstoppable Force and stun all your enemies on your attack. It makes sense, therefore, to pair Malphite with Taliyah. Throw in some high-value landmarks such as Hibernating Rockbear and Salt Spire to summon some big Grumpy Rockbears, and then attack while all your enemies are stunned!

Malphite Leona

With the addition of new Daybreak cards in Solari Sunhawk and Eye of the Ra-Horak, both Leona and Rahvun, Daylight's Spear have increased in power. This deck has a strong midrange game plan to stun enemies whilst playing high-statted units. Malphite can later close out the game by stunning the opponent's entire board on your attack. You can almost level Malphite in one action by activating the Daybreak on the Eye of the Ra-Horak, as it will summon 10 mana worth of landmarks. The other cheaper landmarks such as Rock Hopper and Unraveled Earth summoning Roiling Sands can finish levelling Malphite.

Lissandra Frozen Thrall

Lissandra is often seen paired with Trundle in the Watcher combo decks, but the introduction of The Clock Hand can help support Frozen Thrall decks. The idea of this deck is to play Frozen Thralls out early on, and then advance the countdown with Clockwork Curator, Time in a Bottle and, ultimately, Draklorn Inquisitor. These decks have always struggled with being too slow, but The Clock Hand can counter this with Instant Century's. These Instant Century's can summon a Frostguard Thrall at burst speed. The other champions, Taliyah and Trundle, have been included for synergy in this deck. Buried in Ice is a unique alternative to The Ruination, essentially freezing the enemy board while your 8/8 overwhelm units steal the victory!

Renekton Sejuani

A deck that has been around for a while now, Renekton Sejuani is a midrange deck that summons lots of overwhelm units to beat down the opponent. Merciless Hunter is a great addition to this deck because it covers the short supply of good 3 drops this deck had and can be put down a turn before your Renekton challenges the unit you give vulnerable to. Profiteer is another great card in this deck, as you can give extra attack to an overwhelm unit or spellshield to keep a unit alive.

Mono Shurima

Mono Shurima has also been given some help in this expansion. Originally, the problem with this deck was the vulnerability of your champions and the Buried Sun Disc. Soothsayer can give spellshield to both your landmarks and your champions, and Chronoshift can also be used to keep your champions alive. Clockwork Curatorand the recently buffed Esteemed Hierophant can advance your Buried Sun Disc faster, meaning you may only need to level one champion rather than the usual two to obtain the Emperor’s Deck.

Thanks for reading and as always let us know any decks you are willing to try out on day 1 of the new expansion. Are there any decks that we have missed? Let us know in the comments!