It has been a few weeks since Runeterra’s Sentinels of Light Event launched, and the meta has largely been unsolved during that time. Despite this, there has been a resurgence of Irelia Azir, Sejuani Gangplank lists and of course plenty of Akshan and Viego decks. This is the perfect time to experiment on ladder so we’ve picked out some of our top decks that include cards from the Sentinels of Light expansion!
Twisted Fate & Ezreal (TF EZ)
Bringing back an old classic, TF EZ gained popularity during the Season of Fortune over a year ago. After nerfs to Petty Officer, Make it Rain, Black Market Merchant, Riptide Rex and TF himself, the deck lost its way. Now, with some of those nerfs being reverted to their original state and the introduction of Riptide’s counterpart Ruined Rex, this deck has become much more viable.
The focus on this deck is of course Ruined Rex. By drawing cards with Pool Shark and Rummage, Ruined Rex can generate some serious value. This deck requires some planning to help set up a Ruined Rex. Ideally, you will want to play Pool Shark or Twisted Fate’s Pick a Card the turn prior to landing Ruined Rex. Combo this with a Rummage on a Stress Testing and you can reach the 5 Cannon Barrage limit in no time - just make sure you leave enough mana open on your combo turn. Ruined Rex has great synergy with Ezreal, as Cannon Barrage counts towards Ezreal’s targeted level up. With the high amount of draw, Twisted Fate will level up in no time as well.
The rest of the deck plays a midrange gameplan. Ballistic Bot and Sump Dredger provide board presence while your Mystic Shot and Get Excited! Help control the enemy board. Use Riptide Rex as a finisher if your Ruined Rex hasn’t already closed down your opponent’s board.
For some extra value, see if you can experiment with the now 5-cost Tri-beam Improbulator. Slotbot and Petty Officer are some good options, although you will need about 15 3-cost cards in total.
Shyvana & Jarvan IV Dragons
Sentinels of Light introduced Dragons in Shadow Isles! Crawling Viperwyrm and Camavoran Dragon focus on killing allied units for maximum value. Dragon Chow, The Wings and The Wave and Egghead Researcher provide sacrifice targets to help grow your dragons. Play Ruined Dragonguard to double your value. Shyvana is an obvious choice for Dragon synergy but the second champion is up to you. We’ve opted for Jarvan IV after its second buff since release has ensured that it is a powerful finisher in this list. The open attack on turn 6 always catches your opponent out, and a level 2 Jarvan IV provides unlimited resources to take down your opponent’s board.
The rest of the deck utilises Demacia staples in Single Combat and Sharpsight along with some of the best Dragons. Egghead Researcher gives you some late game resource extension, and Kadregrin the Ruined has some great targets if you can survive long enough to play it!
Viego & Thresh
One of the two champions released in this event, Viego has emerged in both Shurima and Ionia lists. Here, we have gone through the Freljord route. Freljord Shadow Isles has always had a popular control deck from Feel The Rush to Lissandra Watcher. Now, it is Viego’s turn.
This deck, like any previous SI Freljord one, uses Avalanche, Withering Wail, Ice Shard and a host of other spell-based removal. The number of copies you run of each is entirely up to you; we opted for the middle ground of using 2 of most of these spells. Catalyst of Aeons can help you play your Viego and Invasive Hydravines early, and such classics as The Rekindler and The Harrowing can help recur your threats. Thresh gives you an alternative option for summoning your main win condition, Viego. Eventually, with all the Encroaching Mist that you summon, Viego will level and take control of the game.
Freljord Overwhelm
Freljord Overwhelm became a powerhouse in the meta when Shurima was introduced. Playing huge Overwhelm units such as Ruin Runner and Ancient Yeti can dominate a lot of match-ups. This deck in particular has a low curve with 6 1- and 6 2- drops, ensuring you hit your curve consistently before you land your late game threats.
Thrumming Swarm is a new card introduced with The Sentinels of Light and is a stronger alternative to the previously run Alpha Wildclaw. It costs 1 more, but strikes for more damage, and it has the potential of providing unlimited resource extension if you’ve levelled a champion. With Sivir’s recent buff, this has become more consistent. Of course, the game might not go that long, as you can opt for Battle Fury to surprise your opponent for lethal!
Akshan & Lee Sin
This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the other champion introduced, Akshan. Akshan has been paired with Riven, Sivir and Zed since his release, however this list pairs him up with Lee Sin!
If you are not tired at the sight of Lee Sin kicking your units and Nexus, then this deck is for you! The combo finisher is casting The Absolver and on Lee Sin to deal huge damage to your opponent; the Overwhelm essentially doubling the damage done by Lee Sin.
Akshan and his Warlord’s Palace provide plenty of opportunities to draw into your champion. Levelling Akshan counts down the Warlord’s Hoard, and from here you can draw more, or give your champions spellshield to guarantee your victory.
We hope these decks have given you a fresh way to play in the time before the next expansion drops! Have we missed any Sentinels of Light cards that you think are worth mentioning? Drop a comment below!
Comments
Is Thrumming Swarm really a better alternative to Alpha Wildclaw? Sure it provides more value but at seven mana the card isn't cheap and with only 4 health it dies to Black Spear, Ravenous Flock and Monster Harpoon, whereas wildclaw don't.
It's close, they are similar in their stats, I would argue the 1 attack is more important that the health but it could go either way. You often have troll chants or battle fury to help your units survive.
Much of the removal you have suggested is conditional, and only has a good effect after something has happened that turn (unit died, plunder etc.)
If you play thrumming swarm and attack with it on the same turn, 4 damage instant removal is not as common outside some double mystic shot hands.
If you play thrumming swarm and open attack the following turn, you are essentially ignoring all the removal that would supposedly kill this.
In any case, your big overwhelm units are either getting blocked, or stunned/frozen. With the latter it doesn't matter either way, but if they are being blocked then every bit of overwhelm damage matters.
Alpha is better suited to aggro metas (currently) whereas thrumming is better vs control
After a bit of testing that's the conclusion that I reached too. Thank you for the explanation.