How to Play 4 New Bandlewood Expansion Archetypes
With a new expansion comes new deck archetypes and the Bandlewood expansion did not disappoint!
In fact, there are too many archetypes for me to even cover in one article.
There are a variety of new archetypes with the new champions as well as followers who gave old decks a new identity such as Corina, Mastermind.
The expansion is still new, so many decks are still in the process of being optimized, but for now here are some of the best ways to play the new decks!
In this article, we will cover 4 decks:
- Bandle Tree
- Zoe Nami Combo
- Corina’s Puffcaps
- Senna Veigar Control
1. Bandle Tree
Bandle Tree was one of the first spoiled cards of the expansion.
We didn’t know what would be helping this unique win condition of playing a card from every region, but as more spoilers arrived the answer became clear.
Dual regions were now part of Runeterra!
Deck code: CEBACAQGFYEQKCQEDJQHJBABQUAZQANHAGXQCAIEAUFIYAOAAHBADUIBAEBAKCUBAGTAC
[See Freshlobster’s Mono Bandlewood Tree deck details]
This deck is aggressive to pressure the opponent while at the same time working on the Bandle Tree alternate win condition.
It is common for Bandle Tree to be activated by rounds 8-10, sometimes earlier. This makes the deck an anti-control deck due to control not being able to push out a win against it before it activates Bandle Tree.
An exception to this would be control lists that run Landmark removal.
At the time, the most common one was running Scorched Earth in Twisted Fate Swain decks. Overall, there isn’t much Landmark removal in Legends of Runeterra which makes Bandle Tree a pretty reliable way to win the game with this deck.
2. Zoe Nami Combo
This deck has been making a splash since hitting rank 1 on the Asian server. As more players discovered that replacing Fizz with Zoe was superior, giving the deck a solid, third win condition, players got to optimizing it quickly.
Deck code: CECAMAYJBERSQM2J24AQEBIGAUFQCAQGEYAQGBQRAICAGCJJGBKWEAICAYVQA
[See Nami Zoe Combo deck details]
The deck relies on three main win conditions that come in the form of Zoe, Nami, and Fleet Admiral Shelly. It’s no surprise that leveling up Zoe and dropping a Sparklefly is often a game-winning move.
If that isn’t enough, then Zoe creating 0 cost Invokes will be sure to do the trick.
Zoe is easy to level up in this deck due to the protection she is offered as well as the number of cheap cards that can be played that help her level up by seeing 10 different cards played.
Nami is a new card from Bilgewater who works very well with spells and the Attune mechanic. Once you have gained 7 spell mana, she levels up. This level up is huge as she grants the weakest ally +2|+1 per spell when leveled instead of only +1|+0.
This combined with elusive cards such as Sparklefly and Zap means that you can make giant elusives very quickly, often on turns 4-7.
By casting multiple spells, you also make Wiggly Burblefish cost 0 mana which allows for your board to go just a bit wider in case one of your threats gets answered by Hush or another counter.
The final win condition is also a new card of this set, Fleet Admiral Shelly. When this card was revealed, everyone knew that it was incredibly strong. Upon seeing two spells cast in a round, Shelly buffs all other allies with +1|+1 making it the perfect synergy with Nami.
If you aren’t able to find Nami, then Shelly will certainly do the trick of buffing all of your elusive creatures. Shelly is part of the reason why the deck is consistent even if Nami isn’t drawn.
This deck is one of the most difficult decks to pilot in Runeterra. From keeping track of buffs, the number of spells cast, and setting up future turns, it is a very skill-testing deck in Runeterra despite its ability to high roll.
3. Corina Puffcaps
There have been two ways to play the new Corina, Mastermind card along with new Puffcap synergy cards. Both popular decks feature Caitlyn and Teemo. One with Freljord and one with Bandlewood.
Unfortunately, the Freljord version has been posting mediocre win rates while being the most popular.
Instead, we will be taking a looking at my personal favorite, the Bandlewood version.
Here’s the most popular version of Corina Bandlewood with a 52% Win Rate
Deck code: CECQIAIEBAMTIOQDAUFEMZFGAEBQKBAGBEHACBAEA4AQEBAKAEAQKBACAIAQCBA3AECQVJAB
[See Corina Puffcaps deck details]
This deck is a whole lot of fun! It features Corina, Mastermind, and Ava Achiever as ways to capitalize off of the number of traps that you place in your opponent’s deck.
Ava Acheiever doubles the number of traps whenever they become activated. If you are lucky enough to get two Avas on the board then you get quadruple damage!
Corina has the ability to activate all trap effects off of the top 5 cards of an opponent’s deck.
It is important to note that this means that the traps are still part of the card as only the effects were activated, not the traps themselves.
In the deck’s early game, it focuses on units such as Teemo, Caitlyn, Puffcap Pup, and Sting Officer to start placing Traps.
As the game progresses, Puffcap Peddler combined with Chump Whump’s Puffcap spells as well as other spells are used to add more Puffcaps into the deck.
Once there are plenty of Puffcaps, typically Ava Achiever or Corina are played.
However, sometimes forcing the opponents to draw through Insider Knowledge or Veteran Investigator is the only option.
Regardless, you are able to finish the game by forcing your opponent’s card draws to be their worst nightmare!
4. Senna Veigar
Senna Veigar was an obvious pairing when the cards were spoiled as both of them have synergy with the created spell, Darkness.
These decks are all about Darkness whether it be making the spell do more damage or cost less. The most popular ladder version has had a successful 55% win rate.
Deck code: CECAMBIKAQNF2XTCUYAQEAIFDUUAEBIFBAEQCBAFHABACBIKGEAQKBIDAMAQCBJOAECQUAIBAUCQU
[See Senna Veigar deck details]
The deck has a high amount of synergy as every piece works to upgrade Darkness. Each champion has their own job as well in the deck. Senna is able to make slow cost damage and kill spells become fast.
This allows for Darkness to be cast at Fast speed when it is normally a Slow speed card. At the start of each round that Veigar is on the board, he grants 1 damage to all Darkness everywhere, so keeping him on the board allows him to make Darkness a more impactful spell.
Once Darkness has done 12 damage, then Veigar levels up. Veigar’s level up ability allows Darkness to be able to Target the Nexus which is the main way that this deck is able to close out games.
With Veigar and Senna on board, you can even close out games with a Fast Speed Darkness on the Nexus from high amounts of Nexus health!
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask Silverfuse during her streams (usually daily from 2-6PM CST).
Catch Silverfuse live at www.twitch.tv/silverfuse
