Learning to Yeet the Yordles (How To Beat Spammy Yordle Decks)

How To Beat Spammy Yordle Decks

Don’t get me wrong, I love the crazy value generation and hype-creating RNG moments that Bandle City has brought to our game.

That said, sometimes you get hit by one too many bouts of telescopic nonsense or top-decked decimate lethals and you’ve just got to give them the boot.

I’m Jordan “WhatAmI” Abronson and today I’m here to talk through countering the spammy Yordle decks in general and the crazily popular Poppy/Ziggs burn variant in particular.

“Strong” has never equaled invincible in Runeterra if you’re willing to commit to the counter, and this time is no different.

Step one is always to meet the enemy. We can’t understand how to stop them if we don’t understand what they are up to.

Deck Code: CEBQOBIKA4UUKSLUUMA2MAIDAEBQEDBIAIBAGAYEAEBAKCRRGQAA

[See Poppy Ziggs deck details]

In simplistic terms, this is a Zoo deck. It wants to take all the most powerful creatures in the early mana points, slam them into its opponent efficiently, and finish with burn.

That’s a very straightforward and powerful way to play the game that has left a lot of people scratching their heads with how to deal with it.

Not to worry though, let’s check out a few key weaknesses this mode of thinking represents.

Also note that while I am using the burn variant as my main example, these decks I am offering up as counters should be solid into any of the so-called “Poppy Piles,” you find out there roaming the ladder.

Draven Sion

Strangely, our first contender here has no healing in it while claiming to be powerful into a burn-based endgame, but the stats do not lie.

Sion deck is capable of going toe to toe with everything this deck can do in the early and midgame, and then going over the top to finish while staying comfortably outside decimate range.

Deck Code: CECAGAIEE4WTIAYFAMAQSDIBAEBRIAIFBKMACBABAMCBEAQFAMCAMAIEAQIAEAIEAETAEAQBAMFSGAQDAMGQ6

[See Draven Sion deck detail]

The Game Plan

While our opponent is going to be putting down a lot of extremely fast efficient beaters, all we need to worry about is maintaining board parity and protecting our life total. All of our creatures trade impressively well, often generating card advantage while they do it.

Our removal also matches up quite nicely into everything in their deck except for Ziggs and Lecturing Yordle. Those might need help from a Challenger attack or a Draven ax, but they’ll still go down just fine. Then close out the game as quickly as possible with a big Sion turn and any leftover burn pointed at the dome.

The Mulligan

Mulliganing with Sion is very complex. I could honestly do most of an article devoted to that one topic. However, in this particular match, the things we want to focus on more than anything else are our one drops.

Throw back all the high-cost cards and trust them to come back later. Reborn Grenadier can be especially nasty when combined with Poro Cannon or Draven. We effectively get a zero mana three power blocker. That’s often a tempo loss our opponent’s style of deck can’t come back from and part of why I kicked it up to two of them in this version.

• Tips

  • Being willing to sacrifice value for nexus health is a big deal. Remember that we don’t have any healing in our deck, but we are just bursting with ways to gain card advantage.
    • One of my favorite plays is just using Flame Chompers to block three or even two points of damage for zero mana.
  • Poppy is a massive threat, but your high-power creatures will generally be able to handle her since she has no buffs to help her out.
    • When playing into versions of this deck with buff spells then it can be worth holding on to a removal spell or two specifically for Poppy to kill her after she gets buffed through her first trade.

Corina-less Control

Every time we forget about this archetype it jumps up, waves its arms, and in the hands of some enterprising brewer reminds us it deserves a place in the metagame. Corina-less Control is still a power to be reckoned with and if the Yordles are giving you lip it’s a great place to turn.

Deck Code: CECQEAIEDM2AEBIFBMHQCAIFFAAQKCUYAEAQEBAIAUBQCBI5GU3ACAYEBUAQKBAMAECAKOACAUCQQCQCAEBQICYCAECQ6II

[See Corina-less Control deck details]

The Game Plan

One of the things you may have noticed about the Yordle decks is that while they are quite adept at swarming the board, very few of them can block Fearsome attackers.

This deck takes heavy advantage of that, clearing the few that stand in the way and then getting in for huge chunks to finish the game with burn.

We also have a truly unreasonable amount of healing on the backburner while we do this. Grasp, both Withering spells, Vile, and even Ixtali Sentinel at the top end will completely shut down any hope poor little decimate has of ending a game.

The Mulligan

The most important thing here is to get ahold of our early removal spells and Sentinels. Given the true assumption that we are going to be blasting away at our opponent’s units, the Sentinels are the heart of this deck.

Efficient board stabilizing bodies that also pile in an impressive amount of pressure.

While open keeping our big five-mana Life-stealing spells or Ixtali Sentinel can be tempting I urge you to fight it.

Unless we already have our early game all rolled up one of the easiest ways to lose is to be fighting from behind. We want to get on the board at the same time our opponent does and do it better, not get stuck on our back foot all game.

• Tips

  • It can be ok to take a little bit of damage early to make sure your Sentinels get their “Level Up” value. This is because our healing will be able to take over later and stabilizing the board will matter significantly more.
  • Don’t worry so much about valuing your champions here. They are mostly just board clog and removal spells. We’ll find ways to win the game eventually, usually by running our opponent out of resources or simply burning them out.
  • Have faith, and play the grindy power game this deck is made to.

Lee Sin

Wait, what’s this nonsense. Lee Sin into all-in aggro decks? Just what kind of scam are you trying to pull here Mr. Jordan?

Mostly an Eye of the Dragon-based one. This deck gets one eye into play very consistently, and two more than fifty percent of the time. That sounds like any aggro deck’s nightmare to me.

Lee can watch.

Deck Code: CEBQKAYJBENSGM6XAECQEAQDAUDAQCIBAEBAYAQBAEBDCAIEAIKAGAIDAIKACAYJKUAQCAQC

[See Lee Sin deck details]

The Game Plan

It’s all Eye, all the time in Lee Sin land. Our champs are cute and all, and they will show up to end the game eventually, but all that matters is those recursive dragonlings life-stealing turn after turn.

Things get even nastier when you factor in Sonic Wave removing their most dangerous threats and Palm shutting down Poppy if she dares to show her face on your opponent’s turn.

Lee himself is just a powerful removal spell when you think about it, and will eventually lock up the game against almost any opposition.

The Mulligan

Eye of the Dragon, Gifts From Beyond, and Sonic Wave are the biggest of deals. Zoe can be worthwhile simply to trade with a one drop from your opponent while sometimes gaining value, but you need those dragonlings.

Any game where you have one eye of the dragon rolling by turn three is tough but winnable. Any game where you can get two of the little angels rolling at once will feel like you are bullying the poor opponent on the other side of the table.

• Tips

  • It’s ok to take some serious amounts of damage in the early game to set up your wall of Eye of the Dragon.
    • You will be able to heal it all back much more easily than you will be able to replace your engines if you let them trade-off.
  • Don’t worry about winning the game too much. You have plenty of ways to close things out.
    • A late Zoe may level, Lee may show up, or Pod may just elusively bonk away. As long as you lock up the battlefield, victory here will surely follow.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask WhatAmI during his streams (around 10AM PST basically every day).

WhatAmI streams at twitch.tv/xxwhatamixx around 10AM PST every day