How to Play Aphelios Viktor
Hey guys NicMakesPlays here.
Today I’m going to go over my Aphelios Viktor deck!
Both Aphelios and Viktor were buffed in the most recent patch so it’s a great time to try them out.
This deck is well-rounded, has tons of win cons, and answers to threats in the current meta.
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Deck Code: CECAMAYJENEVIVS43EAQEAYEAMCQCAIEGQAQEBABAMAQGBASAMAQIGZGE4AQGCKVAA
[See NicMakesPlays Aphelios Viktor deck details]
Goal of Deck and Mulligans
The goal of this deck is to create a plethora of win cons your opponent can’t deal with. You can work on leveling Aphelios or Viktor as a win con, chip away with Elusives and Burn damage, or finish them off with big Celestial units.
This deck usually wins around turns 8-9 after you pick which win con they can’t deal with.
In this deck you want to mulligan for value generators such as Lunari Duskbringer, Ballistic Bot, Mountain Goat, Aphelios and Viktor.
Against Aggro you can also mulligan for cards to stop their early pressure such as Poro Cannon and Thermo Beam.
Lunari Duskbringer / Spacey Sketcher
Lunari Duskbringer and Spacey Sketcher are your one drops of the deck. Lunari Duskbringer blocks in the early game well with her 2|1 statline while also giving you a Duskpetal Dusk. Duskpetal Dusk can be used to discount Aphelios and gain his Nightfall effect, while also leveling Viktor.
Spacey Sketcher can be used to discard generated cards such as Duskpetal Dusk and Gems to access her pool of Celestials. Her Celestials help level Viktor and give you a toolbox to answer all kinds of threats.
Ballistic Bot / Mountain Goat
Ballistic Bot and Mountain Goat are your two drops of the deck that both generate value. Ballistic Bot generates Ignition’s each turn which can be used as discard fodder for Get Excited, Poro Cannon and Spacey Sketcher.
Ballistic Bots Ignitions also help level up Viktor if used and whittle your opponent’s nexus down making it easy to find lethal. Mountain Goat is a solid 3|2 that gives you Gems when it strikes.
An early game blocker that gives you discard fodder, can buff Elusives or help level Viktor is very good in this deck.
Viktor / Aphelios
Viktor and Aphelios are your champions of the deck. With Viktor’s new buff he can start gaining keywords immediately on turn 4.
He is insanely easy to level in this deck since most of your cards generate more cards, and then get discounted once he’s leveled. If left unanswered he can win the game on his own or highroll the right keywords to win the game.
Aphelios can also win the game if unanswered by outgrinding your opponent with his constant generation of Moon Weapons. Aphelios has answers to just about any situation and can even heal yourself back into the game, or grant Overwhelm to finish the game.
If answered immediately he is still a +1 since he generates you a card, and if unanswered then he wins the game over time.
Get Excited! / Poro Cannon
Get Excited and Poro Cannon both make use of your card generation with their discard effects. Get Excited is a great answer to threats such as Aphelios and Miss Fortune as well as allowing you to go for game with burn reach. You can easily discard Ballistic Bot’s Ignition for a free discard fodder. Poro Cannon is great in this deck to quickly level Viktor and Subpurrsible. The Daring Poros also help chip for Elusive damage, can be Elusive blockers, and buff your Augment units.
Starshaping / Subpurrsible
Starshaping and Subpurrsible are two of your late game win cons. Starshaping lets you heal back damage in the early game, so you can stabilize and win in the late game.
Starshaping also generates you Celestial win cons to finish the game with and they are also discounted by Viktor. Subpurssible is a 5|5 Elusive that draws you a card. This is great to chip in damage each turn, refuel and then you can finish with burn reach.
Good Matchups
This deck is great against aggro or any midrange deck. Against aggro you can just block in the early game, and then stabilize with Aphelios and control the game from there. Aphelios can continuously generate blockers, kill of their units, Stun their attackers and then heal back your health.
You can also use Starshaping to heal out of burn range or also get Lifesteal off Viktor to win the game. Against midrange, Aphelios can slow them down with his moon weapons and then outgrind them. You have tons of card generation to outvalue them and then create too many win cons for them to keep up with.
Bad Matchups
This deck is weak against Control or decks with tons of late game win cons. You can easily outvalue most matchups but Control has enough late game bombs to beat you where it counts. Decks like Feel the Rush, Veigar hitting the Nexus with 10 mana Darkness etc is stronger in the late game. The way to win these matchups is to try and win with a ton of high health units. Ballistic Bot can chip away at the enemy nexus, Viktor can get Spellshield and go for game, and Starshaping can generate a Celestial to win the game with.
Tech Choices
This deck can cut Thermo Beam or a copy of Starshaping
Aftershock – Aftershock can be used for unit removal, burn reach and landmark removal.
Solari Priestess – Solari Priestess helps you outvalue the opponent while also generating you strong cards that you can pick for any given situation.
Sunburst– Sunburst is a great Targon removal spell to deal with bigger units.
