How to Play Bandle Burn
It’s no secret that Bandle City Mayor and Poppy have been taking over the meta. We’ve seen numerous piles of different degrees featuring this prevalent pair.
There’s Poppy Demacia, Poppy Elusives, Poppy Tristana, and even The Bandle Tree. The Yordles never end!
It’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today we’re talking about the most ruthless of them all…Bandle Burn! That’s right, burn is back and stronger than ever.
This deck packs a huge punch with heaps of inherent card advantage to keep it going turn after turn.
We’re all aware of its metagame presence at this point, and even so, it’s maintained a ridiculous 60% win rate!
Deck Code: CEBQQBIKA4UTCSLAOSRQDJQBAMAQGAQMFABAEAYDAQAACAIFBJCQ
[See Bandle Burn deck details]
Buckle up because the games involving this deck will be over before you know it.
Get studying now to give yourself the best odds of being on the winning side! And well, if you can’t beat ‘em, then join ‘em!
Deck Overview
Bandle Burn is as aggressive as they come. With the Bandle City package, you’re not only able to push a ton of damage, but you will also often win the board.
This deck gets the ball rolling fast with its myriad of 1-drops. Then it’s able to expand wide and swing in with Poppy to get that massive board buff.
Being a burn deck, we’re able to make aggressive attacks that sacrifice units in order to push extra damage.
It doesn’t take long before we’re dealt enough damage to threaten lethal right from hand. Noxian Fervor and Decimate are powerful game-enders.
With Beyond the Bandlewood introducing Impact as a keyword, we have access to even more punishing attacks.
Each unit becomes increasingly more difficult to block and forces our opponents to get crafty to prevent them from striking. This requires little effort on our part, so while they struggle to deal with a single offense we’re already prepped to burn them out!
Mulligan Tips
We’re always the aggressor, so mulligan like one! If you’re lacking a 1-drop, toss everything away to find one. The only exception is Stone Stackers as this unit is effectively a two-mana 3|3. Few units can trade efficiently into it and Tough makes it an obnoxious target for removal. Impact lets it chip away regardless of chump blocks, so even if you miss a 1-drop you’ll still start dealing damage.
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Always Keep:
- Inventive Chemist
- Legion Rearguard
- Legion Saboteur
- Stone Stackers
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Situational Keep:
- Ziggs: Solid keep if you have a 1-drop and 2-drop.
- Poppy: Keep if the rest of your hand is good.
- Conchologist: Prioritize versus decks with lots of cheap spot removal. Helps ensure some value when your early units get killed.
- Bandle City Mayor: Keep as long as you have a 1-drop. Broken card.
- Pokey Stick: Can consider keeping when attacking on evens versus other aggressive decks.
Example Hand 1:
Example Hand 2:
Game Plans
We’re always looking to start off with a 1-drop. This ensures we can start off aggressively and leave less room for our opponent to stabilize. Consider which 1-drop is best versus the matchup you’ve encountered.
Against slow decks with 1|1’s like Otterpus, we want Legion Rearguard to prevent giving them a favorable trade into our 2|1’s.
If playing against another aggressive deck, Legion Saboteur or Inventive Chemist are slightly better to gain a small edge when trading evenly with their 2|1. While these are the preferred situations, just remember, any 1-drop is better than no 1-drop.
Stone Stackers is our MVP 2-drop of choice. This card is super difficult to answer early on and allows you to push free damage with no commitment. The combination of Tough and two health synergizes perfectly with Imperial Demolitionist.
Not only does the self-damage not harm Stone Stackers, but two health Tough also makes it far more difficult to interact with.
With this, Imperial Demolitionist is far more consistent as a 2-drop than usual and can be reliably played much earlier.
As we move past the initial turns we’re going to want to expand our board as wide as possible.
This will not only pressure more damage but allow Poppy to provide maximum value. Sometimes this means not taking an even trade a turn or two prior.
Instead of trading your 2|2 with theirs, just take the damage. Then once you play Poppy you can buff it to a 3|3 and threaten a board they can’t trade into.
Unlike most burn decks we’ve got a solid package of card advantage. Once again, Bandle City Mayor is our crazy card generator that also discounts our units if not dealt with. Proto Poro is a good choice to go wide for free.
This sets up Poppy and also enables Tenor of Terror. Loping Telescope is a nice option for additional value.
Beyond that, Conchologist is one of the scariest cards in the deck. There are a ton of powerful spells we can pull that normally don’t make the cut due to their situational nature.
Snagging ourselves an Elixir of Wrath, Brothers’ Bond, or Might, can surprise the opponent by pushing so much extra damage. And that’s just to name a few.
What makes this so powerful is the wide variance that Manifest provides.
It’s near impossible for our opponent to predict and play perfectly according to what we’ve picked. So we’re very likely to gain an advantage one way or another.
In most cases, you only really need to deal 8-12 damage through combat in order to win. Imperial Demolitionist, Noxian Fervor, and Decimate add up fast to threaten a quick and easy lethal.
Pokey Stick often goes face to cycle into more burn and pairs nicely with Noxian Fervor in times where we need to win at fast speed.
When you’re in a topdeck situation be sure to account for the possibility of Noxian Fervor. You’ll need a unit to use it on, and you’ll need to ensure it’s a safe target.
Maybe don’t trade-off that 2|3 if there’s a chance you can draw into Fervor for lethal.
Lastly, it’s also a good idea to save Noxian Fervor against decks with Lifesteal or Drain spells.
It’s our best way to punish the opponent by denying their healing and increasing our likelihood of resolving the face damage.
Win Conditions
Poppy
When Poppy can attack alongside 3+ other units it’s a pretty safe bet you’re gonna win. It’s okay if she dies; the stat buff is worth it! While the opponent will be highly aware of her existence, you can often drop her at the end of the turn to prepare a nasty open attack.
In many cases, you’ll push a lot of damage and force the opponent to make unfavorable trades. At worst, you’re typically trading even on board and opening up space for future units to get through.
Note: Leveling up Poppy is not the goal. It won’t happen and isn’t necessary.
Ziggs
Sorry, I lied. Ziggs really isn’t a win condition. He’s just a solid 3|4 follower that pings on attack. Kinda like a mini Miss Fortune trigger. Ziggs also does not level up.
Tenor of Terror
This 4-drop has proven itself to be insanely powerful. Threatening to push seven damage on an empty board is no joke and because it’s split into two bodies, is more difficult to answer. When I talk about going wide, Tenor of Terror is the way to go.
Imperial Demolitionist, Noxian Fervor & Decimate
BUUUUURRRRRNNNNN!
Conclusion
I know aggro decks don’t always have the best reputation when it comes to skillful play, but hopefully, this guide helps open up some intricacies that you may not have considered.
Every little edge of knowledge counts when it comes to card games. Sometimes the odds aren’t in our favor, so we gotta make the most of it!
Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day
During our free time, we often gravitate towards whatever feels easiest. We do what first comes to mind without even considering our other options.
What about the things we actually want to do? Consider the plethora of ideas that don’t even scratch the surface due to our “lack of time”.
Allow yourself the power of choice. Don’t give in to “the usual”. Take a minute, then decide.
For more Beyond the Bandlewood decks, head to the Deck Library! To build your own, head to the Deck Builder.
