How to Play Lurkers (Beyond the Bandlewood Update)
Hey guys NicMakesPlays here.
Today I’m going to go over Lurk, an archetype that was introduced in Rise of the Underworlds with the addition of Rek’Sai, Pyke, and the Lurk keyword mechanic.
We’ve updated this older archetype to its latest version for the Bandlewood expansion.
In this guide, I’ll be covering the deck’s win conditions, mulligans, matchups, and more.
Deck Code: CEBAKBAGAEBQKBYPBACAOAITCY3ECRCKKAAACAIEAYCA
[See Lurkers deck details]
We’ve covered a ton of other decks recently so be sure to check out our previous deck guides!
Win Condition
The goal of this deck is to use the Lurk keyword to buff all of your units and push for massive damage.
Pyke can also gain massive value and control the board while you do so. This variant has as many Lurk units as possible to maximize the odds of hitting Lurk.
Mulligans
In this deck, you want to mulligan for early cost units like 1 drops and 2 drops to start Lurking as soon as possible.
If you start off strong, you can often end the game around turn 6-8.
Card Choices & Key Synergies
These are your 1 drops of the deck. 1 drops are particularly important in this deck because you want to start attacking to Lurk as soon as possible.
Lurking buffs all Lurker units in the deck so the earlier you can get it going the better.
Treasure Seeker adds more 1 drops to your deck to increase the chances of Lurking turn 1.
Treasure Seeker also gives you Waking Sands which can be used to apply pressure, block, or clean up Vulnerable units.
Aspiring Chronomancer / Xer’sai Caller
Aspiring Chronomancer and Xer’Sai Caller both give your deck the ability to Predict.
Predict is particularly powerful in this deck because you can put Pyke or Rek’Sai on top of your deck to gain their effects when Lurker.
Being able to more reliably hit these power cards increases the potency of your deck by a ton.
Xerxa’Reth the Undertitan / Xer’Sai Dunebreaker
Both of these cards are strong statted mid-game units.
They are hard to deal with due to their high health stats and can immediately put out threats starting at turn 5.
In addition, They also pack a ton of damage with their Overwhelm effects.
If you can curve Undertitan into Dunebreaker it usually is too much pressure for your opponent to handle.
Pyke / Rek’Sai
Pyke and Rek’Sai are your Champions of the deck and they both get powerful effects when Lurker.
If Pyke is on top of your deck when you Lurk he becomes Death from Below.
Death from Below is a powerful removal spell that does a ton for its cost of 4.
It summons a Pyke as well as having it strike a unit. When Rek’Sai is Lurked she gives all Lurkers in your deck +2|+0.
Pyke can easily level up with Death from Belows and become a threat that can clear your opponent’s board.
Rek’Sai can push for huge Overwhelm damage as well as letting you refuel.
Bloodbait / Snapjaw Swarm
Snapjaw Swarm and Bloodbait are great ways to rack up Lurk buffs.
You can Lurk on your attack token and then Lurk again on your opponent’s turn with Snapjaw Swarm.
These rack up fast and help level Rek’Sai easily.
If you hit Rek’Sai off a Lurk, you can use Bloodbait to Lurk again next turn with Snapjaw Swarm and get another Reksai proc.
This allows you to have high roll openings and level Rek’Sai as early as turn 5.
Good Matchups
This deck is great against most decks except PnZ Noxus. Decks without Stun tools aren’t able to stop your Lurks and you can apply a lot of pressure with your units.
You want to mulligan for a strong early game to start Lurking as soon as possible.
Pyke can clean up their threats in the mid-game.
If the opponent is still alive by turn 8 you can use Jaull Fish to clean up their board and seal the game from there.
Bad Matchups
The bad matchups for this deck are decks like Draven Caitlyn and Draven Sion.
These decks have Arachnoid Sentry to ruin your Lurk turns as well as stun powerful cards like Rek’Sai.
The decks also have a ton of blockers with cards such as House Spider and Reborn Grenadier to gain value on their blocks.
The way you win against these decks is to set up a good Jaull Fish. Before turn 8, you want to make sure you have as many Lurk units on the field so Jaull Fish will have max potential.
This means to hold back your attacks and try to not walk into any removal spells such as Ravenous Flock.
Tech Choices
If you want to fit these cards you can cut copies of Xer’Sai Dunebreaker, Jaull Fish, Treasure Seeker, or Bloodbait.
Ruthless Predator
This card can help level Rek’Sai easily while also removing an enemy unit.
Preservarium
This card allows you to refuel after you empty your hand.
Feral Prescience
This card allows you to try and hit Pyke and Rek’Sai more often.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask NicMakesPlays during his streams (usually 6PM-1230AM EST).
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