How to Play Sejuani Gangplankg (Sentinels of Light)
It’s been a long time since the launch of Rising Tides and the reign of Bilgewater.
They remained king for a while in the early days but had long since fallen offshore after a barrage of nerfs and new cards came about.
However, several expansions later the tides have turned! We’ve come full circle and back to the old days when the pirates didn’t burn their enemies…they stole from them!
It’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today we’re dredging up good ol’ Mono Bilgewater Plunder! Don’t be fooled by its age…these cards were originally nerfed for a reason.
Plus this time we’ve got some extra spice that fits oh so nicely!
Deck Code: CECAQAQGAUFSAIJCFU5DYAIDAYEACBAGBIAQEAICAEBQEBQCCIKACAICAYOA
[See Sequani Gangplank deck details]
Deck Overview
Sejuani Gangplank, also commonly referred to as “Nab” or “Plunder”, is a high synergy deck built around speed leveling its champions. This is normally not an easy feat. Most decks that play Sejuani or Gangplank don’t even prioritize leveling them.
Their flip side is often just a bonus reward that comes up from time to time. However, by building a deck around enabling Bilgewater’s Allegiance, we get access to an incredibly powerful card in Yordle Grifter.
It’s the bread and butter support for the deck alongside Black Market Merchant. With these two jokers, you’ll always keep the opponent on their toes!
Mulligan Tips
As with most midrange decks, we’re looking to start with a solid curve of units. One key difference is we simultaneously want to plan our consistent Plunder triggers.
This is primarily to ensure we don’t miss an opportunity to trigger our champions’ level-up condition. Monkey Idol is an excellent keep as it sets up three consecutive triggers on its own. It’s best to have on curve as later in the game it’s far less impactful.
- Always Keep
- Crackshot Corsair
- Jagged Butcher
- Black Market Merchant
- Monkey Idol
- Situational Keep
- Warning Shot: Keep only if you have Jagged Butcher or Black Market Merchant.
- Parrrley: A great keep against aggressive decks that have one health units. Can trigger 1|5 level-up on turn one when you’re attacking on evens.
- Make it Rain: Keep against aggressive decks with multiple one health units.
- Hired Gun: Reasonable 2-drop keep against most decks, but often worth mulliganing against slower decks to find better options.
- Yordle Grifter: If you already have a one and two drop, keep this too.
Example Hand 1:
Example Hand 2:
Game Plans
We’re all-in on the Sejuani Gangplank game plan. These two are so incredibly powerful once leveled that they can take over and close an entire game on their own. With a little preparation, we can have them ready by turns 5-6, but there can be a bit of luck involved when it comes to pirates.
Right from the start, we have to acknowledge the fact that we only attack on odds 50% of the time. In half our games we can’t even attack until turn two, thus making it quite likely we’ll miss our first potential trigger.
Parrrley is great at this, assuming we can use it to pick off an enemy at the same time. It generally won’t be worth using directly on the Nexus from the get-go. Don’t fret too much. It’s okay to miss a round or two. Just be sure to set up the following turns for success.
Our luck doesn’t stop there. We’ve got a whole other dynamic that plays a huge role in each game; Nab! You didn’t think we were just going to stick to our own game plan, did you? There’s a whole world of treasure across the board! And well, occasionally we fish up a boot… But the opponent doesn’t know that!
While our Plunder play pattern is still our primary goal, Nab gives us another means of finding victory. Sometimes it’s a removal spell, other times a valuable unit. Now and then we steal their Deny and gloriously counter them out of nowhere. There’s so much to factor, which gives us an edge of unpredictability.
Our opponents can’t realistically play around with their own cards as the odds of us having any specific card are extremely low. The one exception is when multiple are stolen, but even then it isn’t easy.
If things ever look grim, always remember you may have an out. Even if it doesn’t exist in your deck, it may exist in theirs!
Win Conditions
Sejuani
The queen of the deck, Sejuani is arguably one of the most powerful leveled champions in the entire game. Her ability to Frostbite the entire enemy board at Burst Speed is unparalleled!
When unanswered, it’s nearly impossible for the opponent to win through combat unless you run short of Plunder triggers. Even when you do, the opponent must respect the threat of activation.
Otherwise, they run the risk of being extremely punished for attacking. We all know a flipped Sejuani is a monster. But leveling up consistently puts her at a whole new level!
Gangplank
Adding a two damage one-sided board wipe to a 6|6 Overwhelm is ridiculous. What’s even more insane is it only costs five mana!? While the balance remains in that ever lying level-up requirement, we’re defying it with this deck. Gangplank is a huge threat! Be mindful of your Powder Kegs.
We want to use them to buff his attack trigger from one to two damage. Often this means playing Gangplank after the opponent’s combat phase so they can’t freely pick off the keg. If you’re 4|5 progress and are relying on your
Warning Shot to be the last trigger, don’t forget to play Gangplank first to avoid blowing up the keg afterward.
The Dreadway
Once laughed at for being too slow and clunky, this massive ship is no longer a joke. While it did see fringe play with the likes of Keg Control and Concurrent Timelines shenanigans, it’s now found a proper home.
Dropping this down on board turns even two power units into a real threat. The real haymaker here is a 12 power Gangplank that attacks with a four-damage AoE! Dreadway is another must answer.
But even at its worst, it helps us find Gangplank, so it’s exactly what we’re looking for in the late game.
Riptide Rex
Unfortunately, this guy didn’t make the list to have its nerf reverted. However, he still packs quite the beating to an unprepared enemy. Rex can turn the tide on his own.
Or he can waste all of his shots on a 1|1. Yep, that’s how it goes. Still, a welcome addition in a deck full of Plunder triggers, even if he comes second to The Dreadway.
Black Market Merchant & Yordle Grifter
While not typically a win condition, these two can present you with some extremely wacky outcomes. Sky’s the limit. I’ll let your imagination do the rest of the talking.
Conclusion
Being a deck built around reliably triggering Allegiance, we don’t have a lot of room for experimentation. The deck’s core is pretty well established, but you can adjust the eight drops or removal numbers to better suit the metagame when needed.
I advise against adding additional Freljord cards as we want to ensure Yordle Grifter rarely misses an activation. Although some opt for a 1-of Three Sisters for some added flexibility. Feel free to try out what works best for you!
Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day
When you don’t know what to do or where to begin, just start doing something. Taking action often leads to even more action.
We don’t need motivation, we just need momentum.
For more Sentinels of Light decks, head to the Deck Library! To build your own, head to the Deck Builder.
