How to Play Tristanatrocity
Over the weeks we’ve seen a large presence of Bandle City decks in the meta. Each time it’s that same bunch of rowdy yordles just waiting to jump out as soon as possible.
This multi-regional bunch is led of course by the Bandle City Mayor…then taken to victory once their fearless Poppy arrives!
But what about Tristana? Where has she been all this time?
It’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today we’re shaking things up.
Okay, I’ll admit, it’s still the Bandle bunch. But this time it’s led by Tristana!
Just don’t tell Poppy…
Deck Code: CEAQSBIKDIUWA5EEAGCQDJQBU4A26AIDAQCQUBDJUAA4AAIBAMCQOAIBAUMQCAIBAUYQ
[See Tristanatrocity deck details]
Deck Overview
Tristanatrocity! Or if you prefer; Tristana Atrocity. The former’s more fun, so I’m gonna stick with that.
Tristanatrocity is a deck built around the aggressive Bandle City core. It aims to swarm the board with cheap units and efficiently utilize the mana discount from Bandle City Mayor.
This time we’re leaning heavier towards multi-region units in order to quickly buff Tristana.
Then once she’s strong enough, we have a powerful 3-drop Atrocity target that can threaten lethal at an instant!
If you enjoy board-centric gameplay with an over-the-top finish, then this is the deck for you!
Mulligan Tips
Aim to begin with a solid curve, but don’t stress the need for a 1-drop unless you’re up against aggro. Don’t prioritize Loping Telescope as your 2-drop of choice as we generally want to combo it alongside Bandle City Mayor for maximum tempo.
- Always Keep:
- Bandle Commando
- Bomber Twins
- Bandle City Mayor
- Situational Keep:
- Otterpus: A fine keep against most decks, but mulligan against decks (such as Discard) where Pranks aren’t as useful.
- Proto Poro: Our ideal 1-drop, except against decks with one mana 2|2’s.
- Loping Telescope: Keep alongside Bandle City Mayor.
- Poppy: If you have a good curve, keep Poppy to top it off.
- Pokey Stick: Good against decks with multiple early one health units.
Example Hand 1:
Example Hand 2:
Game Plans
Early game, playing for the board is the top priority. Our first couple turns are a bit weak as Otterpus, Proto Poro, and Bandle Commando have poor statlines.
Use this time to trade efficiently when possible and generate Hungry Owlcat. The tables will turn once you get the chance to summon Bandle City Mayor.
I’m sure you’ve all realized it by now, but this card is completely insane. Your Loping Telescopes become one mana. Hungry Owlcat and Proto Poro become free.
If you happen to play a second one you can occasionally go semi-infinite by chaining Loping Telescopes.
One can often lead to another allowing you to flood the board and keep a healthy hand size.
Bandle City Mayor is the prime target for removal, so try to bait it out or drop him when the enemy is out of mana. This way you can get at least one or two discounted plays, and that’s often good enough!
It’s no surprise but Poppy is our mid-game powerhouse. She’s equally primed for removal, so to help ensure survival we can first cast Shroud of Darkness.
This little tech grants her a temporary Spellshield and also increases her power. It synergizes well with her ability because it only buffs those with equal or less power.
Overall it’s a cute trick, but there’s a more important reason we’re running this spell. I’ll explain that a little later.
Alongside our Mayor’s swarm, a large Poppy attack can give us a huge advantage. So much so that it’s often too much for the opponent to recover from.
At this point, we can continue to push wide with cards like Tenor of Terror and prioritize damage over value.
We’ll typically have more than enough cards in hand to reload the board, so don’t be afraid if we lose half of it in one swing. Don’t forget, we’ve got a special surprise ending if it comes down to it!
If your opponent managed to survive the yordle onslaught, we’ve still got one final trick. It’s the good ol’ classic kill spell; Atrocity.
However, unlike those decks of the past, we have an Atrocity target that only costs three mana! All throughout the game we’ve naturally been growing our Tristana.
Without going out of our way, we’ll usually have a unit with 10+ power. With this combination, we only need ten mana to play Tristana and hold up Atrocity on the same turn.
This is a huge upside since we don’t need to set up a turn prior.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking… Not only does Hush exist, but with the introduction of Bandle City, we’ve got both Stress Defense AND Minimorph.
While these are typically hard counters to Atrocity, don’t forget we’ve got that special tech!
With one extra mana, we can cast Shroud of Darkness and grant Spellshield to Tristana pre-combat.
This allows us to safely cast Atrocity, just as we did during the days of Nasus. While still interruptible with the right combo of spells, it does beat most things.
Atrocity is at Fast speed, so we still get to choose when to react. Don’t forget we can still force blocks by attacking with her!
Win Conditions
Tristana
While Tristana hasn’t seen the most competitive success, she’s actually pretty good. Her biggest drawback is simply the deck-building cost required to play her.
This is why she hasn’t seen a lot of play compared to the other new champions.
But seeing as the Bandle package already includes so many multi-region units, it only makes sense that she’d find a home alongside them.
It just so happens that home is being the cheapest high-power Atrocity target in Runeterra. It’s a niche, but I’ll take it!
Poppy
The ever-present Poppy continues to shine and it’s no surprise with how much she can snowball a game. Bandle City swarms exceptionally well, and FAST! One big swing is a huge advantage, two is often GG. Poppy doesn’t even need to level up.
That’s because the game is long over before it even happens. I guess taking Allegiance off of Vanguard Bannerman then making the buff proc on every attack is pretty good. Who’da thought?
Bandle Gunners
It’s not every day we see big clunky 8-drops make an appearance. I never expected to see this card, but Bandle Gunners is a nice fit. Its natural Spellshield makes for a good secondary Atrocity target when Tristana isn’t an option.
Impact lets you push extra damage reliably and put the opponent within reach. Between the rest of the Bandle team you can occasionally burn them out with enough Impact, so it does its job as a finisher.
Atrocity
The namesake of the deck, Atrocity makes sure there’s always a chance. There will be games where it’s irrelevant, but also many others where it’s most important.
Be sure to cast Hidden Pathways and cycle through your Pokey Sticks when necessary. You will want to have it in-hand by the mid to late game.
Other Considerations
Conchologist
A great value card, especially in the BC/SI regions. However, we’re already flooded with value and replacement effects.
A large number of our cards generate more cards, so Conchologist becomes less important. Most notably, it’s not a multi-region card.
Aloof Travelers
I mainly chose to leave this out because of the high frequency we’ll find it off our Manifests.
It’s not great in every matchup, but when we need it we often have access to it. We’ve also got Poppy and Tenor of Terror in our four-slot, so I’d rather not overcrowd it more.
Minimorph
A solid tech card that’s available if you need it. With all the random manifested cards there’s already a chance we find a suitable replacement. But if the meta calls for it, it’s there.
Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day
We often fill our plate with more than it can hold. When presented with an option, we choose to take it. Then, again and again, we continue to add more.
When reality sinks in we learn it simply isn’t possible. No matter how hard we try, there’s only so much we can account for at a time.
If we spread ourselves too thin we lose sight of the things we truly want. Start small and begin with what matters most.
For more Beyond the Bandlewood decks, head to the Deck Library! To build your own, head to the Deck Builder.
