How to Play Yasuo Swain (Updated for Sentinels of Light)
Hey guys NicMakesPlays here.
I’m going to go over my new Yasuo Swain deck that’s been upgraded with the addition of Scattered Pod!
I’ll be covering the deck’s win conditions, mulligans, matchups, and more.
We’ve covered a ton of other decks so be sure to check out our previous deck guides.
Deck code: CEDAGAQDAEDQSAYBAIEAYDYDAEBSILRXAECAGCQBAIBAKAIEAIKAEAIBAISQCAIDGYAA
[See NicMakesPlays’s Yasuo Swain deck details]
Win Condition
This deck utilizes Stuns and Yasuo to stabilize the board and win from there.
On turn 6 you can play Scattered Pod/Minotaur Reckoner to continue your lead with their powerful effects.
You’ll look to win around turn 8-9 through board control or The Leviathan + Swain.
Mulligans
In this deck, you want to mulligan for Fae Bladetwirler + House Spider for the early game and Yasuo so your Stuns start giving you value off his effect.
If you already have both, then Twin Disciplines for protection or Thorn of the Rose to curve out are good keeps as well.
Card Choices & Key Synergies
Fae Blade Twirler / Yasuo
Fae Bladetwirler and Yasuo allow you to generate advantage off of your Stuns.
Bladetwirler gains attack each time you Stun or Recall a unit which adds up quick and is potent when combined with her Quick Attack.
Yasuo strikes enemies for 2 whenever you Stun or Recall a unit and his level form deals damage to enemies you Stun or Recall equal to his power.
This allows you to turn your Stuns into kill spells and start controlling the field.
Ravenous Flock / Concussive Palm
Ravenous Flock and Concussive Palm are two of your power spells in the deck.
Flock is a 1 mana card that does 4 damage to units that are Stunned or damaged.
This card allows you to convert Stunned units into kills or block with House Spider to damage units to also get easy kills.
Concussive Palm is a generically good Stun spell that also summons a blocker.
You can use this card to stop your opponent’s aggressive pushes as well as trigger Fae Bladetwirler and Yasuo.
Arachnoid Sentry / Thorn of the Rose
Arachnoid Sentry and Thorn of the Rose are your three drops of the deck.
Arachnoid Sentry Stuns a unit when played which helps stop the opponent’s aggression while triggering Fae Bladetwirler and Yasuo.
Thorn of the Rose adds a Guile to your hand which you can use for later when you have Yasuo or Ravenous Flock.
Minotaur Reckoner / Scattered Pod
Minotaur Reckoner and Scattered Pod are two of your top end cards in the deck.
Once you’ve started to gain field control via Yasuo + Stuns you can cement that lead by playing Minotaur Reckoner or Scattered Pod.
Minotaur Reckoner is a 6/6 that Stuns the weakest enemy on Round Start.
When combined with Yasuo this can start to get rid of enemy units and lock down the field.
Scattered Pod can search Twin Discipline/Spirit Refuge as Burst spells for Protection, Ravenous Flock/Concussive Palm to be proactive, or Intimidating Roar as a slow spell to combo with Yasuo and go for game.
The Leviathan / Swain
The Leviathan + Swain are your finishers of the deck.
Yasuo deals damage to enemies Swain Stuns, which in turns levels Swain.
This deck can control the board long enough to reliably make it to turn 8 where you can drop The Leviathan + Swain.
With all the protection + Stun tools your opponents usually cannot deal with your board and you win the game from there.
Good Matchups
This deck is great against Lurk or decks that put a lot of value into offensive units.
Against Lurk you can Stun Rek’Sai and at the end of the turn it shuffles itself back into the deck.
Against Aggro you can Stun their strong units like Crowd Favorite, Darius, and Gangplank.
If you use Spirit Refuge on Yasuo and then Stun an enemy, Yasuo will heal from that Stun since he deals damage to them.
If you use Spirit Refuge on Swain and attack directly then you will also heal 3 more from his ability.
These combos allow you to heal back tons of health against Aggro.
Bad Matchups
This deck struggles against decks with tons of removal for Yasuo, such as Ezreal decks.
Keeping Twin Disciplines in your mulligan helps a ton in these matchups to have access to cheap protection spells.
Spirit Refuge also can be used to keep Yasuo alive against removal spells too.
Playing beefy units such as Minotaur Reckoner that have high health make it hard for these decks to remove all of your threats.
Tech Choices
Steel Tempest
This card is great to have additional Stun spells to trigger Fae Bladetwirler and Yasuo, as well as having answers to offensive threats.
Deny
Deny is a well-rounded counter spell that can deal with removal or power spells if you’re running into spell/ability-heavy matchups.
Deep Meditation
Deep Meditation is a nice way to refuel in the late game and search for more spells.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask NicMakesPlays during his streams (usually 6PM-1230AM EST).
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