Standard Deck Guide: Pink Hecarim - The Best List for Ranked?

This article is a collab between me and a great friend of mine, the Ephemerals expert, AerosMacCousland.

Today, we'll discuss the Hecarim Ionia list, lovingly nicknamed Pink Hecarim, and give you the best tips from someone who has, for years now, practically only played this archetype and nothing else.

"Aeros" topped the Americas Runeterra Open twice with Hecarim archetypes, so, truly, there is no better person to talk about it than him.

Pink Hecarim is an Aggro/Combo deck that focuses on Ephemerals and their synergies to kill your opponent quickly, as early as turn 4 or 5. It also has an "escape plan" for later turns: level 2 Hecarim.

This deck's greatest strength is that it has several win conditions besides Ephemerals. It can kill your opponent with Elusives, like Shadow Apprentice, or with big units buffed by Soul Shepherd and Hecarim. You might also win with an extensive The Stagehand turn, or with Shark Chariot putting pressure on your opponent every time you attack. All of these win conditions give this deck flexibility and allow you to pilot it in different ways.

So, let's analyze this list a bit more to understand why it's so popular among ranked players.

Your main strategy is to abuse the many mini-combos between your cards, which all either interact with Ephemerals, create Ephemerals, or are Ephemeral. We're talking about combos like Shark Chariot + Moonlit Glenkeeper.

Hecarim is essential because he interacts with Ephemerals and also creates Ephemerals. Additionally, Hecarim and Dragon Ambush are great for later turns, and may even be finishers if your match ends up taking longer than usual.

Your main "combo starters" or "engines" are:

Then, after you play the cards above, you'll play these cards to activate the rest of your combos:

Additionally, the cards below are great options by themselves mostly at the end of the match, when you have to win the game soon or catch your opponent off guard:

As this is a combo deck, your mulligan will be one of the most important decisions in the entire game. So, here are a few important tips:

Shark Chariot and The Iron Conquest will always be the most essential cards you have to keep in your starting hand. The only exception is if you have two or more copies of them in your starting hand, and you're up against an aggro deck. In these matches, you'll only have time to play one of them on the board without compromising your game rhythm.

Always keep a combination of the two types of cards we saw above: combo starters or engines + support cards, to play your combos correctly. These combos are critical to set up explosive turns faster and win the game. However, against slower decks, or control matchups, it is important to have Shark Chariot because it will put a lot of pressure on your opponents any time you attack.

If your starting hand doesn't have any combos, then you need cards that are efficient against the opponent's deck. To fully grasp what you need against each deck, you'll need a lot of experience. But, to put it simply: Soul Shepherd is great in your starting hand against removal-based control decks, and Shadow Apprentice and Sparring Student are great against Aggro or Midrange decks.

Your late game options (except Hecarim) are often better in your deck than your starting hand, unless your hand already has a great combo you can play early on.

Favorable

Elder Dragon Morgana Shyvana — This deck is why Pink Hecarim is so strong right now. It is one of the best decks to beat the powerful Elder Dragon list, which is currently the best deck in Standard.

Elder Dragon is extremely slow early on, so you'll be able to develop your combo pieces on the board without any issues. Not to mention, if you level up your Hecarim and attack with him, most times the match will end on the spot.

Ashe Vex — On paper, this matchup seems a bit difficult because this list can deal with full boards, which are your main focus. However, if you play several Shark Chariots, all your problems will be over, as this control deck can't deal with the astronomical value you'll have any time you attack with Ephemerals.

Aurelion Sol Morgana Elder Dragon — This matchup is really similar to the Shyvana matchup. Both decks are extremely slow and let you play your combo pieces on the board really easily. This Morgana deck, unlike the Demacia version, doesn't remove enemy units directly, so it'll be even easier for you to set up your combos.

Unfavorable

Aphelios Vi — This is the worst matchup of them all. This deck has enough resources and cards to deal with any play you make. Eventually, your opponent will win because you'll be tired and out of resources: they'll fatigue you out of the game.

Jinx Lulu — Aggro lists, in general, are really strong against Hecarim decks, and Lulu Jinx is no different. Besides putting pressure on you through the board, this deck also deals damage to the Nexus directly. One of the few ways you'll beat this archetype is with Elusive units (which are quite fragile, so it's not a fool-proof plan either).

— Use The Iron Conquest as efficiently as you can because this is the key to having success with this deck. Almost all cards are useful in some way if you copy them with this landmark. A second Soul Shepherd is great to deal even more damage with your Ephemeral units.

A second Moonlit Glenkeeper may be a great attacker if you want to deal damage with the Fearsome keyword. A second Shadow Apprentice is great if you want to focus on your Elusive units. The Stagehand can literally win you many games by Stunning your opponent's entire board when you copy it. And lastly, one of the best cards to copy is Shark Chariot.

— Don't be afraid to use your Ephemerals even if you don't have many support cards in your hand. When your hand is already bad, you'll have to bet on your level 2 Hecarim and try to win the game on later turns.

— Don't be afraid to block 2-power units with your 3-health units in aggressive matchups. Usually, you'll win these matchups with very little Nexus health anyway, so saving 2 life can make a lot of difference at the end of the game.

— Against Morgana or any deck that Stuns, always try to play Hecarim with a spell that summons Ephemerals because even if your opponent Stuns your champion, you can still attack with your Ephemerals and level him up.

— Oblivious Islander is one of your most versatile cards. 95% of the time, when you play him, you'll discount the cost of a card that already has Ephemeral. However, there are a few interesting tricks with him. You can discount a card to 0 mana against decks that clear your entire board. This is great to catch your opponent off guard, or even just protect your Ephemeral cards from Pings if you have a Soul Shepherd in play.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this article.

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