Deck Tech: Akshan Sivir - Foundations of Runeterra

Akshan Sivir is a deck style which the community calls

foundations

. Foundations was the Shen Fiora deck, which was a very powerful deck, but tough to pilot - the idea was to have the patience to play the basics of the game with mastery. This list now bringing Shurima and Demacia has very similar properties, and we will dissect part by part of this wonderful deck. It is a deck capable of doing a lot by very little. You will abuse keywords, specially

quick attack

. If you like Midrange, this deck is for you. The biggest weakness of Demacia Midrange is the lack of card draw, and that is where Akshan shines - and we will soon talk about it. About this deck being good or not: it will depend a lot on your basic knowledge of the game. The list is powerful and has seen play since Akshan's release. Nerfs have come, new cards have come, and it still has a win rate that varies between 57%-60%. It is a Midrange deck, with protection and combat tricks coming from Shurima and Demacia. What is surprising about this list is its mana curve: we know that Midrange tends to come from curve 1 till curve 8, generally. In the case of Akshan Sivir, the curve stops at 5 cost. Our focus will be to use our health as a resource and try to keep our board as healthy as possible. Akshan is there to generate board pressure and card draw, and Sivir to spread keywords for the whole board, and go to a wonderful lethal. Consider that every unit is important, we will avoid sacrifices to keep everyone alive,

specially the champions

. Currently, one of the best removals in the game is in this list: Concerted Strike, costing 5 mana, fast speed, and you can easily deal 10 damage to an enemy unit, therefore opening up space for a very dangerous horizontal attack.

Honestly, both champions carry this deck on their back, so we will talk in depth about them.

Akshan

Our beautiful 2 cost champion. This champ literally solves the "Demacia Midrange" problem with his Warlord's Palace, the 8 countdown landmark, but everytime Akshan strikes, or another ally unit is targeted, the landmark advances its count by 1. When the count goes to

zero

, you get a Relic of Power, by 0 mana, you have 3 options. They are: +1 attack for ally units on board (100% of the cases this is the worst option); summoning a Sandstone Charger (which is "okay" when the deal is to rush your opponent without mercy;) (and the best of the options); Predict and Buy one. In a Midrange deck, having the luxury of

choosing

which card to buy is extremely strong, so use it wisely. So you will get a new landmark and Akshan will level up. From now on, there's no issue if Akshan dies, everything you want with him is the landmark Warlord's Hoard Same story, 8 countdown landmark, but when this one gets to zero, the reward is magnificent, called Sentinel's Hoard. There are

three

options: Give vulnerable to every enemy and create in hand a 0 cost copy of the strongest ally that died; or give +2/+2 and spellshield globally to your champions; and

the best of the options

, buy 2 and your cards this round cost 1 less. It is very strong.

Sivir

This is the deck's star. It will give your opponent a lot of headache. Excellent attacker, lousy blocker. As I said, lose your health, but don't lose your board. The keyword,

spellshield

, allows her to survive on the board for a long time and she is able to slay a lot of enemy units on board with the help from Merciless Hunter granting an enemy vulnerable.

Another way to take advantage of Sivir's quick attack is with Cataclysm. With this spell you will force out a combat with an enemy unit and since it is a normal combat, the keywords work, unlike Single Combat. Vekauran Bruiser is another one of Sivir's best friend. Every time he strikes, he generates a Lucky Find in hand, which grants a keyword to an ally, the idea is to collect the most keywords on Sivir because so when she levels up, she shares with attacking allies all her keywords. In this deck, everybody is important - strength in numbers is truest here. We will get to know more about your new partners. Treasure Seeker is a big addition to this list. A unit which is worth two, creating in your hand a Waking Sands which summons a Sandstone Charger. She starts as a good bloquer, but it is Waking Sands which shines here. Besides summoning a unit with 5 attack, it costs spell mana and at the end of the day, by 3 mana you get 7 damage to help Sivir's level up. Fleetfeather Tracker and Petricite Broadwing are your cheap removal. By 1 and 2 cost, respectively, you have access to units which deal 2 and 3 with challenger. You wait your attack turn and remove that annoying enemy unit from your opponent's board. Brightsteel Protector increases the lifetime of these units, giving opportunity for new attacks. Vekauran Vagabond is the anti-problems protection in case Akshan doesn't show up. Besides good numbers, she also brings out Warlord's Palace and in case you already have it, she will advance in TWO the landmark's countdown. Merciless Hunter is the best pair for units who have quick attack, and if you look what really happens is you win a removal while Merciless Hunter deals 4 more damage because of her Fearsome keyword. Vekauran Bruiser is your late game bomb. Every time he strikes, he creates a

Lucky Find

, by zero mana, you grant a targeted ally a keyword, that is, it advances Akshan's landmark countdown and allows Sivir to share more keywords to allies during attacks. We have plenty of burst spells and they are not useful to many goals, basically they help you protect your board and as they are buffs that target allies, you advance Akshan's landmark. Currently one of the best removals of the game. As long as you have good units on board, by FIVE mana, at fast speed, it is possible to remove any unit on board. Usually these lists don't bring Single Combat, as the units have low health. But depending on the meta, it gets quite strong. It is good against Ionia in general, and also against certain decks such as Azir/Irelia and Darkness, which have key cards with low numbers, such as Veigar and Azir. This new card came to replace Single Combat, as it forces out a combat, so units with combat effects and quick attack specifically, can get a lot of value out of this effect. Golden Aegis revolutionized the metagame. As LoR has become a game more focused in mid-range, rally came in strong. The power of giving shield to an ally is awesome, mainly when Sivir has already levelled up, because in combat she will share this shield to all ally units. Last but not least, one of the best card draw in the game. It is not a spell, it is a landmark, which by 2 mana, you will buy two cards. Okay it comes in parts, but it is crazy for a midrange deck with a Demacia theme. The weakest point was always the lack of card draw and along Akshan, Preservarium will guarantee you will have enough cards to have options in decisive plays. It's not rocket science. You want a good unit curve and who can't miss the party is Akshan or Vekauran Vagabond, it is very important that Warlord's Palace is summoned early on board. Your focus is to get a wide board, with a lot of units. At the beginning it is "ok" to trade out, but between rounds 4 and 5, it is interesting that you have at least THREE units to work with Sivir. Bringing out Warlord's Palace is key to keep card advantage and board pressure. Funny as it may sound, the deck can do both jobs very well! Slow lists which need time suffer a lot against this deck.

Feel The Rush

Feel The Rush is a 12 cost spell. So the deck relies on AoE removals and big expensive spells. As the deck has a lot of robust low cost units, you can easily overwhelm this archetype, the stars of the match being Sivir and Vekauran Bruiser.

Scouts

Although Scouts is not a slow deck, it doesn't have card draw, so any favorable trade can guarantee you victory in this matchup. Our valuable trades will be: Treasure Seeker; Akshan and Sivir along with vulnerables; Warlord's Palace because at free cost eventually it will give you card draw, and Concerted Strike, which is one of the most efficient removals and it will remove 6 cost units, leaving you always with mana advantage. These units are Cithria The Bold and Genevieve Elmheart. Cheap lists with a lot of resources will be our nightmare.

Shurima Viego

It is a cheap list with a gigantic ceiling, having cheap units to hold out the early game, and freaky late game with Viego and Invasive Hydravine, besides having a good resource with Treasure Seeker and Glimpse Beyond.

Caitlyn Ezreal

I am being sus when I talk about this list, as I am its daddy. It is a list rich with small units and little removals which are enough to deal with every threat from Sivir Akshan. Besides controlling the board, it is possible to put in big threats on board as the card created by Ferros Financier; Leveled Ezreal; Captain Farron and the famous Tri-beam Improbulator. This is one of the most rounded decks in the game and it is always possible to adapt this to fit the meta. If you are facing a lot of aggros, Radiant Guardian is a great answer. Against decks which have key backline units, Screeching Dragon is a good call. Being one of the most consistent decks in the game, it is one of the best calls for those who are starting out and really want to get into the competitive scene. Many times I caught myself stuck in Plat or Diamond and I flew to Masters by using this list in many seasons. The main thing about this deck is to teach the game foundations to its user with a good understanding of the rounds and spell speeds, and easily the Masters is reached!