Legends of Runeterra

Deck Guide

Elise Gwen Katarina Deck Tech - Spinning a trap!

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Gwen Elise Katarina is a very aggressive deck, ideal for players who enjoy a fast paced game rhythm, while putting a lot of pressure on the board. Come get to know this strategy!

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translated by Joey Sticks

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revised by Tabata Marques

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It's been very fun to play this deck after a wave of unexpected changes in cards that were abandoned for some time.

Gwen,Elise and Katarina come with a very Nexus damage focused strategy, and can guarantee some units won't be able to block them, bringing victories that are hard to contest - always pushing damage.

About the Deck

Elise is one of the champions that has best established herself in the game, being used as the main key for aggressive decks, ever since the first days.

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Looking at most recent champions, Gwen came making more aggressive lists viable in the ranked ladder, thanks to the keyword Hallowed, which helps small units to trade favorably or Overwhelm units to finish up matches quicker.

Don't lose the opportunity to swarm

While always trying to use the best windows to put more pressure on board, this deck brings many tools to force your opponent to trade unfavorably - be it with a board full of disposable units that can be used as blockers or to declare massive damage to the Nexus, by creating a threat that can't be ignored until it's too late for the opponent.

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Champions

Elise

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She is a very strong unit with very few answer opportunities in an eventual clash for her mana curve, and because of the keyword Fearsome, it is almost certain she will guarantee the enemy Nexus to be hit in most offensive attacks early game.

On top of this, she also generates one more 1/1 body unit which can be used later as an aggressive unit or a blocker.

From mid game to late game, she might lose a bit of her strength, but her aggressiveness early game allows for other cards to finish the match easier.

Gwen

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Katarina comes as an versatile option to help a more articulated offensive proposal, as she can enable an unexpected rally after leveling up and therefore enable one more attack.

It is necessary to have a good board and mana analysis to not make a mistake that costs you the game when going down this route.

Units

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We have some low cost units that will help a lot when assaulting the enemy nexus early game, such as Boisterous Host, Ionian Hookmaster, Phantom Butler and House Spider. All of them will bring a lot of value to the board while investing tons of damage, besides helping the deck with some additional skill, by creating more bodies on board, a keyword addition with equipment or extra damage to the Hallowed passive after they're slain.

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Both units of bigger cost will have a fundamental role in finishing the match through combos, considering that the Fallen Reckoner disables potential blockers when summoned and the Eternal Dancers will be able to revive him temporarily, preventing more units from blocking your attack and leaving your opponent in a tight spot to hold off a tougher assault.

Finally, another unit that will help us force even more favorable trades is the Fallen Reckoner, with her skill of creating a Midnight Raid, which enables surprise attacks in defensive turns, or can favor a unit that will benefit from attacking one more time even in an offensive turn. Her flexibility at times can have a decisive role in finalizing a match.

Spells

We have some resources to help stronger assaults to the Nexus, and with the use of Fading Memories, it will be possible to add even more units to the board, many times opting for units with Hallowed so you can add even more strength to this keyword.

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After trading out with bigger units that we need to remove from the board, Ravenous Flock, Scorched Earth or Quietus are excellent removals. Vile Feast comes in as a versatile tool to add in value to the board and retain some health points that are lost along the match, and also to gain some tempo.

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When the resources on board are spent, Glimpse Beyond is very interesting to regain some value. In a situation in which your board units are slain, The Ruination will even out the situation alongside The Harrowing, which brings back units and will probably declare enough damage to manage a win in most cases.

Mulligan and Game Style

Elise has the potential to shine and deal damage in the first rounds, so it is important to have her in your initial hand. It is also interesting to have low cost units, such as Boisterous Host and Phantom Butler, so don't worry a lot about her level up, because it won't be as important throughout the match.

One of the things to prioritize is conducting your opponent in unfavorable trades. Losing units with Hallowed is important for the summoning of Gwen mid game. Though Gwen has quick attack and always gets extra power points through her Hallowed, if there aren't many hoarded Hallowed points, it can be hard to deliver a safe attack with her, which can delay her level up and her aggressiveness throughout the match.

After mid game we might not even have everything under control, but the potential of removing blockers with Fallen Reckoner and its created unit when slain, Risen Reckoner, might be enough to finish the match with massive damage. We also count with the Eternal Dancers or The Harrowing, which when added up, can prevent a whole board from blocking, dealing lethal damage to the enemy Nexus.

Favorable Matchups

Master Yi/Karma

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This deck tries to keep the match in a slow rhythm so it can try to win late game, but its passivity is a plate full of opportunities for us to deal a lot of damage with our board full of aggressors.

Veigar/Norra

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Another deck that tries to hold out the match in a slower rhythm which eventually would become very hard for us, but it has a certain difficulty in dealing with so many aggressive units on board, which makes it lose its breath to hold out the match until a possible comeback.

Unfavorable Matchups

Lee Sin/Akshan

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This deck can deliver a certain control over our board and eventually prevent us from attacking the Nexus, besides also having some healing tools that make finishing up very complicated to conclude. Here perhaps the key would be to have more speed in our game plan.

Yasuo/Katarina

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Another deck focused on control, with uncountable cards that go from removals to stuns, besides also having some healing tools that might prevent us from having an effective assault attempt.

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Change Suggestions

Katarina is an interesting unit, but it can become situational, so it might be more interesting to trade her for more copies of Elise so you can guarantee having her in hand early game, proposing a fast game rhythm in the first rounds.

Final Thoughts

We see here a very aggressive deck that fills your board with units to attack the enemy Nexus, while trying to finish the match with unexpected combos or with the tools provided from the Hallowed archetype. It is very fun for players that enjoy a fast game rhythm and putting a lot of pressure on board.

This is my cue, till next article!