Standard Deck Guide: Jack Sett, the New Midrange

We've been experiencing the patch 4.10 meta for a few days now, and the newest most popular deck in the entire game is Jack Sett's Midrange list. Even with such a low win-rate, this list is very popular currently, maybe because players need something new in the game.

Considering this, I've recently tested this deck in a competitive setting here in Cards Realm tournaments, and was a bit successful. For that reason, I bring you a guide on this archetype that is so difficult to play, to shine light on a few things regarding this list, and also bring a few solutions for this new Midrange model that is shaping itself in the meta.

The Jack Sett list is an archetype that was pushed down our throats at the beginning of the Glory in Navori set by Riot Games, but it was unsuccessfully so. This Ionia Bilgewater Midrange list was traded in favor of Karma's Control lists, and Jack was completely forgotten.

Now, with the arrival of the patch 4.10 changes, we finally have a meta more skewed to straightforward Midrange, and the two most straightforward champions in the entire game finally make sense together.

One thing is certain: this deck, built as it is today, is very different from what Riot and other players thought this list would be when these champions were released to the game.

This list is made of units that create mana through the Attune mechanic, alongside many tools that help you generate Coins, besides useful spells to deal with adversities.

It is a very limited deck when it comes to reach, despite being able to, yes, control the opponent's board late game with Sett. Its strength is in the way it plays its mid-game turns, drawing out plays that cost a lot of mana, which is usually enough to win you games against certain matchups.

This list's greatest problem is how difficult it is to play it: it isn't easy to figure out how the archetype works. Your plays must be made sequentially, and you should be very careful with your order of actions, so it all makes sense and works.

We have Sett as the main finisher. Just like Karma lists, Sett balances the board for you with Show Stopper and its immunity effect. It is very easy to level up this champion, because this list is full of very expensive plays, besides tools that give you additional mana.

Jack is also a win condition, as it is a very strong attacker after he levels up. But he will hardly be the main finisher, because he isn't as self-sufficient as Sett. Jack works more like a mid-game stabilizer, hitting and healing himself throughout the match, and generating a lot of mana.

After that, we have the trio of Nukkle, Mako and Bull, which help you Rally and/or develop wide boards. They aren't a main win condition only because it is still a bit hard to play Bull with this list. You'll notice you won't always have mana or tempo enough to play these card's entire combo, and, for that reason, playing Nukkle and Mako on the board, alone, will be the more likely play.

Lastly, we have The King's Court, Jack's boat, which will help you manage the health of the enemy units, which will make it easier for your Brash units to deal damage to the Nexus.

To sum up, your deck is looking for an explosive turn in which you'll spend a lot of mana, level your champions, use their abilities and skills, and maybe even Rally, ending the game.

We have an easy Mulligan strategy, even though this is a hard deck. Mad Ol' Babs is the list's main early game unit, and should always be in your initial hand. Sett Jack's perfect hand should look something like this:

Babs is a card that has premium stats for the game's turn 2, and can grow her attack by a lot throughout the game as you recover mana with your Coins and other tools.

Barknuckles, as equipment, is one of these cards that will enable you to have a sequence of Coins in your hand at all times. Alongside Mad Ol' Babs, they make a 2/4 unit with Brash on the board very early on, which is quite strong.

Risky Venture is a very important spell, because if you can remove an enemy unit, it will give you a lot of value as it will give you two Coins right away. As a result, you should always have this card available: it will be the key that will bring you to an explosive turn earlier.

Akshan Pantheon - This list is too slow and can't deal with the value you create mid-game. Usually, Pantheon can even remove one of your units or two, but, after that, you'll soon refill your board by using your Coins, and they'll be set back at the starting line. The play patterns in Pantheon's list mid-game will hardly be more impactful than yours, and they'll allow you to combo very easily.

Shadow Isles Seraphine - Seraphine's Shadow Isles Control version is becoming quite popular in the meta, but even if it is a deck that easily removes anything our list has, it still needs to spend a lot of mana to do that. As mana is something we're stocked full of, just like in Pantheon matchups, you'll just refill your board very easily, comboing without further issues.

Nautilus Maokai - The Deep archetype is currently one of the best answers to this meta full of straightforward Midrange lists. But our list is unlike other Midranges, because it can easily both deal with all threats on Nautilus list's boards, and put down threats that are as big and powerful as theirs are, due to the amount of mana we can play in mid-game turns.

Ashe LeBlanc - Even though Ashe's list can't compete with your level 2 Sett, our list still needs to attack to win matches, and it is at this time Frostbites come in to destroy your strategy. Not to mention our deck can't increase our unit's attack stats at burst speed to have blockers during their offensive turns.

Another very important factor is that our removals in general can't remove the units in Ashe lists, due to the extensive number of protection spells this archetype brings.

Janna Nilah - Janna's list can easily survive against your removals, just refilling their board with more units at the same time it deals damage to your Nexus. This matchup is sad, because in theory everything you do is strong against the enemy deck, but your opponent will always be ahead because they draw a lot more cards, and play more units than you, even when you spend more than 12 mana on a single mid-game turn.

Shen Jarvan IV - This is another list that is becoming popular to deal with the meta's Midrange lists. Unfortunately, Barriers, are, yes, enough to stop your game strategy.

The main factor that makes this deck good against Jack Sett is that, even if you spend a million mana, your plays are answered by a single spell on their end, which really breaks your list's win condition rhythm.

To finish, even though this is a list full of strong plays, I still think this list is a bit too hard, and isn't one of the best options for competitive play. This deck folds to some very strong and popular meta lists which bring Janna, and that is why it can only work in the competitive scene when you can ban other decks in tournament rounds.

Final Words

If you've read this far, now you know everything about the Jack Sett list.

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