Deck Archetypes in LRAW

Written By - Thomas NeilsonOctober 21st, 2023

Aggro - midrange - Control - Combo - Tempo

Whose ARchetype Is IT Anyway?

It's an inevitability of any hobby that over time lingo will develop and take hold. Fun terms derived from stories of games and players from long ago that become permanently embedded in the collective psyche of a community. For the various TCG and CCG communities, terms like "mulligans", "sweepers", or "brews" have translated between card games as ideas and terms spread. The nigh universal card game term "mulligan" itself doesn't even originate from a TCG, but rather from golf.

One of the most recognized terms used in many TCGs is the idea of "archetypes", a categorization system to organize what exactly different decks do. But what are these archetypes, and how do they take form in Legions Realms at War?

The Archetype ABCs

Across most TCG's, deck archetypes fall into 5 various categories: aggro, midrange, control, combo, and tempo. These terms generically group decks based on their general strategy or gameplan.

Aggro decks are ones that seek to close the game out as soon as possible, sacrificing life, card advantage, and resources to hit their opponent's DCM as fast as possible.

Midrange decks look to use beefier threats and more value oriented cards to outpace and block out aggressive opponents, whilst having more aggressive power against more controlling decks.

Control decks use attrition tools to stave off their aggressive opponents, outpace them in resource advantage, and close the game on their own terms after gaining control of the game.

The last two archetypes are "combo" and tempo", and these decks push away from the more defined aggro-control categories.

Tempo decks fight for board control, similarly to control, but generally attempt to do so early in the game and push for a quick win rather than relying on card advantage to out-grind opponents. Tempo decks can act similarly to aggro, but generally have more disruptive tools and can more easily switch into a controlling game plan.

Combo decks generally look to assembly a specific game-winning combo as early as possible. This is again similar to aggro, but combo decks are usually more specific, easier to disrupt, and rely far less on board/card advantage to win.

One thing to note in comparison to TCG's like MTG or Hearthstone is that the lack of a true resource system speeds up LRAW, making many decks look more like aggro or combo decks, but the important part of the archetype system is to understand that these archetypes exist in the context of the game and each other.

Aggro

As mentioned previously, aggro decks aim for speed, building entirely towards winning the game as fast as possible. The goal of this article of course isn't just to explain the various archetypes, but to explore how they fit into Legions Realms at War. For Legions, I would describe aggro as any deck seeking to win the game by turn 3. Either before the veils pierce, or directly on the turn when veils pierce.

For example, Sharn Boars is the most prominent aggro deck in the current meta, consistently threatening a win as early as turn 1 on the draw. Everyone's favorite corsair, Marianas, fits this category as well, being able to consistently threaten a lethal swing on the turn of her veil pierce.

Aggro decks are occasionally able to win games that go past turn 3, and sometimes will be forced to do so by slower and more controlling opponents, but in games that start to go longer, aggro decks will be put in a position where they have to find a way to end the game quickly, before their opponent can drown them in resources, or execute their own win-condition.

Midrange

Midrange decks straddle the line between aggro and control, and effectively playing a midrange deck requires you to be able to comfortably shift between interacting with and disrupting your opponent's game plan, and pushing in damage.

With a deck like Sh'lara Chickens, you'll frequently find yourself in positions where you have the option to play for more control and value with cards like Feathers In The Wind or to threaten a win through a card like Mystic Fire Beast Power. Having both disruptive control elements alongside the ability to win a game as early as veil flip gives a lot of power, but requires a skilled pilot to not get outpaced by aggro, or out valued by control.

Other examples of midrange in legions would be in the various flavors of Alero Hero decks building up powerful board states that stamp out aggressive opponents, before translating their overwhelming threats into a win.

Control

Control decks strive to interrupt their opponent's game plans whilst accruing resource advantage for long enough to win through attrition, eventually reaching a point in the game where they are fully in control, and an actual win condition is almost1 a formality.

Michael is one of the most notable control decks in the game, boasting the ability to accrue far more card advantage then almost any other deck in the game, whilst using disruptive pieces to disrupt and occasionally outright stop their opponent's game plans.

Gaia is another emblematic control deck that focuses heavily on disruptive stax elements, such as Reformation which locks down creatures from attacking on the turn they enter for the rest of the game, and Unstoppable Defence which lets you easily pillow fort through your opponents initial onslaught until you can gain control of the game, and win once they run out of resources.

(please do run a wincon in your control decks, I'm talking about you Gaia players)

Tempo & combo

Tempo and Combo are the 2 main archetypes that break away from the standard aggro/midrange/control dichotomy. They both have a bit more complexity towards what makes them distinct archetypes.

combo

Combo generally refers to decks that attempt to assemble some combination of cards to win the game, usually as quickly as possible. These decks generally don't worry with interaction or board control or tempo, but rather with finding the combination of cards that lets them win the game in a single turn. Since legions doesn't have a resource system however, most decks are capable of having incredibly explosive turns comparable to combo decks in other games, and so in the interest of having useful terms for discussion, I would considerer Combo to cover decks with specific singular game plans, reliant on generally a single lynchpin card to win.

For example, Angelica Dice is a combo deck reliant on using a critical mass of dice rolling effects in conjunction with Land Of Fire And Ice to activate Angelica's Special Ability multiple times in a turn, eventually using Fawdon Raspy, The Rogue Gambler to swing for lethal damage in a single turn.

Tempo

Tempo is another term that across TCG's that is used as frequently as it is misused. The basic concept of Tempo is simply being ahead of your opponent, and Tempo decks usually sacrifice card advantage or mana advantage with the exclusive goal of developing on board as quickly and aggressively as possible. In a way, Tempo decks are similar to control decks, but rather than trying to use disruption and card advantage to slow down their opponents before taking control of the game, Tempo decks attempt to completely take control as early as possible, developing a board state that is incredibly difficult to deal with early.

In the same vein however, Tempo decks are often largely reliant on this early momentum to win, and if you can interrupt and stop their engine, they can often get run over by decks with more consistent interaction and resource management.

Castiel Lost Messiah for example, is a tempo deck seeking to take early board control using Empyrean Empire Of The Lost Messiah as well as Chaos Divine Reconnaissance paired with the ability to flood the board with threats and interaction. That early advantage is then leveraged to threaten an aggressive win with Castiel's special ability, Oblation.

"The BEatdown"

Another concept you may be familiar with if you have experience with other TCGs, is the term of the "beatdown". If you're not familiar with the term, it's one of the best ways to start leveling up your competitive play.

How the concept works is that at any moment in a card game, one player is the "beatdown", and the other player is the "control deck". The beatdown is whichever player is most aggressive in the matchup, and the control is the deck that isn't. This concept is easy enough in a situation where one deck is an archetypal aggro deck, and the other is an archetypal control deck, but what about a midrange deck versus another midrange deck? What about a mirror match?

Learning the concept of the "beatdown" is incredibly useful for competitive play, as it helps inform your game play decisions; whether you should be playing to your win condition as fast as possible, or whether you need to focus on disruption, interaction, and card advantage. But how do you determine whether you are the beatdown deck or the control deck?

There's no more succinct and applicable answer then the one given by Mike Flores in 1999, in the article where he coined the concept of the "beatdown".

Who has more damage?
Who has more removal?
Who has more permission and card draw?

Whilst the game-play and terms of MTG in 1999 and LRAW in 2023 vary heavily, the general gist remains the same. The beatdown is the deck that tries to win first, and the control tries to survive with resource advantage and interaction.

Another important note is that sometimes your opening hand will change which player is the beatdown or the control, depending on if you find the tools to quickly apply pressure, or more card advantage/interaction. It's important to be flexible with your evaluation and be familiar with what your deck can do at any point. Midrange decks especially may have significantly different game plans depending on if their hand is setup to put together their win condition, or primed to grind the game out.

Remember also to pay attention to how your role can change during a game; just because you're the control deck in a situation, doesn't mean that a good draw can't give you an opportunity to push in for the win. Just because Quartzheart Frost Control has the word "control" in it's name doesn't mean it doesn't have the ability to break up a back line on veil-flip and combo Melt-Cannons and Windenmeres into an explosive turn 3 win.

Adaptability is key, and you'll be rewarded for being perceptive to when your role/strategy needs to shift, and responding accordingly.

The Scoop

Becoming comfortable with archetypes, and more importantly with the concept of the beatdown is a crucial step in improving and refining your competitive play. Becoming familiar with evaluating your role in a game can help reduce indecision, and give you a better understanding of what your plan should be at any point in a match.

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