>-June 2024->
This month has been an exciting one for the LRAW meta, with the release of Guardians' Creed shaking the metagame up immensely, and powering up some previous under-performers. It'll be exciting to see not only how these leveled up decks and brand new decks perform over a longer time period, but also to see how the metagame at large reacts to the new additions.
Competitive Shifts
Despite being a smaller set, GCD looks to have had an immediate and significant potential impact on the metagame. The two decks most indicative of this shift are Mal'ady and Gaia, two lists which were previously much lower on the tierlist but have shown the potential to push them right to the top. Whilst it's too early in the metagame to confidently declare them as the two strongest control decks, they certainly will be fighting for the top spots.
The unique angles of attack that both decks have access to force decks to prepare to play against them in very different ways, and will very likely be a deciding element in the metagame, as lists able to more effectively fight through their control pieces will have an advantage into the meta.
Ethelhime is one of these decks, and explosive storm list that looses consistency from Sharn, but has better matchups into Mal'ady and Gaia thanks to the deck's various win-conditions, especially with her Special Ability.
The decks in S-Tier will be key for their impact on the position of other archetypes, so whilst neither Gaia nor Mal'ady look to be currently overperforming, they will certainly shape how parts of the metagame look.
Sapphire Storm is another list whose impact on the meta will be interesting to watch. Apart from the short reign of Adramelech BMF, there hasn't been a consistent list able to threaten a turn one kill going second in the meta. Whilst Blastforge Aggro boasts a similar capability, it's notably less consistent and more Bloodbourne heavy, which pushes it more towards the second turn.
Ultimately it doesn't look like Sapphire Storm will be an unbeatable or problematic archetype, but it will 100% be a punishing force against any deck skimping on interaction, potentially forcing the metagame at large to play more fair, and prioritize interaction over slower linear game-plans.
Notably, Sapphire Storm also makes non-negate interaction pieces much more appealing, as Retrieve Warriors and Marovin's Ancient Text make the archetype quite resilient in fighting through general board destruction, and Fandorian Ferocity and the Darkwood Archers + Betrayal Combo lets the deck fight through negates surprisingly effectively.
It will be interesting to see how these lists perform once the metagame is more settled, and if these emerging powerhouses are able to hold their ground.
Emerging Archetypes
A few archetypes have already seen some exciting experimentation and testing following the release of GCD. Duxvox Burn and Rogue Tempo weren't seen at the recent Siege Series, but they've seen varying levels of testing at weekly Campaign events. For Duxvox Burn, two pilots made first place with the list at two campaign nights in the same week. Whilst Rogue Tempo hasn't hit that jackpot finish, Jasper brought it to a 2nd place finish in a different weekly event. Michael Sanctify also had a solid performance in the GCD Siege Series, putting two pilots in the top 8. Trying the deck out rewarded me with a 1st place weekly finish that sold me on the potential of the list.
Whilst all three of these decks will need more experimentation to see how they stack up, they all have shown some unique strengths to tackle the format. Additionally, all three decks look incredibly fun to try out, being able to make use of some sweet new cards and playlines!
Whilst Duxvox is archetypally a controlling list, built around it's board engine pieces and Doomsday counters, Blood Majik Burn is a full burn list, running the burn spells and tax pieces needed to top off your opponents DCM ASAP.
Sildud's Blood Majik Blight out of GCD is the big new piece for the deck, letting you trade 10 DCM for 15 from your opponent. Seasons Of Majik Reflections isn't quite as efficient, but it's flexibility gives you some additional options to hit specific strategies and weaknesses.
Accompanying these bursts of damage, the deck has a few ways to stack up incremental damage such as Twilight Magnolia, Emerald Amulet, and Unconscious Devotion. Additionally, Blood Staff Of Dark Sacrifice, the final ability of Unconscious Devotion, and Sabotage warriors all help to tax out your opponent's Bloodbourne costs. A combination of these effects will force your opponent to constantly damage themselves to enact their own gameplan, all the while getting ever closer to being burst down by your burn damage.
Another break from the traditional Duxvox builds, the list drops the Mobile Doomsday Fortress for Outer Rim: Trial-Grounds Of Blood. Not only does this offer some aggressive power with the War-Boars and Fortified destruction, it also gives you access to Desolation Outpost Of The Outer Rim and Outer Rim Exclusion Zone, which are some of the strongest tools in the Orc engine.
Whilst the list isn't all too concerned with the main Duxvox engine, it does take advantage of some strong board stall cards like Duxvox Operation: Initiate Buildout and Duxvox Scrapyard for negate and control power, to stop your opponent from finishing you off first, before you can stack up enough damage to close out the game.
Ultimately, it'll need to be seen how the list compares to the traditional boars build of Sharn, whether the burst damage power of the list can compete with Sharn's incredible consistency, but for the time being, it's a solid competitor to try out in the metagame!
Jasper Kasunic - Team Shockwave
Rogues is one of those decks I wanted to try out because it seems to have almost reached what I wanted rogues to be when they first got introduced in Empires. Heroes will always be a legion where I think using warriors to their full potential is the highlight.
With the introduction of Rogue Dynamite Dice in Guardians Creed the deck now has a very big payoff for being focused on Rogue warriors. With the right hand (and the right rolls) you can threaten an OTK as soon as turn 1 (going second) or turn 2 (going first). The rogue cards themselves also offer very good removal tools at keeping the board clear of threats or taking out warriors so yours can hit in very hard. You can also keep yourself very low on DCM with the use of Redemption mitigating the many Bloodbourne costs in the deck.
But of course I wouldn’t say this deck is a top deck. Rogue’s card advantage is mostly limited to either Rogue Card Monte, Rule of the Rogue, or Rogue Danger Daggers. All of these are inconsistent and will not guarantee the pieces you’re looking for. This is unlike Fandorian Midrange in which Fandorian Outpost allows you access to almost any card in the deck you could need at the time. Also without Dynamite Dice you are mostly relying on incidental effect damage from various cards to close out the game (although it does feel very good to kill your opponent with a Rogue Smoke Ambush or Ulvahad's perish ability).
All in all, Rogues is the kind of deck you play because you have a gambling addiction or want to appeal the dice goblin in your heart. It’s a deck that can easily pull out wins with the strong tools heroes has or just good luck but will struggle against decks with very resilient boards. I’ll be keeping an eye on this deck as more rogues get released, hopefully with higher atk so we can play Gamble With Life. Any cards that come out that can improve the amount card advantage this archetype can produce will definitely make this deck something to watch out for.
One list that overperformed my personal expectations in the meta was Michael Sanctify. A faster variation on the more traditional Seraphim build, Sanctify gets to leverage all of the same powerful controlling tools, whilst also threatening more consistent board pressure.
Whilst Seraphim received no archetypal pieces in GCD, Azrael, Golden Angelic Requiem and his Unrelenting Devotion provide a huge boon for Sanctify. The second ability of Undying Devotion is clearly the build-around piece, offering even more value out of your Angel Warriors and Sanctify triggers. The first and third abilities are however incredibly relevant, helping to pad the deck's DCM to survive through chip damage. Bloodbourne cost reduction is a nice DCM saver with Help From The Chaos Divine, Charisma keywords, and Michael's Proclamation, whilst the final sacrifice ability can easily bring your DCM right back to 0.
Citrine Amulet and Radiant Orb Of Divine Light are the other huge additions to the list, letting your warriors become constant threats on board, buffing a board of 1 attack angels to a combined 20-25 damage. This lets you setup board states similar to Fandorian Midrange, where your Warriors just outscale your opponents Warriors, making it difficult for them to remove them or threaten damage from the board.
Whilst more testing is needed, it seems very likely that Sanctify will be the strongest Angel deck in the meta, at least for the time being. Michael Seraphim and Castiel Burn may be able to push ahead with the powerful new generic additions, but have a bit more work in proving themselves alongside Sanctify.
New DEck Techs
Matt from Team Shockwave has released a new primer, covering the Mal'ady Garden Stax deck that he took to a second place finish at the recent GCD release Siege Series event!
Check out one of the decks fighting for a top spot in the meta, whether learning how to leverage it to victory, or figuring out how to beat it in competition!
A New Way To Compete
With Guardians' Creed still being so fresh in the meta, and future Siege Series events still being a bit away, it leaves a gap in time for players looking to compete...
With LRAW having players all across Ontario, and beyond into the rest of North America, it can be difficult for players to find a way to connect and compete across these vast distances...
While the Legions League offers a great way for players to play online, there isn't the same level of competition, or prizing as a full physical competitive event....
But what if there was a place for fully competitive online tournaments for Legions: Realms At War?
Introducing... The LRAW Snapshot Online Tournament Discord!
And alongside it, the first Snapshot Online "War Of Attrition" Tournament, featuring over $500 in prizing, supported by Future Lore Studios!
This tournament will be held completely online, with flexible scheduling, and entry is 100% free.
For more information, check out the brand new Snapshot Tournaments tab on the LRAW Snapshot website, the registration guide, and hop on over to the LRAW Snapshot Tournament Discord where more frequent announcements will be posted!