In League With the Legends of Runeterra - Endure Spiders and Mageseeker Lux

We're still on the Legends of Runeterra bandwagon, and I don't see us stopping anytime soon. This game has really caught my attention, and it's still amazing what Riot has managed to do with the Collectible Card Game genre.

And of course, we wouldn't be on brand if I didn't eventually try to run some form of control deck.

As a reminder, I get all the decks I run from MobaLytics.

Deck Import Codes:

• Endure Spiders: CEBAGAIBAMLCEBYBAUSCQKZRGI2TQAQBAEAQWAYBAUHR2NACAEAQKGIBAEASO
• Mageseeker Lux: CEBAMAIEBYIBWHZUHADQCAA2EAQSQKRPGAAACAIBAAUQ

One of the things I've noticed is that control works a lot differently here than it does in games like Magic, even if the underlying concept is the same. All a control deck seeks to do is stall the game until they can outpace faster decks with long-term, more gradual value. Normally, but not always, in the form of bigger win conditions

In Magic, that translates into "Play enough removal and board clear to make sure aggressive decks can't attack you down. Then, use spells to draw extra and outpace them in the long game." The game is packed with many different ways to direct destroy or exile problem creatures and threats our opponents may be playing. Damage spells can work too, but they're less reliable since damage is removed at the end of a turn.

Here in Runeterra, the idea carries over, but the execution is almost wholly different due to the systems at play. Direct removal and board clear isn't something you see very often since only the Shadow Isles (and more conditional removal from Noxus) have access to that type of spell. However, damage is persistent in Legends, meaning that damage spells and units with challenger that can be protected with cheap combat tricks substitute for what would function as removal in other games.

Further, while card draw is important, and many of our spells will help us sift through of deck while damaging our opponents, the digital nature of the game allows us to generate spells and allies with our abilities. At the high end, we aren't so much drawing cards as much as we are creating them, generating value through those type of effects.

The net result is that even decks like this feel aggressive in their own way, but instead of relying on big board clears, we use our forces to make favorable trades and take out our opponent's units before they attack us. It's quite dynamic, with many low-level decisions that need to be made.