Riftbound: Deck Tech - Master Yi Wuju Bladesman (Calm & Body)

Today, we'll show you how to play Master Yi - Wuju Bladesman (Calm & Body)

This is currently one of the strongest archetypes in the entire game. It also won 2nd place at the Houston Regional Qualifier. In particular, Daniel Zidenberg took it all the way to the finals at this event.

Daniel's Yi list is very peculiar. It is incredibly strong against Kai'Sa, great in mirror matches, and, finally, plays a few cards that really improve the Annie matchup, which is quite difficult.

Before we begin, however, let me introduce myself. My name is Total, and I used to cast Legends of Runeterra tournaments professionally. I covered all the official tournaments, including Worlds, and I am known for creating deck guides for LoR as well. Now, I am a part of the Riftbound community!

The main idea behind this list is to ramp as many runes as you possibly can so that you can play Dazzling Aurora on turn 3 or 4. Once Dazzling Aurora is in play, the deck practically runs by itself, creating a lot of value for free and not letting the opponent answer.

This version, in particular, performs really well even if you can't find Dazzling Aurora. It has a few other options for turn 3, like Mountain Drake.

Daniel added Stalwart Poro to their side deck as well, which is great against Annie because it comes in on the very first turn and can already be active on some important battlefield. This will really delay Annie's game plan.

Overall, this is an outrageously strong deck that answers the main meta decks really well but struggles a bit against less popular lists, like Darius, Viktor, and, overall, Order lists.

Master Yi Wuju Bladesman is an extremely simple Legend in a very strong color combination. He gives +2 Strength to a unit that is defending alone.

At first glance, this effect might seem weak, but +2 Strength for free is a lot at any point in the game. This effect also makes Stalwart Poro a lot bigger - from 2 Strength to 5 Strength (if you use its effect as well). It will become a big threat against aggressive decks early on, like Annie.

This effect also allows you to be active on both battlefields.

It's simple, but it really changes the way the opponent has to treat your units, as they'll have to spend more resources than usual to try to deal with them.

Your main champion in the champion zone is Master Yi - Honed, which comes into play ready to go.

This card is phenomenal, particularly when you first attack an enemy battlefield or conquer your first point.

If you use his Legend effect, he'll become a defender with 8 Strength that usually comes in on turn 3 if you can't find Dazzling Aurora by that point.

Because he has Ganking, he is also very versatile and can "control" both battlefields. This will delay any deck in the meta right now, considering it prevents the opponent from conquering points if they're not under attack.

Aspirant’s Climb is your main battlefield against fast matchups, like Kai'Sa and Annie. In practice, this battlefield will make the game last 1 or 2 turns more, which is enough for you to get back into the game.

Vilemaw's Lair automatically disables any conquering strategy. It prevents the opponent from saving their units by returning them to their base. Overall, it forces the opponent to play only on their battlefield.

Obelisk of Power is strong and really fits this strategy. It speeds it up a lot, but it also lets your opponent pick up the pace as well. As a result, it is not very efficient against other slow lists that also play Dazzling Aurora. However, overall, it is a great battlefield.

Early Game

Mobilize is your turn 1 ramp card. Try to mulligan after it.

Catalyst of Aeons is your turn 2 ramp card. It's super straightforward and practical.

Find Your Center is an alternative ramp card that you can use during the opponent's turn. Usually, though, you'll only play this card on curve and on your turn, just like your other ramp cards. It is just a bit less efficient because, instead of drawing another Rune, like Mobilize, it draws a card from your deck. This can be great if you're bricked, but, overall, it is less efficient than just drawing another Rune.

Mid Game

Tasty Faefolk is your main "comeback" card. You can play it straight away, on turn 2, if you're second to play and started with Obelisk of Power as your battlefield. In other situations, it typically comes into play on the same curve as Dazzling Aurora and becomes your main piece if you don't have Aurora.

Mountain Drake also comes in at the same curve as Dazzling Aurora, but it is a gigantic, vanilla (without any effects) unit. It's just a statstick, that is, a big unit that doesn't really do anything except be big and force the opponent to spend resources to deal with it.

Deadbloom Predator also comes in at the same curve as Dazzling Aurora if you can't find it. You can play this card on a battlefield your opponent controls and start a showdown immediately. They'll have to either give up their battlefield or spend resources to deal with your attack.

End Game

This list plays a few more "midrange" cards compared to other pure Dazzling Aurora lists, but Dazzling Aurora is still its main win condition. It can do fine without Aurora, but it needs it to beat a few lists, like Kai'Sa. Without it, these become "skill matchups", that is, matchups that demand a lot of skill and luck to win.

Dazzling Aurora is a Gear and has a passive effect. At the end of every turn, you'll reveal cards from the top of your deck until you find a unit. Then, that unit comes into play automatically, for free. It's simple and powerful.

The main cards you want to pull from Aurora are:

Volibear Imposing, a gigantic unit that practically wins the game by himself when he comes into play. He is quite big, so there are only a few decks that can deal with him without spending all their resources.

Deadbloom Predator is the best card you can pull from Aurora. It comes into play and attacks a battlefield under your opponent's control straight away.

This deck is great against Kai'Sa. It was built to beat that list in particular.

On the other side, it struggles a bit against Annie, so, against that deck, use Stalwart Poro and play it on the very first turn if you can.

This deck also struggles against Order lists, as they can remove units without necessarily dealing damage to them. For instance, Darius and Viktor excel at this.

It also struggles a lot against bounce effects (effects that return cards to the hand) or effects that force cards to return to base. Purple and green lists often play these effects.

In mirror matches, if the opponent is playing a pure Aurora list, you'll have the advantage because you'll have a few more cards to play on curve and won't rely solely on Aurora. Still, these matchups are usually hit or miss, particularly when both players actually play Aurora.

One famous strategy in this list is "Kamikaze Deadbloom". You'll play Deadbloom Predator in a battlefield your opponent controls and basically set it up to die. This way, your opponent will have to spend resources and force them to answer your attack. You practically won't spend anything as you do this, and meanwhile your opponent will probably lose units or spells in the process.

You may use Discipline on enemy units to draw cards early on if you're bricked.

Rune Prison destroys enemy attacks. Use it to protect your units in critical moments.

Use Sabotage to discard the opponent's win condition. Against Aurora lists, you should play 2 Sabotage in the main deck.

Play Wind Wall against Time Warp or Possession. Defy is better against cheap spells.

Rebuke is the strongest purple card against your strategy. Against Annie, try to discard this card with Sabotage.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun and enjoyed reading this article.

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See you next time!