Riftbound: Deck Tech - Token Azir

Today, we'll show you how to play Sand Soldier Azir with Azir Emperor of the Sands.

This archetype is a different way to play token lists, as well as a bit more aggressive in terms of pacing. Unlike Viktor lists, Azir centers around hoarding stats on your tokens by equipping them and protecting them. Then, you'll mow down your opponent with multiple of them.

This list in particular got 2nd place in group B at stage 2 of the Ascension League.

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 deck is to keep putting pressure on the board with equipped tokens. You'll conquer battlefields early on, then hold them or set up other attacks with your units. Eventually, you'll have an army of Mighty tokens that your opponent won't be able to deal with.

Sand Soldier Tokens have 2 Might and are Weapon Masters, so you don't need to pay Power to equip Gear Equipments to them (that is, you won't have to pay what the Gear Equipments in this particular deck cost).

Unlike Viktor lists, which lean more towards control, Azir lists play a few yellow control cards and combine them with an aggressive green conquering/defending kit. The result is a Tempo Token list that uses a much faster game plan and a particular finisher to score its last point: Azir - Sovereign.

Azir Emperor of the Sands is in a color combination that was considered relatively weak in set 1. However, we're now playing set 2, and it seems like green and yellow found a middle ground. They're the perfect colors if you need support for Token game styles.

His effect, though, is a bit too particular, as you can only use it if you play an Equipment card on the board. So, this deck plays 15 Equipment cards, and this means you can activate his effect 15 times, a considerable amount.

To kickstart your game plan and start putting pressure on the board, this deck plays Equipment cards that cost 1 energy. This means you can activate your Legend's effect on the very first turn and create a Token. You can also equip this Token on the very first turn.

Ideally, you should play an equipment card every turn, summon a Sand Soldier, and equip something to it immediately. Never play an equipment card without resources to pay for your Legend's energy cost and activate his effect. Avoid playing more than one equipment card per turn because you could eventually run out of units this way.

This is your finisher.

You should save it for when you need to conquer both battlefields and score your eighth point.

This combo involves conquering a battlefield with your Tokens, playing Azir - Sovereign for its Accelerate cost, and attacking the other battlefield. It's super simple.

You can do this early on if you have a big advantage and checkmate your opponent quite fast. However, that's not what usually happens, particularly in this meta, as there are many decks that can partially deal with your strategy.

Hall of Legends is interesting in the mid to late game, as it is a way to set up aggressive plays and finish the match quickly. At the end of the match, you'll often end your turn with equipment cards in your hand and enough runes to play more equipped Tokens. This battlefield makes it easier for you to use them at this time.

Trifarian War Camp is great in Token decks because it buffs units. As your units are relatively more discardable in this list than in other regular lists, you won't have to worry about giving +1 Might to the opponent's attacking units as well as your own.

Because this is an aggressive deck, it loses speed at the end of the match. The Arena's Greatest will help you regain that speed and gives you a point as soon as turn 1.

Early Game

The main strategy early on is to mulligan after your 1-cost equipment cards, play them, activate your Legend's effect, and repeat this process practically every turn. The only difference is that you'll have better equipment cards as the game goes on.

So, at this time you'll use Eye of the Herald, which creates Tokens (though they'll be vanilla Recruits with 1 Might) and Doran's Shield, which this list only plays because it is a 1-cost equipment card.

Sacred Shears is great early on because it draws cards, and Brutalizer is incredible against other fast decks. It will help you win showdowns and fight for battlefields in the first few turns. Later on, it will be a great way to finish the match, particularly when your other finishers also summon Sand Soldiers.

To support your Tokens, use Discipline to defend or attack. Use Deathgrip on your Soldiers equipped with Sacred Shears or on Eye of the Herald's Recruit Tokens to win showdowns early and draw cards. This spell is weak in the last turns, so using it early to score points is better.

Mid Game

At this moment of the game, you'll lose a few Soldiers, but you'll start summoning others even without your Legend's effect.

Play Guards! hidden on the board, paying for its additional cost, so that you have a Soldier ready to attack immediately. This card is a great way to regain your footing when your opponent removes your units.

At this point, you'll use Fiora - Worthy + B.F. Sword and equip a Soldier to get a unit with 5 Might ready to attack.

Use Cull the Weak against decks that don't play lots of units, like Ezreal and Irelia.

Guardian Angel will keep your Fiora - Worthy alive, and, usually, is the only equipment card you should avoid using on Soldiers. Still, a Soldier equipped with Guardian Angel will be great to attack battlefields and still keep a full board.

End Game

Desert’s Call is an excellent way to fill the board with Soldiers when the opponent has already cleared it once. This card refills your resources almost entirely and goes with Brutalizer really well.

Arise! does the same and also gives you two ready Soldiers.

You can end the game with Azir - Sovereign by conquering two battlefields on the same turn and scoring your eighth point.

This deck is great against slow lists that only play a few units, like Ezreal, Master Yi, and Irelia. Orange lists also struggle against your yellow removals.

Your early game will be stronger than Draven's early game, but, eventually, they'll create a difficult board for you. Draven summons as many units as you, but he is quite explosive. You'll only summon one unit per turn, and this is what gives them an advantage.

Kai'Sa matchups are complicated because you're vulnerable to their removals. Kai'Sa will deal with your board and still have more resources later on, which will make it quite difficult for you to win.

Azir works really well against all tier-1 meta decks, but it struggles against the most important ones, like Draven, Kai'Sa, and Annie.

This sideboard will improve difficult matchups against red decks and other Gear decks.

Charm is great against green lists or fast orange lists, like Ahri.

Salvage works really well against Gear decks and mirror matches.

Imperial Decree deals with big units, like Watcher or Rhasa.

Thwonk! is excellent against Draven and decks with Punch First.

Not So Fast is useful against lists that destroy Gears and Kai'Sa lists.

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!