LoR Deck Guide: Pirate Aggro

How to Play: Pirate Aggro

Hey guys NicMakesPlays here.

Today I’m going to go over Pirate Aggro which currently has a 57% win rate right now.

As a person who’s got Rank #1 multiple times with aggro and enjoys aggro decks, I’m excited to write this article.

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Deck Code: CEBQMAQGCYQCMLJ2HQCQCAYCBQHSKKACAIBQGBAAAEAQEBQ7

[See NicMakesPlays Pirate Aggro deck details]

Goal of Deck and Mulligans

The goal of this deck is to go as wide as possible so your opponent can’t stop all of your attackers from chipping for damage. After your opponent stabilizes in the mid-game you finish them off with burn spells. The expected turn to win the game with this deck is turn 6-7

In this deck, you want to mulligan for as many one drops and early game units as possible. This deck runs 15 one drops so you are reliably able to open triple one drop by turn 2. You want to mulligan away all your burn spells and draw them after you’ve chipped away early game damage with your units.

Legion Rearguard / Precious Pet

Legion Rearguard and Precious Pet are two of your one drops in the deck. Legion Rearguard has the beefiest stats for any one drop boasting a 3|2 statline. His extra health point means he can’t be removed by Thermo Beam turn one and can’t be blocked by 1|1’s like Zoe or Spacey Sketcher. Precious Pet has Fearsome so it’s able to swing for damage through early game 2|1 blockers such as Lunari Duskbringer and Inventive Chemist.

Crackshot Corsair / Legion Saboteur

Crackshot Corsair and Legion Saboteur are two 1-drops that give you reach with burn damage. Although Legion Saboteur is easy to block, she always chips in one damage with her skill. Crackshot Corsair is a 1|2 but can continously chip away damage with her skill each time your units attack. You can have Crackshot Corsair sit in the backline and chip damage each turn to weaken the enemy Nexus and help level Gangplank. If you have more attackers than your opponent has blockers, then you can swing with her too to put on even more damage.

Miss Fortune / Gangplank

Miss Fortune and Gangplank are your champions of the deck. Miss Fortune is amazing on turn 3 to back up your triple one drop openings. She pings enemy blockers for 1 making your units trade more favorably, deals 1 burn reach to the enemy Nexus and has a solid 3|3 statline to boot. Miss Fortune’s champ spell is also Make it Rain, a card that this deck main decks as a 3 of. This is strong to have more copies of because of how well it works in this deck to remove enemy blockers. Gangplank is your bomb of the deck. He is easy to level by turn 5 because of all the burn reach, and cards such as Legion Grenadier to trigger his level up on enemy turns. You can summon him, get a Keg, blow up the enemy field, and chip for huge Overwhelm damage.

Zap Sprayfin / Imperial Demolitionist

Zap Sprayfin and Imperial Demolitionist help give you burn reach after the first few turns. Zap Sprayfin gives you Elusive reach while also netting you a Make it Rain or Noxian Fervor. You can chip away at the enemy Nexus without being blocked and also Fervor off one of your dead units later to deal 3 more. Imperial Demolitionist deals 1 to one of your own units to deal 2 to the enemy Nexus. After strong early game pressure, these are great ways to whittle down the enemy Nexus.

Decimate / Noxian Fervor

Decimate and Noxian Fervor are your burn reach of the deck. Decimate is a straightforward 5 mana slow spell that deals 4 damage to the enemy Nexus. This is what you want to use to go for game after your opponent reclaims board control. Noxian Fervor is a flexible 3 mana Fast spell that deals 3 damage. Primarily, you use this to deal burn damage to the enemy Nexus but it has other uses. You can use this on a blocker against Lifesteal to prevent them from healing health or deal 3 to problematic enemy units.

Good Matchups

This deck is great against decks that can’t deal with early game pressure such as Yuumi Pantheon. You are reliably able to have 3+ units by turn 2 and be ahead on board for the entire early game. You can chip away huge damage while they try and fight back for the field and then finish them off with burn spells. To consistently win these matchups you want to mulligan for triple one drop, and as many units as possible in the early game.

Bad Matchups

This deck is weak against decks with early game blockers or board clears. Decks such as Frejlord SI have Avalanche and Blighted Ravine which can clear your early game units. The key to beating this deck is to push for early game damage, open attack when able, and pass in the early game when they are losing mana. Making them lose mana causes them to fall behind in tempo and you can summon higher health units such as Miss Fortune and Gangplank, and win from there.

Tech Choices

This deck can cut copies of Double Up and Legion Grenadier

Jack the Winner – Jack the Winner has a beefy statline so he’s hard to remove and continuously gives you burn damage.

Island Navigator– Island Navigator also has a strong health stat and can pile up damage with Scout + Miss Fortune or Crackshot Corsair

Marai Warden– Marai Warden helps you go wide in the early game, by giving you two units for one action

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