LoR Deck Guide: Mistwraiths (Beyond the Bandlewood Update)

How to Play Mistwraiths (Beyond the Bandlewood Update)

As we approach the end of the season, I think it’s safe to say we’ve all explored well-beyond Bandlewood by now.

The Yordles are insane and while much of the meta revolves around them, we still see a wide array of alternatives. With our options open, perhaps now’s the time to revisit old territory.

It’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today we’re going back to an old powerhouse to see if we can find new ground. Bring on the Mistwraiths!

If you check the stats you’ll notice there’s actually some potential here. The top-played list has a 62% win rate, albeit low play rate.

While that list is the tried and true, mono Shadow Isles…I’ve added my signature Ranger’s Resolve splash to make it extra spicy!

Deck Code: CEBAIAYFAMCAMDIHAECQ4EA6E4YTKOACAIAQKAYWAEBAABYBAEAQKGI

[See Mistwraiths deck details]

Deck Overview

Mistwraiths are the classic Fearsome aggro deck based on utilizing Wraithcaller to its full potential. Almost every unit in the deck has Fearsome to make blocking extremely difficult.

This deck showcases how even a full board of blockers can be useless, and Frenzied Skitterer helps ensure that.

Kalista and Elise are the champions of choice with their solid statlines. Not only are they difficult to block, they are hard to kill efficiently. When paired alongside an army of Mistwraiths it won’t be long until you overwhelm the enemy!

If and when the opponent does survive the initial onslaught, worry not, we’ll just do it again but better. There’s nothin’ like a good ol’ fashion Harrowing! You better keep the lights on because things are about to get spooky!

Mulligan Tips

Mistwraiths is one of those archetypes where you can have seemingly unbeatable draws. The flip side is you’ll also have some real clunky ones too.

Between our expensive spells and Nightfall units we occasionally have to navigate some tricky turns. While we are an aggro deck, we tend to start a little slower than most others. Just search for those Mistwraiths and try to get the ball rolling!

• Always Keep:

  • Elise
  • Arachnoid Horror
  • Mistwraith
  • Wraithcaller
  • Ranger’s Resolve

• Situational Keep:

  • Kalista: A good keep as long as you have a 2-drop.
  • Stygian Onlooker: Keep against aggro to have a turn one blocker.
  • Glimpse Beyond: A great hold against control to gain an advantage against spot removal.

Game Plans

As an aggro deck without a true 1-drop, it’s crucial to find our premium 2-drops. We ideally want as many Mistwraiths as possible to build up their power, so keep multiples if you find them.

Elise functions as a great backup as she almost always provides free value when making a trade. Arachnoid Horror is honestly mediocre, but still the best fit when it comes to our Fearsome game plan. Having a 2-drop is better than not having one, so don’t feel bad about settling for the 3|2.

Our turn four should almost always prioritize Wraithcaller. The entire deck is built around it, and it’s one of few cards that can provide a ton of stats for the cost. With a consistent allegiance trigger, we can even contest those pesky Yordles. Just remember to blame bad luck when you miss!

Definitely don’t blame the guy with the Ranger’s Resolve obsession.. 🙂

Once we’ve established some presence in the mid-game, we can look to threaten damage with a wide variety of cards.

Stalking Shadows is a good opener as it enables Nightfall if we decide to take that route.

There’s a ton of good hits between Mistwraith, Stygian Onlooker, and Frenzied Skitter. The latter two tend to work best by going wide and denying blockers.

Two unblocked Onlookers is eight damage alone and can be sneakily weaved into your turn thanks to their low cost.

If you want to take it one step further, you can combo Frenzied Skitterer to give a -2 attack debuff to their entire board.

There are very few board states that can overcome this, allowing you to push through with all your Fearsome attackers.

If you have the mana, Risen Mists can be cast at Burst speed to launch a powerful surprise attack. Backed up by Ranger’s Resolve or Mark of the Isles, it can be near impossible to deal with.

There’s a lot to play with here as the lines can vary greatly depending on the matchup.

We generally want to develop unless the risk isn’t worth it, so that’s why Risen Mists is such a powerful tool to utilize.

We’ve got a good chunk of card advantage to sustain throughout the game and Doombeast helps close the final gap.

Atrocity and The Harrowing are the ultimate finales if it comes to it, but many games will be over long before they become relevant.

Win Conditions

Kalista

While primarily used for her 4|3 Fearsome body, Kalista does have some natural synergy with the deck.

Mistwraiths are a prime target for removal, so having Kalista on board makes the opponent think twice before killing something.

In certain matchups, you’ll be able to take advantage of the board and make trades that threaten level-up.

Once flipped she can summon more Mistwraiths, and if early enough, even double up on value with a Wraithcaller. Kalista isn’t our priority but she will win us games if unanswered.

Frenzied Skitterer

This spider has been a menace since Beta. Remember the days when it was a 3|3?

While Frenzied Skitterer hasn’t seen nearly as much competitive play, it’s still a solid baseline card with incredible combo potential.

These guys are fantastic in multiples and become easily achievable thanks to Stalking Shadows. Be on the lookout for turns when you can shut down their entire board.

Ranger’s Resolve

Okay I know, I’m a tad obsessed with this card. If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll probably recall seeing Ranger’s Resolve in a bunch of my budget decklists. I can’t help it, the card is incredible!

It’s one of those cards that is miserable to play against and can outright win the game in the right situation. Fearsome units are naturally difficult to block, thus the opponent often needs to rely on some removal. Ranger’s Resolve denies that opportunity.

Risen Mists

When you need to go wide, Risen Mists is here. Always be mindful of board space because top-decking this can lead to some wild plays.

Sometimes we don’t have the luxury of maintaining a developed board, especially against slower control decks. Risen Mists keeps them honest and forces Fast speed removal or Fearsome blockers.

Atrocity

This won’t always be the biggest of Atrocities, but our Mistwraiths can potentially get huge so it’s a nice option to have.

Combo with Mark of the Isles for extra damage if needed, or to buff our unit out of their removal range.

The Harrowing

Once again, we need to be very mindful of our board space. There are times we should actually run our board into their demise to clear out the vanilla Doombeasts, Wraithcallers, and Stygian Onlookers. The goal is to have as many Fearsome units as possible and we’ll overwrite the board as necessary.

When you have The Harrowing in hand, aim to open up as much board space as possible. Take inefficient blocks; it’s worth it. If you can spare some mana for that turn, keep a couple of Stygian Onlookers available.

This way if you get board wiped, you’re still able to develop and push 4-8 extra damage. It’s not often they’ll have the mana or resources to also answer them.

Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day

It’s important to have constant reminders in our daily life, and not just for the sake of remembering something.

When we learn, it takes time to retain the knowledge. When we create a habit, we often don’t sustain it without making a change.

Without constant reminders, we default. We remain our previous selves day after day.

If we create reminders, we’ll make it easy to remember our goals and ambitions. We’ll seek to do more, because we remind ourselves of our intentions.

We remember our own choice. It’s funny how easily we forget about it.