LoR Deck Guide: Anti-Meta Ashe Sejuani

Anti-Meta Ashe Sejuani Deck Guide

We’re finally approaching the end of the Guardians of the Ancient Season. The meta has been established for a while now, and it’s been a tough one to crack.

The top decks are powerful and consistent. Not only that, but your ladder experience will greatly vary depending on the matchups you queue into.

Whether you’re preparing for the Seasonal Tournament or trying to make that last push to Masters, figuring out what to play can be a challenge.

It’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today I’m bringing you a modified take on Ashe Noxus.

We’re combining both the Marauders and Trappers, moving away from LeBlanc, and adding in Sejuani. This hybridized list is built to be more resilient and ready to punish the metagame.

Deck Code: CECQIAIBBMPCMMADAEBQIFI7AEBQCAQCAQBQEEIBAIAQEAIBAEBTKAQEAEAQCBBKGIAQCAZY

[See Anti-Meta Ashe Sejuani deck details]

Deck Overview

Ashe Noxus has been around since the early days of Runeterra. We’ve seen two common iterations of this deck.

There’s the classic lists that are built with Avarosan Trapper, Avarosan Hearthguard, and Trifarian Assessor.

Then we have the more modernized versions that run Legion Marauders, Strength in Numbers, and Shunpo for some explosive game-closing potential.

Both decks have their strengths and can find a nice niche in the meta. They’re very strong into Demacia decks, even against Thresh Nasus, and can pressure hard against Trundle Lissandra.

However, matchups against Azir Irelia and Ezreal Draven have some glaring weaknesses. Ashe Nox is so close to being a top choice for one key reason: this is the best Culling Strike deck in the game.

While not always the prime removal spell of the format, we currently see Azir, Irelia, Thresh, Draven, Ezreal, and Lissandra running rampant.

So right now it’s better than ever! So what can we do to improve this archetype? Let’s break down what we’re changing.

First off and most obvious, we’re now Ashe Sejuani instead of Ashe LeBlanc. While LeBlanc is powerful on offense and helps enable Reckoning and Whispered Words, she is horrible on defense.

The current metagame has multiple challengers and vulnerable granters like Merciless Hunter. As a 2 health unit, she also dies to Mystic Shot which makes her an easy target. LeBlanc has been our 3-drop alongside either Trapper or Marauder.

However, those two are both far more reliable. The Yeti helps us regain the board and even though Marauder has 2 health, one attack trigger will fix that.

As for Sejuani, she is our top-end support card and hard removal. While she won’t typically level up, her play trigger will help you remove most threats and has bonus synergy with Culling Strike.

Mulligan Tips

During our mulligan phase, we’re primarily looking for at least one combat trick plus Trapper or Marauder.

We thrive because of Freljord’s ability to punish with spells like Troll Chant and Brittle Steel.

Without them, we can get bullied and out-tempo’ed. Our 2-drops shouldn’t often be played standalone. It’s usually better to float mana the first two turns, so search hard for those 3-drops!

• Always Keep:
  • Avarosan Trapper
  • Legion Marauder
  • Brittle Steel
  • Elixir of Iron
  • Troll Chant
• Situational Keep:
  • Ashe: Worth keeping if you already have a 3-drop plus combat trick.
  • Icevale Archer: Only when you’re attacking on odds against aggressive decks.
  • Trifarian Gloryseeker: Keep if you have Brittle Steel.
  • Culling Strike: Keep whenever you’re against the previously mentioned metagame champions.

Example Hand 1

Example Hand 2

Game Plans

Our overall objective is to establish control of the board and generate value by Freezing targets before we slay them. We often want to play the game in a more reactive manner. Take advantage of your opponent’s uncertainty.

Force them to make tough decisions when attacking or blocking because your reactive spells will almost undeniably beat theirs. Don’t pass up a good attack when you have it. We need our attack triggers to help level Ashe or grow our Legion Marauders.

Ashe Noxus has always struggled to have reliable 2-drops. Don’t get me wrong, Icevale Archer and Trifarian Gloryseeker are fantastic cards. But they are not sustainable as a proactive play on their own.

While other versions commonly run Avarosan Sentry I think it’s best to avoid him all together. He trades very poorly into the current meta, is too slow against Azir Irelia, and just feeds Thresh Nasus free slay triggers.

By making it a routine to pass the first two rounds, we gain the potential to cast Strength in Numbers on turn 5! Gaining control of the board is a top priority, but there are times where we can swing a huge lead with an early pair of Marauders.

I think I’ve made it clear how we should focus on maintaining the board. However, it can be tricky when we do nothing but pass for a few rounds. Worry not, the ultimate way to punish is casting Reckoning. This board wipe is unbeatable for some decks.

Both Azir Irelia and Thresh Nasus must be careful or else they’ll be completely blown out by it. Try to play slow and set up the right moment.

Enraged Yeti will help enable your Reckoning as cheap as possible and is far less vulnerable than relying on Trifarian Gloryseeker. So that being said, be cautious if your only 5+ power unit could be removed in response.

Win Conditions

Ashe

If you’re a fan of winning games out of nowhere then look no further. Ashe’s level up allows her to lock down enemy units and makes your board unblockable. The fact that every Frostbite spell is at Burst speed allows you to open attack and be completely unopposed.

Always be aware of how many more triggers you need. It’s not fun realizing you missed lethal because you didn’t cast Harsh Winds pre-attack. You can even Frostbite the same unit again if you need to. Lastly, don’t forget they can buff or silence their own units to enable blocks.

Sejuani

As mentioned earlier, Sejuani functions as removal first and foremost. You’re generally better off holding her in hand than playing her on an empty board. If things are really going well and you actually level her up, you should have an easy win from then on.

Legion Marauder/Strength in Numbers

These guys are incredible. It often only takes one combat trick to allow a Marauder to get more than one attack trigger. If they aren’t dealt with soon, they snowball to absolutely absurd numbers. However, it does take that initial attack to get going.

This is why it’s so important to mulligan for a combat trick to protect him. Don’t be too afraid of attacking and trading off a Marauder when you have to. Sometimes it’s necessary in order to build up future Marauders. Hitting that 5 attack threshold is very important.

Shunpo

One final trick to win some surprise games in Shunpo. In this variant, we’re just running one copy instead of the usual two. While extremely powerful in some scenarios, I wanted to focus on early game consistency and reduce our odds of drawing bricky hands; a common scenario for most Ashe Noxus lists.

Conclusion

As this has been an anti-meta build, I’m not going to include a dedicated tech choices section this time. If anything, feel free to adjust copies of the 1-of’s to better suit what you encounter.

For example, you could add an additional Tavernkeeper if you keep running into aggro. If you’re seeing a lot of Ezreal Draven or decks with damage-based removal, consider adding another Elixir of Iron.

Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day

Don’t just do what makes you happy. Do whatever makes you feel fulfilled.

Not everything that makes you happy will fulfill you.

However, doing something that fulfills you will almost always make you happy.

For more Guardians of the Ancient decks, head to the Deck Library! To build your own, head to the Deck Builder.