LoR Deck Guide: BurbleBots

How to Play: BurbleBots

Hey all, it’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here. With the launch of Jayce and Path of Champions, Piltover gained a handful of new toys to experiment with.

And speaking of experiments, it’s time to introduce you to an old fun favorite of mine… Mono PnZ!

Sumpsnipe Scavenger may just be the least played allegiance card out there.

But don’t underestimate its power! Buff up some bots, hand ‘em a map, then go to town!

Deck Code: CECAEAYEAUJAGBIECUMBSBIBAQBQMEBRGQAQGBQRAMAQIBAOAEBQIDIBAECCEAIBAECAC

[See Burblebots deck details]

Deck Overview

BurbleBots is an archetype built around spells and mana reduction. The deck starts slow and aims to maintain the board while building up its spell count. Once it reaches the mid-game, it’ll hit a turning point where its cards eventually pay for themselves!

We’re championless on purpose. These bots are dependent on spells, so there’s no time to divert our attention elsewhere. If you look carefully, every unit in the deck either provides a spell or grants mana or cost reduction in some way. Assembly Bot and Plaza Guardian both have crazy potential but must rely on proper support. Look no further!

In a sense, this deck feels somewhat reminiscent of Fizz TF.

Each game requires proper resource management to set up for some explosive turns. Don’t be fooled by the high cost of Progress Day. Alongside The Forge of Tomorrow and our plethora of cost-reduced units, you’ll be doing a whole lot more than just drawing three cards. Be sure to plan ahead with this one. While the starting path is clear, the gateway to victory comes alongside some RNG and cheeky combos!

Mulligan Tips

Assembly Bot is an extremely powerful tool with the right support. When combined with the likes of Poro Cannon or Flash of Brilliance, it becomes very easy to keep it out of harm’s way. That being said, it’s awful with a bricked hand and isn’t fond of Noxus due to Ravenous Flock. Overall, be on the lookout for its combo potential.

A busted Assembly Bot hand can occasionally win a game on its own.

• Always Keep:

  • Forge Chief
  • Ballistic Bot

• Situational Keep:

  • The Forge of Tomorrow: Always keep unless you have an Assembly Bot.
  • Ferros Financier: Keep against aggressive decks or when lacking a 1-2 drop.
  • Assembly Bot: Always keep unless against Ravenous Flock.
  • Poro Cannon: Keep alongside Assembly Bot.
  • Mystic Shot: Almost always keep. Mulligan if the matchup has no reasonable targets.
  • Flash of Brilliance: Keep alongside Assembly Bot.

Example Hand 1:

Example Hand 2:

Game Plan

Early survival is key. While the right Assembly Bot hand can do some crazy stuff, it’s best to play safe and find early cards like Forge Chief and Ferros Financier.

With these two, Mystic Shot, and The Forge of Tomorrow, we can reasonably hold off most aggression.

The Forge of Tomorrow is especially nice because it provides a 3|3 blocker, all while setting up for our mid-game combos. Bonus points for being a Fearsome blocker.

Ballistic Bot is our most reliable way to begin building up our spell count. We ideally want to keep Ballistic Bot benched, but don’t be afraid to block if you start falling behind. In addition to being a reliable support card, Ballistic Bot can become a surprise threat thanks to its Augment. Every large attacker is relevant thanks to Sumpsnipe Scavenger.

When playing for Assembly Bot, it’s important to take cautious passes and keep mana open. Poro Cannon and Flash of Brilliance function effectively as 0-mana spells which allow us to grow further out of range than the opponent may assume possible.

Sumpsnipe Map granting it Elusive can make quick work of the Nexus, but for the most part, Assembly Bot will function as a medium threat that deters the enemy from attacking.

We don’t have a ton of cheap spells in the early game, so without Ballistic Bot, the growth will slow down. However, this should buy us enough time to get our real plan underway!

You’re probably looking at the deck and wondering how on earth I can get away with running three copies of Progress Day. It’s simple. It’s all thanks to The Forge of Tomorrow. These two cards combo incredibly well. With the refunded spell mana, we’re essentially drawing three cost-reduced cards for only five mana.

While normally far too slow to see regular play, Progress Day puts more fuel on the fire and sets up some insane potential!

Let’s explore this a little more. By this point, there’s a good chance we’ve played close to five spells. This means drawing Wiggly Burblefish would be a 0-cost off of Progress Day, thanks to the additional -1 reduction. If we’ve been rather starved for spells and are behind in spell count, there’s a solid chance we’ll find Poro Cannon, Flash of Brilliance, or Production Surge.

All of these can function for zero if we want them to, giving us castable options to catch up on the same turn as our Progress Day.

It won’t be long until we’re well past the threshold and Plaza Guardian comes online. And that’s assuming things aren’t going well!

Alright, alright. We’ve got some sick value, but you’re probably wondering how we win. Remember how I mentioned RNG? It can create some rather special moments. Let’s take a look at some of these 6+ cost goodies.

• Mind Meld

• Give It All

• Glorious Evolution

These three game-changers can win a game out of nowhere. With both Ferros Financier and Flash of Brilliance, there’s a solid chance we’ll find at least one of them. Sometimes we take Hextech Anomaly and have it reroll to our favor. Either way, there’s plenty of nonsense to go around. You’re sure to find a spectacular ending!

Realistically speaking, these will happen. But if not, the tried and true value of bots and Burbles can usually get the job done. Iterative Improvement doubles as a flexible win condition by copying an opponent’s card, or doubling Sumpsnipe Scavenger for even more Elusive power!

Conclusion

Whether you’re competitive at heart or just love crazy memes, BurbleBots is a deck worth trying. It may look like a big pile of nonsense, but it’s got potential to do some really degenerate broken things.

Don’t underestimate the power of free cards. It can lead to a world of trickery for both you and the opponent. Have fun!

Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day

Progress isn’t always visible, but you know when it’s there.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, check out the rest of Shugo’s articles!