LoR Deck Guide: Lux Poppy

How to Play Lux Poppy

Hey all, it’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and I’m bringing you a deck fresh off the patch! With the recent buffs to Lux, she’s finally able to step back into the spotlight!

The meta tends to be pretty wild at the start of a new season, but throughout it all, Lux Poppy helped me make a swift climb to Diamond.

Perhaps “swift” isn’t the best choice of words, because this is a control deck at heart.

However, the time you lose in climbing speed can be made up with the win rate! Here’s my version of the deck.

Deck Code: CEBQSBIKAECBUKBJGF2KMANPAEAQGAAOAIAQABRKAEAQKCV4AEAQEBIK2EA5QAI

[See Lux Poppy deck details]

Deck Overview:

On the surface, Lux Poppy is a Bandle City deck at its core. We’re only running three unique Demacia cards including Lux herself. The Poppy-Mayor-Telescope package is here which can give the impression we’re a tempo deck. And honestly, sometimes we are. With Bandle City’s board-flooding playstyle it’s only natural.

I like to imagine this deck with three cores. We’ve got Lux, Curious Shellfolk, and the Bandle Bunch. Unlike most other decks, we have multiple angles to win from which creates a very interesting playstyle. Some games are won with silly Poppy boards while others rely on Lux to regain control. Curious Shellfolk takes a back seat role, but functions as an excellent Plan C!

This is another challenging deck to play, and one which requires patience to properly pilot. However, if you enjoy having endless options at your fingertips, give this a try!

Mulligan Tips:

Make no mistake. Poppy is not the forefront of this deck; Lux is. While Bandle City Mayor can swarm the board out of nowhere, our 1-2 drops pale in comparison to a true aggressive deck. We trade evenly at best, making our focus more about stabilizing. Lux is key.

• Always Keep:

  • Lux
  • Otterpus
  • Conchologist

• Situational Keep:

  • Poppy: A fine keep alongside Bandle City Mayor + two other good early cards.
  • Loping Telescope: Always keep against aggressive decks.
  • Bandle City Mayor: Great keep as long as you have a 1-drop/2-drop in hand.
  • Vanguard Sergeant: Keep against aggro as long as you have a 1-drop/2-drop in hand.
  • Pokey Stick: Keep against decks with one health units.
  • Sharpsight: Keep against decks with Zoe/Teemo/Bandle Commando. Solid option alongside two early units.
  • Yordle Contraption: Don’t get me wrong this card is awful. Unfortunately, it’s the only option to have a chance against Bandle
  • Tree. Keep specifically for this matchup.

Example Hand 1:

Example Hand 2:

Game Plans:

We want to prepare ourselves to start controlling the game after turn five. Begin by playing cheap units like Otterpus, Conchologist, or Loping Telescope to give us the ability to defend any early aggression.

Trade efficiently when possible, but don’t be afraid to chump-block and mitigate the damage as we have no healing outside of a lucky Manifest. Don’t be afraid to pass. Let the opponent play into us so we can respond better. If we’re even on board and they pass back it’s a win for us. It’s also important to bank spell mana to set up our future Lux turns.

Depending on how our early turns play out we may be able to find ourselves even or ahead on board. What you pull off of Conchologist can make a huge difference early on if you’re able to snag some interaction, and there’s a lot of good ones! If things are going well, Poppy can snowball your lead further out of reach. If you’ve played Vanguard Sergeant, For Demacia can close the game without ever needing Lux.

Now that Lux is five mana she can come down early enough to help stop aggression. A 3|5 with Barrier is feasible on defense and gives her a safe entry onto the board. Minimorph is her biggest enemy as it shuts down our “guaranteed” level-up in response. Be mindful of other spells like Falling Comet and Concerted Strike which get around her Barrier.

Once Lux is safely established we’ve got a crazy removal engine that’s hard to beat. Minimorph answers huge threats like Sion, or any large dragons and Lurkers. Not only that, but we’re also generating a free Final Spark to help remove a second unit. That’s absurdly powerful for only six mana.

Most of our spell package is burst speed to help ensure we create more Sparks. This is important because we can both generate and cast a Final Spark before giving the opponent an action. Having to rely on a fast spell opens up room for counterplay. We don’t want that! 😉

Pranks can be tricky to utilize properly. There are times we want to save them for Curious Shellfolk, but we won’t always have that luxury. They’re often used best with Lux to help fill out the one mana gaps. This allows us to make the most of our mana and not overspend to get a Final Spark. However, other times it’s important to scout in an attempt to hit a relevant card before it comes down.

It’s important to prioritize board stability above all else. We have an inherent card advantage and absurd amounts of value, so survival is key. Lux Poppy’s biggest struggle is against decks that go wide with high statted units. Multiple 2|3 units can be a huge problem without help from Sharpsight or Vanguard Sergeant.

Aggressive decks like Scouts or Fearsomes are particularly difficult as they deny our ability to trade. So take this into account with every mulligan and know your limits before you spend mana on something that doesn’t develop the board.

Win Conditions:

Lux:

In most matchups, Lux is essential to our game plan. She is incredibly important to help stabilize the board and take control of the game. Removal is limited in these regions so beyond the cards we Manifest, it can be a struggle to keep up. Most games I’ve lost are the ones where I simply don’t draw Lux, so be sure to keep her in every mulligan.

Poppy:

We won’t be getting full value out of Poppy compared to her other decks, but even granting a buff to a couple of units goes a long way to helping stabilize. However, as always, Poppy + Mayor can do some really silly things. Poppy’s champion spell has a nice bonus synergy with Lux by costing six mana, and also removing one unit on its own (albeit temporary).

Curious Shellfolk:

While not the face of this deck, Curious Shellfolk has proven itself to be too impactful in any decks packing Pranks and Manifests. Pair it with Trinket Trade or Conchologist and you’ll generate disgusting amounts of value. Once you’ve Pranked them enough times they’ll eventually be locked out of the game.

Vanguard Sergeant/For Demacia!:

Vanguard Sergeant is a great unit to help stabilize against early aggression. The 3|4 statline makes all the difference while giving us the ability to threaten a board buff at any time. It’s not uncommon to go wide with an Otterpus or Loping Telescope, as they often show up in multiples.

Having the ability to turn our chump-blockers into a threat is the real deal. Oftentimes what’s good enough is just buffing 2-4 units and generating a Final Spark. It’s less about attacking for lethal, and more about forcing the opponent to awkwardly lose their board.

Other Considerations:

You may have noticed the lack of Radiant Guardian in my list. While the Lifesteal could help in several matchups, it is a card that is often a liability.

Radiant Guardian needs to be paired alongside Single Combat and Concerted Strike to work effectively, and those two spells aren’t great in this list.

Lastly, please feel free to immediately cut Yordle Contraption if you aren’t often queuing into Bandle Tree. It made my list towards the end as that matchup is near unwinnable without it.

Even with Yordle Contraption, you still can’t beat a second Bandle Tree unless you can Manifest a discard.

Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day

A plate can only hold so much. What do you choose to keep on yours?

For more Beyond the Bandlewood decks, head to the Deck Library! To build your own, head to the Deck Builder.