Dancing Through Battlefields

***Deck in testing*** — things may still change, and I’ll keep an eye on everything. **Battlefields order**: - *Blind*: The Dreaming Tree - *First*: Targon's Peak - *Second*: The Candlelit Sanctum ***Changes***: *Patch 1.4 (19 December)** = - *Draven 2>1*:Seeing just one is more than enough when there are already many units to win. I keep it like this because it seems like a great option, but not the choice for every game. - *En Garde 2>3*:It’s simply too strong to keep it at just 2; I’ve tested it, but I always want to have it. *Patch 1.3 (16 December)** = - *Draven 0>2*: It’s time to test Draven. He seems really strong, but maybe two copies are too many and I probably won’t want to see him that often. I’ll give it a try. - *Ride the Wind 2>3 and Fight or Flight 3>2*: With the addition of Draven, I have to bring RTW back to 3 because the combo seems too strong. For the same reason, I won’t remove the Charms from the deck. Two copies might be too many, I’m not sure, but for now, while testing Draven, I definitely need to keep them. - *Called shot 2>0*: I need space to try other things, so for now this card seemed the least useful to me. It’s very strong on the last turn when you’re searching for things to win, but I never want to have it earlier—my own recycling is already enough, haha. **Patch 1.2 (14 December)** = - *Charm 0>2*: I want to try it at least as a 2-of to see how it runs. These past few days I’ve sometimes found myself looking for ways to remove units in base, but so far the list didn’t have any. Charm definitely helps after a big attack with Irelia or others, letting you remove even important pieces that would otherwise want to stay in base. - *Defy 3>2*: “I want to try cutting it down to make room, and because lately I was drawing it more often than I needed. Right now it seems like only unit- or gear-based decks are going around, with very few spells, so I think 2 copies are enough for now. I’ll test it. - *En garde 3>2*: I don’t think this change will last very long, but I needed to make room to test other things, and cutting one from here felt like the best option - *Fight or Flight 2>3 and Ride the Wind 3>2*:I love RTW and I’m sure it’s partly a skill issue, but there have been many times where I would have preferred to save that 1 power just to defend, and where FoF would probably have been more convenient. Maybe I should run both at 3, or just leave it like this — who knows, I’ll test it. **Patch 1.1 (12 December)** = - *Sunken temple for The Candlelit Sanctum*: We already have many ways to draw cards, and paying 1 is sometimes difficult or not the optimal choice, so I opted for two options: Sanctum, because it lets us see the cards we’re looking for earlier, especially in the first turns, and Ravenbloom Conservatory, which seems optimal because we play a lot of spells. For now I chose Sanctum, but I’ll test it. - *Cull 2>0*: I’m testing, and so far Treasure Hunter seems necessary to get those extra treasures at the start of the game. I like Cull as a card and will probably add it back, but for now I’m testing without it. - *Stellarcorn 2>3*: Objectively, the best unit in the deck until Irelia comes into play; it’s meant to let us draw infinitely, so I prioritize it to see it in the early turns - *Called shot 0>2*: I’ve seen a lot of people play it and I want to try it. I don’t like it at all in the early game because Stacked Deck does its job better and we’re already cycling a lot with Irelia and the gear. For the late game, though, it seems good and gives the chance to find the best cards in key moments. - *Heart of dark ice 2>1*: A card I consider very strong, but for testing purposes I also want to reduce it to 1. When I see it, I’m almost always happy, but if I see 2 it’s almost a dead card. That much Might is never needed on our turn, and I prefer to remove one rather than touch any combat tricks. **Patch 1.0 (9 December)** = - *Added Cull*: it seems really strong that it costs only 1 and allows me to generate at least 1 gold per turn, if not much more. I’ll test 2 for now and see how the situation develops. - *Added Treasure Hunter*: I hadn’t included it before, but testing showed it’s necessary—not just for the gold that can practically change the game, but also for having 3 extra minions on turn one, which lets me start scoring immediately. - *Removed the bar for the Sunken Temple*: the bar is useful but not always. The temple seems very strong to play when you’re losing, since your units easily reach 5 or more, and drawing cards is always beneficial - *Removed the Mask of Foresight*: strong, but at 2 I usually prefer to play a minion, and it would only be worthwhile to play it cumulatively with at least 2 on the field. Since I was only playing 2, I decided to remove it and try without. - *Removed Whiteflame Protector*: having just one didn’t provide much advantage; I rarely saw it, and when I did, I often lacked the runes to play it since I spend so many. I’ll probably test it again because it’s very strong, but for now it doesn’t have a place (with the Seal or some extra gold, I’m sure I’ll change my mind). - *Removed Flash*: I didn’t know what else to cut, everything else seems so strong for now. The remaining options were ways to avoid losing minions, so I chose Flash, since Ride the Wind is, in my opinion, irreplaceable. I’ll definitely reconsider and add it back later. My Irelia is a midrange deck designed around card advantage and playing around a few key pieces. In the early turns I focus on finding useful cards with small units to set up for the mid game. I want to have Stellarcorn in hand as soon as possible, and then the rest of the game basically revolves around her, or Irelia, who is mainly used as a finisher. For the sideboard, I’m currently testing Disarming Rake. In the upcoming meta, it seems strong to remove gear while keeping a unit on board. I’m also testing Not So Fast and Hard Bargain, which can sometimes replace Defy effectively. Remember, Irelia isn’t the only card in the deck—don’t put everything on her. She’s the core, but there are alternatives like Stellarcorn, which can draw endlessly. This deck makes even small units huge (Tideturner was a 15 in my last game). Mana hasn’t been a major issue, but adding some Seals, Treasure Hoard as a battlefield, or Treasure Hunter could help—I’ll keep testing. **General advice**: the Merchant can force tough discard decisions, so evaluate carefully. With this deck, there are many variables and multiple plays per turn, so think each decision through and choose the optimal path. Cards I still want to test include Thwonk, Called Shot, Factory Recall, Possession, Charm, Feral Strength, and Mystic Reversal as spells. For units, I want to test Purple Yasuo, Treasure Hunter, Overzealous Fan, Vex, Janna, and Sona.