Budget Aggro Darius, no hook

This is the deck I play at Nexus Nights at my LGS. Out of four Nexus Nights, I finished in 3rd place three times. I deliberately don’t play Baited Hook because I don’t like the gameplay of that archetype. This deck focuses on constant pressure, fast point generation, and controlling the opponent’s units. The deck has 21 two-cost cards, which means we almost always have a turn-one play. If we’re going second, we can drop two units right away and keep the initiative. Let’s go through each card one by one: Champion unit: Red Darius - one of the strongest units in the game, and we always have access to him. He allows us to deal with the opponent’s big threats. Seal of Rage - the deck is heavily focused on red, and many cards require Power. Seal helps us keep our economy stable. It also lets us play our champion unit, Darius, already online on turn two, which really messes with the opponent’s tempo. Cleave - allows our low-might units to contest battlefields with much higher might. It also works great in combination with our champion unit. Daring Poro - a 2-drop that efficiently trades into the opponent’s 2-drops. Pouty Poro - another 2-drop that, in a Kai’Sa and Annie meta, forces the opponent to bleed resources. Soaring Scout - a 2-drop ramp unit. We want to play a lot of cards each turn, so having more runes is important. Trifarian Gloryseeker - a 2-drop that can come in as a 3-might unit if the condition is met. Hidden Blade - this card is both enemy control and value for us. Since we play many cards per turn, we can run out of gas quickly. Card draw is very important here, so don’t hesitate to use Hidden Blade on your own recruit or even on a regular low-might unit. Shakedown - in my opinion, a very underrated card. Even though it gives the opponent a choice, if you play it correctly, either option is beneficial for us. That said, its main role in this deck is card draw, not damage. Sundisk - lets our units attack immediately when played. If we’re going second, we can take control of the battlefield before the opponent and seize the initiative early. Vi, Destructive - this is not a finisher Vi like the versions played with Annie or Jinx. This is a more early-game Vi that constantly puts pressure on the opponent and helps clear battlefields. In combination with Sundisk, she can push out an entrenched opponent early, letting us take over the initiative. On top of that, no one really expects to see Vi in this deck. Falling Star - efficient removal plus a good Legion trigger. Very strong against green decks. Faithful Manufacturer - a turn-one play when going second if you don’t draw any 2-cost cards. It also puts two bodies on the board, giving us more flexibility and more might for Trifarian Warcamp. Vanguard Captain - in this deck, it’s basically a 5-might unit for 3 mana that also creates extra bodies on the board. Extremely strong on Trifarian Warcamp. Noxus Hopeful - 4 might for 2 mana, not much else to say. When going second, the Sundisk + Noxus Hopeful combo, where Hopeful immediately enters the battlefield, is very painful for the opponent. Vayne, Hunter - an excellent pressure unit. We almost always have the mana to bounce Vayne back to hand after a conquer, thanks to the deck’s legend. By returning Vayne to hand, we also make sure we have a card to trigger Legion on the next turn if our hand is empty. Sideboard: Cull the Weak - straightforward control. We don’t bring it in against Viktor or in mirror matches. Void Seeker - more control plus card draw. It’s not in the main deck because I feel it’s too expensive mana-wise. Very effective against Ahri and Kai’Sa. Noxian Guillotine - the only things that really save you from this card are Defy and Retreat. It lets you cleanly deal with the biggest threat on the opponent’s board. Scrapyard Champion - we usually play with a very low hand size, almost no cards. Scrapyard Champion helps us draw without having to discard anything. (Note: I added it recently and haven’t tested it much yet - I might move it to the main deck later or cut it entirely.) Battlefields: Trifarian Warcamp - since we play a lot of units, we almost always have an advantage on this battlefield. In Bo3, we always pick it first. We try to avoid playing it against Viktor and Ahri. Arena’s Greatest - lets us finish the game before slower decks can fully come online. We always play this battlefield in our first slot. Zaun Warrens - we’ll often be in situations where we have no cards in hand, so there’s nothing to discard, but we still get to draw from the deck. It also helps us filter our hand and boost our Vi. Possible changes I’m considering: Grand Stratagem - since we play a lot of units, this could act as a finisher for the deck. I might add it to the main deck, but for now it feels a bit too resource-intensive. Viktor, Leader - looks interesting. Our units die quite often, which means we could offset those losses by generating recruits. Brynhir Thundersong - I definitely want to put this into the sideboard. It should be very helpful for pushing Master Yi off battlefields and for playing around Annie and Kai’Sa. Captain Farron - 5 might for 4 mana plus 1 power is solid overall. He also gives Assault 1 to all our units. That said, I haven’t figured out yet what I would cut to make room for him. I’d be really happy if you try playing this deck and test it out. If you have any questions, suggestions for improving the deck, or just want to discuss Darius in general, feel free to message me on Telegram or send me an email :) telegram: @rvdost email: [email protected]