Hi! I’m Mccall123123! I have noticed that a lot of players have trouble adapting to this game’s strategy because there are some unique mechanics. This guide is meant for newer players or players just struggling to win. If you are totally new you should read this beginner’s guide by Rubberducky182 first.

The Basics of Aggro, Midrange, and Control

These are the three main deck types which every deck can usually be classified by.

Aggro: Aggro stands for aggressive which is exactly what these decks are. Their main focus is to reduce the opponents’ life total as fast as possible. Aggro decks are looking to beat opponents down with an onslaught of early game creatures and usually can win on turns four through six. Creatures are usually not resilient. The late game is very hard for Aggro. Aggressive decks are more than likely to include Strength because Strength has very good early game creatures. Aggressive deck’s curves usually tops out at five or six magicka.

Midrange: Midrange decks are like slower Aggro decks, but with higher late game threat density. Mid range decks can play different roles depending on match ups. Against Aggro desks, Midrange can play defensively. Against Control, Midrange can take the role of a slower Aggro deck. In Midrange mirror matches it is generally best to be the proactive player. Midrange decks tend to have Intelligence currently but can include any colors.

Control: Control decks’ main focus is to win in the late game. In the early game, Control play very defensively and responds to the opponent. Control decks want to have card advantage, starve the opponent’s resources and creatures, and then end the game usually in one turn. Control decks’ main attributes are Willpower and Intelligence, though some Control decks exist in classes not using them. Control decks’ curves are very top-heavy, including many cards that cost seven or more magicka.

There are definitely other types of decks, but these are most common in Legends. When building your own decks it is generally best to follow one of these game plans.

Mulligans

You generally want to redraw any card in your deck that costs four or more. You won’t be playing those cards until later turns and you will most likely draw in to them by the time you are going to play them. It is also a good idea to shuffle away most prophecies because you will have a better chance to draw them later when your runes are being destroyed to play them for free.

Low cost mid/ late game cards: Just because a card costs one magicka doesn’t mean you should keep it in your opening hand. Cards like Imprison and Sharpshooter Scout will sometimes get a lot more value in the mid/ late game.

Curve: You also want to keep a hand that you can play out most of over your beginning turns. This is most important for Aggro and Midrange decks, which want to dominate the board early, as opposed to Control decks. When going second you can be a little more greedy with mulligans because you have the Ring of Magicka. Having a powerful start allows you to dictate the course of the game. This ability to steer the course of a game is what is often referred to as “tempo.”

Rune Breaking

When breaking runes, you always risk the chance of your opponent getting a prophecy, allowing them to play a card for free. You need to know what commonly played prophecies are in your opponent’s colors and how much they can affect your current board state. In most situations you want to play cards after breaking runes. That way the opponent doesn’t get more value if they draw a prophecy. For example, if you play a large creature before attacking and your opponent gets a Piercing Javelin, they would then be able to kill your new creature for free when they otherwise wouldn’t.

26: Most Control decks (and even Midrange decks sometimes) will leave the opponent at 26 life or even higher in some cases, even if they have more damage on board, so the opponent doesn’t draw a card and to completely avoid the chance of a prophecy. It’s usually a good idea to avoid breaking a rune even if you have a couple more points of damage you could do.

Ending the game: If your opponent has seven life and one rune left and you have a 1/1, 3/3, 4/4 and a 6/6, you want to attack with the 1/1 first and then the 6/6 to avoid breaking the last rune – the opponent won’t get a chance to draw a card or play a prophecy. This is something that I see a lot of newer players forget but it can definitely lose you the game if you don’t do it correctly.

Where to find decks?

My favorite place to find decks are Between The Lanes Meta Snapshots and Legends-Decks. Don’t Be afraid to change a couple of cards to get better match ups for what you see in ranked.

Grinding

You can earn up to 300 soul gems a day by beating the A.I in practice mode on expert. The deck I use to grind can be found here.

Arena Basics

The hardest part about arena is learning how to get a strong curve. You generally want a good amount of 2-4 drops so you can stay relevant early and mid game. You don’t need many finishers because decks are much smaller and you are more likely to draw them. A complete guide to solo arena can be found here. Another helpful resource for what to pick in arena can be found here.

I hope this guide helped you out. If you want to get more into strategy I would recommend watching tournaments on Twitch and taking a look at other articles here on Between The Lanes. Have a nice day!