4 Off-Meta Decks to Counter Spider Aggro

Hello everyone, Sorry here! Today I’m going to talk about under-the-radar decks that perform well against the most popular deck of patch 2.5 – Spider Aggro.

The Shadow Isles Noxus Burn list featuring Elise is a Tier 1 deck right now with a high win rate on the ladder. It runs low-cost units to push damage early on before the opponent can catch up. The unique characteristic of the deck is the Fearsome keyword which makes it harder for the opponent to block.

The deck also runs burn spells such as Noxian Fervor and Decimate to finish off the opponent. If you’re unable to keep up with their early pressure, you’ll get blown out by the amount of damage they’re able to push before you start building board presence.

In this article, I will showcase four lists that can hold their ground against Spiders and similar aggressive strategies. I’ve excluded the well-known meta counters to the deck, such as Thresh Nasus, Lissandra SI, and Nightfall (check out our matchups table page to learn more), and focused on the underrepresented archetypes instead.

The decks included in this article are a good change of pace if you’re looking into some off-meta options, and can be a good choice to climb the ladder with if at your ranks you encounter an abundance of Spider Aggro and burn.

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Elise/TF/GP Go Hard created by Sorry • last updated 3 years ago

Control

Tempo

Regions

22

18

Types

6

20

14

0

0

Rarities

6

10

2

22

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

2

Elise

2

4

Twisted Fate

2

5

Gangplank

2

followers (20)

1

Jagged Butcher

3

2

Dreadway Deckhand

3

2

Fortune Croaker

3

3

Doombeast

3

3

Petty Officer

2

4

Zap Sprayfin

3

8

The Dreadway

2

9

Commander Ledros

1

Spells (14)

1

Go Hard

3

2

Glimpse Beyond

3

4

Salvage

2

4

Withering Wail

3

6

Vengeance

2

9

The Ruination

1

Mulligan for: Elise, Go Hard, Twisted Fate, and Withering Wail.

Go Hard is a good counter to aggro decks, as it runs cheap units and has access to removal cards that also offer healing at the same time. Facing the Elise Aggro deck specifically, your deck does not run a lot of early 3+ power anti-Fearsome blockers outside of Petty Officer and Doombeast, both being solid cards in this matchup. Doombeast in particular will heal your Nexus by 2 which helps you sustain health.

Go Hard is an amazing spell early game that helps you remove pressure off the board – your opponent will be running cards such as Legion Saboteur, Precious Pet, and Stygian Onlooker that can be all dealt with Go Hard. You don’t have to remove a unit every time when playing Go Hard, you can also lower the health of a unit and set up for a Withering Wail that could potentially remove most of your opponent’s board.

In this matchup, Twisted Fate is usually played for his Red Card or Gold Card depending on the situation. That way you can set up for a massive Withering Wail when most of your opponent’s units are 2 health.

Dreadway Deckhand and Gangplank both summon a Powder Keg. Combined with your Withering Wail or Twisted Fate’s Red Card, you can set up for a good board wipe. 

When playing Zap Sprayfin make sure to cast your Go Hards beforehand to maximize the possibility of drawing one of the created copies.

Once you have played 3 Go Hards, Pack Your Bags will remove the entire enemy board. Eventually, your opponent will run out of steam and won’t be able to keep up with you. In the unlikely scenario that the game didn’t end before turn 9, they also do not have any interaction with The Dreadway + Commander Ledros combo.

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Zoe Viktor created by Sorry • last updated 3 years ago

Elusive

Control

Regions

18

22

Types

6

19

15

0

0

Rarities

6

5

14

15

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

1

Zoe

3

4

Viktor

3

followers (19)

1

Spacey Sketcher

3

2

Ballistic Bot

3

2

Mountain Goat

3

3

Solari Priestess

2

3

Sump Dredger

3

4

The Fangs

3

5

Subpurrsible

2

Spells (15)

0

Thermogenic Beam

2

2

Mystic Shot

3

2

Pale Cascade

3

3

Get Excited!

2

3

Hush

2

5

Starshaping

3

Mulligan for: Zoe, Mountain Goat, Mystic Shot, The Fangs.

Zoe Viktor is the best of both Targon and PnZ have to offer. Your deck runs removal cards such as Mystic Shot and Get Excited! that’ll be able to get rid of those pesky spiders. At the same time, your deck runs cards that can heal your Nexus such as Guiding Touch, Starshaping, and The Fangs that will counter the burn plan (Noxian Fervor, Decimate).

Zoe provides early value, we can get The Serpent off of Supercool Starchart that can either block a unit or challenge a Fearsome unit. Crescent Strike is also an important pickup, the ability to stun two units if your opponent doesn’t open-attack is astoundingly good as it slows down the damage output by your opponent. You can also pick Moonsilver if you’re looking to lower the cost of Viktor or The Fangs and play them a turn earlier.

In this matchup, you’re looking to take the least amount of damage possible before you start out-valuing your opponent. Spider Aggro lacks the ability to deal with The Great Beyond or The Immortal Fire off of Starshaping. Both should be able to close out the game.

As tempting as it is to preserve your champions, you should not hesitate to give them up if it will save you some Nexus health. Your game plan is to stabilize, run them out of resources, and then take over the game. 

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Spooky Karma created by Sorry • last updated 3 years ago

Control

Regions

25

15

Types

6

10

24

0

0

Rarities

6

5

11

18

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

5

Karma

3

5

Thresh

3

followers (10)

1

Hapless Aristocrat

3

3

Shadow Assassin

3

3

Tasty Faefolk

2

7

The Rekindler

2

Spells (24)

1

Go Hard

3

2

Vile Feast

3

3

Black Spear

2

4

Concussive Palm

3

4

Deny

2

4

The Box

2

4

Withering Wail

3

5

Deep Meditation

2

6

Vengeance

2

9

The Ruination

2

Mulligan for: Go Hard, Hapless Aristocrat, Withering Wail, The Box, and Tasty Faefolk.

If you enjoy playing slow control decks, Spooky Karma is the one for you! Its game plan entails controlling the board until Karma levels up and dominates the game from thereon. 

Spooky Karma is the worst nightmare for an aggressive deck due to the many removal tools and healing the deck has access to. 

Our best removal options are Vile Feast and Go Hard. Seeing that your opponent runs a variety of one health units such as Legion Saboteur and Precious Pet, those two cards can slow down their aggressive game plan.

Go Hard and Vile Feast work exceptionally well with Withering Wail, since we can ping units like Arachnoid Horror and Frenzied Skitterer before going for a high-value Withering Wail which can be cast at fast speed during their attack. 

The Box is an important tool to clear your opponent’s summoned units on a specific turn when they are setting up for a massive swing. Usually, you want to keep it for when your opponent casts Stalking Shadows and wants to develop on the board. Remember, The Box is a fast spell, so hold onto it until your opponent goes for the attack. This will ensure that they cannot develop more units and that you maximize The Box’s value.

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Lissandra Trundle Ionia created by Sorry • last updated 3 years ago

Control

Combo

Regions

11

29

Types

6

8

22

4

0

Rarities

6

4

16

14

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

3

Lissandra

3

5

Trundle

3

landmarks (4)

3

Monastery of Hirana

1

4

Blighted Ravine

3

followers (8)

2

Avarosan Sentry

2

2

Icevale Archer

3

3

Kindly Tavernkeeper

3

Spells (22)

2

Entreat

3

2

Troll Chant

1

3

Flash Freeze

2

3

Ice Shard

3

4

Avalanche

3

4

Concussive Palm

3

4

Deny

2

4

Homecoming

2

5

Go Get It

3

Mulligan for: Avalanche, Kindly Tavernkeeper, Blighted Ravine, and Lissandra.

In this matchup, you’re looking to deal with those pesky Spiders with your area-of-effect removals. Avalanche, Blighted Ravine, and Ice Shard are key cards to control the board.

Your opponent will try to bait out your removal cards early on, make sure to play them at the right time when Spiders cannot redevelop a very threatening board. In most scenarios, you’re looking to play your Blighted Ravine on your defensive turn. This will accomplish two things: it will remove almost all of your opponent’s current board and it will stop any further development during that turn.

Normally, your game plan is to create a Watcher off of Lissandra and obliterate the opponent’s deck with it. In this matchup, however, Lissandra is a solid blocker, as the tough ability allows her to block at least twice, helping us preserve our health total. Don’t be hesitant to trade her off.

We do not need Watcher to win the game, a leveled-up Trundle can pretty much end the game on his own due to the fact that Spider Aggro does not run reliable removals to deal with Trundle.

Cards like Kindly Tavernkeeper, Concussive Palm, and Flash Freeze also play a role in prolonging the game until you can catch up. Homecoming can be played on your Kindly Tavernkeeper when your opponent is attacking to safely return him to hand while also negating some damage from one of your opponent’s units.

If possible, you should hold onto 4 mana if you expect your opponent to play either Noxian Fervor or Decimate to counter it with a Deny.

Closing Words

The current meta is heavily dominated by aggressive decks, both on the ladder and in tournaments. Players are slowly shifting towards anti-aggro decks.

The four decks I talked about are underrated but can hold their ground against most aggressive decks and specifically Spider Aggro. If you’re looking for popular meta decks, Lissandra Trundle SI, Diana Nocturne Nighfall, and Zoe Asol Demacia have all proven to be solid decks in this matchup as well.

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