A Different Take on the Rumble Discard Archetype

Rumble has been left aside so far, unable to find its marks in the meta. However, there is still a lot of exploring to be done, and Den is here to present to you his different take on the champion.
edit
Rumble Draven Combo created by den • last updated 2 years ago

  • Origins

Rumble has made a lot of noise when he was released. Obviously, a champion being able to have a 5/4 statline at 4 mana while sporting 3 keywords wouldn’t go unnoticed.

So far, it is still unclear what is the best Rumble list out there, and even what is the best use we can make of Rumble. Sometimes he feels like he could be a great value engine thanks to his level-up condition, and other times it simply feels like supporting him will result in a quick blowout against an opponent that couldn’t contain him.

Today’s deck focuses more on the latter use of Rumble, showcasing him in a deck where our goal is to profit from his immediate impact onto the board.

For those of you who played it last season, this build is very close to what Draven Viktor was in the last patch, a deck looking to abuse any opening its opponent would give him to heavily damage its nexus.

In this deck, Rumble replaces Viktor as a faster option towards building a huge beatstick, as Viktor usually requires to see several of his Hex Core Upgrades get played in order to be ready for combat.


  • Gameplan

As an aggressive combo deck, our goal is to use the pressure we can develop in order to deal damage and slow down our opponent’s development. These two factors will lead to setting up our killing blow as effectively as possible.

The first phase of our plan is a very straightforward development. Either we are looking to deal a lot of damage early, for example against a deck we know has a slower start than us. The other path is to build the board while not losing any cards in hand, as to prepare Rumble and his 3 cards discarded requirement.
Obviously, being able to do both at the same time would be great, but already getting the first turns right depending on the match is a step in the right direction.

Once the early game has settled, we can be in 2 different positions, which will require us to adapt our approach :

  • You are ahead on board and the damage is finding the opposing nexus: Keep going.

We have ways to deal direct damage but there is no reason to slow down if a simple on board aggression is netting you some solid damage.
Keep going, use your cards to snowball that situation, even if that means having a weaker rumble later on. The more damage you deal early, and the less work Rumble has left to do, so it is okay to sacrifice cards we could like to discard for him if they translate into another form of pressure.

  • The board is tied or we are behind: start thinking about a clear all-out race

This deck isn’t good at defending. On some occasions, a well-timed Survival Skills or a Rummage with double Reborn Grenadier can stop an opposing snowball, but those resources are better spent forcing opposing resources rather than trying to counter them.
As such, when you feel the game is slowly escaping your grasp, focus on how to get your opponent to 0.

It can be anything really, from a big Rumble with a Might attached to him and a Fallen Reckoner so he attacks twice for a huge blow.

It can be the Ballistic bots giving you constant damage while you defend the board with other expandable units

It can also be the Fearsome units who manage their way to the opposing nexus as we support them with Flame Chompers and spells to remove eventual blockers.

You get the picture, if the basic tempo/pressure gameplay the deck naturally pushes for, it is important to switch to a health-focused battle, as this is the one the deck is built to win.

After a while, you will notice the importance of the Ballistic Bots, a unit that helps with pushing damage, sets up big potential Might in the regular gameplan of the deck.
Outside of that aspect, Ballistic Bots are also huge in order to trigger Rumble’s ability once leveled up, and their Ignites are basically free as they either generate a Mecha-Yordle or help get its cost down by 1.


  • Verdict

It is still very early to know if this will be the best list to use Rumble or if something closer to the popular Discard deck in the previous metagame will end up being dominant.

For now, with Kennen Ezreal being very popular, it feels like Sion might be a big risk to run and is better as discard to grant Rumble Overwhelm immediately. Personally, I feel Draven is a better upside than simply discarding Sion, and the Axes still are great to discard for Rumble’s condition.

So far in the expansion, slow-paced decks with heavy healing haven’t resurfaced and the metagame is more of an early game battle to win the right to snowball later on than anything else. As such, a fast-paced, health-focused deck can be a good choice in order to get away from that need to control the board, and we can force the opponents into weird spots their decks aren’t prepared for.

Down the line, I feel this deck could be a good counter to some unprepared decks that would focus too much on one aspect of the game, and forcing those early into a battle for their health creates situations they are incapable of dealing with.

Good Game Everyone,
den

den
den

Den has been in love with strategy games for as long as he can remember, starting with the Heroes of Might and Magic series as a kid. Card games came around the middle school - Yugioh and then Magic. Hearthstone has been his real breakthrough and he has been a coach, writer, and caster on the French scene for many years now. Although it took him a bit to get into Legends or Runeterra, his EU Seasonal Tournament win was the perfect start to get involved in the community. He now coaches aspiring pro players and writes various articles on the game. Find him on Twitter at @den_CCG!

Articles: 131