Caitlyn Ezreal Deck Guide – Patch 3.6

Hello there, Sorry here with another deck guide! Today I’ll feature Caitlyn Ezreal, an old archetype that previously used to run Draven and fell out of meta after a couple of cards the list ran were nerfed.

The Noxus Piltover and Zaun deck is a spell-heavy archetype that looks to slowly burn the opponent’s Nexus down – it acts as something between midrange and control. Unlike the old Draven version, Caitlyn Ezreal doesn’t have the capabilities of playing aggressively.

Early game you’ll be putting pressure on your opponent with Caitlyn, a champion capable of placing Flashbomb Traps into the opponent’s deck which will come in handy later either to kill off low-health units or set up for Ravenous Flock or Scorched Earth.

The list runs a lot of spells to help keep the opponent’s board in check, cards like Mystic Shot, Thermogenic Beam, Ravenous Flock, Piltover Peacemaker, and Tri-beam Improbulator are essential removal spells that ensure you control the board. At the same time, you’ll be working on leveling up Ezreal, which acts as a win condition later on in the game.

Moreover, Tri-Bream Improbulator puts a lot of pressure on the board mid-to-late game, especially if buffed up a lot! The fact that you’re killing a unit while summoning your own gives you an edge on board presence.

The burn plan doesn’t rely solely on a leveled-up Ezreal, Captain Farron is your strongest late-game play! The 8|8 stats unit with Overwhelm is capable of pushing enough damage to start setting up for Decimate lethal.

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Techs and Options

• Noxian Guillotine
  Efficient for removing multiple damaged units, you can run Noxian Guillotine over Scorched Earth if landmark removal isn’t your priority.

• Thorn of the Rose
  Used to be popular in Draven Ezreal mainly because of the Guile it creates in hand that synergizes with Ravenous Flock and assists in leveling up Ezreal. Pokey Stick’s existence made the card disappear from the meta. Run only 2 copies – you can cut a House Spider and Statikk Shock.

• Culling Strike
  Meta-dependent card can be strong in the right meta. Cut Piltover Peacemaker for 2 Culling Strike.

• Boom Baboon
  Can work in a discard version of the deck, and Flame Chompers can set up for a strong attack. Cut House Spider for Boom Baboon.

• Sump Dredger
  Include in the deck if you’re running cards that can be discarded like Boom Baboon’s Flame Chomper or Lost Soul. Sump Dredger also synergizes with Tri-beam Improbulator. Cut Aloof Travelers and a Statikk Shock for 3 Sump Dredgers.

• Sump Fumes
  Another card that synergizes with Tri-beam Improbulator. If you’re running Boom Baboon and Sump Dredger you’ll be able to activate its ability more consistently to deal 3 damage! Cut Piltover Peacemaker for Sump Fumes.

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General Tips

• You are not an aggressive deck, keep the board under control.
  Your deck runs a lot of spells to keep the board in check while working on leveling up Ezreal. You’re able to slowly burn your opponent with Ezreal and Decimates from Captain Farron.

• Don’t get greedy with Tri-Beam Improbulator.
  In most cases, you don’t really need a 9 damage Tri-beam, the spell itself puts a lot of pressure on the board, you’re able to squeeze in unit damage purely by the unit advantage Tri-Beam provides.

• Arachnoid Sentry can be played aggressively.
  Arachnoid Sentry is usually played defensively to stun a big unit or to set up for Ravenous Flock, but the unit can be played in an aggressive manner, stunning a blocker and allowing you to push Nexus damage with an unblocked unit.

• Station Archivist not only offers card advantage but also information.
  Play Station Archivist only when you’re able to play one of the cards it’ll offer, you don’t want to waste a strong ability. Remember the cards Station Archivist shows! You will be drawing them later on in the game, this is important information that’ll help you set up for future turns.

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Matchups

Mulligan for: House Spider, Caitlyn, Ferros Financiar, Mystic Shot

• Have a Mystic Shot or Piltover Peacemaker ready to deal with a Risen Rider on turn two. They can keep it alive with Survival Skills.
• Your opponent runs a lot of burn cards that you can’t deal with. Keep your Nexus’ health safe from board units.
• Arachnoid Sentry can stun a Sion if played on your opponent’s attack turn giving you time to stabilize and win the game.
• Don’t overvalue Caitlyn, it’s fine to trade her if it preserves the health of your Nexus.
• They can’t block an attacking Ezreal except with Daring Poro. Be careful of Whirling Death, you can play around it by attacking with Ezreal on his own.
• If Sion is played on your attack turn, ping him with a spell and wait until your opponent commits their attack on the upcoming turn to finish off the Sion with Ravenous Flock or Scorched Earth. You can stun the Sion Returned with Arachnoid Sentry to halt it from attacking.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Thermogenic Beam, Ravenous Flock, and Arachnoid Sentry

• The main goal is to kill Miss Fortune, she’s the biggest threat in this game. Luckily, Caitlyn Ezreal runs a lot of spells to deal with her. Arachnoid Sentry and Ravenous Flock, Thermogenic Beam, or damaging Miss Fortune and later on killing her with Ravenous Flock or Scorched Earth.
• Keep in mind, Scouts does run Ranger’s Resolve, Sharpsight, and Shield of Durand as protection tools to keep Miss Fortune alive.
• Kill Durand Sculptor the second it hits the board, you want to prevent your opponent from granting his units the +1 health that makes it harder for you to remove key units.
• Scouts do not run any burn cards, so dropping a bit low on health is fine if it means you’ll be able to control board presence later on in the game.
• Although removing Miss Fortune can put you at an advantage, Scouts can still be extremely aggressive on the board, especially by taking value trades. Both Cithria of the Bold and Genevieve Elmheart can set up a winning play if not answered.
• Scouts can shut down an Ezreal attack with Sharpsight, depending on the state of the game, you might sometimes want to force it out of them so you don’t have to deal with it later on.
• Ranger’s Resolve is a massive counter to Static Shock, play it only if you can afford to get countered or your opponent already played a Ranger’s Resolve and it’s likely they have another one.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Thermogenic Beam, Mystic Shot, House Spider

• You’re playing against a deck that relies on The Bandle Tree win condition, always save your Scorched Earth to deal with The Bandle Tree. Station Archivist can help you look for Scorched Earth in case you don’t have it in your hand.
• Consider holding onto Thermogenic Beam in hand to counter Aloof Travelers. If you have 5+ mana, you can save your Tri-beam Improbulator from getting discarded by Aloof Travelers and instead discard a Thermogenic Beam.
• Mystic Shot the Bandle City Mayor on spot to prevent your opponent from developing cheaper multi-region units.
• You’ll need an answer for Poppy before she attacks to deny the additional stats buff on other units. Tri-beam Improbulator or Arachnoid Sentry are good answers for Poppy.
• Similarly, with Gnar, you’ll want to kill him before he levels up, the Overwhelm damage can be problematic as your opponent has the capabilities to play the aggressive plan.
• Bandle Tree deck doesn’t run any healing, so you could burn them down with a leveled-up Ezreal or Decimates!

Mulligan for: House Spider, Caitlyn, Mystic Shot, Arachnoid Sentry, Tri-Beam Impobulator.

• You’re against an aggressive deck that relies on early units to slam your Nexus, Might to push Overwhelm damage, and the burn plan to close out the game.
• You’re able to match your opponent’s units with House Spider and Arachnoid Sentry. Mystic Shot or Piltover Peacemaker is capable of killing Draven or Risen Rider.
• Be careful of Survival Skills! It can keep the unit alive through your damage spells, but the damaged unit will die to cards like Scorched Earth or Noxian Guillotine.
• Don’t overvalue your Caitlyn, if she’s the only unit capable of blocking damage you should go for it! Preserving your health is important to survive the burn plan.
• Might on Rumble is difficult to counter, you’ll need to damage it before it attacks to set it up for a Ravenous Flock or Scorched Earth.
• You will win the board presence mid to late game, your opponent will find it hard to come back into the game as they will be switching to the burn plan. If you’re able to set up a strong an attack, you can potentially close out the game before they burn you down.

Mulligan for: Caitlyn, Tri-beam Improbulator, Ferros Financiar

• Save your removal tools for Viego and Invasive Hydravine. Rite of Negation and Ancient Hourglass are two defensive tools for your opponent’s key units.
• Try to hold onto Ezreal until he’s leveled up, he’s the burn unit that allows you to close out a game.
• Be careful of Atrocity on Viego, try to keep your Nexus a bit healthy to stay out of range. Damage Viego to set him up for a Scorched Earth in case Atrocity is played later on.
• Do not allow Viego to level up, he’ll dominate the board on his own. You can prevent Viego from gaining stats by choosing not to attack, this will stop your opponent from sacrificing their units into yours.
• Quicksand can stop your attacking Ezreal in his tracks!

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Ferros Financiar

• Kill Akshan before he levels up, you want to prevent your opponent from summoning Warlord’s Hoard.
• The main threat is Udyr, killing him will be your top priority. You can chump block him all you want but once he gains the Overwhelm keyword you’ll either have to stun him with Arachnoid Sentry or kill him with a Scorched Earth.
• Rite of Negation is one of their strongest defensive tools, especially against Tri-beam Improbulator, or can be kept to keep Udyr alive.
• Watch out for Quicksand when attacking with Ezreal, they also run Desert Duel which can take out your champion.
• They don’t really have any healing, so the burn damage from Ezreal and Decimates should be good enough to end the game.

Mulligan for: House Spider, Caitlyn, Tri-beam Improbulator, Thermogenic Beam.

• Early game you’re looking to kill the lurkers either by blocking them or using your removal spells. Thermogenic Beam is crucial if your opponent is attacking on turn 1, you can shut them down from activating lurk if they’re depending on Xer’sai Hatchling or Treasure Seeker.
• Try and preserve your health from early Lurkers damage, you want to have a Nexus capable of taking a hit from one of their Overwhelm damage later on in the game.
• Tri-Beam Improbulator should usually be played either to kill Pyke or one of their Overwhelm units like Rek’Sai, Xerxa’Reth, The Undertitan, or Xer’sai Dunebreaker.
• Some lists are running Rite of Negation, keep in mind that your Tri-beam Improbulator can be denied.
• Although Arachnoid Sentry is a great setup for Ravenous Flock, it’s wise to keep at least one available in hand to counter Rek’Sai. The stun will halt her from attacking and as such she won’t level up and you won’t have to deal with her Overwhelm damage.
• Watch out for Jaull-fish on turn 8, make sure you’ve removed as many Lurkers as you can to weaken Juall-fish’s ability.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Imprbulator, Caitlyn, Thermogenic Beam, Scorched Earth/Noxian Guillotine is a keeper if you already have a good hand.

• Your opponent will rely on a buffy Fated unit with Overwhelm or Pantheon to win the game. You’ll need to kill those units before they get out of hand.
• Noxian Guillotine or Scorched Earth are perfect answers for your opponent’s win conditions. Be careful of Guiding Touch, always have enough mana to damage the unit after they’ve played Guiding Touch.
• You can shut down your opponent’s blockers with Arachnoid Sentry which allows you to set up for a more aggressive attack.
• Single Combat, Cataclysm, and Concerted Strike as answers for your Ezreal. Cataclysm will most likely be used to push Overwhelm damage.
• Tri-beam Improbulator is one of your strongest plays, it can kill off a unit and put a lot of pressure on the board if you have it buffed up.
• A leveled-up Pantheon can be difficult to deal with, have a removal spell for him ready, or at least an Arachnoid Sentry to slow him down.
• Aloof Travelers can potentially kick out a Concerted Strike, Golden Aegis, or a Pantheon from your opponent’s hand.

Mulligan for: House Spider, Ferros Financiar, Caitlyn, Mystic Shot.

• You’re against an aggressive deck, early cards are crucial to maintaining the health of your Nexus.
• Don’t overvalue your Caitlyn, sacrificing her to protect the health of your Nexus or kill Miss Fortune is worth it.
• Don’t greed out on Tri-beam Improbulator, it’s perfectly fine to play it on 3 or 4 stacks! Removing a threat and gaining a blocker allows you to keep up with your opponent’s board.
• Watch out for Noxian Fervor, keep a damage spell ready like Mystic Shot or Piltover’s Peacemaker to interrupt it.
• Arachnoid Sentry is a great defensive unit to slow your opponent’s attack turn, can also be followed up with a Ravenous Flock to get rid of the unit.
• Once you’ve won the board it’s time to turn into the aggressive play, you need to end the game before your opponent can find more of their burn cards!
• Aloof Travelers can potentially discard a Decimate from your opponent’s hand.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Imprbulator, Caitlyn, Thermogenic Beam, Arachnoid Sentry + Ravenous Flock, Thermogenic Beam.

• Early game you want to take the least damage possible while trying to squeeze early Nexus damage with House Spider and Caitlyn.
• Keep answers for Ezreal! Arachnoid Sentry + Ravenous Flock is the perfect answer for Ezreal shutting down their ability to create a Mystic Shot.
• Keep track of the buffs a possible Tri-beam Improbulator is at in your opponent’s hand.
• Aloof Travelers can potentially kick either Tri-beam Improbulator or Captain Farron out of your hand. Don’t greed your Tri-Beam, a 4-5 damage Tri-Beam is good enough to kill a unit and put pressure on the board.
• Late game, Captain Farron’s Decimates can set up the needed burn Nexus damage you need.
• Don’t let your opponent’s Captain Farron connect with your Nexus, ping it with a spell and kill it with a Scorched Earth.

Mulligan for: Tri-Beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Mystic Shot, House Spider.

• Kill Twister Catalyzer with Mystic Shot or Piltover Peacemaker before it strikes to deny the buff on Darkness.
• Remove Veigar or Senna as soon as possible, you have access to a lot of removal cards, they’ll come in handy when your opponent plays their win condition champions.
• Arachnoid Sentry can stun Senna on spot and set it up for a Ravenous Flock, this will prevent your opponent from generating an additional Darkness.
• This will come down to which deck runs out of steam faster, the capability of your opponent creating Darkness might run you out of gas faster.
• Watch out for The Box if your opponent is holding on 4 mana, develop your units wisely, and don’t get too greedy. Losing an Ezreal along with another unit to The Box can put you at a disadvantage.
• Prevent Ixtali Sentinel from healing your opponent’s Nexus, you’re a slow burn deck and you can’t afford to allow your opponent to prolong the game.

Mulligan for: Scorched Earth, if you have Scorched Earth in hand look for Caitlyn, Tri-beam Improbulator, and Ferror Financiar

• You’ll full mulligan for Scorched Earth as it’s essential to destroy the Sun Disk as soon as possible before your opponent can play Sooth Sayer or Rite of Negation.
• Try and squeeze Nexus damage, your opponent’s deck doesn’t run any healing cards, and every bit of damage will count in the long run.
• If your opponent plays their unleveled champions kill them on the spot before they level up to prevent them from fulfilling Sun Disk’s condition.
• Ezreal acts as your late-game win condition, be careful of Quicksand when attacking with him. In a lot of cases, you’d rather keep him safe and start burning your opponent down.
• Don’t queue all your spells at once unless necessary as they can shut down your play with Rite of Negation.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Ferros Financier, Aloof Travelers

• Works on stacking up your Tri-beam Improbulator, it’ll act as your game swinger when you kill a Trundle.
• Hold onto Ezreal until he’s leveled up, you don’t want him to die to AOE damage from Avalanche and Blighted Ravine. Force your opponent to commit a Vengence to kill him.
• Kill Face of The Old Ones as soon as you can, this will delay your opponent from playing Feel The Rush.
• Kill Trundle before he’s leveled up, this is crucial to stop your opponent from summoning a Trundle with Overwhelm keyword from Feel The Rush.
• Save Arachnoid Sentry to either stun Tryndamere or Trundle. Ideally, you want to stun Tryndamere if Trundle isn’t leveled.
• Save Scorched Earth or Noxian Guillotine to kill off the big champions, watch out for Atrocity while doing so!

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Ferros Financier, Aloof Travelers

• Your opponent runs a lot of tools to stop any kind of aggressive play from your side. They also have many answers for Ezreal like Piercing Darkness, Shock Blast, Thermogenic Beam, and Vengence.
• Keep an answer for Heimerdinger ready to kill him on spot, you want to limit the number of turrets he can summon.
• They’re a control type of deck that will eventually outvalue you, you’ll need Tri-beam Improbulator to swing the board pressure to your favor.
• Kill Jayce as soon as possible to prevent him from casting a 6+ mana cost spell again.
• It is better to try to turbo-level Ezreal with Static Shock and start slowly burning your opponent down before they can kill your Ezreal.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Ferros Financiar

• You’re dealing with multiple threats on the board, both Lux and Jayce can turn into win conditions, save your removal cards for them.
• Your Ezreal can be blocked with a Sharpsight or removed with Single Combat or Concerted Strike.
• A leveled-up Lux is a pure value champion, the Final Sparks will keep your board in check while chipping Nexus damage.
• A wide board is trouble, especially with cards like For Demacia! and Acceleration Gate that’ll amplify the threat of those units. Try to keep your opponent’s board in check or at least remove some of those units before the spell is resolved.
• Kill Jayce as soon as possible to prevent him from duplicating spells.
• They do run a few burn cards so try to keep your Nexus above 5 health.

Mulligan for: Tri-beam Improbulator, Caitlyn, Ferros Financiar.

• Your opponent is on an aggressive deck that relies on giving their champions the Overwhelm keyword.
• Make sure to damage Taliyah before the opponent’s attack is committed, this will allow you to kill with either Ravenous Flock or Scorched Earth.
• Hexplosive Minefield along with Rite of Arcane can threaten to stun two of your units while also killing a third, this will set up a strong attack that you might struggle to have blockers to deal with.
• Try not to kill Endless Devout if possible to deny your opponent from summoning a Sarcophagus that can be later used for their advantage.
• They can shut down your Tri-beam Improbulator play with a Rite of Negation.

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Closing Words

Caitlyn Ezreal is one of the top-played decks in the current meta, although it currently isn’t “overpowered” its ability to adapt to a matchup gives it a fair shot of winning the game against most of the meta right now.

Although Caitlyn Ezreal is currently the more popular version, Swain Ezreal is another version of the deck that looks to stun the board with both champions on the board. But for the time being, we can safely say that the Caitlyn version seems to be the more consistent and popular one.

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