Karma Viktor: Augmenting Its Way Onto the Scene

Greetings everyone, Dragonguy here with a new deck of the day. I wanted to feature a deck that was utilizing buffed Karma, but I am not a big fan of playing Ezreal Karma. That’s why I am so glad that I stumbled across this amazing Karma Viktor list from Garretz, and it has been putting in a lot of work for me on the ladder. I wanted to showcase the deck, so without further ado here it is.

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Karma Viktor created by Dragonguy • last updated 9 months ago

Regions

22

18

Types

6

12

22

0

0

Rarities

6

6

11

17

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

4

Viktor

3

5

Karma

3

followers (12)

2

Boom Baboon

3

2

Eye of the Dragon

3

2

Ferros Financier

3

6

Sai’nen Thousand-Tailed

3

Spells (22)

1

Ionian Tellstones

3

1

Poro Cannon

3

2

Mystic Shot

3

2

Twin Disciplines

3

3

Get Excited!

3

4

Deny

3

4

Will of Ionia

2

5

Deep Meditation

2

Origins:

Karma Viktor is a deck that first emerged after the Viktor buff that made his Hex Core Upgrade cost 0. Viktor was a strong mid game unit, and could take over the game if left unanswered for a few turns. Ionia is one of the best protection regions, so this pairing made sense, as it let you protect Viktor as he built up.

As for Karma, she has an incredibly powerful level 2, as doubling spells will generate a lot of value. The deck was ok in it’s time, but never really took off for tier 1 status, and was overshadowed by Viktor Lee Sin. Now, however, Karma has been buffed, and with new some new tools from the most recent expansion, it might be time for the deck to shine.

Gameplay:

Karma Viktor is a deck with a strong mid game spike once Viktor comes online, but if that fails, it can stall until Karma can come down and take over the game. Viktor will slowly accumulate more power as the game progresses, and with Karma’s recent changes, the copied spells she makes will proc Viktor’s augment and levelup condition, a nice QOL buff. Besides that, the deck contains a lot of tools to stall and grind out the game. 

In the early turns, you want to either deploy one of your 2 drops. They will either give you cards in hand for later use in Ferros Financier and Boom Baboon, or they’ll help restore life and make blockers in Eye of the Dragon. Otherwise, try to stay reactive with your interaction spells and removal. You want to drop Viktor as early as you feel is safe, but try not to drop him into removal without protection. For example, if your opponent is SI and has 6 mana on 4 for Vengeance, it’s better to play Viktor on 5 with potential Deny than to play into it.

As the game progresses, be reactive while looking for openings to safely deploy your big plays like Karma. If you need to answer opposing threats, utilize the tools at your disposal. Mystic Shot and Get Excited! function as removal spells early, and over the top burn in the later game. Will of Ionia recalls a unit back to hand, as does Homecoming from Ionian Tellstones. This card really helps the deck a lot, as with Karma it can become a 3 mana heal 12 from Health Potion, or protect a unit/ look for a surprise lethal attack with Stand United. Twin Disciplines let you respond to opponents’ removal on your units/ push for more damage, while Deny stops pesky spells and skills your opponents play.

One thing to be aware of while playing is hand space. You can get a big hand from being reactive, and are at risk of burning cards. This is especially true if you have a Karma and/or Viktor in hand, as they will generate a card before you draw. This means you’d need to have a hand size of 8 to not burn your top deck. Consider if you need to draw something for the current situation, or if you the current position is fine and it’s alright to burn a card.

As the game goes late, you have some refill options in Deep Meditation and Sai’nen Thousand-Tailed. These draw you 2 cards, with Sai’nen pumping your board as well. With these, Karma generating spells, and Ferros Financier pulls, the deck has a hard time running out of value. 

Verdict

Karma Viktor has felt like a really solid deck when I’ve been playing it. You have options for every stage of the game, and both Viktor and Karma can solo carry games you otherwise would have lost. It feels quite flexible, and you have a surprising amount of burn to close out games for a reactive deck.

The deck feels quite strong, and I believe is a solid option to try out on ladder or gauntlet this weekend. Or, if you’ve been looking for something to try out with the buffed Karma, then I think this is a great choice! Thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful day.