Sivir Akshan Demacia Deck Guide

Hello, Agigas here! This guide is dedicated to Sivir Demacia – a powerhouse archetype that combines the tools of two of the best midrange regions in the game, Demacia and Shurima.

Akshan is a strong early game champion that has the ability to completely snowball a game with Warlord’s Palace and Warlord’s Hoard. We can quickly and easily advance these landmarks, as all our spells target our units and we have ways to enable extra strikes for Akshan.

The first landmark, Warlord’s Palace, will often be used to Predict and draw a card, giving us value and card selection. The second landmark, Warlord’s Hoard, is an extremely powerful finisher when combined with your other cards, and all three modes of it are relevant depending on the situation.

To further support Akshan, Vekauran Vagabond comes in as a solid 3-drop that also summons or accelerates Warlord’s Palace.

During the midgame, our goal will be to use our midrange synergies to gain and snowball advantages. We have lots of ways to leverage combat and strike effects. We have Barriers with Brightsteel Protector and Golden Aegis, cheap Ephemeral Sandstone Chargers that come as spells with Treasure Seekers, Quick Attack keyword on Sivir and Akshan, and strike triggers on Akshan and Vekauran Bruiser.

To force the strikes and combats we want, we have Merciless Hunter to help us with the Vulnerable keyword. In addition, we run Cataclysm and Concerted Strike. Fleetfeather Tracker and Petricite Broadwing will also help leverage our barriers.

Sivir is not only a strong aggressive midrange unit but also a powerful finisher once she levels. The board-wide Quick Attack and Spellshield keywords will force our opponent to sacrifice their board to survive, putting them very far behind and giving us a great opportunity to cast a Golden Aegis.

The Absolver combines especially well with Sivir. The Spellshield makes her a great target for a big stat buff and the Overwhelm keyword, and, at level 2, Sivir will also share her keywords with our whole board. For the same reason, Vekauran Bruiser’s Lucky Finds are very strong on Sivir as well.

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Techs and Options

• Screeching Dragon provides more board control thanks to the Challenger keyword, and it is also a powerful snowball unit, which makes it a great fit in our deck. However, it is in competition with Vekauran Bruiser. Consider adding more Screeching Dragons instead of Vekauran Bruiser in fast paced matchups, as Screeching Dragon has more of an immediate effect thanks to the Challenger keyword.
• Ruin Runner, even after its nerf, still goes really well with our buffs. However, this is less of a standalone-good unit than Screeching Dragon or Velkauran Bruiser. It often can be harder to leverage Ruin Runner during the midgame, especially if you are falling behind. However, this is still a good finisher, especially when you can’t assemble the Sivir Absolver combo. Consider adding some Ruin Runners if you often struggle on the finishing line.
• Radiant Guardian is yet another strong consideration to top our unit curve with. The card doesn’t do much as a 5-cost unit when we are high on nexus health, but will be aggro decks’ nightmare especially thanks to our multiple ways to get extra strikes out of it.
• Baccai Sandspinner plays a similar role to Merciless Hunter. The Vulnerable keyword is particularly effective against decks that rely on some key units, and don’t have many ways to punish your Challenges (ex. strong combat tricks or removals). Consider bringing Baccai Sandspinner in for those matchups.
• Rite of Negation can completely change a game when the opponent rely too much on one expensive spell, such as Ruination, Buried in Ice, or Feel the Rush. Consider teching one in if you’re looing to win more often against archetypes playing such spells.
• Single Combat is a strong spell to interact at fast speed and at a cheap cost. It does particularly well against low-attack units, as an answer to a removal, or simply combined with a barrier.

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General Tips

• Know when to use your tricks. You don’t want to use your combat tricks to protect weak units caught up in bad spots. Cast them to keep your key units alive (most importantly, Sivir and Akshan). In tempo-driven matchups, you can be less cautious with your tricks, using them early to establish a board control.
  • Keeping Akshan alive to keep advancing Warlord’s Palace at good pace should be a priority if you don’t have a second Akshan in hand. You want to summon a Warlord’s Hoard as soon as possible as it will give you the ability to finish games earlier and more decisively.
• Get familiar with your deck’s combos and interactions. Your cards all work very well together, sometimes in ways that don’t appear obvious. Knowing how to use your synergies is key to create board advantages and snowball to victory.
  • Units with Strike effects (Akshan, Vekauran Bruiser) are very good with Concerted Strike.
  • Force blocks on your units with Quick Attack, Barrier, as well as Sandstone Charger from Waking Sands. Popular scenarios to make that happen is Cataclysm, Vulnerable, or simply through applying pressure.
• Work towards Sivir’s level-up. This is a massive power spike for the deck. Look to level her up faster by using your Strike effects on high-attack units. Keep track of the Sivir condition’s progress – do the math to know exactly when and how you’re going to level her up.
• Leveled Sivir’s ability is a ‘status effect’, active only while she is alive in combat and attacking.
  • If Sivir levels during attack, she will immediately give her keywords to your other attackers. Attack order can be very important!
  • Sivir dying or losing her keywords during combat means your other attackers will also immediately lose the keywords she was sharing with them.
  • The keywords she shares are applied as a continuous aura effect. It means that the opponent won’t be able to remove the Spellshield given by Sivir to one of your attackers by normal means. As long as attacking Sivir has Spellshield, all other units have it as well.
• Have a clear idea of how you’re going to close out the game. With all this midrangey action and tricky synergies, it can be easy to lose sight of how we are going to finish the game. Know what you need to do, how much mana would it cost, what mode of the Warlord’s Hoard you’re gonna use, etc. Spotting out lethals with this deck can sometimes be difficult, but it is a big part of what makes experienced players so successful with this archetype.

General mulligan tips:

• Akshan is the card you always want to see in your opening hand. Getting the Warlord’s Palace down early is key to get the eventual payoff from the Warlord’s Hoard.
• Vekauran Vagabond, a.k.a ‘budget Akshan’, is also generally a good keep to get the landmark going as early as possible.
• Fleetfeather Tracker, Treasure Seeker, Brightsteel Protector, Petricite Broadwing are your cheap, strong early units, and will naturally be good keeps when the early tempo is key.
• Sivir is really strong in some matchups even in her level 1 form, and you’re always happy to see her once she levels. Consider keeping her, especially if you already have a good early hand.

Be aware that these are just the general guidelines to help you understand the deck’s game plan. Mulligans are very matchup-dependant – please refer to the matchup section below for more specific advice on mulligans against different meta decks.

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Matchups

Click on the box to read detailed info about a matchup of choice:

Mulligan for: Akshan, Vekauran Vagabond, one Fleetfeather Tracker or Treasure Seeker, Sivir. Keep Cataclysm if you have Sivir.

Matchup tips:

• Veigar Senna is a control deck looking to grow and discount Darkness. They boast a solid creature package for the early game, making it hard to rush them down. However, they tend to slow down a bit in the midgame, giving you the opportunity to leverage snowball effects.
• Their deck is often quite slow at finishing games, meaning you’re very likely to complete the Warlord’s Hoard if you level Akshan early enough.
• Focus on removing their champions, Senna and Veigar. You have very cost-efficient ways to do so, and without their champions it’s harder for them to really leverage their synergies.
• Unfortunately you can’t prevent the strike from a turn 2 Twisted Catalyzer. Look to trade with it with one of your 1-cost units.

Mulligan for: Akshan, Vekauran Vagabond.

Matchup tips:

• The games in this matchup tend to go pretty long, as they have lots of blockers and good removals to stall you out. You don’t have an answer to The Bandle Tree, but you have the tools to often kill them before it wins them the game.
• Your best way to kill them is with the Sivir + The Absolver combo. However, good Bandle Tree players will often look to ping Sivir’s Spellshield, and then not remove her. This way, if you would attempt to attack with Sivir and go for the Absolver combo they can answer with Minimorph. If they go for this line, look to give Sivir back the Spellshield with Vekhauran Bruiser’s Lucky Finds or through Warlord’s Hoard before going for The Absolver combo.
• Look to get the Warlord’s Hoard going as soon as possible. It is generally a great finisher, and in this matchup you will often need its help to close out.
• Golden Aegis is another key card in the matchup. They are very good at flooding the board, though if you can force them to sacrifice their blockers to save health, and Rally right after, you’ll be in a great spot. Find the right turn to use your Rally to accelerate the pressure and win the game. The turn they play The Bandle Tree is often a great turn to Rally on as they just used a lot of mana.

Mulligan for: Akshan, Petricide Broadwing, Fleetfeather Tracker, Treasure Seeker. Keep Brightsteel Protector if you have good synergies.

Matchup tips:

• Scouts, just like Sivir Akshan, is a midrange Demacia archetype looking to leverage a strong board and rallies. However, Scouts are more aggressive, as they aim to quickly level up their champions by attacking multiple time with the Scout keyword. If you can prevent them from snowballing their synergies, you will be favored in the mid-game.
• Miss Fortune is their key unit – they level her up easily, and you need to get rid of her before that. Moreover, her ability will be very impactful already at level 1 as it allows them to get better trades and to break your barriers. You should start planning how you will get rid of her as soon as the game start.
  • Challenger units, the vulnerable keyword, Cataclysm, and Concerted Strike are your ways to remove Miss Fortune. Try to have something at the ready for her in the early game.
  • Most of your ways to remove Miss Fortune don’t do well against Barrier – be very careful not to give the opportunity to the opponent to place a well-timed Golden Aegis or Brightsteel Protector to protect her on a key turn.
• Scouts doesn’t feature any removals, and there only way to answer a play are Sharpsight and Ranger’s Resolve. Look to set up powerful plays that they can’t answer to control their synergies and kill them.
• Scouts gets most of its advantages through combat, therefore preventing them to attack will make their deck weaker. Barriers from Brightsteel Protector and Golden Aegis are very strong as long as they don’t have Miss Fortune on the board, and Treasure Seeker’s Waking Sands also helps.

Mulligan for: Akshan, Fleetfeather Tracker, Treasure Seeker, Petricite Broadwing, Brightsteel Protector.

Matchup tips:

• Gnar Burn is an hyper-aggressive burn archetype, looking to lower your nexus health with early units and finish the game with burn damages and Gnar. You need to be very conservative with your nexus health.
• Gnar is a very powerful unit, and you should have a plan to remove him so you don’t end up taking a lot of Overwhelm damage all the while losing tempo. Cataclysm, Concerted Strike, and challenges are all great ways to do that.
• The barrier from Brightsteel Protector is a great defensive tool. If you can prevent the opponent to attack, you will gain some precious time. It is particularly effective against Gnar, as it prevents him from leveraging his Quick Attack keyword.
• With only Pokey Stick and Noxian Fervor as their only fast-speed spells, Gnar Burn isn’t good at interaction. If you can force them to use Noxian Fervor as a removal, it will make it that much harder for them to win the game.
• The subtlety about this matchup is to be able to think about how you will take control and close things out as early as possible, so they don’t get more time to draw more burn damage.

Mulligan for: Akshan, Fleetfeather Tracker, Treasure Seeker, Brightsteel Protector.

Matchup tips:

• Lurk is an archetype built around its namesake keyword, and looks to levrage the very high power of Pyke and Rek’Sai. To activate Lurk trigger the opponent needs to attack; therefore, barriers from Birghtsteel Protector and Golden Aegis, as wel as Treasure Seeker’s Waking Sands are great defensive tools.
• Lurk is generally not very good at interaction – they generally don’t have any health buff and a low amount of removals. You can take a lot of good trades and snowball advantages thanks to your challenges with Barrier or Quick Attack units.
• Pyke‘s Death from Below is the card that can swing the matchup. If they got some Lurk attacks after a predict and their card on top wasn’t Rek’Sai, you should try to play around it if they keep 4 mana open.
• Pyke is a priority unit to remove – his level-up is devastating and can rapidly happen with Death from Below and Bone Skewer. Be ready to remove him, preferably with a fast-speed back-up in case the opponent tries to save Pyke with Bone Skewer.
• While Lurk can be pretty aggressive, it is important that you take control and snowball the board. Early on, you should prioritize your synergies over your nexus health points when you can’t have both.

Mulligan for: Akshan, Fleetfeather Tracker, Treasure Seeker, Petricite Broadwing. Keep Brightsteel Protector if you have a good hand.

Matchup tips:

• Pantheon Demacia is an archetype built around the fated keyword, looking to build up a huge unit and give it the Overwhelm keyword with Zenith Blade. Pantheon levels up easily in their deck, making him a huge threat with his numerous keywords.
• On stats, Pantheon Demacia is a slightly unfavorable matchup as they have the ability to go taller than us. However, we have the ability to go wider than them to accelerate the pressure and put them on the defensive. Leveraging that make this matchup significantly better than what the matchup stats suggest.
• You should avoid to proactively try to remove their units when they could answer efficiently. Focus on going wider than them. As their units get lower on health from combat, they will try to proactively protect them, and this will be a great time to use your removals or buffs, as an answer, while the opponent is tapped out.

Mulligan for: Akshan, Sivir. Keep Shaped Stone if you already have Akshan.

Matchup tips:

• Trundle Timelines is a midrange archetype looking to build up tempo and value at the same time by combining units with powerful effects with Concurrent Timelines. Their late game with Trundle‘s Ice Pillar is very powerful.
• With Troll Chant and Piltover & Zaun’s removals they can control the board at a cheap cost. Try to prevent them to do so with your own cheap buff spells.
• Concerted Strike is a great removal to get rid of Gnar, Trundle, or an 8-cost unit. Be aware that for 4 mana the opponent can prevent one of the two hits with Three Sisters‘ Flash Freeze.
• Barriers are very good on their Gnar turn to prevent them from generating a Pokey Stick.
• In the late game be careful about Buried in Ice and It That Stares. Not only those card are great at controlling the board and stalling you out, but they can also allow the opponent to push a lot of damage and kill you before you get to leverage Akshan’s landmark. Look to play aound them when you can afford to.

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Closing Words

After all this time, Sivir Demacia is still one of the most powerful decks of the meta thanks to its wide array of good popular matchups. The deck was historically very bad against Ahri Kennen, and before that against Draven Sion, but the successive nerfs of those old staples have left Sivir Demacia as one of the very best decks to ladder with.

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