Teemo Sejuani Bandle Deck Guide

Hey, it’s Mezume here! In the weeks following the release of the latest patch, we’ve been covering Teemo Sejuani on RCCG in multiple ways. In my off-meta article, in Agigas’ Deck of the Day, it even made it into our Tier List! Now it is finally time for us to make a long-form guide, given that the list has proven itself to be very strong.

This deck is a bit of a spin-off on the previous big hit – Bandle Gangplank. In this case, however, the pay-off for all the small damage units and spells is Sejuani and her ability to shut down any board once leveled.

The objective of this deck in the early game is to put some pressure on the opponent and take control of the board while damaging the enemy Nexus every turn in order to progress Sejuani’s level-up condition.

This is quite easily fulfilled as the list packs many cards that can push damage while having secondary effects that allow fighting for board. Those that stand out in that regard are Inventive Chemist, Teemo, or even Bandle Commando.

For the mid-game, Lecturing Yordle is the star of the show – but the general gameplan is the same as in earlier turns: keep the board, damage the Nexus. Here is when some of the cheap removal comes in handy to aid in trades, but can also be aimed at the Nexus to work on the Sejuani win condition.

Once it is turn 6 or 7, Sejuani should be close to leveled – against most board-based decks, she spells their doom; while even those that don’t care about the board have to remove her as soon as possible, as she threatens to push a considerable amount of damage.

Games can also be finished even without Sejuani – as between shrooms, Pokey Stick, and Poison Dart, there is quite a bit of direct damage to be dealt.

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Tech and Options

• Minimorph is an option if you face slower decks with a singular win condition. Likely not the best choice in the current meta, but definitely a consideration should it switch around.
• Kindly Tavernkeeper is a great tech if most that you see is burn. Once again, I am not a fan of it in the current meta, but it can come in handy both against Yordle Burn as well as Lurk.

Keep in mind that this region combination does lack options outside of the main 40 cards above. Even cards like Babbling Bjerg would rather be a 1-of, but the game simply does not give enough options just yet. On one hand, it is a weakness of this archetype, but on the other – it just means there’s even more room for it to improve as the new cards drop.

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General Tips

• Look to damage the Nexus every turn. While this may seem obvious, it can be tricky to remember when first picking up the deck – you have to look for opportunities to level Sejuani at the least cost to your board. This includes planning ahead like playing Inventive Chemist – your on own attack turns (if possible), or Lecturing Yordle – on defence, but also knowing when a Poison Dart or Pokey Stick can or cannot give you a better trade.
• Sejuani is not just her level up. You can use Sejuani to pick off important opposing units, but also as a defensive tool – keeping 6 mana up is not always easy, but shutting down a Poppy or a big Overwhelm threat on defence can be game-winning.
• Keep track of the shrooms. There are two layers to this tip. The first one is that you want to stuff those shrooms in as soon as possible, as they help you level up Sejuani. The second and less obvious one is to remember that if leveled Sejuani’s ability was triggered by shrooms, you will not be able to re-trigger it that turn. Keep that in mind and know that you can play around it by not playing her until the opponent drops their threats.

General Mulligan Tips:

• Inventive Chemist and Teemo are always kept – decks of this nature want to curve out and turn 1 play is crucial.
• If you know for a fact the opponent has 1-health units, Poison Dart and Pokey Stick are great keeps.
• Lecturing Yordle and Babbling Bjerg are great in slower matchups and can be kept with an already good hand – such as a 1 -> 2 curve.

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Matchups

Mulligan for: Inventive Chemist, Pokey Stick/Poison Dart, Bandle Commando, Conchologist

• They have little chance to win in the late game, as Sejuani will simply cancel all their hard-earned Lurk buffs. Make sure you do not drop her pre-level 2 in a dangerous situation such as when they can give her Vulnerable with Redfin Hammersnout. On top of that, watch out for Pyke’s Death from Below, as that is the one way they can deal with leveled Sej.
• In the early game, your cheaper units are very valuable to trade into the high attack, but low health Lurkers. Bandle Commando is especially strong for this purpose, as the card creates an additional blocker on Nexus Strike. You do not have any Fearsome blockers until turn 4, which is why it is important to keep a single Poison Dart or Pokey Stick in your starting hand.
• Make sure to keep at least one Three Sisters or Sejuani ready for a big Rek’Sai turn – you do not want to let them refill their hand while dealing tons of damage to your nexus. Keep in mind that – while not ideal – Troll Chant can also prevent Rek’Sai level up.
• Conchologist in this matchup is absolutely phenomenal. Try to look for Frostbite cards in the early game and pings in the late game. Buffs like Elixir of Iron or even Spoils of War can save your Sejuani from a Death From Below.

Mulligan for: Inventive Chemist, Teemo. If you have a decent hand, keep Lecturing Yordle and Babbling Bjerg.

• Your goal in this matchup is to make it to Sejuani level up. Once she is online, most of the threats are gone – there are few ways to deal with her at all, and none to deal with her efficiently for the Draven Sion player, especially if they do not run Ravenous Flock.
• Your early game should be all about stopping as much damage as possible, without taking horrendously bad trades. They run quite a bit of burn, and while Sejuani stops all board damage, she does nothing to protect you from a Get Excited aimed at the Nexus. Babbling Bjerg and Lecturing Yordle are important to find, as Fearsome is your biggest fear in this matchup.
• Like in most other cases, Conchologist finding Frostbites can save you health or get you great trades. It can also bail you out if you somehow do not find a way to deal with Sion through natural draws.
• Shrooms are quite a big deal. They run a lot of draw and the games can drag out a fair bit, so you can expect to have a pretty high conversion rate on those shrooms you put in their deck. For that reason, Teemo is a high value keep, though counterable by Poro Cannon.

Mulligan for: Inventive Chemist, Stone Stackers, Conchologist. Lecturing Yordle if you already have a good hand.

• Two decks with a very similar aim for the late game – but Plunder runs more pay-offs in Gangplank and The Dreadway. Due to this, you should aim to try and pressure them in the early game, through power cards like Lecturing Yordle and Teemo, so they do not have the time to set the late game up.
• Through being in Bandle City, you are able to trigger Sejuani level up easier than Plunder can. Make sure to abuse that with cards like Inventive Chemist, while trying to prevent their Crackshot Corsairs from sticking to the board.
• Try to avoid late game stand-offs. While both sides having Sejuani can seem like a stalemate, a single Gangplank is able to turn the tables. Make sure to take advantage of the fact you will on average have a Sejuani levelled around 1-2 turns earlier.
• Conchologist’s best hits in this matchup are quite a bit different than others – Frostbites aren’t as valuable, while health buffs and removal go up in value. Tricksy Tentacles can be an interesting pull if you believe they are holding only higher cost cards.

Mulligan for: Inventive Chemist, Conchologist, Teemo. If you have a decent hand, keep Lecturing Yordle.

• This is a pretty difficult matchup, as they are able to deal with Sejuani through Minimorph. There is not much you can do about this, so your best bet is to just drop her down and hope they do not have it.
• While they can stop a lot of your damage through cheap removal and multiple chump blockers, there is no healing on their side – so every time you connect to the nexus, the damage sticks. Take this as an opportunity and try to slowly, turn after turn, chip away at the nexus. The best way to do this is to utilize Poison Darts created by Lecturing Yordle to either do direct damage or clear some chump blockers.
• A lot of their units are quite small and fragile with 1 or 2 health. Plan out a turn or two ahead for a big Ice Shard turn that can provide you with a – most likely short-lived – board advantage to let you push more damage.

Mulligan for: Inventive Chemist, Teemo, Conchologist. If you have a decent hand, keep Lecturing Yordle and Troll Chant.

• Their small units are not usually a big problem, as yours can trade with them evenly. Aim to trade as much as you can, as the biggest threat in this match-up is a wide board buffed by Poppy.
• Troll Chant is extremely powerful in the match-up, as it can let you get two good trades, or safely block a Zed. It provides a larger differential than Twin Disciplines, so it is usually safe to use it – make sure not to get too greedy and try to affect two trades when a Twin Disciplines can counter it, however.
• If you can drop a Sejuani, it is usually game over, but beware – if you spend all your mana on her, you might run into a Rally with elusive units to finish you off.
• Conchologist is a great tool to fight in the early game. It trades with most of their units, while potentially providing you with Brittle Steel, Elixir of Iron or Troll Chant – all great ways to beat Demacia.

Mulligan for: Inventive Chemist, Pokey Stick/Poison Dart, Bandle Commando, Conchologist

• The gameplan here is very similar to what we do against Lurk – chump block early, use our pings to keep the board as narrow as possible and take over with Lecturing Yordle and Sejuani. The problem is, in this case, that Yordle Burn plays Noxian Fervor and Decimate, so there is a lot of damage that we have no way to stop. Due to this, you rarely have the luxury to value trade in the early game.
• Troll Chant and Frostbites from Conchologist can be crucial to keeping your health total high. Especially when they have an explosive start and begin to run out of cards in hand, it might be better to take a bad trade while using Troll Chant on an unblocked unit to save nexus health.
• Ice Shard can be a great board clear, as it can both kill off their low hp units, as well as prevent Impact damage by killing off your own. Keep in mind that it hits your Nexus too, so don’t get yourself under certain health thresholds for no reason.

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Conclusion

Teemo Sejuani has risen sort of out of nowhere as a Freljord & Bandle City deck, but it quickly made its way to tier lists and is definitely a strong contender.

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