The Rise of Riven Viktor – an Aggressive Combo Burn Deck

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Riven Viktor created by Sorry • last updated 12 months ago

Regions

24

16

Types

6

17

17

0

0

Rarities

6

0

13

21

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

3

Riven

3

4

Viktor

3

followers (17)

1

Blade Squire

3

1

Zaunite Urchin

3

2

Ballistic Bot

3

2

Runeweaver

3

3

Nyandroid

3

4

Ruined Reckoner

2

Spells (17)

1

Poro Cannon

3

2

Mystic Shot

3

3

Ambush

3

3

Get Excited!

3

5

Survival Skills

2

6

Decimate

3

• Origins:

Hey everyone! Today I’ll feature Riven Viktor a fast-rising star in the meta that managed to hit a 60% win rate on the competitive ladder and I just had to write on it as soon as possible!

The archetype isn’t really new to us at all, in fact, it existed as Riven Draven, Draven Rumble, or Riven Rumble. Basically, there are many different versions of the archetype that all operate with the same game plan.

However, each version is unique in some of the cards it ran that empowered its own game plan. The latest version – Viktor Riven – started running Nyandroid, which can be used to its full potential when both of your champions are creating cards.

The buff Viktor received in patch 3.4 made him a more powerful champion with no more mana drawback when playing Hex Core Upgrade he creates. This means he fits in a Riven aggressive deck and doesn’t slow down the deck’s game plan anymore.

• Gameplan:

In the mulligan phase, you’re mainly looking for your champions, Ballistic Bot, Blade Squire, and Runeweaver.

Early game you’ll try to squeeze a bit of damage with your cheap units or at least set up Ballistic Bot so you can gain value from the Ignition on later turns.

The Ignition comes in handy as discard fodder for Zaunite Urchine or Poro Cannon. Once you have one of your champions on the board, you’re now about to set up your winning game plan.

Viktor can turn to a deadly force exceptionally fast with the use of the Augment keyword. Poro Cannon, Blade Fragments, and Ignition are all cheap cards to trigger the Augment keyword and advance Viktor’s level-up condition.

Moreover, you’re usually looking for either the Overwhelm or Elusive keywords, which can be attained either through Hex Core Upgrade, Heavy Blade Fragment, or Ambush. Setting up the play on Viktor will allow you to deal direct Nexus damage.

However, Viktor is not your only win condition, the same setup can be done on Ballistic Bot, obviously, it’s a weaker version of a Viktor but we can’t complain much if we’re in a pickle, can we?

As for Riven, she acts as a Blade Fragment generator and a win condition. Basically, she can turn herself into a powerful Overwhelm attacker independently once she levels up and creates Blade of The Exile.

The threats don’t end here! Nyandroid – an Elusive unit with Augment keyword – is simply too perfect in this list. As you work on setting up your champions you’ll be buffing the power of Nyandroid which allows for a little bit more Nexus damage.

Although Riven Viktor deck is capable of dealing immense damage with their units and potentially ending a game in 2 strong attacks, the list runs burn cards like Get Excited! and Decimate that allow you to squeeze in the damage needed to destroy the opponent’s Nexus.

You thought we were done with all threats this deck imposes, didn’t you? Well, we’ve got one last winning play! Ruined Reckoner can create Midnight Raid which allows our buffy unit with Overwhelm or Elusive to strike a second time!

• Verdict:

Riven Viktor has taken over the competitive ladder by storm, it’s aggressive playstyle, multiple board threats, and burn cards are a challenge for the popular meta decks to deal with.

The archetype has been performing outstandingly well, reaching a 60% win rate. Not only that, the archetype has had different versions of it on the ladder that have similar play patterns, Viktor Vi mono PNZ is gaining popularity on the competitive ladder which runs Atrocity as a finisher player.

Although the deck is dominating the meta right now, I expect its win rate to drop down over the course of the week. Riven Viktor is an anti-meta deck that looks to counter Mono Shurima, but the meta should soon adapt to the aggressive counters.

Ultimately, I believe Riven Viktor, or at least a version of the archetype will remain a top performer in the meta, shutting a deck with multiple threats isn’t an easy task and a Draven Rumble (a similar archetype) has proven to remain a meta competitive deck.