Zoe Vi: Dark Horse of the Upcoming Seasonal?

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Zoe Vi created by Mezume • last updated 1 year ago

Regions

18

22

Types

6

15

17

2

0

Rarities

6

0

19

15

Mana Cost

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Champions (6)

1

Zoe

3

5

Vi

3

landmarks (2)

3

The Forge Of Tomorrow

2

followers (15)

1

Spacey Sketcher

3

2

Ballistic Bot

3

3

Loping Telescope

3

3

Solari Priestess

3

3

Sump Dredger

3

Spells (17)

0

Thermogenic Beam

2

2

Guiding Touch

1

2

Mystic Shot

3

2

Pale Cascade

2

3

Get Excited!

2

3

Hush

1

5

Starshaping

3

5

Sunburst

3

• Origin

Hello, it’s Mezume here! As the meta gets back to its stable state after Jayce hype settles down, all players are searching for ways to get ahead of the competition. 

At times like these, we often reach to the back of the deck shelve to see what old archetypes can be revived, albeit with some new spins. Being a big fan of Zoe Vi, this was my deck of choice. The list is inspired by Bratchedkata’s version, with a few changes due to personal preference.

Zoe Vi – or in its previous iterations, Veimer Targon – has been a powerful deck for over a year now. Its ability to adapt to the opponent’s gameplan has always made it a contender and it is no different this season, with the multiple tech choices we can find in the list’s regions: Piltover & Zaun and Targon.

With the addition of The Forge of Tomorrow to the game, the deck received an interesting tool that seems odd at first – after all, there is only one 6+ mana in the main deck. That said, the card allows you to pay a mere 4 mana for Cosmic Inspiration, or get a full 13 mana back with Living Legends!

This, as well as new tech choices for the meta make the archetype hold up – I, for sure, am bringing this gem to the Seasonal!

• Gameplan

Zoe Vi is a slow type of midrange deck with a variety of win conditions. Rather than being a synergistic deck working towards a clear goal, it is a collection of powerful standalone cards that do not get in each other’s way.

The multiple win conditions include: grinding the value game with Cosmic Inspiration and big Celestials through The Traveler, outlasting aggressive decks through high amounts of healing, levelling Zoe, taking over the board through Vi and efficient spells, as well as simply sneaking in a few attacks to burn the opponent down with Mystic Shots and Get Excited!‘s.

Just like the whole deck, its champions do not need much help from the outside. Vi is a fantastic removal tool that doubles up as a lethal threat if levelled, while Zoe is a must-remove value generator able to win games by herself if she is left alone to level up.

The early game of this deck depends a lot on the opponent, but in an average game, you want to find Zoe and Ballistic Bot as they will generate value through Supercool Starcharts as well as providing Ignitions for discard synergies. Spacey Sketcher can help stave off some aggression, as do removal spells.

The midgame is where the deck starts to shine – Sump Dredger is a powerful unit, especially in combination with Ballistic Bot, while Solari Priestess sets up great later turns – and it’s up to you what gameplan you will choose to execute! All of her Invoke choices are powerful in their own right. As the midgame goes on, Vi and the midrange Invokes will help you stabilize and take over the board, usually also healing up if playing against burn decks.

The late parts of the game is where the new tools come in handy. With the abundance of targets in the current meta, Sunburst will ensure your safety – killing Sion, Gangplank and many others. The Forge of Tomorrow will turn your expensive spells into more efficient ones – allowing you to fit in extra removal or protection spells like Pale Cascade or Thermogenic Beam. This is also where you will make your final pushes to win the game – usually with The Great Beyond or Immortal Fire created via Starshaping.

• Verdict

Zoe Vi has never been a top meta deck – partly through never being too unfair, partly due to the sheer difficulty and amount of choices needed to be made in order to play correctly.

It is a fantastic choice in an aggressive meta, however, as between the healing of Targon and removal of Piltover & Zaun, it can deal both with board-based and burn-based strategies. The ability to fight for board makes midrange matchups winnable, while crazy finishers like The Great Beyond can carry the deck through control matchups.

This deck is my favourite of all time, so I might be biased in this case, but I believe it is a great fun to play currently, as you will never feel like you lose straight out of the gates. Even its biggest weakness – Dragons, is a winnable matchup if played right and it’s not even that popular of a deck!

While it might be too late to learn it for the seasonal if you have never played much Targon, this is a fantastic deck to have in your arsenal, especially as a counter to aggressive archetypes.

Make sure to follow me on my Twitter if you wish to never miss my new articles and see how I will do in the upcoming Seasonal!