Table of Contents
In most card games there are 3 main archetypes of decks. These archetypes are Midrange, Aggro, and Control. Within these archetypes are different branches of playstyles that give each deck their own personalities. Today we will be discussing Aggro Decks - Fundamentals and How To Master it.
Aggro Decks - Fundamentals and How to Master
I’ve been a Master of Aggro Decks in many Card Games. One of the things I love about these decks is that they don’t allow the meta to play too slow to a point where games drag for too long and People build Decks with too many Late Game Cards that can Dominate the Board.
It Provides Balance to the Game and Prevents Control/Defensive Decks to Dominate the meta completely.
The 3 Different Speed of Aggro
For me, There are Three main types of Aggro Decks:
Hyper Aggro
Hyper Aggro is the Greediest and The Fastest of the three. These type of decks are all about Powerplay. Slamming multiple cards per turn to finish the game as fast as you can.
Aggro
Aggro is the Fast but not so Greedy. These type of deck are all about what is the best Value Aggro Card for that turn. It plays on the Curve. But also powerplays from time to time.
Midgro
Midgro is the slowest of the Three but has the better tools to win against Aggro Mirror Match and to not get totally dominated by Midrange Decks.
Fundamentals
The Goal of an Aggro Deck is to Aggressively finish the game as fast as you can. Way before the opponent gets to a certain turn where they get their cards that can Board Wipe or Power Spike. Learning How to Play Aggro Decks is the easiest out of the 3 Main Archetypes. Mastering it on the other hand, can be argued as the hardest.
Knowing the meta is important as an aggro player. Unfortunately If Midrange is all over the place, Aggro might not be a good call for a tournament. Thankfully, if you are a great deck maker, you can tech the deck into a Midgro deck in order to stand a chance against Midrange. Of course you are still not favored against it, but at least midgro stands a better chance against Midrange.
It is also very important to know the Turn or the cards in the game that can wipe your Board. Grab Your Sword and Be Prepared are your biggest weakness. Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy is also your bane. Steel is your worst match up as an Aggro Player in Disney Lorcana. So be sure to read the meta well before bringing an Aggro Deck in a Tournament.
Against Control
This is your easiest match up in the game. Control is usually too slow to deal with aggro in general. They shine in the late game and doesn't have too many tools to deal with Aggro early game. The plan is simple. Mulligan for the a super aggressive early start and play very greedy and fast.
Their Board Wipe Be Prepared is not happening until turn 7 so be sure to finish the game before then. Powerplays - Playing multiple cards in a turn is essential. If you think the game will go longer, be sure to at least get to 17-18 Lore. That way if you get to a situation where you ran out of cards, your top deck can potentially finish the game.
Against Midrange
This is your weakest match up. Midrange is all about Tempo and creating a momentum through out the game. They are usually fast enough to keep up with aggro decks and have early Board Wipes like Grab Your Sword. It's very important to know when to quest and when to play multiple cards during these matchups.
Midrange runs a lot of Value Character Cards. Most of their tools can take out multiple characters that you play. For example, Tinker Bell - Giant Fairy alone can wipe your whole board. The match up might not be in your favor but if you choose your moments correctly there is always a chance that you can beat them.
Against Aggro
The Mirror Match against another Aggro Deck can be tricky. The Goal is to be on the driver seat and be the Aggressor. Force your opponent to be the one playing defense. I know it is hard to play for tempo as an Aggro Deck but if you find the right spot to do it, it is possible and can turn the tables around and get you the win.
Most of the time on these match ups as well, Midgro is the dominant of the 3 sub archetypes of Aggro. Due to its Midrange aspect, it usually have the tools to trade and create tempo in the board. Or to simplify it, the Deck with the Thicker and Bigger Characters usually will win the match up since they can control the board as well as Quest fast to finish the game.
Place in the Meta
Aggro kinda got pushed out of the competitive scene due to a sheer amount of Steel decks that came to life. Aggro is really weak against steel since they have a lot of pingers and with Lorcana’s Shift and Sing Mechanic it makes the board wipe much faster. Grab Your Sword is just too much to handle.
This is also one of the reasons why Bounce Control is so dominant. In a healthy meta you need to have rock, paper, scissors, in order to prevent one deck from dominating. Since Aggro is very rare in competitive play, Ruby Amethyst became too strong and comfortable. In set 3 everything changed though since aggro has access to prevent steel from completely shutting it down. Bare Necessities and Ursula definitely have saved the day. But sometimes it's still not enough.
Often times an Aggro Deck can be a great Element of surprise in the competitive scene since people don't expect it too much. But it is still too risky to run especially Steelsong is back in the meta after a brief break in the start of Set 3. A lot of the times as well, you can see that most aggro decks eventually evolve in to a Midgro deck or sometime even Midrange since it's more flexible to play and have less unfavored matchups. Always remember to put in the Practice if you play Midgro since it is probably the Hardest Sub Archetype of Aggro to play.
Sample of an Aggro Deck
Here is a sample of an Aggro Deck from a great player named Zach Bivens. This is probably the Most Aggro a deck can be but even this one has some Midgro aspects to it.
Conclusion
Before we leave this guide about Aggro Decks - Fundamentals and How to Master it. As an aggro player you should always set your mind into finishing the game as fast as possible. The Longer the game goes the lower your chances of winning. Remember as well that the critical moments of aggro are when to actually trade and when to quest. It’s very rare that we trade against the opponents board. As much as possible you wanna quest every turn and let the opponent do the trading.
Always count and Calculate how much lore you can get 1-2 turns ahead. Or at least try to predict it based on what you think your opponent will play. Remember as well that 1 to 2 turns of playing draw cards is usually enough.
If you learned something from this guide or enjoyed it, don't forget to visit our homepage Lorcana.GG for more content like this. If you are curious about the other archetypes, here's a guide about Control and Midrange decks. Other than that, I will see you on the next one!
