Give this deck a try.

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Hi, I'm MapaoTofu and I've been a Shyvana main in LoL for a longgg time (since Moscow 5 days), so I wracked my brain and lost plenty of LP trying to get a deck with her working. And I think I've done it. I started in the bottom of Gold IV (was Diamond last season) after the reset and I climbed up to mid-plat with this deck alone (I didn't use Mobalytics prior to yesterday so my history is small), so I know it's viable at least for that range.

The basic idea is that Shyvana is weak on her own, but... if we send through the harsh cold of the Freljord to buff up her muscles, along with the other dragons, we can make a viable dragon deck that can eat Tryndamere and Nautilus alive.

With 3x Hearthguard, and 2x Kadregrin, you can hypothetically get your lizard bois up to +7/+7.

More realistically, you get 1-2 Hearthguards and a single Kadregrin, which still gives all your FURY-ous dragons +3/+3. Shyvana is now a 6/7 base, Screeching a 7/8.

Who needs to worry about a Ledros atrocity when you can single combat him? Tahm Kench? Sure, he has 12 hp, but the beautiful duet of two dragons striking him in concert makes Tahm the one eaten. And if they spell shield? Sing a little song of the trolls for a mini heal and spell shield breaker.

Now, before I explain my choices a little bit, I would like to clarify that this is NOT a S-tier deck. It is a viable A-tier deck imo, at worst a high B-tier. So don't set your expectations too high, but if you play it properly, you will see our dragon queen rise in all their glory.

Some testimonials:

Shyvana eating Tryndamere alive when they had the audacity to atrocity. (Oops, this is an earlier iteration of the deck, but the idea stands!)

T H I C C C Lizards

Asserting dominance over frail, fleeting dragonLING

So as you can see, the dragon dream is alive and well.

Now for the details...

Overall Strategy:

The deck is designed around surviving the early game with 2 and 3 drops into avalance, then asserting dominance with 5 drops before ramping up to Warmothers to turn the tempo tides and overwhelm (not the keyword, unfortunately) the opponent with buffed dragons.

The Decklist:

2 drops:

3x Dragonguard Lieutenant: Good for early game to stop MF, pull MF, kill MF, kill TF. Also to pull chumps outta the way so our big boys can hit the nexus hard.

3x Egghead Researcher: Solid body to help slow down aggro. Also has a SUMMON effect, so pulling him out on Warmothers just generates us value. Have won at least a few games with a generated mind-splitter.

3x Single Combat and 3x Troll Chant: Feel like these are pretty clear, as they're amazing combat tricks from both regions. And their low cost makes them usable 90% of the time. Remove threats and win trades. Troll Chant maintains/gains tempo.

3 drops:

3x Kindly Tavernkeeper: Necessary to hold against aggro. Healing plus solid body. Sucks when he gets Warmother-ed though.

0x Wyrding stones: With the prevalence of aggro, having a 0 atk blocker with 4 health only stalls the game, but doesn't trade tempo. Ultimately, having a combat trick or a unit in hand is better 90% of the time.

4 drops:

3x Avalanche: Obviously necessary against aggro/wide boards. It also helps to pop multiple spell shields at once.

3x Shyvana: Our dragon queen. I didn't make this deck not to include her...

5 drops:

3x Trundle: This dude is honestly super strong and helpful in any deck. helps stall out aggro early, and overwhelms late. The pillar is also an amazing blocker and the free challenge ensures at least ONE enemy is dying this turn

3x Hearthguard: We're uniting the tribes. Both Freljord and Dragons. Let's. Pump. Them. Up.

3x Screeching Dragon: Such a great unit. Can pull and kill a lot of champs trying to hide, including (prior to nerf/buff) Lee

3x Catalyst: Great heal and ramp. My favorite is to use it when I have 6 mana with Trunde on board so next turn I can pillar. Similarly, I love using it when I have 7 mana on board so I can Pillar and Warmothers after. Pillaring first makes them spend some mana first so I can Warmother with more intel.

2x Concerted Strike: Absolutely a card you hold against Tahm and sometimes Lee. Two hits from 5+ atk units kills Tahm, and the double strikes ensure one of the two hits gets to Lee. Could see an argument for 3, but not sure what I'd take out.

Expensive AF Cards:

2x Kadregrin the Infernal: This is one of the boys/girls? we LOVE to pull out with Warmother. Watching those buff lines hit your hand and deck as your dragons get BUFFED-UP TO f*ck-UP is so satisfying. I fight the urge everyday to add a third for the giant dragon dream...

3x Warmother: This is our win con most of the time. Getting this off early or even on turn 9 ensures we have a tempo advantage for the rest of the game. I could see the argument for 2 here, but I like the consistency with 3. Not drawing it feels REALLY bad.

Mulligan and Gameplay Tips

This is a bit tricky... and super match-up dependent. But I'll do my best.

Aggro: This is an easier mulligan. You want to try to hold onto any of our 2/3 cost followers. We generally don't want more than two though. We want to mulligan as aggressively as we can for avalanche without leaving ourselves wide open if we get no units. From there. NEVER ramp until your turn 6 or later. Prior to that, you need to be dropping units and casting avalanche. Maybe a combat trick or two. I personally love to drop a 3-health unit on board to have them think I don't have avalanche, wait for them to drop a unit, and then get more value out of it. Is it a 2 dmg hit on my unit that I don't need? maybe. But it's better to do that and watch their TF die in the cold than to avalanche and see their TF land safely.

Control: You definitely want to save Hearthguard, Ramp, and Warmothers if you can. This is more of a race, and having pieces that generate long term value is key. Holding onto your single combat and concerted strikes are crucial here. When they try to atrocity a unit, your much fatter units will eat them alive before they can strike. Worst case scenario, you troll chant to reduce their dmg by 2. Another key thing in this match-up in general is making sure your HP is above 9. If it's below 9... it's tricky territory. Never let it dip.

Lee: This one is tricky, but the Dragonguard Lieutenant, Avalanche, and Screeching Dragons all help to give you some early control and force spell usage from them. Once they have thinned their hand trying to deal with our buff boys, you have a decent shot of killing them. Careful use of concerted strike, single combat, and troll chant are pivotal here.

TF/Swain: For some reason, I have yet to lose to this deck. Avalanche is crucial early. The most important thing is to keep your important units healthy. I almost never attack with Trundle until he's leveled. And when I do use him, it's for single combat after they drop TF or something. It's 1000% fine to not attack and let them burn mana. We don't want to lose units to cheap ravenous flocks. We're playing the long game here so keeping big healthy threats on the board and ignoring their little guys is the way to play. Once we get Warmothers off, we pretty much won. Also, it seems like not everyone knows this... but TARGET LEVIATHAN EVERY TIME OVER SWAIN. Swain is a little hollow boned biatch without his steel ship to set him up. I mean, a humble Tavern Keeper isn't even afraid of him. He's carved meat bigger than him!

Those are most of the match-ups, I think? Let me know if I forgot anything or if you have any additional questions. Also, please share your big dragon pics. I want to know my fellow Timmy's are having as much fun as I am.

I'm gonna close with a double leveled Shyvana highlight.

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