Riftbound: Deck Tech - Dragon Volibear

Today, let's explore Dragon Volibear, a great "tribal" list for Nexus Nights if you want to have fun and already have certain cards, like Aurora.

Before we begin, however, let me introduce myself. My name is Total, and I used to cast Legends of Runeterra tournaments professionally. I covered all the official tournaments, including Worlds, and I am known for creating deck guides for LoR as well. Now, I am a part of the Riftbound community!

Deck Code:

CMAAAAAAAAAQCAAAPYAACAIAAADQAAQKAAAACJUAAGAQDBQBRIAYYANAAGQQD6QBAEBQAXQBAIAABAYBTQAQCBYAAAOSIKPZAGKAFHACU4BACAIDAAHACAIDABWQEAQAAAOSIAIDABQQCAAAFE

This is a midrange Aurora list centered around ramp and Dragons. The main idea behind it is to speed up the game with ramp spells and try to destroy the opponent with all your Dragons.

Unfortunately, it is also a "bad" version of the now-classic Aurora archetype. But it is quite fun and can win games, particularly against non-purple lists.

Your cards are quite beefy, and, even if you can't protect them from removals, you can eventually win the game with Aurora by just putting pressure on the opponent.

If you can't find Aurora, this deck will discount the cost of your Dragons and allow you to put pressure with them anyway (obviously, it will be a bit slower).

The problem with this Legend is that we need more ramp support in his colors to make it work. We can't really compete at a high level against the rest of the meta with the cards we have today.

Volibear might have the best effect out of all the ramp Legends, but he still loses space in the meta to Fiora, which is a lot more consistent.

Nonetheless, we can't use Fiora in a Dragon tribal list, so let's explore this one a bit more!

You probably won't have to use this card. It only sees play in this list because it is much better than the orange Volibear.

It's decent enough to end games, but you need to play it with Confront. Otherwise, it's stupidly slow. To do that, you'll need 12 mana, which you usually won't have because this is the midrange version of this archetype, so it plays removals and combat tricks instead of heavy ramp.

Vilemaws Lair: You must start with this battlefield because it is very strong right now. It also disrupts the opponent considerably, particularly if they're playing Miracle or a purple list.

Aspirant’s Climb: This battlefield is a great way to buy time as you play. It can virtually buy you one extra turn so that you can find your Aurora.

Obelisk of Power: This is a ramp battlefield in a ramp list. It's that simple. The secret to this archetype is that you don't need to play Mobilize. When you're playing this battlefield, you can easily swap any card in your sideboard with Mobilize.

Early Game

You must always mulligan after your Aurora and ramp cards. It's that simple.

If you can't find your Aurora, Herald of Scales will be your main way to ramp and get the resources you need to play your Dragons. You can put it in play on turn 2 and then play a Direwing on turn 3, for instance.

Without Aurora and Herald of Scales, your only options are praying your opponent can't find anything either and playing your units on curve.

Mid Game

The strongest combo in the mid game is Vi + Stormbringer. If you play your cards correctly and play Vi ready, you can conquer two battlefields in a turn.

Use Challenge to kill units in the opponent's base and Sabotage to discard their win conditions.

Other than that, keep playing your Aurora units and try to put pressure on them constantly by conquering battlefields and stacking units on them.

End Game

The only finishers this deck plays are Volibear - Furious + Confront. With these two cards, you'll clear the opponent's board and conquer the second battlefield.

Otherwise, matches with this list are quite fast. You'll either lose straight away or win straight away.

In the mid game, Deadbloom Predator straight from Aurora will usually be enough to destroy most enemy defenses. If you're lucky enough to play several of them, the game often ends before both players get 12 runes.

Bad matchups:

All of them.

This deck sucks against practically everything. Keep in mind this is a "nerfed" version of Aurora. It relies a lot on luck and can't really compete at a high level.

So, please note: Only play this list to have fun. Don't get your hopes up.

Punch First is great against any non-purple list.

If your opponent isn't playing many removals, play another Vi. This way, you'll be able to destroy the enemy board with her and Stormbringer almost guaranteed.

Akshan is great against Aurora lists, as well as Jax, Azir, Fiora, and Ornn, in general.

Minotaur Reckoner is great against Irelia, Lucian - Merciless, and conquering lists in general.

You can play a second copy of Falling Star if you feel like your opponent is playing some key cards that you have to discard.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun and enjoyed reading this article.

Don't forget to share.

See you next time!