Test-Piloting #9 – Astrofeesh’s Apothecary LeBlanc Sivir

Our test subject today is another Astrofeesh (of Caitlyn Mill fame) original. Similarly unconventional, it didn't leave any of our testers cold. Come test the spice with us!

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Jul 13, 2022

Our test subject today is an Astrofeesh original. You might know him as the inventor of Caitlyn Mill, for which he wrote an extensive guide. Today, we test another one of his creations: Apothecary LeBlanc Sivir. It also comes with a guide so you folks can test it with us at home!

You can find the decklist [HERE]

Our testers:

Hazy came out even, with a 50% win rate in less than 10 games.
Cat came out slightly ahead, bringing the deck to the Diamond ladder and achieving a 55% win rate with it.
Itch destroyed his way through the Gold ladder, with a 75% win rate over a dozen games.

About the Deck

Itch: This is a very proactive tempo Midrange deck. It is similar to Lurk, in the sense that you're looking to force inefficient trades. The main differences being that it's less dependent on RNG and requires more complex decisions.

Cat: Some might say "flexible", some might say "confused". As said in Astrofeesh’s guide, the game plan varies wildly depending on the match-up. You can end up hitting them in the face with three Snappers on turn 3, or you can end up with so many five-power cards in your hand that your opponent (who is winning) concedes from sheer intimidation.

Both of these are from experience! The tempo game plan is the one that feels most natural, where we use our high-power units and combat spells to get more out of our board than the opponent.

Hazy: I love this archetype! The new additions, like Gray Apothecary, provide a lot of value over time. You can even use the Sandstone Chargers defensively, and get a big threat next turn.

Itch: Yeah, this deck does everything Noxus does best. It can put out aggressive threats, forcing your opponent to choose between taking large amounts of damage or trading down.

Cat: I love Sivir, she's my highest mastery champion. Anything with Sivir in it will feel good, and perhaps unsurprisingly LeBlanc has similar vibes.

Your early game tools are strong enough to hold off most of the fast decks until you can hit your stride. And once you get your champions down and hit Reputation, the deck is scarily efficient.

It becomes extremely difficult for your opponent to keep up with you, and once you're ahead on tempo Kato/Tactician can finish the game with style.

I did indeed get the Incisive Tactician combo off a couple of times, and while it does feel like we're doing a weaker version of the Taric thing it's no less tough for our opponent.

Hazy: However, I felt it lacked protection for our units. For some reason, it was hard for me to stabilize during early rounds.

Cat: I kind of agree. While I do like a flexible game plan, I am always suspicious when a deck feels like it's trying to do too many things, and this does feel that way.

Ideally I would decide which of our game plans I need for the match-up, but I often felt like my game plan was getting decided by the cards I drew. Alternatively, I'd draw a bunch of cards that didn't really like each other and the deck wouldn't do anything.

We also have the traditional Reputation problem of our units being somewhat fragile. Over half my losses were against big(ish) Demacia decks, as they can trade up all day, and we're never trading two-for-one without either of our champions or spending resources.

Itch: I actually enjoyed how the whole deck worked together in a coherent manner. I found it difficult to enable Shaped Stone, though.

Mulligan

Itch: Most of the time you want to play for tempo.

Therefore, you need decent early curve units, and should mulligan as such. Unless you're facing a deck that can deal AoE damage to your whole board, look for two or three cheap units. After that, look for Bloody Business if you're facing a deck that has engines you need to remove.

Hazy: I’d add that, depending on your match-ups, you can keep your Champions. Also, The Gray Apothecary is really important and so are your early units.

Cat: I have no notes on Astrofeesh’s guide and my testmates’ recommendations. Apothecary if you need it, otherwise early units and champs.

Possible Tweaks and Other Ideas

Cat: I'm suspicious of Trifarian Gloryseeker, but also not sure what else should be there.

I'm unconvinced by Noxian Tellstones over straight Whirling Death too. I did use the other options a couple of times but I'm not sure the extra flexibility is worth the mana tax.

Itch: I agree about the Tellstones, and I’d probably remove at least one to make space for other cards.

For example, given that the deck can run low on steam, and Shaped Stone is difficult to activate, I'd add two or three copies of Preservarium.

I'd rather pull more cards from my deck than play the Apothecary roulette, since I know that my deck has good cards. Therefore, I would cut Apothecary down to a single copy at most.

Cat: Speaking of good cards, Ruin Runner calls to me with promises of sand and trouble. But I agree with Astrofeesh's assessment that it's not the optimal choice.

Itch: Although Incisive Tactician is flashy, I'd cut a copy.

Hazy: I would add Katarina. Having a consistent Rally and a strong beater on hand for turns 3 or 4 is really good in this deck.

Closing Thoughts

Cat: I love this deck, it's great. Definitely one I'll keep in my pocket to have a bit of fun with in lower ranks and Gauntlet. I'm too much of a spike to climb with it!

Itch: Although the high rolls were cool, I didn't feel that the overall power level of The Gray Apothecary was that good. Most of the time the units it generated were pretty weak for their cost.

I also was pleasantly surprised about how strongly the deck performed, considering that I don't typically play this type of decks.