This ancient kingdom is home to the most valiant knights and talented swordsmen in Runeterra. As part of a centuries-long legacy, they inherited a fierce sense of honor and justice, as well as a deep respect for rules and etiquette.
For this reason, those who are born in influential houses are raised to become role models for other Demacians, ideals of righteousness that all should strive to match. Those of more common birth will have to work hard to find recognition in this society, for only their actions will bring glory to their name.
Although Demacia tries to maintain an image of peace and unity, its rigid laws leave little room for individual expression, revealing cracks in its titanium-white façade. Mages are being persecuted and imprisoned, by fear of the hypothetical threat they could pose.
In order to mitigate this darker aspect of Demacia, paragons of peace keep fighting to show their people that together, they are stronger. Among them, the masterfully trained, equipped, and coordinated Demacian Army is more than ready to take on any foe coming its way. Its soldiers protect their nation from outside threats, their shining armors a beacon of hope during these troubled times.
Writing: Froggy0
Editing: Wusubi, ShadowplayRed, Minuano
Champions of Demacia
The cards
In the game, Demacian cards are here to remind you of one thing: that unity begets strength. Many cards will have an effect on your whole board, rewarding you for building a sizable army. The more allies you play, the higher value you will get out of them. In short, Demacians together strong. But Demacians alone not weak either.
Most units from the region boast high defensive capabilities, allowing them to survive removal and trades while waiting for your other cards’ support. Whether they come with keywords like Tough and Barrier or have a large amount of health, it will often take more than a single hit to get rid of them.
While these units are difficult to remove they make for some great attackers and blockers, but they don’t bring too much utility to the table. Generally speaking, they don’t generate value on their own and they also can’t deal with enemy units outside of combat, which your opponent shares control of.
If you wish to establish board domination, you will have to take this power away from them. To make this easier for you, the region comes with a large number of followers with the Challenger keyword, that will let you pick and choose your fights during your attack phases.
These units will help you stabilize the board, preventing enemy threats from developing while building your own army. Should they survive their mission, not only will they be able to make use of their ability once more, but they will also synergize with the go-wide cards buffing their stats, turning into monsters of efficiency.
Followers are not your only way of controlling the board though. In the same line of ideas, Demacian spells are designed to take care of enemy units while making use of your own. These combine especially well with the region’s sturdy soldiers, allowing them to choose the fights they partake in.
However, your allies can still fall prey to enemy removal before the resolution of the spell, so be careful with your timing or make sure to keep additional combat tricks up your sleeve if you don’t want to be severely punished.
Fortunately, the region also comes with a lot of these. Often operating at burst speed, they will help your units survive lethal damage by granting them a protective keyword, additional stats, or by making them invulnerable. During regular attack/block phases, they can change the outcome of the battle, turning dire situations into glorious victories.
Once the board is under control, and your strike force is sufficiently large, it is finally time to unleash more than 200 years of collective battle experience onto your opponent. From the Scout mechanic to the several Rally tools you will find within the region’s cards, your goal from that point onwards will be to chain attack phases until your enemy has been eradicated.
But what if we lose our units during the onslaught? Perhaps you weren’t able to protect your soldiers, or you willingly let them meet a heroic end by forcing them to fight an over-leveled enemy. Ready to avenge the fallen, some cards will offer you compensation for your loss, allowing you to quickly rebuild your board between two rounds of assault.
How to play against the region
- Demacia has several units that buff or protect their allies when they are played, like Brightsteel Protector or Vanguard Bannerman, making them harder to deal with afterward. Since the buff will be applied as soon as the card gets played, you won’t be able to prevent it from happening, so try to remove the opposing units while you still can.
- Low damage spells like Vile Feast or Statikk Shock won’t find value in damaging the Demacian soldiers, but they can still have their use in the match-up. Save them for when your opponent tries to cheese you with barriers, as 1 damage will be sufficient to make them disappear.
- There are plenty of Challenger cards in Demacia. If you have a fragile unit in your hand you wish to develop and your opponent has the attack token, you should wait for them to strike, or to run out of mana before playing it.
- As Demacia’s removal spells usually require them to target one of their own units, removing the unit will also cause the spell to fizzle, making it a 2-for-1 trade in your favor.
- The region doesn’t have many card draw engines and its players will often have to invest a lot of resources in their board to be threatening. If you can stifle their resources and take them to the late game, you will gain the upper-hand.
Summary
As it revolves around units, Demacia is very Midrange-oriented, while being especially good at gaining and maintaining control of the board by out-valuing its enemies.
On the one hand, you have sturdy minions that get harder and harder to destroy as the game goes on because of the buffs they receive, and on the other hand, you can challenge and remove opposing units while protecting your own with combat tricks. Once your army is ready to strike and you have cleared up the enemy’s ranks, rally your attackers and lead the charge in the name of Demacia!
About Froggy0
About Froggy0Although some like to call him a mad scientist, Froggy is to card games what a 3-star chef is to cuisine. Representing the quintessence of French gastronomy, his decks will never leave you on an empty stomach, even though they can get a little… experimental at times. He is also a top player and he likes his opponents with a pinch of salt. To all the lactose-intolerant people out there, be careful, because his preparations often contain large amounts of cheese.