The Elder Scrolls Legends Decks are the bread and butter of the game, and since the release of Heroes of Skyrim on June 29th, they have changed significantly. As an avid fan of Elder Scrolls Legends, having spent well over the amount any sane person would on the game, I’ve decided to do a weekly segment dedicated just to Decks. If you’re a new player to the game or are simply struggling in competitive play, then these guides are for you. This week’s Deck is called Dragon Warrior.

Elder Scrolls Legends Decks: Dragon Warrior

• Deck Colors: Purple/Red (Warrior)
• Deck Type: Combo
• Legendaries: 7
• Epics: 10
• Overall Cost: Low/Average
• Difficulty to Play: Med/High

Deck Theme

The theme of the deck should be quite obvious to those who are remotely familiar to ESL, but in case you aren’t this Deck revolves around Dragons and using the colors Purple and Red, which are referred to by the game as “Warrior“. Thus the name “Dragon Warrior”. This is a rather unique Deck, and isn’t the meta for Warrior decks right now in the game. Warrior decks right now are running very aggressive Werewolf decks, that are burn decks, and revolve around breaking Runes as fast as you can with your Werewolves on the board to increase their power until you overwhelm your opponent. This is not that sort and is a more control/combo sort of deck, so for those of you who like that sort of play, then this deck is for you.

This deck has many elements that make it work, but the general strategy is to get out Guards early, build up your resources and control the board. Identifying the type of deck your opponent is playing is the key with this deck as you will need to understand when to be aggressive and when to be patient. Against aggressive decks you will need to destroy and slow their creatures as fast as you can. Against control decks you will need be smart about how to play your creatures and keep them alive at all costs. Against combo decks you will need to observe and see how the fight is going, and often times you will need to judge whether to go for the kill or keep playing control and outlast your opponent. Experience playing against meta decks will help you learn what to do. Do not be alarmed if you don’t succeed right away, as this is deck takes some getting used to.

Must Have Cards For This Deck

In this section I will outline the “must have” cards as well as some good cards that really make this deck work. Let’s start with the most important card in the deck: East Empire Crafter.

Why is this card so good and why is a common listed as the most important? Great question. For 3 Magicka you get a 2/4 creature which is kinda meh, but not terrible because it will keep it alive vs many direct damage Actions. The bonus is that it makes every creature with health 5 or higher gain +1/+1 and Guard. This is huge for this deck because it is chocked full of creatures with 5 health or more, making many creatures in your deck not only more powerful, but also gain Guard (which can save your live against aggressive decks). You will frustrate many a player with this card, because you can keep dropping Guards that just get bigger and bigger and they’ll never be able to hit you or kill this. Remember to save a Soul Tear to bring this guy back if you need to. It can be the difference in the game.

Then next “must have” card is Bruma Armor:

At 3 Magicka this card can be a game changer. It’s not as powerful as the East Empire Crafter, but giving other creatures +0/+2 when they enter the field is HUGE. It can often swing the game’s momentum in your favor and will punish decks with few creature control Action cards, such as aggressive decks, or decks that rely primarily on creatures. At 2/2 it can be difficult to keep alive against control decks, so you must choose wisely when to play this card or he might be Firebolted or Executed for 1 Magicka and you may get behind. Consider playing East Empire Crafter first against these sorts of decks, if you are unsure.

That last benefit of this card, and a big one, is that it works with High Hrothgar, which is a crazy powerful combination as your creatures will gain extra Power with this card out. This brings us to our last “must have” card: High Hrothgar.

What can you say about this card? It’s fucking amazing for this deck and turns it from a pretty good deck into nearly unstoppable. Dark Guardian, East Empire Crafter, Archvein Venomtongue, Candlehearth Brawler, Lucien Lachance, Blood Dragon, Gristlehide Dreugh and Cicero the Betrayer all benefit from this card. On top of that, ANY creature dropped into play with Bruma Armorer out will gain an extra 2 Power and an extra 1 Power if East Empire Crafter is out and it has more than 5 health! The only reason we don’t have more cards in here that are affected is because you don’t get this card every game and you will lose if you rely on it solely.

Important Cards For This Deck

A step down from the “must haves”, these cards either make use of those previously mentioned or add something in their own right. The first batch of these are: Blood Dragon, Sower of Revenge and Shadowfen Priest.

It wouldn’t be much of “Dragon” deck without a few dragons, and Blood Dragon is probably the best dragon card in Elder Scrolls Legends. For 5 Magicka you get a 5/7 creature that can fly over Guards and attack creatures in the opposite lane, making this the ultimate creature for controlling the board. There are a handful of cheaper dragons, and none of them are better.

Sower of Revenge is a unique Purple/Red card and can only be used in Warrior decks. It’s one of the best control cards in this deck and for 5 Magicka it’s a steal. This card can win you games, or simply force your opponent to change strategies, which might throw them off their game. Consider using Soul Tear on this card late game to help get that last bit of damage.

Shadowfen Priest is a staple in nearly every Purple deck to date. The reason being? It’s one of 4 cards that can destroy Support cards, which are more prevalent than ever, or it can silence an enemy. On top of that it’s a 4/4 creature which isn’t too shabby. At 5 Magicka, this card has a rather steep cost, but you can also use Soul Tear to bring it back if your opponent is running a Support heavy deck.

Mundus Stone, Candlehearth Brawler, Dark Guardian and Soul Tear are the last of our important cards. Let’s take a look at them and see why they are vital to this deck.

Mundus Stone probably won’t win you a game all by itself, but it helps. Because this deck is extremely creature heavy, you will get a lot of benefit from this card that some other decks won’t. The problem with this card is that the effects are somewhat random, however, since most of your creatures will have Guard, you will eliminate 1 of the possible effects. Look to get this card out only when you control the board and look to get Charge or Lethal late game to help you finish off your opponent.

Candlehearth Brawler is an extremely unique card as it is the only card in the game that has both Guard and Charge. Not only will this allow you to surprise your opponent with it killing a creature or maybe even getting a killing blow, but then it can also protect another creature. What’s even more valuable about this card is that it benefits from both East Empire Crafter and High Hrothgar, potentially making it a 6/6 with Charge or even higher if Bruma Armorer is in play!

Dark Guardian is your bread and butter defender. Able to kill most small creatures, for 3 Magicka, it simply is a staple of this deck. On top of that it allows you to gain a free card every time your opponent pulls a prophecy, which can help keep you in the game against more and more common Prophecy heavy decks. This card also works with East Empire Crafter and High Hrothgar.

Soul Tear pulls a card back from the discard pile, and since you have many valuable cards to this deck, you will most certainly have something there that can help you. Consider pulling back East Empire Crafter if you need more guards, or perhaps Sower of Revenge if you are close to finishing your opponent. You can even pull Candlehearth Brawler for some surprise Charge attacks.

Final Tips

Combo decks are some of the hardest to play in the game, but they are your best chance to win against opponents you have never played, knowing nothing of their decks. It is a challenge to create a deck that can win against anyone as ESL is very much a rock, paper scissors type of game, but I refuse to make decks that never have a chance in some scenarios. This deck is far from perfect, but it has worked against all types of decks and you can win against any deck.

Warrior decks are notorious for bad card draw, so consider adding some if you find yourself running out of cards. You will not have a problem against aggressive decks with this, but control decks can be a challenge. Cards that can help with card draw are: Rapid Shot, Blades Lookout, Aela’s Huntmate, Triumphant Jarl and Enchanted Plate.

This deck is light on creature controlling Actions, so if you find yourself faced with decks that have many creatures with abilities, consider adding a couple. Cards that would work are: Suppress, Rapid Shot, Fell the Mighty, Lay Down Arms and Crushing Blow. The other option is going the Items route and equipping some items that can help tip the battle in your favor.

There are about 10 cards in this deck that can be swapped in our out, so there is room for flexibility. Alter it to fit your playstyle and fight the opponents you face the most. If you struggle against a certain type of deck swap some out and replace them with cards that would have been better, just don’t go crazy. The worst thing you can do is change too much. The game does have a significant amount of RNG, so try not to be discouraged when it’s working against you.

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