Annie - The Fastest Deck in Riftbound

The goal of these guides is to be a strong starting point for players wanting to play the deck.

So by the end of this guide, you’ll know how to pilot the fastest deck in Riftbound — Annie. You'll learn:

• The build
• The logic behind the card choices
• How to play the deck optimally
• Matchups
• Mulligans
• Battlefields etc etc

If you enjoy playing high skill ceiling decks, Annie is definitely the deck for you!

At our core we are a combo deck within an aggressive shell.

Our goal is to score the first 6 points as fast as possible, then Vi + Ride the Wind combo to close out the game.

This game plan is extremely potent and gives the deck a lot of "free wins". Because any slow deck that doesn't have the tools to slow us down, will simply lose without a fight.

Ratios is THE MOST important aspect in deckbuilding.

The ratios this list is built around are:

1. 2 cost units - 11
2. Spells - 15-18
3. Top end units: 8

These catergories ensure that we have the higest chance at making sure we have an aggressive start, draw a good amount of interaction and top end to make sure to we don't run out of gas before 6 points.

Going First:

T1: Merchant, Poro, Rearguard, Vi. T2: Sneaky, Hopeful, Kaisa, Vayne. T3: Darius (+1-cost spell), Kaisa, Vayne + Flash.

Going Second:

T1: Merchant, Rearguard, Sneaky, Stacked (for Hopeful), Vi. T2: Sneaky, Kaisa, Vayne + Interactive spells T3: Darius (2-cost), Kaisa, Vayne + Flash, Cleave

This deck's line diverge HEAVILY past turn 3, so it is extra important to make sure we set ourselves up with our best openers like the ones above.

Keep:

1. Turn 1 play
2. Turn 2 play
3. Top-end unit
4. Flash

Tip: Don't be married to your combo pieces (Ride the Wind, Vi) They are often hard to get value out of before 6 points. Ride can be kept against decks without action speed removal (when it is strong as an interaction piece)

• Don’t fire off spells just because you can — save them for protecting top-end units.
• Curving out cleanly is more important than the combo.
• Vi Ride is a late game closer, early usage can make closing difficult.
• Ride the Wind as interaction shreds decks without action speed removal.
• Flash is secretly broken — you win more by saving Darius, Vayne, or Kaisa than you do with combo.
• A unit that survives can score 8 points alone; one that trades once and dies is wasted value.

Specific cards are what hurt Annie, not the hero's themselves. Cards like:

1. Falling Star
2. Defy
3. Hidden Blade
4. Snapvine
5. Hextech Ray

Are the main cards that we have to build and play around. Keep these cards in mind during your games and you'll always have a fighting chance!

Goodluck

Decklist: https://piltoverarchive.com/decks/view/549f82ab-e80f-49d6-a446-a9955442623d