Today we’re taking on Leona Kale and the Sunburn deck. This deck has been around for a few patches now, and we’ve seen some success with it in the Runeterra Open and the previous seasonal tournament.
With the 4.1 patch, however, we saw a nerf to Katarina and an upgrade to Kayle, so we’re here to investigate whether this new Kayle Leona combo is better than the Katarina version.
At its core, the deck is very similar to what we saw in the previous version. We’re still playing the nine one drops, but I’m deviating from the two drops. I don’t think the Daybreak bird that passes out +1|+1 is particularly worthwhile, and I don’t like playing House Spider. I like these games to be a little bit more grindy, so I’m bringing in the Solari Priestess.
The big addition to the spells is Ravenous Flock. This is a great way to take down a unit that Leona has stunned, and it helps smooth over some of the awkward plays that you run into with Leona. We’re also playing two copies of Shunpo, and the new addition is Might. Might is the real breaking point between the Katarina version and this one, as it gives us more high-powered plays. We can attack with a seven or eight attack Sun Guardian, Might it up to 10, and then overwhelm for seven or eight damage.
Kayle is the new big and exciting addition to the deck. You don’t have to go all in on trying to get her to level up, as she’ll be ready to flip on the next turn if you play her on turn eight. I don’t think it’s worth playing cards like Brothers Bond to try and get her to level up faster.
Will the Kayle Leona combo be better than the Katarina version? Will the Might be better than the Decimate package? We’ll find out soon enough!
