Why this deck matters now

Most starter decks teach you rules. Fiora's starter deck teaches you a habit: how to "cash in" tiny combat wins into a real resource advantage.

And if you miss that habit, the deck feels clunky fast. You'll equip something, swing, trade, and suddenly you're topdecking while your opponent is doing "real" stuff.

Here's the payoff: Fiora isn't just an equipment deck. She's a Mighty trigger engine that turns one key moment each turn into extra momentum.

What is this deck trying to do?

Your core loop is simple:

1. Play a unit that can realistically reach "Mighty."
2. Use equipment or boosts to push it to the threshold.
3. Trigger Fiora's value, then use that value to keep pace (or pull ahead).

Here's a breakdown: when one of your units becomes Mighty, you can exhaust Fiora, Grand Duelist to channel 1 Rune that's exhausted (effectively helping you "ramp" your Rune access).

So, the deck's real question each turn is: "How do I get one unit to become Mighty this turn without messing up my whole hand?"

What does "Mighty" mean here?

The important part is the threshold.

A unit becomes Mighty when it gains Might to become 5 or more Might.

That one sentence should shape your whole early game. You don't need a board full of huge units. You need a steady stream of units that can cross 5 Might on schedule.

That's also why this starter is packed with weapons and stat boosters (so you can manufacture a Mighty trigger when your units start below 5).

What's actually inside the Fiora Champion Deck?

A few product-level facts are worth knowing so expectations are set right:

• It's a 56-card preconstructed deck, and it includes 1 Spiritforged booster for upgrades.
• The product pitch is explicitly about becoming Mighty each turn and gaining resources while winning combat.

From the deck's internal makeup, the list shows you're working with:

• Multiple equipment pieces (including Warmog's Armor, Doran's Blade, B.F. Sword, plus a single Sacred Shears).
• A removal package built around Strike Down and Vengeance.
• Three battlefields: Ornn's Forge, Sunken Temple, Veiled Temple.

You're not short on tools. The learning curve is sequencing them so you keep triggering Mighty.

How should you mulligan?

If you only take one actionable thing from this, take this.

You want hands that can create a Mighty trigger early, not hands that are "strong later."

Mulligan priorities (in order):

• A cheap unit that can realistically get to 5 Might with help (so you're not waiting forever to turn Fiora on).
• At least one equipment piece that adds Might (Warmog's Armor is specifically called out as a +1 Might boost).
• A battlefield that supports your plan (more on which one in a second).
• One interaction spell if your matchup looks like it'll race you (Strike Down and Vengeance are your baseline tools here).

What I ship back most often: hands with no path to 5 Might, or hands that are "all answers" with no actual pressure.

How do you sequence the first few turns?

Think in "setup turns" and "cash-in turns."

Turn one to 2: Set up a guaranteed Mighty line

Your goal is to present a unit, then line up an equipment attachment that pushes it over the threshold.

Rift Mana's example logic is basically: play units below 5 Might, then use weapons to boost them to 5+ so you can activate Fiora's engine.

If you can see a clean line like "unit now, equipment next, Mighty trigger next," keep it.

Turn three: Cash in the trigger, then take the battlefield

Once you can reliably hit Mighty, you should start caring about where you're fighting.

Sunken Temple is a great "turn the corner" battlefield because it's explicitly tied to Mighty: you have to conquer it with a Mighty unit, then you can pay 1 Energy to draw a card.

That creates a very real, very practical line:

• If you can make a unit Mighty this turn, then you can conquer Sunken Temple.
• If you conquer it, you can convert 1 Energy into a card.
• If you're drawing extra cards, your equipment and removal stop running out.

Even without quoting any card text, that's the deck in a nutshell: make Mighty, get paid, keep playing.

Which battlefield should you fight for?

This is where newer players often play "whatever" and accidentally throw away a big edge.

Ornn's Forge

Ornn's Forge makes equipment cheaper: controlling it lets you play an equipment for 1 less Energy.

If your hand is equipment-heavy, this is the battlefield that makes your whole turn smoother. Cheaper equipment also means easier Mighty triggers, which means more Fiora value, which means you get to keep up on Runes.

Sunken Temple

This is your grind tool. Conquer with a Mighty unit, then pay 1 Energy to draw a card.

If your opponent is trying to trade resources, Sunken Temple is how you stop playing fair.

Veiled Temple

Veiled Temple lets you detach a friendly equipment so you can attach it to someone else later.

This is the "don't get punished for committing" battlefield. If your opponent keeps answering your equipped unit, Veiled Temple helps you keep the equipment economy moving instead of losing tempo.

What are your actual win conditions?

You can win in two main ways.

1) Tempo snowball through readying attacks

Rift Mana recommends keeping Fiora, Worthy in your champion spot because she synergizes with the plan: when a unit becomes Mighty, you can recycle an Order rune to ready them, which enables attacking on the turn they're played and adds aggression.

Practical read: if your opponent thinks they're safe because you "just played that unit," readying breaks that assumption. That's how you steal battlefields and force awkward blocks.

2) "Single battlefield duelist" pressure

Fiora, Peerless plays a different game. Rift Mana describes her as a 3-cost champion with a Body rune cost, and highlights that she can double her Might (noting she goes up to 6 Might) and becomes a bigger win condition with equipment attached.

The key counterplay is also stated: opponents can try to attack with multiple units on the battlefield she's holding to dodge the "double Might" pressure.

So, if you're piloting: don't just slam Peerless and pray. Ask, "Can they swarm this battlefield with multiple bodies next turn?" If yes, you either need removal lined up, or you pivot to a different battlefield plan.

How do your removal turns work?

Your removal isn't generic. It cares about equipment.

Rift Mana explains Strike Down as: choose one of your equipped units to deal its Might as damage to an opposing unit, and it's limited to your turn (since it isn't an Action or Reaction).

Actionable takeaway:

• If you want Strike Down to be "real," your equipped unit needs to have meaningful Might.
• So plan your turn as: equip first, then remove, then conquer.

That sequencing wins games because you clear a path, then immediately take the battlefield instead of giving your opponent a full turn to stabilize.

Common mistakes I'd fix first

• Waiting too long to trigger Mighty. If you're not crossing 5 Might early, Fiora's whole value engine is asleep.
• Equipping the "wrong" unit. Sometimes the right play is equipping a smaller unit just to manufacture a Mighty trigger, not equipping your "best" unit because it feels good.
• Fighting on the wrong battlefield. Ornn's Forge is about tempo and efficiency, Sunken Temple is about cards, Veiled Temple is about preserving equipment value. Pick with intention.
• Casting removal at the wrong time. With Strike Down specifically, equip-first sequencing matters because the equipped unit's Might is the whole point.

What now?

If you're sleeving up Fiora this week for play-testing or when it drops, here are your next steps:

• Play 5 games where your ONLY goal is "trigger Mighty once per turn." Track the turns you miss it, and write down why. (No judgment, just patterns.)
• In your next set of games, pick a battlefield plan at the start of each match: Ornn's Forge if your hand is equipment-heavy, Sunken Temple if you expect a long game, Veiled Temple if you expect your equipped units to die.
• When you lose, ask one question: "Did I lose because I ran out of cards, or because I lost the battlefield war?" Your answer tells you whether you should prioritize Sunken Templelines or cleaner combat sequencing.

If you jam Fiora this week in testing, what's the first thing you want to tune, more equipment to force Mighty on schedule, more removal to clear battlefields, or more draw to keep the gas flowing? And if you've got Fiora blowout stories (clean duels or total disaster turns), tag me on X at @_EmeraldWeapon_.