Master Yi has tempered his body and sharpened his mind, so that thought and action have become almost as one. Though he chooses to enter into violence only as a last resort, the grace and speed of his blade ensures resolution is always swift. As one of the last living practitioners of the Ionian art of Wuju, Yi has devoted his life to continuing the legacy of his people—scrutinizing potential new disciples with the Seven Lenses of Insight to identify the most worthy among them.
Master Yi is one of League of Legends' most played jungle champions, and he's now entered the world of Riftbound with the arrival of the Origins: Proving Grounds box set. His affinity with the Calm and Body domains mean that he operates similarly to Lee Sin, but has an emphasis on defending alone rather than the Buff mechanic.
His champion cards, Master Yi Meditative and Master Yi Honed, are both combat oriented, with the Body card being a big Ganking body, and the Calm card being a good endgame threat that can be left to defend alone if required.
With both of these cards, you're incentivised to play Yi focused on the endgame, and with a combat-focused approach. This means that he's going to be far less aggressive than it may seem on paper, and you might want to play more of a spell-oriented strategy and focus on unit quality rather than quantity, a lot like Ahri but with more of an active gameplan.
Master Yi Signature Cards
Master Yi's legend, Wuju Bladesman, is simple but powerful in his strategy. It ensures that a friendly unit defending alone can stay above-rate, by giving them +2. With this, it's easier than ever to be able to protect your units that are defending alone, because they already have a +2 buff (before you give them any other defensive buff).
Highlander lets you keep a unit around after it dies, meaning that you can ensure that you can retain your most powerful units. This works incredibly well with Master Yi Honed, as it'll enter readied instead of exhausted, meaning that you can attack again if used aggressively.
Master Yi Staple Cards and Synergies
For Master Yi, it's looking like defensive buff cards like Block and Discipline are going to be vital to succeeding, as the deck incentivises defending alone. With this, you don't want to play too many units whatsoever, as you risk units being useless and staying in base so you can still get your defensive benefits, which is a waste of resources.
Cards like Anivia Primal and Udyr Wildman are also going to be vital to Yi's strategy, as they are units that have both big stats and provide a lot of value if you can set them up. Udyr is harder to utilise without an on-demand buff, but there are multiple spell-based ways to buff a Unit, and a 6 Energy 6-Might isn't terrible as a base stat.
Master Yi Decks
Coming soon.
