Pyke
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Good (7/10)
High Investment Required
Epic Relics
Pyke is a high-investment champion who struggles significantly at lower star levels due to the inherent inconsistency of the Lurk mechanic. However, once he reaches his 4-star and 6-star constellation upgrades, he transforms into a highly aggressive and powerful threat capable of overwhelming opponents.
Optimal C6 Aura
Provides essential Overwhelm to Pyke and his Lurker units, allowing their massive stats to translate directly into Nexus damage.
Offers consistent deck-wide stat scaling, ensuring that every unit drawn is a significant threat.
Provides essential protection against control-heavy encounters, ensuring your key Lurkers survive board wipes.
Strategy
At 6 stars, Pyke's optimal strategy shifts away from playing the champion himself. Instead, this build turns Pyke into a passive engine that empowers his deck.
The Beast Within provides essential Overwhelm to all Lurkers, Stacked Deck ensures massive stat scaling, and Black Shield protects your board from wipes.
Focus on drafting large units and let the 6-star power summon them for free to overwhelm the opponent. Playing Pyke becomes a secondary contingency plan.
Zoe Specialized (10-Star)
Zoe Specialized
- Grants Overwhelm to all allies, ensuring stat-boosted units connect for lethal damage.
- Provides a substantial starting gold bonus and buffs allies based on deck size, contributing significantly to the big stat strategy.
Offers extra rerolls to secure game-changing common powers like Titanic Wake or Grandeur Plaza.
Strategy
Designed specifically for the 10-star Zoe adventure. This build abuses Pyke's 6-star power to summon highly-statted Lurker units for free.
Loaded Dice is crucial for securing game-changing common powers like Titanic Wake or Grandeur Plaza, which amplify your board presence immensely.
Prioritize removing non-Lurker spells and landmarks from your deck, as they can dilute the Lurk pool and prevent free unit summons. Actively seek out unit buffs and powers that enhance board presence.
C6 Aggro Tutor
Allows Pyke to be deployed early at a massive discount. On a full board, this can instantly fulfill his level-up condition.
Consistently tutors his 4-cost unit, which gains a free attack from his constellation upgrades, providing immediate early-game pressure.- Provides essential Overwhelm to Pyke and his Lurker units.
Strategy
This build leverages Found Fortune to consistently tutor Pyke's 4-cost unit, which gains a free attack from his constellation upgrades.
Disciple of Shadows allows Pyke to drop early at a massive discount, instantly leveling him up on a full board to clear enemy threats. The Beast Within ensures that all the generated stats translate into direct Nexus damage.
Pre-C6 Board Clear Assassin
Causes Pyke to strike an enemy upon summon, accelerating his level-up condition.- A second copy ensures Pyke strikes twice upon summon, often guaranteeing an immediate level-up and subsequent board clear.
- Provides essential Overwhelm to Pyke and his Lurker units.
Strategy
For players who have not yet reached 6 stars, this build focuses entirely on Pyke's champion spell, Death From Below.
The dual Stalker's Blades ensure he strikes multiple times upon entering the board, often guaranteeing an immediate level-up and subsequent board clear. The Beast Within provides the necessary Overwhelm to push Nexus damage once the board is controlled.
Other Relic Options
Pyke's signature relic provides additional scaling and Challenger. However, it is widely considered a trap at higher constellation levels because Pyke is rarely played directly.
Useful for consistently drawing his 2-cost unit, enabling early free attacks and Lurk triggers.
Generates additional copies of Pyke in the deck, increasing the frequency of drawing his champion spell. However, it can occasionally clog the hand with unplayable copies.
Players disagree about Deadly Harpoon. Some consider it a core piece of his kit that enables crucial kills for his level-up. While others view it as a trap that is entirely outclassed by passive stat-boosting relics, especially since Pyke is often summoned via spell rather than played.
Constellation
Pyke's constellation tree is heavily focused on fixing the inherent inconsistency of the Lurk mechanic. Because of this, he feels incomplete and frustrating to play at lower star levels. He requires significant investment to reach his 4-star and 6-star nodes, which transform him into a reliable and powerful champion.
Abyssal Might
Lurking grants an extra +0|+1.
Phantom Haul
+1 Starting Mana. Round Start: If you have the attack token, summon an ephemeral Sharkling.Review
Summoning a free lurking attacker can be risky for early Lurk triggers and is generally considered an underwhelming power spike.
Abyssal Might II
Lurking grants an extra +1|+1.
Lie in Wait
Allies everywhere that cost 3 or less are Lurkers and have Lurk.Review
This is the critical breakpoint for Pyke's consistency. Granting Lurk to units costing 4 or more mana allows for much more reliable drafting and deck building.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.
Death From Everywhere
Your spells everywhere have Lurk. When a card Lurks, if it's a follower, summon it attacking; otherwise, draw it.Review
Transforms his playstyle entirely. By granting Lurk to spells and summoning allies from the deck attacking, it encourages drafting high-cost units and minimizing spells to maximize the free summon value. Playing Pyke himself becomes optional.
Gameplay Tips
- Prioritize Unit Drafting
To maximize Lurk consistency, aggressively cut spells from your deck at healer nodes. When drafting, prioritize units over spells, as missing a Lurk trigger can severely stall your momentum.
- Support Champion Selection
When choosing a support champion, prioritize those with few or no spells in their package to avoid diluting your Lurk pool. Rek'Sai is the optimal choice, but swarm-focused champions like Azir, Miss Fortune, or Elder Dragon are also highly effective.
- Aggressive Mulligan Strategy
Mulligan aggressively for small Lurk units or Pyke's champion spell (Bone Skewer) to ensure you can trigger Lurk on your first attacking turn.
- The C6 Playstyle Shift
At 6 stars, Pyke's optimal strategy shifts from relying on Pyke himself to a Lurk rush approach. Focus on drafting large units, as his 6-star power will summon them for free during attacks, often winning the game before Pyke is even played.
- Avoid Play Effects
Because Pyke is typically summoned via his spell, Death From Below, relics that trigger on "Play" (such as Packed Powder or Scales of Judgment) will not activate. Focus on relics that provide passive stats or trigger on "Summon".
- Cost Modifiers Disrupt Synergy
Be cautious in adventures with cost-increasing modifiers. Pyke's constellation powers rely on specific mana costs to grant the Lurker subtype. Cost increases can push units out of these brackets, breaking your synergy.