Overview

Building a deck in Paragon can be confusing and I often see players with bizzare decks that deal no damage, fail to provide the right utility for the Hero or which are drastically short on points. It takes time and effort to craft an ideal deck for any Hero and in many ways, a lot of error. Even now I’m regularly adapting mine to see what does and doesn’t such; such is the flexibility of Paragon’s card system. The five tips below should give you a solid foundation to build from.

Decide Your Role

Cards in Paragon provide a great deal of flexibility and there are a huge amount available to choose from. What’s key to any deck however is deciding on how you want your Hero to play. It’s possible, as one example, to build Grux so that he deals enormous damage. It’s also possible to have him being somewhat tanky, capable of withstanding large amounts of punishment - even if it does mean he isn’t as immediately threatening. Making the choice as to how you’ll play is deck defining but also requires experience under your belt. This can make starting out difficult but it’s easiest if you stick to simple principles.

• Do I want to deal damage?
• Do I want to tank?
• Do I want to support?

Although it’s possible to create a hybrid build it’s best - when first learning how to deck build - to stick to the basics of what is effective.

• If you’re pursuing damage, you'll often need to focus on Damage (Power) > Critical Hit Chance > Critical Damage Bonus > Attack Speed (Kinetic).
• If you’re pursuing a tank build, you need to focus on Armor > Health > Damage (Power)
• If you’re pursuing a support build, you need to focus on Active Cards > Mana > Health

Build Your Deck To Curve

I regularly see people instantly attempt to build a 9 point card (that’s your base card, plus three 3’s). While it’s undoubtedly going to give you high attributes, it’s also incredibly slow and your gain of card experience, early game, isn’t going to provide you with enough - quickly enough - to get up to speed. What you need to do is build your deck so that you can quickly get your damage (or utility) online as fast as possible and this involves buying cheap upgrades, to fully upgrade your cards.

Three single cost Kinetic cards can provide quick early clear for Sevarog when jungling.

It’s important that you curve your upgrade strength so that early game you’re spending 6 points on fully upgraded cards, followed by 9 and then 12 (by level 15). This will give you a power curve across an entire match and allow you to start strong before ending at your most powerful. Pursuing high cost card upgrades early game will significantly slow down your farm potential (you’ll deal less damage than someone with lots of cheap card upgrades) which in turn will reduce your card experience yield.

If you can, try to aim for the following:

• Card one (6 points)
• Card two (9 points)
• Card three (9 points)
• Card four (12 points)
• Card five (12 points)
• Card six (12 points)

Alternatively, it's also sometimes worth going:

• Card one (6 points)
• Card two (6 points)
• Card three (6 points)
• Card four (12 points)
• Card five (12 points)
• Card six (12 points)
• Sell a 6 point card > upgrade it to a 12 point card (at end game)

Always Bring The Right Tools

If you’re in lane, you should absolutely have a Shadow Ward on your deck. No exceptions. If you’re in jungle, you should still have a Shadow Ward. The bonuses this item provides to your team are key because vision is fundamental to locating the enemy. A team that is effectively scouting the map will have a strong advantage over a team that isn’t. With that in mind and depending on your role, you should always build your deck to facilitate one of these cards. You’re free to sell it late game (level 15) but I’d advise to always try keep your Shadow Ward (it’s too useful to abandon).

Stick To The Basics

I regularly see players bring crazy cards to their decks and or build upgrades that are bizzare. Those same people will then swear that such a deck works and in practice, they’ll die quickly or hit like a wet noodle. There’s a reason why the tried and tested builds work and it’s because they’re “meta”. In the current state that Paragon is in, pursuing damage is just about all you need.

One build of interest I saw recently was a Grim who, during the early game, spent 12 card points on health regeneration. Considering he is an ADC and having failed to take any Power cards, he dealt absolutely no damage. He protested that his build was great because it provided him with an extra 13 health per second and - he argued - that this was better than lifesteal. Unfortunately, the measly 13 health per second he gained, for 12 card points, offered no real sustain against any opponent (who can comfortably hit for 200 every 0.5 seconds). In contrast, if he’d have spent 12 card points on lifesteal, he’d have been able to secure 30% restoration on his basic attacks and if he’d have also built damage, could have provided himself with 75 health every 0.5 second: a vastly superior amount.

While I commend people attempting new builds, you have to think sensibly about what your role is (as above) and if you’re getting value from those cards that others can’t do better. Most base cards are base for a reason - they’re ideal for doing what Heroes need to do.

Stay Meta

To play Greystone effectively right now, all you have to do is just stack damage. 

With the speed at which Paragon is updated or how much the meta shifts, it’s not surprising that players stick to a deck and forget to change them. Unfortunately failing to keep up with your deck and the current meta can put you at a big disadvantage.

As it currently stands power, attack speed and critical hit chance is king irrespective of what Hero you select. In addition, lifesteal is once again viable (thanks to critical hit chance) and "tanky" decks are well and truly out the window. It's also worth looking at our Tier List for Heroes which are considered "best" in the meta. 

Think I've missed something important? Let me know in the comments below!