Runeterra Deck: Sewing Kit (Gwen/Irelia) Patch 3.16.0

MULLIGAN:
In most matchups, hard mulligan for Boisterous Host / Phantom Butler / Strike Up the Band. If you already have 1-2 of these, there are some key cards to mulligan for: Against aggro decks, you can keep Gwen (and Kinkou Lifeblade, if your opponent isn't running elusives) for sustained healing. Against midrange, look for Black Spear and Defiant Dance to remove priority targets. Against slow decks (Targon's Peak, Deep, Anivia) you can keep Irelia to apply pressure.

OBJECTIVE:
With this deck, you're trying to maintain board advantage while getting chip damage in with Gwen's skill and Blade Dances. Once the enemy is low enough, you can use elusives, Syncopation, or a leveled Gwen to end the game.

EARLY GAME (Turns 1-3)
Focus on flooding the board with cheap Hallowed units. You can usually get a few points of damage in with a Phantom Butler or Strike Up the Band. Save your Blade Dance cards, they won't do much for you at this stage of the game. (Remember: You do want your hallowed units to die, but you want to make your enemy work for it. There's no reason to take poor trades.)

MIDGAME (Turns 4-6)
Try to avoid playing Gwen or Irelia when your opponent has the opportunity to remove them. You can bait out removal with Syncopation and Lead and Follow. (If you have an Eternal Dancers, you don't have to worry about Gwen dying-- as long as another one of your units takes the Hallowed buff, Eternal Dancers will always resurrect her when you attack.) Use Hate Spike, Black Spear, and Defiant Dance to keep your opponent light on defenders, and keep looking for ways to get free damage in.

LATE GAME (Turns 7+)
Ideally, by this point in the game, your Hallowed buff is going to be somewhere around 5-7. This is where your Blade Dances really shine. If your opponent is ever low on cards, mana, or has an empty board, you can try to end with Vanguard's Edge (the Blade Dance will still trigger even if the unit is removed). Otherwise, try to get more units on board than your opponent, and use Syncopation or an elusive to bypass their blockers.

MATCHUPS:

Akshan/Pantheon: Good matchup. You trade evenly early, and you can usually end before Pantheon is an issue. Be aware that your opponent likely has both combat tricks and strike effects, and make sure you have a way to protect any valuable cards before you play them. Save removal for champions and Darkin Lodestones. You have a better lategame if you can remove their Horazi.

Mono-Kaisa: Good matchup. Save Black Spear and Defiant Dance for Kaisa, and be careful about playing Irelia and Kinkou Lifeblade because they'll both die to Valor or a Petricite Broadwing. If you manage to stay even on board through midgame, your Blade Dances will likely be able to win you the game.

Plunder: Slight edge. Avoid flooding the board early, as Make it Rain can clear your early drops. Sejuani is priority for removal, as she can shut you down hard ocne she's leveled.

Akshan/Lee Sin: Even. Hard-mulligan for Defiant Dance, and try to keep Lee Sin from touching the board for long-- if he's leveled, one attack will probably end the game. They're a combo deck, so you want to try and apply enough pressure that it's difficult for them to set things up. The same advice about combat tricks and strike effects applies.

Lee Sin / Nami / TF: Even. You can run over them early with fearsome and elusives. The longer the game goes on, the worse your odds get. Removing Nami and Shelly is top priority. Don't bother trying to kill Lee Sin or TF unless your opponent is out of mana. Syncopation is probably going to be your best bet for ending games, as they run elusives and Deny (stops Vanguard's Edge).

Anything Norra: Bad matchup. Portals means they have consistent fodder to block your blades with, and they'll probably be able to outvalue you lategame. Try to get damage in with your elusives and champions.

Dragons: Very bad matchup. Be careful not to feed the enemy's dragons when Blade Dance-ing. Prioritize removing Shyvana and Screeching Dragon, watch out for Sharpsight and any Strike cards. If they tap out to play an Eclipse Dragon or Aurelion Sol, you can get some cheeky lethals with elusives and Vanguard's Edge.