Frostbite Midrange Deck Guide (Freljord / Noxus)

Legends of Runeterra is ever-evolving. While spiders and elusives dominated the early days of open beta, we've gone far beyond that point. There are many different midrange builds popping up all over ladder that, rather than swarm the early board, choose to power out strong units at all stages of the game as a way to quickly overwhelm their opponents.

Today's list takes that idea and does something a little different with it. Rather than go all in on followers, it backs up a strong early game with a healthy heaping of Frostbite to create a solid deck that can fight the opponent on multiple fronts.

The Champions

Ashe has quickly become one of the best midrange champions in Legends of Runeterra. Not only does she help lock down the board when she attacks, but she also upgrades quite easily and prevents large units from blocking. Midrange units need to be able to put out a lot of power very quickly. Ashe, both upgraded and level one, does exactly that.


Unlike other champions, you don't need to try to hold Ashe back. Though you don't want to run her into certain death, she is a great card to have on curve. Being able to plop her down knowing that she instantly invalidates your opponent's largest unit protects your board while also pushing damage. Just note she isn't the greatest blocker and should only be used for defense in dire situations.

To back up Ashe, you have a single Tryndamere and Katarina. Katarina helps shore up the early game by providing you with a strong beater. Unfortunately, because of her ability, she's never going to turn into board presence. Rather, treat her like a spell that constantly gets you an attack token.


The trickiest part of Katarina is leveling her up. There are a lot of combat tricks going around ladder. Do not run into the fray with no back up. Do your best to slip her into an early situation after your opponent has played a card and is limited on mana. Don't be afraid to pass if you have the attack token on turn three against another early game deck. They will often drop down a unit and give you the chance to strike.


In contrast, Tryndamere exists to offer late game support. The giant champion is one of the best finishers of the game, and he works perfectly as a top-end curve option. This is not a control deck, but sometimes you need to push through a bit of extra damage. That is where he comes in.

The Frost Package

This deck exists in two parts: large units and Frostbite. In terms of Frostbite, you have three Brittle Steel, three Harsh Winds, and two Flash Freeze. All of those spells not only pace the game by keeping you alive, but they also allow you to completely dominate combat.


Every frostbite spell comes in at burst speed. That means you want to put yourself into combat situations where your opponent has to make the first move. Running a 3/3 into a three attack minion or a 5/5 into a five attack doesn't do much because your opponent can take the trade. If you want to keep your unit alive you have to play your frostbite spell first, which gives them a chance to respond with a spell.

However, if you attack into a smaller board, your opponent has to block and then choose to buff. If they do, you can then hit them with frostbite and get a great two for one. This is not a golden rule across the board, but it is generally how you pace the game.


In discussing Frostbite, it is also important to mention Rimefang Wolf. The 3/2 challenger is solid on its own, especially when taking down an early Elise, but it is particularly useful when it gets to kill big unit after big unit. Do your best to protect the 3/2 at all costs and don't be afraid to use an early frostbite card to ensure your opponent doesn't pass.

The Support

As with every other good Frejlord list, this deck runs three Omen Hawks for buffs. However, it also packs in three copies of Trifarian Gloryseeker. A 5/1 challenger is extremely fragile, but it also kills just about any early game card through cheap buffs. That is crucial in stabilizing against elusive or fearsome builds.


This deck, while strong, needs a bit of time to get going. If you aren't careful it's easy to get overwhelmed by aggro or out paced by control. The Gloryseeker fixes both of those issues by trading into strong early game units and putting on pressure against spell decks. You never want to worry about this dying, it's a removal spell more than anything else.


Icevale Archer is another solid early game card. Three attack is extremely important in the current meta because it can block fearsome. Not only that, but it also helps you pace combat and gives you a way to attack into bigger units without worry. This card is best served before your attack, but is also a good way to deter your opponent from pressing their advantage.

Legion Drummer is another card that has become much more popular as of late. Though her body is quite underwhelming, the ability to provide your challengers (especially Gloryseeker) with quick attack is incredible. The more attacks you can get with your challengers, the better off you are. Legion coming down on two to then pair up with a Rimefang or Gloryseeker on three can immediately swing the game, and you should look for that pairing whenever you can.

Big Boys

Midrange lists, while powerful, are only as strong as their cards. If you stall out, miss your curve, or get hit by removal, you can quickly fall behind. To make up for that, you need card draw. This list goes about that with three copies of both Babbling Bjerg and Trifarian Assessor, and then backs them up with Avarosan Hearthguard.


Bjerg is a fairly straightforward card that has a nice role in the current meta. Not only can it block fearsome, but it curves extremely well into Hearthguard. Sometimes, it also finds buffed units or Tryndamere. A 3/3 is not the biggest card in the world, but a buffed Bjerg does put on pressure. It also helps you get something on the board without losing card advantage, which is quite important.

Assessor is like Bjerg, but on steroids. The 4/3 is quite often two or three cards, and can be more in certain situations. The rule here is don't get greedy. It is very easy to try and wait a turn or two to get more cards from Assessor, but most of the time the tempo loss isn't worth it. A four mana 4/3 that draws one or two is more than enough when you have so many strong units.

Note that, if she's buffed, the Assessor will also draw off of herself. That's an easy way to put down a body and get an extra card.

Tips and Tricks

Though it can be hard, you always want to favor your curve when possible. There will be times where you have to play a unit without getting value from it's play ability. There will also be times where you just need to get a body to block. It might not feel good to take such plays, but this deck relies on board presence. If you skip a turn to get value later, you might be dead.

Always try to bank spell mana when possible. This is not always achievable in a unit-based list, but it can come in handy with your frostbite package. Winning combat is important, and your spells make that happen. If you find yourself in a situation where you don't have mana at your disposal, you might be forced to take some rough trades. Getting an extra spell mana here and there helps prevent such situations.

Don't be afraid to pass. Challenger cards are at their strongest when your opponent can't play around them. If you have the attack token along with a turn two Gloryseeker against an Elise deck, it is often right to pass on turn two and let them play their card first. They will often assume you have nothing and drop the spider queen, which then gives you a chance to run out Gloryseeker and kill it.

Yes, you can get punished if they do nothing and end the round, but most midrange decks (including this one) want to play on curve. Since you have frostbite spells, you can make much better use of spell mana than your opponent can.

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As with any new card game, Legends of Runeterra is an ever-shifting landscape. The midrange builds have now taken shape, and they are quite powerful against both aggro and control. This deck fights both quite well, putting out early pressure against spell decks and strong minions to fight the board against aggro.

If you're looking for a pure midrange build with a lot of different options, this is the deck for you.