Gorica EXPLAINS His Akali Champion Deck | Riftbound RQ Singapore Winner Deck Profile

Summary

Alexander Gorica explains the unusual Akali deck he piloted to win the Singapore RQ. Rather than trying to seize the board early, the deck is built to slow the game down, generate card advantage, and eventually overwhelm opponents with powerful units and hidden-card plays.

Deck plan and card choices

• Play for value, not tempo. Akali’s ability rewards a patient approach, so the deck is comfortable falling behind early while setting up stronger turns.
• Use battlefields to control the pace:
  • Sigil is Gorica’s usual blind choice. It taxes common early plays and slows aggressive decks.
  • Void Gate is his preferred option when going second.
  • The Forgotten Monument is his choice when going first. He added it after finding that Warrens of Zaun left him with a difficult Kennen matchup.
• Astral Heron and Stella form the deck’s key engine. When Gorica finds and develops them on time, the deck can generate enough value to take over.
• Keep two-cost cards purposeful. Gorica tested options such as Lonely Poro and Scuttle, but found them awkward later in the game and not useful enough on their own. Grieving Witness is more flexible: it can be powered up through Akali and works well with Blitzcrank and defensive plays. Mariah also earns a slot because it can serve as both a two-cost play and a hidden card.
• Blitzcrank replaced a Charm slot. Its body, interaction, and synergy with Akali make it useful for disrupting opponents while protecting or repositioning Gorica’s own units.
• Pay attention to hidden-card count. Gorica began with six, found seven more reliable, and currently plays eight. He considers seven or eight a good range, though he sometimes plays Heron in base when he has no hidden card available.
• Block was a particularly strong, unexpected combat trick. Its +3 boost can swing fights around common attack breakpoints, protect Heron, and trigger a free boost for Grieving Witness when multiple units are involved.

Tactical lessons

• Consider going second against decks with three-cost champion units. In matchups such as Lillia and Lucian, this can disrupt their usual sequence of early two-cost plays while giving Akali a strong curve. Gorica still generally prefers going first when the opponent would benefit too much from the extra initiative.
• Use Akali’s movement and Blitzcrank together. Repositioning units during an engagement can protect them, interfere with an opponent’s setup, and create valuable combat situations.
• Empowering Akali can punish early battlefield plays. This is especially effective when opponents must commit units to a location, though experienced players may avoid the punishment by delaying their plays.
• Don’t panic when behind. Gorica advises Akali players to stay patient: starting at 0–6 does not mean the game is lost if the deck can develop its engine and recover through value.

Matchups and tournament experience

Gorica reported good results against Master Yi and blue-purple decks such as Diana, Mel, and Ezreal. He credited Blitzcrank and Akali’s pressure and mobility, along with defensive interaction, for helping in those matchups.

Jayce-Aurora was his clearest bad matchup. He chose not to devote many deck slots to improving it, preferring to accept the risk rather than weaken the rest of the list. He also found Lillia difficult and described LeBlanc, especially the Hook version, as potentially unfavorable against a skilled pilot.

In the event’s final stretch, Gorica faced five Kennen decks and three Rengar decks. He felt his deck was built to handle them, though either matchup could still go poorly against a strong draw.

A Rengar match ended in a draw after the players ran out of time. Gorica said there was no intentional delay and regretted not managing the clock more carefully.

Player mindset

Gorica said Akali rewards extensive practice because its decisions can be unintuitive. His League of Legends experience helped him develop a healthier approach to competition: he focused on enjoying the deck and doing his best rather than treating a top finish as an obligation.

During long tournaments, he takes five to ten minutes after rounds to listen to music and reset.

Featured gamers and sources

• Alexander Gorica — Akali deck creator and Singapore RQ winner.
• LotharHS — Interviewer and host of the video.
• Gailwinds — Gorica’s local practice partner, known for playing Lillia.
• Colin — Competitive player mentioned in discussion of the tournament results.
• Linsanity, Kitsuo, and Yoshi — Gorica’s testing group.
• IU — Gorica’s partner, whom he thanked for her support.