Irelia, Blade Dancer
How to play : Irelia Blade Dancer
The calm-chaos tempo deck — set up her key units, then dance them between battlefields for points behind a hand full of protection.
Our take: What we would sleeve up
The steadiest tempo list we play — this is the build the top tables are running this season.
By Ubu · 31 Aug 2026 · Updated 2 Sept 2026
Build
All guides
Newest first. Every guide carries the full list, real card art, and the Thai build cost.
Legend
1 cards
Main deck
40 cards
Runes
12 cards
Battlefields
3 cards
Deck tech: how to pilot it
This deck is about one thing: timing. Set up your key units, then use the legend to dance them between battlefields for points: too early and the runes run dry, too late and the opponent is set up.
The plan
Everything spins around three cards. Irelia, Fervent owns the board, Stellacorn Herder keeps the hand full, and Vex, Apathetic squats on the battlefield they want. Once these start moving, the opponent has to answer in a hurry, and a hurried opponent is what a hand full of spells is for.
Mulligan
Look for a two-cost start: Scuttle Crab to draw or Tideturner to move, plus one key unit. Never stack expensive cards: our early game is about surviving, not pressing. Against spell decks, one Defy always stays.
Move, protect, buff
The toolkit does three jobs: move with Ride the Wind or Boots of Swiftness, cheat death with Edge of Night or Zhonya’s Hourglass, buff with Discipline or Defiant Dance. Timing beats volume: one spell held for their all-in wins the whole turn.
The flex slots
Astral Heron is the long game’s finishing blow, and the Switcheroo + Rebuke pair answers the giant units we never want to fight in a showdown: steal one or push it back instead of trading punches.
Good against
- Volibear Dragons · A quiet early game is a gift: we are fully set up before the first dragon lands.
- Azir Emperor of the Sands · The longer the value game runs, the more our key units take over. Sand soldiers cannot keep up.
Hard against
- Rengar Pridestalker · He punches before we finish setting up, and every turn spent defending is a beat we are not scoring.
- Master Yi Wuju · His might bonus means no turn is ever truly quiet: our small units trade down every time.
Deck stats
Energy curve
Main deck only. Runes, battlefields and the legend print no energy cost.
- 51
- 212
- 63
- 44
- 15
- 06
- 37
Domains
Main deck. A card in two domains is counted in both, so these add up to more than 40.
- Calm22
- Chaos21
Card types
Main deck.
- Unit17
- Spell15
- Gear8
Rarity mix
The whole deck, legend and runes included · this is the shopping list.
- Common20
- Uncommon13
- Rare15
- Epic8
What it costs to build in Thailand
Total
฿13,273.75
Thai price at the close of 16 Oct 2026
| Card | Copies | Per copy | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
 Irelia, Blade DancerSFD-195/221 | 1 | ฿40.00 | ฿40.00 |
 DefyOGN-045/298 | 2 | ฿150.00 | ฿300.00 |
 DisciplineOGN-058/298 | 3 | ฿90.00 | ฿270.00 |
 Zhonya's HourglassOGN-077/298 | 3 | ฿725.00 | ฿2,175.00 |
 RebukeOGN-172/298 | 2 | ฿25.00 | ฿50.00 |
 Ride the WindOGN-173/298 | 2 | ฿65.00 | ฿130.00 |
 TideturnerOGN-199/298 | 3 | ฿206.25 | ฿618.75 |
 Not So FastSFD-045/221 | 1 | ฿105.00 | ฿105.00 |
 Stellacorn HerderSFD-048/221 | 3 | ฿105.00 | ฿315.00 |
 Irelia, FerventSFD-057/221 | 1 | ฿825.00 | ฿825.00 |
 Treasure HunterSFD-130/221 | 2 | ฿17.50 | ฿35.00 |
 Boots of SwiftnessSFD-133/221 | 3 | ฿60.00 | ฿180.00 |
 Edge of NightSFD-139/221 | 2 | ฿43.75 | ฿87.50 |
 SwitcherooSFD-145/221 | 2 | ฿160.00 | ฿320.00 |
 Defiant DanceSFD-196/221 | 3 | ฿700.00 | ฿2,100.00 |
 Scuttle CrabUNL-053/219 | 3 | ฿177.50 | ฿532.50 |
 Pyke, ReturnedUNL-145/219 | 1 | ฿40.00 | ฿40.00 |
 Vex, ApatheticUNL-150/219 | 1 | ฿650.00 | ฿650.00 |
 Astral HeronVEN-044/166 | 3 | ฿1,400.00 | ฿4,200.00 |
 Calm RuneOGN-042/298 | 5 | ฿20.00 | ฿100.00 |
 Chaos RuneOGN-166/298 | 7 | ฿20.00 | ฿140.00 |
 Targon's PeakOGN-289/298 | 1 | ฿20.00 | ฿20.00 |
 Sunken TempleSFD-218/221 | 1 | ฿20.00 | ฿20.00 |
 Abandoned HallUNL-205/219 | 1 | ฿20.00 | ฿20.00 |