3 Lineups I Would Bring to a Tournament this Weekend

Hello everyone, Majiinbae here!

With a few tournaments coming up soon, such as our very own Mastering Runeterra Qualifier #5, Runeterra Academy and other grassroots events, I figured now would be a good time to talk about the decks and strategies that I consider to be the best positioned at the moment.

A lineup being well positioned has more to it than just whether or not the deck is strong: it needs to have a plan. Am I playing the 3 best decks and hoping to bully weaker lineups? Perhaps you’re seeing a low amount of healing in the format and decide burn is very strong. Or too many people have been playing a specific deck so you build a lineup wholly focused on destroying it.

There are plenty of different strategies, and none are specifically better than any other, but I do find it important to at least have a plan. With that said let’s jump straight into lineup #1.

The "Always Ban Ahri Kennen" lineup

This lineup removes the possibility of playing against the best deck in the format by just always banning it, allowing some of the strategies that have been kept down by the Ahri menace to finally shine.

Pantheon Shyvana.

Regions

Demacia
23 cards

Mount Targon
17 cards

Rarities

23 800

6

0

12

22

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

5

1

14

2

8

3

8

4

5

5

0

6

0

7+

Champions

6

4

Pantheon

3

4

Shyvana

3

Followers

18

1

Dragon Chow

3

1

Fleetfeather Tracker

2

2

Brightsteel Protector

3

2

Mountain Goat

3

3

Wounded Whiteflame

3

4

Blinded Mystic

2

5

Screeching Dragon

2

Spells

16

2

Guiding Touch

3

2

Sharpsight

3

2

Single Combat

2

3

Dragon's Clutch

3

3

Strafing Strike

2

5

Concerted Strike

2

5

Golden Aegis

1

Akshan Sivir

Regions

Demacia
17 cards

Shurima
23 cards

Rarities

23 200

6

0

9

25

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

8

1

14

2

8

3

3

4

7

5

0

6

0

7+

Champions

6

2

Akshan

3

4

Sivir

3

Landmarks

2

2

Preservarium

2

Followers

19

1

Fleetfeather Tracker

3

1

Treasure Seeker

3

2

Brightsteel Protector

3

3

Merciless Hunter

3

3

Vekauran Vagabond

3

5

Radiant Guardian

2

5

Vekauran Bruiser

2

Spells

13

1

Shaped Stone

2

2

Sharpsight

3

2

Single Combat

1

2

The Absolver

2

3

Cataclysm

2

5

Concerted Strike

2

5

Golden Aegis

1

Lurk 

Regions

Bilgewater
17 cards

Shurima
23 cards

Rarities

28 600

6

6

3

25

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

11

1

12

2

6

3

0

4

6

5

3

6

2

7+

Champions

6

3

Rek'Sai

3

5

Pyke

3

Followers

26

1

Sharkling

3

1

Treasure Seeker

3

1

Xer'sai Hatchling

3

2

Redfin Hammersnout

3

2

Snapjaw Swarm

3

3

Xer'sai Caller

3

5

Xerxa'Reth, The Undertitan

3

6

Xer'sai Dunebreaker

3

8

Jaull-fish

2

Spells

8

1

Bloodbait

2

2

Bone Skewer

1

2

Call the Pack

3

2

Ruthless Predator

2

All 3 of these decks struggle against stuns and homecoming. When you remove those from the equation, suddenly all of the board centric/rally decks gain a lot of points against the expected field.

The "Beat Ahri Kennen" lineup

For this lineup, we go the opposite route: we want our opponent to play Ahri Kennen, since our lineup is favored into it.

Ahri Kennen Go Hard

Regions

Ionia
37 cards

Shadow Isles
3 cards

Rarities

30 400

6

6

12

16

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

12

1

12

2

3

3

10

4

0

5

0

6

3

7+

Champions

6

1

Kennen

3

2

Ahri

3

Landmarks

2

3

God-Willow Seedling

2

Followers

13

1

Dancing Droplet

3

2

Navori Conspirator

3

3

Tasty Faefolk

1

4

Kinkou Wayfinder

3

7

Sai'nen Thousand-Tailed

3

Spells

19

1

Go Hard

3

1

Recall

3

2

Nopeify!

2

2

Retreat

1

2

Twin Disciplines

3

4

Concussive Palm

2

4

Deny

2

4

Homecoming

3

Darkness

Regions

Shadow Isles
16 cards

Bandlecity
24 cards

Rarities

24 000

6

0

13

21

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

2

1

15

2

2

3

10

4

3

5

7

6

1

7+

Champions

6

4

Veigar

3

5

Senna

3

Followers

17

2

Conchologist

3

2

Darkbulb Acolyte

3

2

Twisted Catalyzer

3

4

Aloof Travelers

1

4

Stilted Robemaker

3

6

Ixtali Sentinel

3

7

The Rekindler

1

Spells

17

1

Group Shot

2

2

Pokey Stick

3

2

Vile Feast

3

3

Mist's Call

1

3

Stress Defense

1

4

The Box

1

4

Withering Wail

2

6

Minimorph

2

6

Vengeance

2

FTR

Regions

Freljord
25 cards

Shadow Isles
15 cards

Rarities

26 400

5

5

12

18

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

0

1

6

2

5

3

11

4

6

5

3

6

9

7+

Champions

5

5

Trundle

3

8

Tryndamere

2

Landmarks

3

4

Blighted Ravine

3

Followers

7

2

Avarosan Sentry

3

3

Kindly Tavernkeeper

3

9

Commander Ledros

1

Spells

25

2

Vile Feast

3

3

Flash Freeze

2

4

Avalanche

3

4

The Box

2

4

Withering Wail

3

5

Catalyst of Aeons

3

6

Vengeance

3

7

Atrocity

2

9

The Ruination

1

12

Feel The Rush

3

I know it’s weird to put Ahri kennen in a lineup that is meant to beat Ahri Kennen but this specific version is fantastic in the mirror while also gaining you a lot of points against spiders (which you also really want to beat).

This lineup is looking to crush anyone who brings the best deck, and all three of these picks are teched out specifically for that reason -- that's why we have multiple one-mana ping spells such as Go Hard and Group Shot, and we slot extra copies of The Box and Withering Wail.

The Anti-Control lineup

You’re here to ruin Control players' day, and that’s all you care about. 

Turbo Thralls

Regions

Freljord
20 cards

Shurima
20 cards

Rarities

30 600

6

6

13

15

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

8

1

9

2

7

3

9

4

3

5

3

6

1

7+

Champions

6

3

Lissandra

3

5

Taliyah

3

Landmarks

9

1

Frozen Thrall

3

2

Preservarium

3

4

Blighted Ravine

3

Followers

6

2

Clockwork Curator

3

3

Kindly Tavernkeeper

2

8

The Clock Hand

1

Spells

19

1

Imagined Possibilities

2

1

Three Sisters

3

2

Time in a Bottle

3

3

Ice Shard

2

4

Avalanche

2

4

Rite of Negation

2

4

Succumb to the Cold

2

6

Promising Future

3

Pantheon Taric

Regions

Demacia
15 cards

Mount Targon
25 cards

Rarities

23 000

6

0

8

26

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

4

1

17

2

6

3

8

4

5

5

0

6

0

7+

Champions

6

4

Pantheon

3

4

Taric

3

Followers

11

1

Saga Seeker

3

2

Brightsteel Protector

3

2

Mountain Goat

2

3

Wounded Whiteflame

3

Spells

23

1

Chain Vest

1

2

Guiding Touch

3

2

Pale Cascade

3

2

Sharpsight

3

2

Single Combat

3

3

Zenith Blade

3

4

Bastion

2

5

Concerted Strike

2

5

Golden Aegis

3

Lulu Zed Rally 

Regions

Demacia
19 cards

Ionia
21 cards

Rarities

23 800

6

0

12

22

eternal

Mana cost

0

0

9

1

15

2

11

3

2

4

3

5

0

6

0

7+

Champions

6

3

Lulu

3

3

Zed

3

Followers

20

1

Fleetfeather Tracker

3

1

The Mourned

3

2

Brightsteel Protector

3

2

Greenglade Duo

3

2

Young Witch

3

3

Laurent Protege

2

3

Shadow Assassin

3

Spells

14

1

Ranger's Resolve

3

2

Sharpsight

3

2

Twin Disciplines

3

4

Relentless Pursuit

2

5

Golden Aegis

3

With the huge flux in anti Ahri lineups, the next level becomes a lineup built to prey on the decks flooded with pings and damage based AOE removal such as Avalanche and Withering Wail.

We switched from Pantheon Shyvana to the Taric variation because the extra focus on rallies and copies of Bastion make it even more difficult for the control player to deal with your board. This lineup has several counters, though, and is really looking to take advantage of an expected field -- if you don’t run into things like Darkness and FTR/Anivia, then you might be in trouble.

Closing Words

Remember: a lineup's strength always depends on what you expect your opponents to bring to the fight. There are many strategies, but you need to at least have a plan.

Good luck out there!