5 Standard Off-Meta Decks to Try on Ladder – Patch 5.0

The Standard meta has been stale with Galio Elder Dragon, Morgana Mordekaiser, and Teemo Yuumi dominating the meta. Testing out new archetypes with different game plans than what we're used to offers a breath of fresh air.

In this article, we'll explore off-meta decks that are holding their own in the Patch 5.0 meta.

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Evelynn Elder Dragon

Evelynn Elder Dragon focuses on leveraging keywords to strengthen its board and pave the way for a late-game win condition with Void Abomination.

Summoning units with specific keywords grants those keywords to Void Abomination. Key units like Airis, Steem, Genevieve Elmheart, and Ixtali Sentinel provide powerful keywords such as Elusive, Scout, Challenger, and Lifesteal, turning Void Abomination into a win condition.

Husks and Dragon Boons also contribute to Void Abomination's Evolve, gaining keywords like Fearsome, Quick Attack, and Deathless. The Cloud Drake reduces unit costs in hand, potentially allowing for an earlier Void Abomination deployment.

Setting up Beguiling Cobra followed by Void Abomination creates a copy of that monstrous unit, which should be enough to close out the game as the copy of Void Abomination will also gain the keywords you've summoned.

Xolaani the Bloodweaver serves as a secondary win condition, relying on Domination or Siren Song to buff up Husks, which, in turn, boosts Xolaani the Bloodweaver's stats when sacrificed.

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Annie Miss Fortune

Baufender shared their Annie Miss Fortune deck while I was streaming. Although I was a bit spectacle, the playstyle of the deck was fun and completely different than what we're currently used to.

This deck wants to find Miss Fortune as early as possible and start working on leveling her up. Yup, leveling up Miss Fortune in a deck that isn't Scouts!

To do that, we have cards like Snapjaw Swarm, Buhru Leader, and Island Navigator that offer that additional attack and advance Miss Fortune's level up.

Ravenborn Tome can double the equipped unit's skill. So units like Annie, Miss Fortune, and Captive Greyback will put more pressure on the opponent, making it difficult for them to even block.

The burn damage can become too much for them to handle, setting you up to destroy their Nexus if they don't find answers for your key cards. Noxian Fervor is the only burn spell in the deck to close out the game.

Sharpened Resolve is your only protection tool to keep an important unit alive (Miss Fortune or Captive Greyback) and it can be used offensively to push more Nexus damage.

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Norra PZ

This Norra deck's game plan centers around Sunken Temple and Mister Thrift. The plan is to plant Mysterious Portals into your deck with Norra, Portal Scholar, or Portalpalooza and start drawing them while Mister Thrift is on the board.

Mister Thrift continuously adds Mysterious Portals to the deck, facilitating aggressive attacks and forcing opponents to trade their units. Having infinite Mysterious Portals means you're fine with sacrificing units since you'll have access to more as the game progresses.

Sunken Temple plays a crucial role in this deck since it finds those Mysterious Portals. If you have a full board, you won't have to worry about discarding any fleeting units, Sunken Temple will shuffle them back into the deck.

Evil Imperfectionist can create copies of cards like Early Bird, providing you with a tool to kick important cards out of your opponent's hand, potentially shutting down their late game plan.

Some lists are adding Bursting Backpack as an alternative win condition with The Poison Puffcap and Chimes.

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Master Yi Riven

This combo-oriented deck has gained popularity on the ranked ladder recently.

The strategy involves setting up a powerful Overwhelm attack to strike down the opponent's Nexus. To do that, the deck takes advantage of units like Riven, Red-Barbed Razormace, and Enraged Firespitter capable of dishing out a lot of damage with Blade Fragments, Wuju Style, and Might.

The updated list includes Flurry of Fists, synergizing with Quick Attack for a Double Attack Overwhelm hit.

Finding Master Yi early can be pivotal, as the spell cost reduction aids in mid-game plays and facilitates the combo attack. A leveled Master Yi becomes a win condition, dealing with opponent units and posing a significant threat if given the Overwhelm keyword.

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Gwen Swain

Gwen Swain, the Fearsome spin of the Hallowed archetype has been holding up well on the ladder so far! Mostly because Formidable units can't block those Fearsome attackers.

Fearsome units like Burgeoning Sentinel, Precious Pet, Phantom Butler, Buhru Sentinel, and Swain can be challenging for most decks to block in the current meta. Combined with the Hallowed keyword, the deck threatens powerful hits that endanger the opponent's Nexus.

Gwen serves as mid-game pressure, utilizing Quick Attack and Hallowed buffs. Her drain ability slowly burns the opponent's Nexus while advancing Swain's level-up condition.

To level Swain, cards like Noxian Fervor, Death's Grasp, and Enraged Firespitter play a crucial role. A leveled Swain will gain the Overwhelm keyword, which means you'll want Swain to attack first to get those Hallowed stacks and connect with Nexus, thus activating his AOE damage ability.

Might is another method to sneak Overwhelm damage when played on Hallowed buff units or Enraged Firespitter.

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Closing Words

Exploring these decks on the ranked ladder has been refreshing. While they may not match the consistency of top meta decks, they introduce new playstyles, challenging players to think creatively as they set up the win condition.