8 Decks for Day 1 Ranked Climb – Patch 4.6 Heart of the Huntress Expansion

The Heart of the Huntress expansion is just around the corner, introducing three new champions: Nidalee, Neeko, and The Poro King, along with their supporting cards.

The first day of a new season is always filled with excitement as players explore the new cards, leading to the emergence of various new archetypes. However, some players prefer to gain an advantage by using already-established decks during this experimental phase.

In this article, I will share eight different standard decks, both old and new, that have the potential to perform well on the first day of the expansion.

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Nidalee Gnar

Nidalee Gnar is an ideal combination, as Nidalee's level-up condition requires you to summon or transform units. Gnar's ability to transform into Mega Gnar and revert to his base state makes him a valuable asset in the deck, advancing Nidalee's level-up.

The Bushwhack Trap landmark allows you to give vulnerable to the opponent's weakest units. This can be quite strong, as both Gnar and Nidalee have the Quick Attack keyword, meaning they'll be able to pick off opponent's units with ease.

Once your champions level up, they will pose a threat with Overwhelm damage. And if Big Game Tycoon is present to witness the transformation, your units will double both their Power and Health, leading to a deadlier attack.

Swain Illaoi

One of my favorite decks, Swain Illaoi, has consistently performed well in the previous patch. It proves to be a great choice against early aggressive decks and can hold its own against swarm archetypes.

Additionally, Illaoi and Swain provide an Overwhelm win condition capable of inflicting significant damage to the opponent's Nexus. A leveled-up Swain can potentially demolish the opponent's board when he connects with the Nexus.

The fact that Swain Illaoi offers a good matchup against Fizz Samira makes it one of the best choices for climbing on the first day.

Setting up both Swain and The Leviathan on the board will stun-lock two of your opponent's units, paving the way for a stronger attack.

Norra Neeko

The Norra Neeko swarm deck could prove to be a solid choice against aggressive decks that you might encounter on the first day of the expansion.

This deck allows you to flood the board and gradually chip away at the opponent's Nexus. Simultaneously, the diverse range of units with different subtypes will contribute to leveling up Neeko. A leveled-up Neeko leads to stronger attacks and a powerful late game, forcing the opponent into unfavorable blocks.

Neeko isn't the only card that enhances your units' stats. Yordle Captain provides a stat buff to your summoned units, adding even more pressure on the opponent.

Considering the ability to swarm the board, including Yordles in Arms seems logical. This powerful spell grants all your units +3|+3, setting up a potentially lethal attack.

Fizz Samira

Despite the nerfs Fizz Samira received in previous patches, it remains a solid deck in the Standard format. I have reached the top 5 on the EMEA ranked ladder, primarily playing Fizz Samira.

Assessing how this archetype will fare in the upcoming meta with the introduction of numerous new cards is challenging. Nevertheless, it could be a reliable choice for the first day of the expansion.

This archetype might thrive on the ladder as players experiment and refine their new decks. Samira provides a powerful early game, setting up strong attacks before transitioning into the Powder Pandemonium win condition.

Poros Deck

The Poro King unites all the Poros! This time, the Poro archetype shows promise with a more potent late game, courtesy of The Poro King. This deck aims to buff up all the Poros with the Poro Snax and Special Snax.

You're able to develop an early board of Poros. However, you'll be hesitant to block and trade with them in the early stages of the game as you can get more value out of the Poros once Poro Snax start buffing them up.

The Poro King creates random Special Snax, Espresso Snax stands out as the most powerful, enabling you to eliminate troublesome units with the Challenger keyword. On the other hand, Pepper Snax can establish a winning strategy by inflicting Nexus damage with the Impact keyword across all the Poros on the board.

Eventually, your Poros will become too strong for the opponent to handle, and with an Overwhelm or Elusive keyword, you'll be able to sneak the win without having to deal with the opponent's blockers.

Kai'Sa Garen J4

Kai'Sa Garen Jarvan IV has been one of the strongest Standard decks in the Patch 4.5 meta. It should deliver a powerful performance on the first day of Patch 4.6, especially considering the difficulty most decks will face when dealing with Kai'Sa + Cataclysm.

This deck can withstand early pressure, thanks to units like Voidling, Belvethi Elder, and Petricite Broadwing, until a leveled Kai'Sa wipes out the board, and potentially pushing Overwhelm damage.

Champions' Strength is a powerful late-game play, but it could be difficult to pull off if decks that run Rite of Negation are popular on day 1.

Ashe LeBlanc Temple

The new Temple to True Ice landmark has the potential to alter the way we play the Ashe LeBlanc Frostbite deck. Units such as Ashe, LeBlanc, and Trifarian Gloryseeker will greatly benefit from Temple to True Ice, gaining substantial health and making it challenging for the opponent to eliminate them.

This landmark reduces your reliance on combat tricks to protect your units and forces the opponent to expend more resources.

Moreover, For Glory! is now a viable addition to the deck. With the Temple to True Ice, both summoned Trifarian Gloryseeker transform into 5|5 units with the challenger keyword.

Vayne Aatrox Quinn

Vayne Aatrox Quinn is another already-established deck in the meta. It's a safe choice that has a good shot at beating most decks you might face on the ranked ladder.

Your challenger units along with equipment can pick off early annoying units until your stronger units like Ranger-Knight Defector and Aatrox hit the board.

Aatrox is the late-game win condition, World Ender transforms all your equipped units to the equipment's Darkin form, setting the stage for powerful attacks.

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Closing Words

I'm looking forward to starting the try-hard mode in the Standard format. The game feels more competitive when learning and accustoming to the Standard meta rewards you in the Runeterra Open.