Weekend Warrior Weapons, Dec 3 – Twenty-three Decks to Last-Push the LoR Ladder With

Welcome! Welcome, my friend, please step inside!

Not just the week, but the whole Season is coming to an end. Last few days to either climb to your desired rank, or lay back and enjoy weird brews at leisure…

… so, please, tell me! What shall we furnish you with, for these last few ladder runs before Patch Day arrives?

Our selection includes the well-known, the not-so-seen and the decidedly exotic from among the best LoR ladder decks, curated from foremost APIarists Legna, Balco and Vivo. So do share what you are looking for, if you please: shall we show you…

… the tried and true Meta Staples?

• Zed Poppy, aka Rally Elusives,
• Sivir Aksham,
• Ziggs Poppy,
• Gangplank Sejuani, aka Plunder,
• Bandle Tree,
• Feel Da Minah, clawing its way to the top,
• Jayce Sentinels, another deck making the jump from little-know to Meta Staple,

… something a bit more exotic, from our Connoisseur’s Corner?

• Poppy Lux,
• Sharvan Lulu Poppy Midrange,
• Vladmir Braum, a returning classic,
• Swain Ziggs,
• Gangplank Twisted Fate -- the original Noxian pairing,
• Riven Viktor, this weeks Ambush deck of choice,
• Draven Viktor,
• The Hand of Pirates,
• Akshan Riven, going from risky blend to a connoisseur's choice,

… or are you after the decidedly Risky and Rare?

• Frozen Rose,
• Soraka Tahm Kench, a classic that refuses to stay in the has-been house,
• Biceps Discard,
• Troop of Jayce,
• Aurelion Sol Poppy, because Poppy leaves no Champion behind,
• Howling Akshan
• and Aphelios Zoe, perhaps prepping for Patch Day.
  
  
  

Meta Staples

These 53%-plus winrate, 1%-plus playrate blends are what have defined the meta during the past few days.

Superbly engineered and refined, tried-and-true builds for those that value efficiency over novelty: they get the job done, and get it done well. Our recommendation is the highest-winrate brew we could find among the most played variations of each particular Archetype.

Rally Elusives, aka Zed Poppy:

The King and Queen of ruthless ladder efficiency refuse to give up their throne — generate hard to block board, make it bigger, Rally, repeat.

Strong Against: Pretty much everything not listed below!

Struggles Against: Gangplank TF (both the BC and Nox versions) / Draven Jinx / Jayce Sentinels

You may find some extra tips about Zed & Poppy in this guide.

Sivir Akshan (Demacia):

After being absent at the top for a couple of weeks, Renekton's gift-seekers have returned with a vengeance. If you haven't played this Archetype in a few patches, it may well be somewhat new: with several cards changed due to nerfs, the Desert Duo return to the top of the charts.

Strong Against: Dragons / Darkness / Bandle Tree / Gangplank TF

Struggles Against: Gangplank Sejuani / Draven Sion

Poppy Ziggs:

Everybody has a plan, until you go wide and punch them in the face. A beautiful example of single-minded homebrewing -- this list, which failed to be discovered at Worlds, was made known shortly after (link), and has traversed nerfs and new metas practically untouched.

Strong Against: Dragons / Thralls / Lurkers / Rally Elusives

Struggles Against: Gangplank Twisted Fate / Draven Sion / Lee Sin Zoe / Darkness

Gangplank Sejuani, aka Plunder:

Overwhelming champions with a sadistic penchant for control -- freeze your foe's board at Burst speed, and revel in their wails of despair. Should they still stay standing, finish the job with Feel The Rush

Strong Against: Except the blends below, Plunder is either favored or roughly even among the rest of the field – its ladder prowess may not make it obvious, but this is a rather fair deck, in that it has a fighting chance against most popular opponents.

Struggles Against: Soraka Tahm Kench / Lulu Poppy / Thralls / Rally Elusives

You may find some extra tips about the deck in this detailed guide.

Bandle Tree:

Tree-huggin’ Yordles, who were never far from our cream-of-the-crop list, have finally climbed to the top. Two different win conditions -- go wide & punch face, or control the board and win with The Bandle Tree.

A plethora of choices from created cards makes this an ideal blend for those seeking to marry variety with great performance. Perhaps a hard deck to pilot, due its abundant decision points, but one that never feels stale.

Strong Against: Dragons / Darkness / Thralls / Bandle Tree versions with less champions / Lurkers

Struggles Against: Gangplank TF / Draven Sion / Poppy Zed / Akshan Sivir

Trundle Sejuani Tryndamere, aka Feel The Minah:

Having lost a bit of steam last week, our Big Champs blend has returned kicking behinds at the very top. If you wish to climb with expensive units and spells, look no further.

Strong Against: Draven Sion / Thralls / Lurkers / Jayce Lux

Struggles Against: Darkness / Poppy Ziggs / Lee Sin Zoe / Rally Elusives / Elise Jayce Vi

According to scholars, this is Scathus’ take on random7hs’ classic, including Scattered Pod to make the Feel The Rush combo more consistent.

Jayce Sentinels:

Yet another blend that has been steadily refined and gaining traction, now making its debut among our Meta Staples -- interestingly, strong against the strongest blends, yet struggles with the stragglers.

Strong Against: Poppy Ziggs / Gangplank TF / Bandle Tree / Poppy Zed

Struggles Against: Thralls / Draven Sion / Darkness / Lurkers

Other Meta Staple choices: other solid performers among the Meta Staples include Ping City, Lux Jayce, Lurkers, and Draven Sion, the latter spiking at Masters -- they are not included in our weekly selection since, in the last few days, their overall performance has dipped below 53%, but they are solid choices nevertheless should they fit your playstyle.

The Connoisseur’s Corner

Do you wish your weapon of choice to be a bit less seen on the LoR ladder, while still very much a well-engineered contraption? Our selection of rarer formulas—some of them returning to the spotlight, some of them quite new—should have something to quench your thirst for variety without marrying your odds at a steady climb.

Poppy Lux (54%):

Topping again our Connoisseur's selection, and showing superb prowess at Masters (although not so much in lower rungs, which may indicate a hard deck to pilot), the tricky Conchologist and Curious Shellfolk shell pair with mighty Demacian units and spells for a well-rounded might-and-magic deck.

Strong Against: Zoe Lee Sin / Gangplank TF

Struggles Against: Bandle Tree / Plunder / Dragons / Poppy Ziggs / Lurkers / Thralls

Jarvan Lulu Poppy Midrange (54%):

Nobody would fault you if, after glancing at the regions and Champions, you grumble: "Meh… another Rally Elusive blend, with some Jarvan thrown in for novelty?"

Not so fast, though, my friend: this blend is much closer to the "Sharvan" Midrange classic, itself a variation of the revered Shen Fiora of yore. Elusives and Rally are indeed part of this blend, but in minimum quantities.

Strong Against: Poppy Ziggs / Zoe Lee Sin / Thralls / Akshan Sivir. 

Struggles Against: Bandle Tree / Darkness / Draven Sion

Vladmir Braum (55%+):

Truly new for our younger customers, or a sight for sore, older eyes: an Archetype that many an awesome brewer attempted to refine, without ever quite making it to the top, now finds itself maintaining an impressive winrate for several days… perhaps helped by it's somewhat favored matchup into Plunder. If you are in the mood for returning classics with a distinct play pattern, this may be your blend.

Strong Against: Thralls / Gangplank Sejuani

Struggles Against: Poppy Zed / Lurkers / Draven Sion

Swain Ziggs (55%+):

Why pair Ziggs with the little guys, when you can pair him with the Grand General? An Archetype that has been making waves for quite some time, and has shown impressive results in the last three days.

Strong Against: Rally Elusives / Thralls / Zoe Lee Sin / Darkness / Draven Sion

Struggles Against: Akshan Sivir / Bandle Tree / Poppy Ziggs / Gangplank decks / Lurkers

Gangplank Twisted Fate (Noxus / 55%+):

The original keg-tossing blend, later overshadowed by its Bandle City variant, still packs all its original punch. It had lost a bit of its gunpowder-reeking edge last week, but now again shows quite impressive results. A note for those seeking variety: while the Champs are the same, the Bilgewater toolkit does not exactly overlap with the Ping City blend.

Strong Against: Rally Elusives / Zoe Lee Sin / Akshan Sivir / Bandle Tree

Struggles Against: Darkness / Gangplank Sejuani / The Bandle City version / Swain Teemo

Riven Viktor (54%):

Our Connoisseur's selection wouldn't be complete without the latest mutations of the Noxian P&Z Ambush blends -- in this case, also fulfilling Legna's Theorem of every Meta containing at least one underplayed Riven deck.

Strong Against: Thralls / Bandle Tree

Struggles Against: Zoe Lee Sin / Poppy Zed / Darkness / Plunder / Swain Teemo

Draven Viktor (54%): 

Another always-popular and well-performing mix of Noxus and P&Z with Ambush on top for a huge Elusive finish.

Strong Against: Bandle Tree / Thralls / Taliyah Ziggs / Dragons

Struggles Against: Zoe Lee Sin / Darkness / Gangplank Twisted Fate

You may find some extra tips about the deck in this detailed guide.

The Hand of Pirates (55%+): 

Pirates have returned, have press-ganged Marai Warden onboard…

… then apparently mutinied, tossed Gangplank overboard, chose The Hand of Noxus as their Captain, and currently terrorize the EU shard. Weird times ahoy! 

Strong Against: Feel Da Minah / Draven Sion / Lurkers

Struggles Against: Poppy Ziggs / Poppy Zed

Akshan Riven (54%+):

A blend undergoing extensive experimentation across all servers, although with not a large enough sample size to drive specific conclusions, which in turn makes it difficult to recommend a particular list.

At any rate, a well-performing blend with lots of room for tweaks and improvements -- if polishing the last five or six cards of a particular build is your cup of tea, this may be the blend for you.

Strong / Struggles Against: too little data

The Risky Brews

Perhaps a steady, predictable climb with what the whole world is piloting does not satiate your thirst for risk, reward and adventure? We may have something here that may quench such thirst, my friend. And, should this not be exotic enough for you, the barkeep at The Pilgrims Road pub (link) may have weirder brews for you.

Frozen Rose: 

Admittedly, the Black Rose is not the first to come to mind when you think of "hairy"...

… yet the yetis she has decided to team up with surely are. And without looking at the decklist, you will never guess who else she has paired with. This blend shows impressive results in the Asian server, although in a single list (which usually signals a pet research project of some extremely skilled player).

Strong Against: Feel Da Minah / Draven Sion / Lurkers

Struggles Against: Poppy Ziggs / Poppy Zed

Soraka Tahm Kench:

Dropped from our Connoisseur's selection into our more adventurous brews due to very low playrate, but it's still performing well: a beloved classic, absent at the higher rungs for quite some times, and that can chew Plunder for breakfast.

Strong Against: Plunder

Struggles Against: Poppy Zed / Lurkers / Poppy Ziggs

Biceps Discard: 

If consumption of audiovisual narratives has left you a bit nostalgic about everybody's favorite rocket-launching, lost-marbled girl from Zaun… perhaps you are not alone: Draven Jinx has returned!

Troop of Jayce:

Talking about Champions you don't usually picture without a close shave: Jayce has taken a page from one of Ezreal's oldest books it seems, herding some Elnuks for a bit of P&Z and Freljord fun.

Aurelion Sol Poppy:

It may be a bit of a cliche by now, but if you want to climb with your favorite Champion and don't seem to find a good deck with them, just invite Poppy for the ride. Enjoy before the nerf axe hits, because it's a safe bet that the hammer-wielding yordle won't dodge its sharp edge next week.

Howling Akshan:

Perhaps one of the most variety-providing cards, along with The Bandle Tree -- and without a  doubt at the top of the power fantasy scale: The Howling Abyss. If you can't punch them in the face quickly enough, then stale the game and the Abyss will take care of winning for you.

Aphelios Zoe:

One of the least played (and worst-performing) Champions has pulled interesting results in the last couple of days. Single list warning (probably a pet research project from a highly skilled pilot), and perhaps a preparation for the Targon cards we shall play with next week, but thus far this blend's performance has been quite high.

Very well, my friend…

… I hope we were able to please your refined taste.

Should you require more metrics for your choice of weaponry, do let me know and I shall do my best to furnish you with whatever numbers I find — and should you be interested in more recommendations from yours truly, here is where you shall find them.

Good luck in your climb!