By the Numbers – Best LoR Meta and Off-Meta Decks

Note: This is an old article.
For the most recent data, check the latest LoR Best Decks article, or our Meta Tier List!

Best Legends of Runeterra Decks – Ending the World with Rockets and Big Booms

As of early Sunday, these are the top five most popular LoR decks according to Mastering Runeterra's Meta Tier List and matchup data:

• Same as last Friday, Aatrox is the most popular champion at the top, by a huge margin,
• Completely out of nowhere (none of the Worlds competitors brought it to the Championship), Ziggs Acolyte's Reliquary went from fringe brew last Friday, to today's Juggernaut – also highly impressing Monte and Leer when they took it out for a spin on the LoR ladder.
• As Leer noted yesterday when analyzing the World Championship meta, and comparing it to the ladder, Champions' Strength decks have not made on ladder as many waves as in Worlds – yet one Championship deck, Lone Jinx Demacia, is the third ladder Juggernaut. And, as we'll see in detail in this article, establishing an interesting rock-paper-scissors dynamic with Aatrox and Ziggs.
• Kayle and Ryze are thus far among the weakest champions ever released – and Ryze in particular is warping the ladder by how truly awful he is, donating LPs left and right.

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Technical note – About overall archetypes and specific decks, and what we mean by "LoR best decks"

Most data sites (including MaRu's Meta Tier List) and articles like Leer's Monday Meta Report sort Legends of Runeterra meta decks by archetype ("archetype" being the aggregate of decks with a specific champion combination) – that's also how matchup tables are shown in pretty much all data sites.

In this article, we'll sort these Legends of Runeterra decks by the best specific decklist for each archetype – since in each archetype some decks fare better than others (and sometimes the difference is quite noticeable), we'll broadly group the best LoR decks in four arbitrary categories, by amount of games played in the data samples we check:

• Juggernauts: LoR decks with more than 2100 games – these are the best tried-and-true, top meta decks in Legends of Runeterra.
• Heavyweights: LoR decks with between 2100 and 900 games played – other excellent choices, with large enough samples to confidently say, "Yeah, this works."
• Punching Up: LoR decks with between 900 and 400 games played – we're entering the Land of Small Sample Sizes here, but as far as numbers go, these decks can put up one hell of a fight into the current LoR meta.
• YMMV: decks with less than 450 games in the last three days – fringe, risky stuff, but here's where you usually find the spice!

For this article, in all cases we'll look at decks in Platinum and above, and in the last three days, unless stated otherwise – and when talking about LoR decks in general, or best Legends of Runeterra decks in particular, we'll always be referring to specific lists (while reserving "archetype" to denominate the aggregate of all decks with a particular champion pair). As a rule of thumb, decks with a win rate (WR) above 52% catch our eye; above 53% are eye-widening, and anything with a WR over 55% is exceptional.

On the other hand, do notice that when talking about matchup tables, it's always about archetypes – in other words, we'll recommend which are the best Legend of Runeterra decks (ie. specific decklist) you can choose to face the most popular archetypes (since you'll find all versions in the LoR ladder).

Last but not least: all stats and recommendations above are for choosing the best LoR deck for the Legends of Runeterra Ladder environment – the Best-of-Three format (found in Tournaments and Gauntlets) is a very different kettle of fish!

Sources: Legna, Mastering Runeterra Meta Tier List.

If you have any feedback on how these decks could be showcased differently, do let me know! =)

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Juggernauts – Best Legends of Runeterra Meta Decks

Here we showcase LoR decks with more than 2100 games in the last three days, and good-to-great WR.

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🔥🔥Blazing Hot!! – Lone Ziggs' Reliquary

Last Friday, we found Lone Ziggs in a tiny 250-game sample.

Today, the best Ziggs deck is the single most-played build in Runeterra: well over five thousand games, and a smacking 58% WR!

Lone Ziggs Reliquary beats Lone Jinx Demacia, but loses to Aatrox Kayn (which itself loses to Jinx…), so it seems like a rock-paper-scissors dynamic may shape the upcoming meta. Ziggs also crushes Red Gwen and FTR, is even into Jhinnie, and dies to Plunder, Sivir Akshan Varus and Draven Jinx.

Further reading: both Monte and Leer were highly impressed by Ziggs and his Acolyte friends when they took them for a spin in the LoR ladder, sharing several tips on how to (and how not to!) pilot them.

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Aatrox Kayn

The ladder version of Aatrox Kayn resembles what competitor ABG Aurora and our new World Champion AragOrnn brought to Worlds. It's overall the most popular Legends of Runeterra archetype (by a huge margin), and the best Atrox Kayn deck punches at 58% in about five thousand games.

Aatrox Kayne beats Lone Ziggs, while being utterly crushed by Lone Jinx (which, as noted above, loses to Lone Ziggs!).

Aatrox Kayn is also superior to other Aatrox decks (like when paired with Quinn, Vayne, or Akshan) and consistently beats most of the previous meta's powerhouses (like Red Gwen, Kayn Vayne, and Jinx Lulu) – while, on the other hand, losing to Jhinnie, all Champ Strength decks, and Feel the Rush.

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Teddy's Lone Strong Jinx

Transplanted card-by-card from Worlds to the LoR ladder, Teddy's Lone Jinx is today every bit as scary as it was last Friday: the highest WR among Juggernauts (and, in fact, from among every other deck we'll see today), punching at 59% across 4,200 games.

Lone Jinx is excellent against all Aatrox decks (with odds above 60% against Aatrox Kayn in particular), but gets wrecked by Lone Ziggs – by how popular these three decks are, their violent triangle is one of the factors that will shape the meta in coming days.

Lone Jinx also murders Jhinnie and Red Gwen, while losing to Plunder, Feel the Rush, and Teemo Norra.

And if you feel like trying a spicy variation, check this Jinx Teemo deck – similar gameplan, but with a more Elusive flood-the-board aggro twist.

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Heavyweights – Strong LoR Meta Decks

These LoR decks have between 900 and 2100 games since the World Ender expansion landed – solid picks for climbing the Legends of Runeterra ladder!

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🧊Cooling Off: Aatrox Vayne

With still a very good performance (54% WR across 1,900 games), Aatrox Vayne has lost a bit of steam when compared with other powerhouses (it was over 56% in 1,500 games last Friday).

As noted two days ago, it's probably related to how Aatrox Vayne brutally farms weak Ryze brews (all good decks have their performance inflated thanks to Ryze, but Aatrox Vayne's odds are over 80% in this matchup…) while losing to all three Juggernauts, Jhinnie, Red Gwen, and all the Champ Strength decks.

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Caitlyn Jayce Lucian Teemo

Another deck that, like Lone Jinx, combines Demacia and Piltover & Zaun to flood the board and throw a Champions' Strength on top. Unlike Lone Jinx, though, Caitlyn Jayce Lucian Teemo is unique to ladder (no Worlds' competitor brought it to the fray, even though MatiMayo did bring Lucian alongside Teemo and Jinx).

Like all Champ Strength decks, this one wrecks Aatrox Kayn – but, interestingly, seems not too disfavored into Lone Ziggs.

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Katarina Gwen, ft Elise

Although a serious underdog to all three Juggernauts (odds at 40% or below for Red Gwen), this tough trio still manages an impressive 56% WR across nearly 1,300 games. Its success seems explained by how murderously they farm Kayle and Ryze decks, though, so as noted last Friday, if you enjoy Red Gwen on ladder, maybe take it for a spin now, before the field turns too hostile.

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⭐Rising Star – Quinn Vayne, ft. Aatrox

Another deck transplanted card-by-card from what Teddy brought to the Worlds' Final, paring Aatrox and Vayne in a shell resembling the Quinn Vayne Fiora deck from last Season, with Aatrox taking Fiora's spot to provide a consistent win condition – a deck getting a lot of traction when compared with last Friday (around 700 games then, more than 1,200 now) and punching above 58%.

Consistently beats Jhinnie, and can go toe-to-toe with both Lone Ziggs and Aatrox Kayn – on the other hand, loses to Red Gwen and all Champ Strength decks.

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⭐Rising Star – Norra Teemo

Although the most notorious Champ Strength decks go for Piltover & Zaun as second region (above all because Acorn, the Hextechnician is great at cheesing CS sooner), quite a lot of decks both at Worlds and ladder go instead for Bandle City, and for Norra in particular (interestingly, nobody at Worlds went for the specific Norra Teemo pairing).

Norra Teemo has gained a nice bit of traction since last Friday (doubling its playrate to around 1,100 games today) while keeping its 59% punch intact, and it sits in an interesting spot from the PoV of matchups against our current Juggernauts: Norra Teemo has a good edge against Lone Jinx, a slight edge against Aatrox Kayn, and is roughly even versus Lone Ziggs.

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Annie Jhin

The immutable deck is having a good time, striking at 55% in about 1,100 games – it's even versus Lone Ziggs, favored versus Aatrox decks, and beaten badly by Lone Jinx (and all Champ Strength decks).

Further reading: Yangzera's Annie goes to Stack School – A Jhin Annie Aggro Guide. 

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⭐Rising Star – Jayce Lux Seraphine

Following the footsteps of other Piltover & Zaun Demacia Champions' Strength decks, Jayce Lux Seraphine (copy-pasted card-by-card from WhatAmI triple CS Worlds' lineup) shows a similar increase in traction as the other Strength decks we've seen: over 1K games today, with WR nearing 59%.

Looks very good against Aatrox decks, but weak into Lone Ziggs and other Champ Strength brews.

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Punching Up – Runeterra Decks Doing Great

Runeterra decks with between 450 and 900 games in the last forty hours – pilots beware, we're sailing into small data samples, yet all decks here have quite a few games under their belts.

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🧊Cooling Off – Aatrox Akshan

Yang's list from his new Aatrox decks article has deflated a bit – still punching at a very good 53%, but in the current context where Ryze generously donates LP to everyone, doesn't look as hot as last Friday.

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Fizz Norra Poppy

Another Worlds copy-pasta (in this case Smooth's version of a Bandlemacia "Flood and Strength" deck) on the rise: play rate going from 450 to 650 games, punching above 57%.

Excellent against Aatrox Kayn, seems even versus Lone Ziggs and slightly the underdog against Champ Strength brews.

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Kayn Vayne

Kayn Vayne, like its fellow Juggernauts from the Domination expansion, still maintains a solid performance mostly by farming Ryze and Kayle, while folding to Aatrox decks and Champ Strength decks.

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Aphelios Leona Zoe

A fairly unique Champ Strength variant, going for Targon as its second region. Has gotten a nice jump in play rate (doubling its games played from last Friday to 600 today) with a solid 53% WR.

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Jinx Lulu

Unlike other Domination powerhouses, Jinx Lulu seems to have a fighting chance against the Top Dogs: while Aatrox Kayn is a disastrous matchup, odds against Lone Jinx are roughly 50/50, and Lone Ziggs is very favored for Jinx Lulu.

And, while there's too little data to assess other matchups, given Jinx Lulu's proven superiority over most of the Domination decks one could guess that the Zaunite rocketeer and everybody's favored Chomper-buffing Yordle may come out on top of the field.

Further reading: ThChEm's Lulu and Rockets – A Jinx Lulu LoR Deck Guide.

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Ezreal Seraphine, ft. Viktor

Ezreal, Seraphine and Viktor win today's Best Back Alley Bar Deck Award (along with "Deck with Most Different Cards," as is customary with these brews), smacking at 58% in around 500 games.

Even versus Aatrox Kayn and Lone Jinx, but dies horribly to Lone Ziggs.

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Draven Jinx, aka Discard Aggro

The original Queen of Rockets deck still has some fight in it, after returning to the spotlight during the second half of Domination. Looks very good into Lone Ziggs, although underdog to the other two Juggernauts.

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Akshan Sivir Varus

A trio that made a bit of waves last expansion, although it never quite got too much traction – great performance now, with a near 56% WR in over 450 games. Seems able to consistently beat Lone Ziggs, while roughly even against Aatrox Kayne.

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Your Mileage May Vary – Fringe LoR Decks

Legends of Runeterra decks with less than 450 games played in the last three days – very little data, so these may range from total flukes to the next big thing. 

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Annie TF, ft. Kat

By the end of last season, Annie TF was enjoying a nice spot in the Runeterra meta (being a solid deck into all three of the strongest, most popular decks), and it's still a very good early choice in World Ender.

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Trundle Tryndamere (FR/IO)

Feel the Rush is great against Champ Strength decks (Deny pretty much shuts down one of their game plans, and Avalanche takes care of the rest), but has an awful time against Lone Ziggs, while being a bit weak versus Aatrox. Still, a very solid deck as of now, punching at 54%+. Interestingly, the best performing version has dropped Blighted Ravine, usually a staple of this archetype.

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Jinx Lucian Teemo

Another Worlds' copy-pasta (MatiMayo's in this case), and one of the least common Piltover & Zaun Champions' Strength decks, but results are amazing: it has doubled its play rate since last Friday (about 380 games today) and WR is through the roof. It consistently beats Aatrox Kayn, and looks (in a smallish sample) to beat the other Juggernauts, too!

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Taliyah Ziggs

A classic pairing, now adding the new Acolyte's Reliquary twist – seems not as hot as Lone Ziggs, but it's putting numbers in the fringe.

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Rumble Vayne (DE/NX)

One of the meta's Juggernauts in the first half of Domination, back when Seraphine and Vayne ruled unopposed, showing an amazing 58% WR now in across 300+ games. Too little data to know if it's by farming Ryze decks, or by punching Juggernauts in the face.

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Gangplank Sejuani

Now, this is one old-school archetype to keep an eye on: it's quite "scattered" right now (lots of slightly different variations, all doing very well, meaning the best version is not clear yet), and able to beat two of the Juggernauts (Lone Ziggs and Lone Jinx) while not being too disfavored against the third (Aatrox Kayne). If it gets refined just right, Gangplank Sejuani may make quite a dent in the meta.

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Braum Gnar Sejuani

Don't get fooled by Gnar – we're not going to Bandle City, this is actually a frozen version of Champ Strength, although going for quite the heavy top end. Impressive results across nearly 200 games.

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Bannerman Garen

Will this be the deck that finally pushes Elites into relevance?

The classic answer to that age-old question is "Alas, nope," but this deck is sure trying its best to prove the classic answer wrong.

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Aurelion Sol Leona

Paring Champ Strength with Targon has thus far been less successful than Bandle City or Piltover – for our fringest brew today, we'll present a fairly solid ASol build; best way to end a World Ender showcase!

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Wrapping Up

There's a fairly interesting triangle shaping up at the top, with the three Juggernauts forming a rock-paper-scissor triangle.

Guesses as to who will prevail are, nevertheless, quite iffy until the LP donors (read: Ryze & Kayle) leave the stage and the strong decks stabilize into more reasonable WRs.

That being said, between Worlds' copy-pasta and ladder-only brews, there's really a ton of options, new and old, to try to climb the LoR ladder with.

And if you're itching for some Best of Three action:

Hope you enjoyed today's selection, and good luck out there! =)

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Any questions or comments, or more data you may need, feel free to:

Poke me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HerkoKerghans,

Stop for a chat on the Mastering Runeterra Discord: https://discord.gg/8RQqZECTz2,

Or find more writings on substack: https://riwan.substack.com/

And good luck with your climb! =)

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