Note: This is an older article.
For the most recent data, check the latest LoR Best Decks article, or our Meta Tier List!
Best Standard LoR Decks – The Stylish Storm
Aaand the LoR Rotation is here!
In the very unlikely case you are not aware of this: the latest Legends of Runeterra expansion, 'Glory in Navori', has also split LoR cards in two groups, Standard and Eternal – here is Riot's official article with the whole list of rotated cards, which also includes links to Riot's other articles about the differences between Standard and Eternal.
With the list of rotated cards being huge (well over 400 cards are now only playable in Eternal), it's not too much of a stretch to call LoR Standard a completely new game; we'll showcase below what decks seem strongest one day after the patch, but if there was ever a good time to issue the "too early to tell" caveat, that would be now.
The Eternal format seems to have taken a bit of a backseat for now – according to Legna, from the around 13,000 games he collected since the patch started (tracking the 3,000 players that finished the previous season at the top of their shard's Master ladder, that's to say the top 1k ladder players from each shard), the games played in the Eternal format were less than 1% of the total.
With that out of the way, let's get to the early Standard forerunners!
Roughly 24hs after 'Glory in Navori' landed, these are the 6 most popular LoR decks according to Legna the Mastering Runeterra Meta Tier List:
Sources: MaRu's data (which samples Plat+ players) and Legna's data (which samples High Diamond & Masters players) – both sources in turn get their data directly from Riot (via Riot's API).
The Stylish Storm: Fizz Samira
As Jason wrote in his Day One recap, there's one clear forerunner this early on, and that's Fizz
Samira
:
27 cards
13 cards
34 900
The most popular deck by a landslide, and also the best performer: the list above has accrued 4,300+ games since yesterday, with win rate north of 59%, with several other version doing similarly well – without forgetting the "too early to tell" caveat, we haven't seen a deck do this well this early in a very, very, very long time.
(For comparison, it took Kai'Sa
a couple of weeks to jump at the front of her meta, while Seraphine
looked tame for a few days until her pairing with Ezreal was refined – you have to go back as far back as Illaoi
to find a champ busting heads this hard on day one.)
Fizz Samira demolishes the second most popular (and thus far very bad) archetype, Jack Sett; it also seems to consistently beat Karma Sett (a deck that seems very good), Lurkers, Heimer Jayce, and Maokai Nautilus.
Thus far, the Desert Rose's main showstoppers appear to be Norra decks (that are overall doing okay) and Gwen Quinn, which is performing wonderfully.
Or, if you want to be really trendy, Annie Caitlyn.
Further reading: Yangzera's Samira Fizz Deck Guide
Karma's a Boss: Karma Sett
Seen as the weakest of the three new champs during the reveals, Sett
is determined to prove that he's indeed the Boss. The best Karma Sett deck, which would be this one:
26 cards
14 cards
26 700
… is rocking a 56% win rate in about 1400 games, which is quite a lot for 24 hours of data.
Karma Sett is not too afraid of Fizz Samira (Sett & friends are the underdog, but only by 45%) and, just like the Desert Rose, farms Jack Sett without mercy while seemingly having a bit of trouble with Gwen Quinn.
An Awful Pair: Jack Sett
We won't show a deck for this pair for a simple reason: Awful performance. And by "awful" we mean, well below 40%.
Their main contribution to the current LoR meta is to inflate everybody else's winrates – thus far, these two may look great together in Sett's level-up, but are a flop in every other regard.
If you're looking for a Sett deck, Karma Sett (seen right above) is for sure your best bet; if you're here for Jack, check Jack Samira below.
Risky Venture: Jack Samira
This is currently Jack's most promising deck – the same region pairing as Fizz Samira, but taken in a very different direction:
22 cards
18 cards
29 900
Jack Samira has been pushing a 53% win rate; seems a serious underdog to Fizz Samira, though.
Top Old Dog: Gwen Quinn
From among the pre-rotation decks to be found in Standard, Gwen Quinn looks by far the most promising:
14 cards
26 cards
31 400
Current performance is outstanding (win rate at about 60% with the best Gwen Quinn deck) in about 400 games – most important, Gwen Quinn seems to have a slight edge over both Fizz Samira and Karma Sett.
Comparing the performance of new versus existing decks is, of course, apples to oranges (it's safe to assume that Gwen Quinn pilots know their deck quite well, while everybody on Samira or Jack is still grappling with learning curves), but if you're searching for an Old Dog that can teach the new kids some tricks, Gwen Quinn is the deck to check.
The Eternal Standard: Pyke Rek'Sai
Rotation?
What rotation!?
25 cards
15 cards
26 400
Looking like the one deck that doesn't require you to worry about which format you're playing, Lurkers start this post-rotation era like they ended the previous patch: with the right foot.
(Or, well, fin, I guess!)
They seem roughly even when matched with Sett Karma, and only slightly the underfish versus Fizz Samira – and given that we know that they were in the leading pack last meta (that's to say, one would expect them to be well-positioned against whichever old decks may have survived post-rotation), looks like Lurkers will be around for quite some time in Standard.
Something Old, Something New: Annie Caitlyn
Annie
Caitlyn
stands out as a novel pairing of old Champs that, thanks to a few new toys, is doing splendidly well, punching at 55% in nearly 500 games – and having excellent odds against Samira Fizz.
If you're looking for a spicy deck that can beat the current Queen and King of the meta, this is it!
26 cards
14 cards
28 400
The Old Guard: Ashe LeBlanc, Lissandra Taliyah, Aatrox Decks, Norra Decks... and Deep!
If you're looking for other (old) options, then:
- Aatrox Kayn has been on a tear since the patch landed, and Aatrox Quinn Vayne is kicking butts and taking names – and none of them is too afraid of Samira's stylish tricks,
- Ashe LeBlanc looks playable (a condition that these two champs often have early on, although they tend to be pushed to the fringes later on…),
- With Ziggs moving to Eternal, Taliyah has rejoined Lissandra, and Thralls is doing quite okay,
- Norra Veigar Senna is doing quite well, and it would seem that Norra decks have solid odds against Sam Fizz,
- Nautilus Maokai, aka Deep, is enjoying a bit of a resurgence, with a solid 53% with its best deck.
Wrapping Up
A gazillion cards have been rotated, and LoR Standard looks nothing like it used to.
Samira seems, thus far, a tad overtuned (as noted, there hasn't been a deck looking this good this early in a very, very long time), but with how little time brewers have had to refine possible counters, it's too early to tell.
Enjoy the fresh meta's chaos and turmoil while it lasts, and good luck out there! =)
