Note: This is an older article.
For the most recent data, check the latest LoR Best Decks article, or our Meta Tier List!
Best Decks for LoR Standard
As of Thursday, these are the 7 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).
Overall LoR Ladder Trends
This patch cycle will probably finish as it started: with Samira Fizz as one of the most popular archetypes, and also one of the strongest – while not the broken deck it seemed to be in the first couple of post-patch days, and briefly dislodge from the top during the second week by an onslaught of Demacian decks, Samira Fizz has managed to claw back to the top of both the popularity and performance charts.
And in the Plat+ data now looks clear that, as top pilots noted early on, Samira
is herself a tad overtuned, as we'll see in the number of strong decks she features.
For those new to (or not too much in the loop of) Legends of Runeterra: next week, on Wednesday, we'll have the next Balance Patch – while we won't know the exact changes for certain until we see the patch notes (usually the day before), these patches tend to shake the LoR meta quite a bit. If you're low on shards and wildcards, you may want to wait until after the patch to craft a new deck: it's impossible to say for certain how the LoR ladder will look like two weeks from now.
Above all since it's a fair bet that either Samira and/or her package will get a slap in the wrist.
Having said that…
… let's see which are the current strongest decks in this last leg of the patch! =)
LoR Meta FAQs
Where does this data come from?
Directly from Riot (via Riot's API) – Liver, our wonderful coder and unsung MaRu 🐐 (also in charge of designing the website) makes the data automagically appear in our meta tier list and meta stats page, and all-around LoR 🐐 Legna shares his data (from the same source, although following a different set of players) with us too.
Which is the best LoR deck?
Short answer: Depends on how you define "best", of course! =)
Much longer answer: Check the Technical Note at the end of this article, above all about the differences between "archetypes" and "decks" in Legends of Runeterra's data.
Practical answer: As of today, Samira Leona, Ashe LeBlanc, and Samira Fizz, probably in that order.
Which is the highest win rate deck in LoR?
Among all decks showcased today: Leona Samira – Samira Fizz is indeed the most popular archetype, but when you look at specific decks, Leona Samira is better.
Among decks with more than 2,100 games played in the last three days: Yet again, Leona Samira – it's, as of today, and with the meta still up in the air, the best tool for the climbing job.
How do I beat…
How do I beat Samira Fizz? Samira Leona has a slight edge here, and as noted above is probably the best ladder deck overall. Annie Caitlyn is even better if you specifically want to beat Sam Fizz, but is a weaker deck overall than either Samira version.
How do I beat Leona Samira? Ashe LeBlanc: great deck overall, and an edge against Leona Samira. Or Heimer Jayce, which is on fire right now, and absolutely murders the Solar Flair pair.
How do I beat Ashe LeBlanc? Heimerdinger Jayce!
Juggernauts – Best Legends of Runeterra Decks
Here we showcase LoR decks with more than 300 games in the last three days, and good-to-great win rate – the best tried-and-true tools the LoR meta has to offer!
Ashe LeBlanc
As we've noted a gazillion times in these articles (but, shesh, folks just don't listen!) Ashe LeBlancs most popular version (with Avarosan Trapper
and Revna, the Lorekeeper
) is pretty good, but not as good as the second most popular, which is clearly the best:
20 cards
20 cards
30 000
Beats me why pilots are so adamant to stick with the Trapper version but well, Yetis are Yetis I guess! =)
Until now, the Ice Queen and the Black Rose had a single weak spot, namely Annie Caitlyn – this week, though, Heimer Jayce has surged both in popularity and performance, as we'll see a bit further down, and it's very good at punishing Ashe LeBlanc.
On the other hand, Rose and Queen have an edge on Leona Samira, and very good odds against most Demacian decks, like Gwen Quinn or Illaoi Jarvan.
Further reading: Ashe LeBlanc Noxus Deck Guide
Leona Samira
When looking at Plat+ data, Leona Samira is undisputedly the best deck in the Runeterra ladder, a title it has held consistently for over two weeks now, and that in the last three days has been smacking above 57% (the highest we'll see today) in more than 5,500 games – also a list we can consider solved, given the lack of changes we've seen:
16 cards
24 cards
29 200
Leona Samira's matchup spread is excellent: the Solar Flair ladies do have a problem with the ascending Heimer Jayce, but other decks that beat them tend to be either not very good, or very fringe options (like Gnar Norra in this category); and the matchups they dominate, like against Karma Sett, Lurkers or Gwenn Quinn, they do so by massive margins.
Further reading: Samira Leona Deck Guide
Karma Sett
Karma Sett has deflated considerably, scrapping by this week with a 51% win rate:
21 cards
19 cards
28 700
As usual, Leona Samira is Karma Sett's worst nightmare – the good news for the Runeterra Mint is that Heimer Jayce, that as we've seen above is very good against Leona Samira and Ashe LeBlanc, is very, very weak against Karma Sett – there probably won't be enough time for this trend to fully develop before the Balance Patch arrives, but Heimer Jayce is indeed shaking things up among the Juggernauts.
Further reading: Karma Sett Deck Guide
Fizz Samira
And here we are, back where we started! =)
Although it ended up being just an amazing deck (as opposed to truly broken…), Samira Fizz will end this patch at the top of the charts, with the best Samira Fizz deck punching at 55% in around 3,500 games, and the archetype overall being the most popular in Runeterra:
24 cards
16 cards
35 900
Samira Fizz murders Deep and has an edge on Lurkers, clearly showing who rules the Runeterran waves, and currently doesn't have any popular weak spots: Leona Samira and Illaoi Jarvan are a bit rough, but no worse than 45% odds.
Further reading: Samira Fizz Deck Guide
Maokai Nautilus, aka Deep
Well, it's official: the rotation did it, and Deep is a thing at the top of the charts! The best Maokai Nautilus decks remains the same as last week…
14 cards
26 cards
28 800
… packing a 53%+ punch across 2,800 games.
The detail to pay attention to here is that Deep's good performance in spite of its awful odds against Samira Fizz – depending on how hard Samira decks get hit by the nerf hammer next week, Deep may end up very favored against the ensuing field.
Further reading: Nautilus Maokai Deck Guide
Illaoi Jarvan
Superbly showcasing Demacia's grit and tenacity, Prince and Priestess push upwards and become the only new Juggernaut this week, and with a 54% win rate across 2800 games become the undisputably best 
Demacia deck out there – eat your heart out, Garen!
15 cards
25 cards
27 500
Priestess and Prince are horrible against Ashe LeBlanc, not too happy to bump into Heimer Jayce, and a bit of the undertentacles against Leona Samira – on the backswing, they have an edge against Leona Fizz and Gwen Quinn, very good odds against Karma Sett and Deep, and slap Jack Seraphine silly.
Further reading: Illaoi Jarvan Deck Guide
Gwen Quinn
The opulent ladies have remained a solid choice for your ladder climb – not the powerhouse they were early on, but very worthy of consideration: nearly 53% win rate in 2,400+ games, a performance that has been consistently solid throught all this patch.
14 cards
26 cards
31 400
Ashe LeBlanc and Leona Samira royally ruin the Midnight Revel, but Gwen Quinn has good to great odds against most other popular choices.
Further reading: Gwen Quinn Deck Guide
Heavyweights – Strong LoR Meta Decks
These Legends of Runeterra decks have between 900 and 3000 games in the last three days – solid picks for climbing the LoR ladder!
⭐Rising Star – Heimerdinger Jayce
And here they are, the man and yordle of the hour!
It took Professor and Student quite a while, but it looks like they've cracked this theorem, and in the last few days went from mediocre option to meta shakers: excellent performance (56% in about 1,000 games with their best deck) and excellent odds against two of the biggest Juggernauts: Ashe LeBlanc, and Leona Samira.
9 cards
31 cards
25 700
What's still keeping them at bay is Karma Sett, which remains an awful matchup. Samira Fizz, on the other hand, is 50/50.
⭐Rising Star – Samira Varus, sometimes ft. Riven
Here is the other hot trend, and one that became very noticeable last weekend, both in the LoR ladder data and in the Runeterra Open, with several top pilots including Samira Varus in their lineups.
28 cards
12 cards
26 600
Performance is amazing (57%+, the only deck that matches Leona Samira in this regard) across 1500 games.
There's also a very similar version including Riven
...
27 cards
13 cards
27 500
… but although a bit more popular, seems also not as punchy (even if still very good).
Both variants seem weak to Ashe LeBlanc, but either even or slightly favored against the other Juggernauts.
Galio Udyr
Galio Udyr now drops to third most popular Demacia deck after Illaoi Jarvan and Gwen Quinn, but still maintains a solid 53% performance.
32 cards
8 cards
32 600
It's amazing against Karma Sett. Ashe LeBlanc or Leona Samira, though, are very tough matchups.
Ekko Jinx
The Zaunite pair has kept a solid 53% punch across a similar amount of games as last week (1,500+) – if you like aggressive strategies, Ekko Jinx is perhaps the deck with the most burn in this post-rotation times.
21 cards
19 cards
29 200
⭐Rising Star – Caitlyn Kennen Seraphine
Here's another deck that, after several rounds of tweaks, finds it footing: it was a fairly bad deck last week (win rate below 47%) but emerges as a great choice now, punching at 53%.
15 cards
25 cards
31 300
(By the way: Ahri Kennen is also very popular, but results remain thus far disappointing)
Seraphine's Bar beats Ashe LeBlanc, and appears to have great odds versus Heimer Jayce.
⭐Rising Star – Gnar Samira Sejuani
Bone Club
and Battle Fury
... I wonder who would come up with such a strategy! =)
26 cards
14 cards
27 600
Although Battle Fury decks don't always perform when not piloted by Master Rex himself, in this case the numbers are scarily good: amazing 56% win rate across 1,200 games, so if you're looking for big, mean and powerful, this is probably it!
Pyke Rek'Sai, aka Lurkers
Fiercely battling Deep for the "Old Deck that Rotation Made a Thing" title, Lurkers' popularity may be a bit on the fringe side, but their performance is still rock-solid.
25 cards
15 cards
26 400
And, like Deep, may end up being one of the winners of next week's round of balancing: their matchups against Samira Leona is as close to "auto-lose" as you can get in Runeterra, so if Samira gets nerfed, Lurkers may be very happy.
Annie Caitlyn
Sheriff and blazing brat have stabilized their win rate at around 52-53% – they get brutally wrecked by Karma Sett and Deep, but are one of the best Ashe LeBlanc counters.
25 cards
15 cards
27 500
Further reading: Annie Caitlyn Tybaulk Deck Guide
Punching Up – Runeterra Decks Doing Great
Runeterra decks with between 500 and 900 games in the last three days – we're sailing into small data samples, yet all decks here have quite a few games under their belts.
Diana Leona, aka Celesbian
Another old pairing that found its footing last Saturday – not as potent today (it was punching above 55% then, and only at 53% now) but that shows Leona's package is not only good with Samira.
35 cards
5 cards
29 200
Gnar Norra
Despite its terrific performance for nearly two weeks now, pilots have been remiss to picking up this brew – don't sleep on this one, folks, above all if Pirouette
manages to dodge the incoming round of nerfs!
27 cards
13 cards
30 100
Awful against Karma Sett and Deep, but great versus Ashe LeBlanc and Leona Samira.
Your Mileage May Vary – Fringe LoR Decks
Legends of Runeterra decks with less than 500 games played in the last three days – very little data, so these may range from total flukes… to the next big thing.
Illaoi Swain
Those faithful to the Grand General proudly carry his banner in the fringes of the LoR meta – this is the first Swain deck we'll showcase today, and while Illaoi Jarvan may be stealing all the spotlights, Illaoi Swain does not disappoint.
31 cards
9 cards
31 000
Norra Swain
Another old pairing reunited after the rotation, Norra Swain is yet another Noxus deck where Lord Broadmane
feels right at home.
24 cards
16 cards
27 500
Samira Sion
For our fringest brew today, yet another deck to which Samira brings her flair. Hurry up if you want to take this one for a spin – the nerfs, they are a-comin'! =)
24 cards
16 cards
30 000
Wrapping Up
The Top Dogs have been the same for nearly two weeks – although here are some up-and-comers willing to take a shot at the Juggernauts, it looks like we'll need the Balance Patch next week to really shake things up in Runeterra!
If you have any questions or comments, or more data you may need, feel free to:
Poke me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HerkoKerghans,
Or find more writings on substack: https://riwan.substack.com/
Technical Note – About overall archetypes and specific decks, and what we mean by "LoR best decks"
Most data sites (including our LoR Meta Tier List, and our meta stats page) and articles like Leer's Legends of Runeterra Meta Decks Report sort LoR meta decks by archetype ("Archetype" being the aggregate of all decks in LoR 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 decks by the best specific decklist for each archetype. And, whenever we talk 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).
And, 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 the number of games played in the data samples we check:
- Juggernauts: LoR decks with more than 2100 games – these are the best tried-and-true meta decks in Legends of Runeterra at the time of writing.
- 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!
As a rule of thumb, LoR 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.
Sources: Legna's LoR data website, Mastering Runeterra Meta Tier List, and our LoR meta stats page.
