By the Numbers, Oct 5 – Current Best LoR Decks

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

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Howdy, and welcome to our weekly selection of the best decks in the Legends of Runeterra meta!

As explained in the Technical Note at the end of this article, we'll first take a glance at a snapshot of our LoR Meta Decks Tier List, which sorts archetypes (that's to say, the aggregate of all decks with the exact same Champions) by popularity, and then we'll dive into the data to check how individual decks perform, to showcase the best LoR decks.

The recent Fate’s Voyage: Onward expansion has rocked the boat quite hard and the LoR meta keeps shifting, so let's find out what are the best decks in Runeterra right now!

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Best LoR Decks for the Standard Ladder

These are the 7 most popular Standard LoR archetypes according to the Mastering Runeterra Meta Tier List:

Sources: MaRu's data (which samples Plat+ players)

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Overall LoR Ladder Trends – Standard

As Yangzera notes in his Runeterra Open Report, "This was probably the most diverse meta in a long while, where we literally had 9 different decks win the Opens."

The same remains true for the Legends of Runeterra ladder, making Onwards one of the best expansions, and one of the most diverse LoR ladder metas, with all three of the new champions having a strong deck.

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Juggernauts – Best Legends of Runeterra Decks for the Standard Ladder

These are the current heavy-hitters of the Standard LoR meta: decks with at least 3000 games played in the last three days.

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Gnar Jarvan

Never relenting, Gnar Jarvan IV will end this patch cycle as one of the best, if not the best, decks for the LoR ladder. The most played specific decklist with 3600 games in the last three days, and always punching at a stellar 56%+ win rate, the deck can also considered solved and it's the exact same build as last week.

Gnar Jarvan consistently beats Nilah Janna (and most other Janna decks), Gwen Vayne, and Samira Seraphine, while also having a slight edge against Lone Nidalee, Heimer Jayce, Teemo Yuumi and Galio Volibear…

… but, cementing the argument that this is one of the best Runeterra metas in quite a long time, this powerhouse is not without predators: Lurkers and the ascending Jax Ornn have very good odds against Prince and Yordle, and some versions of Wild Annie Ionia (more on this below) also have the upper hand.

Further reading: Gnar Jarvan Deck Guide.

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Nilah Janna

Nilah Janna is this patch's "Never Surrender!" story: after a really lousy first week after the expansion landed, both for this deck in particular and Nilah decks in general, Nilah Janna read the tides right and became not just one of the best decks for the LoR ladder, but reached the top of one Runeterra Open, in the EMEA's champion lineup.

Like last week, there are two quite different versions putting up good numbers; one with Acorn, the Hextechnician among the one-drops, currently showing a nearly 54% win rate in about 3100 games..

… and an alternative version that sees less play (but still quite a bit: about 1200 games in the last three days) punching above 56%:

Matchups should be taken with care (since matchup data aggregates all versions, and thus it's hard to tell how each build performs specifically), but Lurkers, Heimer Jayce, and Annie Ionia look like easy prey, Gwen Vayne and Lone Nidalee seem about 50/50 matchups, and Freljord decks (which is a pretty varied group, including Gnar Jarvan, Jax Ornn, and Galio Volibear) show up as fairly lousy matchups.

Further reading: Nilah Janna Deck Guide

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Pyke Rek'Sai, aka Lurkers

Aaaand Lurkers keep punching up, blowing foes out of the water left and right!

Solved a long time ago, Pyke's crew keep the amazing performance they have been showing for two patches in a row now, pushing past 3000 games in the last three days and smacking at nearly 56% – it felt a bit weird to write, during last patch, "Lurkers have never been better", but looks like tasting blood on the water has really motivated Pyke Rek'Sai to keep pushing forward. 

Part of Lurkers' current success is due to folks playing, for some unknown reason, a lot of Nasus Senna, which is a weak deck overall and particularly soft against Pyke's crew. But they also have good odds against real decks: Gnar Jarvan, Heimer Jayce, Jax Ornn, and especially Galio Volibear are favored for Lurkers.

Things are not so rosy against Nilah Janna and Teemo Yummi, but they are not disastrous and they seem to be Lurker's only weak spots among strong decks.

Further reading: Pyke Rek'Sai Deck Guide

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Heavyweights – Strong LoR Decks for the Standard Ladder

These decks have between 1800 and 3000 games in the last three days – solid heavy-hitters for your LoR laddering needs!

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Lone Nidalee

Well, it was not a fluke: she fumbled most of her own expansion, but Nidalee really caught good winds and is sailing onwards now!

Lonesome Nidalee, with nearly 2900 games and a 54%+ win rate, proves this week that it's the real thing and one of the best decks for the Legends of Runeterra ladder:

Earlier versions included one copy of Gnar, but the Yordle is too busy punching faces alongside Jarvan and has left this build.

All in all, Lone Nidalee seems one of the most "fair" decks out there right now, with odds in the 45/55 range when facing pretty much every other strong deck – the only exception being Jax Ornn, which is fairly unfavorable for Nidalee.

Further reading: Nidalee Imitation Deck Guide

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Galio Volibear

A bit crestfallen but still putting up a fight, Galio Volibear showcases today about 2200 games played in a three-day window (roughly half of what it had last week, and just a sliver of its massive popularity two weeks ago) with a very decent 52%+ win rate.

Galio Volibear has excellent odds against Janna Nilah and can go toe-to-toe with Gnar Jarvan, but is awful against Lurkers and Heimer Jayce, would rather not bump into Gwen Vayne, and is the underdog against Jax Ornn. And it has a disastrous matchup against Nasus Senna, which is itself not a very good deck but completely dominates this matchup. 

Further reading: Galio Volibear Deck Guide

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⭐Rising Star: Teemo Yuumi

Teemo Yuumi once again shows that it's not to be underestimated, increasing its play rate a bit to about 2200 games in the last three days and punching close to the 55% win rate mark.

Teemo Yuumi remains excellent against Galio Volibear, beats Lurkers and Lone Nidalee, it's roughly even against Nilah Janna and Gwen Vayne, and consistently beats the ascending Jax Ornn – on the other hand, it has a truly awful matchup against Nasus Senna, making it one of the few good decks that loses the big dog.

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Opulent Gwen Vayne

Gwen Vayne's play rate has cooled off quite a bit, dropping from 3000 to 2000 games played in a three-day window, but its excellent 55% win rate remains untouched.

The current ascension of Jax Ornn may be a problem, though, given Gwen Vayne's poor odds in that matchup.

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Wild Annie Ionia

The image of a Wildfire is not too bad to illustrate the performance of Annie Ionia: this is without a doubt the most flexible archetype in Legends of Runeterra right now, as seen both in the number of variations in the LoR ladder and in the Tournament scene.

Specifically for the ladder, just like last week, Annie Samira is the most popular version, with about 2000 games played and an excellent 56%+ win rate:

One novelty this week is that the Annie Zed has caught up both in play and win rate, showing almost the same numbers (nearly 2000 games, 56%+ WR) as the Samira version: 

And, last but not least, you can always mix the three champs, for a version with a lower play rate (about 1200 games in the last three days) but that pushes performance past 57%:

Versions with Zed are especially good against Gnar Jarvan, and they all seem weak against Nilah Janna and Gwen Vayne.

Further reading: Annie Samira Wildfire Deck Guide

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Not Working Too Well: Nasus Senna, Bard Viego, Janna Targon and Lissandra Volibear

Nasus Senna is a really weird case: it's massively popular (by play rate alone, it would be today's #1 Juggernaut), and gained a ton of traction after the Runeterra Open…

… but it's not really a good deck for the LoR ladder, struggling to reach a 49% win rate. It's really a mystery why folks are playing it so much.

Still, the deck does have a significant impact in the current meta: it's keeping Galio Volibear and Teemo Yuumi in check, given that Nasus Senna is indeed great in those cases, and is donating LP to Lurkers, Lone Nidalee, and Wild Annie decks, that have great odds against it.

At any rate, though, not a deck we can recommend against the current field of the Runeterra ladder.

Bard Viego, Janna Targon, and Liss Volibear suffer the same fate: very popular for some reason, yet all of them show subpar performance – not decks you want to pilot if you go by the numbers.

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Punching Up – Standard LoR Decks Doing Great

Standard LoR decks with between 900 and 1800 games in the last three days – we're sailing into small data samples here, so pilots beware!

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⭐Rising Star: Jax Ornn

After promising results as a fringe option, Jax Ornn has decided to take things seriously: while still a not-too-popular deck, its play rate has increased a lot and it's still hitting like a hammer, striking at nearly 56%.

And, as you may have noticed from previous decks' matchups, it's very well-positioned: Jax Ornn consistently beats Janna Nilah, Lone Nidalee and Gnar Jarvan, has good odds against Galio Volibear and Gwen Vayne, and can go toe-to-toe versus Heimer Jayce, Lurkers, and Wild Annie decks (and is not too bothered by Nasus Senna).

It seems to have one single weak spot against popular decks: Teemo Yuumi. All in all, a great option for the LoR ladder!

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Heimer Jayce Shadows

Professor and Student have some trouble in finding the correct formula this time around; their play rate and win rate have cooled off considerably, and while they still showcasing a 51% win rate, it's clear that Heimerdinger Jayce is not exactly a powerhouse.

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⭐Rising Star: Sejuani Teemo

Frozen Puffcaps has been a thing in the past, but this Sejuani Teemo version is a lot less puffcap-y and a lot more Warden-y. Pretty much out of nowhere, it has accrued nearly 900 games in the last three days and an astounding 59% win rate – if you want to try something new that may be the next big thing, look no further!

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Your Mileage May Vary

If none of the above floats your boat, here are a handful of more fringe options that are doing well on the Standard LoR ladder – sample sizes are small, though, so tread carefully!

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Teemo Elusives

No longer the best Teemo deck, a title that currently belongs to Teemo Yuumi, Teemo Elusive s never quite regained the popularity it enjoyed last patch, but it still punches hard.

If you don't hate elusives, this one may be an interesting choice to climb the ladder fast.

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Akshan Pantheon

Grinning Rogue and God-Slayer's performance is nothing to write epic poems about (just a solid 52% win rate) but pilots really seem to like this pair. Their main targets seem to be Heimer Jayce and weaker brews; matchups against other strong decks are from slightly to very unfavored.

Further reading: Pantheon Akshan Deck Guide

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Illaoi Jarvan

Marred a bit by lousy odds against Lurkers and Gnar Jarvan, Illaoi Jarvan IV performance remains an excellent 55%, and seems the only current option for fans of the tentacle Priestess.

If you want something with which to give Nilah Janna a bloody nose, this deck is a great option; also very good against Gwen Vayne.

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Janna Teemo

Pivoting from Bilgewater to a splash of Demacia, and switching from Nilah to Teemo, Janna Teemo is putting up an amazing, if fringe, performance.

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Zombie Ashe

This is quite the old concept and it was never too successful, but is packing a bit of punch right now – if you want something that plays differently from anything else, you may want to take Ashe Shadow Isles for a spin.

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Wrapping Up

As it's our duty to remind folks at this time of the patch cycle: we should have a (fairly big?) balance patch next week (on Wednesday), and there's no telling which cards and decks may get a boost, which may get smashed to dust, and how the Legends of Rueneterra meta will look afterwards – if you're short on shards or wildcards, it's probably a good idea to save your resources until we know now what's what, since anything you craft this week may be obsolete the next.

On the other hand, the LoR devs really hit it out of the park this expansion, so here's to hoping that the next patch is another home run.

I hope you've enjoyed today's selection of the best decks in Runeterra, and good luck out there!

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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/

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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 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, top 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.

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.

Where does this data come from?

Directly from Riot (via Riot's API) – in other words, all the numbers in this article are "from the horse's mouth," so to speak.

Liver, our wonderful coder and unsung MaRu 🐐 (also in charge of designing the website) makes Riot's 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.

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