Note: This is an older article.
For the most recent data, check the latest LoR Best Decks article, or our Meta Tier List!
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.
Legends of Runeterra received a fairly big balance patch last week which has shifted the LoR meta quite a bit, so let's find out what are the best decks in Runeterra right now!
Best LoR Decks for the Standard Ladder - Freljord is Coming!
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)
Overall LoR Ladder Trends – Standard
Janna Nilah remains the most popular archetype overall, and it's undergoing an interesting transformation: what was the best list before the patch is not working too well, but brewers have found an excellent alternative which includes Sunken Temple
.
But the big news comes from 
Freljord. Specifically, by the overwhelming success of Darius Gnar, and the smashing return of… Ashe LeBlanc!
The balance patch certainly threw things in disarray, so let's dig into the archetypes and find out what are the best specific decks on the LoR ladder.
Juggernauts – Best Legends of Runeterra Decks for the Standard Ladder
Decks in this category have at least 3000 games played in the last three days, and good to great winrate – as far as current numbers go, these are the best LoR decks in the Standard ladder.
Darius Gnar
Overwhelm is coming!
Overpowering everything else on the LoR ladder, Darius
Gnar
went from not-a-thing last Friday to the most popular deck in Runeterra by… well, overwhelming margins: more than 7600 games played in the last three days, punching at a smashing 57%+ win rate.
Part of its success is due to how brutally it bullies Jack Sett, a deck that still enjoys a huge popularity but it's proving to be sub-par. But Darius Gnar also crushes several of the strongest decks: Janna Nilah, Lurkers, Caitlyn Teemo, and above all Janna Teemo are all easy prey.
On the other hand, there are several solid counters. First and foremost the other new Juggernaut, Ashe LeBlanc: Ice Queen and Black Rose have a good (although not overwhelming) edge in this matchup. Other older decks that are making a comeback, like Scouts and Karma Sett, also have good odds against Darius Gnar.
23 cards
17 cards
24 000
Ashe LeBlanc
After spending several patches on the fringes of the LoR meta, Ashe
LeBlanc
has resurged in full strength. Unlike Darius Gnar (which has a clear best build), pilots are still tweaking Ashe LeBlanc and there are two competing, well-performing versions.
This would be the first one, with a 58%+ win rate across 3700 games in the last three days…
17 cards
23 cards
28 900
… and this would be the other, with nearly the same performance and play rate:
23 cards
17 cards
28 200
There's a red flag in Ashe LeBlanc's matchup spread: it has a horrible time against Janna Nilah. It is also the underdog against Janna Teemo and Jarvan Shen, the latter on the rise.
On the other hand, it demolishes Jack Sett, has the upper hand against Darius Gnar, and beats other strong decks like Caitlyn Teemo, Gwen Vayne, and Jax Ornn.
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!
Janna Nilah
Last week, brewers were hard at work with Janna
Nilah
, with several different lists trying to find the best build…
… and efforts have indeed paid off!
Older versions (similar to what was one of the best decks pre-patch) are not doing too well right now. But new versions, focusing a lot more on spells and adding Sunken Temple to the mix, are performing excellently, with the best Janna Nilah deck putting up a superb 57%+ win rate in about 2700 games.
Cherry on top, Nilah Janna seems amazing against Ashe LeBlanc, with also good odds against Lurkers, Shen Jarvan, and Karma Sett. Darius Gnar is a problem, though, the same as the other Janna deck: Janna Teemo.
Further reading: Nilah Janna Deck Guide
29 cards
11 cards
30 800
Teemo Janna
Teemo
Janna has not relented, and gives Nilah Janna a run for its shards when it comes to which is the best Janna deck.
A fringe deck in the previous meta, Teemo Janna has found its stride with this balance patch and is proving to be a bona fide powerhouse, retaining the highest win rate (a crazy 60%+) from among all decks showcased today.
The dark cloud on Teemo Janna's horizon is one of the new Juggernauts: odds against Darius Gnar are pretty lousy.
Teemo Janna has the upper hand against Ashe LeBlanc, though, beats Janna Nilah, and has an edge against Caitlyn Teemo.
Further reading: Teemo Janna Deck Guide
9 cards
31 cards
36 800
Caitlyn Teemo
What do you know… it's puffcaps season!
Caitlyn
Teemo is a deck that always sees play, even in metas when it's not really good… but, just like last week, it's quite good right now.
It has cooled off a bit, though, even if it's still performing well and can really rain on Janna Nilah's parade – but Sheriff and Scout have really lousy matchups against Ashe LeBlanc, Darius Gnar, Janna Teemo, and Lurkers; not exactly a comfy spot to be in the current LoR meta.
Further reading: Teemo Caitlyn Deck Guide
13 cards
27 cards
26 700
Pyke Rek'Sai, aka Lurkers
Nope, Pyke didn't get the "You have been nerfed!" memo – Lurkers is still very much a thing, with around 1800 games played in the last three days and a rock-solid 54% win rate.
And, interestingly, one of the fairest matchup spreads from among strong decks: save for Caitlyn Teemo, which Lurkers blow out of the water, most matches are in the 45/55 range.
Further reading: Pyke Rek'Sai Deck Guide
15 cards
25 cards
26 400
Not doing too well: Jack Sett and Ahri Kennen
The big burly boys started this patch on the right foot, and are still very popular…
… but their performance has dropped below 50%. They are still a factor in the current meta, but mostly as LP donors and by inflating other decks' win rates – not a brew we can recommend for the LoR ladder right now.
Ahri Kennen had a surge in popularity in the last few days, but it's not working well at all.
Punching Up – Standard LoR Decks Doing Great
Standard LoR decks with between 900 and 1800 in the last three days – we're sailing into small data samples here, so pilots beware!
Shen Jarvan IV
With several of the strongest decks nerfed, some old staples are making a comeback. Shen
Jarvan IV
would be another example – a deck that has flown a bit under the radar this year, but has been consistently good across several LoR metas.
Today, it shows up with 1600 games played and striking at close to 56%, and a very enticing matchup spread: it beats both of today's Juggernauts (namely Ashe LeBlanc and Darius Gnar) by good margins, and consistently beats Janna Teemo, Lurkers, and Jax Ornn.
Shen Jarvan's only weak spot right now seems to be Janna Nilah, but it's still a fairly close game.
22 cards
18 cards
26 100
Sett Karma
Jack Sett is down, but Karma
Sett
is doing great!
It has several new toys from the last time we've seen these two Champs, and brewers still don't agree on the spell composition, but all in all most versions seem to be performing well, and the most popular shows a nice 54%+ win rate.
Karma Sett seems like a very clear underdog to Janna decks, while able to beat Darius Gnar.
28 cards
12 cards
35 000
Opulent Gwen Vayne
Gwen
Vayne
is still alive and kicking, our opulent ladies punch today at around the 54% win rate mark.
Ashe LeBlanc is close to auto-lose for them, and Darius Gnar is rough too, but Gwen Vayne has an edge against Janna decks.
27 cards
13 cards
28 800
Jax Ornn
Jax
Ornn
looks a bit crestfallen today – this is another deck that gets demolished by Ashe LeBlanc, and is also being bullied by Teemo decks.
And it also loses to Jack Sett, but that may be a blessing in disguise: as more pilots realize that the burly boys are not a good match, Jack Sett should see less play and perhaps shift the meta to one more favorable to Jax Ornn.
24 cards
16 cards
25 100
Miss Fortune Quinn, aka Scouts
You can't really talk about old decks making a comeback until Scout shows up… and showed up they have!
With the second-best win rate from among all decks showcased today (second only to Teemo Janna's), Scouts is on a tear and punching upwards. And if you go by matchup spread, they don't seem likely to stop: With good odds against Ashe LeBlanc, Darius Gnar, Janna Decks, Lurkers, and Caitlyn Teemo, the future looks bright for Miss Fortune's bunch.
28 cards
12 cards
32 600
Teemo Yuumi
Teemo Yuumi
packs a wonderful 56%+ win rate today – don't sleep on this one, folks, it's been doing well long enough to prove it's the real deal!
20 cards
20 cards
33 300
Galio Volibear
Galio
Volibear
used to be the most popular deck, by a landslide, a few weeks ago. The balance patch has pushed it close to the fringes of the LoR meta, but with a solid 54% win rate it's still a deck that deserves not to be overlooked.
It also cements the notion that the Onward expansion is one of the best that Runeterra has ever seen, with all its Champions having at least one good deck to play with.
Further reading: Galio Volibear Deck Guide
29 cards
11 cards
30 500
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!
The King Lives!
His Fluffiness is still alive and kicking – and with two different brews!
The classic Freljord version is doing fairly well right now:
31 cards
9 cards
24 800
And there's even another, new version punching up, moving to 
Targon and inviting Yuumi for the ride:
28 cards
12 cards
24 000
Maokai Nautilus, aka Deep
Can Deep make the cut this patch, and join the slew of old decks making a comeback?
It's putting good numbers on the fringes – if you've never played this deck before, this is a good chance to try one of LoR's oldest archetypes.
16 cards
24 cards
30 400
Annie Jhin
Rounding up today's showcase of old staples that are trying their luck in this new meta, Annie
Jhin
is putting quite the show right now.
Blazing brat and bullet buff have faded from Standard since rotation took away a good chunk of their good cards, but perhaps the recent round of nerfs to other decks will allow them to catch up.
25 cards
15 cards
27 500
Wrapping Up
Last week's balance patch has really throw things into disarray – the current LoR meta looks nothing like the one we saw during the first leg of the Onward expansion. Still, all three of the new champs have good decks to play, which is something that very rarely happens. And two of them, Nilah and Janna, are major players in the current field.
We'll see if Overwhelm and Ashe LeBlanc can keep at the top, or if the new kids will regain the first spots!
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 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.
