LoR Best Decks
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Behold!
As of early Tuesday, there is little doubt about who currently bears the crown of best deck in the LoR Ladder – according to Balco:
… Azirelia, while still the most popular archetype, has run out of weak decks to bully, while Illaoi now has not just one, but two powerful blends to trash the ladder with.
Technical note – what we mean by "LoR best deck"
The above chart groups decks by archetype ("archetype" being the aggregate decklists of a specific champion combination).
Below we'll provide the best decklists for these archetypes – since in each archetype some decklists fare better than others (and sometimes the difference is quite noticeable), we'll broadly group decklists in four arbitrary categories, by amount of games played in the last few days in the data samples we check:
- Juggernauts: decklists with more than 2100 games – best tried-and-true tools for the climbing job.
- Heavyweights: between 2100 and 900 games – other excellent choices with large enough samples to confidently say, "Yeah, this works".
- Punching Up: between 900 and 300 games – we're entering the Land of Small Sample Sizes here, on top of the meta being up in the air, but as far as numbers go, it looks like these decklists can put up one hell of a fight.
- YMMV: between 300 and 150 games – risky stuff, but here's where you usually find the spice.
For this article, in all cases we'll look at decklists in Platinum and above.
Sources: Balco, Legna, MaRu's own data-mining.
If you have any feedback on how these decklists could be showcased differently, do let me know! =)
Juggernauts – Best Decks in LoR
Decklists with more than 2100 games: these are the best LoR decks, tried-and-true tools for the climbing job.
We are only six days into this Patch cycle, and it's a fairly safe bet (with a dash of hope, of course!) that new decks will arise…
… but on the other hand, now only around 10% of the popular decks are LP donors: the current picture is therefore fairly accurate to determine which are the best decks right now
Illaoi Bard
They were the highest-WR Heavyweight last Sunday…
… now Chimes and Tentacles are the current Ladder powerhouse, with the exact same list: more than 3,500 games in the last three days, and WR through the roof – literally the highest WR from among all decklists, in all categories, that we'll see today.
It is slightly disfavored against all three versions of Kai'Sa Demacia (Akshan, Sivir, and Lonesome), but has game against everything else – with Azirelia, Yasuo Katarina, Jhinnie and Gwennie being especially good matchups.
Hands down the best decklist I can recommend today!
31 cards
9 cards
27 000
Annie Jhin
Originality: C-
Brutality: A+
Arguably the most 'solved' deck out there: same as always, both the formula and its ruthless effectiveness, with more than 3,000 games and shooting above 55% WR.
28 cards
12 cards
22 000
Akshan Kai'Sa Demacia
Unlike Jhinnie, AkKai has several different builds, some of them fairly mediocre – the archetype as a whole is around 51%, while our recommended list below reaches almost 55% in 2,500+ games.
The trick seems to be to focus only on keyword'ed units (ditching Treasure Seeker
, for example), and Void Blaster
as a 3x in the best-performing lists.
It's hard to have too much faith on matchup tables right now (since there are so many mediocre variations of this archetype), but AkKai seems the underdog against Jhinnie, while favored against Gwennie.
Safe bet that this mutation will become more popular, as more pilots migrate to the list below.
18 cards
22 cards
26 900
Twisted Fate Annie
Another not-yet solved archetype, but in this case that's arguably a plus: there are several slightly different builds, all doing very well, which suggests the archetype can be further refined (for example, one copy of Culling Strike
seems standard in the best lists).
Hates: Chimes, Tentacles, and Darwin.
Loves: Ascended and their Sand Soldiers, Stunning Blade-wielders.
14 cards
26 cards
28 700
Irelia Azir
Oh, how the bully has been bullied!
Still the most popular archetype – the list below clocks close to 5,000 games all by itself! – and for sure quite capable of packing a punch, but now only around 52% in the last three days (compared to 55%+ just two days ago).
Favored into all of Kai'Sa's Demacian mutations, but a severe underdog to Annie TF, Illaoi Bard, Jhinnie… and also mortally afraid of spiders of all kinds.
If you are on the fence about this deck, Monte and Leer wrote about their impressions about Azirelia in their Meta Voyage yesterday.
16 cards
24 cards
26 500
Notable exceptions
Two archetypes that were both popular and powerful two days ago – namely Gwennie and Lone Lulu – didn't make the cut today: they do have lists with more than 2,000 games each, but in both cases they struggle to reach the 50% WR mark.
Heavyweights
These decklists have between 900 and 2100 games in the last three days, making them solid choices with large enough samples to confidently say, "Yeah, this works".
On grounds of novelty and popularity, today we'll look at decklists with WRs over 51% (rather than putting the threshold at around 53-54%, as it's often the case in these articles when the meta stabilizes).
Yasuo Katarina
The stunning duo is doing very well with the specific decklist below – a bit like AkKai, there are several other versions doing quite poorly, dragging the archetype's average performance down.
In particular, notice the lack of The Mourned
and the two copies of Sai'nen Thousand-Tailed
as top end.
Also like AkKai, not too much faith can be put on matchup tables (since the archetype is plagued with bad builds), but it appears that KatYa dislikes Azirelia and all versions of Annie (TF, Jhin, Gwen), while being strong against Lone Kai'sa and AkKai (but not the Sivir version).
22 cards
18 cards
30 300
Sivir Kai'Sa Demacia
The second very successful Kai'Sa Demacia mutation (there's a third, with Kai'Sa as Lone champ, as we'll see further down), with this specific list punching above 55% in more than 1,500 games.
Unlike the Akshan variant, though, all versions of KaiSiv are doing great, which suggests an archetype that can still evolve. In particular, KaiSiv goes for a bit of a lower curve (even if it sticks to the Void Abomination
top-end) and, interestingly, prefers The Absolver
to Supercharge
.
Gets headaches from: Spider-Gwen (rather bad), Jhinnie (mild)
Gives headaches to: TF Annie, Annie Gwen, Heimer Jayce
Here are Leer's insights (himself quite the Sivir Akshan fan) about this archetype.
19 cards
21 cards
26 600
Spider-Gwen
Seamstress and eight-legged mistress have lost a bit of power, but remain quite playable – the list below performs at around 51% with 1,300 games, and there's another nearly identical list with almost the exact same results.
Murders Azirelia and Jhinnie, and is very favored into all Kai'Sa mutations – dies horribly to Illaoi Bard and Heimer Jayce, also struggling against Gwennie and KatYa.
15 cards
25 cards
23 400
Jinx Bard
Chimes and Rockets are back!
A deck that was making waves just as last Seasonal approached, pioneered by our very own MonteXristo just as Worldwalker launched and later refined by Master Brewer TealRed, who's currently on the decklist recommended below – 1,200 games, 53% WR…
… and you get to play Jinx!
Murders Azirelia, anything with too many spiders, and Jhinnie – dies horribly to Heimer Jayce, and is not too happy to meet Kai'Sa's mutations.
31 cards
9 cards
25 300
Punching Up
Decklists with between 300 and 900 games played in the last three days – we're entering the Land of Small Sample Sizes here, but as far as numbers go, it looks like these decks can put up one hell of a fight.
Lone Kai'Sa Demacia
This archetype's most popular decklist clocks at around 2,500 games, but its WR is barely above 50%, hence why it does not show up among the Juggernauts.
Its second most popular list, suggested below, reaches nearly 54% across 700 games. I've included it today on grounds of it reaching our thresholds, but as Leer showed yesterday in his Meta Report, at least against the current field, other mutations (with either Akshan or Sivir) are superior on Ladder.
Lone Kai'Sa's main edge seems to be that it actually beats the other two mutations in the semi-mirror (it's quite favored versus AkKai, and slightly versus KaiSiv)
16 cards
24 cards
17 500
Heimerdinger Jayce Shadows
Ah, the variable archetype!
Professor and Student sure can give Kai'Sa lessons about mutations and evolution – Heimer Jayce is one of the most scattered archetypes when it comes to amount of different decklists.
The most popular, listed below, sits at 55% WR with more than 600 games played in the last three days.
Sivir Kai'Sa and Thralls (which is still a thing) are its main counters, with Illaoi Bard being a bit of struggle – all other popular matchups are even or favored, making Heimer Jayce always a good recommendation for deck you may want to put some time learning.
31 cards
9 cards
26 900
Sivir Ziggs Noxus
Noxurimaggro keeps gaining steam…
… and, as we'll see below, the last patch's most popular version (Annie Kat Ziggs) has also resurfaced.
Very little data, but seems strong against Kai'Sa mutations, KatYa and Azirelia.
20 cards
20 cards
24 800
Lux Illaoi
The forerunner of Worldwalker Day One, later abandoned for other Illaoi Demacia versions…
… but, with Riptide Sermon
– which is also a staple of Bard Illaoi – it seems ready to put a fight again, performing well above 55% in around 450 games.
22 cards
18 cards
26 400
Elise Annie
So: this has nothing to do with the Worldwalker version of Elise Annie (which, if you are interested in how archetypes evolve, will notices is very much what Annie Gwen attempts to do today, with both Ravenbloom Conservatory
and Catalogue of Regrets
).
Quite the contrary: this is classic spiders but with Annie as an extra one-drop, a bit similar like Spider-Gwen nowadays is classic spiders with Gwen as a Doombeast on steroids.
And it's doing very, very well, across 400 games.
23 cards
17 cards
20 300
Bandle Zilean Xerath
As noted on Sunday, this landmark galore duo is doing very, very well – now punching above 55% WR with more than 300 games.
11 cards
29 cards
26 800
Your Mileage May Vary
Decklists with less than 300 games played in the last few days – promising, but too little data to say for sure.
Ahri Bard
Chimes and recalls – one of Worldwalker's strongest decks, now pushed to the fringes yet doing very, very well.
31 cards
9 cards
25 200
Katarina Ziggs Annie
Last patch, this Noxurimaggro variant was (depending how you define Jhinnie) arguably the only viable aggro deck on the ladder – it's a bit surprising to see it having a smaller play rate than the new Sivir Ziggs, but at any rate, it's doing grand: over 55% in nearly 300 games.
And there's also a version with a 3:2:1 split and a slightly different Unit/Spells ratio, also doing very well.
23 cards
17 cards
23 200
Lissandra Taliyah
Thralls not dead yet…
… a decidedly fringe option if judging by play rate, yet WR high enough to make you wonder why it's not played more.
24 cards
16 cards
31 500
Shen Kai'Sa
Has Shen finally found a home? The archetype as a whole is not doing great, yet the decklist below, with a smallish playrate (around 150 games in the last three days, which is the range in which a single pilot could be behind it) and a 55% WR suggests there may be something here.
24 cards
16 cards
27 700
Bandle Jinx Lulu
Lone Lulu is not doing particularly well, but this rather old Jinx Lulu concept is having quite a bit of Chomper fun.
25 cards
15 cards
26 400
Closing Words
Azir's people rejoiced greatly last Sunday, as the Second Age of Azirelia loomed near…
… yet, alas, that did not please Nagakabouros much, who would rather see her Priestess (with a little help from a wandering caretaker) take over the Meta's Throne.
And, unlike Azirelia, Illaoi Bard truly has as matchup table that is the stuff with which Ladder rulers are made of.
Have we found Forces from Beyond's true monarchs?
Still a bit too early to say, but we shall see! =)
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 Poetry Discord (we talk a fair bit about the LoR best decks and data, too! =): https://discord.gg/VNN5NmGhXY,
Or find more writings on substack: https://riwan.substack.com/
And good luck in your climb!
