7 Decks To Counter Aatrox Vayne Demacia

Hey there, Raphterra here! First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year, and hopefully we all reach our Runeterra goals this 2023! As we approach the 4-week mark of the World Ender expansion, it’s that time of the patch again where the meta’s strongest deck has been clearly established. Aatrox Vayne Demacia has cemented itself as the most dominant deck in World Ender with a 12.5% playrate and an amazing winrate of 57.6%.

Similar to previous metas, it’s often a viable strategy to counter the top decks when climbing ranked ladder. In this article, I will be featuring seven decks that you can use to counter Vayne Aatrox. Some of the decks featured are already well-established and proven counters, while others are still experimental and subjective.

Let’s get right to it!

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Vayne Rumble Combo

Starting off this list is an archetype that has been a meta presence since The Darkin Saga: Domination, Vayne Rumble. Vayne Rumble is currently the most reliable and proven counter to the strongest deck in the meta with its 58.4% winrate when facing Aatrox Vayne. The decklist above also does well against the rest of the field with an impressive overall winrate of 58%.

Rumble exerts a lot of pressure as soon as he hits the board and his Spellshield makes it difficult for Vayne Aatrox to answer him. He outpaces Aatrox Vayne with Tumble and Cataclysm allowing Rumble to end games even before Aatrox is played on Turn 6.

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Ashe Kindred Control

Drisoth‘s Ashe Kindred list is another potent meta counter with its 60.6% winrate against Aatrox Demacia while still maintaining a decent overall winrate of 52.5%. Ashe Frostbite has been the traditional counter to Demacia midrange decks, so it’s no surprise that this archetype does well into Vayne Aatrox.

Going away from the usual midrange gameplan of Noxus Ashe, this Shadow Isles variant of Frostbite incorporates several control elements to its strategy. No unit will be safe from the lethal combination of Frostbite spells + Quietus / Shatter. Kindred will dismantle opposing boards if left alive, and Frostbites will be sufficient protection from Vayne Aatrox‘s strike spells.

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Ashe Leblanc Midrange

If you’re more of a classic frostbite fan, no worries, I have you covered! Ashe Leblanc Noxus still does the job of countering midrange Demacia with a 56% winrate against Vayne Aatrox. However, this variant isn’t doing too well against the rest of the field with a subpar 47.5% overall winrate. The deck is still highly unfavored against aggressive decks while also being slightly unfavored against control decks. Ashe Noxus will probably stay in this mediocre state until rotation comes.

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Fizz Yuumi Combo

Spoiler alert: this article will feature mostly Freljord decks! Fizz Yuumi Freljord is another decent meta counter with a matchup winrate of 55.1% against Aatrox Vayne. I played this archetype for a few games myself and the deck felt very strong with the right hands. However, I believe that Fizz Yuumi is still an unsolved puzzle. The deck plays very similarly to Pantheon Fated, but it’s plagued with consistency issues and is vulnerable to bricked draws.

Similar to Pantheon Yuumi, this deck uses permanent buffs from Yuumi, Bone Club, and Bellows Breath. These buffs allow the deck’s units outgrow Demacia midrange decks, and having Freljord spells gives it the advantage in combats too.

There are currently several versions Fizz Yuumi running around. Pisukaru‘s version running Unscarred Reaver and Assistant Librarian is currently the most popular variant with an overall winrate of 52%. Below is another list running Pouty Poro, Bandle Commando, and Starlit Seer instead. This version has a higher winrate (58.6%) but its sample size is still too small to make any reliable conclusions.

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Elise Trundle

Elise Trundle is an archetype popularized by 4LW and it’s doing quite well against Aatrox Vayne with a matchup winrate of 58.5%. The decklist above has an overall winrate of 60%, but the sample size is quite small and this winrate will likely get lower as more players use the deck.

If you’re looking for deck that plays closely to the classical control decks of the past, you need to give this one a try! This SI/Freljord control deck has several removal tools in its arsenal: Quietus / Vile Feast for small units, Vengeance for larger threats, and Buried In Ice for wide boards. The late game combo of Buried In Ice + It That Stares is particularly deadly against Demacia Midrange. Remember, Buried In Ice also obliterates equipped Darkin weapons!

4LW‘s list is a weird brew that uses Trundle, Commander Ledros, Feral Mystic, and Battle Fury as late game finishers. Spirits Unleashed helps outgrind other matchups; Spiderlings from Elise and Vile Feast also benefit from the permanent buff!

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Trundle Timelines

Following Elise Trundle is another Trundle deck that utilizes the Buried In Ice + It That Stares combo: Trundle Caitlyn Vi Timelines! Trundle Concurrent Timelines had a slight resurgence during the Worlds 2022 qualifiers as a hard counter to midrange Darkin decks with Kayn and Varus. That strategy still works against the modern Darkin midrange deck; Trundle Caitlyn currently has a winrate of 53.9% against Vayne Aatrox.

This variant of Buried In Ice / It That Stares might be more attractive for midrange players. Concurrent Timelines, Revna, the Lorekeeper, and weaponmasters make this deck more fun to play compared to Elise Trundle, in my opinion!

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Aatrox Thresh

I’m finishing this list with more of a subjective, personal recommendation with Xolaani the Bloodweaver control. This was the deck that I used to climb from Platinum to Diamond! During that climb, I was able to beat most Aatrox decks that I faced because of The Ruination and Xolaani the Bloodweaver. This is probably my favorite deck of the expansion, and I highly recommend you to try it out if it looks interesting to you.

Here’s the dedicated article I wrote about this deck, including a video guide if you want to see the deck in action!

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Closing Thoughts

Aatrox Vayne is likely to get nerfed in the next balance patch, but we might still be one to two weeks away from that time. Until then, you can use the decks in this article to counter the meta menace. Good luck in your climb!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on YouTube, Discord, or Twitter!