7 New and Revamped Off-Meta Decks for Ranked in Patch 4.2

Hello everyone, it’s Raphterra here again! It has been a week since Patch 4.2 was released, and currently, the meta appears to be relatively open, with ample opportunities for off-meta decks to flourish. I have been tinkering and exploring the new and improved cards from the patch, and I’m enjoying it immensely!

In this article, I will be sharing Seven New and Revamped Off-Meta Decks that have been performing well in Master Rank. This compilation will comprise some of my creations and some fascinating brews from members of the community. Some decks are accompanied by a video guide, along with my personal gameplay tips for each deck.

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Vaults of Helia Shurima #1: Taliyah Nasus

This was my first deck build for the Vaults of Helia archetype in Patch 4.2, and it performed exceptionally well against the top meta decks, particularly Jayce Lux. In Master Rank, I achieved a personal score of 6 wins and 1 loss with this decklist.

The deck is a landmark-focused combo deck that capitalizes on Level 2 Taliyah and Vaults of Helia to secure wins. The Taliyah Grumpy Rockbear swarm strategy can often win games on its own, while Vaults of Helia adds an exciting new dimension to the deck. By summoning Nasus and The Rekindler from the deck, Vaults of Helia can extend Taliyah‘s combo patterns. Additionally, Herald of the Magus can grant your champions Overwhelm, resulting in flashy and explosive finishes.

Mulligan + Gameplay Tips

Always keep predict cards and Vaults of Helia. To find Vaults of Helia before Turn 4, use predicts from Ancient Preparations, Forsaken Baccai, and Aspiring Chronomancer. If you already have Vaults of Helia, keep Taliyah, Hibernating Rockbear, and Rockbear Shepherd as combo pieces.

If you can play Vaults of Helia on Turn 4, make sure you have a 5-cost unit on turn 5 to start the summoning chain. Duplicating Vaults of Helia with Taliyah will rapidly advance your board state, but counting down a Grumpy Rockbear can also work.

If you don’t draw Vaults of Helia, focus on going wide with Grumpy Rockbears and Level 2 Taliyah. Rockbear Shepherd plays a crucial role in these games, so plan ahead and manage your countdown tics, particularly for Taliyah on turn 5.

Video Guide

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Vaults of Helia Shurima #2: Zilean Nasus

A few days ago, I posted my initial Taliyah Nasus deck on YouTube, and since then, players have been refining the deck archetype. This Zilean Nasus deck is currently the most polished version of the Shurima Vaults of Helia archetype, and I want to give a shoutout to the kind soul on the internet who helped improve my initial list! With this list, I have achieved a personal score of 5 wins and 0 losses, bringing my overall record with the Vaults of Helia Nasus to 11 wins and 1 loss.

Compared to the Taliyah Nasus deck, Zilean Nasus plays quite differently, allowing you to choose which version you find more enjoyable. Zilean Nasus focuses solely on the Vaults of Helia gameplan, winning with a combination of Level 2 Nasus, Terror of the Tides, and a wide board of Fearsome Units.

In addition to Ancient Preparations and Forsaken Baccai, this deck includes three copies of Zilean to give you more early predictions. Having Zilean instead of Taliyah also guarantees that you can always revive Nasus using The Rekindler and Heedless Resurrection.

This deck has a complete curve for Vaults of Helia, ranging from 1-cost Forsaken Baccai all the way up to 8-cost Terror of the Tides. Camavoran Dragon and Sandseer are two underplayed cards that are surprisingly effective for the deck. They synergize with the deck’s late-game win condition of having a wide Fearsome board, and they provide much-needed healing and card draw.

Mulligan + Gameplay Tips

The mulligan strategy is simple: keep Vaults of Helia and Predict cards such as Forsaken Baccai, Ancient Preparations, and Zilean. If you already have Vaults of Helia, try to secure a unit that you can kill with it on Turn 4. Rockbear Shepherd is usually a good option to play on Turn 3 right before you play Vaults of Helia on Turn 4.

If you already have Vaults of Helia set up, you can start playing reactively while your opponent tries to stop your gameplan. Since Vaults of Helia will do the summons for you, you don’t need to use your mana to play units. Instead, you can save your mana for Vengeance and Rite of Negation to react to your opponent’s moves.

Generally, you will win in the late game by attacking with a Level 2 Nasus and Terror of the Tides. You can summon Terror of the Tides by killing The Rekindler with Vaults of Helia, and its attack effect allows you to deal heavy damage with your Fearsome Nasus.

Video Guide

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Wraith of Echoes Elise Trundle Spiders

Moving on to another spicy deck featuring Wraith of Echoes! My initial builds for Wraith of Echoes caused me to lose a lot of Masters LP! Eventually, I cracked the code and found a competitive list that works. I used this list to climb in Masters with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss.

This aggressive tempo deck relies on Spirits Unleashed, Iceborn Legacy, and Wraith of Echoes to overwhelm opponents with a wide board of big spiders. Trundle serves as an alternate win condition, while Buried In Ice + It That Stares provides the deck’s blowout play against Elite midrange decks.

Mulligan + Gameplay Tips

In the mulligan, always keep Elise, Hapless Aristocrat, and Spirits Unleashed. Against decks where you need early blockers, you can also keep Avarosan Sentry, Ceaseless Sentry, and Vile Feast. If you have multiple Spiderling generators, consider keeping Iceborn Legacy. Tech cards like Vengeance and Buried in Ice can also be kept against specific matchups if you already have a strong hand.

In the mid-game, focus on exerting pressure and aggressively trading with your big spiders. Crawling Sensation, Hapless Aristocrat, and Vile Feast are excellent tempo cards because they provide a lot of board stats for the mana spent.

From Turn 7 onwards, it’s essential to prepare mana for Buried in Ice against specific matchups. For example, against Elite decks with Champions’ Strength, Buried in Ice is your only clean answer. Buried in Ice followed by It that Stares is one of the strongest combos and can lead to instant wins. If you already have a solid board, you can also use Buried In Ice to set up lethal open attacks.

Video Guide

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Davebo Banana Blaster Rissu Timelines

Next up is the first competitive list for Banana Blaster! It’s a Concurrent Timelines deck created by Davebo, which he recently took to Top 8 Masters in the Americas region at 85% winrate. After playing the deck myself, I achieved a score of 5 wins and 4 losses. While the deck feels strong, I did find the matchup against Jayce decks to be difficult.

This is an aggressive tempo midrange deck that utilizes Concurrent Timelines to transform units with strong on-play effects into high-statted board threats. Key units in this deck include Banana Blaster and Rissu, the Silent Storm, which can cause a huge tempo swing in the mid game.

Video Guide

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Revamped Archetypes

The next decks are revamped versions of classic archetypes in the game, skillfully wielded by particular master players.

Shiratsuki Mono Teemo Puffcaps

The first deck spotlight comes from Shiratsuki! This player has been surprising opponents with a Mono Teemo Hexcore Foundry build that goes all-in on Puffcaps. With a 78.3% winrate across 37 games, Shiratsuki has proven that this archetype can be a force to be reckoned with.

ケビンチャン Ashe Leblanc

ケビンチャン decided to play Ashe Leblanc Frostbite for most of his games in Patch 4.2! He currently holds an impressive 66.1% winrate in 71 games. This archetype could be considered an underrated sleeper, potentially serving as the answer to the dominance of Elite decks.

Scougie Zed Leblanc

LeBlanc makes her second appearance in this article! Scougie has been achieving exceptional results with Zed LeBlanc, currently boasting an impressive 82.1% win rate in 28 games! This list includes a lot of spicy card choices such as The Darkin Ballista, The Darkin Fan, and Ren Shadowblade. I’m looking forward to trying this deck out!

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Closing Words

That’s it for now! As a content creator, Patch 4.2 has been very fun to play for me. Several off-meta strategies are very viable for ranked right now because of the good meta balance. Expect more videos and articles from me in the coming weeks!

I hope you found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on YouTube, Discord, or Twitter!