Best Ladder Decks from Week 1 of Patch 3.21 – World Ender

It’s been a week since the new World Ender expansion dropped. The new cards changed the meta scene entirely, bringing the likes of Jinx Demacia, Ziggs Acolytes, and Aatrox Kayn onto the ranked ladder.

As players started figuring out the strongest decks, Riot dropped us an early Christmas gift, a hotfix to tone down the strength of a couple of cards.

Acolyte’s Reliquary, The Unforgiving Cold, Champions’ Strength, and Blooming Cultist were all hit with nerfs to put their decks in check.

Here are five of the best ladder decks to start your climb!

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Aatrox Kayn

Kayn Aatrox was one of the best performers on the new patch. The hotfix hit the deck with two nerfs: Unforgiving Cold and Blooming Cultist.

However, the archetype continued to put on a wonderful performance even with the nerfs. It holds the highest play rate so far and a 54% win rate.

Kayn Aatrox relies on the Darkin weapon to set up a powerful early board and work on discounting the cost of World Ender.

Once World Ender is cast, your Aatrox will turn into a 10|10 unit with Overwhelm, and units equipped with Darkin weapons will transform into their Darkin form.

This puts a lot of board pressure on the opponent and will make it difficult for them to keep up with your powerful plays as long as Aatrox is allowed to stay alive.

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Ezreal Seraphine (BC)

Ezreal Seraphine (BC) has been a popular deck in the tournament scene for quite a while. It surpassed the Shadow Isles version in both play rate and performance.

The deck was on the decline once Patch 3.21 went live, as it struggled to keep up with Aatrox and Acolyte decks. But since the hotfix nerfs, Ezreal Seraphine (BC) quickly rose in popularity, becoming the second most played deck with a 57% win rate.

The archetype relies on cheap removals to keep the board in check while working on leveling both Seraphine and Ezreal. Back Alley Bar helps you set up more plays for future turns while also acting as a value tool, creating more options.

The deck runs value-generation cards like Choncologist, Fanclub President, and Seraphine to keep the engine running.

In the late game, you’ll try to set up both leveled-up champions on the board and start turbo-burning your opponent’s Nexus down with Ezreal.

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Gwen Katarina

Red Gwen saw a decrease in win rate with the dominance of Ziggs and Champions’ Strength decks. However, the archetype is back on track as one of the strongest in the meta after the hotfix.

The archetype uses the Hallowed keyword to its advantage, setting up powerful attacks early on before switching to the Ruined Reckoner‘s Overwhelm as a means of forcing Nexus damage.

Eternal Dancers and Fallen Reckoner add additional threats that can help you close out the game.

If you’re still struggling to end the game, The Harrowing is here to save the day. In most cases, harrowing can be enough as a game finisher to destroy the opponent’s Nexus.

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Vayne Aatrox Quinn

The scout deck has been performing phenomenally on the ranked ladder, going toe-to-toe with the Kayn Aatrox version.

This Quinn Vayne Aatrox deck has a powerful early game, with challenger units like Valor and Fleetfeather Tracker threatening to pick off the opponent’s units with the assistance of the Darkin weapons.

Vayne‘s Tumble allows you to set up additional swings with your Darkin units or activate your attack token using a scout unit.

Aatrox is your late-game carry. The World Ender can be a powerful play if set up correctly. Each of your Darkin units has unique abilities that will advance your game plan.

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Draven Jinx

Discard Aggro is by far one of the strongest archetypes in the game after the buff Jinx received. I managed to make my Master climb this season with Draven Jinx, beating popular matchups on the ladder like Aatrox, Ziggs, and Champions’ Strength.

Taking a look at the matchup table after the hotfix, Discard aggro has a favored matchup against most of the meta decks, only struggling against Ezreal Seraphine BC.

Draven Jinx uses the discard mechanic to set up a wide board of units and chip away at the opponent’s Nexus. Crowd Favorite benefits from the large board by deploying a powerful overwhelm unit that must be countered.

Jinx later joins the battle, taking advantage of your ability to empty your hand and creating a Super Mega Death rocket that sets up your burn plan.

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Lulu Jinx

Jinx Lulu is another discard deck that has been crushing the ladder. It can go wide on the board and start dealing damage to the opponent’s Nexus.

Lulu can buff up your Flame Chomers and pick off pesky units on your opponent’s side of the board. She can also help deal more Nexus damage by buffing up low-power units, especially your Daring Poro.

Sneezy Biggledust! is an aggressive play that empowers your whole board and allows you to slam more Nexus damage. It can put your opponent’s health low enough for Get Excited or Jinx’s rocket to end the game.

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Bonus Deck: Zoe Kayle

Zoe Kayle is one of Ricko Rex’s newest inventions. It’s an aggressive deck that wants to dish out early damage while also setting up a buffed-up Kayle to carry the late game.

Looking at the stats, the deck has been underperforming and can barely hold a 40% win rate. I took RickoRex’s exact list and piloted it in Master rank. After 29 games, I managed to maintain a 65% win rate with Zoe Kayle, which should be more than enough to climb through the lower ranks and just enough to make a slow climb in Master.

In the early game, you’ll be looking for cheap units to set up on the board and start swinging. Cards like Esmus, Breath of the World, Crimson Pigeon, and The Darkin Lodestone will help you attack with buffed-up units, which in turn work on leveling up your Kayle.

Once Kayle is on the board, she will grant all your other units +1|0. This comes in handy when setting up an attack, as your Overwhelm and Elusive units can push more damage and help increase Kayle’s power.

A leveled-up Kayle gains the Overwhelm keyword. She becomes difficult to block and will force your opponent to kill her if they wish to keep their Nexus from being destroyed.

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Closing Words

The meta is still in its early stages, and with the hotfix release, the field has changed quite a lot, giving space for more archetypes to shine. It’s definitely a matter of time before we see new decks rise to the top.