Best Vayne Decks – LoR Patch 3.17 – Darkin Saga: Domination

Introduction

Hey there, Raphterra here! The Darkin Saga: Domination brought powerful new champions to Legends of Runeterra, including one of the strongest champions in Demacia: Vayne. In this article, I feature the best-performing Vayne decks of the patch.

Making a list of competitively viable Vayne decks was relatively easy since she’s been included in a plethora of decks so far in Patch 3.17. She works particularly well with Quick Attack champions, but she’s probably strong enough to be decent in any Demacia deck. Vayne is arguably the strongest champion in Demacia as she’s an infinite value engine with a premium statline for her cost.

Without further ado, let’s get into the list!

---

The Most Popular – Rumble Vayne

As usual, I’m starting with the most popular Vayne deck: Vayne Rumble. In the past 7 days, Vayne Rumble has been played for 54000+ games with an overall winrate of 53.1%. Above is my recommended decklist with a winrate of 54.5% in 23000+ games.

Rumble Vayne plays very close to an all-in combo deck; it will be difficult to lose if you can play Vayne and Rumble on curve. For consistency, the deck uses Legionary Charge as a card tutor for Rumble. However, be aware that if you don’t draw your champions, or if your opponent is able to deal with Rumble, the deck’s game plan starts to fall apart.

This deck is favored against Ionia Seraphine and Vayne Gwen / Pantheon, but is unfavored when facing Ezreal Seraphine Noxus and Zed Vayne.

---

The Second Most Popular – Zed Vayne

Next, we go to another popular archetype, Vayne Zed. This archetype currently has an overall winrate of 53.5% in 42000+ games. I’m featuring the best performing decklist with a winrate of 54.1% in 12000+ games. It’s no surprise that Vayne Zed is very popular given that it’s one of the first Vayne decks that popped up during the first days of the expansion.

If you like playing aggressive, go-wide, board-centric decks, Vayne Zed is the deck for you. You’ll have your good matchups against Rumble Vayne, Seraphine Ionia, and Vayne Gwen, but games against Seraphine Noxus / Shadow Isles will be unfavored.

If all of that sounds interesting for you, make sure to check out our guide for Vayne Zed!

---

Trusted and Tested – Pantheon Vayne

Pantheon Vayne is my personal pick for the most reliable Vayne deck. This Fated archetype has an overall winrate of 54.1% in 29000+ games, with the decklist above having a high-tier winrate of 57.1% in 1600+ games. Pantheon Fated decks have been thriving since the introduction of Equipments in The Darkin Saga: Awakening, and it looks like the Pantheon train won’t be stopping anytime soon.

I prefer Pantheon Vayne over other Vayne variants because the deck can rely on multiple win conditions like Pantheon, Camphor, the Doubt, and Horazi. It’s also one of the few Vayne decks that are favored against Ezreal Seraphine Noxus, while also being good into Seraphine‘s Ionia and Shadow Isles variants. The deck’s bad matchups include Rumble Vayne and Annie Jhin.

---

Equipments Everywhere – Vayne Jax

Vayne Jax is another solid pick that I would personally recommend for ranked ladder. It has been doing decently with an overall winrate of 53.3% in 24000+ games. Similar to Pantheon Vayne, Vayne Jax has a specific decklist that stands out with its 57% winrate in 1800+ games.

Vayne‘s Tumble can be very versatile when used with multiple weaponmasters, and can also quickly progress Jax‘s level-up requirement. Once leveled up, Jax‘s Overwhelm damage with Tumbles can start threatening lethal damage. Vayne Jax is favored against Ezreal Seraphine Noxus, Seraphine Ionia / Shadow Isles, and Vayne Gwen. The deck’s unfavored matchups are against Zed Vayne and Annie Jhin.

---

The “Best” Vayne Deck – Vayne Fiora P&Z

If you strictly look at only the stats, Vayne Fiora P&Z is the best deck for Vayne. This rare region pairing of Demacia and P&Z has an overall winrate of 55% in 10000+ games. However, the overall winrate is not the only thing that’s impressive about this archetype. Vayne Fiora‘s best decklist has an outstanding winrate of 57.9% in 1600+ games.

This deck uses a full set of The Darkin Harp and The Darkin Aegis, giving it flexibility to play Joraal or Styraatu. Three copies of Stony Suppressor is the deck’s answer to the prevalence of Seraphine in ranked ladder. Vayne Fiora P&Z is favored against Zed / Gwen Vayne, Seraphine Ionia, and Annie Jhin. The deck goes even and has no bad matchups among the most-played decks in the meta.

---

Hallowed & Rallies are Good – Vayne Gwen

Vayne Gwen is another popular Vayne archetype with an overall winrate of 51.1% in 38000+ games. If you love the Hallowed archetype, the list above is the best performing build with a winrate of 53.5% in 1800+ games.

Vayne Gwen is very similar to Vayne Rumble, where you’re going to be in a powerful spot if you can curve Vayne into Gwen. This variant is slightly less consistent in terms of getting the champion combo because Gwen is easier to remove compared to Rumble, and this deck doesn’t have a champion tutor like Legionary Charge. However, the deck can fall back to other late game options like The Harrowing or Eternal Dancers.

This archetype is favored against Seraphine Shadow Isles, but outside of that there aren’t any good matchups among the meta’s popular decks. Rumble Vayne, Zed Vayne, and Annie Jhin are all bad matchups for Vayne Gwen.

---

My Personal Spice – Vayne Kayn

I’m closing off this list with a personal creation of mine, Vayne Kayn! Vayne Kayn has a respectable overall winrate of 51.6% in 15000+ games. This was the deck I used to climb from Platinum to Diamond, with my list having a decent winrate of 51.4% in 4000+ games. If you’re a fan of Kayn, I personally think that this is the strongest deck for the Shadow Reaper. Before bringing this deck to your own games, make sure to check out my deck guide for Vayne Kayn.

This decks is favored against Seraphine Ionia and Vayne Jax, but is unfavored against Rumble Vayne and Pantheon Vayne.

---

Closing Words

Vayne is personally my favorite new champion from The Darkin Saga: Domination. However, I also feel that she is too strong in her current state. She’s been performing great in terms of playrate and winrate, so it wouldn’t shock me if she’s one of the leading nerf candidates in the next balance patch. If you’re a fan of Vayne, I’d recommend that you make the most out of her before the eventual nerf!

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