Championship-Winning Decks From Creators Invitational

Over the recent weekend, we saw the first Masters-level tournament in the European scene take place, featuring 22 of the continent’s top Legends of Runeterra players in competition at the EU Creators Invitational for a cash prize, some sponsored swag, and the all-important claim of being the best of Europe’s best.

Five rounds of round-robin play winnowed the field down to eight, and come the finals, it was Germany’s Tilted_22 who emerged victorious over Russia’s FirstPinkBeaver, with a 2-0 victory in the best-of-three series. Tilted only lost two of his matches throughout the entirety of the tournament, giving him a stunning 85% win rate overall, and was one of just two players to go undefeated through the round-robin stage (along with Poland’s Zetalot), making his win all the more well-earned.

Now, we get to take a look at the decks that Tilted piloted to cruise his way to victory at the Invitational, and then you can take ’em for a spin yourselves in the ranked meta!

First up, a deck that probably looks familiar to anyone who’s so much as dipped their toes into the current ranked meta, with Tilted’s take on Kinkou Elusives. His list is perhaps a little slower than what you usually see out of the aggressive archetype, with the inclusion of cards such as Windfarer Hatchling and Will of Ionia, but the core principles remain the same: get your Elusive units buffed up with cards like Omen Hawk and Jeweled Protector, and use your suite of spells to protect them while you get in for unavoidable damage on the enemy’s Nexus. Kinkou Wayfinder and Zed, the only Champion in the deck, are great units to pair with Greenglade Duo, with their ability to generate extra units and extra attackers on the board.

There are a few different variants of control that are prevalent in the current meta, each of which piloted primarily by a different Champion. There’s Karma Control, with its complex decisions and expensive top-end spells; Heimerdinger Control, which occasionally splashes Karma and looks to pop off a number of cheap spells at once to generate a bunch of Turrets; and there’s Ezreal Control, which is what Tilted decided to bring to the Invitational.

The aim of the game with this deck is to stall out your opponent as much as possible in the early game with your various Frostbite effects, gradually get your Ezreal leveled-up while he’s sitting in your hand, and then drop him and go off with your Mushroom Clouds and other cheap spells. This version of the deck is also running a handful of Elnuks, which might not seem particularly threatening or exciting at first glance, but they provide enough healthily-statted bodies to deter aggressive, board-based decks from swinging in and trying to end the game quick, before you get your combo online.

The last of Tilted’s three decks is another familiar sight to most players, with his take on Fearsome Rally Midrange. Interestingly, Tilted decided to cut out almost all of the Demacia cards, save for the two copies of Relentless Pursuit that help give the deck its name. In their place, he’s added two copies of Chronicler of Ruin, which pair nicely with most of the other units in the deck, particularly if you can target The Rekindler with one to revive additional Hecarims. The more intriguing addition, however, is the three copies of Mist’s Call, which will revive a random ally from this turn that’s already died. It is another card that synergizes well with most of the units it’s able to bring back, and as an added bonus for those who want to test these decks out for themselves, it’s a Common spell that’ll help keep the cost of building it down.

This is a much more aggressive version of the deck that opts not to run The Harrowing, sacrificing the ability to be a late-game powerhouse for the upside of being much stronger in the early phases, but should still be a very consistent deck that you can rack up wins with in ranked play.

And there you have it! These decks were able to secure Tilted a tournament victory against some of the best opponents from all of Europe, so there’s no doubt that they can bring you success in your everyday play, as well. Make sure you stay tuned for more decklists and tournament coverage!