LoR Meta Report – Patch 3.10.0 Week 1

Hey everyone, Sorry here! A new patch is finally out and it holds a lot of buffs and nerfs for various cards. The nerfs hit metagame staple decks like Viego Noxus and Thralls, shutting down key cards the archetypes relied on like Legion Deserter and Promising Future to advance their game plan. As for the buffs, they’re mostly focused on underplayed cards, giving them a tiny boost to increase their power.

Another important change that hit decks like Yuumi Pantheon, Viktor, and Ziggs Taliyah was the removal of Scout as a generatable keyword. Scout was an important keyword for Pantheon, Viktor, and The Arsenal as its combination with other keywords such as Quick Attack, Elusive, and Overwhelm can become an immediate threat that needs to be dealt with on the spot.

You can also find our fully updated meta tier list here.

The 177k matches of data from June 27 to July 4 are from LoR Meta. The data is based on Platinum, Diamond, and Master rank matches.

Most Popular Archetypes

Annie Twisted Fate has increased greatly in popularity, becoming the most played deck in the first week of patch 3.10.0. With Thralls receiving a couple of nerfs along with the buff to Riptide Rex, Annie Twisted Fate has climbed up to claim the throne.

Azir Irelia follows the steps of Annie Twisted Fate. Irelia now having Attune as a keyword helps the archetype a lot early game, making sure you’ll be able to hold an aggressive early to mid-game until you start leveling up your champions. The deck did start to drop in win rate as more counters popped up on the ranked ladder.

Annie Jhin remains a solid and popular deck even though it used to prey on the popularity of Thralls. It’s still a great choice against Azir Irelia and Ahri Bard, solidifying it as one of the best decks in the meta right now.

Zoe Aphelios Vi and Nami Twisted Fate (SI) have shown to be more favored by Master players. The two archetypes remain great picks in the meta and rewards player skill difference. Zoe Aphelios Vi in particular, is on its way to becoming the meta dominant deck.

Fizz Riven‘s play rate has dropped significantly but still maintains a high win rate on the competitive ladder.

Heimerdinger Jayce (SI) continues its steady performance, remaining as one of the top-tier decks. Its ability to keep the board in check while gaining value from both Heimerdinger and Jayce strengthens its late game and sets up for a wide board of turrets.

Thresh Nasus out of nowhere started appearing on the competitive ladder a couple of days ago. The archetype performs well against aggressive decks like Azir Irelia, Annie Jhin, and Zoe Aphelios. Its win rate though is hovering around 50% simply balanced in the meta right now.

Ashe LeBlanc, an old archetype, started appearing as well after Avarosan Hearthguard and Trifarian Assessor received tiny buffs. The deck’s win rate is still hovering between 47%-50%.

All different versions of Hecarim decks underperformed on the first week of the patch. The champion received a powerful buff to make sure Ephemeral units continue presenting a threat even after Hecarim is killed, but it seems it’s still not enough for the time being.

Ezreal Caitlyn Noxus has dropped in win rate after the deck received two nerfs. Ezreal’s level up condition is now slower, it requires 8 stacks to level up whereas Ferros Financier is easier to kill after the -1 health the card received.

Viego Noxus is out of the meta after the nerf to Legion Deserter, the deck heavily relies on the Overwhelm keyword to present a lethal attack before committing Atrocity.

As for Thralls, the archetype maintains a high win rate but its play rate has plummeted in comparison to the previous patch meta.

Pantheon Demacia is completely out of the meta after the huge nerf to Zenith Blade. The archetype relied heavily on the Overwhelm keyword to set up its win condition.

Most Successful Archetypes

Tier 1 (Annie TF, Azirelia, Annie Jhin, Ahri Bard, Zoe Aphelios, and Heimerdinger Jayce SI) holds aggressive and control decks. Mid-range seems to have fallen off, especially the Demacia region after the recent nerfs to Petricite Broadwing and Brightsteel Protector.

Tier 2 (Twisted Fate Nami, Jarvan Poppy Bard, Elise Annie, Sun Disc, Deep, Thralls, and Fizz Riven) features old archetypes like Nasus Thresh and Ashe Leblanc making a slight comeback. Jarvan IV Poppy Bard, Scouts, and Lux Jayce seem to be the only Demacia decks still standing. Thralls doesn’t seem to be out of the meta just yet, the deck is still performing amazingly in terms of win rate even with the massive play rate drop.

Meme Tier: Unfortunately, Hecarim decks are underperforming. Moreover, Ezreal’s nerf has caused a drop in Ezreal Caitlyn’s win rate going down to 49%.

Balance Watch: Zoe Aphelios Vi is performing outstandingly well, stomping on a lot of matchups and quickly rising to the top as a good ladder and tournament deck. Winding Light can be problematic to deal with. I’m expecting Winding Light to be tuned down in the future.

Underplayed and Overplayed Archetypes

In the chart below I’ve plotted win rates versus play rates of 23 decks to demonstrate which archetypes can be seen as the ‘kings’ in the current meta, and which decks can be labeled as ‘overplayed’ or ‘underplayed’.

The Y-Axis represents the win rate whereas the X-Axis represents the play rate.

Meta Kings: Annie Twisted Fate, Annie Jhin, and Zoe Aphelios Vi.

Overplayed: Azir Irelia. The deck’s win rate has plummeted as more counter decks try to put a stop to Azirelia

Underplayed: Fizz Riven, Lux Jayce. Both decks have a high win rate and should be doing well on paper but their play rate is still low.

Hidden Gems: Miss Fortune Quinn (Scouts) and Thralls. Scouts specifically performs outstandingly well against most of the popular decks, making it a great pick for the ranked ladder.

Closing Words

The meta seems to be quite diverse, Annie Twisted Fate is extremely popular on the competitive ladder, and holds a great win rate as well! Although Azir Irelia was dominating the scene in the first couple of days, its win rate started dropping down after counter decks popped up.

Hopefully, you found today’s meta report useful, I’ll see you in the next one!