LoR Meta Report – Patch 3.12 Week 1

Patch 3.12 focused on tackling some in-game bugs. The most important bug was Sharpsight, which counted as a keyword in Kai’Sa Demacia decks. The bug fix slowed down the archetype, tuning it down a bit, but still remains one of the best decks in the current meta.

Moreover, a couple of new decks showed up on the ranked ladder in the midst of Bard dominance, Akshan Udyr, Teemo Twisted Fate BC, and Maokai Bard are three of this week’s new decks.

Sources: The 194k matches of data from August 2 to August 8 are from LoR Meta. The data is based on Platinum, Diamond, and Master rank matches. I also used Runeterra.AR for more Master rank stats on low play rate decks.

Most Popular Archetypes

• Kai’Sa Demacia remains the most played deck on the competitive ladder even after the Sharpsight bug was fixed. The Sivir Demacia version has dropped in play rate compared to last week. As for the Askhan version, it fell off tremendously, the win rate even dropped down to 48.6% in Master rank.
• Illaoi Bard is the second most played deck on the ranked ladder. The deck holds a 54% win rate in Platinum+.
• Teemo Twisted Fate Monke deck suddenly rises! The Powder Monkey deck caught the community’s interest, quickly gaining popularity and becoming one of the top 5 most played archetypes. Its win rate hovers around 51% win rate, showing a healthy existence so far.
• Annie Jhin positions itself as the top aggressive deck out there! Remarkably, the archetype has a high win rate of 55.5% in Master rank, but that could be due to the increase in Lissandra Taliyah‘s play rate.
• Bard Shen, Lissandra Taliyah, and Ahri Bard are all performing outstandingly well! All three decks are hovering around a 59% win rate in Master rank. Bard Shen is currently the most played out of the three but Lissandra Taliyah is gaining fast popularity and might overtake Bard Shen in play rate.
• Irelia Azir is still in the top 5 most played decks. As for its win rate, the archetype is struggling to stay above 50% in Platinum+.
• Annie Twisted Fate and Katarina Twisted Fate‘s rivalry continues. This week’s winner is the Annie Twisted Fate version. It holds a higher play rate in all ranks. As for the win rate, it’s close to even in Platinum+. However, when you take a look at the Master rank stats, the Annie version sits at 55.9% while the Katarina version is at 50.6%.
• Katarina Yasuo‘s win rate has dropped below 50% in all ranks, it’s currently hovering around 48% in Platinum, Diamond, and Master ranks.
• Not much change in Heimerdinger Jayce its win rate is between 50% and 54%.
• The fall of Elise Gwen (NX). Its win rate has dropped below 50% in all ranks. Similarly, Annie Gwen’s win rate is atrocious, with a 43.22% win rate in Master rank.
• Twisted Fate Nami (SI) and Vi Trundle have a fluctuating win rate between 50% and 53%. Both decks have a higher play rate in Master rank.
• Akshan Udyr, Maokai Bard, and Gwen Aphelios are the new competitors joining the meta! Sadly, all three decks have a win rate between 44% and 48% in Platinum+. However, Akshan Udyr holds a 53.8% win rate in Master rank.
• Evelynn decks are completely kicked out of the meta. The most popular version is Viego Evelynn which currently holds a 46.67% win rate.

Most Successful Archetypes

Tier 1 (Kai’Sa Demacia, Illaoi Bard, Annie Twisted Fate, Shen Bard, Lissandra Taliyah, Irelia Azir, Annie Jhin) With Kai’Sa Sharpsight bug fixed, more decks are starting to show up! Even though Kai’Sa Demacia and Illaoi Bard remain at the top of Tier 1, the rest of the decks are performing well on the competitive ladder.

Tier 2 (Yasuo Katarina, Heimerdinger Jayce SI, Teemo Twisted Fate BC, Elise Gwen NX, Vi Trundle, Draven Sion PZ, Nami Twisted Fate SI, Ahri Bard) Healthy meta diversity in tier 2. Heimerdinger Jayce SI is extremely close to climbing back to low Tier 1. Teemo Twisted Fate BC is shockingly putting up a fight and is now one of the top-played decks!

Meme Tier Evelynn decks. All the different versions have a win rate lower than 50%.

Balance Watch Kai’Sa DE and Illaoi Bard. Both decks have been dominating the meta. Kai’Sa can take over the board presence and she’s difficult to deal with, especially with protection tools like Spell Shield, Ancient Hourglass, and Rite of Negation.

Underplayed and Overplayed Archetypes

In the chart below, I’ve plotted win rates versus play rates of 22 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: Kai’Sa DE and Illaoi Bard continue their meta dominance. Even with the fix to the Sharpsight bug, Kai’Sa DE is still on top of the meta af refuses to be removed from the throne.

Overplayed: Yasuo Katarina. The archetype definitely has its fans but win rate wise, the deck isn’t a great pick for a ladder climb.

Underplayed: Lissandra Taliyah is catching up to both Kai’Sa DE and Illaoi Bard. It holds a high win rate capable of rivaling the top tier decks. I do expect Thralls to be the new top tier deck if Kai’Sa DE and Illaoi Bard receive nerfs in the next patch.

Hidden Gems: Akshan Udyr seems to hold its own in Master rank. The unique advantage of Akshan Udyr is its capability to beat both Kai’Sa DE and Illaoi Bard, giving it an edge on the competitive ladder.

Closing Words

Other than Illaoi Bard and Kai’Sa DE dominating the scene, the meta is quite diverse, with many different archetypes performing well on the competitive ladder.

Hopefully, the upcoming patch gives Evelynn or her supporting cards a bit of a buff to push her into the meta.

That’s it from me, I’ll see you next week with a new Meta Report!