LoR Meta Report – Patch 3.18 Week 1 – Best Ladder Decks – Counter Seraphine Meta
Meta Report Patch 3.18 week 1 Darkin Saga: Domination expansion showcases all the data you need to understand the meta and start your climb.
Meta Report Patch 3.18 Week 1 is here! Patch 3.18 held bug fixes, meaning there weren’t any card changes to shift the current meta. However, there have been developments in the meta; new decks have been showing up on the ladder.
The meta is heavily dominated by Seraphine and Vayne decks, forcing players to explore and find the best archetypes that can deal with those popular decks in an attempt to gain an advantage. Let’s take a look at how the meta has shaped up so far.
Sources: The 333K matches of data from October 25 to October 31 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 Successful Archetypes
Tier 1 (Ezreal Seraphine (NX), Miss Fortune Swain, Viktor Seraphine (SI), Viktor Seraphine (IO), Zed Vayne, Annie Jhin, Vayne Jax)
Seraphine decks continue their outstanding performance on the ranked ladder. After putting up good numbers in the past 2 weeks, Miss Fortune Swain joins the Tier 1 decks.
Tier 2 (Rumble Vayne, Zed Hecarim, Pantheon, Vayne, Twisted Fate Swain, Leona Diana (SI), Pirate Aggro, Akshan Lee Sin, Vayne Gwen, Vayne Kayn, Pyke Rek’Sai, Katarina Gwen, Fiora Vayne (PZ), Ashe Leblanc, Fizz Nami (RU), Akshan Sivir (DE))
Tier 2 has a lot of different Vayne decks that are performing well on the ranked ladder. I talked about both Leona Diana (SI) and Akshan Sivir (DE) in my Power Rankings, two decks that I expected we’d be seeing more of, and here we are! The two decks are performing well against the meta and have secured a spot in Tier 2.
Meme Tier
Taliyah
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
32
8
Types
3
8
20
9
0
Rarities
3
2
19
16
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Taliyah Bilgewater is an interesting concept and can be solid if you manage to get all the right cards. It tries to set up an aggressive board with the Reaver’s Row. Taliyah and Rite of Passage help you set up more Reaver’s Row on the board. You’ll have a wide board of buffed-up cheap units ready to attack.
Unfortunately, the deck falls under the meme tier for the time being as it holds only a 33% win rate on the ranked ladder.
Balance Watch Last week I talked about Seraphine and Fanclub President needing to be looked at. Obviously, that hasn’t changed till now. Fanclub President’s manifest pool can be limited to the regions of the deck running her. As for Seraphine, we can consider either a health reduction to make it easier for players to kill the champion or a slower level-up condition.
Additionally, any nerf to Seraphine decks will cause a complete Vayne dominance in the meta, so we have to tackle Vayne’s strength and tone it down to avoid such a scenario.
Underplayed and Overplayed Archetypes
In the chart below, I’ve plotted win rates versus play rates of 20 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: Seraphine Ezreal, Viktor Seraphine (IO), Zed Vayne, and Miss Fortune Swain. Both Seraphine decks have a high play rate and are still maintaining an impressive win rate across Platinum, Diamond, and Master ranks. As for Miss Fortune Swain and Zed Vayne, they’re holding higher win rates than the Seraphine decks but with a lower play rate.
Overplayed: Fizz Nami Varus (RU). The archetype has gained popularity recently, landing it in the top 20 most-played decks. However, it has failed to maintain a positive win rate across all ranks.
Underplayed: Gwen Katarina. The archetype’s play rate has plummeted. However, it’s maintaining a 54%+ win rate, making it a great choice for a ladder climb.
Hidden Gems:
Teemo Zoe
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
21
22
Types
6
18
13
0
3
Rarities
6
3
6
25
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Teemo Zoe has a low play rate right now, but in the past 2 days, the deck has managed to hit a 56% win rate.
The archetype relies on an elusive win condition to deal Nexus damage. The weapons can increase the damage potential you’re able to push, and with Horazi in the deck, you’ll be able to support an elusive unit late game and set up a strong attack.
Vayne Quinn (PZ)
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
31
9
Types
6
17
12
0
5
Rarities
6
8
7
19
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Quinn Vayne (PZ) is the newest version of a Vayne archetype. This seems to be the improved version of Vayne Fiora (PZ) that uses The Darkin Harp‘s Quick Attack to protect units when swinging.
The deck has an insane 62% win rate in the past 2 days, outperforming the Fiora version and can potentially stick in the meta if it continues this solid performance this week.
Most Popular Archetypes
Ezreal Seraphine
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
13
27
Types
6
8
23
3
0
Rarities
6
5
12
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
- Ezreal Seraphine (NX) continues its splendid performance on the ranked ladder. The archetype has been facing a lot of decks trying to counter it but still maintains a positive win rate, and has the highest play rate across Platinum, Diamond, and Master ranks. The deck has a 52.7% win rate in Platinum+.
Zed Hecarim
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
15
25
Types
6
21
10
3
0
Rarities
6
6
8
20
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
- Zed Hecarim is the second most played deck, with a 5.37% play rate in Platinum+. Although the archetype has a high play rate, its win rate isn’t holding up too well. In Platinum+ ranks, Zed Hecarim is barely maintaining a 50% win rate. But when we take a look at the Master rank, that win rate drops down to 47.73%.
Seraphine Viktor Karma
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
23
17
Types
6
6
25
3
0
Rarities
6
5
18
11
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Spells (25)
0
Thermogenic Beam
1
1
Ionian Tellstones
2
1
Piltovan Tellstones
2
1
Wuju Style
2
2
Mystic Shot
1
2
Nopeify!
1
2
Retreat
2
2
Sonic Wave
1
2
Time Trick
2
2
Twin Disciplines
1
3
Aftershock
1
3
Memory’s Cloak
1
3
Sump Fumes
1
4
Deny
2
5
Deep Meditation
2
5
Drum Solo
2
7
Sputtering Songspinner
1
- The majority of the community seems to agree that Seraphine Ionia is the best performing Seraphine deck out there. The third most played deck, Seraphine Viktor Karma, has a 52.9% win rate in Platinum+ ranks and a 54.34% win rate in Master rank.
Annie Jhin
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
20
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Types
6
27
7
0
0
Rarities
6
0
3
31
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
In an attempt to combat the Demacia and Seraphine decks, Annie Jhin has seen an increase in play rates. The archetype has a 54.4% win rate in Platinum+ and 51.81% in Master rank.
Rumble Vayne
created by Sorry • last updated 5 months ago
Regions
30
10
Types
6
16
15
0
3
Rarities
6
3
8
23
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
The combo-oriented deck is making a comeback in terms of play rate. When Rumble Vayne was holding the highest play rate, its win rate started to slowly decline. Now that the meta shifted to countering Seraphine, Vayne Rumble’s win rate went up to 54.4% in Platinum+ and 52.52% in Master rank.
Vayne Zed
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
16
24
Types
6
16
16
0
2
Rarities
6
2
18
14
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Zed Vayne is the best performing Vayne deck at the moment. The archetype has a 55.1% win rate in the Platinum+ ranks. It also has a 55.3% win rate in the Master rank, the highest win rate in Masters!
Miss Fortune Swain
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
20
20
Types
6
24
10
0
0
Rarities
6
6
5
23
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Twisted Fate Swain
created by Sorry • last updated 5 months ago
Regions
24
16
Types
6
18
16
0
0
Rarities
6
7
8
19
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
When comparing both MF Swain and TF Swain, the Miss Fortune version is the clear winner. The archetype has a higher play rate and win rate than the old Twisted Fate archetype. MF Swain has a 56.7% win rate in Platinum+ ranks and a 55.02% win rate in Master rank.
The aggressive style of MF Swain seems to favor the archetype in the current meta. Closing out games before the opponent can set up their game plan.
Jax Vayne
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
3
28
Types
6
20
11
0
3
Rarities
6
5
12
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Jax Vayne is one of the best decks to counter Seraphine archetypes, an important factor that makes Jax Vayne one of the most played decks on the ranked ladder. Additionally, the archetype puts up a fight against aggressive archetypes trying to counter the meta.
Jax Vayne has around 54% win rate in both Platinum+ and Master ranks.
Vayne Gwen
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
19
21
Types
6
16
14
2
2
Rarities
6
12
9
13
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
3
Vayne
3
4
Gwen
3
landmarks (2)
3
Opulent Foyer
2
equipments (2)
2
The Darkin Aegis
2
- Vayne Gwen’s win rate continues to hover around 50%. The archetype’s win rate drops to 49.5% in Master rank.
Varus Pantheon
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
21
3
Types
6
13
19
0
2
Rarities
6
3
10
21
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Vayne Pantheon
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
17
23
Types
6
15
13
0
6
Rarities
6
8
9
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Pantheon Vayne seems to be performing better than the Varus version. Varus Pantheon has a 52.5% win rate in Platinum+ and a 50.66% win rate in Master rank. As for Pantheon Vayne, the deck has a 54.7% win rate in Platinum+ and a 53.8% win rate in Master rank.
The Vayne Demacia version does better against Seraphine decks, which explains the higher win rate across all ranks.
Seraphine Aphelios Zoe
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
27
13
Types
6
11
19
3
1
Rarities
6
6
11
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
1
Zoe
1
2
Seraphine
3
3
Aphelios
2
landmarks (3)
7
Back Alley Bar
3
equipments (1)
2
Inspired Plans
1
Spells (19)
0
Thermogenic Beam
1
1
Piltovan Tellstones
2
1
Poro Cannon
1
1
Spell Thief
1
2
Guiding Touch
1
2
Iterative Improvement
1
2
Mystic Shot
2
2
Pale Cascade
1
2
Rummage
1
2
Supercool Starchart
1
2
Time Trick
1
2
Trail of Evidence
2
3
Get Excited!
1
5
Purrsuit of Perfection
2
7
Sputtering Songspinner
1
- Seraphine Targon was one of the earliest Seraphine versions that existed on Seraphine’s release. The deck performed mediocrity in the meta, and it slowly was pushed out by the other Seraphine version.
- Players are now giving the archetype a second shot, and it is performing decently so far. Zoe Seraphine Aphelios barely holds a 50% win rate in Platinum+. However, that win rate goes up to 53.49% in Master rank.
Leona Diana
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
32
8
Types
6
23
11
0
0
Rarities
6
3
10
21
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
- Leona Diana (SI) had an increase in play rate after showing potential last week. The archetype has a 54.2% win rate in Platinum+ and a 52.51% win rate in Master rank.
Sivir Akshan
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
27
13
Types
6
17
12
0
5
Rarities
6
7
5
22
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Akshan Sivir (DE) saw increase in play rate, making it into the top 20 most-played decks. It has around a 51% win rate across Platinum, Diamond, and Master ranks.
Kayn Vayne
created by Sorry • last updated 7 months ago
Regions
14
5
Types
6
18
13
0
3
Rarities
6
5
9
20
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Vayne Kayn is putting up a fight and has a 53% win rate in Platinum+ and a 54.11% win rate in Master rank.
Nocturne Elise
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
3
37
Types
6
23
11
0
0
Rarities
6
2
9
23
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Elise Nocturne Fearsome’s play rate saw an increase this past week. It currently has a 55% win rate in Platinum+.
Another version that replaces Nocturne with Gwen is gaining popularity. The archetype relies more on burn cards like Noxian Fervour and Decimate to close out the game.
Closing Words
It’s interesting to see new archetypes make it into the top 20 most-played decks. A lot of those decks have good matchup experience against multiple meta-dominant decks, making them a good choice for a ladder climb.
This is it for this week’s Meta Report. I’ll see you at the next one!
Sorry
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