LoR Meta Report – Patch 3.21 Week 2 – Best Ladder Decks

Meta Report Patch 3.21 week 2 Darkin Saga: World Ender expansion showcases all the data you need to understand the meta and start your climb.

It’s been two weeks since Patch 3.21 dropped, and the meta has yet to settle down completely.

The rivalry between Kayn Aatrox and Vayne Aatrox comes to an end. Vayne Aatrox has been performing better on the ranked ladder and has finally overtaken Kayn Aatrox in play rate.

The new Aatrox Kindred deck has shown up, trying to make a name for itself in the meta.

Today’s data will be after the hotfix, as it changed the meta environment a lot with the nerfs it held for Acolyte’s Reliquary, The Unforgiving Cold, Champion’s Strength, and Blooming Cultist.

Sources: Data from December 13 to December 19 is from LlorStat and Runeterra.AR.


Most Successful Archetypes

Tier 1 (Vayne Aatrox, Ezreal Seraphine (BC), Katarina Gwen, Draven Jinx, Gangplank Sejuani, Lulu Jinx, Pirates)

Ziggs Acolytes and Champions’ Strength decks drop out of Tier 1 after the nerfs. Gangplank Sejuani, Lulu Jinx, and Pirates have performed well in the shadows. Vayne Aatrox outperforms Kayn Aatrox and is currently the best deck out there.

Tier 2 (Aatrox Kayn, Annie Jhin, Twisted Fate Annie, Trundle Tryndamere (SI), Heimerdinger Jayce (SI), Viktor Seraphine (PZ), Rumble Vayne, Zed Hecarim, Ekko Jinx (SH), Annie Twisted Fate, Aatrox Kindred, Zed Kayle, Akshan Varus, Pyke Rek’Sai, Azir Xerath)

There are many different archetypes in Tier 2. Although Kayn Aatrox still maintains a high play rate, it has dropped to Tier 2.

Meme Tier

Master Yi Ryze is one of the most popular Ryze decks. Both underperforming champions joined forces to create an underperforming deck. It has a 38% win rate on the ranked ladder.

The best-performing Ryze deck is the Seraphine Viktor PnZ, which runs only one Ryze in the list as an alternate win condition.


Underplayed and Overplayed Archetypes

In the chart below, I’ve plotted win rates versus play rates for 21 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: Aatrox Vayne. The archetype has the highest play rate and a 57% win rate. It’s been popular in the tournament scene as well. Looking at the matchup table, the deck doesn’t have a true counter outside of Rumble Vayne.

Overplayed: Aatrox Kayn. At this point, there’s no reason to play the Kayn version on the ranked ladder, as the Vayne version outperforms the deck and should be a better choice for a serious ladder climb.

Underplayed: Pirates. The aggressive deck is making a comeback and currently has a 57% win rate across all ranks.

Hidden Gems:

Aphelios Leona. The deck can take on many of the popular archetypes in the meta. Leona’s ability to stun units can be a dreadful experience for midrange decks like Vayne Aatrox. The archetype can also deal with aggressive decks like Draven Jinx, Annie Jhin, and Pirate as it runs cheap units and Vile Feast for the early game.

This list runs Sunburst to deal with Aatrox and his weapon. You’re also able to create a Falling Comet and win condition with Celestial Trifecta.

Building a wide board helps you set up a powerful The Winding Light play, which could set up a lethal attack.

Balance Watch: Aatrox. The champion seems too powerful, especially with the Nexus healing he offers, entirely shutting down aggressive decks.


Most Popular Archetypes

The most-played deck this week! Aatrox Vayne has a win rate of 57% across all ranks and the master rank.

Its astounding matchup table makes it the best archetype right now for a ladder climb.

Kayn Aatrox’s win rate has dropped compared to the previous week. The hotfix nerfed two cards in the list: Blooming Cultist and Unforgiving Cold.

The deck has a 51.9% win rate across all ranks, which drops it out of Tier 1.

Ezreal Seraphine (BC) gained popularity on the ranked ladder, landing it on the third most-played deck this week. The deck has a 54.5% win rate in Master rank.

The archetype’s worst matchup is Aatrox Vayne, but outside of that, Ezreal Seraphine (BC) is a great choice, especially as a tournament deck.

edit
Katarina Gwen created by Sorry • last updated 10 months ago

The hotfix toned down many of the dominant decks in the first week, which meant Gwen Katarina has more space to shine now.

The deck’s play rate increased, making it one of the top 4 most played decks. It has a win rate of 54.8% across all ranks and a win rate of 53.5% in the master rank.

edit
Draven Jinx created by Sorry • last updated 1 year ago

Draven Jinx has a 3.39% play rate across all ranks with a 54.3% win rate. It’s one of the best-performing aggressive decks out there.

It gets crushed by Ezreal Seraphine (BC), but outside of that, Draven Jinx puts up a good fight against the rest of the meta field.

Annie Jhin is barely holding a 50% win rate. Popular decks like Seraphine Ezreal (BC), Aatrox Vayne, and Gwen Katarina give Annie Jhin a rough time, which has led to its win rate dropping.

Lurk makes it to the top 10 most-played decks! The archetype has a 52.6% win rate across all ranks.

Pyke RekSai has an almost even match against Aatrox Vayne and crushes the Kayn Aatrox version.

Mono Shurima is underperforming on the ranked ladder. It has a 45% win rate across all ranks and a 44.3% win rate in Master rank.

edit
Sejuani Gangplank created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago

Gangplank Sejuani has been putting up good numbers since the Spirits Unleashed buff. It has a 54% win rate across all ranks.

It has a bad matchup against Aatrox Kayn but beats the more popular version, Vayne Aatrox.

edit
Lulu Jinx created by Sorry • last updated 10 months ago

Jinx Lulu’s win rate dropped a bit compared to the previous week. It still holds a 55.2% win rate in Master rank.

edit
Seraphine Viktor Ryze created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
Types
champion
follower
spell
landmark
equipment
Rarities
champion
epic
rare
common
Mana Cost

Seraphine Viktor (PZ) has added one Ryze to its list as an alternate win condition. The archetype can barely hold a 50% win rate.

edit
Vayne Rumble created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago

Shockingly, Rumble Vayne has been doing extremely well on the ranked ladder. It has a win rate of 56.1% across all ranks and a win rate of 55.2% in the master rank.

Looking at the matchup table, Rumble Vayne beats popular decks like Aatrox Kayn, Aatrox Vayne, and Gwen Katarina.

Ziggs Acolyte’s win rate dropped to 43.3% across all ranks after the hotfix nerfed Acolyte’s Reliquary, an important card for the deck’s success.

edit
Aatrox Kindred created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago

Aatrox Kindred has recently seen more play on the ranked ladder. It has a win rate of around 52% across all ranks and the master rank.

edit
Miss Fortune Twisted Fate created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago

Miss Fortune Twisted Fate is making a comeback! The deck has a 57.7% win rate across all ranks.


Closing Words

The hotfix addressed problematic cards in the meta and quickly gave room for other archetypes to perform in the meta.

This is it for this week’s Meta Report. I’ll see you at the next one!

Sorry
Sorry

Alaa "TricksterSorry" Yassine is a competitive Legends of Runeterra player. His passion for card games ignited in his youth with favorites like Yugioh and Pokemon. Currently, he dedicates himself to achieving professional excellence in Runeterra, while also creating informative video and written content for the Runeterra community.

Articles: 176