LoR Meta Report – Patch 3.21 Week 4 – Best Ladder Decks
Meta Report Patch 3.21 week 4 Darkin Saga: World Ender expansion showcases all the data you need to understand the meta and start your climb.
Happy New Year! My first Runeterra Meta Report of 2023 is here! The popular meta decks continue their ladder dominance, while a couple of new decks are pushing their way into the top 20 most-played decks!
Let’s take a look at the ladder changes for week 4 of Patch 3.21!
Sources: The 263k matches of data from December 27 to January 2 are from LlorStat and Runeterra.AR.
Most Successful Archetypes
Tier 1 (Vayne Aatrox, Ezreal Seraphine (BC), Katarina Gwen, Draven Jinx, Lulu Jinx, Pirates, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, Elise Gwen)
Nothing has changed in Tier 1. Vayne Aatrox remains the top performer, Gwen Katarina’s numbers continue to rise, and aggressive decks are doing great in the shadows.
Tier 2 (Aatrox Kayn, Gangplank Sejuani, Annie Jhin, Twisted Fate Annie, Trundle Tryndamere (SI), Irelia Gwen, Seraphine Viktor Aphelios, Garen Jarvan IV, Viktor Seraphine Ryze, Rumble Vayne, Zed Hecarim, Ekko Jinx (SH), Aatrox Kindred, Akshan Varus, Pyke Rek’Sai, Azir Xerath, Fizz Yuumi, Heimerdinger Jayce (SI))
Garen Jarvan IV joins Tier 2. There are a variety of different archetypes in Tier 2, and Rumble Vayne’s numbers are close to breaking out of Tier 2 and joining the elites.
Meme Tier
Azir Xolaani
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
11
29
Types
3
16
14
5
2
Rarities
3
10
10
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (3)
3
Azir
3
landmarks (5)
2
Emperor’s Dais
3
2
Preservarium
2
equipments (2)
1
The Darkin Bloodletters
2
Azir Xolaani is one of my favorite decks to play, I even made a video on it. Unfortunately, the deck has not been putting out good numbers at all. It’s currently at a 35% win rate, which doesn’t qualify it for a ladder climb deck.
The Azir Xolaani deck wants to buff up the power of its units with cards like Domination, Desert’s Wrath, and The Darkin Bloodletters and get them killed. This will buff up your Xolaani the Bloodweaver, and once it hits 16|16, it will transform into Xolaani, Aspect’s Bane, which in turn will set up a lethal attack with the Overwhelm keyword and multiple Xolaani.
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 deck is just too good. I took Aatrox Vayne Quinn on a serious ladder climb and managed to hit rank 7. You have a good matchup against the majority of the meta, and if you’re comfortable playing the mirror, you should have an edge on the ranked ladder.
Overplayed: Pyke Rek’Sai. The lurk deck is in the top 5 most-played decks but can barely maintain a 50% win rate.
Underplayed: TF Swain. The deck has been slowly on the rise, now making it into the top 20! The archetype has a good win rate across all ranks. It’s a great archetype to deal with aggressive decks and puts up a good fight against Gwen Katarina.
Hidden Gems:
Fizz Gwen
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
27
13
Types
6
16
15
3
0
Rarities
6
4
22
8
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Gwen Fizz, also known as Gwizz, has been gaining popularity recently.
The deck uses the hallowed keyword to set up its game plan. You want to try and squeeze Nexus damage with your units and set up powerful hallowed buffs in the later stages of the game.
Fizz and Zap Sprayfin can sneak in elusive damage, which synergizes with the hallowed buff. Buhru Leader allows you to set up another attack with an elusive Fizz.
Darius
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
23
17
Types
2
24
11
0
3
Rarities
2
3
10
25
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Popularized by RickoRex, the overwhelm deck with Darius as its only champion has held a 56% win rate in the last 2 days.
This deck wants to put powerful units on the board with the Overwhelm keyword so they can take advantage of spells like Elixer of Wrath, Whirling Death, Decisive Maneuver, and Battle Fury to deal more Nexus damage.
Balance Watch: Aatrox, Back Ally Bar, Quietus, and Fallen Reckoner.
Aatrox’s healing and regeneration can be daunting and difficult for many archetypes to deal with.
On the other hand, Back Ally Bar lays the groundwork for powerful future turns and has proven to be overpowering. It makes playing around cards extremely difficult and changes the Runeterra play style we’re used to.
One way to deal with Back Ally Bar is to limit the mana reduction, keeping it only at 1, even with multiple Back Ally Bars on the board.
Quietus has been far too powerful for far too long. The one-cost spell has managed to keep a lot of cards out of the meta. Champions like Poppy and Azir are completely shut down by Quietus if an answer isn’t ready for the low-cost spell.
Fallen Reckoner can be a nightmare for midrange decks. Its ability to render a unit useless in defensive turns can be overpowering, especially when combined with The Harrowing.
One nerf I saw Broken Ball talk about is removing Fallen Reckoner’s ability to block. This allows decks to be more aggressive, or at the very least commit to attacks without fear of Fallen Reckoner blocking and creating a Risen Reckoner.
Most Popular Archetypes
Vayne Aatrox Quinn
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
30
3
Types
6
12
11
0
11
Rarities
6
11
12
11
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
3
Vayne
3
5
Quinn
1
6
Aatrox
2
equipments (11)
1
The Darkin Bloodletters
3
2
The Darkin Aegis
3
2
The Darkin Harp
3
2
The Darkin Spear
2
Aatrox Vayne Quinn just keeps doing better! The deck’s win rate rises slightly to 57.74% across all ranks and continues to be first among most-played decks.
The deck has a strong matchup against almost every deck in the meta, with the exception of Vayne Rumble.
Seraphine Ezreal Viktor
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
18
22
Types
6
8
23
3
0
Rarities
6
4
13
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Spells (23)
0
Thermogenic Beam
1
1
Bandle Tellstones
1
1
Group Shot
1
1
Piltovan Tellstones
1
1
Trinket Trade
1
2
Drop the Bomb
1
2
High Note
1
2
Mystic Shot
1
2
Pokey Stick
3
2
Quicken
1
2
Rummage
1
2
Time Trick
1
3
Get Excited!
1
3
Sump Fumes
1
3
Wallop
1
4
Caustic Riff
1
4
Puzzling Signposts
2
5
Drum Solo
1
6
Hexbliterator
1
7
Sputtering Songspinner
1
Ezreal Seraphine (BC) holds its second spot in play rate while keeping a 53.03% win rate across all ranks.
It remains the most popular Seraphine version out there.
The deck has a rough time against Aatrox Vayne, which explains the low win rate compared to other top decks.
Katarina Gwen
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
12
28
Types
6
13
18
3
0
Rarities
6
6
11
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Gwen Katarina is slowly catching up to Seraphine Ezreal’s play rate. The deck is performing outstandingly well on the ranked ladder, holding a 56.25% win rate across all ranks.
Lurk
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
21
19
Types
6
26
8
0
0
Rarities
6
7
3
24
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Lurk just keeps rising! Rek’Sai Pyke goes from the top 10 most-played decks to the top 5.
Although the deck’s play rate keeps going up, its win rate remains pretty low compared to the other top decks. Lurk has a 50.44% overall win rate and a 49.68% win rate in Master rank.
Aatrox Kayn
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
5
7
3
6
5
3
3
2
2
4
Types
4
15
11
0
10
Rarities
4
10
12
14
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (4)
5
Kayn
2
6
Aatrox
2
equipments (10)
1
The Darkin Bloodletters
2
2
The Darkin Fan
2
2
The Darkin Harp
3
2
The Darkin Spear
3
Kayn Aatrox remains in the shadow of Vayne Aatrox. The deck has a 53.99% win rate across all ranks and a 54.27% win rate in the Master rank.
The matchup table for Kayn Aatrox is overall good, but when compared to Aatrox Vayne, the deck is a weaker Aatrox version.
Draven Jinx
created by Sorry • last updated 10 months ago
Regions
24
16
Types
6
18
16
0
0
Rarities
6
3
13
18
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Lulu Jinx
created by Sorry • last updated 8 months ago
Regions
23
17
Types
6
17
17
0
0
Rarities
6
2
3
29
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Draven Jinx and Lulu Jinx are doing well on the ranked ladder. Both decks have high win rates, Jinx Lulu has a 56.68% win rate, and Draven Jinx has a 55.44% win rate.
The consistently high win rate landed both decks in Tier 1 (Dark Horse) on our Meta Tier list.
Rumble Vayne
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
15
25
Types
6
12
16
0
6
Rarities
6
6
10
18
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Vayne Rumble has made it to the 6th most-played deck. Its ability to beat Aatrox decks gave it an edge on the ladder and it quickly became a popular anti-meta deck.
It has a 54.31% win rate across all ranks.
Miss Fortune Twisted Fate
created by Sorry • last updated 6 months ago
Regions
19
21
Types
6
23
11
0
0
Rarities
6
6
6
22
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Elise Gwen
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
13
27
Types
6
25
9
0
0
Rarities
6
3
9
22
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Aggressive decks like Pirates (Miss Fortune Twisted Fate) and Elise Gwen have been holding high win rates on the ranked ladder.
Pirates has a 57.12% win rate across all ranks and a 55.96% win rate in Master rank. As for Elise Gwen, the deck has around 57.3% across all ranks and Master rank.
Trundle Tryndamere
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
10
30
Types
5
8
27
0
0
Rarities
5
10
13
12
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Feel the Rush is gaining more popularity! Players are taking advantage of the new Wild Mysticism for ramping.
Trundle Tryndamere is one of the top ten most-played decks, with a win rate of 53.99% across all ranks and 53.56% in Master rank.
Irelia Gwen
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
24
16
Types
6
15
15
4
0
Rarities
6
5
12
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Irelia Gwen is still struggling to maintain a positive win rate. Across all ranks, the deck has a 49.32% win rate.
Some players are opting to add Zed instead of Irelia, however, both lists have similar win rates.
Xerath Azir
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
40
Types
6
13
14
7
0
Rarities
6
3
18
13
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
3
Azir
3
4
Xerath
3
landmarks (7)
1
Ancient Preparations
3
1
Buried Sun Disc
1
2
Preservarium
3
Mono Shurima continues to underperform. It has a win rate of 45.4% across all ranks.
Azir Xerath struggles against aggressive decks and loses to the Aatrox decks. It only has a good win rate against Seraphine decks.
Seraphine Viktor Ryze
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
Types
Rarities
Mana Cost
(The list is not showing, but you can still copy the deck code)
Viktor Seraphine Ryze is still unable to hold a 50% win rate. Alan has managed to hit rank 7 with the deck, but it seems that the deck is too difficult to pilot and take full advantage of what the archetype has to offer.
Twisted Fate Swain
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
23
17
Types
6
17
17
0
0
Rarities
6
6
6
22
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Twisted Fate Swain is gradually making a comeback! The deck has a 54.58% win rate across all ranks.
This list comes loaded with Heavy Metal, a great tool to deal with Aatrox decks’ equipment.
Seraphine Aphelios Viktor
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
27
13
Types
6
9
22
3
0
Rarities
6
7
12
15
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Spells (22)
0
Thermogenic Beam
1
1
Death Ray – Mk 1
1
1
Piltovan Tellstones
2
1
Spell Thief
1
2
Guiding Touch
1
2
High Note
1
2
Iterative Improvement
1
2
Mystic Shot
1
2
Pale Cascade
1
2
Supercool Starchart
1
2
Time Trick
1
3
Aftershock
1
4
Caustic Riff
1
5
Celestial Wonder
1
5
Drum Solo
1
5
Purrsuit of Perfection
2
5
Sunburst
2
6
Hexbliterator
1
7
Sputtering Songspinner
1
Seraphine Aphelios shows up in the top 20 most-played decks. The archetype has a 52.23% win rate across all ranks. It still has a lot of catching up to do to match the popular Seraphine Ezreal (BC).
Jarvan IV Garen
created by Sorry • last updated 9 months ago
Regions
40
Types
6
25
9
0
0
Rarities
6
4
9
21
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Garen Jarvan IV makes it into the top 20 most-played decks. The archetype has a win rate of 52.03% across all ranks and a win rate of 51.34% in master rank.
Closing Words
With the top 3 decks (Seraphine Ezreal (BC), Aatrox Vayne Quinn, and Gwen Katarina) dominating the ladder, players continue to look for new decks that can survive on the ranked ladder.
I’m confident that nerfs will hit the top 3 decks. Quietus, Fallen Reckoner, Aatrox, and Back Ally Bar are all enabling the powerful playstyle of their respective decks.
This is it for this week’s Meta Report. Happy New Year, I’ll see you at the next one!
Sorry
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