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LoR Meta Report – Patch 4.0 Week 3 – Best Ladder Decks

Meta Report Patch 4.0 week 3 Darkin Saga: World Ender expansion showcases all the data you need to understand the meta and start your climb.

The seasonal tournament is right around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to look at the meta developments.

When you think the meta has finally settled down, players find ways to shake things up! Kayn Aatrox has gained a lot of popularity this past week, and Gwen Katarina’s list has been altered to be more aggressive, giving it a boost in performance.

Today we’ll look at all the top played decks on the ranked ladder and how they’re holding up. Let’s get started!

Sources: The 216K matches of data from January 17 to January 23 are from Runeterra.AR.


Most Successful Archetypes

Tier 1 (Kayn Aatrox, Gwen Katarina, Jinx Lulu, Trundle Tryndamere (SI), Katarina Leona, Ekko Jinx (SH), Gangplank Sejuani)

Kayn Aatrox and Gwen Katarina make a comeback to Tier 1. Both decks had their decklists updated to keep up with the meta and have been seeing a lot of success on the ranked ladder and tournament scene.

Tier 2 (Norra Veigar, Taliyah Ziggs, Aphelios Leona, Akshan Varus, Twisted Fate Swain, Vayne Aatrox, Pyke Rek’Sai, Gwen Sejuani, Twisted Fate Seraphine, Annie Jhin, Heimerdinger Norra, Twisted Fate Annie, Draven Jinx, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, Irelia Gwen, Seraphine Viktor Aphelios, Garen Jarvan IV, Rumble Vayne, Zed Hecarim, Azir Xerath, Fizz Gwen, Heimerdinger Jayce (SI), Elise Gwen)

There are a lot of different and unique decks in Tier 2 that are performing well on the ranked ladder! The meta feels quite versatile and can rank up with many unique decks.

Meme Tier

Evelynn Kai’Sa works with Husks to level up Kai’Sa and create unique keywords to empower your board.

Evelynn is your Husk generator, who adds midgame board pressure. She can become problematic if she hits an Elusive or Overwhelm keyword.

The deck has not held up well on the ranked ladder, managing a 34% win rate. Mono Kai’Sa seems to be the better option if you’re looking to play the champion. Mono Kai’Sa Demacia has a 50.8% win rate.


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: Kayn Aatrox and Gwen Katarina. Both decks have seen an increase in play rate this past week and have dethroned Jinx Lulu. The matchup table looks great for both decks and will most likely be a popular choice in the upcoming seasonal tournament.

Overplayed: Azir Xerath. A popular choice on the ranked ladder, it is in the top 10 most-played decks. However, the Mono Shurima archetype continues to underperform, having a 46% win rate across all ranks.

Underplayed: Diana Nocturne has a win rate of 57% in the past 2 days. The deck is a solid choice against aggressive decks and can be a nightmare for slow decks that can’t deal with Nocturne’s fearsome keyword.

Hidden Gems:

Norra Swain has a 55% win rate but doesn’t seem to see a lot of play compared to Twisted Fate Swain.

The deck can swarm the board with the help of Norra and Mysterios Portals while also setting up a Swain and The Leviathan win condition.

It has a good matchup against Gwen Katarina, Jinx Lulu, and Leona Katarina.

Balance Watch: Jinx, Katarina, and Quietus.

I’ve talked about the strengths of both Jinx and Quietus in the past couple of meta-reports. However, Katarina is one champion I never thought I’d be adding to the balance watch. Katarina has been extremely powerful in both Leona Katarina and Gwen Katarina. The activated Rally and 0 mana Blades Edge have been setting up powerful attacks and a removal enabler for Ravenous Flock.


Most Popular Archetypes

Kayn Aatrox has gained a lot of popularity, becoming the most-played deck this week. It has a 54.44% win rate across all ranks.

The archetype has a solid matchup against Jinx Lulu, Leona Katarina, Norra Veigar, and Ekko Jinx. It struggles against Gwen Katarina and Trundle Tryndamere (SI).

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Katarina Gwen created by Sorry • last updated 10 months ago

The shift to a more aggressive list has bumped the deck’s performance. It’s currently the second-most-played deck but will likely overtake Kayn Aatrox today or tomorrow.

Gwen Katarina no longer uses The Harrowing and instead relies on Might as a tool to push Overwhelm damage with the Hallowed keyword.

In addition, three copies of Mark of the Isles are added to the deck, providing Katarina with additional protection and threaten more damage.

Gwen Katarina has a 55.48% win rate across all ranks. It beats decks like Kayn Aatrox, Trundle Tryndamere, and Norra Veigar.

Jinx Lulu falls from first to third in the most popular decks. It still holds a high win rate of 55% across all ranks.

Gwen Katarina’s popularity only benefits Jinx Lulu, as it can crush the matchup.

Trundle Tryndamere (SI) drops to the fourth spot in play rate. It has a 53.33% win rate across all ranks.

It has a good matchup against Kayn Aatrox, Gangplank Sejuani, Norra Veigar, and Twisted Fate Swain. The Feel the Rush deck loses to Gwen Katarina, Leona Katarina, and Lulu Jinx.

The aggressive Katarina Leona deck is still putting up good numbers. It’s in the top 5 most-played decks with a 55.67% win rate across all ranks.

The deck beats Gwen Katarina, Trundle Tryndamere, and Gangplank Sejuani. It loses to Kayn Aatrox, Norra Veigar, and Jinx Lulu.

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Sejuani Gangplank created by Sorry • last updated 10 months ago

Gangplank Sejuani is one of the safest choices for the ranked ladder. It has an almost even matchup against the majority of the meta field. It’s holding a 54.4% win rate across all ranks.

Ekko Jinx has around a 55% win rate across all ranks and the Master rank.

It beats decks like Gwen Katarina, Jinx Lulu, Gwen Sejuani, and Leona Katarina. Norra Veigar and Kayn Aatrox are two of your worst matchups.

The swarm Shadow Isles deck has a 51.22% win rate across all ranks and a 50.35% win rate in the Master rank.

Norra Veigar is good against Jinx Lulu, Katarina Leona, Zed Hecarim, and Ekko Jinx. It gets crushed by Gwen Katarina, Trundle Tryndamere, and Kayn Aatrox.

Both Mono Shurima and Pyke Rek’Sai are in the top 10 most-played decks but are underperforming in terms of win rate.

Mono Shurima has a 46% win rate, while Pyke Rek’Sai has a 48.56% win rate.

Taliyah Ziggs has a 53% win rate across all ranks. It has a good matchup against Trundle Tryndamere, Norra Veigar, and Gwen Katarina. It loses to Kayn Aatrox, Jinx Lulu, and Gangplank Sejuani.

Vayne Aatrox Quinn loses the battle against Kayn Aatrox for the best Aatrox version. The deck has dropped in popularity but still maintains a positive win rate of 52.75% across all ranks.

It beats Jinx Lulu and Norra Veigar while losing to Gwen Katarina, Katarina Leona, and Gangplank Sejuani.

Apehlios Leona is in the top 15 most-played decks. It has a 54.5% win rate. The deck beats Jinx Lulu and Katarina Leona but loses to Aatrox Kayn, Trundle Tryndamere, and Gangplank Sejuani.

Twisted Fate Swain holds a 55.12% win rate across all ranks.

The archetype has a good matchup against Gwen Katarina, Katarina Leona, Jinx Lulu, and Gangplank Sejuani.

It loses to decks like Trundle Tryndamere, Aatrox Kayn, Taliyah Ziggs, and Norra Veigar.

Gwen Sejuani has been climbing the ranks! It currently has a win rate of 54.64% across all ranks.

It beats decks like Norra Veigar and Lurk, has an even matchup against Plunder and Ekko Jinx, and loses to Jinx Lulu and Trundle Tryndamere.

Twisted Fate Seraphine is currently the most popular Seraphine deck out there. However, it’s holding a negative win rate of 47.7% on the ranked ladder.

The deck beats Leona Katarina, Ekko Jinx, and Akshan Varus. It loses to Gwen Katarina, Kayn Aatrox, and Lulu Jinx.

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Annie Jhin created by Sorry • last updated 10 months ago

Miss Fortune Twisted Fate has a win rate of 51.62%, whereas Annie Jhin has a win rate of 52.47%.

Both decks lose to Aatrox Kayn, Gangplank Sejuani, and Katarina Leona.

They can beat Lurk, Trundle Trydamere, and Zed Hecarim.


Closing Words

With the recent shift in the meta, we’re expecting a lot of different lineups to be present in the seasonal tournament. Gwen Katarina and Aatrox Kayn seem to be the popular choices players will be including in their lineups.

We’ll see how things shape up this week. 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.

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