LoR Meta Report – Patch 4.1 Week 1 – Best Ladder Decks
Get ready! Meta Report for the first week of Patch 4.1 is here! It’s been an exciting week so far; a lot of new archetypes have gained popularity on the ranked ladder, while many decks have fallen out of Tier 1.
The patch held a couple of nerfs for powerful cards. Jinx, Quietus, and Katarina were among the “Balance Watch” cards that we talked about in the previous Meta Report. The nerfs dropped the popularity and performance of Ekko Jinx, Lulu Jinx, and Kayn Aatrox, while Gwen Katarina is still holding up decently on the ranked ladder.
Keep in mind that we’re still in the first week of the new season, which means the Master stats are inflated due to the low number of Master players.
Sources: The 111K matches of data from February 8 to February 13 are from Runeterra.AR and LLor.
Most Successful Archetypes
The season has just started, and with players focusing on the daily rumble, we have fewer stats than usual on the ranked ladder. It’s still early to accurately represent Tier 1 and Tier 2 and it will most likely change in next week’s meta-report.
Tier 1 (Jax Ornn, Ryze IO, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, Gnar Tristana, Norra Veigar, Annie Jhin)
Aggressive decks have been gaining popularity due to their ability to beat decks like Jax Ornn, Ryze Ionia, and Illaoi Twisted Fate. This caused an increase in the win rate for anti-aggro decks like Norra Veigar.
Tier 2 (Twisted Fate Illaoi, Norra Swain, Norra Viego, Gwen Katarina, Jinx Lulu, Trundle Tryndamere (SI), Katarina Leona, Ekko Jinx (SH), Gangplank Sejuani, Taliyah Ziggs, Kayn Aatrox, Kalista Nocturne (NX), Aphelios Leona, Nasus Kindred, Akshan Varus, Twisted Fate Swain, Pyke Rek’Sai, Gwen Sejuani, Heimerdinger Norra, Twisted Fate Annie, Irelia Gwen, Seraphine Viktor Aphelios, Garen Jarvan IV, Rumble Vayne, Zed Hecarim, Azir Xerath, Heimerdinger Jayce (SI))
In the first week of the new patch, many new decks have joined Tier 2, and the meta feels quite diverse. Swarm decks have been seeing more play recently, and it looks like Norra is one of the strongest champions this week.
Meme Tier
We all had hope that Anivia would make a comeback after Soul Cleave was revealed. The Soul Cleave is a powerful play on Anivia to create two other Anivia on the board and put intense pressure on your upcoming attack turn.
Unfortunately, the archetype is not holding up well on the ranked ladder. Anivia is one of the top five most played decks, but it only has a 45% win rate across all ranks and a 41% win rate in Master.
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: Miss Fortune Twisted Fate. Although Jax Ornn is the most played deck this week, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate has quickly risen as a counter meta deck, holding one of the highest win rates on the ranked ladder and keeps gaining more popularity.
Overplayed: Anivia. The deck is in the top 5 most played decks but is considered the worst to climb with out of the top 21 decks on the ranked ladder.
Underplayed: Norra Veigar. The meta seems to be shifting toward aggressive Noxus decks, and Norra Veigar is one of the best decks to combat them.
Hidden Gems:
Let’s start cooking! I found this Tristana Teemo (SI) list made by EMEA player Barbirose. Looking at the stats, it had the highest win rate in the past two days.
This is an archetype that never really took off in the competitive scene and remained a meme deck. However, with the buff to Tristana, players are giving this archetype a second chance.
I added this list to my Daily Rumble lineup and managed to win 6-0. I didn’t stop there; I also took it to ranked and was able to go on an 11-game win streak and hold a 100% win rate.
Teemo Tristana SI is a swarm deck that can become threatening if you manage to set up an early Tristana on the board. You’ll work on chipping away at the opponent’s Nexus while forcing them to always block your Tristana or kill her.
The list runs removal cards like Quietus and Vengence to deal with your opponent’s threats. Bandle City Mayor, Aloof Travelers, and Minion are value cards that help keep you in the game.
Once your opponent’s Nexus is low enough, you can use Atrocity as a finisher.
Lord Broadmane has been seeing more play recently. The Noxus unit is being included in different archetypes with regions like Bandle City, Bilgewater, and Piltover and Zaun.
Norra Gnar is the most popular version so far, it wants to run the opponent out of value. This means that you should expect long and grindy games until you manage to kill off all their win conditions.
Lord Broadmane is powerful in the deck because he allows you to kill off damaged units with a ping spell like Pokey Stick, Group Shot, or Drop the Bomb.
Gnar can pick off units and push Overwhelm damage, whereas Norra provides Mysterious Portals to keep a threat on the board.
Balance Watch:
It’s still early in the patch to call out any nerfs/buffs. Ryze is on my balance watch, as the champion might end up becoming problematic if the meta doesn’t shift to counter him.
The change to Lucian doesn’t seem to be enough to make him playable. All Lucian decks like Evelynn Lucian, Azir Lucian, and Kalista Lucian have less than a 50% win rate.
Most Popular Archetypes
The buffs to multiple cards in the Jax Ornn list have brought the deck back on the map. It’s been the most played deck this past week, with a 53.21% win rate across all ranks and a 51.3% win rate in Master rank.
The deck’s win rate has been dropping after the meta quickly adapted and started countering it.
Jax Ornn beats decks like Illaoi Twisted Fate and Gwen Katarina but gets destroyed by Ryze Ionia.
Twisted Fate Illaoi is the second most played deck after the buffs to Illaoi, Tentacle Smash, and Nagakabouros.
The deck has a 52.74% win rate across all ranks and a 51.6% win rate in the Master rank.
Twisted Fate Illaoi is a great choice to beat decks like Norra Viego, Anivia, and Zed Kayle. It loses to Jax Ornn and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
Katarina Gwen is in the top 3 most-played decks. The Quietus and Katarina nerfs have definitely impacted the performance of the deck, but it continues to hold a positive win rate. It has a 52.33% win rate across all ranks and a 50.4% win rate in the Master rank.
Gwen Katarina beats Ryze Ionia and Twisted Fate Illaoi, but loses to Jax Ornn, MF TF, and Norra Swain.
Champions (3)
Ryze Ionia is in the top 5 most-played decks and has a positive win rate! The buff to Shard of Reverence seems to be just what the champion needed to break free from the meme tier.
Ryze Ionia is continuing to rise in popularity; it’s the number-one most-played deck in the past two days.
It has a 52.14% win rate across all ranks and a 50.7% win rate in the Master rank.
It beats decks like Jax Ornn, Norra Viego, and Norra Swain while losing to decks like Tristana Gnar, Gwen Katarina, and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
Anivia makes it into the top 5 most-played decks, but with an awful win rate. The archetype has a 45.31% win rate across all ranks and a 41.9% win rate in the Master rank.
Miss Fortune Twisted Fate has become a popular choice as an anti-meta deck. It has a 56.95% win rate across all ranks.
The aggressive deck beats decks like Ryze Ionia, Jax Ornn, and Twisted Fate Illaoi. It loses to Norra Viego, Darkness, and Norra Veigar.
Gangplank Sejuani was hit with the Eye of Nagakabouros nerf. The archetype has a 53.3% win rate across all ranks and a 50.9% win rate in the Master rank.
It beats Miss Fortune Twisted Fate and Pyke Rek’Sai while losing to decks like Jax Ornn and Ryze Ionia.
Norra Swain is performing well on the ranked ladder. It has a 55.58% win rate across all ranks and a 53% win rate in the Master rank.
The deck stomps on Twisted Fate Illaoi, Kayle Zed, and Gwen Katarina. It struggles against Ryze Ionia, Norra Viego, and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
Viego makes a comeback. The Norra Viego deck is in the top 10 most-played decks with a 52.5% win rate across all ranks and a 50.8% win rate in the Master rank.
Norra Viego beats Jax Ornn and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, but loses to Ryze Ionia and Twisted Fate Illaoi.
Zed Kayle shows up in the top 15 most-played decks. It has a 52.7% win rate across all ranks and a 51.4% win rate in the Master rank.
The archetype beats Ryze Ionia, Lurk, Gwen Katarina. and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate but loses to Jax Ornn, Illaoi Twisted Fate, Tristana Gnar, and Norra Swain.
The new Tristana Gnar Noxus has been crushing the ladder! It has a 58.91% win rate across all ranks and a 57% win rate in the Master rank.
Tristana Gnar beats Ryze Ionia, Jax Ornn, Gwen Katarina, and Illaoi Twisted Fate. It loses to Kalista Nocturne and Swain Norra.
Trundle Tryndamere’s popularity quickly dropped. The FTR deck has a 53.41% win rate across all ranks and a 52% win rate in the Master rank.
The deck lost popularity due to the awful matchups against Illoia Twisted Fate and Ryze Ionia.
Pyke Rek’Sai is holding a positive win rate. It has a 50.79% win rate across all ranks and a 52% win rate in the Master rank.
The lurk deck beats Ryze Ionia and Illaoi Twisted Fate. It loses to Jax Ornn and Gwen Katarina.
Remarkably, Annie Jhin has a 56.37% win rate across all ranks and a 52.2% win rate in the Master rank.
The aggressive deck is a good choice against Ryze Ionia, Jax Ornn, and Twisted Fate Illaoi. It has a bad matchup against Norra Viego and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
Champions (5)
equipments (9)
The draw nerfs to both Kayn and Aatrox have plummeted the deck’s win rate and play rate. Kayn Aatrox has a 46.64% win rate across all ranks. I didn’t have any Master rank data on the deck.
Champions (6)
landmarks (7)
Mono Shurima’s play rate dropped significantly, and its win rate remains below 50%. Azir Xerath has a 48% win rate across all ranks.
Ekko Jinx’s play rate and win rate dropped after the nerf to Jinx’s Super Mega Death Rocket. The deck has a 49.22% win rate across all ranks and a 52.8% win rate in the Master rank.
Closing Words
We’re still in the experimental phase, so I’m expecting a lot of new archetypes to show up in the top 20 in the next meta-report.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the meta evolves. This is it for this week’s Meta Report; I’ll see you at the next one!
Sorry
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