LoR Meta Report – Patch 4.1 Week 2 – Best Ladder Decks
Hello everyone! Buckle up, it’s time for the Runeterra Meta Report for Week 2 of Patch 4.1.
A lot of developments occurred in the meta. A few popular decks have fallen out of favor while new decks have taken their place and have been performing well on the ranked ladder.
Let’s look at how the meta has shaped up after 2 weeks of the new patch.
Sources: The 199K matches of data from February 14 to February 20 are from Runeterra.AR and LLor.
Most Successful Archetypes
Tier 1 (Teemo Tristana SI, Kalista Nocturne (NX), Leona Kayle, Jax Ornn, Ryze IO, Heimerdinger Jayce (SI))
A lot of aggressive decks are seeing more play as a result of Ryze IO’s popularity on the ranked ladder. Aggressive decks are also a great choice to beat Jax Ornn and Illaoi Twisted Fate, giving them more room to shine.
Tier 2 (Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, Twisted Fate Illaoi, Norra Swain, Gnar Tristana, Norra Veigar, Norra Viego, Annie Jhin, Norra Gnar NX, Annie Ezreal NX, Twisted Fate Norra, Tristana Gnar NX, Gwen Katarina, Jinx Lulu, Trundle Tryndamere (SI), Katarina Leona, Ekko Jinx (SH), Gangplank Sejuani, Taliyah Ziggs, Nasus Kindred, Akshan Varus, Twisted Fate Swain, Pyke Rek’Sai, Gwen Sejuani, Heimerdinger Norra, Twisted Fate Annie, Seraphine Viktor Aphelios, Garen Jarvan IV, Rumble Vayne, Zed Hecarim, Azir Xerath)
A lot of different Norra decks are present in Tier 2, some of which are contenders for Tier 1. Noxus and Shadow Isles are the most popular regions in the current meta.
The meta has been extremely aggressive to counter a couple of the top decks, which means Shadow Isles decks can take advantage of the aggressive nature of the meta.
Meme Tier
This Aloof Travelers mill deck has been a delight to play. It has a unique game plan of trying to run your opponent out of cards with the help of Aloof Travelers and resummoning Aloof with cards like Soul Cleave, Mist’s Call, Iterative Improvement, Harrowing Return, and The Harrowing.
You’re able to keep your deck from running out of cards with Go Hard, creating more copies of the card in your deck and setting up for a Pack your Bags.
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: Teemo Tristana SI. The Bandle City swarm deck skyrocketed in play rate, becoming the second-most-played deck and one of the most popular choices in the Runeterra Open. It has a great matchup against aggressive decks and beats Ryze IO and Jax Ornn.
Overplayed: Ryze IO. I believe Ryze Ionia is one of the strongest decks. But with players actively trying to counter Ryze, it’s not the best choice for a serious ladder climb. The archetype has the highest play rate but holds a negative win rate.
Underplayed: Heimerdinger Jayce SI has one of the best matchup tables out there. It’s solid against most of the meta decks. It only struggles against Kalista Nocturne.
Hidden Gems:
Runeterra game developer, RubinZoo tweeted about his success with this Fiora Shyvana list. The archetype has held a 61% win rate in the last two days, but obviously, it has a low play rate.
Fiora Shyvana is a mid-range deck that works on the Shyvana level-up, which later ensures you dominate the board with the help of the Strifing Strike she creates.
The list runs equipment like The Darkin Lodestone, The Darkin Aegis, and Wandering Shepherd to help keep your key units alive.
Fiora can be a powerful unit with health buff equipment. She can pick off pesky units and work on killing four units to fulfill her win condition.
EMEA player RickoRex tweeted about his Leblanc Darius Yeti deck, managing to hit rank 1 with 29 wins and 2 defeats.
This deck can be aggressive in the mid-game after summoning multiple Yetis on the board. Enraged Yeti, Ancient Yeti, and Abominable Guardian can put enough pressure in the mid-game, force unfavorable trades for your opponent, and set up for more powerful future attacks.
Trifarian Assessor makes sure your hand does not run out of gas. She synergizes with the 5 power Yetis, allowing you to draw and replenish your hand in the late game.
Might can catch your opponent off guard, allowing you to push Overwhelm damage toward the Nexus. This can potentially destroy the opponent’s Nexus or deal enough damage to ensure that your Darius is leveled.
A leveled Darius is a threat on his own that needs to be dealt with before his 10-power Overwhelm attack connects with the Nexus.
Balance Watch:
Norra has been quite popular in this patch. I talked about Norra in the previous meta-report, and it seems the community discussion has been picking up. The community is still divided on whether she deserves a nerf or not. Mysterious Portals can be an important early value to keep up with your opponent, and a leveled Norra offers a lot of RNG that can either carry the game or fail you immensely.
The number of top cards Norra plants the mysterious portal into is the main focus. Increasing the number will lower the odds of drawing an early unit and should slow down her level-up and the pressure the portals put on the board.
Most Popular Archetypes
Champions (3)
Ryze Ionia managed to become the most-played deck this past week. However, the archetype has a negative win rate as counter decks try to combat it. It has a 47.95% win rate across all ranks and a 48.3% win rate in the Master rank.
Ryze Ionia is a great choice against Jax Ornn, Annie Ezreal, and Norra Veigar. Whereas decks like Kalista Nocturne, Teemo Tristana SI, and Miss Fortune Twisted can be difficult matchups to beat.
Teemo Tristana SI is the second-most played deck, with a 55.93% win rate across all ranks and a 54.4% win rate in the Master rank.
Teemo Tristana SI beats decks like Ryze IO, Kayle Leona, and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate. It loses to Norra Veigar, Trundle Tryndamere, and Norra Twisted Fate.
Jax Ornn has lost its rank 1 in terms of play rate, but it’s still holding up well in the meta. The deck has a 52.63% win rate across all ranks and a 52.5% win rate in the Master rank.
Jax Ornn has a favored matchup against Kalista Nocturne, Heimerdinger Jayce, and Taliyah Ziggs. As for unfavored matchups, Ryze IO, Trundle Tryndamere, and Annie Jhin are difficult matchups to beat.
Kalista Nocturne makes a comeback, and this time it’s bullying a lot of the meta decks! With a 55.24% win rate across all ranks and a 53.4% win rate in the master rank. The deck is one of the top five most-played decks.
Kalista Nocturne beats Ryze IO, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, and Norra Veigar. It loses to Kayle Leona, Annie Katarina, and Taliyah Ziggs.
Miss Fortune Twisted Fate maintains a strong performance despite more aggressive decks rising and attempting to outperform the Pirates deck. The deck has a 53.59% win rate across all ranks and a 51.6% win rate in the Master rank.
Pirates is favored against Ryze IO, Jax Ornn, and Annie Jhin. It’s unfavored against Teemo Tristana SI, Kalista Nocturne, and Annie Ezreal NX.
Leona Kayle has been a dominant deck in the meta. It has a 56.25% win rate across all ranks and a 54.4% win rate in the Master rank.
Leona Kayle performs well against Ryze IO, Kalista Nocturne, and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate. It loses to decks like Teemo Tristana SI, Heimerdinger Jayce, and Annie Ezreal NX.
Norra Viego’s win rate has dropped compared to last week’s Meta Report. The deck barely holds a 50% win rate across all ranks and drops to a 45% win rate in the Master rank.
The archetype is struggling on the ranked ladder due to the popularity of Ryze IO, Kalista Nocturne, and Heimerdinger Jayce.
One of the best-performing decks in the meta. Heimerdinger Jayce has a 54.86% overall win rate and a 55.10% in the Master rank.
Heimerdinger Jayce beats Ryze IO, Kayle Leona, and Annie Ezreal NX. It loses to Jax Ornn and Taliyah Ziggs.
Tristana Gnar NX has a 54.11% win rate across all ranks and a 51.6% win rate in the Master rank.
The deck does well against Ryze IO, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, and Katarina Gwen. It loses to Teemo Tristana SI, Norra Veigar, and Heimerdinger Jayce.
Pyke Rek’Sai, Annie Jhin, and Katarina Gwen aren’t holding up well in the meta. Because of the increase in counter decks capable of shutting them down, their win rates have dropped below 50%.
Swarm decks can be too difficult for all three decks to beat, which has resulted in a lower win rate.
Twisted Fate Illaoi’s play rate plummets with the increase in counter matchups. The archetype was in the top 3 most-played decks in last week’s meta report, but it fell to 14th place.
The archetype has a 52.43% win rate across all ranks and a 51.6% win rate in the Master rank.
Twisted Fate Illaoi beats Norra Viego, Ryze IO, and Trundle Tryndamere. It loses against Teemo Tristana SI, Gnar Tristana, and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
Annie Ezreal has a 52.57% win rate across all ranks and a 51.1% win rate in the Master rank.
The deck beats Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, Kayle Leona, and Norra Viego while losing to Ryze IO, Heimerdinger Jayce, and Trundle Tryndamere.
Norra Twisted Fate has a 50.86% win rate across all ranks and a 52% win rate in the Master rank.
It’s a good choice to beat Teemo Tristana (SI), Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, and Kayle Leona. The deck has a bad matchup against Kalista Nocturne and Heimerdinger Jayce.
Garen Jarvan IV has been putting up a good win rate across all ranks, managing to hit a 54.15% win rate. That win rate drops to 49.9% in the Master rank.
The reason it’s doing well on the ladder is that it beats Ryze IO, Kalista Nocturne, and Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
Norra Swain and Norra Gnar’s win rates are hovering around 50%–52%. Because of their ability to shut down early pressure with cheap removal cards, both decks can be effective against aggressive decks.
Closing Words
The meta quickly shifted to an aggressive nature to counter the top-performing decks like Ryze IO and Jax Ornn. If you’re looking to climb the ranked ladder, you’ll need to choose a deck that either beats aggro or can put up a good fight against them.
This is it for this week’s Meta Report; I’ll see you at the next one!
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