LoR Meta Report – Patch 4.4 Week 1 – Best Ladder Decks
Meta Report Patch 4.4 week 1 showcases all the data you need to understand the meta and start your climb.
It has been almost a week since Patch 4.4 was released, and the batch of buffs and nerfs resulted in significant changes to the meta. The swarm archetype has emerged as a popular choice among players, resulting in several Tristana decks dominating the ranked ladder and tournament scene. Meanwhile, decks such as Samira Fizz and Varus Fizz have lost some of their popularity with the nerfs they received but continue to perform well on the ranked ladder.
Moreover, the decline in popularity of Ashe LeBlanc has given more room for mid-range decks to shine, such as Shen Jarvan, Vayne Aatrox, and Illaoi Jarvan IV.
Sources: The matches of data from April 26 to May 1 are from Runeterra.AR and LLor.
Most Successful Archetypes
Tier 1 (Teemo Tristana NX, Illaoi Jarvan IV, Teemo Tristana Gnar BW, Vayne Aatrox Quinn)
Samira decks have fallen out of Tier 1 and have been replaced with Tristana decks. Vayne Aatrox has been performing well since the previous patch, and with Tristana decks gaining popularity, Vayne Aatrox found more success preying on those decks.
Tier 2 (Samira Riven Varus, Fizz Samira, Karma Sett PZ, Ashe LeBlanc, Samira Leona, Garen Jarvan IV, Heimerdinger Jayce (SI), Shen Jarvan IV, Kayn Aatrox, Malphite Taliyah, Maokai Nautilus, Ekko Jinx (SH), Pyke Rek’Sai, Gnar Norra NX, Aatrox BW, Caitlyn Jayce SI, Seraphine Jack, Annie Caitlyn, Swain Illaoi, Udyr Galio, Norra Veigar, Jax Ornn, Senna Veigar)
We have a wide diversity of different decks in Tier 2, all holding up well on the ranked ladder. Gnar Norra NX and Shen Jarvan IV join Tier 2.
Fizz Samira Ashe LeBlanc, Samira Varus, and Karma Sett PZ are still solid decks in Tier 2 even after the nerfs. Both Ashe LeBlanc and Karma Sett PZ remain popular choices on the ranked ladder, whereas we see fewer Samira decks.
Meme Tier
Diana Aurelion Sol
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
11
29
Types
5
17
17
0
1
Rarities
5
1
24
10
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
The buff to Moondreamer and Targonian Tellstones has led players to experiment with different Targon archetypes. However, the Diana Aurelion Sol Bandle City has not been performing well on the ranked ladder, holding a 36% win rate in the past two days and making it a bad choice for a serious ladder climb.
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 NX and Teemo Tristana Gnar BW. Both decks have a similar playstyle of swarming the board and chipping away at the Nexus. The Noxus version can be a bit more aggressive with Might and Noxian Fervor, whereas the Bilgewater version relies on the synergy of Prize Fight and the
Overplayed: Mono Shurima and Teemo Caitlyn BC. Both archetypes are in the top 10 most-played decks with a win rate under 50%. They’re not a good choice to take on the ranked ladder.
Underplayed: Norra Gnar NX. The control deck is putting up good numbers on the ranked ladder, holding a 56.51% win rate. It has an excellent matchup table, beating the popular Tristana swarm decks and midrange decks like Illaoi Jarvan IV and Shen Jarvan IV.
Hidden Gems:
Norra Illaoi
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
14
26
Types
6
14
20
0
0
Rarities
6
3
15
16
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
The Norra Illaoi archetype has garnered increasing popularity on the ranked ladder and has emerged as a favored choice in recent tournaments. This deck aims to outvalue the opponent on the board with the help of
Illaoi serves as a crucial win condition, leveraging her Overwhelm damage to deal substantial blows to the opponent. Combining her with a high-stat Tentacle provides even greater offensive power, while the use of Prize Fight enables an easier level-up. Additionally, the Tentacles contribute to advancing Norra’s level-up condition, turning her into a win condition alongside the Portals.
Eye of Nagakabouros and Portalpalooza offer the value you’ll need to keep the engine running, providing you with additional cards and units on the board.
Moreover, The King’s Court offers another viable win condition, generating Prize Fights. The King’s Court gives other units the Brash keyword when they’re damaged, which means using that ability with Prize Fight will let you render most of your opponent’s board useless, incapable of blocking your units with the Brash keywords.
Samira Pantheon
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
14
26
Types
6
16
12
0
6
Rarities
6
8
10
16
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
2
Samira
3
4
Pantheon
3
equipments (6)
1
The Darkin Ballista
3
2
The Darkin Lodestone
3
The Samira Pantheon archetype boasts a commendable win rate of 55.69% across all ranks. Its primary objective is to level up Pantheon as soon as possible and turn him into a win condition.
Samira can accelerate Pantheon’s level-up with the Flair. Equipping her with The Darkin Ballista will help you put pressure in the early game until bigger units start dropping like Pantheon and Camphor, the Doubt. Managing to level up Samira means you’ll start threatening to activate Rally, accelerating the pace of the game.
Pantheon and Camphor, the Doubt can push a lot of
Most Popular Archetypes
Maokai Nautilus
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
15
25
Types
6
18
16
0
0
Rarities
6
4
14
16
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Maokai Nautilus’s play rate increased significantly in Patch 4.4, it’s the most played deck across all ranks and has been performing well on the ranked ladder. Deep has a 52.36% win rate across all ranks and a 51.48% win rate in the Master rank.
It has been losing that popularity to the Tristana decks and has already been overtaken by Teemo Tristana NX in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Samira Varus, Ashe LeBlanc.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Fizz Samira, Illaoi Jarvan IV.
Teemo Tristana
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
12
28
Types
6
25
9
0
0
Rarities
6
3
11
20
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Teemo Tristana Noxus has been a popular choice on the ranked ladder, becoming the most popular deck in the Master rank, and will soon overtake Deep across all ranks. The aggressive deck has a 56.73% win rate across all ranks and a 57.19% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Karma Sett PZ, Ashe LeBlanc.
Bad Matchups: Samira Varus, Illaoi Jarvan IV, Aatrox Vayne.
Karma Sett
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
17
23
Types
6
8
26
0
0
Rarities
6
2
10
22
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Karma Sett PZ received a small nerf to Karma’s health, which didn’t affect the archetype much at all. The control deck is in the top 3 most-played decks on the ranked ladder. with a 51.12% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Samira Varus, Ashe LeBlanc, Heimerdinger Jayce.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Maokai Nautilus, Illaoi Jarvan IV.
LeBlanc Ashe
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
23
17
Types
6
16
15
0
3
Rarities
6
6
12
16
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Ashe LeBlanc was hit with nerfs to both Ashe and The Reckoning. However, the Frostbite midrange deck is still holding up well on the ranked ladder with a couple of changes to its list. Most players have started cutting out The Reckoning entirely or keeping at least 1 copy in there. Ashe LeBlanc has a 51.92% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Samira Varus, Illaoi Jarvan IV, Pantheon Samira.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Karma Sett IO, Pyke Rek’Sai.
Fizz Samira
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
24
16
Types
6
14
20
0
0
Rarities
6
11
12
11
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Fizz Samira was hit with nerfs to Wiggly Burblefish and All Out!. The nerfs tone down the power of Fizz Samira, but the archetype still continues to perform solidly well on the ranked ladder. Fizz Samira is in the top 10 most-played decks with a 53.99% win rate across all ranks and a 54.78% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Ashe LeBlanc, Pantheon Samira.
Bad Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Illaoi Jarvan IV, Pyke Rek’Sai.
Pyke Rek'Sai
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
25
15
Types
6
26
8
0
0
Rarities
6
3
3
28
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Pyke Rek’Sa is holding up well despite the rise of Tristana aggressive decks. The Lurk deck has a 53.94% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Ashe LeBlanc, Fizz Samira.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Gnar Tristana BW, Ekko Jinx.
Azir Nasus Renekton
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
40
Types
6
15
15
4
0
Rarities
6
5
9
20
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
3
Azir
2
4
Renekton
2
6
Nasus
2
landmarks (4)
1
Ancient Preparations
3
1
Buried Sun Disc
1
Mono Shurima received buffs for Azir and Glory’s Call. However, the archetype is still struggling to go above a 50% win rate. It’s currently in the top 10 most-played decks with a 42% win rate across all ranks and a 40.37% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Galio Udyr, Lissandra Targon.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Fizz Samira, Ashe LeBlanc.
Heimerdinger Jayce
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
30
10
Types
6
12
22
0
0
Rarities
6
4
13
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Heimerdinger Jayce continues a powerful performance on the ranked ladder, beating popular midrange decks. The archetype has a 54.65% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Ashe LeBlanc, Illaoi Jarvan IV.
Bad Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Samira Varus, Ekko Jinx.
Jarvan IV Illaoi
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
15
25
Types
6
14
17
0
3
Rarities
6
3
14
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Illaoi Jarvan IV is one of the best choices for the ranked ladder, as it holds up well against most of the popular decks. The midrange deck with an Overwhelm win condition has a 56.17% win rate across all ranks and a 54.73% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Maokai Nautilus, Karma Sett PZ.
Bad Matchups: Pyke Rek’Sai, Ashe LeBlanc, Heimerdiner Jayce.
Tristana Gnar Teemo
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
28
12
Types
6
23
11
0
0
Rarities
6
6
11
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Teemo Tristana Gnar Bilgewater has been gaining popularity both on the ranked ladder and on the tournament scene. It has the highest win rate among the top 22 most-played decks. Tristana Gnar BW has a 59% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Maokai Nautilus, Karma Sett PZ.
Bad Matchups: Fizz Samira, Aatrox Vayne, Gnar Norra NX.
Jinx Ekko
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
23
17
Types
6
16
15
3
0
Rarities
6
6
8
20
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Ekko Jinx is making a comeback in Patch 4.4. The archetype has made it back into the top 15 most-played decks and has a win rate of 54.37% across all ranks and a win rate of 55.16% in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Samira Varus, Heimerdinger Jayce, Fizz Samira.
Bad Matchups: Ashe LeBlanc, Pyke Rek’Sai, Illaoi Jarvan IV.
Vayne Aatrox Quinn
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
30
3
Types
6
13
11
0
10
Rarities
6
10
11
13
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
3
Vayne
3
5
Quinn
1
6
Aatrox
2
equipments (10)
1
The Darkin Bloodletters
2
2
The Darkin Aegis
2
2
The Darkin Harp
3
2
The Darkin Lodestone
1
2
The Darkin Spear
2
Vayne Aatrox Quinn continues a solid performance, especially with Ashe LeBlanc receiving nerfs. The midrange beats many of the popular decks, giving it a boost in the current meta. Vayne Aatrox has a 55.61% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Samira Varus, Fizz Samira.
Bad Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Ashe LeBlanc, Pyke Rek’Sai.
Malphite Taliyah
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
22
18
Types
6
13
11
10
0
Rarities
6
6
7
21
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (6)
5
Taliyah
3
7
Malphite
3
landmarks (10)
1
Ancient Preparations
3
2
Mystic Vortex
2
3
Dragon Roost
2
4
Salt Spire
3
Malphite Taliyah is in the top 15 most-played decks with a 53.39% win rate across all ranks. Even though the nerfs to Fizz Samira should have given the archetype a boost in the meta, Tristana swarm decks quickly took over and kept Malphite Taliyah in check.
Good Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Samira Varus, Ashe LeBlanc.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Fizz Samira, Illaoi Jarvan IV.
Udyr Galio
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
34
6
Types
6
23
6
0
5
Rarities
6
9
12
13
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Galio Udyr has been underperforming compared to the previous patch. The deck has dropped in play rate and holds a 49.85% win rate across all ranks and a 50% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Samira Varus, Caitlyn Teemo BC.
Bad Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Teemo Tristana NX, Pyke Rek’Sai.
Jarvan IV Shen
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
24
16
Types
6
21
13
0
0
Rarities
6
4
8
22
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Shen Jarvan IV makes a comeback! The midrange barrier deck is in the top 20 most-played decks with a 53.99% win rate across all ranks and a 53.49% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Samira Varus, Fizz Samira.
Bad Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Heimerdinger Jayce, Taliyah Malphite.
Shyvana Aurelion Sol
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
19
21
Types
5
16
19
0
0
Rarities
5
2
15
18
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
The buff to Kadregrin the Infernal wasn’t enough to bring back the Shyvana Aurelion Sol deck to the meta. The Dragon archetype has a low win rate of 44.18% across all ranks and a 42.66% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Caitlyn Teemo BC, Mono Shurima, Aurelion Sol Diana BC.
Bad Matchups: Fizz Samira, Teemo Tristana NX, Ashe LeBlanc.
Gnar Norra
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
27
13
Types
6
14
20
0
0
Rarities
6
5
16
13
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Gnar Norra NX has returned to the top 20 most-played decks, beating many popular decks in the meta. The archetype has a 56.51% win rate across all ranks.
Good Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Ashe LeBlanc, Samira Varus.
Bad Matchups: Maokai Nautilus, Karma Sett PZ, Heimerdinger Jayce.
Aatrox
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
3
26
3
4
2
2
Types
3
18
8
3
8
Rarities
3
14
6
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Champions (3)
6
Aatrox
3
landmarks (3)
4
Reaver’s Row
3
equipments (8)
1
The Darkin Ballista
2
1
The Darkin Bloodletters
3
2
The Darkin Fan
2
2
The Darkin Lodestone
1
Aatrox BW Reaver’s Row deck continues to perform decently on the ranked ladder. The archetype has a 52.61% win rate across all ranks and a 51.3% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Karma Sett PZ, Ashe LeBlanc, Pyke Rek’Sai.
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Fizz Samira, Nasus Senna.
Karma Sett
created by Sorry • last updated 11 months ago
Regions
17
23
Types
6
11
23
0
0
Rarities
6
1
16
17
Mana Cost
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Karma Sett Targon is not holding up as well as the PZ version. The deck has a 50.71% win rate across all ranks and a 49.91% win rate in the Master rank.
Good Matchups: Samira Varus, Fizz Samira, Heimerdinger Jayce,
Bad Matchups: Teemo Tristana NX, Maokai Nautilus, Karma Sett PZ.
Closing Words
As the current meta continues to evolve, we continue to see more archetypes join the meta. It is encouraging to see the diversity of decks being played, making for a stimulating and dynamic playing experience. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how the meta will continue to evolve and which decks will solidify their spot as the best in the meta.
This is it for this week’s Meta Report; I’ll see you at the next one!
Sorry
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