
Top 5 New Decks from Week 1 of Patch 3.13
Hello friends, we’ve been seeing many new decks fight for their place in the meta afrer the new Patch 3.13 went live.
A lot of meta staple decks from the previous patch have been on a downfall after the nerfs they’ve received, specifically Bard decks.
Although some of the decks I’ll list aren’t considered “new” archetypes, they have been out of the meta for a while and have been showing promising performance in preparation for the Seasonal tournament.
1- Darkness











Darkness quickly rose in popularity, becoming the most played deck after Twisted Caralyzer received a buff in patch 3.13.
Additionally, the sudden rise of the aggressive deck, Miss Fortune Twisted Fate, played an important factor in Darkness’ play rate increase.
The control deck uses Darkness spells to keep the board in check and level up Veigar. Once he’s leveled up, you’ll be able to target the opponent’s Nexus and work on destroying it.
The list runs a lot of cards like Vile Feast, Vengeance, and The Ruination to keep the board in check while you set up your game plan.
Senna is a value champion that generates Darkness, she allows you to dominate the board presence, especially if you manage to buff up your Darkness with either Twisted Catalyzer or Veigar.
Players have added Byrd, The Bellringer to the list, providing an early Chime that could be beneficial if it hits units like Twisted Catalyzer, Veigar, or Senna.
2- Miss Fortune Twisted Fate











I didn’t expect to see a rise in Miss Fortune Twisted Fate‘s play rate. The archetype is in the top 3 most played decks with a couple of alterations to its old list.
Gangplank is out! Twisted Fate has taken the pirate’s spot, providing a versatile ability that comes in handy depending on the situation of the game.
Riptide Sermon and Eye of Nagakabouros are two new additions to the old archetype. Riptide Sermon provides removal, Nexus damage, and summons a unit on the board. As for Eye of Nagakabouros, it’s a great card draw tool while also providing a Tentacle at burst speed.
The aggressive deck tries to push Nexus damage with cheap early units before switching to the burn plan with Noxian Fervour and Decimate.
The fast-paced deck was quickly met with counter decks popping up on the ranked ladder. Feel The Rush has seen more play since Patch 3.13 dropped, an archetype that does well against aggressive decks and Darkness.
3- Evelynn Viego












Who would have thought an Evelynn deck with a positive win rate would be performing well on the ranked ladder?
Evelynn decks have been underperforming since her release, but that changed after patch 3.13 held buffs for Hate Spike and Neverglade Collector.
The deck relies on squeezing damage with your units while taking advantage of the keywords your Husks provide.
The archetype has Evelynn, Viego, and Invasive Hydravine that put pressure on the board and demand an answer from your opponent. A Husk with a spell shield can add an extra layer of protection for key units on the board.
If Viego is allowed to level up, he’ll start picking off units on your opponent’s side, slowly dominating the board, and can threaten to slam the Nexus thanks to the Fearsome keyword.
The deck can burn down your opponent with Husks and Encroaching Mists triggering Neverglade Collector’s ability.
Although the deck lacks defensive tools to keep key units alive, you’re constantly creating a threat that forces your opponent to commit resources to deal with them.
Atrocity acts as a game finisher to end the game once your opponent’s Nexus drops into the range of one of your buffy units.
4- Kennen Ezreal











An old archetype that wreaked havoc for a short while before Riot decided to nerf and put a stop to its dominance.
Sadly, the nerf bullied the deck out of the meta and Kennen Ahri claimed its spot for a while before Ahri received a nerf herself. With Kennen’s Mark of the Storm buff, players have picked up Ezreal Kennen again, and the deck seems to be holding its own so far.
Ezreal Kennen is a control deck that uses Mark of the Storm to kill off the opponent’s units while also working on leveling up your Ezreal.
Concussive Palm, Deny, and Homecoming are important to slow down your opponent and buy you the time needed to get your game plan rolling.
The recall mechanic from cards like Recall, Retreat, and Navori Conspirator is essential to leveling up your Kennen and creating more Mark of the Storm.
Once Ezreal is leveled, he’ll start burning down your opponent’s Nexus with the assistance of Mark of the Storm.
5- Poppy Taric











Poppy Taric is holding a high win rate on the ranked ladder. The midrange deck acts as a counter meta archetype to put decks like Darkness, Feel The Rush, and Peak in check. It also holds its ground against the aggressiveness of Miss Fortune Twisted Fate.
The deck wants to set up a solid board and buff its units with Poppy. Challenger units like Fleetfeather Tracker and Laurent Protege allow you to pick off units.
Golden Aegis and Relentless Pursuit will accelerate your game plan and assist you with leveling up Poppy faster. You can combo your rally cards with Taric, allowing you to activate rally a second time and put more pressure on your opponent.
Closing Words
The new patch definitely kicked Bard decks out of the meta, giving more space for different archetypes to start showing up on the competitive ladder.
The most notable rising deck is Evelynn Viego, which has proved to be one of the best performers in the first week of the new patch.
Although Kai’Sa was hit with a couple of nerfs to slow down her game plan, players quickly adapted to the nerfs, dropping Mono Kai’Sa and picking up Akshan Kai’Sa or Sivir Kai’Sa. Both versions don’t solely rely on Kai’Sa as a win condition, which gives them an edge over Mono Kai’Sa.
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