The Best Meta Decks for Legends of Runeterra
Hey everyone! Welcome back to our Meta Decks Report for Legends of Runeterra’s Cosmic Creation set.
As always, these deck recommendations will be provided by our Glimpse Beyond experts, Swim and Precipic, and TL Alanzq.
Swim will be creating and curating competitive decks for our site and content so be sure to bookmark his Mobalytics Deck Library and follow him on Twitch, Youtube, or Swim’s LoR website.
If you want to explore the meta on your own, check out our Meta Stats feature for the most in-depth statistics in LoR.
Best Runeterra Decks
Here are the best decks that our experts recommend for climbing in the current meta. Whether you enjoy playing aggro, control, or midrange, there’s a deck here for you!
- S-tier: Grand Navigator (Bilgewater + Demacia)
- S-tier: BWSI Go Hard (Bilgewater + Shadow Isles)
- S-tier: Fiora Shen (Demacia + Ionia)
- S-tier: Pirate Aggro (Bilgewater + Noxus)
- S-tier: Slow Burn (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
- S-tier Targon Lee (Ionia + Targon)
- A-tier: Freljord Overwhelm (Freljord + Noxus)
- A-tier: Hyper Aggro Endure (Freljord + Shadow Isles)
- A-tier: FTR/Warmother Ramp (Freljord + Shadow Isles)
- A-tier: Fearsome (Shadow Isles + Targon)
- A-tier: Combo Fiora (Demacia + Targon)
- A-tier: Burn Aggro (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
- A-tier: Grand Targon (Demacia + Targon
- A-tier: Discard Aggro (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
- A-tier: Tahm Raka (Bilgewater + Targon)
- A-tier: Nightfall Aggro (Targon + Shadow Isles)
- A-tier: Decisive Targon (Noxus + Targon)
- B-tier: Targon Swarm (Noxus + Targon)
- B-tier: TealRed Mistwraith (Shadow Isles)
- B-tier: Midrange Frostbite (Freljord + Noxus)
Recently removed:
- Starlit Zoe (Freljord + Targon)
- Plaza Invoke (Demacia + Targon)
Note that our experts update the tier list often so there may be some lag time between this blog version and the one on our site. When in doubt, use the LoR Meta Tier List feature for the most up-to-date tier list. If you’re a new player, check out our best LoR budget decks article.
LoR Meta Decks
Whether you like to play aggro, midrange, control, or combo, we’ve got meta deck archetype for you. Enjoy!
S-tier LoR Decks
Grand Navigator (Bilgewater + Demacia)
Deck code: CECAIAIABEKR2MYDAIDBMOR6AMBAAAQGBEAQGAAKAMAQEAAHAEBQADQBAIDAQAIBAEACK
[See Grand Navigator deck details]
General Info
This deck really got huge additions from the new set and has the same amazing early aggressive draws it had before but also now has access to an incredibly powerful ability to control the board with The Grand Plaza.
I highly recommend playing this board if you enjoy completely dominating board combat with Challengers.
How to Play
This is an update to the old school Scouts archetype with a really cool new addition in the form of The Grand Plaza. The early game of this deck didn’t change much.
You are mostly looking to go Fleetfeather Tracker into Brightsteel Protector to trade up heavily on value. Turn 3 is your power turn. You can either land Miss Fortune or The Grand Plaza.
After this, every single turn after you will get a ton of value off of every unit you play. Grizzled Ranger becomes absurd with both. Island Navigator becomes absurd with both.
An important thing to note is that if you have Double Trouble and The Grand Plaza in hand you should skip your first 2 turns to combo those 2 cards in the same turn using your spell mana.
The mulligans for this deck are very simple, you are just looking for The Grand Plaza, Miss Fortune, and Fleetfeather Tracker and from there cards that work well with these cards.
BWSI Go Hard (Bilgewater + Shadow Isles)
Deck code: CECAEAYFAYIAMAQGAQERUHJGHIAQGBQIAEAQKMICAMAQKAIPGUAQGBIIAIAQCBJAAEBAMIA
[See BWSI Go Hard deck details]
[See Precipic + Rattlingbones deck guide]
General Info
This is a really sweet midrange deck with a very powerful combo finish. I’d highly recommend playing this if you enjoy drawing a ton of cards to set up for a massive blowout finisher turn. It also has some really good beatdown draws so if you enjoy being aggressive, this deck has that too.
How to Play
You are looking to play 4 copies of Go Hard and get a Pack Your Bags which gives you lethal a very high percentage of the time. When doing this combo you should try to have a full board so that as many units as possible get to hit your opponent after you Pack Your Bags.
For your mulligan, you should be looking to keep Twisted Fate, Go Hard, Zap Sprayfin, Jagged Butcher, and Elise.
Fiora Shen (Demacia + Ionia)
Deck code: CECAGAIABENC2AYBAIQCWMIBAIAACAIDAADAGBABAAOSKMZUAIAQEEZFAEBQADQBAIAQAFJV
General Info
Fiora Shen is a deck that uses barrier to protect high threat units to generate value. If that sounds appealing then this deck is for you.
How to Play
You can have explosive openers with turn 1 Tracker into turn 2 Brightsteel Protector. However, it’s not bad to go into mid game with some mana banked to make use of your defensive and reactive spells.
Rivershaper is a high value unit in this deck because he can often draw 2 or more cards when protected by Shen, Barrier, or just using your challenger units to get in unblocked. Fiora is a great win condition but don’t get baited into over-committing into her or rushing out a fast level for the win.
This deck has a lot of defensive options so it’s wise to stack a few in your favor before investing in for a Fiora victory. Your late game is solid against heavy decks because of strong units like Genevieve and Brightsteel Formation that are backed up with Deny to protect your board from huge plays.
Pirate Aggro (Bilgewater + Noxus)
Deck code: CECAKAQGCYQCMOR4AQAQGAQPEUUAEAQDAMCACAYGAYBACAQDAUAQCAZTAA
[See Pirate Aggro deck details]
General Info
A deck that pushes for fast wins giving you short game times. A great choice for players looking to punish greedy decks.
How to Play
Your biggest priority is making sure you have a good early curve with your 1 drops. Mulligan for an aggressive early game, your late game finishers, and over the tops like Decimate will come naturally in your later draws.
You don’t want to use Noxian Fervor proactively unless you’re forced to or you have multiple backup plays to push through lethal.
Noxian Fervor is great as a counter to drain spells like Grasp or general removal since you can use it in response.
Sometimes you can use the kegs to set up burn turns or have a better attack with Miss Fortune.
Slow Burn (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
Deck code: CECAMAIEAENSIJRUHIAQEAYJAIBQIBIRAMAQGFBOG4BACAYDBUAQCAZTAA
General Info
This deck really rewards using removal at the appropriate time and learning how to shift between playing defensively and aggressively. I would highly recommend playing this deck if you like having the ability to answer any unit while still having a fairly proactive deck.
How to Play
The buff to Ezreal made this deck a really cool option. In general, you should be looking to keep Ezreal and Farron in your hand because they are your main win conditions. Beyond that, you should be trying to keep removal that works for any given matchup.
I would also recommend keeping early plays such as House Spider in basically every matchup because it lets you block vs aggro and beat down vs control.
Targon Lee (Ionia + Targon)
Deck code: CEBQMAYJBENSGKJTLQBQEAQDAYEQCAICGEBAEAYJFBKQCAYCCQBAGAYJCMVGEAICAICQ
General Info
This is easily the best combo deck in the game right now. If you want to combo kill the opponent from the full 20 with a big kick then this is the deck for you.
How to Play
This is the update to the old Lee Sin Zed deck but it has gotten some great new tools with the new set including Zoe and Sparklefly. The ability of these cards to make this deck’s early game much better into other aggressive strategies is just fantastic.
Other than that it is the same old combo. Draw your deck until you can set up Zenith Blade on a 10+ Power Less Sin and deal 20 damage in 1 turn with your Leveled Lee Sin while having Deny and Nopefy to protect it.
In general, you should be looking to keep your early game tools such as Zoe, Eye of the Dragon, Sparklefly, and Mountain Goat and you should also just keep Lee Sin because you will need it to combo kill at some point during the game.
A-tier LoR Decks
Freljord Overwhelm (Freljord + Noxus)
Deck code: CECQIAIDBUSSMKACAIAQMCIBAMAQEAQCAMCQQAIBAEPQGAQBAMHTGAICAMCACAQBAIBACAIBAQAQEAYD
[See Freljord Noxus deck details]
General Info
This deck is one of the beefiest decks in the game. Your overwhelm units are big and scary. If you enjoy beating your opponent’s face in with absolutely massive overwhelm units then this is the deck for you.
How to Play
Freljord Overwhelm is one of the interesting new Aggressive Midrange decks in the format. It utilizes truly massive threats with overwhelm to attack for giant chunks of damage.
This deck includes Ancient Yeti which if you keep in your opening hand it can cost 4 by turn 4 and just gets cheaper from there which can give you some really powerful swing turns.
In general, you’re looking to play to the board aggressively in the early game so that by the mid game you’ve done enough damage where you can finish your opponent off with overwhelm or burn damage.
Hyper Aggro Endure (Freljord + Shadow Isles)
Deck code: CECAMAIFBMNB4KZQGEBAEBIEAYBQGBICAQDACAIBEIAQEAIFCAMQA
[See Hyper Aggro Endure deck details]
[See Precipic + Silverfuse’s guide]
General Info
This deck is great for players who like to have answers and flexibility. With card draw, removal, and a strong suite of followers, you can pivot on any angle that you need to.
How to Play
This deck features incredibly potent early game openers backed up by They Who Endure as a late game threat. Your early game mulligan’s primary goal is to get the best early game curve you can.
Between Stalking Shadows, Glimpse Beyond, and Unspeakable Horror, this deck has a ton of card advantage while playing very aggressively.
Mid to late game, you’re likely to draw into your They Who Endures to close out the game.
FTR/Warmother Ramp (Freljord + Shadow Isles)
Deck code: CEBQEAIFDUUAIAIBBQKCCJYBAMAQMAYCAEAQGMQCAMAQEFQEAECQCDYZEEBACAYFAIBACAIBFI
[See FTR/Warmother Ramp deck details]
[See FTR/Warmother Ramp guide]
General Info
Feel the Rush is an easier to use and more immediate payoff version of Warmother’s Call. This is the premiere deck for ramp players.
How to Play
Warmother is one of the best ramp control decks in the entire game. Feel the Rush doesn’t provide as much value over time the Warmother’s Call but it provides a big enough impact to end the game on the turn or 2 after you play it.
The combination of Freljord Shadow Isles stall tools and the over the top potential of giant overwhelm units like Trundle and Tryndamere being pulled out for free off FTR.
Early game, your goal is either ramping your mana with Catalyst of Aeons or Wyrding Stones to get a fast Feel the Rush vs control or keeping your stall tools like Vile Feast, Withering Wail so that you can survive to your late game.
Fearsome (Shadow Isles + Targon)
Deck code: CEBQQAIFAMHBAFQ6E42TQBADAUBQIBQNAEBQSIYAAEAQCBIZ
General Info
I highly recommend this deck if you enjoy playing a fairly consistent aggro deck with a super cool finisher. This is probably the best The Harrowing deck in the game right now and can leave you with 8+ power Mistwraiths.
How to Play
Fearsomes is a deck that utilizes cheap threats with the Fearsome keyword to attack through a wide variety of boards and then looks to finish out games with Frenzied Skitterer to make their board unblockable, Doombeast to drain the opponent out, or a big The Harrowing for lethal.
In general, you are looking to keep a strong curve of Fearsome units, having a 2 mana play in hand is incredibly important. Other than that, notable power cards that you really want to draw include Wraithcaller, The Harrowing, and Pale Cascade.
A big play that this deck plays a lot is that it uses Frenzied Skitterer to reduce the attack of all units on the opponent’s side, which then lets you attack with all of your fearsome units without them being able to block.
Another big play is that Risen Mists can be played at burst speed, this means that you can play Risen Mists before you attack and not give you an opponent a chance to play a unit to block or an Avalanche to remove your board.
Combo Fiora (Demacia + Targon)
Deck code: CEBQMAYJCMSCQKJTKUAQGAAOAQAQAEIVDIWQEAQBAAGSKAIDBEEQCAIBAAJA
[See Combo Fiora deck details]
General Info
I’d recommend playing this deck if you enjoy making the biggest Fiora and Sparklefly you’ve ever seen and having every single tool possible to protect them.
How to Play
This is a new deck that looks to use Sparklefly and Fiora as its entire win con. On mulligans, you will be throwing away every single card that’s not Fiora or Sparklefly and every single turn you will be doing everything possible to keep them alive.
Never let these cards get into danger and only put them at risk of dying if you can keep them protected.
These two cards can win the game by themselves even if they are your only units in play whether it be through Fiora getting 4 kills or Sparklefly killing them with massive Elusive damage.
Burn Aggro (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
Deck code: CECAGAYEAUFREBABAMBBIJJIAQAQICBHGQ3ACAQDAMBACAIDFYAQCBARAA
General Info
I would recommend playing this deck if you really enjoy winning games with a pile of burn spells.
This deck also generates some really fast games so if you want your games to be quick this is the deck for you.
How to Play
This is a very very focused deck. Every single card in this deck is focused on dealing as much direct damage to the opponent as possible. It wins by pushing early chip damage with small aggressive units like Teemo and Legion Saboteur and then from there finishing the opponent off with every single burn spell that you have access to in these regions.
This deck got a ton of great additions that make it much better than before. Ballistic Bot is just one of the best 2 mana cards in the game right now and it fits perfectly into this deck by pushing 1 point of damage every single turn while being a reasonably sized body.
This deck also got another super playable burn spell in Aftershock. In mulligans you should be looking to keep any aggressive early play. If it’s an early unit you should probably keep it.
Late game you should accept that you will eat a decent amount of damage and just look for ways to deal the last points of lethal burn.
Grand Targon (Demacia + Targon)
Deck code: CECAEAYAAUFAQAYJDQRTGOKUKVLWIAQBAAGBUAICAAEQAAIBAEAAO
[See Grand Targon deck details]
General Info
I would play this deck if you just want to play the biggest units this game has to offer in a very interactive shell.
Grand Plaza turning all your massive units means that you can play these large units while still being able to keep your opponents board in check.
How to Play
This is probably the best “Go Big” midrange deck in the entire format. The Grand Plaza is really showing itself to be one of the best tools from the new set.
In this deck in particular The Grand Plaza is looking to utilize daybreak units with The Grand Plaza to get super powerful value trades that allow you to control the board. From there it looks to finish the game with just the biggest units this game has to offer with cards like Aurelion Sol, Starshapnig, and Eclipse Dragon.
In general, for mulligans, you are mostly looking for The Grand Plaza and should be mulliganing fairly aggressively for it. Other than that, you can keep early units like Solari Shieldbearer to help you not die.
Discard Aggro (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
Deck code: CEBQCAYECIDACBAMBUOCOKBNAQAQGBYJE43QEAQBAMKCGAIBAQAQCAIBAQEA
[See Discard Aggro deck details]
General Info
Discard Aggro is an aggressive burn deck that uses Jinx and Draven to fuel its strategy. It uses strong early starts that dump their hand early then finishes their opponents off with burn damage.
This deck requires a lot of decision making on when to use your burn for removal or face as well as when and what cards to discard.
How to Play
The goal of this deck is to swarm out early with a lot of units so that you can get down a huge Crowd Favorite or Visions.
Jinx is very important to keep alive so that your deck has value going into the mid to late game, so keep an eye out for what deck you’re playing against.
Against removal heavy Piltover decks, keeping Jinx until she’s leveled will go a long way to keeping her alive with 4 health.
Tahm Raka (Bilgewater + Targon)
Deck code: CEBAIAYGAQDQQDYIAMERGHJDFUZTINZ4AEBAGCKVMIAA
[See Kuvira’s Tahm Raka guide]
General Info
I’d recommend you play this deck if you enjoy playing with a completely unique playstyle based around healing your own units and winning off of landmarks. Beyond that, the deck gets to generate a ton of card draw off of Soraka which is also super fun.
How to Play
Soraka Tahm Kench is a midrange deck with a combo finish. Your key card is Star Spring which heals all of your allies 1 at the end of every round.
If you have healed 22+ in a game while Star Spring is in play you win the game. The deck plays a ton of self-damage cards such as Boxtapus which when healed up, does an amazing job of controlling the board.
The deck also plays Tahm Kench which can kill a unit every turn as long as you can keep it healthy. Pair all of this with Soraka which can become a card drawing healing machine and the deck can completely run people over.
Nightfall Aggro (Shadow Isles + Targon)
Deck code: CEBQCAIFF4DQGCJDHBEVQWK4LYCQGBICAMCAKBQAAEAQGCJP
[See Nightfall Aggro deck details]
General Info
If you want to play a Targon deck with an aggressive slant I’d highly recommend trying this out. This is very difficult to play however, so only play this if you want to commit to learning how to effectively utilize the Nightfall mechanic and the Invoke mechanic.
How to Play
This is one of the best tempo decks in the game. You utilize cards like Diana to control the board early and then finish with giant pushes off of cards like Nocturne and your other Nightfall Cards. Cards like Pale Cascade and Stalking Shadows help ensure that you don’t run out of cards in the midgame.
This deck is quite difficult to play because with Nightfall, you need to be planning your turns in advance. Oftentimes, you will skip a turn to ensure that you get a Nightfall trigger the next turn.
I would look to keep Diana, Lunari Duskbringer, and Solari Soldier in your opening hand most of the time. If you are against a controlling deck you can consider keeping Stalking Shadows.
Decisive Targon (Bilgewater + Targon)
Deck code: CEBQIAYJENMFSXAHAEBQECILBUKCMNYBAIBQKAQBAEBQ6AIDBEOAA
[See Decisive Targon deck details]
General Info
This deck hits HARD as its raw punching power is one of the highest in the game. You’ll be attacking with a 14 Power Darius for lethal sometimes or have a board buffed by Decisive Maneuver attacking for 30+ damage. If you enjoy beating face this is a great choice.
How to Play
This is one of the best aggressive decks in the game right now. The combination of Overwhelm units plus attack buffs like Pale Cascade can create for some incredibly scary draws. This deck also has access to a very powerful finisher in the form of Decisive Maneuver which removes a blocker completely and buffs the damage of all your Overwhelm cards. For your mulligan, mulligan you want to keep cheap units and try to have a curve of 1 drop 2 drop, and 3 drop.
Targon Swarm (Noxus + Targon)
Deck code: CEBQKAYJBERU6VSZAYAQGAQHBEKCONYBAIBQGAICAEBQ2IYA
[See Targon Swarm deck details]
General Info
This is a new take on the Noxus Vision swarm style of deck but you get to play with a lot of the fun new Targon tools.
Play this if you enjoy incredibly explosive early games.
How to Play
The goal of this deck is to swarm out early with a lot of units so that you can get down a huge Crowd Favorite or Visions.
Zoe and Spacey Sketcher give you a lot of long term value in the long game just make sure you make the right choices on your invokes.
There are a lot of spots where you can actually level Zoe and get lethal that way so keep that in mind.
In your mulligan, you should be keeping all of your 1 mana cards and throwing away basically everything else.
If you have Spacey Sketcher then keep your Starry Scamps.
B-tier LoR Decks
TealRed Mistwraith (Shadow Isles)
Deck code: CEBQWAIFAEBQ4DYQDYTSQMJVHAAQGBANAEBQKDIAAEAQCBIZ
[See TealRed Mistwraith deck details]
General Info
This is a super unique take on the Fearsome Archetype. I highly recommend this deck if you enjoy having the powerful aggressive draws this deck always had but have access to a bit more interaction in the late game.
This deck makes The Harrowing even better than the other build because you can always ensure with The Ruination that there is a clear board for your giant Mistwraiths.
How to Play
This is a unique build of Fearsome popularized by Twitch.tv/TealRed that looks to add some absurd late game punch in The Ruination to ensure that your The Harrowings are always lethal.
In general, you are still utilizing cheap threats with the Fearsome keyword to attack through a wide variety of boards and then looking to finish out games with Frenzied Skitterer.
However, you have more of an ability to deal with really big boards from the opponent’s side that can threaten to block out your The Harrowing.
In general, you are looking to keep a strong curve of Fearsome units, having a 2 mana play in hand is incredibly important. Other than that, notable power cards that you really want to draw include Wraithcaller, The Harrowing, and Iterative Improvement.
A big play that this deck plays a lot is that it uses Frenzied Skitterer to reduce the attack of all units on the opponent’s side, which then lets you attack with all of your fearsome units without them being able to block.
Another big play is that Risen Mists can be played at burst speed, this means that you can play Risen Mists before you attack and not give you an opponent a chance to play a unit to block or an Avalanche to remove your board.
Midrange Frostbite (Freljord + Noxus)
Deck code: CECAIAIBBMTCSMADAEBQIHZBAEBQCAQBAMBQOAYBAMBQCAYBAEAQOKQBAEBTKAQCAEAQIHQBAEBTG
[See Midrange Frostbite deck details]
General Info
Frostbite is a good deck to play when fighting against other decks that rely on large followers and trading on board because of the combination of your Frostbite countering most combat tricks. Pick this up if you’re a midrange player that likes generating value on large followers.
How to Play
This is a deck that you’ll want to curve out on with the hardest decisions being when to leave mana open for spells and when to drop Trifarian Assessor for card draw.
Culling Strike can be an amazing card that punches above its mana cost while also having great interactions when combined with Frostbite reducing attack power to 0.
Against other midrange decks, you have a comfortable suite of options to play for but you’re mostly looking for value.
Once you established a winning board, leaving mana open for your combat tricks and Frostbites will give you a solid grasp on the game.
Conclusion
So there you have it! We’ll be posting the meta report every week so be sure to check back here. We also have our dedicated meta feature for LoR within our platform. See you next time.
Thanks for reading! To explore all the cards in LoR, check out our Card Gallery or jump straight into our Deck Builder if you already got some ideas from our article. Show us your best decks in the comments below. Be sure to follow our expert, EG Swim, at his LoR website, Twitch, Twitter, and Youtube.
