Legends of Runeterra Best Decks – Meta Report

The Best Meta Decks for Legends of Runeterra (Glory in Navori)

Hey everyone! Welcome back to our Meta Decks Report for Legends of Runeterra.

As always, these deck recommendations will be provided by our experts, Kuvira, Shugo, and Scarzig!

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 like to also play Marvel Snap, check out our Marvel Snap tier list!

Best Runeterra Decks

• S-tier: Fizz Samira (Bilgewater + Noxus)
• S-tier: Kai’Sa Demacia (Demacia + Shurima)
• S-tier: Discard Aggro (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)
• A-tier: Karma Sett (Ionia + Piltover/Zaun)
• A-tier: Aatrox Quinn Vayne (Demacia + Runeterran)
• A-tier: Ekko Jinx (Piltover/Zaun + Shurima)
• A-tier: Lurk (Bilgewater + Shurima)
• A-tier: Masterminds (Piltover/Zaun + Shadow Isles)
• A-tier: Vaults of Nasus (Shadow Isles + Shurima)
• B-tier: Illaoi Swain (Bilgewater + Noxus)
• B-tier: Deep (Bilgewater + Shadow Isles)
• B-tier: Ashe LeBlanc (Freljord + Noxus)

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

Fizz Samira (Bilgewater + Noxus)

Deck code: CECQGAQGCQXDUBIHAMBQOCAJBYBAOBQ2DMBAGBQOCQAQMBRJAAAQCAQGG4

[See Fizz Samira deck details]

General info

The latest iteration of Fizz Samira is lower to the ground and packed full of Plunder. It’s fast, it’s efficient, and all while building towards its grand finale; Powder Pandemonium!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Deep, Vaults of Nasus, Ashe LeBlanc, Bandle Strength, Lurk, Bandle Broadmane, Masterminds, Bandle Court, Aatrox Quinn Vayne
👎 Weak Against: Discard Aggro

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Mulligan for early Plunder units and a Plunder enabler such as Warning Shot or Samira.
Fizz + Stylish Shot(s) is an excellent keep against control matchups.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Keep track of your Plunder count in order to plan for Powder Pandemonium lethals.
• Don’t play Pool Shark on turn one. It’s best played later on to minimize odds of discarding the fleeting card.
• Pirouette and Monkey Business can halt attackers while simultaneously building up Plunder triggers, AND chipping in damage.

Kai’Sa Demacia (Demacia + Shurima)

Deck code: CECQIBQHA4EASCQBAIAAEAIHAACQCBIABQAQIAADAQBAIB2KJ4AQKAAOAIDAABRJAEAQADADAICAOO3NAEAQAJIBAQAAQ

[See Kai’Sa Demacia deck details]

General info

Kai’Sa Demacia is a midrange deck that looks to capitalize on the power of Kai’Sa. Demacia gives the deck access to Scout + Cataclysm, allowing Kai’Sa to attack multiple times in a turn.
‎
👌 Strong Against: Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Bandle Strength, Vaults of Nasus, Discard Aggro, Lurk, Karma Sett
👎 Weak Against: Deep

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Look for a variety of early keywords in order to activate Evolve ASAP.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Voidling is one of our efficient ways of enabling Evolve early. If the random keyword won’t help towards the six unique keywords, wait until it rolls a better one.
• Cataclysm can help remove most threats with Kai’Sa and also push Overwhelm lethals with Kai’Sa or Void Blaster.
• Consider holding back some units in the mid to late game. This opens the opportunity for a Champions’ Strength win in games where the Kai’Sa game plan isn’t enough.

Discard Aggro (Noxus + Piltover/Zaun)

Deck code: CECQCBQDFEDQCBAMBUOCMKBNGQBAKAYEAYAQOAYHAEAQGJYCAECQIGIBAECACAA

[See Discard Aggro deck details]

General info

Jinx Samira is the latest iteration of the old classic Discard Aggro. This deck swarms the board by using efficient discard fodder and aims to push damage with free spells like Vision. And if that doesn’t work, Jinx and Augmented Experimenter come down to refuel back into the game!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Ashe LeBlanc, Deep, Lurk, Fizz Samira, Illaoi Jarvan
👎 Weak Against: Illaoi Swain, Ekko Jinx, Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Bandle Broadmane, Masterminds, Bandle Court

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Keep discard fodder such as Jury-Rig and Flame Chompers in order to have an efficient target. Zaunite Urchin is the best early discarder.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Crimson Pigeon works great with Flame Chompers as you’re usually going to be sacrificing them anyway during your attack.
• While we ideally want to combine discard units with discard fodder, don’t be afraid to discard something else in order to maintain reasonable pressure, or to dig for better options.
• Don’t forget, discarding to Zaunite/Physician/Dredger is optional. You can simply play the unit and pass in order to avoid discarding if you don’t want to.

A-tier LoR Decks

Karma Sett (Ionia + Piltover/Zaun)

Deck code: CEDQCBQECIAQCBBUAQDQECYRCMKACAYEBMAQOBAJAEBAEBIBAEBCSAQCA4BASDIBAEBDCAQBAYBAGAYGAQESELQ

[See Karma Sett deck details]

General info

Karma Sett is an Ionia PnZ control deck that aims to survive until turn ten, then win the game with a combo finisher. Coins double up their effect and Place Your Bets turns into four cards plus eight additional mana. The grand finale is glorious, but it’ll take careful planning in order to make it to the end!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Heimer Jayce, Ashe LeBlanc
👎 Weak Against: Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Bandle Swarm, Bandle Court

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Keep cheap removal against aggressive decks, or proactive value units against slower matchups.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Take proactive passes and let the opponent develop into you. There’s really no cards that “must be played” to meet our game plan. Simply survive and win via Karma.
• Sett is a useful tool to remove threatening units, but be careful not to get completely blown out by stuns. Pirouette is Sett’s worst nightmare, and will waste your entire turn if you play him on-curve.
• Try to save your Coin for the Karma turn unless you need it to survive. Similarly, keeping a Place Your Bets for the Karma turn is important to ensure you have the fuel to continue popping off.

Aatrox Quinn Vayne (Demacia + Runeterran)

Deck code: CEBQIBQABIIRKHIBAUAAYAIGAQEAOAYGAAFRQMABAEAB2AIGA4CACAQAAIAQOAAFAEDACEQBAYGBUBABAYEQMAIEAABQCAQAAYAQMAAS

[See Aatrox Quinn Vayne deck details]

General info

Aatrox Quinn Vayne is a midrange Demacia deck that excels in combat thanks to its powerful equipment. Attack favorably into the enemy board, then end the game with extra attacks via Tumble/Cataclysm.
‎
👌 Strong Against: Karma Sett, Fizz Samira, Masterminds, Bandle Swarm
👎 Weak Against: Ashe LeBlanc, Illaoi Jarvan, Lurk, Samira Varus

How to play

Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Keep your 1-drops, Petricite Broadwing, and one equipment card. Always keep Vayne, never keep spells, Quinn, or Aatrox since he’s naturally drawn with his origin effect.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Do not over commit to Vayne’s level-up. Early game tempo is much more important.
• Always keep a scout unit alive in order to Rally on defending turns with Vayne’s Tumble.
• Aim to play three weapons to draw Aatrox before turn six for guaranteed consistency.

Ekko Jinx (Piltover/Zaun + Shurima)

Deck code: CECQKBAHAEOE2T2TAMCAIAIEA4AQMBYFAIAQIKBUAEDQICIBAICAOO3NAA

[See Ekko Jinx deck details]

General Info

If there’s ever been deck that feels unbeatable whenever it draws perfectly, it’s Ekko Jinx. Both champions are a massive threat once leveled, and with an abundance of Predict cards, it’s pretty hard to miss. As a rule of thumb, if Ekko strikes, your chance of winning the game immediately skyrockets. Voice of the Risen turns its all those weak Dropboarders into actual threats, and if you ever find a Chronobreak it’s game over. To top if all off, if you ever need those final points of damage, Jinx is here to burn down the opponent. High rollers rejoice!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Daybreak Samira, Masterminds, Samira Varus, Fizz Samira, Bandle Court, Lurk
👎 Weak Against: Illaoi Jarvan

How to Play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Plan your mulligan so that you can ideally Predict once each turn from 1-4.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Ekko should be able to come down flipped on-curve, so aim to find at least one Predict per turn.
• Try to avoid trading units early when its not necessary. Having a board, even a weak one, can be quickly bolstered by a Voice of the Risen draw. Additionally, having more units makes Chronobreak all the more powerful.
• The difference between Ekko striking or not striking is HUGE. Managing to obtain a free Time Trick drastically increases your likelihood to win, so focus your game plan on making this happen.

Lurk (Bilgewater + Shurima)

Deck code: CECACBQHAUCAIBQBAMCQ6BQEA4JRMQKEJJIACBQGFUAQCBAHIUBACBAGAQAQIBYB

[See Lurk deck details]

General Info 

Lurk is an aggressive deck that grows more threatening every turn. It’s not just the units in play that get stronger.. It’s the entire deck! Aim to stack as many Lurk triggers as possible, then overwhelm the opponent with a swarm of powerful monsters!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Ashe LeBlanc, Deep, Illaoi Jarvan
👎 Weak Against: Daybreak Samira, Bandle Broadmane, Bandle Court, Bandle Swarm, Masterminds, Samira Varus, Ekko Jinx

How to Play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
We’re trying to trigger Lurk as much as possible so prioritize a good early curve. Snapjaw Swarm is an excellent keep in order to proc Lurk on defending turns.

💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Cast Bloodbait on the turn you hit a Rek’Sai trigger. Then you can proc it again with Snapjaw on the following round.
• We want to avoid playing Rek’Sai unless we can level her that turn, or on a turn we also want to cast Pyke’s Bone Skewer.
• Predicts are perfect in order to ensure we have a Lurker on top of our deck or to grab key cards when we need them for a matchup.

Masterminds (Piltover/Zaun + Shadow Isles)

Deck code: CECQCBAEBYBQKBAWDAOQEBQECIXAEAIEGQ4ACAIFAEBAIBIECUMRUHYBAYCSAAYBAMCAWAIFAUBQCBIEDM

[See Masterminds deck details]

General info

Masterminds is a slow control deck that looks to set up a champion, then start gaining incremental value by casting spells. Alternatively, unlike most control decks, it is able to apply pressure with an early Production Surge + Hextech Handler. This gives the deck some unique flexibility in gameplay, and allows a skillful pilot many opportunities that reward good decisions.
‎
👌 Strong Against: Bandle Broadmane, Illaoi Jarvan, Lurk, Ashe LeBlanc
👎 Weak Against: Karma Sett, Bandle Court, Ekko Jinx, Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Bandle Swarm, Fizz Samira, Samira Varus

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Look for Forge Chief, Ferros Financier, and applicable removal. Only Keep Heimer/Jayce if you have at least 2 of the cards mentioned before. Keep cheap removal versus aggressive decks.
There are a lot of variants of this deck. If you are playing a Hextech Handler version, prioritize Handler + Production Surge in the mulligan.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Don’t pass with too much mana. It’s important to play your six mana spells in order to level Jayce before turn seven.
• Have some spell mana available when you play Heimer in order to ensure at least 1-2 turrets if the opponent removes him.
• Shock Blast can be used on the enemy Nexus when you have a leveled Jayce on the board to push six damage and find lethal.

Vaults of Nasus (Shadow Isles + Shurima)

Deck code: CEDAEBQHAUZQEBQFCQXACBYFAIAQGBIJAECAOLYCAECQCFAEAECAOHABAYCSAAIFA4LACBIFBIBAIBAHBEFTW3IBAQCRY

[See Vaults of Nasus deck details]

General info

Vaults of Nasus is a midrange deck that uses Vaults of Helia to progressively gain value each turn and build up Nasus. Due to the nature of Vaults of Helia, this deck can play very consistently, as you’re almost guaranteed to summon the specific units each time. Nasus into Rekindler is a very powerful play!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Illaoi Swain, Masterminds, Deep, Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Lurk, Ekko Jinx, Bandle Court
👎 Weak Against: Fizz Samira, Karma Sett, Ashe LeBlanc

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Hard mulligan for Vaults of Helia. The only other cards worth considering are Ancient Preparations or Forsaken Baccai in order to help find Vaults of Helia. If you already have Vaults of Helia, Rockbear Shepherd is an excellent card worth keeping.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• You may notice the lack of 4-drops in this deck, and that’s because we want to play Vaults of Helia on four each time. Rockbear Shepherd into Vaults of Helia is a very strong play that quickly makes up for the tempo loss of playing a
• landmark on four.
• Think before trading your units. It’s important to consider how Vaults of Helia will affect each turn.
  If you have Rekindler on board you can plan certain attacks or blocks with the knowledge of having Dess & Ada next turn. It may not be necessary to trade when you can leave a unit at two health and pick it off for free the following turn.

B-tier LoR Decks

Illaoi Swain (Bilgewater + Noxus)

Deck code: CECQIBQGAYDR4IYBAIDC2AIFAYAQCBYDBYBAEAYBA4BQCAQGCIAQMAYOAMDAMFI4EIBQCAQDAMAQGAYNAEDAMEA

[See Illaoi Swain deck details]

General info

Illaoi Swain takes the traditional control package of Swain and adds the midrange power of Illaoi. Watchful Idol goes with Swain just like Bilgewater goes with Noxus. It’s the perfect match.
‎
👌 Strong Against: Discard Aggro, Deep, Bandle Strength, Aatrox Quinn Vayne
👎 Weak Against: Vaults of Nasus, Bandle Broadmane, Masterminds

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Prioritize Watchful Idol to quickly progress Swain’s level-up. Heavy Metal and Make it Rain can be kept against relevant aggressive matchups, while The Sea’s Voice and Illaoi are great keeps when you need a proactive game plan.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Avoid trading your tentacle whenever possible. It’s important to keep a healthy Spawn in order to ensure Illaoi is always a threat.
• Watch out for Soul Harvest. Illaoi folds to it, as does Swain pre-flip.
• Swain + The Leviathan can offer inevitability against a lot of decks, but be careful not to overcommit at the wrong time.

Deep (Bilgewater + Shadow Isles)

Deck code: CECAKAQGC4WC6NJYAECAKDYCAICQQCQBAYCSWAYCAYDCEJQDAIDB2JJHAEAQKAIBAEBAMHQ

[See Deep deck details]

General info

Deep is slow unit-based deck that looks to toss cards quickly in order to summon its powerful sea monsters. While it can pack some control tools, it ultimately wants to accelerate to Deep so it can swing the board in its favor. Once achieved, the entire deck is packed full of threats that will quickly decimate the enemy!
‎
👌 Strong Against: Bandle Broadmane, Ashe LeBlanc
👎 Weak Against: Fizz Samira, Bandle Swarm, Illaoi Jarvan, Bandle Court, Lurk

How to play

Mulligan 🃏
‎‎‎‎‎
Aggressively mulligan for Dreg Dredgers, Sea Scarab, Deadbloom Wanderer, Undergrowth and Lure of the Depths.
‎‎‎‎‎
💡Tips 💡

• Don’t cast Jettison until you get to the turn where you want to hit Deep. You want to be using your early mana to stabilize and survive.
• Be careful playing Devourer of the Depths when the opponent could have removal available. A cheap spell could weaken it enough to fizzle the effect, so in most cases it’s best to be Deep first.
• Look to play around mana thresholds and let your opponent tap out. One of Deep’s weaknesses is its limited options per turn, so try to let your opponent make the first move to ensure you make the best play possible.

Ashe LeBlanc (Freljord + Noxus)

Deck code: CEBQKAIBAQLB4JRJAIAQGHZBAICAGBAPAMBAMAI4EMBQCAILFIYACBADBAAQCAIBAE

[See Ashe LeBlanc deck details]

General info

Ashe LeBlanc is the classic Freljord Noxus midrange deck. It looks to play big five power units in order to enable Reputation and powerful cards like Trifarian Assessor.
‎
👌 Strong Against: Aatrox Quinn Vayne, Illaoi Jarvan, Samira Varus, Daybreak Samira
👎 Weak Against: Bandle Court, Bandle Broadmane, Lurk, Deep, Fizz Samira, Bandle Swarm, Masterminds

How to play

🃏 Mulligan 🃏
‎  ‎‎‎ ‎
Ashe LeBlanc’s weakest point is its early game. Omen Hawk and Avarosan Trapper help patch up the early turns, so prioritize them early on. Trifarian Gloryseeker can be kept against unit-based decks that lack cheap removal. Brittle Steel and Elixir of Iron are great early pickups, and LeBlanc can be kept alongside Elixir or Here to Help.
‎ ‎ ‎‎‎
💡 Tips 💡 ‎ ‎ ‎

• Keep track of your Reputation count. It’s often worth trading Trifarian Gloryseeker before it inevitably dies to a removal spell, even when its target isn’t the best.
• Ashe and LeBlanc can be fragile to play early on. Avarosan Hearthguard really helps bolster them to safer levels. However, they can still be powerful early on so long as they’re backed by Elixir of Iron.
• Reckoning can outright win the game if used at the right moment. Just be sure your opponent can’t fizzle the spell by removing your five power unit(s) in response.

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.