Deck Guide: Jax and Ornn, Newcomers to the Ranked Ladder!

Right after the patch 4.1 changes, it was to be expected that the champions Jax and Ornn, which got buffs both to their own text, and to their support cards to their archetypes, would get stronger.

As it turns out, actually, they are a bit too strong at the moment. Currently, it is the most played deck in the ranked ladder in all servers, and it has a good win rate, around 53%.

So, I decided to bring a deck guide, to help you better understand the list, play it better and also prepare yourself to face this deck in the ranked ladder. Let's go!

The list is a very solid Midrange with a lot of interactivity with the board. You position big units very easily, and, due to the "Improvise" mechanic, these same units are quite flexible.

Additionally, the deck is filled with Frostbite tools and protection spells for your units.

Pros

— We've just got into a slower meta, almost Midrange-like. So, it really is about who has the biggest card on board. And with this list, you'll rarely have problems with your status.

— Frostbite is very relevant currently.

— It wins against most decks that were strong in the previous meta.

— Its gameplay is fast and objective, perfect to play in the ranked ladder.

— Super easy to understand mechanics.

— The deck revived two forgotten champions and a forgotten archetype, bringing new airs to the game.

— Currently, it is one of the most recommended lists to climb the ranked ladder.

Cons

— The list loses miserably to heavy control decks.

— You can't protect your units from removals such as Vengeance.

— You don't bring support regions that have deny or spellshield cards, which are very important currently.

— It loses to Ionia, in general.

— The gameplay is a bit repetitive.

Perfect Initial Hand

Your priorities for the initial hand will always be Jax, Weaponsmith's Apprentice, Fish Fight, Favored Artisan and Combat Cook. In that order.

Game Stages

Early Game

Try to always be proactive and develop your board with your cheap units. Don't be afraid to pass a turn to save mana, as it is always very important to have mana enough to play your protection spells. Jax easily carries the first few turns, but he is also one of your win conditions for late game, so always protect him.

In mirror matches, be careful to not lose too much of your board to removals, as it is best to be a bit reactive. And keep in mind: when two of the same decks are facing each other, whoever has most cards in hand, usually wins.

Midgame

It is the moment in which your deck shines; units such as Combat Cook and Hearthblood Mender are very dominating, and hard to remove. It is important to be careful when it comes to playing multiple cards in one turn, as you don't have many cards that draw cards in this list, so it is very easy to run out of gas.

Because of that, don't go removing everything you see in front of you with your Fish Fight, and instead keep this card to take out important enemy units.

Late Game

Here is when you might have some troubles, as the list is a bit too dependent on its champions to finish matches, and, as mentioned before, you can't protect them from heavy removal.

Another card that helps you finish matches is Wrought Colossus This card works as a last resource in case everything goes wrong, and as your hand will probably be full of equipment, it is easier to activate its effect and try to finish the game with a board full of gigantic units.

Kayn Aatrox

70% win rate against Kayn Aatrox — Honestly, the Ornn and Jax list seems to be an enhanced version of Darkins. You can be very dominant early game in comparison to cultists. And Frostbites are also generally very strong against them.

Akshan Varus

68% win rate against Akshan Varus — You can spread your health and attack status much more efficiently and faster on board, unlike Akshan's deck, in which usually only one unit will be responsible for dealing damage and attacking. As a result, you will gradually deal damage to the enemy Nexus and win the game.

Lulu Jinx

58% win rate against Lulu Jinx — Though the nerfs weren't that heavy, the Lulu list got much slower. And that, added to the fact this archetype already suffers a bit against Midrange and Healing lists, makes this deck unable to perform well against Jax and Ornn.

Gwen Katarina

57% win rate against Katarina Gwen — The Frostbites and removals are enough to end Katarina and Gwen's lists, Fish Fight is very efficient against Katarina, and the frostbites take care of the rest of the deck.

That is without saying that, in case you get an overwhelm equipment, or have an overwhelm unit on board early on, you will deal a lot of damage. Red Gwen lists don't have that many blockers, and the great portion of removals this list has aren't good against the "Weaponmasters".

Swain Norra

44% win rate against Swain Norra — A very strong mechanic against your Jax list is stuns. Wallop is a card that destroys your strategies, and the whole Noxus control package is incredibly strong against everything in your deck.

You might still have some chances in case your opponent can't draw Swain or The Leviathan, but in case they can, you'll have a lot of difficulty in closing matches.

Anivia

39% win rate against Anivia — Zombie Anivia decks are coming back to hit your list. There is not a single list in the whole game that has more removals and frostbites than the Anivia deck.

The only way you will win is if somehow you level up your Jax very early and deal 20 points of damage before turn 6.

Tryndamere Trundle

33% win rate against Tryndamere Trundle — In my humble opinion, this list is a bit easier to win against than Anivia's.

But, as it is a much more popular deck, possibly players are more used to your deck and make better decisions, this way causing Jax's win rate to drop significantly.

Ryze

29% win rate against Ryze — This matchup is practically impossible because this deck was made to beat Jax Ornn, and you only win if your opponent has a power outage or if their connection fails.

Unworthy Soul is possibly the strongest card in the current meta, as it ends your whole deck alone. That is without mentioning the rest of the list is full of stuns and healing. Who could tell there would be a day when Ryze is a meta card!

The Jax and Ornn list came to stay, and it is dominating the ranked ladder! I hope this article was useful to help you understand a bit better how it works. If you liked the article, don't forget to share and comment down below, see you next time!