Top 5 Lineups for the First Heart of the Huntress Runeterra Open!

The first Runeterra Open in the Heart of the Huntress expansion is coming, and, as usual, I brought you all the best and most popular lineups for tournaments.

These lineups' build is based only on my own competitive experience with Runeterra, playing and casting tournaments. These lineups are useful to give you an idea if you intend to play the Runeterra Open and are feeling a bit lost in the meta regarding what to play. You are welcome to modify them as much as you'd like.

Before we begin, I will give you a brief introduction to the July 15th Runeterra Open meta.

Siren Song decks are too strong, and these lists will be, without a shadow of a doubt, the most popular ones. Currently, the strongest list in the game, which is, at the same time, the list with the highest win rate and play rate, is Fizz Targon with Siren Song.

This list is the most consistent within this archetype, and it is a deck to be considered in any lineup, as it is a list that wins even against matchups which are, in theory, bad. That happens because the deck has a few plays which are just impossible to be answered by some meta decks, such as granting Spellshield to Fizz or to a Xolaani, filling the board with too many Fearsome units with more than 5 attack without spending much in terms of mana or cards, silencing the opponent's key units, finishing up with gigantic celestials, among other things.

As a result, it is recommended you bring this deck, and also bring other lists which also win against Siren Song strategies in general, even if your ban is Fizz' deck every time. There are many Siren Song decks, and a lineup with two or even three decks of this same archetype will be quite popular.

I recommend you consider adding in all your lineups at least one Siren Song deck. To not be too redundant, I brought three lists of the most popular and strongest described archetypes, aside from Siren Song decks.

That being said, let's go straight to the lineups.

Most Popular Lineup

Annie Jhin - This is the most popular list, apart from Siren Song decks, particularly among Brazilian players who are Aggro-inclined. This deck has good matchups against Siren Song lists, and can beat most meta decks.

Usually, this deck is the target of bans in tournaments as it is an extremely frustrating list to play against. Annie Jhin can win matchups which statistically it shouldn't, and in incredibly fast ways.

Not to mention this list abuses stun mechanics, while it develops units to attack, which is a very safe strategy against Midrange decks, which can appear as an Anti-meta strategy.

Karma Sett - The Karma list is currently one of the safest choices in the competitive scene, as it is the only list which, in theory, has an answer to any strategy meta lists can come up with. The Targon version of the deck is possibly the best, in case your goal is to build a lineup which automatically wins against Siren Song decks, due to the heals and silences. But the Piltover&Zaun version is more consistent against other meta decks which play numerous small units and other Midrange lists.

The list remains strong after months, and Riot hasn't stopped bringing new resources for the deck; as a result, it is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most "resolved" archetype in the game, and the most optimized. Though it is a very hard list to play, it will show up a lot, as it is settled into the players' competitive culture.

Fizz Siren Song - This is the strongest deck in the meta, and the most popular. This list is incredibly strong at all moments of the game, and has several plays which are incredibly hard to answer. Not to mention, it can easily find resources to come back into the game in adverse situations, and has highroll plays, which, as I've discussed previously, are hard to answer, such as, for instance, Spellshield on a Fizz.

Most Popular Aggressive Lineup

Annie Jhin - This deck has come up in the list already. But, to stress even further the strength of this list, I brought it once more in the aggressive lineup, just because I can't see any other decks that can go into that sort of lineup without it being Annie Jhin.

Samira Jinx Discard - This deck is surprisingly strong. The Discard archetype has had its highs and lows throughout the months, but it never had much space in the meta in the way that it deserves. Now, with many Siren Song lists showing up, the Discard lists have started coming back into the game, as they are a great answer to the slow plays in early game that the Song archetype has.

At the moment the Siren Song deck spends 4 mana gems to play Song, the Discard deck can easily prepare a board which can deal massive damage, many times dealing over 10 points of damage against the enemy Nexus.

Scouts - Miss Fortune's and Quinn's deck is gaining momentum for the same reason as the Discard lists: it is an archetype which can punish slow plays made by your opponent severely. You can easily build very extensive boards without spending many resources, not to mention, the entire time, the card Champions' Strength is an imminent threat which can win games on the spot.

Scouts are gaining popularity in the ranked queue and can be a very safe option as it is a deck that is behaving in an emergent way in the meta. Though it is an arguably very hard list to play, it is a deck that finishes games in a very fast way, and that can be pleasant to play in long tournaments as well.

Most Popular Control Lineup

Swain Illaoi - Swain's archetype is one of the oldest in the game, and it went through several changes throughout the years until it finally stabilized with Illaoi. This list is in a favorable moment as it has a win rate which orbits 50% against most of the meta decks. This Noxus Control archetype is quite popular among players in the American server, and, as a result, can show up quite a lot.

Though it is a deck that finishes games with very slow and expensive units, due to the removal package of this list being incredibly consistent against meta decks, Swain will hardly find any difficulties reaching late game. For that reason, bringing this deck in your Control lineup is a very safe option in case your focus is on playing in a reactive way.

Jhin Bandle City - Finally, Jhin found his place under the sun in Control decks. Though this list is quite new, the archetype isn't. Many competitive players have flirted a lot with the idea of a Control Jhin list ever since the champion was released, but they were never successful, and, only after Condense went in the list, the deck became viable.

I still think that this archetype, though strong, isn't completely optimized; as a result, if you want to bring a Jhin Bandle City list in your lineup, consider giving it a bit more attention when it's time to build the list.

Karma Sett Targon - In case your goal is to go with three Control decks, you should bring the Targon version of Karma's list. It is the version which can answer Siren Song lists the best, and has great matchups against all other Control decks in the meta.

The only problem with this deck are the lists which can fill the board very quickly, as the removal resources in it are very scarce, and all spells which deal with that sort of threat better are in the Piltover&Zaun version. Some matchups against Midrange decks average around 50% win rate as well, and can be a source of insecurity for the deck, because, as we've discussed, the deck's removal resources, though strong, are very expensive and limited.

Anti-Meta Lineup

Heimerdinger Jayce - This was the most popular and strongest list before rotation, but, throughout the months, it went down in popularity quite harshly. The list is still quite strong and answers the meta well, as it is a deck that has a wide variety of win conditions. This way, the list can be played in many different ways, and, even though it is a bit hard to pilot, the deck always finds a way to turn the game around.

That being said, Heimerdinger Jayce orbits the 50% win rate against most meta decks, and, even after a long time, continues to be a very safe choice to bring to big tournaments.

Jax Ornn - This deck was an archetype which wasn't affected by rotation, and recently got support cards which work really well in the list. Time goes on, and this deck continues to be the best beatdown Midrange of all, as the interactions with equipment and frostbites are still very consistent.

Jax Ornn continues to have a very high win rate in tournaments and also in the ranked queue, as few lists can deal with the first few turns of this deck. Not to mention, even though a list can remove the early game units from Jax's deck, the equipment is easily recycled and guarantees the player safety in developments throughout the match, causing this deck to never run out of gas even with but a few cards in hand.

Vayne Aatrox - This deck is sensational. But it is a very hard list to pilot. The reason why Vayne shows up in this lineup is the matchups against Siren Song lists, as one of the weaknesses in that archetype are the Challenger units which the Vayne list has.

Another big factor is the consistency that this deck has when dealing with small threats, and carrying an unstoppable game plan after the first few turns. If your opponent can't remove your key-units which can be summoned very early on, the game can practically end at any second. As a result, many players who are more experienced can abuse the meta interactions which the Aatrox list has.

Currently, healing is very relevant in the game, and Aatrox does that masterfully.

Adventurous Lineup

These lineups are made with decks which can perform well in tournaments or the ranked queue, even though they're quite unknown lists. These decks are recommended to those players who prefer fun with decks which aren't necessarily the best options, but can still grab a few wins as they are well-positioned in the meta.

Ekko Jinx - This deck is perhaps the hardest deck to pilot in the game, but it can only lose to itself. If you're good at it, and play perfectly, this list can take you far. It's not for nothing that many high-level competitive players usually pick this deck to close out their lineups.

I dare say Ekko Jinx just isn't more popular because it brings an unnecessary complexity to your lineup. But, if you're on a good day, and you like a challenge, this might be a good choice for you.

Teemo Caitlyn Shrooms - This list wins all matchups against Control decks, and, due to the rising popularity of Karma Sett in the meta, the Shroom list started growing in popularity as well, and its win rate went with it.

Possibly, Control lists which are strong against Siren Song will be well-represented in the Open, and that's why Shrooms can be an option to guarantee some victories against those decks.

Demacia Siren Song - Siren Song decks in general are all very strong, but the Demacia version is the deck in this archetype which plays most differently. This is the only Song list which can attack more than once during a turn, and that can be extremely decisive in certain matchups.

Lucian comes in as the deck's main finisher instead of Xolaani, and can surprise players once this champion easily levels up in this deck. It can also, straight away, build situations in which his Double Attack closes out matches on the spot. In case a keyword like Overwhelm, Elusive, or even Fearsome, is granted to Lucian, many times this champion can win the game by himself as it hits twice and there's not much to do about it.

If you've read this far, now you know everything about the meta for July 15th's Runeterra Open, and you also know the most probable lists you'll face.

Don't forget to comment and share this article on social media. See you next time!