LoR: Master in Standard in 3 Days - Decks Used and Meta Analysis!

I did it again; I managed to get to Masters quite fast - only three days after the new cards were released! I'll tell you a bit about the logical process I used to decide which decks I'd use, and how it was to climb to Masters in Runeterra this fast.

I'll also discuss each of these lists while I give you some super important tips on how to climb the ranked queue.

The list that stood out the most to me on day 1 was Elder Dragon with Elites. This deck started popping up roughly around 12 hours after the set was released. Obviously, I didn't only use this deck, considering I wanted to test out the new cards, and we still didn't know for sure what was strong or not. Overall, on my first day I used almost 7 different lists, which we'll discuss in a bit.

The main tip for those who want to climb ranks as fast as possible is to only use aggressive lists. The issue with these lists is that sometimes your victories don't seem that meaningful because they are too fast. And you also lose fast, which might create the illusion that you were beaten very heavily. But this is normal, and anyone who is used to Aggro decks is used to these fast losses.

I peaked first with the Jinx Teemo Discard list, from Maykas, one of the first players this season to reach Masters. Maykas is known for always being the first to reach Masters every time - this time he wasn't, but he was one of the 5 first players to reach Masters.

I could easily reach Platinum 1 playing this list, but, as I'm not really used to it, nor do I like discard archetypes that much, I swapped this list for some other decks that I wanted to test out. These were the lists I used in Platinum 1:

Morgana Riven - This deck was the most popular deck on day 1, and was defeating all other decks. After losing a few matches to this deck, I decided to test it out, but I didn't like the list.

Riven Gwen - I quickly realized that Morgana isn't my play style in the least, and I swapped to this deck, which is basically the same list, only more aggressive.

Volibear Elder Dragon - This deck was the most played deck at the beginning of the first day, and practically all players had their own version of this list. My version was entirely focused on ramping mana to play Heisho, Shell of the World, because this card was broken that day.

Obviously, my version wasn't at all optimized, and, after 10 games, I only won 4, and swapped decks.

Elder Dragon Elites - This was the fastest list, which won against basically anything that was being played that day. In a few games, I managed to get to Diamond on the first day using this deck, which motivated me to use this same deck on the following day.

My goal was met: reaching Diamond on the first day of the new expansion. But I wasn't ready for what would come in the next few days.

This was the day I played the least, but had the best results. Basically, I only played Elder Dragon Elites, with a small change.

I played, in all, 10 games on day 2 alone with this list, which took me straight to Diamond 2.

Diamond 2 is the most annoying rank of all, because you face extremely focused players, who, like you, are in it to win it, so matches are really challenging. This is the moment while climbing that you need to stop netdecking and start building your own strategy to be able to win many matches in sequence while facing the best meta lists.

Another problem is that everyone will also be doing that, so Diamond 2 is where you'll find the wider variety of lists. The best strategy for this rank is to use a deck with an unusual win conditions. Considering this, I prepared a great list for day 3: Vayne Elusives.

I present to you Vayne Elusives, a deck that was popular among a few players on the APAC server, and also EMEA, but no one was using it on the Americas server. Vayne is my favorite champion in the entire game, so I was really confident with this list.

This deck's combo consists of playing your Scout units, like Ranger-Knight Defector and also Bloodcursed Harpy, and granting them Elusive.

This deck is really similar to the classic Vayne Aatrox list, but it is focused entirely on this list's aggressive features. You only attack, instead of trying to control your opponent's units with Demacia spells and Aatrox. This list helped me climb from Diamond 2, but it wasn't that successful in Diamond 1.

I started facing many Kalista Mordekaiser lists, which was the most popular deck that day. This list countered my Elusive strategy a lot, and basically all players in Diamond 1 and Masters were playing this deck.

After miserably losing to this archetype a few times, and climbing up and down from Diamond 2 to Diamond 1 several times, I decided to play a counter list, which is basically an improved version of Kalista Mordekaiser, prepared to deal with slower decks: Mordekaiser Viego.

This champion combo is extremely broken and unstoppable. If you grant Deathless to one of your champions, you'll win the match on the spot against most decks that are being played in these higher ranks.

This list's secret is using Mordekaiser's killing and reviving units effect on Viego himself, because like so this champion will go back to the board already bringing a new Encroaching Mist increasing stats. You'll quickly stabilize control over the board even against more aggressive decks, using your cheap removals and playing combos with your units' Deathless effects.

Even cards considered terrible, such as The Etherfiend, have space in this deck, just because they really match this list's play style, even though it is a very expensive unit. We finally have a Midrange archetype in Shadow Isles, and it is incredibly broken. This list took me to Masters in a few hours, with no further issues or unnecessary stress.

90% of the decks I faced in Diamond 1 were Kalista Mordekaiser lists which are heavily countered by my version, so it was a relatively fast climb.

Like so, I was one of the first 40 players to reach Masters this season, which is currently the fastest I've ever climbed to Masters since ever. Here are a few stats of the lists I used in the last 3 days:

To sum up, the perfect recipe for you to climb ranks fast will always be:

- Use aggressive, fast decks so you don't get too burnt out too quickly.

- Use lists you pilot well.

- Use decks that, even if you play badly, win matches, such as Elder Dragon Elites.

- When you reach Diamond 2, use one list of your own to surprise all other players.

- If you're having trouble climbing the last few ranks, play the direct counter to the most popular list.

- Lastly, another great factor is the period of the day you're playing. It is easier to climb during the late hours of the night, because, as there are fewer players playing, it is easier to face the same people. This increases your chances of countering a specific player in the ranked queue. Just don't be one of the countered players: swap decks after you lose three matches in a row, even more so after you've lost to the same archetype three times.

If you read this far, now you know how my journey to Masters in 3 days went.

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