LoR: What the Best Players are Bringing to the Ranked Queue

The next patch is just around the corner! If you aren't in Masters yet, why not test out some new decks?

Currently, the meta is very stiff, and hasn't been 100% resolved yet, as there aren't many active players in Masters. Apparently, this last rotation took out some key champions from Standard, and that has impacted the number of games played.

So, I decided to bring you a few lists that the top-ranked players in Masters have been playing. I hope they help you understand how the LoR meta is right now.

(This data was collected on August 3rd, 2024. These players' league points, as well as their decks, might vary depending on when you are reading this article.)

Smiley is currently the top-ranked player in Masters in the American server, and their most played deck right now is a Nightfall list.

Now that Nocturne is back in Standard, as well as Diana, we can finally play this archetype again. This list is quite powerful and consistent currently because it got some new cards that complemented its game style.

We're talking about Chained Caster, which is a 0-mana follower that goes on the board Cursed with Shackles, a card you can use later on as a Nightfall activator.

Historically, Nightfall decks had always struggled with "bricked hands", and, occasionally, you'd have no cards in hand to activate Nightfall and start your combo. Now, with Chained Caster, you'll always have an activator in your hand, and, besides starting your combos, that card will also free your Chained Caster and make him ready for combat.

Another highlight is Heavens Aligned, which is probably seeing competitive play for the first time in its life. This spell is a Nightfall activator, but its Daybreak effect, which creates a random Nightfall card in your hand, is incredibly strong. Heavens Aligned will give you constant value, and, on top of it all, it is perhaps the best Nightfall activator in this entire list because it's a 1-mana burst spell.

CKG WeavingPoem is the second-best player in Masters right now, and has been playing a Taliyah Zilean combo list.

This seems to be the new trendy deck if we disregard Vex archetypes. Furthermore, it is very consistent and difficult to play against. Ionia is popular right now because it is one of the few regions that has answers for every meta deck, be that deny spells, Stuns, heals, card draw, and/or removals (Recalls).

You'll find all of that in this Taliyah list, as well as an extremely strong combo with her that is its main win condition. The main idea behind this list is to somehow summon two Taliyah on the board at the same time by Sleeping her and playing an Empire Reconstructor on the Drowsy Dewdrop with Taliyah.

Despite being a relatively expensive combo, you can do it in just two different turns because the meta is a bit slower. This deck is also great at protecting units, as it includes cards like Tag Out! and Unworthy Soul.

Lastly, it also plays The Heart of the Tree, which is an alternative win condition. It gives you a random endgame card and discounts its cost by half.

Currently, Arachnobat is the 3rd best Masters player, and the deck they've been playing is a modern version of the Piltover & Zaun Transform archetype with Chief Nakotak and Elusives. It also includes the Bandle City disruption package (which we're still trying to name).

This list was considered a tier-2 list at the end of the last rotation, and was very popular in the APAC server. On the American server, however, it was played only for a week or two, as there were too many decks around that interacted with the enemy board.

The main combo is simple: play Chief Nakotak on curve and then play Malmutation on it, creating several Nakotak on the board with lots of stats and Impact.

This combo is extremely powerful if your opponent doesn't answer it, and practically wins you the game on the spot most times. As current lists don't typically answer this type of play, this game style naturally is standing out a bit more than last season.

Besides the combo itself, the list includes some Bandle City disruption, and a few combo tools that interact nicely with Elusives. Scavenged Camocloaker, for instance, is great on your Viktor to surprise your opponent with an Elusive attacker full of other keywords.

A highlight in this list is Mechanized Mimic, which has never been popular, but now entered the meta. The power level in this season is finally low enough we can play her.

Ichiran Ramen, known for their crazy lists, is currently the 5th best Masters player, and has been playing a modern version of Sett Vex.

Despite looking like a control list, this list plays more like an extremely slow midrange. That is because, unlike the Karma version, it doesn't play the crazy combo with Coins, and thus doesn't create infinite value with them.

Instead, this deck uses removals and Vex's powerful Shadow Isles units to drain enemy resources, all while putting pressure on the board.

It also includes some unconventional finishers (for this meta at least - Ichiran Ramen's personal touch): Beguiling Cobra and Necrotic Arachnoid, just 1 copy of each.

These cards will help you keep some value on the board at the end of the match, and they're great to stall the game if you're losing. This removal game style always leads to slower games, in which both you and your opponent typically play all the cards in your hands and lose all the cards on the board. So, having these finishers is always a good call: you can either summon more blockers with Necrotic Arachnoid or create a giant follower with Beguiling Cobra.

ABG Drezbo is currently the 15th best Master player, and we choose them for our list because this is their famous "Drezbo" pile, a list which, apparently, is incredibly powerful in this meta.

This is a Viktor Vi Ionia list with Sunken Temple.

It is a type of "good cards" list (the name we give to decks that just bring the best cards in the meta, even if they're not necessarily good together) with Ionia and Piltover & Zaun.

As we mentioned before, Ionia is popular because it is the only region that can stop any deck in the meta right now. However, Drezbo had a slightly different idea, and brought us a list that takes advantage of the free stats Vi and Viktor gain with cards like Dragon's Rage and Spirit's Refuge.

This way, you can both heal your Nexus to full or win the game with a single strike with Dragon's Rage and a huge Vi, for instance.

The rest is just the usual support cards you find in any Ionia and Piltover & Zaun control list. I'll highlight Syncopation, which can be essential at certain points of the match, as it both saves a unit from removal and protects your champions.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun and enjoyed reading this article.

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See you next time!