LoR: 10 Decks to Play Post Patch 5.1

Patch 5.1 is being considered one of the best patches we've ever had in terms of balancing, according to the community. Several new lists and entirely new ways to build archetypes are popping up incredibly fast.

I picked out 10 lists I played on the first day of the patch so you can have fun now that the Elder Dragon and Morgana were nerfed.

We're all tired of seeing these two champions in the ranked queue, so check out new ideas that can become quite popular in the next few days.

Now that they changed Buried Sun Disc, we no longer need to play only Shurima cards in our deck because this landmark now counts down while off the board. This means the landmark doesn't need to see the champions levelling up to count down.

This created several ways to build this deck, and one of them transforms the Buried Sun Disc archetype into a Warden of the Tribes deck.

This list also has Azir Renekton and Nasus, but it has significantly more early game choices because it abuses the Freljord package that buffs your other units, such as:

Ascended champions also have types that work with Warden of the Tribes, and, like so, your game rhythm will be very similar to the usual Mono Shurima list, but with better cards.

The Emperor's deck isn't incredibly strong, and will be more of an alternative win condition for you in case everything goes wrong. Ascended champions are absurdly popular, and Riot has been buffing them for a while - maybe the next set of cards will bring more of them to the game.

With the same idea as the Freljord Buried Sun Disc list, we have the Demacia version, which is also a version adapted from the original Sun Disc list.

However, instead of combining this archetype with Warden of the Tribes, this version brings elements from Demacia's Elite lists, but with Ascended champions.

This version focuses on highlighting Renekton, considering it will give him Challenger with Confront and make his attacks easier with General of the Dunes.

Just like the Freljord version, this list isn't entirely dependent on the Emperor's deck, which will also serve as an alternative win condition in case everything goes wrong.

Now that Shurima has Elite cards too, it makes a lot of sense to mix these two regions to make this archetype work, even more so if Ascended champions support this game style.

Nami was finally buffed after she went a long time without seeing any play after her rework, which failed. Besides this, Master Yi was also readjusted in a way that reinforced his identity as a bench unit.

Therefore, these two can finally be an unstoppable duo, considering their game styles really match.

Master Yi discounts the cost of your spells, while Nami grows the power of your units on the board.

The main cards in this list, besides its champions, are:

These three units will be your main engines to end the game. Vikrash will guarantee you'll always have cards in hand because of the Slipstream he creates in your deck. As for Fleet Admiral Shelly, it will be the unit that will end the game for you, considering it enables combos with the spells you have in hand and provides lots of attack power to your entire board.

This deck only needed a little push to see play again, and certainly the changes made to both these champions will really boost this archetype in the next few days.

This list is practically the same as the Nami Master Yi list, but it's for those players who prefer an aggressive strategy.

These two decks have a similar style because they focus on Elusive units and the combo with Fleet Admiral Shelly, but Samira, unlike Master Yi, is a proactive champion, which pushes you to trade in the early game.

So, this version focuses on dominating your opponent with Samira while you combo with your spells, rather than focusing on eventually winning the game with Elusives and spells that cost 0 mana, as the Master Yi version does.

Particularly, I consider this version to be way more fun because it is a bit harder to pilot, and like so your victories always taste a bit better. An extremely fun card in this list is Swindle, which can win you countless games if you know how to steal your opponent's best cards.

This deck really reminds me of the Akshan Samira archetype, in which your game plan is to always protect your champions, at any cost, and transform them into your main win condition.

In this list, Master Yi is not just a bench unit, but rather an aggressor, considering we'll buff him several times until we level him up so we can abuse his burst-speed strike when attacking.

You're a bit dependent on Akshan in your initial hand because his landmark will be your main source for cards, which will allow you to combo every turn.

If you have Akshan early on, the game will almost always be won because this list has an answer to almost anything your opponent wants to play.

We can increase our units' stats, deny spells, and even Capture enemy units with Blimp-Pack Poacher, which was buffed.

Mistfall will help you get the Swinging Glaive consistently, which is this deck's main card, apart from your champions. This weapon really speeds up your landmark's countdowns, and helps you grant keywords like Challenger, Spellshield, and others to your champions.

If you're tired of not drawing Akshan in your initial hand when you play with the list above, maybe this version is better.

Udyr was buffed with +1 health, which is quite relevant, and, as he really matches Akshan, we revived this list for the ranked queue.

This deck is practically the same as Master Yi Akshan, but with better units in the early game, and Freljord's defensive spells - which are incredibly strong in this meta.

We don't really depend that much on Akshan because your board will have useful units with enough health to protect our Nexus during the early game, at least until we draw our champions.

This deck has Heedless Resurrection so you can revive your champions because, unlike the Ionia version, this list isn't that well-prepared against direct removals because it doesn't have that many direct counters.

Kai'Sa got a buff that can really revive and breathe some new life into her. The Evelynn Kai'Sa archetype is one of the few archetypes that can now fully take advantage of Hate Spike, which is one of the best spells in the game.

This, added to the Elder Dragon nerfs, can give this list enough space and even enable its return back to the ranked queue after so long.

We even bring copies of "Ahri at home", Airis, considering there won't be as many Hate Spikes in our opponent's lists now that it has been nerfed.

The few matches I played with this deck already made me realize the Morgana and the Elder Dragon nerfs were the greatest factors that prevented this list from being successful in the ranked queue. Now that these decks have become less popular, you can play with Kai'Sa and Evelynn without as many problems.

Another list that can return to the ranked queue because of the Morgana and the Elder Dragon nerfs is Diana Leona. This deck is the peak Midrange deck that only plays units with strong effects on the board and have a lot of synergy with one another. It is almost like an upgraded version of Elites.

This strategy is extremely fun because your finishers are incredibly iconic cards: The Winding Light and Herald of Celestial Convergence. Even though this deck is extremely fun, there's still something missing that can make it excellent because, out of all decks in this list, this one might be the weakest.

The greatest issue with this list is that it's missing tools that draw cards, which will force you to always mulligan perfectly. But, even then, it is still a list that can easily win ranked matches after patch 5.1.

This list is the new Plunder version that is rising in popularity. Miss Fortune really complements this archetype, and activates Plunder like it's nothing.

Samira isn't a protagonist in this list because she barely even levels up most of the time. Actually, she is just a card that will create a Flair in your hand, which is the best Plunder activator in the game.

The stars in this list are Dashing Dandy with Adroit Artificer, which together can grant more than 10 power to Dashing Dandy and transform it into our main source of damage.

All of this, added to Samira's Plunder package, which makes your early game extremely solid and fast, will win us matches just as fast.

This list really reminds me of the old Pirates lists that had Miss Fortune, but, unlike those lists, Samira Plunder doesn't close out matches with Burn elements. You're a bit more dependent on your units to finish matches.

To close out this list with the icing on the cake, I bring you the most competitive and current version of the Noxus Overwhelm archetype with Freljord: Mono Darius.

This list doesn't have Dashing Dandy, but it does have Dame the Despoiler. After we tested Plunder cards during the first day of the patch, we realized that Dame the Despoiler really matches this archetype, unlike Dashing Dandy, which seems a bit too slow for this list.

Like so, this deck plays just like the competitive Overwhelm list we're all used to, but with Dame the Despoiler to grant your units on the board even more power.

If you read this far, thank you! Recently, we had sad news for LoR and its community, and we're all going through a tough time. It has been difficult to write about the game itself as a result. But it is my duty as one of the game's content creators to keep giving you my best every day, and always try to be hopeful and create a pleasant environment.

So, I thank everyone who is still interested in Runeterra. These hard times will pass.

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