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Best decks in Legends of Runeterra
These strongest decks will give you the best chance to get ahead in Riot's new card game.
Legends of Runeterra may still be in its beta phase but that hasn’t stopped a clear meta from evolving during the game’s preview patch. In fact, many players are utilising the game’s strongest decks when diving into competitive multiplayer matches. Just like most online collectible card games, Legends of Runeterra has a few standout decks that are dominating the competition.
Currently, there are only six major regions from League of Legends to choose from and 24 champion cards, but this number will likely increase as Riot pulls more champions and card archetypes over from its ever-popular MOBA. To help you get ready for the next patch, we’ve put together a list of the best Legends of Runeterra decks that will increase your win rate. These decks are currently some of the strongest in the game, so make sure you prioritise building any of these if you’re looking to beat the competition.
Anivia and Tryndamere weather control
Anivia and Tryndamere weather deck is one of the best in the game
© Riot Games
Champions
Followers
Spells
Anivia x3
Avarosan Sentry x3
Vile Feast x3
Tryndamere x3
Wyrding Stones x3
Avalanche x3
Avarosan Hearthguard x3
Catalyst of Aeons x3
She Who Wanders x3
Withering Wail x2
Grasp of the Undying x3
Vengeance x3
The Ruination x3
Warmother's Call x2
The Freljord is a cold place and its sub-zero conditions can quickly put an end to even the hardiest of enemies. It’s this harsh environment that has forged some of the League's strongest champions, so it makes sense that this Anivia and Tryndamere weather deck would be one of the best in the game. If you like the idea of wiping your enemy units off the battlefield with insane amounts of board clear and icy destruction, then this deck will do just that. In order to make the most of this deck’s highly damaging spells, you’ll need to keep an eye on your mana and ensure you have both Wyrding Stones and Catalyst of Aeons to help generate the mana gems needed to keep up your icy assault. After all, cards like Avalanche, The Ruination and She Who Wanders damage all units on the board, making it incredibly oppressive when played against any decks that rely on swarming the battlefield with hordes of units.
Damaging your own followers may seem like a counterintuitive play, but both Anivia and Tryndamere have a unique ability that allows them to revive whenever they take lethal damage – in fact, both these champions come back stronger than ever before when they fall in combat. Anivia may not be able to block any damage, but her levelled up form allows her to deal two damage to all enemy units, while Tryndamere’s overwhelm ability allows him to deal excess unit damage to the enemy Nexus. Having two incredibly strong units that can continuously revive is absolutely massive, especially when you combine it with cards that allow you to damage both yourself and any enemy units. Late-game plays revolve around dealing huge amounts of damage with the Ruination and gaining access to multiple Tryndamere’s with Warmother’s Call. Freeze your opponents’ and stop them dead in their tracks with Freljord’s finest duo.
Shield Fiora
Protecting Fiora is one of the most popular strategies
© Riot Games
Champions
Followers
Spells
Fiora x3
Greenglade Caretaker x3
Ki Guardian x3
Shen x3
Fleetfeather Tracker x3
Single Combat x3
Brightsteel Protector x3
Prismatic Barrier x3
Rivershaper x3
Riposte x3
Laurent Chevalier x3
Spirit's Refuge x3
Yusari x3
Judgement x1
Protecting Fiora at all costs is your main objective when using this deck and failure to do so will often result in a disappointing loss. Fortunately, keeping the Grand Duelist alive is easy thanks to the numerous shield-based cards that make up this deadly deck. Unlike other champions in Legends of Runeterra, Fiora has her own unique win condition which is unlocked when she has successfully killed two enemies. After levelling up, Fiora will gain a +1 to both her strength and defence, while also obtaining a new objective that allows her to win the game after killing four enemy champions. Securing kills with the Grand Duelist is surprisingly easy thanks to Fiora’s challenger ability which forces a chosen enemy into blocking an attack, allowing you to pick off weaker units and any low health champion cards.
Before you go sending Fiora directly into the fray of battle, you’ll want to ensure you’re constantly utilizing the shields from Shen, Ki Guardian, Prismatic Barrier, Brightsteel Protector, Riposte, and Spirit’s Refuge as these cards will block all damage done to Fiora for one turn. If you draw a bad hand and have no barrier cards to utilise, then simply poke your foe’s units down with Fleetfeather Tracker and Laurent Chevalier. When any enemy cards are low it’s time to throw down Fiora for a jolly duel. While you can win by slowly finding favourable 1v1 fights with Fiora’s challenger ability, we suggest using Judgement to allow Fiora to attack all battling enemies. This card can single handedly win you late-game fights and often results in Fiora sweeping the board of enemy units, so try to save this card combo when there are multiple low health units on the board.
Jinx and Draven aggro
Jinx gives you the ability to draw one card at the start of the round
© Riot Games
Champions
Followers
Spells
Draven x3
Draven's Biggest Fan x3
Rummage x3
Jinx x3
Zaunite Urchin x3
Jury-Rig x3
Academy Prodigy x3
Mystic Shot x3
Sump Dredger x3
Vision x3
Flame Chompers x3
Get Excited! x3
Augmented Experimenter x3
Whirling Death x1
This deck is all about unleashing Draven’s Spinning Axe onto your own units, effectively discarding them from your hand. Once you have access to Draven try to delete all your Sump Dredger and Zaunite Urchin cards with Spinning Axe, as this will rid your deck of low-level units and give you more opportunities to draw into your strongest cards. Not only does Draven’s Spinning Axe help filter out your hand, it also allows you to give an ally a +1 for the duration of the round. This gives you an absurd amount of damage in the late-game and is especially potent when you have multiple Spinning Axe’s wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Cards like Draven’s Biggest Fan, Augmented Experimenter and Rummage make finding the Glorious Executioner easy and you’ll invariably be able to draw into multiple copies.
To make things even better, Jinx gives you the ability to draw one card at the start of the round and the first time you empty your hand each round, she’ll create a Fleeting Super Mega Death Rocket! in hand. As the game goes on your opponent will begin to run out of cards and you’ll be constantly generating tempo with the constant buffs from Draven and Nexus damage from Super Mega Death Rocket. This deck certainly isn’t lacking in the damage department, so make sure you take Draven’s Spinning Axe for a spin if you truly wish to obliterate the competition.
Explosive Teemo Shrooms
Teemo is just as annoying in the Legends of Runeterra as he is in LoL
© Riot Games
Champions
Followers
Spells
Teemo x3
Puffcap Peddler x3
Mushroom Cloud x3
Clump of Whumps x3
Rummage x3
Chump Whump x3
Rush x2
Shady Character x3
Deny x3
Shadow Assassin x3
Ki Guardian x3
Astute Academic x3
Thermogenic Beam x3
Dawn and Dusk x2
There are a few versions of this deck floating around at the moment and while players have paired Riot’s devilish Yordle with other champions, we think this deck is the most fun when Teemo is the main star. The Swift Scout is just as annoying in the Legends of Runeterra as he is in League of Legends, giving players the tools they need to lay down noxious traps that have the potential to deal damage every time your opponent tries to draw a card. Whenever Teemo hits the enemy Nexus he plants five Poison Puffcaps into his enemy’s hand, this ability is doubled when Teemo is levelled up. Filling your opponent’s hand with poisonous mushrooms is this deck’s main win condition and while Teemo excels at this, he has a few allies who make this process even easier. To ensure you’re mushroom harvest is bountiful, you’ll first need to rush out any Puffcap Peddler cards onto the field. These helpful peddlers allow you to plant three additional Puffcaps for every spell you cast.
Each Puffcap Peddler will allow you to plant eight mushrooms for every Mushroom Cloud card you play, so you’ll get huge amounts of value if you have all three peddlers out on the field before using any spells. Shady Character will also allow you to pick a follower and copy it, giving you even more opportunities to bombard your foe with an obnoxious amount of shrooms. Teemo will also naturally level-up when you’ve successfully planted 15 Poison Puffcaps, so you should be able to easily empower each Teemo card in your deck.
Make sure you use the Swift Scout’s Elusive ability (can only be blocked by an Elusive unit) as you’ll invariably be able to get some free Nexus hits in during your attacking phase. This deck is all about stalling to the late-game when your opponent’s hand is filled with shrooms, so try stalling out the early-game with Clump of Whumps, Chump Whump, Astute Academic, and Shadow Assassin. Teemo’s nightmarish deck may not be the strongest on the list, but boy is it fun to play!
Ephemeral Hecarim and Zed
Zed and Hecarim have good synergy in Legends of Runeterra
© Riot Games
Champions
Followers
Spells
Hecarim x3
Sparring Student x2
Mark of the Isles x2
Zed x3
Shadow Fiend x3
Haunted Relic x3
Soul Shepherd x3
Black Spear x3
Greenglade Duo x3
Death Mark x2
Shark Chariot x3
Onslaught of Shadows x3
Silent Shadowseer x3
Dawn of Dusk x1
Iron Harbinger x3
These two champions have fantastic synergy with one another thanks to their Ephemeral ability which allows them to create spectral units when attacking. Zed summons a Living Shadow with the exact same stats as himself, while Hecarim conjures up two Spectral Riders. These Ephemeral units die after striking an enemy or when the round ends. While these units may only last one turn, they can deal huge amounts of damage when combined with cards that allow you to bolster their damage. For example, Soul Shepherd grants a +1 / +1 whenever an Ephemeral unit is summoned, while Sparring Student, Greenglade Duo and Iron Harbinger all receive increased stats. To make matters even better, Shark Chariot is revived and attacks when any spectral units are summoned, allowing you to dish out even more damage every time an Ephemeral unit attacks.
This deck is all about rushing hordes of spectral units onto the board and buffing them with your follower and spell cards. It’s incredibly important to understand that this deck relies heavily on keeping both Hecarim and Zed alive as all your cards benefit from their ghostly summons, but even if these units do fall in battle, spells like Haunted Relic, Onslaught of Shadows and Dawn and Dusk will help keep you in the battle. If the idea of summoning and buffing a spectral army to do your bidding sounds interesting, then make sure to add this deck to your card collection.
