LoR Ladder Update, Off-Meta Edition
Twelve Potent Off-Meta Brews to Spice Up Your Ladder Climb
All brews in this article have good to great win rates (WR) according to Balco, Legna & Seth, in Platinum and above, during the last three days – that is to say, these are as up-to-date as you can get.
Sample sizes, though – as you would expect for any off-meta brew – are small; be advised that a single highly-skilled (and/or extremely-lucky) player could explain these lists' great results.
Should Work
Sample sizes are small, but all lists here have at least 100 games under their belt, played in the last three days with the exact recommended list – as well-tested as you can get while still being a nearly-unknown brew.
TealRed's Jayce Vi
As mentioned last Sunday, this is TealRed doing TealRed things.
In the last three days [Balco], the thing TealRed is doing – a rejuvenated version of Jayce Sentinels, if you will – is punching at 53% across nearly 300 games.
And in the last 24hs [Seth], the thing TealRed is doing is the scariest thing let loose on the ladder:
If you want both "hot" and "fresh", this is it.
Dragons
An interesting cross-shard experiment, seeing play in all three servers, although mainly in Americas. Except Broadwing (because, well, Demacia) and one copy of Jarvan, every unit is indeed a Dragon, or a Dragon support card.
Punches above 53% across 260+ games.
Ahri Bard
By now a staple of these articles, which I'll stubbornly keep highlighting until folks get the message (or until Monte writes the guide for it, in a few days!).
Note that this brew is even making waves in tournaments, and was included among the lineups Sirturmund & Monte recommended last week.
Ezreal Bard
From "Nah, not that good" to wandering everywhere, Bard is proving to be the most flexible of the new champs. Here's him paired with Ezreal and the Discard package – Chompers fans rejoice!
Proceed with Care
Like the previous section, all decks where have good to great (to stupidly high) winrates at Platinum and above – sample sizes are TINY though (between 40 and 80 games), so pilots beware!!
Frozen Fate
This is…
… a brew that's impossible to describe, from the 2-1 Champion split, to using Blighted Ravine in a deck full of one-drops.
Surely the brainchild of a single mind: there's exactly one list, from the EMEA shard. Proceed with extreme caution, but numbers look sweet.
Zed Lulu Bard
Arguably a well-known archetype, but swapping two Zeds for Lulu seems to be doing wonders. Tiny sample, though, so it's perfectly possible it's just an Aspect-tier pilot pushing its performance upwards.
Lee Sin Riven
A fairly straightforward concept on the surface, with Riven providing both spells and ways to give Lee Sin Overwhelm, which is what he needs to OTK the game.
Interestingly though, this brew eschews Eyes of the Dragon, and goes for several tools of the Noxus Control package.
Ramp Aurelion Sol
A bit like with the resurgence of Dragons, Aurelion Sol seems to be enjoying this more midrange-y meta. There are a handful of different decklists, most doing moderately well, and the recommended list below gets to 54% WR in around 80 games.
Once They Were Meta Staples
Here are a few well-known archetypes that, although currently pushed to obscurity, sport solid to great WR.
Miss Fortune Quinn, aka Scouts
This stalwart pair may have been pushed to the fringes of the meta, but its performance is superb. Definitely not a new archetype, but if you want both "well-tested" and "little-played", this is the brew for you – well over 55% WR in more than 400 games.
Diana Nocturne
Nightfall was having a rough time this patch, but in the last few days it looks like it has found its footing: 55%+, across nearly 200 games with this decklist.
Lux Jayce
Weirdest story of this patch, if you ask me – why this archetype went from one of the Top Dog among the Meta Staples the second week of the patch, to being pushed to the fringes of the meta, is something that puzzles me to no end.
Yet there it is, sporting stupidly high WR week after week!
Draven Jinx
Perhaps the oldest Meta Staple of them all is making a bit of a small return – there are several slightly different lists, all performing great.
Plus: you get to play Jinx!
Trundle Gnar Timelines
The Timelines archetype got a bit of a resurgence two weeks ago, by pairing Trundle with Caitlyn – that experiment seems to not have paid off (it still sees quite a bit of play, but with below-50% WR).
Quietly, though, the original pair – Trundle Gnar – seems to be doing quite well as of late.
In Closing
Hope you've found some spice up there for you! =)
Any doubt or decklist you’re after, feel free to ask…
… poke me on Twitter (@HerkoKerghans), or stop for a chat the LoR Poetry Discord (https://discord.gg/VNN5NmGhXY).
And good luck out there! =)
