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Weekend Warrior Weapons, June 10

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Weekend Warrior Weapons, June 10

Best Builds for Nineteen Meta and Off-Meta Blends

Herko Kerghans
Jun 10, 2022
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Weekend Warrior Weapons, June 10

riwan.substack.com
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Welcome, my friend! Glad to see you again!

And as glad as you shall be, I am certain, to see how open and balanced our Meta remains. And yet, new faces keep showing up among the Cream of the Crop.zerp

Please, step inside, and let me parade our wares – brews and blends furnished by formidable formulistas Balco, Legna and Seth, along with prominent pilot's takes overhead at the Blue Bird Inn, and those that we've collected ourselves.


A Glimpse to our Most Balanced Meta

As far as numbers go, my friend, this has been thus far one of the most balanced metas in recent memory:

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Source: Balco

While two decks have a bit of a lead, none surpasses the 55% WR mark – and none did so last week, either – which is unprecedented in recent patches.


Cream of the Crop

The best of the best – Meta Staples that perform above 54% WR then Platinum and upper ranks are considered.

If you are after confidence and performances, these are as good as it gets.


Elise Viego

The threesome having proven fun but ultimately not as powerful, the Shirtless King has crowned Elise as her Queen for the meta throne.

It's no secret that Legion Deserter is the real champion here, though!

We shall recommend the second most popular list for this archetype, which fairs even better than the most popular in the last three days.

Strong Against: Thralls, Annie Jhin, Galio Bard, Deep

Struggles Against: Fizz Riven, Heimer Jayce Shadows, Vi Zoe Aphelios

Link to full decklist [HERE]

Those faithful to Katarina may try this version, but while a potent brew, it does fare worse than the Elise Viego variant.


Heimerdinger Jayce Shadows

Professor and Student keep their slow, steady climb to the top, only a few decimals away from Elise Viego… and being the superior choice should they face each other.

The only hurdle for this blend seems to be Thralls, against which it suffers horribly.

Strong Against: Annie Jhin, Viego Noxus, Galio Bard, Ezreal Annie, Vi Zoe Aphelios

Struggles Against: Thralls, Fizz Riven, Yuumi Pantheon

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Other Strong Meta Staples

Other extremely solid choices, all above the 53% WR in Platinum and upper rungs of the ladder.


Fizz Riven

Like Heimer Jayce, another medley we have seen growing from fringe to staple to, now, one of the most serious challengers to the Meta throne, being favored against the two strongest decks, anda against Thralls too.

Strong Against: Thralls, Viego Noxus, Lurkers, Sun Disc, Deep.

Struggles Against: Poppy Bard and Yuumi Pantheon (quite badly), Ezreal Caitlyn and Jhinnie (slightly)

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Vi Zoe Aphelios

The pile has made it!

A medley we missed last week when crafting our selection – and included later thanks to infighter's attentive recommendation – Vi Zoe Aphelios has proven to be the real-deal. Yet another blend whose performance is marred by a horrible Thralls matchup, but fairly solid against most else.

The recommended list, by far the most popular, performs above 54% – the archetype's average performance is dragged down by several much less popular, low-performing lists, probably due to pilots experimenting with the shiny new toy.

Strong Against: Viego Noxus, Jhinnie, Lurkers, Deep

Struggles Against: Thralls, Galio Bard, Heimerdinger Jayce, Ezreal Caitlyn

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Aphelios Viktor

It has to be said that Aphelios fans have seen their patience and faith paid in spades by recent patches – there seems to be no shortage of options for them in every meta.

Shares quite a few similarities with Zoe Vi Aphelios, but these are certainly different blends –  in particular, Aphelios Viktor is slightly favored into Thralls.

Strong Against: Thralls (slight edge), Jhinnie, Viego Elise, Sun Disc, 

Struggles Against: Heimerdinger Jayce (horribly!), Viego Katarina Elise, Galio Bard

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Other Meta Considerations

These are the best formulas available for other popular Meta choices (the deck's name shall provide a link to the full list):

Thralls: the most popular formulas have lost potency, but our recommendations punches above 55% across more than a thousand games.

Galio Bard: a very solid choice, the most popular formula sitting at 53% WR. 

Taric Poppy: the most popular formula actually performs badly – but our recommended blend, the second most popular, reaches 54% across nearly 500 games. 

Annie Jhin: this champion pair remains one of the most popular, and now for good reason – pilots have learned to play the best lists, and our recommended formula – overwhelmingly the most popular – sits at 53% WR.

Zed Bard: like with Jhinnie, pilots have learned to choose the stronger lists. Not the most powerful of archetypes in the current meta, but a solid 52%+ WR.


The Connoisseur's Corner

Our selection for those that dislike mirror matches – well-tested (at least two hundred games in the last few days) but little-seen formulas.


Lux Jayce

For reasons that I'll leave to others to puzzle, this champion pair – which seemed about to take the Meta Throne last week – has now dropped to fringe-meta play rates.

Its potency remains unchallenged, and has even increased due to its diminished popularity. Why pilots have abandoned it, though, remains a mystery – perhaps its hard time against the two most popular decks make pilots remiss to bring to ladder this blend.

Strong Against: Jhinnie

Struggles Against: Thralls, Viego Noxus

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Jayce Sentinels

A well-known blend that has taken a bit of a backseat in the current meta, but still packs quite a punch.

A bit of a polarizing archetype – good matchups are great, bad matchups are horrible.

Strong Against: Murders Annie Jhin and Annie Ezreal, strong into Viego Noxus and Vi Zoe Aphelios

Struggles Against: Dies horribly to Thralls, Galio Bard, Deep, Sun Disc 

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Riven Viktor Ambush

Another tried-and-true archetype that will not be unknown to frequent visitors of this section – and with scarily high performance in the last few days.

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Trundle Viktor Timelines

Yes, this is a thing, my friend – punching above 54% WR, too.

And it seems to be gaining popularity, given the number of games in the last few days, and experimentations (not too successful thus far) to add Gnar to the mix.

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


A Walk on the Wild Side…

Tired of tried and true? Look no further: high performance, little-tested blends to jump into uncharted waters.


Ziggs Annie

Some Champs just want to watch the world burn!

A take on Shurima Noxus aggro, which had a bit of the spotlight during the Dark Age of Azirelia.

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Vi Riven

An interesting mixture of Burn, Overwhelm and Elusives, with the possibility of single-unit Rally via Ruined Reckoner.

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Ahri Bard

As Zed Bard proved, Chimes and Elusives are not a bad idea – this blend takes the concept along with Ahri's package.

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Lux Aphelios

As mentioned previously, Aphelios fans find no shortage of options these days – scary winrate across a not so small sample, 

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Bard Twisted Fate

A fairly exotic concept –  what we'd normally call "a Pile" – but with numbers to back it up.

Interestingly, a perhaps more reasonable approach (with Zap Sprayfin, Wiggly Burblefish and a lot of card draw, to buff Elusives) does horrible; there seems to be something in the below pile that just works.

Link to full decklist [HERE]  


Very well, my friend…

… I truly hope you find our selection today to your liking and delight!

Any questions or comments, or more data you may need, feel free to:

Poke me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HerkoKerghans,

Or ping me on Discord: https://discord.gg/VNN5NmGhXY,

And good luck in your climb!



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Weekend Warrior Weapons, June 10

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