Okay after much testing and final deliberation I settled on the final version of the list. Teched as hard against aggro at burst speed as it's possible for this region to do so.
The champ rationing seems more or less optimal for movie time. Not a lot of other ways to make possitive changes. Again it's not great as a combo deck compared to atrocity decks, it's not great into aggro, but it is fun for casual play and can actually deal with a temo or something.
Honestly, run the 3 quick sands if you want. Its better into like early elusive plays, but it doesn't really help on trades because again you will never out beef your opponent playing sundisc.
As for ascendant rise, it doesn't take much time with sundisc to realize that manually leveling any ascended champ that isn't Xerath is sloooow.
Now again you saying it's a bad card but most decks don't run hard removal they simple dont, and they haven't for a long time same thing with hard deny. Like we are talking about a meta that is currently being dominated by poros lol interactivity isn't on the menu.
His is more like just good mono shurima follower stuff, and mines more turbo sundisc control.
His looks like more conventional list if you want a more straight forward play pattern.
Also as for my list you forget Xerath equals 3 more rite of arcane and we can tutor extra copies with the 4 drop. Like my big concern is like how do you beat deep, or like Freijord control or just like poros.
Like it really depends, like he thinks he can like level Azir naturally and I find post nerfs that a tall order especially because sundisc limits your board space. So give his a shot and see how many times you flip disc.
Edit: Just tried Sunny's list the opponent played Temo and I lost. So I wouldn't personally recommend a list that greedy. At least when turbo sundisc you have a miniscule chance of racing the opponent.
Plus Hearthstone understood that putting "quests" in your card game ads additional levels of strategy and playability.
Like personally I get bored of put the opponents life to 0 every game.
Like sure I can do it aggressively, I can do it with burn in a Veigar deck or I can do it with atrocity in a Viego deck but while they do feel different, they aren't thaaaaat different.
At least when compared to a Fiora otk, or a mill wincon, or the healing fountain etc.
So yeah I like when bad decks get buffed.they don't need to be meta to be playable or at least looking at as a unique building challenge.
Its like Swim with his Poros sure the deck only wins 45% of the time but he's good enough to make it work.
Edit: apparently post iceborn legacy buff poros might have gone up by 10% which is great. This is what I was saying you buff bad cards and sometimes entire new decks become viable. Like this is how you put the fun.back in the game and then eventually once that Poros deck starts being countered by not just running grindy card piles, the meta will change again.
So this is the version I settled on tripple Azir tripple Xerath feel best. One buffs your deck the other puts your opponent on a clock.
The next problem to solve is A how do we have board presence and B how do we remove stuff so the opponent doesn't steam roll us. Problem C how do we protect Champs and disc.
For A I chose count down reducers at 2, 3, and 5 mana. If they are just gonna trade anyway let them do the thing we want them to do. Plus treasure seeker, big sand boy devalues swings.
For B I chose right of the arcane and unworthy as removal options.
For C its basically soothsayer or bust.
So thats it that the deck, is it slow and kind of a meme absolutely, but youre already limiting yourself to a meme deck so might as well play the best version.
So we finally get a look at what the devs think needs to be improved from an archetype perspective.
The big winner is control...vengeance is 6 mana this one mana difference is game changing. It's actually possible to pass pass into like a Zigs kill if your hand is super heavy.
Freijord changes to anivia and and trundle again I'm like not the biggest fan of this deck but it should punish infinite value Bandle decks and Heimer, Zoe etc. So thats great. The deck also has an actual identity and unique play flavor and I'm all about that.
Kindred goes down to 4 mana and Xerath gets a point of health big buffs to the I just want you to stick to the board Champs. I have said before that in skilled hands Xerath has no skill ceiling and now that he's that much harder clear he's a real threat.
Mono shurima now gets to auto play its landmark and again 6 mana instead of 7 mana to auto level its Champs to tier 3. Hey look Riot is putting the fun back in there game...great stuff I'd like to see more of this.
Reminds me of when they buffed braum he was basically unplayable before and now he's at least a little scary as like a hard counter. I could almost see Fiora and Shen having their nerfs reverted because again we want these champs playable, for the sake of fun.
I think Riots getting that so a few more buff passes like this one and I think the game will be in a much more "unbalanced" but funner (not a real word) state.
That is true a lot of people enjoy Runetrra in a non competitive capacity. It's actually possible the game functions better in that light with their current design philosophy.
For me, I vary if the meta is good yeah I'll hard climb diamond dont have the patience to go further. If the meta feels too grindy and samey I literally just won't play till the next expansion.
So its well known that Runeterra is the most balanced card game in the genre.
It does this by sacrificing powerful archetypes with unique flavor upon the nerf cross over and over again until everything is essentially equal.
Case and point, I look and see what Graplr the only streamer still supporting the game daily is playing and its Heimer Zoe with Whiteflame?
So basically infinite value soup with zero synergy or deck flavor. I don't know about you guys but when I see that I'm just craving the days when I could get rushed down by pirate aggro, or Azir sandman, or a Zillian Ekko deck went infinite on me, or Ezreal burned me down, or Poppy built an insane board or a million other unique and interesting independent deck builds existed and were sucessful.
They were sucessful not because.they were balanced but because.they weren't, and that's the real story here, "synergy" means when I run this card with that other card they are better than than both those cards alone...without synergy you don't have decks, and you dont have a card game.
I know I've been harping on this but it seems like people are starting to agree with the whole do the regions, Champs, followers, and spells have enough flavor. The answer they did before.that flavor was nerfed out of existence.
Riot stop nerfing and start buffing seriously, we get roughly 20 nerfs to every single buff on average and it's killing the "synergy" it's killing the "decks" its killing the "fun" in your game.
Yeah like it's possible that we can just continue with a nerf only mindset that's what Riot has been doing to balance the game so far.
I find it's a little like removing the spice from all your favorite dishes until everything tastes the same but I understand my oppinion is the minority one, I more so wanted to share Bruised.by God's rant to foster healthy discussion and its working just fine.
So Bruised by God one of the best Runeterra players strictly on ladder has come out to say that he thinks the Kenin Ezreal nerf was heavy handed.
https://youtu.be/7TGeMe3REbw
I personally agree, because the only thing keeping infinite value decks in cheque aka shellfolk cycle shenanigans (as an example) was the very real threat that you would just instantly lose queuing into a combo matchup that would just burn you down to 0 even if you had 100 cards.
That threat is gone now, taking the matchup options of aggro-> midrange -> control-> combo down to essentially midrange/aggro/control soup aka I start agressive, cycle hard, play midrange threats and then transition into infinite value lategame.
You compound this lack of deck building identity with limited viable champion compositions, and I can understand his frustration and the general lack of engagement with the game from popular streamers like Swim and Mogwai.
Afterall how can you cry for a nerf and simultaneously be responsible for the dumbing down of the game by limiting the deck building variety and matchup tables, and champ compositions.
Now this is more of an overall trend in the game, a lot of interesting and viable decks have been nerfed into the ground leading into a lack of build identity. I think Shen can be pushed back on top to fight dragons, Azir Irelia can be pushed back to fight aggro, and Fizz Tf can be pushed back to counter control, and yes Ezreal Kenin can be pushed to counter value decks.
If everything is broken and unbalanced by definition nothing will be and it will lead to more dynamic and unpredictable matchups and play experiences. Just my two cents, what do you guys think?
I understand where you're coming from, winrate alone isn't a sole measure of deck performance but when you measure the performance over time it gets far more informative.
Like gangplank Sejuani for example another meta bilgewater staple is always just happy at the top of the meta, reminds me of what Shen decks used to be...I consider pirate aggro to be similar based solely on its solid performance longterm.
But when updates come in and new decks aren't outperforming these old archetypes why play them at all? Then you run into a problem where longterm players just get bored of seeing the same thing over and over,
Like you could play Kenin right now with bounce girl, there are versions of that deck that do very well and are arguable far better than Lee Sin but until that list is perfected and is crystallized into something longterm nobody is gonna play.
Then even worse potentially, without a dominant new deck to speak of, you then have nothing to build and tech against. Yes Azir Irelia might have been op (sitting at 53% right now very respectable) and TF Fizz (dead) so they needed hard nerfs and it took too long, I just think there's a happy medium.
We want to see new decks at the top if the tier list but not oppressing players to the point of frustration.
Ladder experiences are driven by heroes and Villains. You as the deck brewer have something to prove you want to beat that meta deck into the ground everyone else says is so op, but what happens when there are no villains anymore.
Lor is a fascinating case study because it is essentially the most balanced digital card game in existence to the extent that they will never need to rotate cards and only live balance changes will effect potential deck performance outcomes.
Case and point, Pirate aggro! People stopped playing this deck largely out of boredom but it still puts up numbers I'm talking 57% percent winrates currently right now making it essentially one of the best decks in the game.
But it isn't a villain and it's isn't played enough to be worth counter brewing against and very little satisfaction comes from beating it.
Lee Sin by comparison is not an amazing deck hovering between 51 and 52 percent winrate but it's play patterns are dynamic enough to stick in the mind of the looser.
You are getting beaten 100% when Lee Sin kicks you down to 0. My point is for me personally I find myself playing LOR far more when there is essentially a boss deck to beat, and far less when people can run any midrange soup and win.
Don't pressure the devs to hotfix too fast in the future, enjoy each stage of the meta as it progresses, and let things breathe a bit...otherwise it's just gonna be Bilgewater for literally the next 10 years of this games life cycle.
Combo Kenin decks are down to about 45% winrate so I'm not sure if you absolutely need to solo wincon Kenin like you usually do in a combo deck.
So I could see building a viego deck that has Kenin as a side stun control piece.
But the card choices are obviously wrong you need the 3 mana bounce landmark that also works with encroaching mists quite well.
Recall that let's you bounce Kenin and then play cameraman soldier from hand and also just general purpose control cards.
I'll build it and then post in this forum for a more playable list. This is the thing we should be encouraging players to bring us our brews instead of saying they won't work.
Kenin Viego
A Runeterra Deck created by
Nifty129. Last updated 2 years, 6 months ago
I haven't heard any community backlash to the nerfs yet, so that might be reason enough to be happy Ezreal Kenin is dead.
Or at the very least needs to be hard rebuilt into something else entirely.
But on the other hand auto queuing into gangplank senuani again like Bilegewater was just released after all this time does put a bad taste in my mouth.
Not every deck needs to be auto play board presence value soup, and I'll probably pour one off for our lost soldier little Kenny boy
Keep in mind I never played Kenin Ezreal I am simple going imperically based on stats.
The deck has gone from a commanding 55% winrate to a 45% winrate. Putting Lee back as the best Ionia deck seeing it go up 1% to 52.
Honestly I don't know if it was actually worth it, like if you enjoy midrange decks absolutely they are doing better control is also doing better.
But it hasn't shaken up the meta in the way people thought, while simultaneously killing an entire archetype just because people couldn't tech properly or play the matchup.
So on the one hand you have a new champ being murdered one week into his release, just so the other decks can go up 2% on ladder like it seems like maybe the reaction was too strong here.
But on the other hand if a deck like Azir Irelia could be considered meta altering maybe Kenin was just as bad, who's to say.
Honestly, I consider everything about these new stats to be absolutely terrifying.
All the decks are extremely strong and versatile and their winrates have gone through the roof.
1. Dragons already called that one plus 55%
2. Lisandra plus 55%
3. Midrange plunder plus 55%
4. Pantheon plus 55%
I guess ezreal was keeping these decks in cheque and now that he's gone they are absolutely dominating
So no longer do you need to tech against aggro and combo now it's how the hell do you deal with all these midrange powerhouses?
Honestly, I don't know it's very possible something like a Lee Sin combo deck will ultimately be the tournament answer, but that lineup is scary and difficult to play against.
Maybe a new king of aggro will emerge and start pressuring from the other end as well, and that's usually when midrange starts to take a hit, but right now it's open season.
So we talk a lot about meta, and card balance, and what Champs are strongest.
But sometimes it's worth drawing back the curtain on matchups we personally struggle with and anything excluded is relatively easy to deal with or tech against, or play against.
1. Dragons - it challenges and strikes with demacia, it grows large midrange threats, and ramps into Asol...this deck scares me because it essentially perfect at being equally good into everything and the best decks often are.
2. Infinite cycle Heimer - kill one thing and they play another, and another and another and another...this deck is control proof and midrange proof so it's everything I hate.
3. Deep & Lurk - something about these decks just very menacing, one is an excellent tournament deck that is just waiting for its time, and the other will just steam roll you if you arent playing perfectly
4. Ahiri - out of all the new Ionia cards Ahiri is the trickiest to deal with. Amazing stat line for mana with the best keyword, and she basically has elusive too. You enter into a tough situation do you sharpsite the droplet only to eat a twin disciples no you don't so you eat dmg every turn and it's death of a thousand cuts
5. Rumble - the ultimate do you have the answer card, you can just throw it out. Much like Sivir it's just a pain but unlike her he has a much better level up, but if he does get answered you just loose.
6. Xerath, I have a lot of respect for players who main this guy because his play pattern when run well is exceptionally erratic and unpredictable. Will you beat him most of the time sure but it will be scary the whole time.
So yeah thats it for my list, once again I don't believe these are the best or most competitive decks just the lists that impact me the most when playing against them.
Things like aggro, and Ezreal you run into so often you can run those matches in your sleep.
Yordle Trible, Kenin Ezreal, Pirate aggro all got hit pretty hard.
So you pretty much won't need to hard tech into these decks anymore and learn to win these matchups properly.
I think a lot of people will be happy about that, and honestly I am too.
Just because something is possible to beat if you work at it hard enough, doesn't mean every player should be required to exist in such a restrictive build space:
1. Poppy is a 2/3 or a 3/4 on swing
2. Ionia allegiance now requires you to run two different 1 drops you can't tutor duplicates
3. The bounce landmark had its countdown increased
4. The yordle Tribal 2 drop only buffs attack now
5. Gangplank is a 5/4
In most cases these decks and archetypes will require rebuilding and I'm happy to show off some options here except for pirate aggro because who cares:
Its very possible Kenin drops allegiance all together now that both allegiance and combo speed have been nerfed for a more sustained midrange play style, maybe even Yassao will see play in my dreams.
Okay after much testing and final deliberation I settled on the final version of the list. Teched as hard against aggro at burst speed as it's possible for this region to do so.
The champ rationing seems more or less optimal for movie time. Not a lot of other ways to make possitive changes. Again it's not great as a combo deck compared to atrocity decks, it's not great into aggro, but it is fun for casual play and can actually deal with a temo or something.
Honestly, run the 3 quick sands if you want. Its better into like early elusive plays, but it doesn't really help on trades because again you will never out beef your opponent playing sundisc.
As for ascendant rise, it doesn't take much time with sundisc to realize that manually leveling any ascended champ that isn't Xerath is sloooow.
Now again you saying it's a bad card but most decks don't run hard removal they simple dont, and they haven't for a long time same thing with hard deny. Like we are talking about a meta that is currently being dominated by poros lol interactivity isn't on the menu.
Yeah like again, if you want a streamer list here is sunny running mono Azir Xerath.
https://youtu.be/RLrkL37aUfM
He built his list the same time I did a day ago.
His is more like just good mono shurima follower stuff, and mines more turbo sundisc control.
His looks like more conventional list if you want a more straight forward play pattern.
Also as for my list you forget Xerath equals 3 more rite of arcane and we can tutor extra copies with the 4 drop. Like my big concern is like how do you beat deep, or like Freijord control or just like poros.
Like it really depends, like he thinks he can like level Azir naturally and I find post nerfs that a tall order especially because sundisc limits your board space. So give his a shot and see how many times you flip disc.
Edit: Just tried Sunny's list the opponent played Temo and I lost. So I wouldn't personally recommend a list that greedy. At least when turbo sundisc you have a miniscule chance of racing the opponent.
Unique mechanic of replacing your deck.
Plus Hearthstone understood that putting "quests" in your card game ads additional levels of strategy and playability.
Like personally I get bored of put the opponents life to 0 every game.
Like sure I can do it aggressively, I can do it with burn in a Veigar deck or I can do it with atrocity in a Viego deck but while they do feel different, they aren't thaaaaat different.
At least when compared to a Fiora otk, or a mill wincon, or the healing fountain etc.
So yeah I like when bad decks get buffed.they don't need to be meta to be playable or at least looking at as a unique building challenge.
Its like Swim with his Poros sure the deck only wins 45% of the time but he's good enough to make it work.
Edit: apparently post iceborn legacy buff poros might have gone up by 10% which is great. This is what I was saying you buff bad cards and sometimes entire new decks become viable. Like this is how you put the fun.back in the game and then eventually once that Poros deck starts being countered by not just running grindy card piles, the meta will change again.
Post buffs the most exciting deck I wanted to explore was mono shurima.
Basically carrying on the back of three important changes. Sun disc is free now, empire ascended is 6 mana and xerath got a point of health.
All of this means we can meme with movie time and lose less often.
So this is the version I settled on tripple Azir tripple Xerath feel best. One buffs your deck the other puts your opponent on a clock.
The next problem to solve is A how do we have board presence and B how do we remove stuff so the opponent doesn't steam roll us. Problem C how do we protect Champs and disc.
For A I chose count down reducers at 2, 3, and 5 mana. If they are just gonna trade anyway let them do the thing we want them to do. Plus treasure seeker, big sand boy devalues swings.
For B I chose right of the arcane and unworthy as removal options.
For C its basically soothsayer or bust.
So thats it that the deck, is it slow and kind of a meme absolutely, but youre already limiting yourself to a meme deck so might as well play the best version.
So we finally get a look at what the devs think needs to be improved from an archetype perspective.
The big winner is control...vengeance is 6 mana this one mana difference is game changing. It's actually possible to pass pass into like a Zigs kill if your hand is super heavy.
Freijord changes to anivia and and trundle again I'm like not the biggest fan of this deck but it should punish infinite value Bandle decks and Heimer, Zoe etc. So thats great. The deck also has an actual identity and unique play flavor and I'm all about that.
Kindred goes down to 4 mana and Xerath gets a point of health big buffs to the I just want you to stick to the board Champs. I have said before that in skilled hands Xerath has no skill ceiling and now that he's that much harder clear he's a real threat.
Mono shurima now gets to auto play its landmark and again 6 mana instead of 7 mana to auto level its Champs to tier 3. Hey look Riot is putting the fun back in there game...great stuff I'd like to see more of this.
Reminds me of when they buffed braum he was basically unplayable before and now he's at least a little scary as like a hard counter. I could almost see Fiora and Shen having their nerfs reverted because again we want these champs playable, for the sake of fun.
I think Riots getting that so a few more buff passes like this one and I think the game will be in a much more "unbalanced" but funner (not a real word) state.
That is true a lot of people enjoy Runetrra in a non competitive capacity. It's actually possible the game functions better in that light with their current design philosophy.
For me, I vary if the meta is good yeah I'll hard climb diamond dont have the patience to go further. If the meta feels too grindy and samey I literally just won't play till the next expansion.
Not like I gotta stream or anything.
So its well known that Runeterra is the most balanced card game in the genre.
It does this by sacrificing powerful archetypes with unique flavor upon the nerf cross over and over again until everything is essentially equal.
Case and point, I look and see what Graplr the only streamer still supporting the game daily is playing and its Heimer Zoe with Whiteflame?
So basically infinite value soup with zero synergy or deck flavor. I don't know about you guys but when I see that I'm just craving the days when I could get rushed down by pirate aggro, or Azir sandman, or a Zillian Ekko deck went infinite on me, or Ezreal burned me down, or Poppy built an insane board or a million other unique and interesting independent deck builds existed and were sucessful.
They were sucessful not because.they were balanced but because.they weren't, and that's the real story here, "synergy" means when I run this card with that other card they are better than than both those cards alone...without synergy you don't have decks, and you dont have a card game.
I know I've been harping on this but it seems like people are starting to agree with the whole do the regions, Champs, followers, and spells have enough flavor. The answer they did before.that flavor was nerfed out of existence.
Riot stop nerfing and start buffing seriously, we get roughly 20 nerfs to every single buff on average and it's killing the "synergy" it's killing the "decks" its killing the "fun" in your game.
Yeah like it's possible that we can just continue with a nerf only mindset that's what Riot has been doing to balance the game so far.
I find it's a little like removing the spice from all your favorite dishes until everything tastes the same but I understand my oppinion is the minority one, I more so wanted to share Bruised.by God's rant to foster healthy discussion and its working just fine.
So Bruised by God one of the best Runeterra players strictly on ladder has come out to say that he thinks the Kenin Ezreal nerf was heavy handed.
https://youtu.be/7TGeMe3REbw
I personally agree, because the only thing keeping infinite value decks in cheque aka shellfolk cycle shenanigans (as an example) was the very real threat that you would just instantly lose queuing into a combo matchup that would just burn you down to 0 even if you had 100 cards.
That threat is gone now, taking the matchup options of aggro-> midrange -> control-> combo down to essentially midrange/aggro/control soup aka I start agressive, cycle hard, play midrange threats and then transition into infinite value lategame.
You compound this lack of deck building identity with limited viable champion compositions, and I can understand his frustration and the general lack of engagement with the game from popular streamers like Swim and Mogwai.
Afterall how can you cry for a nerf and simultaneously be responsible for the dumbing down of the game by limiting the deck building variety and matchup tables, and champ compositions.
Now this is more of an overall trend in the game, a lot of interesting and viable decks have been nerfed into the ground leading into a lack of build identity. I think Shen can be pushed back on top to fight dragons, Azir Irelia can be pushed back to fight aggro, and Fizz Tf can be pushed back to counter control, and yes Ezreal Kenin can be pushed to counter value decks.
If everything is broken and unbalanced by definition nothing will be and it will lead to more dynamic and unpredictable matchups and play experiences. Just my two cents, what do you guys think?
I understand where you're coming from, winrate alone isn't a sole measure of deck performance but when you measure the performance over time it gets far more informative.
Like gangplank Sejuani for example another meta bilgewater staple is always just happy at the top of the meta, reminds me of what Shen decks used to be...I consider pirate aggro to be similar based solely on its solid performance longterm.
But when updates come in and new decks aren't outperforming these old archetypes why play them at all? Then you run into a problem where longterm players just get bored of seeing the same thing over and over,
Like you could play Kenin right now with bounce girl, there are versions of that deck that do very well and are arguable far better than Lee Sin but until that list is perfected and is crystallized into something longterm nobody is gonna play.
Then even worse potentially, without a dominant new deck to speak of, you then have nothing to build and tech against. Yes Azir Irelia might have been op (sitting at 53% right now very respectable) and TF Fizz (dead) so they needed hard nerfs and it took too long, I just think there's a happy medium.
We want to see new decks at the top if the tier list but not oppressing players to the point of frustration.
Ladder experiences are driven by heroes and Villains. You as the deck brewer have something to prove you want to beat that meta deck into the ground everyone else says is so op, but what happens when there are no villains anymore.
Lor is a fascinating case study because it is essentially the most balanced digital card game in existence to the extent that they will never need to rotate cards and only live balance changes will effect potential deck performance outcomes.
Case and point, Pirate aggro! People stopped playing this deck largely out of boredom but it still puts up numbers I'm talking 57% percent winrates currently right now making it essentially one of the best decks in the game.
But it isn't a villain and it's isn't played enough to be worth counter brewing against and very little satisfaction comes from beating it.
Lee Sin by comparison is not an amazing deck hovering between 51 and 52 percent winrate but it's play patterns are dynamic enough to stick in the mind of the looser.
You are getting beaten 100% when Lee Sin kicks you down to 0. My point is for me personally I find myself playing LOR far more when there is essentially a boss deck to beat, and far less when people can run any midrange soup and win.
Don't pressure the devs to hotfix too fast in the future, enjoy each stage of the meta as it progresses, and let things breathe a bit...otherwise it's just gonna be Bilgewater for literally the next 10 years of this games life cycle.
Combo Kenin decks are down to about 45% winrate so I'm not sure if you absolutely need to solo wincon Kenin like you usually do in a combo deck.
So I could see building a viego deck that has Kenin as a side stun control piece.
But the card choices are obviously wrong you need the 3 mana bounce landmark that also works with encroaching mists quite well.
Recall that let's you bounce Kenin and then play cameraman soldier from hand and also just general purpose control cards.
I'll build it and then post in this forum for a more playable list. This is the thing we should be encouraging players to bring us our brews instead of saying they won't work.
This is basically the mix you are going for, exactly half way between existing Kenin and Ionia Viego lists.
Leveling Kenin off encroaching mists is an interesting concept.
I honestly don't see anything inherently wrong with it if you nail the tech choices and ratioing down.
I'd say keep it up!
Yep, that's a well rounded perspective general.
I haven't heard any community backlash to the nerfs yet, so that might be reason enough to be happy Ezreal Kenin is dead.
Or at the very least needs to be hard rebuilt into something else entirely.
But on the other hand auto queuing into gangplank senuani again like Bilegewater was just released after all this time does put a bad taste in my mouth.
Not every deck needs to be auto play board presence value soup, and I'll probably pour one off for our lost soldier little Kenny boy
Keep in mind I never played Kenin Ezreal I am simple going imperically based on stats.
The deck has gone from a commanding 55% winrate to a 45% winrate. Putting Lee back as the best Ionia deck seeing it go up 1% to 52.
Honestly I don't know if it was actually worth it, like if you enjoy midrange decks absolutely they are doing better control is also doing better.
But it hasn't shaken up the meta in the way people thought, while simultaneously killing an entire archetype just because people couldn't tech properly or play the matchup.
So on the one hand you have a new champ being murdered one week into his release, just so the other decks can go up 2% on ladder like it seems like maybe the reaction was too strong here.
But on the other hand if a deck like Azir Irelia could be considered meta altering maybe Kenin was just as bad, who's to say.
What do you guys think?
If you look at my most recent meta stats Ionia is completely absent from what's being played post hotfix nerfs.
I wish it wasn't Ionia is super easy to play and tech against.
https://lor.mobalytics.gg/stats/decks
Honestly, I consider everything about these new stats to be absolutely terrifying.
All the decks are extremely strong and versatile and their winrates have gone through the roof.
1. Dragons already called that one plus 55%
2. Lisandra plus 55%
3. Midrange plunder plus 55%
4. Pantheon plus 55%
I guess ezreal was keeping these decks in cheque and now that he's gone they are absolutely dominating
So no longer do you need to tech against aggro and combo now it's how the hell do you deal with all these midrange powerhouses?
Honestly, I don't know it's very possible something like a Lee Sin combo deck will ultimately be the tournament answer, but that lineup is scary and difficult to play against.
Maybe a new king of aggro will emerge and start pressuring from the other end as well, and that's usually when midrange starts to take a hit, but right now it's open season.
So we talk a lot about meta, and card balance, and what Champs are strongest.
But sometimes it's worth drawing back the curtain on matchups we personally struggle with and anything excluded is relatively easy to deal with or tech against, or play against.
1. Dragons - it challenges and strikes with demacia, it grows large midrange threats, and ramps into Asol...this deck scares me because it essentially perfect at being equally good into everything and the best decks often are.
2. Infinite cycle Heimer - kill one thing and they play another, and another and another and another...this deck is control proof and midrange proof so it's everything I hate.
3. Deep & Lurk - something about these decks just very menacing, one is an excellent tournament deck that is just waiting for its time, and the other will just steam roll you if you arent playing perfectly
4. Ahiri - out of all the new Ionia cards Ahiri is the trickiest to deal with. Amazing stat line for mana with the best keyword, and she basically has elusive too. You enter into a tough situation do you sharpsite the droplet only to eat a twin disciples no you don't so you eat dmg every turn and it's death of a thousand cuts
5. Rumble - the ultimate do you have the answer card, you can just throw it out. Much like Sivir it's just a pain but unlike her he has a much better level up, but if he does get answered you just loose.
6. Xerath, I have a lot of respect for players who main this guy because his play pattern when run well is exceptionally erratic and unpredictable. Will you beat him most of the time sure but it will be scary the whole time.
So yeah thats it for my list, once again I don't believe these are the best or most competitive decks just the lists that impact me the most when playing against them.
Things like aggro, and Ezreal you run into so often you can run those matches in your sleep.
Yordle Trible, Kenin Ezreal, Pirate aggro all got hit pretty hard.
So you pretty much won't need to hard tech into these decks anymore and learn to win these matchups properly.
I think a lot of people will be happy about that, and honestly I am too.
Just because something is possible to beat if you work at it hard enough, doesn't mean every player should be required to exist in such a restrictive build space:
1. Poppy is a 2/3 or a 3/4 on swing
2. Ionia allegiance now requires you to run two different 1 drops you can't tutor duplicates
3. The bounce landmark had its countdown increased
4. The yordle Tribal 2 drop only buffs attack now
5. Gangplank is a 5/4
In most cases these decks and archetypes will require rebuilding and I'm happy to show off some options here except for pirate aggro because who cares:
First up splashing yordle mechs might give yordle Tribal a little more sustain. As for discard fodder you have 2 different owl generators, and squire.
Its very possible Kenin drops allegiance all together now that both allegiance and combo speed have been nerfed for a more sustained midrange play style, maybe even Yassao will see play in my dreams.