I've largely just done what I've always done outline balance changes...the main difference being is that these changes are positive so everyone can get behind them.
As opposed to when Freijord, Noxious and Ionia were OP, now we should be looking at an incredibly diverse meta with very few auto includes.
You can actually play discard now and its not terrible, so the game must be heading in a possitive direction.
Yeah the noxious 1 drop slot is largely untouched, but that should be fine. The big issue arose from having each of the noxious 2 drops combined representing around 8 damage of uninteractive burn (demolition (2), grenadier (2), crimson (4)) Now it represents 5 damage.
The big take away from this update has been the consistent effort on the part of Riot to stop decks who essentially have un-fun play patterns from being dominant...
1. Aggro Nox's overpowered 2 mana slot has been gutted , this is good for the health of the game there was literally 12 auto includes in the slot
2. Exclusives have been nerfed with will of ionia, Heimer, solitary monk last patch, and shadow assassin
3. Discard decks buffed substantially, this is good for jinx, and gives Draven a home outside of aggro
4. Frejord champs tweaked, very necessary and healthy
So we should be heading to a midrange meta, as long as Ezreal control isn't oppressive, and there is a pretty serious chance of that
If you want a list of strong decks going forward here are a few likely options...
1. Any variant of bilgewater/Dem bannerman, scout or aggro focused doesn't matter
2. They who endure, the deck never went anywhere, but it should be relatively better now
3. Deep is similarly positioned to do well
4. Ezreal control variants, yep nuff said
5. Ash decks, usually with noxious splash
6. Unknown aggro elusive list, just using the cards that haven't been nerfed along with a splash
Yeah, it's kind of interesting because riot intentionally took every control spell in mtg and made it cost like 2 to 4 mana more. Wrath is 9 mana instead of 5, lightning helix is 5 mana instead of 3, bounce is 4 mana instead of 2, murder is 7 mana instead of 3 so on and so on.
So what that means is that control will never be oppressive or played a lot with the card pool that we have.
So that leaves hyper aggro as the best way to rank up as of right now.
You also don't have access to things like planeswalkers so there is no control equivalent of a creature with a useful ability, just different types of etb effects.
It's hard to argue that Noxious isn't the highest played and highest win rate region atm because statistically it is.
Run it allegiance, run it with p/z, run it with ionia, run it with frejord, run it with shadow.
The reason why this region does so well is it's auto includes, the fact that you're going to run transfusion, disciple, demolitionist, and probably grenadier.
That's your 12 - 2 drops right there zero thought required, now what's the rest of your list going to be, well you have lots of options but the core is always going to be strong regardless.
Tier 2 - Freijord
mid range in general is a little weak atm so while this regions has the best champions overall, it might not matter if things remain as fast as they are right now.
That being said, pairing this region with shadow makes for solid control lists, and noxious makes up for the regions weak 2 drops.
I would stay away from bilgewater now that yoink has been nerfed twice in a row.
Omen hawk remains the best 1 drop in the game, and fury of the north is the best trick.
Don't expect this region to go anywhere regardless of the meta.
Tier 3 - Ionia
Did you know that elusives are in two of the best decks in the game and that will of ionia is under-costed and concussive palm is now a 3 of
At the end of the day it doesn't really matter that Yasuo, Lee Sin, and Karma aren't as good as they once were, because we have Zed
The nerf to solitary monk doesn't really hurt all that much and just puts the card where it should be power level wise
Tier 4 - Shadow Isles
Shadow will always be relevant due to healing, removal, recursion and it's ability to create chump blocks
But we can't pretend that the region isn't becoming more of a splash for key cards as of late, as opposed to an all in choice.
So we see it go down a tier
Tier 5 - Bilgewater
Yoink getting nerfed over and over again has hurt this region but it still has a lot to offer
Kegs are strong, and make it rain is the best early anti aggro tool
It goes wide surprisingly well, it has cycling tools, it has riptide rex, it can be aggressive and it has strong champs
Deep is always something to keep your eye on as well, just waiting beneath the surface to be tier 1 again
Tier 6 - P/Z
A pretty low playrate region excluding ezreal lists, which is currently this regions saving grace
The issue is that you are forced to cast spells to kill your opponents units, and only Ezreal benefits from this
So you play him
Jinx requires you to get rid of your hand, and while she is better than people think, it's easy to disrupt her play pattern
Heimer is good, but he's honestly played as more of an Ionia card right now, and doesn't even fit his region
Vi is just a fully stated thresh that doesn't tutor is isn't very exciting to play
Tier 7 - Demacia
This is the region that people collectively agreed that they didn't like and didn't want to be good
They nerfed it's mid range options, they nerfed it's buffs, they nerfed it's late game win cons
Unfortunately, that puts it as a worse version of Noxious right now
When the reality is that this region should probably counter Noxious on paper, as it used to.
But do we want to see the return of bannerman, I would be okay with it, but I imagine others wouldn't
Anyway that's the update, let me know what you guys think, and what I inevitable got wrong
Dude it's just a yoink deck with TF Ezreal this one's from Swim's website, but feel free to go on patting yourself on the back troll. I swear this game has all of 2 sets in it and everyone thinks they are rebel deck builders. This ain't mtg man, there aren't that many possibilities so get over yourself.
I don't believe any of these stats call for a balance change and instead, the best solution is to just print more cards in August which is what is happening.
One of the sneaky possible top tier lists nobody is talking about right now is an updated take on the old corina control lists, where they run deadbloom wanderer, arguably the best deep card as a solid play on 3.
Personally I think that Legends has moved past the oh no a ledros on 9 what do I do, to look at all the fast crazy bs stuff I can do long before turn 9.
But what do you guys think, have you tried it, is it any good?
There have been some crazy shifts in the tier list since the season of fortune began, with really out of the box decks like Anivia, and Poros creeping into tier 2. I would say at this point that we have effectively hit balance perfection in legends of runterra and you can officially play whatever you want.
40 percent not to draw is a pretty big deal, but that's why they run solitary monk as a full play set, you can just clock people with that card instead as a last resort. It doesn't matter what your list is always be prepared to win without a champ or if it dies, if you do that you have no loose state and only win states.
The biggest way to deal with nab is to simple run 0 one ofs. If they draw a single copy from from the bottom that won't change your chances of drawing one from the top. This is a pretty substantial nerf to the mechanic because it's not disrupting your draws, but sure they can still hearthstone the living daylights out of you, but at least you won't be like well there goes that card I needed to draw never to be seen again.
I was the one that started this thread, and that was largely do to the issue of value denial. It was less that a card gets stolen, and more that the card stolen denied you the potential to draw it. Not to mention that stupid things like stealing Ashe's arrow was possible, or buffed units, or yetis. So yes, nab is far better than yoink and we even see the deck it was in go down to tier 2.
Yeah I kind of raised this point where decks that revolve around a single champion without an adequate way to tutor them out are fundamentally broken.
Now I think the idea is you use deep meditation, stattick shock, and shadow assassin to draw enough to increase your chances of hitting heimer. So you need to control out the game for as long as it takes for that to happen.
The buff to braum has only cemented the place of this region at top of the pile since patch 1.3, and while its true the power mostly lies in the champions, it turns out thats kind of a big deal. Also the changes to yoink made buffing your deck, and yetis inherently better. Also has some of the best combat tricks in the game.
Tier 2 - Noxious
What really impressed me with this region in the new season is deck diversity. Sure we see aggro nox decks of various varieties everywhere, but we also have allegiance just starting to be a thing with the buffed bassalisk rider, we have its pairings with frejord in midrange builds, you can even run it with shadow with a longer endgame plan
Tier 3 - Shadow Isles
Shadow is always the best anti aggro region with withering wail being a pretty obvious mvp control card. The champions are solid offering a variety of deck builds, and keeper is still the best 2 drop in the game despite the nerfs. Deep is still solid, with only ephemeral still being in need of a little work.
Tier 4 - Bilgewater
The yoink nerf hit this region hard, you no longer need to fear MF tempo decks like the plague, but that just gives room for gangplank and TF to shine in control builds. Kegs have received consistent buffs and is in a healthy and solid position, the perfect slightly above average region.
Tier 5 - Ionia
Provides elusives, counterspells, bounces, and stuns, and great card advantage tools. While there might not be anything about ionia that really strikes you as OP anymore in the champion department, it turns out just being solid is good enough. Ionia struggles against aggro a bit, but punishes midrange so its placement on the tier list will always be moving up and down as the meta changes.
Tier 6 - P And Z
I absolutely love this region, but beyond the very limited applications in burn aggro, and Heimer Vi it's truly underrepresented at the moment. Its top end options could use a few buffs cementing its placement as a control region, with the likes of Corina, celebration day, and that 7 mana multishot removal spell.
Tier 7 - Demacia
Not only have they suffered nerfs to their flagship midrange bannerman deck with the likes of badger bear and grizzled ranger falling from grace. But the real bullet to the head, was changing their indestructible spell from burst to fast speed, which hurt lux in a big way. There isn't a lot of reason to run this region other than single combat which is the most efficient removal spell in the game.
Conclusion - Expect these rankings to change with future balance changes and expansions, legends of runterra is a well designed game and the difference between a top tier region and low tier region is just a numbers tweak away.
I've largely just done what I've always done outline balance changes...the main difference being is that these changes are positive so everyone can get behind them.
As opposed to when Freijord, Noxious and Ionia were OP, now we should be looking at an incredibly diverse meta with very few auto includes.
You can actually play discard now and its not terrible, so the game must be heading in a possitive direction.
Yeah the noxious 1 drop slot is largely untouched, but that should be fine. The big issue arose from having each of the noxious 2 drops combined representing around 8 damage of uninteractive burn (demolition (2), grenadier (2), crimson (4)) Now it represents 5 damage.
The big take away from this update has been the consistent effort on the part of Riot to stop decks who essentially have un-fun play patterns from being dominant...
1. Aggro Nox's overpowered 2 mana slot has been gutted , this is good for the health of the game there was literally 12 auto includes in the slot
2. Exclusives have been nerfed with will of ionia, Heimer, solitary monk last patch, and shadow assassin
3. Discard decks buffed substantially, this is good for jinx, and gives Draven a home outside of aggro
4. Frejord champs tweaked, very necessary and healthy
So we should be heading to a midrange meta, as long as Ezreal control isn't oppressive, and there is a pretty serious chance of that
If you want a list of strong decks going forward here are a few likely options...
1. Any variant of bilgewater/Dem bannerman, scout or aggro focused doesn't matter
2. They who endure, the deck never went anywhere, but it should be relatively better now
3. Deep is similarly positioned to do well
4. Ezreal control variants, yep nuff said
5. Ash decks, usually with noxious splash
6. Unknown aggro elusive list, just using the cards that haven't been nerfed along with a splash
Yeah, it's kind of interesting because riot intentionally took every control spell in mtg and made it cost like 2 to 4 mana more. Wrath is 9 mana instead of 5, lightning helix is 5 mana instead of 3, bounce is 4 mana instead of 2, murder is 7 mana instead of 3 so on and so on.
So what that means is that control will never be oppressive or played a lot with the card pool that we have.
So that leaves hyper aggro as the best way to rank up as of right now.
You also don't have access to things like planeswalkers so there is no control equivalent of a creature with a useful ability, just different types of etb effects.
Wanted to cover a little positive Runterra news.
This updated version of crimson elusives post monk nerf just smashes.
You just add Draven that has been doing so well in the basalisk lists, which also lets you drop conspirator in favor of 3rd decimate
It is absolutely the fastest list in the meta, it sets up for lethal off of 3rd attack every time
There are no bad handstates, there are no bad draws
You almost never muligan more than 2 cards
It just feel great every round, you always feel like games are yours to loose
Deck ID Not Found
Give it a try and let me know what you guys think
Tier 1 - Noxious
It's hard to argue that Noxious isn't the highest played and highest win rate region atm because statistically it is.
Run it allegiance, run it with p/z, run it with ionia, run it with frejord, run it with shadow.
The reason why this region does so well is it's auto includes, the fact that you're going to run transfusion, disciple, demolitionist, and probably grenadier.
That's your 12 - 2 drops right there zero thought required, now what's the rest of your list going to be, well you have lots of options but the core is always going to be strong regardless.
Tier 2 - Freijord
mid range in general is a little weak atm so while this regions has the best champions overall, it might not matter if things remain as fast as they are right now.
That being said, pairing this region with shadow makes for solid control lists, and noxious makes up for the regions weak 2 drops.
I would stay away from bilgewater now that yoink has been nerfed twice in a row.
Omen hawk remains the best 1 drop in the game, and fury of the north is the best trick.
Don't expect this region to go anywhere regardless of the meta.
Tier 3 - Ionia
Did you know that elusives are in two of the best decks in the game and that will of ionia is under-costed and concussive palm is now a 3 of
At the end of the day it doesn't really matter that Yasuo, Lee Sin, and Karma aren't as good as they once were, because we have Zed
The nerf to solitary monk doesn't really hurt all that much and just puts the card where it should be power level wise
Tier 4 - Shadow Isles
Shadow will always be relevant due to healing, removal, recursion and it's ability to create chump blocks
But we can't pretend that the region isn't becoming more of a splash for key cards as of late, as opposed to an all in choice.
So we see it go down a tier
Tier 5 - Bilgewater
Yoink getting nerfed over and over again has hurt this region but it still has a lot to offer
Kegs are strong, and make it rain is the best early anti aggro tool
It goes wide surprisingly well, it has cycling tools, it has riptide rex, it can be aggressive and it has strong champs
Deep is always something to keep your eye on as well, just waiting beneath the surface to be tier 1 again
Tier 6 - P/Z
A pretty low playrate region excluding ezreal lists, which is currently this regions saving grace
The issue is that you are forced to cast spells to kill your opponents units, and only Ezreal benefits from this
So you play him
Jinx requires you to get rid of your hand, and while she is better than people think, it's easy to disrupt her play pattern
Heimer is good, but he's honestly played as more of an Ionia card right now, and doesn't even fit his region
Vi is just a fully stated thresh that doesn't tutor is isn't very exciting to play
Tier 7 - Demacia
This is the region that people collectively agreed that they didn't like and didn't want to be good
They nerfed it's mid range options, they nerfed it's buffs, they nerfed it's late game win cons
Unfortunately, that puts it as a worse version of Noxious right now
When the reality is that this region should probably counter Noxious on paper, as it used to.
But do we want to see the return of bannerman, I would be okay with it, but I imagine others wouldn't
Anyway that's the update, let me know what you guys think, and what I inevitable got wrong
Dude it's just a yoink deck with TF Ezreal this one's from Swim's website, but feel free to go on patting yourself on the back troll. I swear this game has all of 2 sets in it and everyone thinks they are rebel deck builders. This ain't mtg man, there aren't that many possibilities so get over yourself.
Hey what do you know, Ezreal TF is top tier now
https://lor.mobalytics.gg/decks/bruod4pla4s47cktkfn0
Unfortunately it runs your standard yoink package but oh well
just informing people about playrates and meta's as per usual, but people are free to post their own opinions and experiences as always.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD4nhYR-VRA
Although you're free to refer to this scene in the matrix reloaded that highlights how there is very little point to any conversation
It's crimson elusives with a 10 percent play rate and a 56 percent win rate.
Noxious is the highest played region probably hanging around 35 percent.
The majority of players are gravitating towards aggro, then midrange, then combo, with pure control not being truly represented in any substantial way
https://lor.mobalytics.gg/stats/regions/IO_NX/overview
I don't believe any of these stats call for a balance change and instead, the best solution is to just print more cards in August which is what is happening.
Yeah that was my sentiment as well honestly, I found it pretty hard to believe that this list was anything better than bottom of tier 3.
One of the sneaky possible top tier lists nobody is talking about right now is an updated take on the old corina control lists, where they run deadbloom wanderer, arguably the best deep card as a solid play on 3.
https://lor.mobalytics.gg/decks/bri0c91la4s9184pgo2g
Personally I think that Legends has moved past the oh no a ledros on 9 what do I do, to look at all the fast crazy bs stuff I can do long before turn 9.
But what do you guys think, have you tried it, is it any good?
Yep it's very strong I just dropped the spider boys I feel pretty good dealing with aggro most of the time anyway
Deck ID Not Found
Yep, that is arguable the better way to play the archetype now, less tempo focused with more of an endgame.
There have been some crazy shifts in the tier list since the season of fortune began, with really out of the box decks like Anivia, and Poros creeping into tier 2. I would say at this point that we have effectively hit balance perfection in legends of runterra and you can officially play whatever you want.
https://www.swimstrim.com/runeterra/decks-and-meta
Let's open it up to hear what you guys are playing right now.
I'm a big fan of treasure Nautilus it's gotten me good results against both control and aggro matchups
Deck ID Not Found
40 percent not to draw is a pretty big deal, but that's why they run solitary monk as a full play set, you can just clock people with that card instead as a last resort. It doesn't matter what your list is always be prepared to win without a champ or if it dies, if you do that you have no loose state and only win states.
The biggest way to deal with nab is to simple run 0 one ofs. If they draw a single copy from from the bottom that won't change your chances of drawing one from the top. This is a pretty substantial nerf to the mechanic because it's not disrupting your draws, but sure they can still hearthstone the living daylights out of you, but at least you won't be like well there goes that card I needed to draw never to be seen again.
I was the one that started this thread, and that was largely do to the issue of value denial. It was less that a card gets stolen, and more that the card stolen denied you the potential to draw it. Not to mention that stupid things like stealing Ashe's arrow was possible, or buffed units, or yetis. So yes, nab is far better than yoink and we even see the deck it was in go down to tier 2.
Yeah I kind of raised this point where decks that revolve around a single champion without an adequate way to tutor them out are fundamentally broken.
Now I think the idea is you use deep meditation, stattick shock, and shadow assassin to draw enough to increase your chances of hitting heimer. So you need to control out the game for as long as it takes for that to happen.
Tier 1 - Frejord
The buff to braum has only cemented the place of this region at top of the pile since patch 1.3, and while its true the power mostly lies in the champions, it turns out thats kind of a big deal. Also the changes to yoink made buffing your deck, and yetis inherently better. Also has some of the best combat tricks in the game.
Tier 2 - Noxious
What really impressed me with this region in the new season is deck diversity. Sure we see aggro nox decks of various varieties everywhere, but we also have allegiance just starting to be a thing with the buffed bassalisk rider, we have its pairings with frejord in midrange builds, you can even run it with shadow with a longer endgame plan
Tier 3 - Shadow Isles
Shadow is always the best anti aggro region with withering wail being a pretty obvious mvp control card. The champions are solid offering a variety of deck builds, and keeper is still the best 2 drop in the game despite the nerfs. Deep is still solid, with only ephemeral still being in need of a little work.
Tier 4 - Bilgewater
The yoink nerf hit this region hard, you no longer need to fear MF tempo decks like the plague, but that just gives room for gangplank and TF to shine in control builds. Kegs have received consistent buffs and is in a healthy and solid position, the perfect slightly above average region.
Tier 5 - Ionia
Provides elusives, counterspells, bounces, and stuns, and great card advantage tools. While there might not be anything about ionia that really strikes you as OP anymore in the champion department, it turns out just being solid is good enough. Ionia struggles against aggro a bit, but punishes midrange so its placement on the tier list will always be moving up and down as the meta changes.
Tier 6 - P And Z
I absolutely love this region, but beyond the very limited applications in burn aggro, and Heimer Vi it's truly underrepresented at the moment. Its top end options could use a few buffs cementing its placement as a control region, with the likes of Corina, celebration day, and that 7 mana multishot removal spell.
Tier 7 - Demacia
Not only have they suffered nerfs to their flagship midrange bannerman deck with the likes of badger bear and grizzled ranger falling from grace. But the real bullet to the head, was changing their indestructible spell from burst to fast speed, which hurt lux in a big way. There isn't a lot of reason to run this region other than single combat which is the most efficient removal spell in the game.
Conclusion - Expect these rankings to change with future balance changes and expansions, legends of runterra is a well designed game and the difference between a top tier region and low tier region is just a numbers tweak away.