10 Hot New & Returning Decks to Try in Runeterra Patch 2.5

Hail, Champions! It's been a few days since Patch 2.5 came delivering a bevy of nerfs, buffs, and card changes, so we wanted to check in and see what decks people are playing! Warning: some people have been cautiously exploring post-nerf TF Fizz and finding that, while strictly worse than before, it still is a force to be reckoned with. Do not be surprised to see it slowly return to the top tiers of the meta. Meanwhile, however, most players have been experimenting with other archetypes to see what's new and fresh, while some others have been revitalizing older off-meta archetypes to see how viable they are in the current meta. Here are 10 such decks that caught our eyes!

SilverFuse's Shyvana + Sol Dragons

First up, we have this dragon deck from SilverFuse. Now that Shyvana has Fury, curving Dragon Chow into Shyvana will make her a base 4|5 plus draw you a card and give her an immediate 3/12 progression. Judgment is a critical card; make sure to hold up 8 spell mana against your opponent's attack to threaten a board wipe. SilverFuse admits the 1x Molten Breath is a bit of a meme; however it does often result in an instant concede if your opponent doesn't have a way to stop it.

SomethingAboutSquirrel's GP + Sej Dreadway Ramp

Next up is this fun plunder deck from Something About Squirrels that takes advantage of The Dreadway's new lower cost. Cards like Catalyst of Aeons and Wolfrider provide ramp, and cards like Blighted Ravine and Ice Shard provide some AoE while simultaneously progressing your champions.

Mogwai's Maokai + Nautilus Treasure Deep

Deep received more buffs than any single archetype inspiring many players to reassess it. We wanted to showcase Mogwai's take as he is intentionally trying to take his deck in a slightly different direction than conventional Deep decks -- rather than just always rushing to self-mill down to 15 cards as quickly as possible, he's including cards like Lost Riches and Shipwreck Hoarder to shuffle treasures into the deck which provide incredible value if they get tossed. Sea Scarab + Blighted Caretaker also provides an incredible 3-4 toss plus some useful chump blockers/attackers and incredible Maokai progression.

Agigas's Lulu + Shen Demacia

Agigas went 11-3 (+130 LP) in masters by revisiting this old Lulu + Shen deck. He did try upgrading it with Golden Aegis, but found Relentless Pursuit is more consistent. The gameplan hasn't changed: look to level either of your champions and then beat your opponents into submission.

eMOEtional's Lucian + Azir Scouts

There have been a few Lucian + Azir scout decks since the release; we're showcasing the deck eMOEtional went 17-7 with. The secret to his success? "Don't play it like an aggro deck, this is a combo deck with like 5 different combos." If you can get an L2 Lucian plus a Sand Soldier generator, you can get an incredible number of attacks off in the same round. This deck runs 3x Ancient Preparations and 1x Aspiring Chronomancer to help ensure it consistently finds the Lucian + Sand Soldier generator combo it needs to pop off.

JustWhaleFall's Kindred + Nasus Slay

JustWhaleFall had success using this Kindred + Nasus deck. It provides a little more early game aggression than similar decks thanks to combos like Cursed Keeper + Ravenous Butcher or Fading Icon + Blighted Caretaker, and in the late game Kindred and Nasus can usually carry you to victory. Atrocity provides a sneaky fast-speed lethal.

BBG's Zoe + Asol Demacia

BBG returned to his Demacia midrange roots with this Zoe + ASol deck which looks to bully the board. Zoe provides some early card advantage and threatens a win condition if she levels, dragons and combat tricks like Concerted Strike and Sharpsight help you outvalue your opponents midgame, and Aurelion Sol provides a win condition if the game goes long. Don't get hung up on the value of Eclipse Dragon's Nightfall ability; it's usually better to just play him for his Daybreak and tempo out more units faster.

FakeHero3's Soraka + TK Star Springs

Speaking of returning to classics: FakeHero3 was able to climb all the way to Americas' #12 after dusting off his Soraka + TK deck. His final record was 187-109, with most of those losses coming pre-2.5. This is another case where the gameplan hasn't really changed, but most current meta decks will struggle to disrupt your plans.

Charm3r's Garen + Jarvan Elites

Charm3r took advantage of Jarvan's recent stat boosts with this Garen + Jarvan Elites deck. It's essentially a Demacia allegiance deck that splashes Exhaust and Rite of Negation.

Control's Teemo + Zed Elusives

Finally, we have this Ionia Wayfinder deck from Control that looks to take advantage of Shadow Assassin's and Fae Guide's recent stat changes. There are a few borderline meme cards such as Swole Squirrel and Dragon's Rage, but in classic Control fashion they often produce a lot more threat here than one would anticipate. 

This concludes our deck list for now. What post-balance decks have you enjoyed playing? Share with us below!