Best Legends of Runeterra decks to dominate the Patch 1.6 meta

A huge balance patch has shaken up the Legends of Runeterra meta, bringing back a few old favorites while introducing new builds on the rise. 

Nerfs to Heimerdinger and Braum have opened the door for a number of older archetypes to reemerge as the best LoR decks to play. Demacia Aggro, with a splash of Miss Fortune, has become the Aggro deck to beat. Running Lucian next to the infamous bounty hunter, the build relies on Scout units and Rally to end games quickly before Control and Midrange decks can lock into their main plays. 

Tempo Sejuani also made a return to the meta in LoR this past week. The mostly Bilgewater build splashes Freljord for Fury of the North, Omen Hawk, and Sejuani. In conjunction with Sejuani, Riptide Rex works as a solid finisher. An alternative version runs Crackshot Corsair in place of Jagged Butcher while also adding Riptide Rex as an alternate finisher, as well as a few additional spells like Elixir of Iron and Brittle Steel. 

And for the pure enjoyment of drawing the jankiest hands to win a match, Saucymailman has created Smooth Soloist Shipwreck. The build is a Bilgewater/P&Z deck that runs Twisted Fate as the only champion. It relies on Shipwreck Hoarder for Treasures in conjunction with Smooth Soloist and Counterfeit Copies. 

But as fun as these builds are to play, they aren’t the best in the meta at the moment. From Warmother and Ashe/Sejuani to Ezreal, here are the best LoR 1.6 meta decks.

Warmother’s Control

The Freljord/Shadow Isles build, Warmother Control, has returned to the top of the LoR meta this past week. In a version crafted by eMOEtional, the deck earned him over 800 LP on the Master Ranked ladder with over an 80-percent win rate. Wyrding Stones helps the build ramp up quickly while Warmother’s Call, Anivia, Tryndamere, and She Who Wanders are able to finish off opponents. 

The goal of Warmother’s Control is to stall as long as possible while ramping up mana into the mid and late game. It’s a solid build against Ashe/Sejuani decks and stands up to the present Aggro decks being played on the Ranked ladder. 

Deck code: CEBAKAIFAEOSQNRXA4AQCDAUCULRQIJHAEAQCBIPAIAQCBIZAEAQCNA

Ezreal/Twisted Fate

With the nerfs to Heimerdinger, Ezreal has returned to top-tier champion status in LoR. In a build crafted by ManuS, Ezreal Pirates capitalizes on the power of Riptide Rex in conjunction with Ezreal and Twisted Fate. As an Ezreal deck, he’s not used as a finisher since there are more units than spells in the deck, according to ManuS. 

But he’ll scare your opponent into focusing on removing Ezreal. There’s a synergy in the deck to level him up but he’s included more because Ezreal is just a good unit. The build operates like a Tempo Midrange deck in that Ezreal, Twisted Fate, and Plunder essentially stall the early game while dismantling your opponent until you can use Riptide Rex. It’s weak against Shadow Isles but strong against Demacia, Ashe, and other Ezreal decks, according to ManuS. 

Deck code: CEBAGAIEDMSDICICAYCAQCY2DQOSCLJ2AIAQEBQUAEAQIHYA

Frostbite Midrange

Ashe and Sejuani have paired up once again to tear through opponents with the power of Freljord and Noxus. There are two predominant builds being played on the Ranked ladder at the moment. The first was created by Ultraman, running more Freljord than Noxus while capitalizing on units like Babbling Bjerg and Avarosan Hearthguard. The second build was crafted by Swimstrim, relying on Noxus units like Trifarian Assessor for card draw and Kato the Arm for Overwhelm. 

Ultraman deck code: CEBAGAIDAQPSCBYBAEBQOCYWEYUTAAYBAEBTKAICAEBAGAIBAQPCUAA

Swimstrim deck code: CEBQKAIBBMLB4JRQAQAQGBAYD4QQCAQBAIBAGAIBAQVDEAIBAMNAEAICAEDQCAIDGU

LoR tournament decks

Jody “Nolagold” Keith won the Giant Slayer Reckoning tournament directly after LoR Patch 1.6 with revised versions of two previously-popular builds. The first was Casino, originally crafted by MegaMogwai, and the second was Zombie Ashe. The Casino deck is all about leveling up Twisted Fate and Jinx, according to Nolagold, in conjunction with pumping up Slotbot. It’s a complicated deck to navigate, but when played properly, it’ll dominate in tournaments and on the Ranked ladder.

While Zombie Ashe isn’t as difficult to play as Casino, it’s powerful in its own right thanks to pairing Shadow Isles with Freljord. Ashe and Thresh are the champions, while The Rekindler keeps them coming back in the late game and Babbling Bjerg ensures you have them for the mid game. The true power of Zombie Ashe, however, comes from the Shadow Isles spells. Glimpse Beyond is great for card draw while Harsh Winds can prevent a ton of damage. And then there’s The Ruination to wipe the board while The Harrowing returns all your strong units that have previously died. 

Casino deck code: CEBAQAIEAEGBYJZIFU2DOAQCAYIBUAYDAIDAOCJLAEAQIJQBAICAGAA

Zombie Ashe deck code: CEBAOAIBAMDQWEQ6EYZAKAIFAMKCQMJUAEAQCAJKAEBACBIBB4