Legends of Runeterra

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LoR: Top 10 Runeterra Champions

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Runeterra champions are a vital feature in LoR as a whole, but do you know which ones are better? In this article, we'll list in order each Runeterra champion, from worst to best, while we discuss their profiles.

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translated by Joey Sticks

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revised by Tabata Marques

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Introduction

Currently, we have exactly 11 Runeterra champions in LoR, which means, these are 11 champions that bring their own regions. So, now we have enough of them to bring a top 10 list for everyone to know exactly how powerful they are!

In this list, we have considered 3 factors:

  • How good the champion is on their own;

  • How good is their origin;

  • If their region, as Runeterran champions, is meta.

    Let's check out the list.

    10 - Neeko

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    Neeko, by far, is one of the weakest champions in the entire game. Unfortunately, she was completely forgotten just a few days after her reveal, because the community very quickly refined her archetype until her lists became the decks that today bring Warden of the Tribes.

    That's right, Warden of the Tribes is a Neeko follower, and it is so much stronger and consistent than her that it took her place as a finisher in these archetypes. We noticed Neeko's origin wasn't necessary for these lists, and we were able to build strong competitive decks without her.

    Another great factor is that Neeko comes in disguised as another 2-cost unit on board, and not as herself. Whether you like it or not, this doesn't match her deck's strategy, considering the idea is to play units with different types and attack with them.

    Disguised Neeko, besides being extremely easy to recognize among other units, doesn't like attacking because, ideally, you'll prefer not to give your opponent margin to block her and kill her. Like so, this champion brings one of the weirdest and most nonsensical archetypes and mechanics in the entire game, and deserves the last spot in our list.

    9 - Bard

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    Even though it had some meta lists, Bard has one of the weakest origins in the game nowadays. It is one of the weakest ones because it was nerfed, which practically killed this champion. Nowadays, you'll only begin to shuffle Chimes passively in your deck from turn 3 onwards, instead of as soon as the match starts, as it used to be.

    Not to mention Bard himself doesn't have any keywords, and his lists don't promote interaction with the enemy board. Which means, this deck will hardly be competitive if it isn't fast enough to finish matches.

    This champion has gotten a few support cards here and there in recent patches, but nothing that truly revived him from the ashes. Unfortunately, Bard will be forgotten for now, until the game's meta becomes favorable to his slow and ambitious play style.

    8 - Evelynn

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    Even though her support card, Siren Song, was one of the strongest cards in the game's entire history, Evelynn, on her own, isn't all that. She has only ever seen competitive play in and out of the ranked queue thanks to Siren Song. Today, this spell has been nerfed, and consequently this champion is also too weak for the meta.

    Evelynn also has one of the most inconsistent mechanics in the entire game, because she is extremely dependent on having good RNG with your Husks. If your Husk has Elusive, out of nowhere this champion goes from a mediocre unit to a broken one, but, if you roll out Impact, Evelynn is one of the worst cards in the entire game.

    When Evelynn is meta, you can be sure playing mirror matches is one of the worst experiences possible when it comes to digital card games - RNG literally decides who wins on turn 4.

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    7 - Jhin

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    The first Runeterran champion is, unfortunately, also one of the worst ones. Jhin has seen competitive play quite a lot in and out of the ranked queue in the shape of Jhin Annie lists, but he was never the star in these lists. Instead, his origin was the spotlight in these decks.

    This champion enables very competitive deckbuilding in general, but he, as a unit, is rarely the star in his decks, because he hardly goes on the board. Jhin decks are fast enough and don't need him to be on the board, because he already does a lot while he is in your hand.

    He also doesn't have any keywords while unleveled, and is one of the few champions whose stats don't grow when he levels up.

    Currently, there is a Bandlecity Jhin list that is seeing competitive play, and even took a few players quite far at the Runeterra Open LCQ, but it is a very RNG-focused deck, because of Riptide Rex. If your Rex hits your targets, you win the match; otherwise, you'll struggle to end it.

    6 - Ryze

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    Ryze is the Eternal format's boogeyman, even though his lists don't have an expressive win rate. This champion's decks are very difficult to pilot, and only truly shine in a competitive setting. Like so, he is one of those champions that only ever shows up when we're in a very specific moment in the meta.

    His lists promote a unique game style as well, focused on his alternative win condition. This is another reason why his popularity is so low, as there are players who consider this game style a bit too toxic.

    It is fair to place Ryze at the bottom half of this list, considering that, even though he is a strong champion with a strong origin as well, he isn't played much, and isn't that present in the meta.

    5 - The Poro King

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    Even though the Poros archetype was used by the champion of the last Runeterra Open LCQ in this tournament, The Poro King itself is quite mediocre. Poros are in a phase in the meta in which their support cards are quite strong, and they, themselves, are good, cheap cards that have great keywords. So, it is fair to state that the relationship this champion has with its origin is quite healthy for the meta we are in, considering The Poro King, in the Poros list, isn't this deck's great finisher - but instead one of the engines in this list.

    It is Xolaani the Bloodweaver who is the finisher in these decks, and The Poro King is a Poro Snax source that will help you grow your units during the match.

    One needs the other to work, and that is quite healthy. Not to mention the Poros list is weak enough to not be the main ban in competitive formats, and is quite dependent on Xolaani to win matches, which already opens up several windows of opportunity for your opponents to answer your strategy. It is very fair to place The Poro King straight in the middle of our list.

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    4 - Kayn

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    Kayn is one of the coolest champions in the game, as he is one of the few champions that were released to Runeterra alongside an extremely well-rounded package of cards, all to him. The Cultist units which are included in this champion's origin are, mostly, quite strong, and were once stars themselves in various decks. Kany himself is a very solid and strong champion in the lists that support him.

    His problem is The Shadow Assassin Final Level, considering it is a very weak and forgotten card. Only 1 in each 1000 Kayn games will be favorable for you to choose blue Kayn, because Rhaast Final Level is just that much better, and blue Kayn has one of the worst keyword combinations in the entire game; Elusive with Challenger.

    When Kayn was released to the game, he was already part of one of the strongest lists in the game, Kayn Aatrox, which briefly dominated the meta at the time until it was nerfed a few times. Nowadays, Kayn Aatrox lists are still playable, but they are very slow and only work in specific metas. Kayn isn't higher on this list only because he isn't included in any other archetype, and is very restricted to this particular deck.

    3 - Varus

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    Even though his origin is almost identical to Kayn's, Varus is much better than him. This is because the only difference between these champions' origins is that Varus draws himself from your deck when you play spells, and that makes the whole difference in the world. When you play units, you're forced to make slow actions necessarily, and spells can be played at burst or fast speed, which drastically increases the speed with which you draw Varus in your matches.

    Not to mention, Varus himself is much better as he gains stats more quickly and in higher quantity overall, and like so can be the finisher in the lists that bring him. Various meta decks have had Varus as their protagonist, and this champion has also seen a lot of competitive play. The consistency in decks that bring Varus has always been one of his strongest qualities for competitive players, which really value consistency in their lists, and, nowadays, this champion is only out of the meta because he was heavily nerfed.

    2 - Jax

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    Without a question, Jax is, currently, Runeterra's greatest powerhouse. This means he is the one responsible for the game's meta for some time now. Jax Ornn lists have existed in the game for more than a year, and this champion hasn't been weak at any point in this period - actually, he even got some buffs. His origin is incredibly strong, allowing you to include in your deck all his multirregion followers that Improvise; the Weaponmasters. They're all extremely strong and work really well, both in and out of Jax lists.

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    Currently, Jax has the strongest and more well-prepared archetype in a competitive setting, not only in Standard, but also in Eternal. And, worst of all, we might not get any nerfs to this archetype, at least not on Jax, the card. His archetype is so well-built that it is challenging to pick out only one card that is too strong.

    Maybe Glacial Saurian is this unit that is too strong and will be nerfed in the future. But, even then, this champion's decks might still be playable without Saurian.

    1 - Aatrox

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    In first place, we have Aatrox, which was the greatest card responsible for LoR's metas at the end of last year and beginning of this year. Aatrox's origin is surprisingly versatile and strong, and matches several archetypes. Aatrox' lists have always been very creative in terms of deckbuilding, and, for this reason, they were always very different from one another, even though they used the same Darkin equipment.

    This champion is also quite solid, because he is a 6 mana 6|6 that heals your Nexus, which makes him many times an immortal wall on your board depending on the matchup. Not to mention his level 2 is a great finisher, and his effect that reduces Darkins' costs is one of the coolest ways to win Runeterra matches of all time, still today.

    Currently, Aatrox still plays in Vayne lists, besides Kayn decks, but he is a champion that doesn't have good matchups against Jax, and that is why he hasn't been popping off in the meta lately.

    The True Champion - Elder Dragon

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    The Elder Dragon has barely been released and is already considered one of the best champions in the game. This champion's greatest strength comes from its origin, which allows an almost endless variety when it's time to create decks. Currently, we have "ramp" lists using Volibear, even Aurelion Sol, and also aggressive Elite decks with Garen, and Control Bandlecity lists that use the Elder Dragon. If you'd like to, you can even add it to decks with Seraphine.

    In any way, we can't place this champion in our podium's top spot, because it has just been 3 days since it has been with us, from the time this article was written. But, certainly, it is a very promising card for the game. Let's give it an honorary title for now.

    The most important thing is that, so far, everyone has been having fun with the latest Runeterra champion, and lists with it have been making up close to 40% of the ranked queue. It is too easy to just place all our bets on the Elder Dragon competitively, and we'll surely see it being played in big tournaments in the future.

    Final Words

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    If you read this far, now you know which are the top 10 Runeterra champions.

    Don't forget to share this article on social media. See you next time!

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