4 Legends of Runeterra Deck Recommendations by Silverfuse (Patch 1.11)
Patch 1.11 came out with some big changes that will have a large impact on the current meta.
One of the most notable changes was the nerf to Petty Officer which was a huge enabler of Bilgewater. Bastion being buffed to grant Spellshield and grant +1/+1 is a huge upgrade to Targon although it will be likely tweaked in the near future.
With these buffs and nerfs, it is likely that Challenger units become stronger to pull units which had Bastion played on them.
Lee Sin will likely be stronger than ever with the change to Bastion, so expect plenty of freeze decks to be teching for Lee Sin, including GlopNA’s version of Freljord Lee Sin which is featured below.
Additionally, Infinite Mindsplitter is expected to see an increase in play as it ignores Spellshield and why Dragon decks might make a bit of a comeback as well as plenty of Demacian challenger units who don’t care about Spellshield.
To catch up on the other changes, check out our Patch Breakdown by NicMakesPlays and Precipic! Here are four decks that have potential in Patch 1.11.
1. Demacia Targon Challenger Midrange
Deck code: CECAMAIABEFQYGQ5FUCAGCITDQRVYAIDAADACAQABIAQCAQAAEAQEAIACU2A
[See Demacia Targon Challenger deck details]
With this new buff, Bastion becomes one of the strongest cards in the game, so it is only natural to put it with challenger units as well as strong Demacian units. This deck may look somewhat familiar to players who remember the Fiora Garen days. This deck utilizes a lot of strong Demacian units plus the new and improved Mountain Goat.
Demacia is also known for its lack of draw, Pale Cascade helps it cycle a bit more. Fiora and Garen benefit from Bastion as well as Concerted Strike which is why they became the champions of choice for this deck along with having solid stat lines.
Solari Shieldbearer is expected to be even stronger in this meta as many players will be playing Zed and Lee Sin where Shieldbearer can shut down Zed’s quick attack during turn 3 after the opponent develops Zed.
This deck has powerful turns on 5 and 6 with Screeching Dragon as well as Genevieve Elmheart, however, if that isn’t enough to finish out the game it has the ability to go later with Brightsteel Formation being used as a closer that can outvalue the opponent’s board.
For this deck’s mulligan, it is ideal to find the units that make up the early curve of the deck. Brightsteel Protector being paired with Fleetfeather Tracker or Mountain Goat is generally the most ideal.
Brightsteel Protector has the ability to allow creatures to get free attacks or stop the opponent’s attack due to the strength of Barrier on a unit. Against Eusives or Bastion decks, it may be a good idea to keep more challenger units such as Fiora and Laurent Protege to help trade into those units.
2. Frostbite Lee Sin Trundle Combo
Deck code: CECAIAIBAQOR4IACAIBAMCACAMAQEBQCAEBCWOIDAEAQCAIBAEBDCAICAIEQEAQBAICBQAQCAICQO
[See Frostbite Lee Sin Trundle Combo deck details]
This deck utilizes Lee Sin, but also one of Lee Sin’s greatest weaknesses – frostbite. Lee Sin is enabled off of spells that are often used defensively in Freljord and Ionia, while Lee Sin chips away at the opponent’s creatures and health until he levels.
It doesn’t have the same blow out as Zenith Blade and Lee Sin, but it does a fantastic job in the mirror of keeping the opponent’s Lee Sin from killing you. It also has Dawn and Dusk as a finisher that few decks will be able to deal with.
This deck generally mulligans for Starlit Seer with defensive spells. In the Lee Sin match up, make sure not to use Frostbite cards carelessly. They are incredibly important for keeping Lee Sin from making free trades into your creatures as well as comboing you.
In other matchups, you will want to use freezes to draw more cards from Rivershaper as well as protect your Lee Sin when the barrier gets popped. You will also want to mulligan away Dawn and Dusk as well as Dragon’s Rage as these are cards that are late-game finishers for your Lee Sin.
Trundle is used in this deck due to its solid stat line and regeneration keyword. It is a way to stall attacks as well as get favorable trades.
Although it can help as a finisher, you are not concerned about its level up and Behold ability as it is meant to be used as a “solid card” rather than a champion card.
It is similar to decks that run Fiora as a 3 mana challenger unit rather than focusing on her kill 4 units text.
With the expectation that Lee Sin will be incredibly strong, we can expect Frostbite decks to become more popular including Lee Sin Freljord Frostbite.
3. Demacia Targon Dragons Control
Deck code: CECAQAYJBYJRKHBDEYZVMAQBAANCCAICAAAQCAYAAYAQCAYJAYAQEAYJKVLQ
[See Demacia Targon Dragons Control deck details]
This deck might be a bit more overlooked than other decks. Demacian Dragons have hit #1 on the ladder before, but with the Bastion change, they are likely to be even better.
Infinite Mindsplitter will be even stronger than before as its ability ignores Spellshields and stuns units regardless including Lee Sin. This version of the deck does not run Judgement, but previous versions of this list did run it, so it is an optional tech depending on the meta.
With the nerf to Petty Officer, it is likely that Bilgewater will be played less which means there will be less Make It Rain on the ladder which allows Spacey Sketcher as well as Herald of the Dragons to stick to the board a bit easier.
This is especially important for Herald as it works as ramp in this deck to play Dragons earlier.
This deck thrives off of playing beefy units which the opponent can’t deal with and cheating them out with Herald of the Dragons or Rememberance on turn 3.
Once these beefy units are established, they are kept alive with Bastion, Guiding Touch, as well as activating Fury through combat or Concerted Strike. Infinite Mindsplitter and at times Aurelion Sol are used to close out games.
Generally, the mulligan for this deck is either hard mulligan for Remembrance so it can be played on turn 3 or looking for Herald of the Dragons plus Solari Shieldbearer and low-cost Dragons such as Whiteflame Protector.
Against aggressive decks, this deck loves to find Solari Shieldbearer and Single Combat. This often allows the 4 extra health of Solari Shieldbearer from Daybreak to be used effectively as Single Combat forces two units to strike each other.
Spacey Sketcher is also important to mulligan for against aggressive matchups as it can ditch a high-cost card that won’t be played anyway in favor of a low-cost creature to be used as a blocker.
4. Lulu Zed Support Aggro
Deck code: CECAIAIABEFRKHIDAEBASFQ2AMBQEAQKCEBAEAAIBIBACAYCAMAQCABFAA
[See Lulu Zed Support Aggro deck details]
With the change to Pix and Inspiring Mentor, it felt like it would be a good idea to include a Lulu and Zed aggressive list. This deck is more on the experimental side of things but has potential. Ghost with Lulu or Greathorn Companion are a bit cheesy, but many players have found it to be better than it looks.
With the Elusive units in this deck, InSpiring Mentor can often find value by adding an attack to one of those or another unit. Young Witch is in a better position as it is likely that there will be less Make It Rains on the ladder.
The game plan of this deck is to generally use a mixture of Elusives, Barriers, Quick Attacks, and bonus stats to slide under the opponent’s units and make blocks awkward for them while getting extra damage on the opponent’s Nexus. Lulu is a huge contributor as she gives large stat boosts to her supported unit.
Ghost is used on her often to make sure she can’t be traded into during an attack. This deck does not have many combat tricks, so it relies greatly on having hard to block units when you have the attack token.
Blocking for this deck is awkward as many of the bonuses it has are only during attacks. Generally, this deck will avoid blocking in favor of forcing their opponents to play defensively and to make bad blocks.
This deck generally is looking for Fleetfeather Tracker, Brightsteel Protector, and Lulu in the mulligan. It also is happy to see Zed, Ghost, Young Witch, and Laurent Protege depending on the opponent’s deck.
This deck thrives off of early game pressure, so it is important to have 1 and 2 cost creatures to play in the early turns. The game can be difficult without early game pressure as this deck does much better with a board to buff with the support units.
However, if you do miss out on your curve, there is a chance that this deck can sneak a win with Ghost, Greathorn Companion, and Genevieve Elmheart Scout attacks.
Closing Thoughts
This patch has brought some big changes which should also have a big shift in the meta. Lee Sin was a big winner in this patch and Bilgewater is getting a long-awaited nerf.
It will be interesting to see what will rise after, but Demacia seems to be in a fairly good spot along with Targon and Ionia. Hopefully, you found these decks interesting to try for this patch! Good luck, have fun!
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask Silverfuse during her streams (usually daily from 2-6PM CST).
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