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As the biggest tournament outside China is almost here with the Houston regional, the metagame on English-speaking ground, especially in the US, is almost set.
Compared to the first months of Riftbound, there is one major difference : OGS-017.
Over the past Month, Annie has emerged as the main legend to challenge OGN-247, after OGS-019 was the designated rival looking at Chinese tournaments.
The popularity of each legend on both territory probably plays a role, but it isn't any less shocking to see OGN-247 barely do anything in China, while OGS-019 still has to win something big in America.
For what my opinion is worth, I believe the American have the better take on this one, mostly because they managed to refine OGS-017. Indeed, if we compare the builds Master Yi and Annie used early in November compared to this week, we will barely see a difference for the Wuju Bladesman, while the Dark Child changed a few core elements.
Back in the Chinese national tournament, the best Annie was running OGN-197, three copies of OGN-169 and none of OGN-029. Plus, OGN-179 was a popular side deck inclusion to edge against gear-based strategies.
Now, OGN-027 is in every build, while tech cards are gone to instead focus on the core game plan : score points and make the opponent uncomfortable.
Overall, this approach seems to be the best for almost every legend, as trying to counter is just too demanding at the moment. Sure, this will represent certain legends' best shot at a good performance, but this is mostly a back-up plan once one realized the core synergy is not enough. OGS-017 was strong enough to do her thing, and now that we are closing on the fully refined list, the other legends are adapting to her.
Arguably, one still can't pick any other legend but OGN-247 to win Houston, except if you feel like gambling a little. Among those risky yet reasonable picks are OGS-017, OGS-019 and maybe OGN-269.
This is mostly what we knew a month back when the entire world finally got to play Riftbound. Yet, not many would have given that specific order, as the duo at the top looked immovable at the time.
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| S Tier | Kai'Sa |
| Tier 1 | Annie |
| Tier 1 | Master Yi |
| Tier 1 | Sett |
| Tier 2 | Teemo |
| Tier 2 | Ahri |
| Tier 2 | Viktor |
| Tier 2 | Yasuo |
| Tier 2 | Darius |
| Tier 3 | Miss Fortune |
| Tier 3 | Leona |
| Tier 4 | Lee Sin |
| Tier 4 | Lux |
| Tier 4 | Volibear |
| Tier 4 | Jinx |
| Tier 4 | Garen |
- S Tier - Undisputed strongest legend based on results, whether we look at Best-of-1 or Best-of-3 events. There is no winning a tournament without going against it multiple times.
- Tier 1 - Great performer and strong presence in the metagame. Top cut placements or wins in the previous week across multiple events.
- Tier 2 - Recent results and solid track record. Able to perform in competitive environment, but likely struggling in larger events, or against some legends ranked in the higher Tiers.
- Tier 3 - Results in smaller events, such as a taking down a Nexus Night requiring to win 3 to 4 matches in a row. Struggling to post good results once on a bigger stage, or to keep their momentum going from a week to another.
- Tier 4 - No results lately, either because it was not a popular pick, or because it failed to reach the top cut of any reported tournament. Either way, those legends are struggling.
S Tier
Kai’Sa
Four reported Skirmishes, two of the five city challenges and the win at the largest event of the week (TTD Riftbound 5k tournament) keep OGN-247 anchored in that #1 spot, ahead of everyone else.
Just like we observed last week, the gap with the other legends is slowly closing, as OGS-019 managed to also win two City Challenges, while OGS-017 is tied at 4 Skirmish wins reported.
There are two main reasons I am not ready to remove OGN-247 from her pedestal. First, the Daughter of the Void found her perfect list, with the same cards being played for over a month now, most players following the build of Omegazero, the Chinese national champion, both in the main or side deck.
Then, the Mind-Fury legend consistently manages to win the biggest tournaments. Some will say it is because she is the most popular at those tournaments. Yet, I see the fact most players believe it is their best chance to win as another argument to keep OGN-247 at the top.
The Houston Regional this weekend will be the best shot Tier 1 legends have to prove OGN-247 is not that dominant.
Tier 1
Annie
The Chinese metagame solved most of the equation before global release, but they clearly failed to figure out OGS-017. Indeed, even if we look at the top-performing lists in City Challenges, we can see the North American builds have become the norm.
To be fair, the list wasn't that tricky to build, as OGS-017 relies on the best cards Fury and Chaos domains have to offer, slowly removing most situational cards. Instead, the hard part was to play the Dark Child with an aggressive mindset, something we have not seen much of in China, the metagame over there being more control oriented compared to the rest of the world.
There are still a few slots up in the air, but I'm sure the optimal list for Annie will be at Houston this weekend.
Among those slots, we find whether to run OGN-182 in the main or side deck, which likely depends if you intend to pick OGN-298 on game one or later. OGN-035 and OGN-172 also move from the field to the bench depending on list, but are always in the mix.
Last, OGN-012 and OGN-201 vary in popularity. Many lists still run two copies of the 4-cost, but it does not look like a staple inclusion any more, at least based on the best performing builds this week.
Master Yi
The Wuju Bladesman keeps posting solid results across the board, but clearly isn't as popular in America and Europe compared to China. Indeed, OGS-019 keeps winning multiple City Challenges every week, but fail to show the same dominance in Skirmishes, with only one win reported. The same could be said about large tournaments, as Master Yi was the other legend alongside OGN-247 in every Chinese tournament top cuts. Yet, the Calm - Body legend has routinely been out of top cuts in America tournaments, such as this week's TTD Riftbound 5k.
Depending on which part of the world you look at, OGS-019 and OGS-017 trade the #2 and #3 spot.
Sett
Except for a lost final in the Beijing City Challenge, this has been a bad week, maybe the worst in the global release metagame, for OGN-269, who keeps its Tier 1 status based on its track record.
With OGS-017 on the rise lately, The Boss might be struggling to find the right balance. Indeed, OGN-244 had emerged as a way to edge the match-up against OGN-247, but that card doesn't do much against aggressive strategies. Perhaps it is just a matter of tuning the deck for the more diverse, fast-paced global metagame.
Hopefully for OGN-269, this week was merely a miss, and our previous report is closer to The Boss' real power level in this environment.
Tier 2
Teemo
At the start of the global release metagame, this legend was in the same conversation as OGS-017 : An underestimated legend, with way more potential than the results in China indicate. Over the past month, the Dark Child proved that theory was real, posting multiple top placements in high stakes tournaments while recording wins in multiple local events as well. Unfortunately, OGN-263 didn't follow in those same footsteps. He might constantly finds a way to win something, such as the Runes & Rift Cash Cup II this week, the Swift Scout need to be more consistent across the board to be considered for the higher tier.
Unless a new twist to the deck emerges, it probably won't happen in this set.
Ahri
According to some players, OGN-255 still has room to grow in this metagame, and the secret is to simply play the best standalone cards, and not care that much about fine-tuning for synergistic purpose.
Considering that claim comes from one of the Skirmish winners with a legend otherwise absent from most top cuts this week, I'm inclined to believe it.
In the end, there aren't that many cards available in Riftbound at the moment. Then, if your core synergy isn't among the best, a generic strong pile of cards with a good pilot is your best chance at posting solid results.
Viktor
I was eager to see how OGN-265 would fare in the Skirmish metagame, as this legend typically overperformed in smaller events compared to large gathering. With just one win recorded, and nothing else in other tournaments, OGN-265 proved once again that Best-of-3 isn't the right fit.
Yasuo
Another week with enough results to justify a spot in the bubble tier, but far from enough to climb in the global rankings. Arguably, Calm and Chaos are two flexible domains, able to adapt to the environment.
Depending on whom you expect to be popular, OGN-259 can be built around OGN-192 or OGN-189. Unfortunately, neither are strong enough in the current metagame to represent a serious threat to the top contenders.
Darius
The Hand of Noxus didn't win anything this week, but placed second twice, in a City Challenge and at Runes & Rift Cash Cup II. In both tournaments, the list was very similar, which might indicate another step towards a refined list for OGN-253. Plus, the list is similar to the one we saw two weeks ago, so there is definitely a pattern when it comes to this legend.
Maybe the problem is the environment, featuring too many side decks with anti-gear cards. Combined with the high-roll based nature of this deck, too many things have to go right for OGN-253 to be consistent in the Origins set.
Tier 3
Miss Fortune
This was a quiet week for the Bounty Hunter, who failed to post any significant results. Already, OGN-267 was struggling in the slower metagame, but could at least rely on its solid late disruptive tools to edge against control strategies.
With OGS-017 picking up some momentum, the metagame is getting faster, playing to OGN-267's weaknesses.
The legends on the bubble need a certain metagame to thrive, and it looks like OGN-267 isn't suited for the one forming outside China.
Leona
There isn't much to say about OGN-261 from a performance standpoint, as the legend is almost non-existent in competitive events. However, when the Radiant Dawn does make an appearance, the lists are starting to look similar, offering some perspective regarding the direction for a good Stun deck.
The key is OGN-238, a card so important OGN-285 is now considered a staple. With our 4-cost staying on the field, we can conquer a battlefield every turn through stunning an enemy there. Then, OGN-261 will look to use support spells to get ahead on the scoreboard, and maintain that advantage.
The stun mechanic is pretty strong to score the final points, so the deck is building to get in that range without falling behind early on.
Tier 4
OGS-021 and OGN-257 both appeared in a top cut over the week, the Blink Monk almost taking down a City Challenge with a top 4, its best result to date. It is not enough to move to the Tier above, but it is good to see the legends labelled as lost causes being experiment around.
