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Except for some unannounced tournament with high stakes and lots of attendants, the Origins metagame is set, and most of the community is already looking at the Spiritforged set and its first events in China. Therefore, this might be our last Tier List for the Origins set of Riftbound.
Overall, this has been quite a fun environment to follow. China told us OGN-247 was going to steamroll everyone in its path, just like it did oversea. However, even if OGS-019 managed to remain a tough competitor, Kai'sa biggest rival once in the Western metagame has been OGS-017. To be fair, the Dark Child probably had a shot at becoming the game's best legend if we didn't start our Riftbound experience with plenty of information, and biases, available.Indeed, while Kai'sa had a refined list and plenty of footage to learn how to play her, Annie basically started from scratch on global release. If it wasn't for the North American community, turning around what was another aggressive, midrange build using Fury units into the aggressive scoring machine we now have to plan against. Annie probably would still be with OGN-253 and OGN-259 in the "Good but not a real threat" category.The other legend who would certainly want this metagame to last a bit longer is OGN-267. The Bounty Hunter finally won a big tournament, but unfortunately might not have a shot at proving it wasn't a lucky shot.
For every legends rising in the rankings, some also have to go down. Sadly, OGN-269 will end on a disappointing note, ranking 12th overall in Houston after several good performances early in the Western metagame. The Boss likely the victim of OGS-017's rise, and will end Origins alongside OGN-263 and OGN-265, as a potential top cut legend but not a serious contender for the win.
For those still playing in the Origins metagame, any legend in the first three tiers has a reasonable shot of winning a local event. If your favourite is ranked in the last group, it will take a strong list for your metagame, plus learning how to beat the other nine legends.
However, almost every legend managed to win a Nexus Night already, and every legend is capable to go on a hot streak over a few games. The gap in power level becomes more obvious once we look at events with several hundred players.
Happy Tier List Everyone!
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Kai'sa |
| Tier 1 | Annie |
| Tier 2 | Master Yi |
| Tier 2 | Miss Fortune |
| Tier 2 | Sett |
| Tier 2 | Teemo |
| Tier 3 | Viktor |
| Tier 3 | Darius |
| Tier 3 | Yasuo |
| Tier 4 | Lee Sin |
| Tier 4 | Volibear |
| Tier 4 | Ahri |
| Tier 4 | Jinx |
| Tier 4 | Leona |
| Tier 4 | Lux |
| Tier 4 | Garen |
- Tier 1 - Dominant force in the metagame, often the target of certain side deck inclusions. Multiple wins in large events and expected among top performers at any tournament.
- Tier 2 - Solid performer and strong presence in the metagame. Regular Top Cut performer, but often falling short of winning it all.
- Tier 3 - Results in smaller events, such as a taking down a Nexus Night, sometimes a Skirmish. Struggling to post good results once on a bigger stage, or to keep their momentum going from a week to another.
- Tier 4 - Not expected in most tournament's top cut or even to see much play overall. Popularity rises for regional tournaments, with players vying for a Best-of card, arguably easier to earn on these lesser played legends.
Tier 1
Kai’Sa
The best OGN-247 in Houston was sporting a rather peculiar list. Indeed, even since OmegaZero won the National tournament in China, the best list for Kai'sa was agreed upon.
In North America however, the metagame was much faster compared to China, with OGS-017 rising as a top contender.
This fast-paced environment is what led to AlanZQ bringing what we will call "Aggro Kai'sa", a list which could have won the entire event. Sadly, the point from OGN-290 was missed in the top 8 match against the eventual winner, which ended Kai'sa's run in Houston.
Since that regional tournament, Kai'sa won two more large events in Orlando, taking down the Friday and Sunday Pro-Play Games Summit 5k tournaments, while it lost in the finals to OGN-267 in Saturday's 10k tournament.
Overall, the gap is much smaller compared to how dominant this legend has been in China, which is why I feel comfortable removing the Tier S ranking. However, Kai'sa will forever be the best legend in Riftbound first ever expansion.
Annie
OGS-017 put on a show in Houston, with four players reaching the top 8, three in the top 4 and Shawn Dhaliwal winning the entire thing. In North America, there is an argument for the Dark Child to be called the best legend in the game. Yet, this lever of performance has not transferred to China or Europe, which is why Annie will have to settle for second-best worldwide.
This is the updated build from the Houston champion, who also won a Skirmish not so long after. The only change is a balance swap, with one OGN-168 becoming OGN-169 instead. Otherwise, this is considered the standard and dominant list for Annie in Origins.
Tier 2
Master Yi
OGS-019 had an interesting development over the course of this first set. It went from playing OGN-160 to dropping it as it was too slow, until it embraced it again, but only in Game 1, before the counter cards can be sided.
Overall, the key to a strong Master Yi deck is to find a way to leverage its ability to force the opponent into spending resources to make up for that extra might. It can be through sheer tempo early, or the raw power of OGN-160 later on. In both instances, the key is to not get countered by your opponent, and forced to play from behind.
This list trying to meet both worlds is trending at the moment, and placed second in the Houston regional. However, tempo lists are the most common builds for OGS-019, although they have not won anything big in some time now.
Miss Fortune
Although OGS-017 stole the spotlight, OGN-267 also developped tremendously in the North American metagame, up to finally winning a big event at the Orlando Pro-Play Games Summit Saturday 10K.
Both Ali Aintrazi and the best ranked Miss Fortune in Houston, Trinity John, were playing OGN-160 lists, except they disagreed on the early cards they should run. The list featured here is closer to the one used to win in Orlando, except for OGN-179 plus OGN-186 from the Houston list.
Unfortunately, there aren't many large tournaments left for the Bounty Hunter to enjoy this new status of being a serious contender. Still, those attending a local tournament in the Origins metagame at least know how to build the core of that deck. From there, it seems like the choice to run OGN-156 in the main deck, have a Gear package, or run support cards for our units is still up in the air, depending on your own metagame or preferences.
Sett
In Houston, the best OGN-269 ranked 102nd, placing the expected top 8 or 16 performer as 12th overall among the sixteen total legends. This is a meltdown similar to what OGN-255 experienced in the Chinese national tournament. The difference is that Sett has been performing much better than Ahri heading into Houston, routinely making it into top cuts and even winning the big tournament in Atlanta on November 23rd.
Most likely, the rise of Annie has been very difficult to handle for the Boss, a showdown specialist now unable to fight as its units keep being sent back to base. Otherwise, it could also be the return of OGN-160 in other Orange decks, which means opponent are also developing very large units.
If we look at the North American metagame close, we can spot Collin Kaiser's name multiple times. They won Atlanta plus topped twice in Orlando (Friday and Saturday) recently. I think it is safe to say their list is likely to be the go-to for the end of the Origins metagame.
Teemo
Always good but never great, OGN-263 failed to win anything big in the Origins metagame. In North America, Gorica has emerged as an excellent pilot, and routinely shares their insight on YouTube. After becoming the highest ranked Teemo in Houston, they also won a couple of Skirmishes and shared what will likely become the go-to Teemo list going forward.
The build isn't so far from what we saw before Houston, especially Prismaticism's list from their win in Runes & Rift's $700 Cash Cup back in late November. OGN-167 is now a staple in the deck, while OGN-105 also is in the mix atop the curve.
The main difference in this updated build are more Chaos cards to control opposing units. OGN-263 needs to have a battlefield under control to hide cards, so making sure OGN-169 and such utility tools show up early is a must.
Tier 3
Viktor
OGN-265 is more discussed for its early performance in Spiritforged rather than what it accomplished during Origins. It must help that the new set is playing mostly Best-of-1 tournaments at the moment, as it is the kind of events the Herald of the Arcane is at its best.
Houston once again proved that theory, with the best OGN-265 reaching top 64, but the legend placing 8th overall, behind OGN-257 and OGN-249.
The middle of the pack is a fair spot for this legend, especially when it comes to high stakes tournaments.
Darius
As part of the Fury Domain, OGN-265 benefits from some of the best midrange units in the game, while OGN-242 proved to be a great highroll from the Order domain, recently joined by OGN-226.
Unfortunately for OGN-253, other legends able to use those same fantastic units managed to build a very reliable deck around them.
This issue of sometimes losing to itself, or being forced to take a gample to keep up with the top performers plagued the Hand of Noxus for this entire set. At times, a great performance would get Darius back in the competitive discussion, but it never managed to stay there for long, as the deck is both too inconsistent, and easy to target with gear removal if need be.
Yasuo
If Riftbound was a football league, OGN-259 would be that team which never competes for the title, but also saves itself from relegation year after year.
In Houston, Yasuo closed the year with a top 64 and a loss in the first elimination round. In true Unforgiven fashion, the legend did enough to be mentioned as a Day 2 performer, but immediately lost after that step.
Everyone foresees Chaos as a strong domain in Spiritforged, while SFD-195's cards could come bolster OGN-259's deck. As such, this legend could still be around in Set 2, but it will be an uphill battle with even more competition to be considered a competitive pick.
Tier 4
OGN-257, OGN-249 and OGN-255 deserve a Tier 3.5 type of ranking, but I don't want to make it too complicated. These three are capable of the occasional spark, for example in Houston for OGN-257 and OGN-249, both reaching top 64.
However, they are still long shots compared to Tier 3 legends, which can be considered contenders with the right build and pilot.
Unfortunately for the last four, it is time to turn to Spiritforged in hope to get some support, which could happen for OGN-261 or OGS-021. Otherwise, wait for the next regional tournament, place of the next battle for Best-of cards.
