Table of Contents
- 1 Post Ban-List Tournament Meta Tier List
- 2 Tier 1
- 3 Tier 2
- 4 Tier 3
- 5 Tier 4
With Unleashed fully revealed, there aren't as many Spiritforged tournaments to look at for data, especially in China. As a result, the metagame heading into Lille will be much harder to predict compared to previous Regional Qualifiers, which fed from many more events in the weeks prior.
At the moment, Kai'Sa, Irelia, and Draven seem to have a solid lead on the other legends, these three totaling more results in tournaments than all the others combined. However, it is important to note Draven posted its best results shortly after the ban list, while Kai'Sa has been particularly dominant in recent Skirmishes.
This situation is fairly logic. Indeed, back in the early Spiritforged days, when Midrange Draven rose to the top, Kai'Sa came up as solid counter, able to remove those mid game units while avoiding showdowns as much as possible.
Back then, Midrange Draven could count on Miracle decks to keep Kai'Sa in line, and prevent the Daughter of the Void from being a problem. However, the ban list targeted those explosive combo decks specifically, meaning Kai'Sa has a lot more room to exist and be a problem for Midrange Draven.
Irelia has been a difficult matchup for Kai'sa in the past, and there is little reason to believe the ban list changed that fact. Thus, we can expect these three to form a rock-paper-scissors situation, at least until more legends join them atop the competitive mountain.
Post Ban-List Tournament Meta Tier List
| Tier | Legend Performance in 64+ Player Events Performance in Skirmishes |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Kai'Sa 6 Top 8 in large events 13 Skirmish Wins |
| Tier 1 | Draven 3 Wins / 7 Top 8 in large events 2 Skirmish Wins |
| Tier 1 | Irelia 1 Win / 5 Top 8 in large events 5 Skirmish Wins |
| Tier 2 | Viktor 4 Top 8 in large events 1 Skirmish Win |
| Tier 2 | Lucian 1 Top 8 in large events 1 Skirmish Win |
| Tier 2 | Master Yi 1 Win in large events |
| Tier 2 | Azir 2 Skirmish Wins |
| Tier 2 | Fiora 2 Skirmish Wins |
| Tier 2 | Ezreal 1 Skirmish Win |
| Tier 2 | Sivir 1 Skirmish Win |
| Tier 3 | Ahri 1 Top 8 in large events |
| Tier 3 | Jax 1 Top 8 in large events |
| Tier 3 | Rumble 1 Top 8 in large events |
| Tier 3 | Leona 1 Skirmish Win |
| Tier 3 | Rek'Sai No results |
| Tier 3 | Annie No results |
| Tier 3 | Sett No results |
| Tier 4 | Yasuo No results |
| Tier 4 | Miss Fortune No results |
| Tier 4 | Lux No results |
| Tier 4 | Volibear No results |
| Tier 4 | Ornn No results |
| Tier 4 | Darius No results |
| Tier 4 | Teemo No results |
| Tier 4 | Lee Sin No results |
| Tier 4 | Garen No results |
| Tier 4 | Jinx No results |
| Tier 4 | Renata Glasc No results |
- Tier 1: Top cut performer and potential winner. Multiple results across tournaments.
- Tier 2: Solid performer, often contending for top cut spots, but typically falling short of winning it all.
- Tier 3: A rare top cut appearance showing that legend is capable of competing. However, reliability, or a better option with the same play-style limits the appeal of that particular legend.
- Tier 4: No top cut recorded over the past two weeks.
Tier 1
Kai'Sa
Performance - 6 Top 8 in large events & 13 Skirmish Wins
Kai'Sa failed to win an event with at least 64 players, which is a problem when planning for one with over a thousand participants. Yet, I feel like Kai'Sa deserves to be in the driver's seat for her ability to contain Midrange Draven, alongside most of her results happening in the second week after the bans.
Irelia remains a problem to solve, as the Blade Dancer will obviously be a popular pick, even more so if Draven players start to feel like the metagame is building against them. I expect this difficult matchup, alongside some legends virtually impossible to run out of resources such as Azir, Viktor or Ezreal, to stop Kai'Sa from winning it all. Nonetheless, the Daughter of the Void will be an impactful legend in Lille.
Draven
Performance - 3 Wins / 7 Top 8 in large events & 2 Skirmish Wins
Based on performance only, Draven still has what it takes to be a menace in the upcoming regional tournaments. However, the Glorious Executioner has to be mindful of its relative fragility in the face of target strategies. Indeed, if it was impossible to cover both the Miracle and the Midrange deck prior to the ban list, it is now clear which deck one must build against to target Draven.
Already, Kai'Sa has proved she had the right tools to do it, and I expect other control oriented legends to come up with lists, or at least side-decks, designed for that task.
Irelia
Performance - 1 Win plus 5 Top 8 in large events & 5 Skirmish Wins
Ahead of the ban list, Irelia was considered the obvious legend to take over Draven if the Glorious Executioner was the only one to take a hit. After all, Irelia could only benefit from seeing less of Draven, as it was one of the few matchups the Blade Dancer could never figure out how to beat consistently.
Two weeks later, Irelia is part of the best legends in Riftbound, but it is tough to say whether she progressed or not. Indeed, she was the clear #2 before the ban list, and her results so far place her third in the competitive rankings. To explain that small setback, I would look at the amount of legends using OGN-295, arguably the worst battlefield in the game for the Blade Dancer.
One important note however, is how the metagame in smaller events tends to favour proactive legends, designed to lead the dance rather than match their opponent's tempo. With Kai'Sa on the rise, plus Regional tournaments typically featuring a lot more of the value oriented legends, Irelia should profit from a better environment in those large events. She did win the most recent event with more than 64 players, the VILEMAW'S CUP in spain.
Tier 2
Viktor
Performance - 4 Top 8 in large events & 1 Skirmish Win
Viktor is the closest to contesting the dominant trio. However, it is also a legend notorious for posting much better results in casual tournaments rather than huge events with Best-of-3 matches from the start.
As such, even if Viktor progressed with the ban list, both because it was not touched and as miracle decks were too explosive for its removal kit. The Herald of the Arcane still needs to prove it has what it takes for the big stage.
Lucian
Performance - 1 Top 8 in large events & 1 Skirmish Win
With the Chaos domain taking a bit hit, Fury and Body domains don't have to worry about their beefy units going back to their hand as much. This should improve the likes of SFD-021 atop the curve, while also making equipment cards more impactful as protective pieces against damage based removal.
In that context, Lucian is doing relatively well following the ban list, although it is still living in Draven's shadow when it comes to proactive midrange strategies. The ban list had no impact on the way to build Lucian. However, if the metagame drift towards a more value, control oriented direction, the Purifier might want to add even more resilience against spells.
Master Yi
Performance - 1 Win in large events
Life is about the same for Master Yi following the ban list. It is capable of the occasional spark, like winning the Fujian grand finals. However, Master Yi still relies on a hot start combined with its ability to hold with 1 unit, and snowball the match from there.
The Body domain is improved with less of Chaos removal around, but it remains volatile nonetheless. If you can't get set on the board early, a lot of your support cards aren't useful. At least, SFD-105 will help edge against control match-ups, which should be quite popular.
Azir
Performance - 2 Skirmish Wins
Azir found its refined list a while ago, and doesn't seem to deviate from it following the ban list. The Emperor of the Sands follows in Viktor's footsteps, as a control based token deck, with a lot more gears in the deck.
Most likely, the amount of gear removal will play a role in how well Azir performs in regional tournament. With Seals out of the picture now that Miracle decks seem to be gone, the likes of SFD-153 or SFD-033 should be much safer to develop.
Fiora
Performance - 2 Skirmish Wins
The Grand Duelist won a few casual events early after the ban list, but failed to repeat that performance in the second week. Her two skirmish wins came on April 1st and 2nd, right after the changes occurred. Considering the OGN-242 was already built, and half the participants were probably testing new ideas, I don't know how much power we can credit Fiora with heading into the regional qualifier tournaments.
With the chaos domain nerfed, the field will probably be more diverse, meaning more equipment cards and gears in general. In that context, OGN-242 might be a very volatile card to build around, if side decks are filled with ways to remove gears.
Ezreal
Performance - 1 Skirmish Win
There has been two very different Ezreals in Spiritforged. The one in regional tournaments, often in top cuts, able to shoot for the win, even taking down Bologna back in February. And the Ezreal from casual events, more reserved, rarely contending for the win.
Clearly, the Prodigal Explorer isn't a legend you can expect to pick up and immediately perform with, and it might be even more difficult since the ban list. Yet, I expect Ezreal to be a competitive legend in the upcoming 2 regional tournaments, as those large events seem to be a better stage for this legend.
Sivir
Performance - 1 Skirmish Win
To be fair, I'm not sure there is much of a difference between Sivir and Miss Fortune at the moment, considering both had to go back to playing OGN-160. Only their signature spell and champion unit separates them, but this list isn't using SFD-204 at all.
Sivir gets to be here due to her win in a tournament with $5.000 on the line but an unknown amout of players. Miss Fortune's best performance is second place on the back of a 3-2 score in a Skirmish.
Expect both to have a very similar list when we'll compare the best-of decks for each legend. For that same reason, expect their fortune to be tied to the amount of gear removal decks will pack in Lille.
Saying this, it makes no sense to have Miss Fortune ranked in the bottom tier while Sivir is up here. Yet, the current results point to Sivir being the better of the two, I just expect Miss Fortune to be able to replicate the same results through copying Sivir's best list, or figuring out the best way to play the Chaos-Body tandem.
Tier 3
In this tier, we find the legend with at least one performance over the past two weeks, or those already ranked in Tier 3 before the ban list.
Rek'Sai and Sett feel weird to rank in the last tier, as they were capable of good things in the past, and the ban list can't have hurt them this much. Annie was a Tier 2 competitor before the update, but lost OGN-168 so it is only fair to see her stock plummet.
For now, I feel like the Dark Child is still capable of the occasional spark, but maybe Lille will prove Annie lost too much on March 31st.
When it comes to Leona, Jax, Ahri and Rumble, I truly only trust the nine-tailed fox in that bunch. Indeed, Ahri was the only one from these four with regular decent performance and not impacted by the latest update.
Leona and Rumble were nowhere to be seen, so I'll need more to start believing in them, while Jax took a hit with the rules updates.
Ahri
Performance - 1 Top 8 in large events
Jax
Performance - 1 Top 8 in large events
Rumble
Performance - 1 Top 8 in large events
Leona
Performance - 1 Skirmish Win
Rek'Sai
Performance - No results
Annie
Performance - No results
Sett
Performance - No results
Tier 4
In this last tier, we find the legends with no result, and already struggling before the ban list. In this crew, Darius, Lux and Volibear were slowly improving with time, and have the potential to be in the upper tier next week.
Unfortunately for the others, especially Jinx and Teemo who lost the most in that Chaos domain rebalancing, they will have to prove they don't belong in Tier 4. Most likely, that will take a list built around a strong gimmick, and a metagame without the appropriate counter cards to stop it.
For several of them, there isn't a performance worth reporting for the sake of having an updated list. As such, we'll assume their build from late march remains the best way to play certain legends in this last tier.
Yasuo
Performance - No results
Miss Fortune
Performance - No results
Lux
Performance - No results
Volibear
Performance - No results
SFD-209 makes tge most sense to replace the now banned OGN-284
Ornn
Performance - No results
Second place out of 36 players is by far the best result for Ornn so far in April. The fact it came from an aggressive list either means Ornn needs to be surprising to perform, or everyone missed how we were supposed to build this legend.
Darius
Performance - No results
Teemo
Performance - No results
Lee Sin
Performance - No results
Garen
Performance - No results
Jinx
Performance - No results
The only list from Jinx shared since the Ban List ranked in the top 64 of a 69 players tournament, meaning the Loose Cannon is doing very poorly so far in this new environment. Most likely, Jinx will copy whatever Annie or Draven are doing, with a bigger emphasis on getting cards out of her hand.
