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On top of the City Challenges this week, we also have a 84 players tournament held online, the Riftbound TCGArena $2K Cash Showdown 2 to look at. Overall, it adds up to nine tournaments, with 80 performances, 10 wins and 70 top 8 spots to look at. These results will range across 18 legends, three less compared to last week, as Annie, Ornn and Jax failed to post a top 8 performance this time around. It is interesting to note there isn't a single new legend compared to last week. We can see this pattern even if we go back to the first week. Back then, we had 24 legends, with Jhin, Volibear and Lucian part of the mix, and have lost three per week so far.
18 remains a lot of competitive picks to look at although there are big discrepancies in that group. Indeed, some legends have put up consistent results over multiple weeks, winning at least one city challenge while posting 5+ top 8 performances such as Origins Yi, LeBlanc or Irelia. On the other hand, some legends like Unleashed Yi, Vex or Kha'zix are struggling to look like competitive threats.
The first Regional tournament in Sydney is only 10 days away. That tournament will obviously shape the metagame for Unleashed early on. Yet, those local events are starting to paint the picture of which legends should be competing for the win, while others look like picks for the Best-Of card rather than a top cut spot.
| Legend | Performance across 10 tournaments |
|---|---|
| Origins Yi | 1 Win / 17 Top 8 |
| Irelia | 1 Win / 10 Top 8 |
| LeBlanc | 1 Win / 9 Top 8 |
| Diana | 2 Win / 3 Top 8 |
| Fiora | 1 Win / 5 Top 8 |
| Miss Fortune | 1 Win / 3 Top 8 |
| Kai'sa | 1 Win / 3 Top 8 |
| Azir | 1 Win / 2 Top 8 |
| Sivir | 0 Win / 4 Top 8 |
| Lillia | 0 Win / 3 Top 8 |
| Rengar | 0 Win / 3 Top 8 |
| Sett | 1 Win / 0 Top 8 |
| Viktor | 0 Win / 2 Top 8 |
| Vex | 0 Win / 2 Top 8 |
| Draven | 0 Win / 2 Top 8 |
| Unleashed Yi | 0 Win / 1 Top 8 |
| Kha'Zix | 0 Win / 1 Top 8 |
| Pyke | 0 Win / 1 Top 8 |
Origins Master Yi
With almost twice as many Top 8 performances as the closest legend this week, and a first place overall in the previous wave of City Challenges, Origins Yi has to be the legend to beat at the moment.
Compared to its deck in Spiritforged, many new cards have reinforced this deck, with one battlefields alongside five unique cards from the new set in the mix. Overall, this represents about a quarter of the list coming from the new set.
The gameplay hasn't changed except for equipments being out of the picture. Indeed, Origins Yi still plays a midrange strategy focused on strong units backed up with cheap yet impactful spells. The main difference is a bigger emphasis on the stun mechanic, with UNL-042 or UNL-060 now in the mix, improving this legend's ability to hold once on a battlefield.
Irelia
Several cards from Unleashed made it as in Irelia, but the core strategy around SFD-057 and SFD-048 remains the same. Looking at the results, Irelia doesn't need to change much, as she ranked among the top 5 performers over the past three weeks. As a result, we can expect the Blade Dancer to remain a solid competitor to earn top cut spots in tournaments for the Unleased set.
LeBlanc
LeBlanc ranked first among new legends in all three weeks based on sheer amount of top 8 performances recorded. It is important to note the Deceiver has been losing a bit of momentum, going from eleven to nine, and now seven top 8s this week.
We could explain this slight drop two opposite ways:
- LeBlanc wasn't a difficult legend to figure out, with many already certain she should be built around UNL-172 and OGN-236 during reveal season. As a result, the Deceiver didn't progress much over three weeks, while other legends worked towards a refined list, closing the gap with each new staple card found.
- Some players are preparing for bigger things, using those smaller events to refine their strategy, or educate themselves about the metagame as much as possible. Thus, with LeBlanc figured out rather quickly, some started to play other legends, certain they could just come back to this legend later on if she was still the best pick.
No matter which explanation you like most, LeBlanc is for sure a new top tier legend. Now, it will be interesting to see if her specific synergy built around Deathknell units will be targeted in some side decks. The Chaos domain can return units to hand rather than destroy them, hence the return of OGN-169 in the metagame, but there aren't a ton of other ways to not kill those units.
Diana
Not only is Diana the only legend with two wins for this third week, two of her three top 8s are lost finals. Four finals out of five top 8 performances tells me Diana has the potential to be a real threat, but also requires a fine mastery to be played properly. At least, the refined deck looks almost figured out, with both winning decks featuring a ton of similarities, both in terms of units, or support spells included.
Just like Ezreal during Spiritforged, Diana will be a contender in high-stakes tournaments, but one should not pick the Scorn of the Moon without extensive prior training.
Fiora
Fiora posted five to six results per week in this early Unleased metagame, making the Grand Duelist a serious threat overall. Last week, I was a bit harsh with Fiora, who looked limited to using OGN-242 as her only foundation, naturally making her vulnerable to gear removal.
However, her win in Beijing this week came from a deck with the 3-cost gear sitting in the side deck, instead focusing on a midrange strategy designed to buff and leverage mighty units.
I still feel like Fiora lacks something to be part of the top tier conversation, her current deck too similar to her struggling build from Spiritforged. Yet, I can't deny she was a strong competitor through this first three weeks of Unleashed tournament play.
Miss Fortune
Even if her win came from a 32 players event, Miss Fortune really stepped it up this week. By that, I mean the Bounty Hunter just joined the OGN-160 club. However, she does it a bit differently, with OGN-192 complementing UNL-118 to bring a more disruption based list.
Sivir a few spots below is following a similar trend, with only one copy of UNL-147. It is safe to assume this will be the look of Aurora decks in future tournaments, and likely the best way to build around the 9-cost gear. We'll see how Order or Fury legends will complement UNL-118, as the likes of Garen or Volibear will inevitable plays Aurora in Regional Qualifier tournaments.
Kai'Sa
The Daughter of the Void had a great showing last week, racking up seven top 8s performances. Unfortunately, even if she won a 32 players tournaments this time, Kai'sa looks to be on the downfall in Unleashed.
It isn't just the performances, placing her in Tier 2 at best, it is also the fact Kai'Sa is using very few of the new cards. This isn't a problem, but it shows this new set didn't pack a lot of strong card for control oriented legends in the Mind or Fury domains.
Jhin being completely out of the competitive picture for now aligns with that sentiment.
Azir
Azir added a couple of cards from the Unleashed set and managed to win the online tournament held for western players. Considering the Emperor of the Sands heavily builds around equipment cards, it is only fair to see a large part of its core remain the same in this new set. Yet, finding ways to improve your core synergy, or at least be a little flexible in your support tools, is how you remain relevant over multiple sets.
UNL-039 is just another piece of equipment to use with the ability, but UNL-042 and UNL-173 are cards opponent might want to keep in mind when playing against Azir.
Sivir
The Battle Mistress posted as many performances as Miss Fortune, but failed to win her finals match. Other than that, both Fury - Chaos legends represent the best way to build around OGN-160 in this new set. It is only fair considering the top end units both domains received with Unleashed.
Lillia
With seven top 8 performances in week 1 and 2, Lillia could not keep up with LeBlanc and Diana among new releases this time around. The best performing list is almost the exact same as her best one from week 2, meaning Lillia probably reached her peak in terms of raw power. For those looking for a refined list, it is nice to see consistency from a week to another. However, the drop in performance might indicate Lillia was a top performer when the others still had some work to do, and isn't that good once every legend is at full force.
Sett
The Boss only posted one result this week, and it was a win. Either there are a lot of bad lists around, and Sett players should look at how this one is built. Or Sett requires a fine mastery in order to post results. This second option is similar to what we saw in the Spiritforged metagame. Sett rarely was competing in the final rounds, except when specific players were part of the fray.
Viktor
After the win in Lille, Azir took the crown of best token strategy, and the early Unleashed metagame seems to go in that direction as well. Indeed, even if Viktor added a few cards to the mix, the Herald of the Arcanes is stuck playing a control oriented style, while Azir is more able to develop pressure through equipped sand soldiers.
The top 3 legends this week were either from the Calm domain, meaning removal spells can be countered, or LeBlanc, who's built around her units being destroyed. In that context, the metagame might not be ideal for a legend mostly designed to react to the opponent for a large portion of the match.
Rengar
The only Fury - Body legend in the competitive discussion at the moment, Rengar managed to remain a good performer, but had its best showing in week 1, back when most decks were unrefined. Since then, the Calm domain emerged as a great performer, and I would venture the new UNL-042 is a pain for decks trying to dominate with midrange units.
Going forward, I expect Rengar to be a fine pick for those who enjoy a very proactive deck, built around explosive patterns. However, it also looks like a one dimensional deck, with little come back mechanics if the ambush keyword wasn't enough to keep opponents on their toes.
Vex
Just like Hold focused legends before, Vex is struggling to keep up competitively. There are plenty of solid cards in Vex's arsenal, but those cards also are available to other legends, those with a more versatile play style.
Draven
Draven only added a couple of Unleashed cards to its midrange build, with UNL-022 and UNL-141 now in the mix. At the end of Spiritforged, Draven proved the ban list wasn't enough to keep him outside of the top tier conversation. Unleashed changed that dynamic, as the entire Fury domain is struggling currently, no matter if paired with the Mind, Body or Chaos domain.
Unleashed Yi
If there was a competition to figure out which Master Yi is the better one, it will take a cataclysmic turn of events for the new one to turn the situation around. Indeed, even if there are plenty of XP cards to build around, Unleashed Yi is sturggling to post good results. Unfortunately, its rather slow to build ability can't compare to the immediate impact of Origins Yi's ability.
Kha'Zix
I am glad Kha'Zix isn't playing an OGN-160 deck, as it didn't make sense based on its ability. However, I'm afraid the best-of card for this legend will go to such a deck considering the current results. Indeed, midrange decks with a steady progression have been struggling so far in Unleashed, with Rengar, Draven or Sett all in the bottom half of the 18 legends in our chart. Explosive proactive patterns, or cheap ways to protect a unit are key to perform at the moment.
Pyke
The new Fury - Chaos legend managed to post one Top 8 per week, enough to be mentionned in all our Unleashed reports so far. However, Pyke clearly is struggling to find its place in this metagame, trying to play a control playstyle which is very difficult to install with Chaos and Calm legends at the top.
The only legend without a way to counter removal spells in the top 5 is LeBlanc, a legend built around the Deathknell synergy. Even the body domain, which had OGN-145 to prevent damage from Fury spells, can now use UNL-106 as well to derail removals.
