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The largest tournament in Riftbound's short history didn't teach us much from a metagame standpoint. Indeed, Kai'sa and Master Yi took the tournament hostage, kicking every other legend out of the tournament until they could settle their score in a top 8 with these two only.
Ultimately, Kai'sa took the win in dominant fashion, winning 2-0 in a one-sided final match. Yet, the important data are the numbers these two posted during this 1996 players tournament :
- Kai'sa and Master Yi are the only two legends improving their relative presence from Day 1 to Day 2. Kay'sa jumped from 30.1% of the 1996 players to 43.75% of the remaining 128. Master Yi went from 23.7% to 28.91% of the field.
Combined, they went from 53.8% of the field on day 1 to 72.66% on Day 2. - Kai'sa had the second-best win rate on Day 1 with 51.6% while Master Yi was third at 51.3%. Annie took first place with 51.9%, but only 3 of the 62 pilots made it to day 2, meaning a lot of those wins did not occur in high stakes matches.
- Kai'sa and Mastey Yi represent 15 of the 16 final competitors. The last one being a cheating Teemo. Yes, it takes some deck manipulation to compete with these two, apparently.
Overall, this huge event tells us the #1 and #2 spots in Riftbound are locked until future changes. At least, there is plenty to learn about the rest of the legends. Indeed, the Metal Card reward given to the best player on each legend gave us an opportunity to see every of the 16 picks be represented.
Amongst those, a few managed to show they might not be completely lost until more support comes around :
- Darius had a solid showing, posting a 50.8% win rate and the third-best conversion rate into Day 2 with 6.06%. Granted, only 2 made it to the 128 players bracket, but with just 33 entrants, that legend did much better than its popularity reflects.
Another legend raising its stock is Volibear. The relentless storm managed to post a 50% win rate on Day 1, second-best behind Darius amongst legends with low representation. - Annie had the best Win Rate on day 1 with 51.9%, once again showing the legend has some appeal in a wide field. However, her conversion rate of 4.84% is quite low in comparison.
- Viktor was the third most popular champion on the event, and had a decent win rate (50.1%), ranking fifth overall on day 1 for that metric. Yet, the legend failed to post a conversion on par with other Tier 1 legends, at just 4.81%.
- Sett and Teemo posted pretty weak win rates (48.1% and 47.5%) on Day 1. Yet, both still managed to rank #4 and #5 in conversion rate, showing they are good picks in the right hands, but might not be suited for anyone.
- Jinx and Ahri failed hard, posting catastrophic metrics across the board.
Overall, I would give red the crown of best color in this metagame. Indeed, with Kai'sa sitting at the top while Annie, Darius and Volibear showed good promises, this looks to be the best foundation in Riftbound at the moment.
Well, at least if we don't account for the absolutely disastrous showing of Jinx in that tournament.
Happy Tier List Everyone !
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| S Tier | Kai'Sa |
| S Tier | Master Yi |
| Tier 1 | Annie |
| Tier 1 | Darius |
| Tier 1 | Sett |
| Tier 1 | Viktor |
| Tier 2 | Miss Fortune |
| Tier 2 | Teemo |
| Tier 2 | Volibear |
| Tier 3 | Yasuo |
| Tier 3 | Ahri |
| Tier 3 | Lee Sin |
| Tier 3 | Garen |
| Tier 3 | Lux |
| Tier 3 | Leona |
| Tier 3 | Jinx |
S Tier
Kai’Sa
Every metric you could think of points at Kai'sa being the indisputed best legend in Riftbound in this first set. The Daughter of the Void was the most popular champion at the start, with 600 out of the 1996 players attending. At each stage of the tournament, Kai'sa popularity only grew due to a fantastic conversion rate compared to every other pick.
It sure helps that the winning deck was piloted by a former Hearthstone legend and world championship competitor. Still, even without OmegaZero at the helm, Kai'sa once again proved she has no reliable counters.
Master Yi
Second to Kai'sa in almost every metric, Master Yi showed he is a menace in the Best-of-Three format, after posting more reasonable performances in Best-of-One events.
Both players making it to the top 4 (SugarFree and ARBD-lay) with this legend were playing without OGN-160 in the mix. Then, it is safe to assume the more tempo oriented, able to fight for the board early approach is best at the moment.
Tier 1
Annie
Annie posted the highest win rate of all legends during the first day of the tournament, but didn't convert it to many players reaching the top 128 players. Plus, the best player only managed to rank 53rd, which shows a decline in the more competitive environment of the second day.
I would assume the more refined, early game heavy decks we saw top players use are probably tougher to play against for Annie, which would explain the drop in Day 2.
Because of her strong showing in the wider field, combined with recent solid performances in events leading up to this tournament, Annie deserves to be ranked this high. However, the Red-Purple legend might need to find a little extra in order to take the next step, especially against those able to fight toe-to-toe early in a match.
Darius
Amongst the least popular leaders (below 2% representation), Darius clearly proved he deserved more love. Indeed, with a 50.8% win rate on day 1, the fourth-best overall, alongside the third-best conversion rate at 6.06%, Darius over performed compared to the trust reflected by being picked only 33 times.
Arguably, fourth overall might be too high for this legend, especially with Sett and Viktor behind it. Yet, if we look at the results over the past month, Darius is the leader with the best performances compared to how few players are using it.
OGN-242 started to be a staple inclusion quite recently, popping in a few tournaments in October, and the card seems to have a massive impact. The units it can summon are still changing from a list to another, but OGN-234 looks like a fantastic target.
Sett
Sett is widely regarded as the third-best legend in the game, and placed third amongst legends in the Shanghai National Open Tournament, with its best pilot at #19 overall. Yes, once the cheating Teemo was removed from the bracket, every spot from #18 to the winner were either Kai'sa or Master Yi.
However, if I ranked Annie or Darius a bit higher, it is simply because Sett was amongst the popular picks for this tournament, with 118 players. Arguably, if that many Annie or Darius had entered the tournament, they likely could have fought for that spot as well.
An argument could be made for Sett to also suffer from that many players picking it, which explains its 48.1% win rate. Yet, other leaders with more than a hundred pilots managed to get more wins, although Sett beat them in conversion rate, at 5.93%.
Then, it seems like Sett is a solid pick for an experienced player, but not so much of a beginner-friendly legend.
Viktor
Only six of the sixteen legends managed to post a 50% or better win rate on Day 1. Viktor was one of them, although Kai'sa and Master Yi were the only other two to achieve that feat amongst legends with more than 100 representatives. Unfortunately, even if Viktor entered Day 2 with nine players alive, Sett and Miss Fortune managed to achieve a better ranking once in the Top 128 field.
We already knew Viktor was a much better Best-of-1 legend compared to the more competitive side deck format. Still, the Herald of the Arcane had a good showing in the Shanghai National Open Tournament, solidifying its spot as a Tier 1 pick.
Plus, the list from the best ranked Viktor (#29) is using more top-end spells than most list did in previous events. With that in mind, we could see this legend become more balanced in the future, at least when it comes to Best-of-3 events.
Tier 2
Miss Fortune
Ramp decks based on OGN-160 did pretty well this weekend, but showed they are not the metagame counter some have announced. Indeed, Miss Fortune main achievement is her best representative ranking #27 overall. Otherwise, the 49.5% win rate on Day 1 is tied with Garen for seventh, while her conversion rate would have been the lowest amongst popular picks if it wasn't for Ahri's catastrophic performance.
Compared to Volibear, the other ramp oriented leader, I feel like Miss Fortune is better equipped for the current metagame. Not only does Purple pack plenty of great utility cards for that game play, on top of the fantastic OGN-192, OGN-268 is as good as any Red spell to contain your opponent's development.
Expect Miss Fortune to remain the best ramp oriented leader in the future, but probably don't get your hopes too high when it comes to the ramp play style itself.
Teemo
Teemo posted a 47.5% win rate over day 1, a very weak performance for a leader regarded as top 5 by many. However, this poor win-loss ratio still allowed for a 5.66% conversion rate, the fifth-best overall. Plus, its best pilot (post cheating scandal) managed to rank #30 overall, placing Teemo in that same area as Miss Fortune and Viktor.
Then, it seems like Teemo should not be a popular pick, but instead a legend one has to invest time into learning its intricacies.
Volibear
Alongside Darius, Volibear was the other legend with little representation, only 22 players for 1.1% of the field, but still able to post a 50% win rate. Unfortunately, this was not enough to get any Volibear in Day 2, the best pilot ranking #137 overall.
In such a big tournament, cutting from 1996 to 128, the high roll nature of a ramp deck is probably too volatile. Plus, except when OGN-134 shows up early, the deck is left with OGN-029 and OGN-024, both requiring to recycle Runes to slow down the opponent.
Factor in the high chance of your opponent using some Gear removal in game 2 and 3, and it is obvious why Volibear is a risky pick for this type of event. Probably better suited for Best-of-1 events at the moment.
Tier 3
Yasuo
Still a popular pick (48 players) considering its performance in competitive events, Yasuo lived up to that standard this weekend again with a 46.7% win rate and 2.08% conversion rate.
Ahri and Jinx had even worse performances, which allows Yasuo to be the best of the bad picks bunch. The Green-Purple combination simply lacks some punch until OGN-076 and the other high cost cards come down. Then, Yasuo relies on the occasional early OGN-194 or OGN-195 being massively discounted to be competitive.
Ahri
Ahri has a catastrophic tournament this weekend, posting a 45.8% win rate with only one of the 81 players reaching the top 128. That sole player ranked #119 overall by the end of day 2, meaning they probably didn't win much on the second day.
Looking at the events held in October, Ahri looked uneven in its performances, and the Shanghai National Open Tournament probably will go down as the worst of them all.
Arguably, the metagame simply isn't well suited for Ahri, a legend aimed at seizing the board early on, and then derailing all opposing attacks while building a big points lead. There aren't many slow starters at the moment amongst the competitive picks, most of the top legends being proactive as soon as turn one. Then, the Nine-Tailed Fox simply struggles to get set, and is stuck playing in an uncomfortable position for most of the game.
Lee Sin
There was one player carrying Lee Sin through the tournament, as except for that one pilot making it into Top 128, the blind monk otherwise sported a 45.5% win rate.
Let's be honest, Lee Sin is being completely eclipsed by Sett when it comes to the buff synergy, probably thanks to Yellow being a better supporting cast, alongside a much stronger legend ability.
Garen
The least popular legend this weekend with only 16 representatives, Garen still managed to post a 49.5% win rate on day 1. Sure, we could say only good Garen players picked it, explaning the relatively fine performance. Yet, that same argument could also be true for most of the sub-50 players legends, and most gravitated around 45% rather than 50%.
Still, the best Garen player only managed to rank #502, showing even a good Garen is far from competitive at the moment.
Lux
Lux was the second least picked champion in the tournament, with only 24 pilots, and performed as such, posting a 45.3% win rate over day one, and the best ranked player at #208.
Leona
With the second worst win rate of the tournament at 44%, Leona cimented the idea that removing or moving opposing units is simply superior to stunning them.
Jinx
The worst legend this weekend by far, which wasn't so easy to accomplish with Ahri's complete meltdown, Jinx was the only legend with more than 40 representatives (2% of the field) and none in the top 128. If you wonder why, the 42.1% win rate, 2% below the closest one (Leona), probably is a good place to start.
After its failure to post any significant results in the regional tournaments back in September, it is safe to assume Jinx is a Best-of-1 legend only.
