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As we get into the second month of Riftbound’s Chinese release, we’re onto our third regional tournament. This tournament took place in Chongqing, and boasted 507 players, meaning that there’s a lot of data to talk about.
In this tournament, the metagame isn’t really a massive surprise; it continues to follow the trend that we’ve seen over the past few weeks both online and in paper. But, it does prove that there are players willing to take every legend to a tournament, meaning that as time goes on there’s a fighting chance for the metagame to shift.
In this article, we’re going to go over the Riftbound Chongqing Regionals. We’ll give you an overview of the tournament metagame, as well as the Top 8 decklists so you know exactly what went down last weekend.
Tournament Metagame
Total Players: 507
Kai’Sa: 168 - 33.14%
Master Yi: 114 - 22.49%
Viktor: 60 - 11.83%
Miss Fortune: 40 - 7.89%
Teemo: 31 - 6.11%
Sett: 19 - 3.75%
Volibear: 14 - 2.76%
Lee Sin: 14 - 2.76%
Annie: 13 - 2.56%
Ahri: 12 - 2.37%
Jinx: 6 - 1.18%
Darius: 6 - 1.18%
Lux: 3 - 0.59%
Yasuo: 3 - 0.59%
Leona: 3 - 0.59%
Garen: 1 - 0.20%
The two most represented legends in this tournament are, to nobody’s surprise, Kai’Sa and Master Yi, taking up over 55% of the metagame alone. These two legends have held their ground over the Origins metagame over these last few weeks; at Beijing Regionals, they were responsible for over 75% of the Top 64, and took up the entire Top 8 standings. There’s no denying that Master Yi and Kai’Sa are currently the best decks in the format, and we’ll be seeing plenty more from the both of them moving forward into the Origins meta, until someone comes along to stop them.
Out of the remaining 45% of the metagame, Viktor, Miss Fortune and Teemo remain popular picks among players after making consistent Top 64 results across the last 2 Regionals Tournaments so far. There’s still a long way to go until these legends can consistently defeat Kai’Sa or Master Yi, but otherwise they’re performing very well into the rest of the roster, and definitely have the potential to rise up once more in the future of the metagame.
Another notable mention in this metagame breakdown is Sett, with a similar metashare here to what we saw last time in Beijing. Even with his past history of beating Kai’Sa, it seems Sett is struggling a lot more in paper play than expected, maybe due to an unfavorable Master Yi matchup. Despite this, players are still confident that Sett could rise once again to take down the format when the time is right.
Top 64 Players:
Master Yi: 24 - 37.50%
Kai’Sa: 21 - 32.81%
Miss Fortune: 6 - 9.38%
Viktor: 3 - 4.69%
Teemo: 3 - 4.69%
Sett: 2 - 3.13%
Annie: 2 - 3.13%
Ahri: 1 - 1.56%
Darius: 1 - 1.56%
Lux: 1 - 1.56%
On Day 2 of the tournament, we saw the 64 best players battle it out to see who enters Top 8. Out of these, 70% of players were running Master Yi or Kai’Sa: an expected stat from the best decks in format.
Our third most represented legend, with 6 players, is Miss Fortune; a surprising addition to the ranks after only seeing a minimal amount of top ranked play in the past. It seems Miss Fortune is shaping up to be a much stronger legend in paper than showcased online, and we’re eager to see how this decklist develops into a future metagame.
In the remaining standings, some Viktor, Teemo, Sett and Darius players made their way into the ranks; four powerful legends that have proven their strength across past tournament play.
However, alongside them falls: Annie, a legend who saw a recent high rank in the Riftlab Clash III, but has otherwise been quiet, Ahri, who had a short-term reign in the metagame towards the beginning of the Origins meta, yet steeply fell off afterwards, and the most surprising addition of them all Lux, who has seen no play whatsoever since the MaxTapera tournament back in July.
Although they currently take up a small percentile of the Origins metagame, it’s always interesting to see which legends sneak their way into the Top 64’s alongside Kai’Sa and Master Yi. This gives us a great insight into how the metagame may transform in the future; which legends could rise up once the main two have fallen, or who could potentially dethrone them once the time is right.
Top 8
Across 2 days, 507 players battled their way through rounds of Swiss and Elimination to determine the Top 8 players of the weekend. Out of these 8 players, 5 piloted Kai’Sa to the top ranks, while the other three sliced their way in as Master Yi. This is no surprise; last week’s tournament in Beijing also consisted of entirely Kai’Sa and Master Yi decklists, showcasing truly how popular and powerful these legends have become within the Origins metagame.
1st: Kai’Sa by GeorgeTCG
Interested in learning how to play Kai’Sa? Check out our Kai’Sa Tempo Guide!
Congratulations to player GeorgeTCG, who managed to gain a Top 64 slot across all three Regionals tournaments, including a Top 8 in Guangzhou and now a First Place win with his Kai’Sa decklist!
The Kai’Sa decklist we’ve been watching rise to the top of the ranks lately is a Tempo decklist, a playstyle which currently holds a large advantage over the current metagame due to its versatility. Kai’Sa’s damage spells are the perfect example, with options such as Falling Star, Void Seeker, and her signature spell Icathian Rain allowing her to skip the showdown phase and eliminate any threats or large blockers with ease.
2nd: Master Yi by 易得趣^-^MYZ
In Second Place, once again is Master Yi, after having unfortunate games in all three of the Regionals Finals that have taken place so far. Player 易得趣^-^MYZ’s Master Yi decklist is slightly different to the standard decklist we’ve been seeing lately, opting for a more Midrange-y style to the Tempo decklist rather than the traditional Aggro Tempo in hopes of a more consistent matchup into Kai’Sa.
This decklist is focused around a mid-late game plan, quickly channeling runes with Find Your Center, Qiyana Victorious, and Tasty Faefolk to send out high-value units like Deadbloom Predator and Whiteflame Protector with ease. This plan is formulated to work better into Kai’Sa. Instead of holding the battlefields and hoping she doesn’t run you down, let her send out her big attacks early; then bounce back harder once she’s almost at the finish line, dominating the field with almost no way for Kai’Sa to respond.
As this decklist is very new, only first showcased in the Top 8 of the Beijing Regionals by RXD.Ai.Rico1997 last weekend, there’s still a lot more work cut out for Master Yi players to confidently beat Kai’Sa. However, I believe this is a step in the right direction, and with a bit of experimenting and re-arranging, we could see the Wuju Bladesman confidently and consistently beat the Daughter of the Void.
3-4th: Kai’Sa by RXD.Aipotu
Reclaiming their Semi-finalist spot is player RXD.Aipotu, who has ended their Regionals run with Kai’Sa so close to victory for two weeks in a row. They were defeated by player 易得趣^-^MYZ’s Master Yi decklist; a rare sight in current competitive play.
Lately, we’ve seen a few changes to the Kai’Sa decklist as more ‘deck tech’ is discovered. In particular, Time Warp was added to RXD.Aipotu’s decklist last week in the Beijing Regionals as a late game push to instantly claim 1-to-2 more points and win the game; since then, this card has taken Kai’Sa players by storm, with 4 of today’s Top 8 Kai’Sa lists embracing the tech and placing it in their deck.
This week, RXD.Aipotu has chosen to run two copies of Time Warp, which is an interesting choice due to the high cost, but increases the rate of finding the card, making it a much more reliable endgame pick. There’s also 2 copies of Mega Mech in the sideboard, which is a great choice when Kai’Sa is going second as it is a 7 cost unit, letting you play an 8 Might unit on Turn 3.
3-4th: Master Yi by 应无求
In the semi-finals we have our second Master Yi player, running the traditional Aggro Tempo decklist we’ve seen develop and rise to the top over the last month of the metagame.
This decklist is focused on dominating the early/mid game, controlling the tempo with counter spells like Defy and units that benefit from (or cause) many buffing spells within the deck such as Wielder of Water. Even while running the Aggro Tempo decklist, this list has taken some inspiration from the Midrange variant, running 2 copies of Deadbloom Predator in the sideboard as a late-game Kai’Sa blocker.
After making their way to the Top 4 out of 507 entrants, player 应无求 had their run ended by GeorgeTCG’s winning Kai’Sa list; showcasing how despite this decklist’s popularity and consistency within the rest of the metagame, if Master Yi players want to truly defeat Kai’Sa, they’ll need to adapt their plan, fast.
5-8th: Kai’Sa by BH. 忘书
Our first quarter-finalist is player BH. 忘书 with Kai’Sa, who’s run ended by the hands of player 应无求’s Master Yi.
This decklist is running 2 copies of Immortal Phoenix, a card that has fluttered its way in and out of Kai’Sa decklists over the last month. Although it holds much potential as a small-cost high-value combo piece, it can sometimes feel awkward playing it out at full cost, or intentionally trying to get it into your trash to play alongside a spell.
There may be a place for this card in a future metagame, but at the moment there are many other cards the decklist is trialling out (and moving forward with) that take priority over the Phoenix.
5-8th: Master Yi by Step.Lun
In the quarter-finals lies our third Master Yi decklist, with player Step.Lun also running the Midrange-style Tempo decklist; yet they unfortunately lost out on progressing further due to their opponent being our other Master Yi Midrange Tempo decklist, player 易得趣^-^MYZ.
One difference to note between these two decks is the inclusion of Catalyst of Aeons Step.Lun’s decklist. Both of these cards were also included in RXD.Ai.Rico1997’s Master Yi Midrange variant from Beijing Regionals Tournament, but were omitted from 易得趣^-^MYZ’s variant to make room for more offensive cards in the main board, notably more copies of Tasty Faefolk and taking Qiyana Victorious out of the sideboard.
Similarly, both Step.Lun and RXD.Ai.Rico1997s decklists run Hallowed Tomb in their battlefield pool, as a way to gain maximum value from Master Yi Honed, yet 易得趣^-^MYZ decides to run Aspirant's Climb instead as a third-game option, making it harder for Kai’Sa to reach that winning mark so quickly.
If not for the unfortunate matchup pairing, both Master Yi Midrange Tempo players could’ve advanced forward in this Top 8, as the Kai’Sa matchup is looking much more winnable with this variation of the list. Expect to see this decklist a lot more in upcoming tournaments as players experiment with this new playstyle into the current metagame.
5-8th: Kai’Sa by izoro
The fourth Kai’Sa decklist lies in the quarter-finals, with player izoro losing their spot in the Top 4 in a mirror match against winner GeorgeTCG’s Kai’Sa.
Another piece of recent Kai’Sa tech to mention is Progress Day, an inclusion that only arrived in the Guangzhou Regionals. Since then, this card has made its way into every Kai’Sa decklist in today’s Top 8, and is looking to be a staple inclusion moving forward.
5-8th: Kai’Sa by KaLioS
Our final Kai’Sa player KaLioS’s run ended after an unfortunate mirror match into RXD.Aipotu’s Kai’Sa decklist. This Kai’Sa Tempo decklist is looking to be the standard list moving forward, after a couple weeks of Regionals tournaments has greater solidified the paper metagame and given us a greater understanding of Kai’Sa’s place in the metagame.
Closing Time
The Chongqing Regionals continues to paint a picture of the Origins metagame, and two decks are standing above all else. Will other heroes start to take them down, or have we now got the established Origins metagame going into the worldwide release in the next couple of months?
If you want to keep up to date with everything going on in Riftbound, check out Riftbound.gg. We’re here with everything you need to know, from tournament reports to deck guides and everything in between, so you can stay in the know as we head into Origins and beyond.
In any case, thank you for your time, and I’ll see you on the rift.
