Table of Contents
| Tier | Champion Performance after One Regional Tournament in the West |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Draven 219 Picks / 38% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 60.8% Win Rate / Top 8 |
| Tier 1 | Irelia 129 Picks / 26% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 53.4% Win Rate / Top 4 |
| Tier 1 | Ezreal 77 Picks / 18% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 52.4% Win Rate / Win |
| Tier 1 | Kai'Sa 165 Picks / 19% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 50.4% Win Rate / Top 16 |
| Tier 2 | Annie 67 Picks / 16% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 49.8% Win Rate / Top 16 |
| Tier 2 | Master Yi 28 Picks / 11% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 51.8% Win Rate / Top 16 |
| Tier 2 | Sivir 53 Picks / 19% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 49.4% Win Rate / Top 16 |
| Tier 2 | Viktor 54 Picks / 11% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 49.1% Win Rate / Top 4 |
| Tier 2 | Azir 48 Picks / 4% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 52.9% Win Rate / Top 64 |
| Tier 2 | Lucian 41 Picks / 12% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 45.3% Win Rate / Top 32 |
| Tier 3 | Ahri 54 Picks / 15% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 50.9% Win Rate / Top 64 |
| Tier 3 | Jinx 47 Picks / 17% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 47.8% Win Rate / Top 64 |
| Tier 3 | Fiora 47 Picks / 6% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 46.4% Win Rate / Top 64 |
| Tier 3 | Jax 34 Picks / 6% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 45.8% Win Rate / Top 32 |
| Tier 3 | Darius 23 Picks / 17% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 54.6% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 3 | Rek'Sai 51 Picks / 6% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 48.9% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 3 | Sett 29 Picks / 10% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 45.8% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 3 | Miss Fortune 35 Picks / 9% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 39.9% Win Rate / Finals |
| Tier 3 | Volibear 28 Picks / 11% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 44.1% Win Rate / Top 32 |
| Tier 4 | Lee Sin 19 Picks / 11% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 47.4% Win Rate / Top 256 |
| Tier 4 | Lux 34 Picks / 6% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 44.5% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 4 | Rumble 25 Picks / 4% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 45.3% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 4 | Yasuo 39 Picks / 3% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 44.8% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 4 | Teemo 27 Picks / 7% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 40.1% Win Rate / Top 128 |
| Tier 4 | Renata Glasc 26 Picks / 4% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 44.4% Win Rate / Top 256 |
| Tier 4 | Garen 15 Picks / 0% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 40.5% Win Rate / Top 512 |
| Tier 4 | Leona 20 Picks / 0% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 37.5% Win Rate / Top 512 |
| Tier 4 | Ornn 33 Picks / 0% Day 2 Conversion Rate / 30% Win Rate / Top 512 |
- Tier 1: A force in the metagame, expected in the top cut of most tournaments and a potential winner.
- Tier 2: Solid performer, often contending for top cut spots, but typically falling short of winning it all.
- Tier 3: Competitive sparks but unable to beat certain match-ups or losing to itself at times. Needs improvement to become a serious threat.
- 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.
Meta Overview
Regional tournaments in the west have way more players attending, with 1719 attending Bologna when Chinese large events gathered about 500 players.
The metrics we get are also different, with Day 2 conversion rate shared rather than a clean top 64 cut, but we also get the win rate for each legend.
Another difference is the play style, with players from Europe or America looking for more explosive play-patterns rather than a midrange, more linear play-style.
Thus, while the best list from China will be featured for the legends with disappointing results over in the west, I will hit the reset button on the stats associated to each legend in the chart above. From now on, we'll look at the stats from Bologna, with the results from Vegas, Lille, Atlanta, and other events added as they happen.
As for the rankings, they will consider what happened in China over the past month. Yet, with the win rate now available, some legends, especially those around the middle of the pack, have another metric to be ranked by rather than their best finish at a tournament.
A different region alongside different metrics to look at naturally will shake the rankings, and our perception of the Riftbound metagame.
First, we have to talk about Ezreal and the Chaos domain, as both put on a clinic in Bologna.
To be fair, Chaos cards were already well in the spotlight, but it was even more obvious in that tournament. Indeed, we mostly got to see a midrange, value oriented type of play style in china, with Chaos shining through its ability to support whichever strategy. In Bologna, the miracle strategy built around OGN-195, SFD-149 or SFD-150 took over, making the Chaos domain what you build around, not a support.
In that all out war for value and explosive play-patterns, Ezreal went undefeated, showcasing its abilities to control opposing units, developing some of its own, and always doing both with a hand full of cards.
As a result, the Prodigal Explorer naturally joins Draven and Irelia as a new threat in this metagame, and I can't wait to see if a repeat performance is in the books in Vegas.
With a trio of Chaos legends now at the top, and plenty more doing well, the most interesting part of this metagame might be to see which legends are doing well outside this domain.
Mostly control oriented legends to be fair, able to remove the board and slow down their opponent's progression. Kai'sa, Viktor or Azir all rank pretty well in that regard, although the switch to a more explosive approach with the miracle shell might be a problem for them in the future. Indeed, when you opponent is not paying for certain units, it becomes much harder to remove them all.
Maybe the answer is to quickly get set on the board then, looking to build the scoreboard before the explosive turns inevitably arrive. That would make Annie, Master Yi or Lucian better options, as those can quickly build a dominant position against a rather passive opponent.
Heading into Vegas, the narrative has to be whether the answer to that new dominant play style will emerge. One week removed from Bologna, I feel like we'll see even more of those miracle type of decks, but the counters might be ready for Lille, seven weeks from now.
Tier 1
Draven
Draven keeps struggling to get to the finish line, this time out in Top 8 although there were three representatives at the start of that round. The Glorious Executioner remains the best legend in Riftbound, but it can't seem to find a way around all those control decks designed to beat it.
In Bologna, the miracle build did better than the midrange one, a first since the last tournament in Bologna, using proxies due to being very early in Spiritforged. Yet, those explosive turns seem to make more against reactive decks, aimed to removing your board rather than developing theirs. Indeed, through summoning multiple units at once, it is much more difficult for them to contain your board.
Irelia
Just like we saw in China, Irelia keeps posting strong metrics across the board, but is 0 for 5 when it comes to making it to the finals of a regional. Plus, the windows for that opportunity might be closing, as the semi-finalist from Bologna shared their hatred for the match-up against Ezreal, a very difficult one for the Blade Dancer.
Going forward, one can only expect Ezreal to become more popular, meaning Irelia might start struggling a bit more.
Ezreal
It is much easier to tweak the metrics in a physical card game compared to a digital one. Indeed, there are much fewer games recorded, while the legend picked by the best players will naturally get a boost compared to those played by the average Joe.
At the very first tournament in China, Ezreal was played by Omegazero, their national champion from the Origins set. In the first tournament in the west, AlanZQ, a top player in Legends of Runeterra and the best Kai'sa in Houston, picked the Prodigal Explorer as well.
If you look at what these players can accomplish, they could probably make half the legends in the game look better than their current numbers. However, they also show everyone the peak capacity of those legends, and possible improve everyone's skill from showing how its done at the highest level.
In Bologna, we learned that Ezreal could go undefeated in a field of 1700 players. That is enough to bump the legend up to the point Ezreal is now challenging the other dominant legends However, we also need to ask whether AlanZQ could have won if they were playing Draven or another strong legend.
Kai'Sa
Kai'Sa did well by all metrics, without looking like a dominant legend either. Indeed, both her 19% conversion rate and 50.4% win rate rank well compared to her peers, but it also feels clear the Daughter of the Void has a problem to solve.
Up until this point, Kai'Sa was the best control oriented legend in Riftbound, and the default pick for anyone looking to build against Draven. She had one issue, which was drawing consistently, but she did a fairly good job with OGN-114 or OGN-087.
In Bologna, the metagame changed compared to Chinese tournaments. There were more combo oriented builds, which can be more difficult to contain for a control deck. More importantly, there was also more of Ezreal, another control oriented legend, except this one won't ever run out of cards.
If the metagame progresses down that road, I anticipate Kai'Sa will have to adapt. Indeed, threats won't come in one after another but many at the same time, while opponents won't run out of cards anytime soon.
Tier 2
Annie
After winning the last regional in China, Annie did fairly well in Bologna, although the Dark Child might have a problem. Indeed, it is likely Annie is the best aggressive legend in the game, on the back of an ability allowing to both use all our rune proactively, while still being able to react on our opponent's turn.
However, the metagame is drifting towards a more combo oriented play-style, designed to build the board through explosive play-patterns. Maybe Annie could be annoying for those decks, as she would pressure them a ton early on, possibly to the point they wouldn't have time to get their synergies on track.
However, if they managed to contain Annie early, or get a turn with three or four units summoned, there is no way 2 runes would be enough to react to that. Plus, stacking all those units in one battlefield would be a very effective way to beat the likes of SFD-145 or OGN-172.
Expect Annie to move up or down the list in the near future, depending how she fares in this evolving metagame she probably has little business adapting to.
Master Yi
Master Yi finally had that strong performance many believe it was capable of, without it ever happening. Looking at the deck, not much has changed compared to the lists we saw in China. Then, it must be the metagame, now more combo oriented which is benefiting the Wuju Bladesman. After all, SFD-105 is a fantastic card against spell based opponent, while the Calm - Body tandem sports plenty of solid cards to hold battlefields, and punish an opponent's slow start.
Sivir
That miracle build from Dalian still has to resurfaced, as even its creator was not playing it, preferring Draven in Bologna. They shared on X the deck is too slow to be played in a tournament without strict time rules, most matches likely ending in Best of 2 rather than Best of 3 as a result.
As such, Sivir still remains a solid legend, likely the best for that particular synergy, when built around Aurora. However, I can shake the idea that there is a better way to play the Battle Mistress, even if that would likely be a weaker Miracle build compared to Ezreal or Draven.
Viktor & Azir
Viktor has his best performance in Spiritforged during Bologna, with a top 4 finish. Shortly after Azir managed to reach the finals in Nanjing, this obviously adds fuel to the "Who is the best token legend" fire.
Indeed, while Viktor is more suited to take on Draven, the Mind domain featuring better cards to deal with opposing units compared to the Calm domain. Azir's 52.9% win rate, ranking the legend third overall in that category, can't be overlooked either.
Following Bologna, I would give a slight edge to Viktor, for two reasons. First, I believe the Mind - Order pair is better for the current metagame compared to the Calm - Order tandem. Then, Viktor was using a different list in Bologna, showing the legend can be built various ways, and adapted depending on what the pilot expects.
On the other end, the best Azir in Bologna netdecked the finalist from Nanjing, and could only make it to the top 64. Granted, it is much easier with only 500 players compared to 1700. Yet, it still informs us that no one has found a better list, meaning Azir might have reached its peak, while Viktor hasn't.
Lucian
Lucian adds another performance to its resume with a Top 32 finish in Bologna, once again proving the Purifier is a top 10 legend in Riftbound currently. However, the win rate was a little concerning, as 45.3% is 18th overall.
From afar, one would believe playing the Fury - Body combination would lead to one of the easiest decks to pilot, jamming solid midrange units one after another. Yet, it seems like performing with Lucian is more difficult than that, especially as the metagame drifted towards more removal to take on Draven, and gear removal in most side decks.
Tier 3
Ahri
After a good showing in the first regional tournament in China, Ahri disappeared a bit. In Bologna, she proved her worth on the back of a solid 15% conversion rate into day 2 alongside a 50.9% win rate, both Top 10 among all legends, plus a top 64 finish.
At the moment, the Mind domain is doing fairly well, mostly thanks to SFD-074 being a fantastic card against Seals, popular inclusion in most Chaos miracle builds. This could be an opportunity for Ahri to gain some momentum, and finally make the deep run her metrics suggest she is capable of.
Jinx
The best way to perform with a weaker legend is often to play the exact same deck as a better one within your domain combination and forget about your own ability.
With every Chaos legend switching towards a miracle play style, the Loose Cannon followed the trend, and posted her best performance in the Spiritforged set. Two players split her best-of card due to each sporting the same record, both in top 64.
Fiora
The metagame is starting to feature even more gear removal than it typically does, which hurts Fiora's ability to build around OGN-242. Unfortunately, while she manages to reach the last rounds of a tournament when playing that synergy, the Grand Duelist struggles to do the same when using a midrange build.
It is a shame, because that situation seems to seriously impair her chances for another deep in a tournament.
In China, Fiora ranked pretty well on the back of three great performances despite a weak conversion rate compared to the other legends typically playing for the win. In Bologna, the Grand Duelist unfortunately failed to progress once in day 2, meaning only her fragile metrics remain.
Jax
It took Jax more time, but the Grandmaster at Arms is now in a similar spot to Lucian, expected in top cuts but also not considered a great legend overall.
In Bologna, there was a bit of a controversy surrounding the use of Jax's ability in order to target the already equipped unit with the ability. If allowed, this makes SFD-049 much more powerful. Coincidentally, it was since that card was introduced in the deck that Jax started to post top cut performances.
It was announced (discretely) that interaction would not be allowed, but multiple players reported it happened in their matches. If that is the norm going forward, and the rule is enforced, expect Jax to lose a ton of appeal.
Darius
Just like it happened during the Origins' metagame, Darius is looking much stronger in the West compared to its performance in China. In the East, the Hand of Noxus struggled to post even a top 128, while it did do in Bologna, a tournament with three times as many players.
Plus, Darius also did extremely well in terms of conversion rate with 17%, alongside the second best win rate with 54.6%, although the others had to play more matches.
The list used for Bologna was much more aggressive compared to the one from China, even if both used OGN-242. Likely, some players in the West found something the Chinese missed.
Not only this list looks more able to play if the 3-cost gear was removed due to a cheaper curve. The deck also looks more explosive, and punishing if it manages to build an early lead.
This could be the start of a new arc for Darius.
Rek'Sai
Rek'Sai did fine in terms of Win Rate, as her 48.9% performance puts her of many other legends such as Lucian, Jinx or Fiora. Yet, the Void Burrower might have found a way to be reliable, she isn't winning much once the stakes are high. Indeed, except for a Top 64 in the second Chinese regional tournament, Rek'Sai has been consistently ranking one game away from the top cut.
With the metagame featuring more ways to deal with Seals now that miracle builds are popular, it might get even more difficult for Rek'Sai. Indeed, OGN-037 is a great value engine, but only if we don't have to recycle a rune every time we summon it.
Sett
Sett was doing fairly well in China, closing the regional period with a Top 16 finish and a great conversion rate over four tournaments.
Everyone is allowed to have a bad day from time to time, but that is a terrible first impression for Sett in the western metagame, which arguably features even more of the Chaos domain with Ezreal now in the mix.
Miss Fortune
As a note to the fantastic run she had to the finals, Miss Fortune gets to see how's life outside of the last tier. Yet, even that Cinderella story can't erase the fact Miss Fortune had the third worst win rate of the tournament.
Volibear
Volibear had a wild run to the tournament's top 32 alongside a respectable 11% conversion rate. Plus, this is the same list as the best ranked Volibear in Nanjing, who made Top 128. As such, on the back of believing the best list for this legend has been found, we could expect Volibear to post consistent yet probably still subpar results going forward, if that list would become the norm.
Tier 4
In this tier, every legend here is failing at least two out of the three metrics. The best win rate goes to Lee Sin with 47.4%, which is more than several legends in the upper tier. However, the Blink Monk failed to convert that into a good record, as its top 256 finish places him 24th overall in that category. Winning matches once there is nothing at stake, or against an absent opponent busy playing side events doesn't count, sorry.
We also have four legends with a top 128 finish, a result I would typically rank in Tier 3, especially with so many players attending. Yet, if we look closer, it looks like the good finish is the anomaly rather than the norm. Indeed, Lux, Rumble, Yasuo and Teemo all feature both a weak conversion rate and win percentage. One could point out Jax and Fiora also sport similarly bad numbers, but reaching the top 64 earns you an invite to the continental championship, which makes a huge difference already.
Plus, except for Lux which ranked in Tier 3 based on her finishes in China, but failed to deliver in Bologna, the other three were already in this tier. Thus, I'll wait for Vegas to see if Teemo, Yasuo or Rumble can be more than a battle for a metal card.
Last, we have Garen, Leona and Ornn, the three legends which failed to reach day 2 in Bologna. Except for Teemo and Miss Fortune who managed to post a worse win rate than Garen, but at least had a player with a solid run, these three are the worst in Riftbound, by all metrics.
