After the second of four Regional Tournaments, there is still a lot to find about the Riftbound Spiritforged metagame. Particularly, there are a lot of legends worthy to be tagged as good, one strong performance away from jumping to the moniker of competitive.
Unfortunately, the gatekeeper to that zone is Draven, the undisputed best legend in the game, no matter the metric you look at. The Glorious Executioner won both regional tournaments while representing more Day 2 appearances in China than all the other legends combined.
For those watching the tournaments, it has become pretty clear everyone expects Draven to dominate. Indeed, the main story about the legend is whether the Spinning Axe or the Miracle build will prevail, and we are getting excited when Draven draws with another legend during swiss rounds.
Two legends are positioned as its biggest foes so far. Irelia, the other legend sporting strong metrics across the board. The Blade Dance ranks second in popularity, top cut spots and conversion rate. If it wasn't for losing a bit early compared to her stock, losing in Top 4 and Top 8 respectively, Irelia would be considered the likeliest to go toe-to-toe with Draven.
However, that distinction has to go to Fiora, a legend with very fair metrics compared to her #3 spot on the rankings. Actually, average metrics if you consider she sports the same popularity, top cut appearances and conversion rate as Viktor. What separates the Grand Duelist from the others is two miracle runs to the finals. It is even more surprising if you consider this was done with two different archetypes, as the finalist in Fuzhou was using a midrange, equipment heavy build, while the finalist in Chengdu ran a OGN-242 deck. Fiora is far from dominant from a metagame standpoint, but wins more than the others in the most important events.
In a way, the Order - Body legend could be considered a reverse Kai'sa, as that one is more popular, sports a better conversion rate, but fails to win once in top cut rounds. The first tournament in Fuzhou saw Kai'sa reach the top 16, which is good, but not great for a legend everyone had in their top 3. The collapse happened in Chengdu, with only one Kai'sa in the top 64, who suffered an immediate loss in day 2.
Also, a quick digression to note Fiora and Kai'sa are the only two legends outside the Chaos Domain in the top six of our rankings.
Two more legends are worth discussing, in Ezreal and Annie, which could be labeled the dark horses of this spiritforged metagame. So far both have a great performance, with a top 8 in Fuzhou for Annie and a semi-final in Chengdu for Ezreal. Arguably, even if the Dark Child sports a better conversion rate due to fewer plaers picking her, the Prodigal Explorer is the legend on the rise at the moment.
Indeed, his fantastic run happened more recently, Ezreal is a legend released in Spiritforged meaning it started from the bottom compared to Annie in terms of deckbuilding. Last, the Fury - Chaos combination belongs to Draven at the moment, meaning there is little reason to pick Annie, except for those targeting the best-of-a-legend card rather than the tournament win.
By far, this competition to figure the order of the five best legends after Draven is the most appealing part of this metagame. Irelia, Fiora, Ezreal and Annie have the potential to make a tournament fascinating to watch, giving us some hope for a Cinderella story as we expect at least one to be part of the last survivors.
Happy Tier List Everyone.
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| S Tier | Draven 331 Picks / 77 Top 64 / 23,26% Conversion Rate / 2 Wins |
| Tier 1 | Irelia 128 Picks / 21 Top 64 / 16.4% Conversion Rate / Top 4 |
| Tier 1 | Fiora 50 Picks / 3 Top 64 / 6% Conversion Rate / 2 Finals |
| Tier 2 | Ezreal 31 Picks / 3 Top 64 / 9.68% Conversion Rate / Top 4 & 32 |
| Tier 2 | Annie 22 Picks / 3 Top 64 / 13.64% Conversion Rate / Top 8 & 64 |
| Tier 2 | Kai'Sa 78 Picks / 6 Top 64 / 7.69% Conversion Rate / Top 16 & 64 |
| Tier 2 | Azir 29 Picks / 2 Top 64 / 6.90% Conversion Rate / Top 32 & 64 |
| Tier 2 | Lucian 20 Picks / 2 Top 64 / 10% Conversion Rate / Top 32 & 64 |
| Tier 2 | Viktor 50 Picks / 3 Top 64 / 6% Conversion Rate / Top 32 & 64 |
| Tier 2 | Sett 21 Picks / 2 Top 64 / 9,52% Conversion Rate / Two Top 64 |
| Tier 3 | Sivir 29 Picks / 1 Top 64 / 3.45% Conversion Rate / Top 64 & 256 |
| Tier 3 | Rek'Sai 21 Picks / 1 Top 64 / 4.76% Conversion Rate / Top 64 & 128 |
| Tier 3 | Master Yi 29 Picks / 1 Top 64 / 3.45% Conversion Rate / Top 64 & 128 |
| Tier 3 | Ornn 31 Picks / 1 Top 64 / 3.23% Conversion Rate / Top 64 & 128 |
| Tier 3 | Ahri 13 Picks / 1 Top 64 / 7.69% Conversion Rate / Top 64 & 128 |
| Tier 3 | Leona 6 Picks / 1 Top 64 / 16.67% Conversion Rate / Top 64 & 256 |
| Tier 3 | Jax Two Top 128 |
| Tier 3 | Yasuo Two Top 128 |
| Tier 3 | Lux Two Top 128 |
| Tier 4 | Miss Fortune - Top 128 & 256 Jinx - Top 128 & 256 Renata Glasc - Top 128 & 256 Teemo - Top 128 & 256 Rumble - Two Top 256 Lee Sin - Two Top 256 Volibear - Two Top 256 Darius - Two Top 256 Garen - Top 256 |
- S Tier: Dominant legend, expected to win most events until a metagame shift happens.
- Tier 1: A force in the metagame, expected to make it to the top cut of most tournaments.
- 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. 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.
S Tier
Even if we looked at the tournaments outside regional competitions, instead focusing on smaller events, Draven would still look dominant.
It was pretty clear already but both Fuzhou and Chendu reinforced that narrative : Draven is the legend to beat, and nobody managed to do so in Spiritforged so far.
Draven
Tier 1
Irelia is the safest pick after Draven to secure a top cut in a high-stakes tournament. However, the Blade Dancer really needs to win more to be considered competition to Draven. Her 16.4% conversion rate leaves little doubt regarding her status of second-best legend in Riftbound. However, even if Irelia is a step ahead of the other competitive legends, she is just as far from the top spot, considering the Glorious Executioner is 7% ahead in that metric.
Irelia
Fiora can be ranked in Tier 1 or Tier 2 depending how you weigh each metric. For someone looking for consistent results, Fiora should be ranked below Ezreal and Annie, probably still a step behind Kai'sa, although that one is sinking rapidly.
As far as I'm concerned, I would dismiss one run to the finals as a lucky, or more skilled performance. Yet, doing it twice, with two different builds and pilots, tells me Fiora is able to win more than most other legends.
Expect this one to keep moving in the future. Indeed, more impressive performance would solidify Fiora alongside Irelia as great tournament picks. However, a disappointing run and the Grand Duelist would quickly join the rest of the pack in the tier below.
Fiora
Tier 2
Ezreal and Annie deserve a special spot at the top of this tier, as both legend could reach the upper one in the future.
It is likelier Ezreal does to be honest, as the Prodigal Explorer has more potential to explore, and does not share the same domains as the current best in the game. Plus, I would give a bit more credit to a performance in the Chengdu regional, the later of the two high-stakes tournaments. The metagame isn't fully solved yet, but we can see lists be refined as time passes. Annie reached the top 8 in Fuzhou, but failed to repeat in Chengdu. On the other end, Ezreal had two players in the top 32 in Fuzhou, and one in Chengdu's Top 4. As such, we could expect the list from the latest regional to become the norm, thus helping Ezreal in future tournaments if everyone has access to a refined build.
Ezreal
Annie
Kai'sa is in a category of her own at the moment. The Daughter of the void still deserves to be called competitive, but is one more terrible performance away from exiting this chat.
In Fuzhou, Kai'sa managed to have 5 players in the top 64, a strong showing although she couldn't get past the top 16. However, Chengdu only saw one Kai'sa in Day 2, and that one lost in the first elimination round.
I'm afraid the second occurence is more likely to repeat compared to the first one, simply because Kai'sa doesn't have a lot of room to adapt. There are plenty of strong cards in the Mind and Fury domains, but her playstyle will remain the same no matter what. On the other end, many legends released in Spiritforged still have room to improve, which does not bode well for Kai'sa in the future.
Kai’Sa
I feel like this tier list is going to feature an extra tier soon, because it is weird to have Ezreal and Annie in the same group as the next four.
Not to take anything away from Azir, Lucian, Viktor or Sett, but although you can expect these four in the top 64 of most regional tournaments, you also expect them to be out of it after a couple of rounds.
I don't think it will happen soon, but I could have a conversation about the top 4 legends on the rankings winning a high-stakes tournaments in Spiritforged. On the other hand, I would raise an eyebrow to someone believing one of these four has a shot at it.
The competition for the best-of card is cool to watch however, because these are competitive material. One likely has to aim for top 32 in order to secure that prized reward.
Azir
Lucian
Viktor
Sett
Tier 3
Sivir is tough to rank due to her inconsistent results. After Fuzhou and her catastrophic Top 256 finish, Sivir could have easily be labelled a best-of-one type of legend, better built around OGN-160.
To be fair, that is the case, but the Battle Mistress proved this week the mistep in Fuzhou was just that : a faux pas. This week, she managed to reach the top 64 in Chengdu, and won a city challenge on the side, enough to return in the conversion about legends with potential. In that conversation, she is joined by Rek'Sai, Master Yi and Ornn.
Just like Kai'sa, the Wuju Bladesman might need to do more than just find strong cards to add to its Origins deck. It might be enough for the occasional top cut, but eventually will look like a legend limited in terms of deck building avenues.
Both Rek'Sai and Ornn managed to reach the top 64 in Chengdu, after failing in the first regional tournament. This shows a bit of improvement, but their limited possibilities when it comes to strategy will be an issue for sure.
Sivir
Rek'Sai
Master Yi
Ornn
Ahri and Leona share the same profile : Unpopular legends with a top cut under their belt, which only makes it harder to gauge them.
Picture someone vying for a best-of card for either of these two? Should they expect to reach the top cut to earn that reward? That looks like a daunting task, which will likely keep both Ahri and Leona as rare picks.
On the other hand, we now have a list for either in case we'd like to give them a try, or enjoy playing one so much we will bring it to our next tournament no matter what.
I'm curious about the future for Ahri and Leona, as both tend to play rather uniquely. However, I feel like a top cut is not to be expected, although we now know they are capable legends.
Ahri
Leona
Ranking in the top 128 twice is decent, but also means you aren't in the top half when it comes to the Spiritforged metagame.
Plus, if we consider all three have another, better ranked legend sharing the same domains, we start lacking a reason to pick Yasuo, Jax, or Lux.
Jax would be the more unique of this group, due to his play style being different to Master Yi, the other Body - Calm legend. However, Yasuo is a copy of Irelia with a weaker ability, while Lux and Viktor share a knack for the control playstyle.
Arguably, these are picked mostly for the best-of card. To be fair, they are good enough to offer a good show, as we could wonder whether they'll make to the top cut, or again fail at its doors.
Jax
Yasuo
Lux
Tier 4
Anyone ranking Miss Fortune, Jinx, Renata Glasc or Teemo in the upper tier would just as right as me putting them here. The main difference would be their belief in potential, while I focus on unreliability.
With Spiritforged, every domain combination now has at least two legends to represent it. Well, not only are the legend in this last tier posting worse results, they also look weaker than their counterpart in that same domain pairing.
The goal with this tier list is to rank every legend based on their ability to compete. To be fair, most legends in this group, except for maybe Miss Fortune and Renata Glasc, barely have a reason to see play.
The only reason to play Jinx is because the competition for a best-of card on Draven and Annie will be too fierce, and the same could be said about Teemo and Ezreal.
At least, Miss Fortune has a unique ability and signature spell. Yet, Sivir is producing the competitive sparks I've seen some expect from the Bounty Hunter. The same could be said for Renata Glasc, who had her moment on stream in Chengdu, but ultimately is to slow to get to 5 points to be a real menace most of the time.
Miss Fortune
Jinx
Renata Glasc
Teemo
If there was an argument for the legend in the previous group to be ranked a bit higher, these are unfortunately a lost cause in Spiritforged. Most likely, Rumble, Lee Sin, Volibear and Darius will only be discussed because a reward for the best player on each legend exists.
Garen managed to be the first legend to not be picked at all for a regional tournament, which is a creative way to get a bit of attention.
