Contents
Crafting the perfect picture of the Riftbound metagame ahead of global release is impossible. Indeed, while China was the main source of information over the summer, the last regional tournament happened on September 13th. Since then, plenty of small, non-official events happened in other areas such as the Ascension League every week, the Brazilian Riftbound League or the Riftlab Trials II tournament at the start of the month. As for the Chinese, they are currently focused on the City Challenge, featuring a more local metagame compared to regional events gathering more players in one place.
In this context, the current environment feels quite local, with preferences and recent results in specific areas of the world tilting the best champion narrative in a certain direction.
Well, at least until the recent weeks of City Challenges in China dropped their results, and changed that narrative a bit :
On top of being part of more Top 8 than the #2 Master Yi and #3 Viktor combined, Kai'sa also took down 6 of the 8 city championships happening that week. Sett and Darius managed to win the other two.
These tournaments are Best of 1, which plays differently than Best of 3 since the side deck is not used to adapt from a round to another. Still, it is a bit concerning for Master Yi and Viktor, unable to win one event despite a strong representation in top cuts, while Kai'sa obviously looks like a menace every other champion might have to focus on.
Online, many players excited about the global release are already expecting some backlash, both due to an expected product shortage and this metagame with a clear champion at the top.
I tend to believe the numbers, especially when they point so hard into a direction. However, there are also talks of counter picks, such as Miss Fortune with OGN-160, to do something about the red-blue champion dominance.
I can't wait to see how the metagame shapes with the entire world participating in a few days.
Happy Tier List everyone!
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| Tier S | Kai'Sa |
| Tier 1 | Master Yi |
| Tier 1 | Sett |
| Tier 1 | Annie |
| Tier 1 | Viktor |
| Tier 2 | Ahri |
| Tier 2 | Teemo |
| Tier 2 | Miss Fortune |
| Tier 2 | Darius |
| Tier 2 | Jinx |
| Tier 3 | Yasuo |
| Tier 3 | Volibear |
| Tier 3 | Lux |
S Tier
Kai’Sa
In September, we already had Kai'sa sitting at the top of these rankings, on the back of stellar performances in Chinese Regional tournament. One month later, the red-blue champion still sits atop our rankings, with more dominant showings in City Challenges and the win in the Riftlab Trials II tournament.
Heading into global release, the question isn't whether Kai'sa is the best leader in Riftbound. Rather, are the talks of possible counter picks real, or should we believe those calling for a boring, already solved metagame in set 1 ?
Tier 1
Master Yi
Master Yi emerged as the biggest contender for Kai'sa spot after its win in the 512 Player Regional open in Hangzhou back in mid-September. The big units in Orange and OGN-160 seem to be a problem for Kai'sa, which propelled Master Yi to be the second champion considered dominant in the metagame.
Yet, Master Yi has not been performing as well as Kai'sa in the City Challenge metagame, nor did it post that many wins in October compared to Kai'sa. In the Riftlab Trials II tournament in particular, Master Yi's best placement was 12th, a very disappoint result.
Its last wins date from two weeks ago, taking down a City Challenge in China and winning Group B in the Ascension League Stage 4. In both instances, the green-orange champion had dropped OGN-160 from its deck, instead focusing on more early game.
Master Yi deserves to be considered amongst the top champions heading into global release, but the refined list might be up in the air, or heavily based on the current metagame.
Sett
Sett didn't top many City Challenge tournaments in China, but managed to snag a win last week, and three the previous one. Similarly to Viktor, it feels like the Best of 1 format is more suited for Sett, a champion trying to impose its play style onto the opponent. Once side decks come into play, Sett has a harder time wrestling the board early and snowballing from there.
Master Yi seems to be a really difficult match-up for Sett, but that champion lost the war to Kai'sa to be the dominant one around. Then, maybe less of Master Yi can be a good thing for Sett moving forward.
Annie
Annie is regarded as a dark horse pick at the moment, possibly favorable into Kai'sa as that champion is starting to run more high cost units. So far, Annie still has a lot to prove, as she failed to take Kai'sa down in the Riftlab Trials II tournament earlier in the month. Plus, only three top 8 appearances in a field dominated by Kai'sa doesn't exactly scream "counter pick".
The list changed recently, with OGN-199 now in the mix for more movement, while OGN-201 allows removing some draw cards to focus on more tempo tools. Then, expect Annie to possibly improve in the near future, and maybe live up to her dark horse status.
Viktor
The Best of 1 format seems to suit Viktor much more than Best of 3, preventing opponents from using their side-deck efficiently. Then, it is entirely possible Viktor does not deserve to be so high on the list if we were to consider the Regional tournaments metagame.
When it comes to store and other smaller events however, the yellow-blue champion should be a solid pick, as these events typically feature a move diverse metagame.
Tier 2
Ahri
In September, Ahri returned with a vengeance, leading many to think she could be some sort of mix of Kai'sa and Master Yi once refined. With more time under her belt, Ahri has failed to live up to that moniker. At the moment, the green-blue champion is a solid but uneven performer. Indeed, after winning two of the eight City Challenges in week 3, Arhi failed to get into any top 8 cut in week 4. Plus, the build went away from the greedier play style she featured in September with OGN-122.
Overall, Ahri is more of a potential than a real contender heading into the global release. There are some results to back up her competitive status, but a lot more will be needed to consider her a top tier contender.
Teemo
Teemo has the popularity of a great champion, but still needs to win something to justify that fame from a competitive standpoint. At least, the scout always finds a way to sneak into a top cut here and there, which maintains the idea Teemo isn't picked just because he is the coolest character ever invented.
Miss Fortune
There are a lot of talks about Miss Fortune's potential to take on Kai'sa and Master Yi. Yet, for all those promises, the champion is struggling to put up consistent results. Indeed, I had to go back almost a month back in order to find a win from Miss Fortune in a Chinese City Challenge, while she is completely absent of top cuts in tournaments held online.
Darius
On the back of OGN-242 summoning OGN-028 through the mere sacrifice of a 2-might unit, Darius found a synergy able to generate a lot of tempo. Arguably, it is too early to call it any sort of metagame breakthrough. Still, it is interesting to see this is the only Darius to make it into a top 8 of a City Challenge in China, and win the whole thing.
For sure, this looks like the direction to explore for those interested in running Darius early in the global metagame.
Jinx
Jinx's hype died in September after the champion failed to accomplish anything in regional tournaments. However, there was a spark this week, with the sole Jinx entering the top 8 of a City Challenge winning the entire thing.
Just like Darius, this could be a lucky shot in a best of 1 tournament, or a different build giving Jinx a new hope. Look at the surprise from the community when the list first got shared online, astonished by the inclusions of OGN-021 or OGN-194, it looks like we will have to test it to figure it out.
Tier 3
Yasuo
Everyone had given up on Yasuo after the regional tournaments period, which clearly showed the champion was limited in a competitive field. Yet, someone rekindled the flame with a win about a month ago in a 128 players tournament as part of the City Challenge tour.
Those tournaments are best of one, and since Yasuo did not shine on any other occasion, there were no side decks available to pair with the deck. There are many 1-off cards in the build, while Purple features several great cards to edge against ramp oriented decks. That would my direction if I had to build a side deck for Yasuo.
Volibear
Coming up short of Top 4 with a 5-1 record in the Riftlab Trials II, Volibear deserves to be a mentioned, although it simply seems less flexible than other ramp oriented champion at the moment. For example, Volibear has been almost non-existent in the Best of 1 metagame of the City Challenges, the leader being too volatile for that format.
Lux
One top 8 in a City Challenge isn't enough to call Lux competitive, but just like Teemo, it represents a foundation to work towards a refined list in the future.
Back in September, the champion managed to sneak into a regional tournament top 64, so it appears Lux is capable of flashes of brillance from time to time.
