Worlds Meta Analysis and Predictions

Dec 11, 2023

Hey everyone, Sorry here! After a long year of competing in Legends of Runeterra, I've successfully qualified to represent the EMEA server at the World Championship. I’ve been intensively testing Fate’s Voyage: Beyond Expansion for the past five days. Join me for a closer look at how the Worlds Meta is shaping up and the potential decks that might dominate the most competitive Runeterra stage.

The LoR 2023 World Championship is set for December 14-16 and will follow the Standard format. Players have to submit three decks 48 hours before the start of the first tournament day.

Competitors on the World Stage got a head start with early access to Patch 4.12 on November 30, giving them less than two weeks to figure out the meta and decide on the best three decks for their World Championship journey.

The Previous Meta

Let's rewind a bit and examine the previous meta during Patch 4.11.

Jax Ornn, Karma Sett (Freljord and Piltover & Zaun), Jinx Bandle City, Riven Gwen, Zed Gwen, and Norra Heimerdinger were the standout decks in the Last Chance Qualifier.

Fizz Yuumi, Norra Jhin, The Poro King, Teemo Kayle, and Miss Fortune Quinn were anti-meta decks that targeted some of the popular meta choices.

Tryndamere Volibear SI had a lot of potential during the early stages of Patch 4.11, but with the rise of counter decks, it quickly lost its popularity, and players deviated from it on Day 2 of the LCQ.

Shen Jarvan IV fell out of the Patch 4.11 meta with the rise of Norra Heimerdinger. However, the return of Shen Jarvan IV in Patch 4.12 is not out of the question, especially with Tryndamere Volibear and Heimerdinger Norra slowly losing their popularity.

With this groundwork, players will construct their new decks while keeping in mind how they’ll hold up against the top performers.

New cards don’t only mean new decks! Players must look at older archetypes and ask themselves, “Can we make this deck better?”

For example, the new 2-cost card Yadulski Snowdog has a lot of potential to become a staple card in different archetypes. Decks like Jax Ornn, Gnar Darius, and Neeko can take advantage of that +1|+1 stat boost on their units, and we’ll likely see players picking up on that.

Shadow Isles and Noxus decks like Riven Gwen or Nasus SI can update their lists to include new cards such as Legion of the Severed.

The World Strategy

The Day 1 World Championship tournament will follow a 7-Swiss round format. This demands lineups to be consistent and capable of holding their own against seven opponents.

In a high-stakes competitive field, players adopt specific strategies when building their lineups. Some go for the tried-and-true popular decks that shine in the current meta. Others take a counter-meta approach, while some stick to their comfort picks.

With less than 2 weeks, it can be challenging for players to predict the meta and build a counter-meta lineup. I expect most competitors to adopt a safer approach, looking for the strongest decks that can beat the majority of the meta-field and ban decks that hard-target their lineup.

Competitors are deep into practice sessions with their teams, hunting for the best decks for the Worlds tournament. Trust is key in these tight circles to keep strategies hush-hush. This adds an element of surprise to the tournament, with some powerful decks staying under the radar.

The Promising Decks

Riven Morgana

Riven Morgana is an aggressive Overwhelm deck that has potential in the Worlds Meta. This deck capitalizes on Riven's Blade Fragments to advance Morgana's level-up, paving the way for more aggressive attacks by shutting down blockers through Morgana’s Curse ability.

The alternative combo finisher involves Enraged Firespitter + Might to slam the opponent’s Nexus with a heavy Overwhelm hit.

Akshan Morgana

The Akshan Morgana deck has caught the attention of competitors, featuring Tomb-Raider Barbara's Lucky Find generation. There are two versions—one with Targon cards and another with Demacia cards—each capitalizing on the unique strengths of their respective regions.

Both versions use Morgana as a win condition, buffing her up with stats and keywords using the Lucky Finds.

Pantheon could also be a fit in the Targon version, creating an alternative win condition for the deck.

Neeko Jarvan IV Garen

Neeko decks have been performing exceptionally well during my testing.

Yadulski Snowdog giving that +1|+1 buff on an Overwhelm unit like Red-Barbed Razormace piles up more pressure on the opponent and can be a game-swinger.

Players are also tinkering with different Neeko versions, like Neeko Freljord with Handy Harness and Warden of the Tribes and Neeko Renekton Shurima.

Mordekaiser has been in a weird spot during my testing. He can be paired with champions like LeBlanc, Gwen, Nasus, and Viego, and the fact that he’s multi-region opens a lot of possibilities in deck building.

I haven’t found anything meta-breaking but there is definitely something there for players to explore.

Gwen Mordekaiser

A newer version of the Gwen aggressive deck makes use of the Deathless keyword. This can turn Gwen into a threat, forcing the opponent to kill her twice.

Bladepierced Revenant synergizes with the Hallowed keyword, allowing you to start picking off units with the Challenger keyword it gains once it's revived.

Mordekaiser is the late-game threat, reviving units you slay and reactivating Fallen Reckoner’s “Can’t Block” ability.

Darius Gnar

Although Darius Gnar lost much of its initial popularity in Patch 4.11, it has held up well during the first couple of days of testing the expansion. Including Yadulski Snowdog has given the Overwhelm deck a boost in performance with the crucial +1|+1 buff.

Depending on how the meta evolves in the upcoming week, the Overwhelm deck could become a viable option for players if there is no hard counter for the deck.

Jax Ornn

In Patch 4.11, Jax Ornn stood out as a top-performing deck and remains a strong pick for players heading into the Worlds tournament. We might see lineups teched to deal with Jax Ornn, including Explorer cards to destroy equipment and slow down their game plan.

The Strongest Regions

In the Last Chance Qualifier, the standout regions were Freljord, Bandle City, Shadow Isles, and P&Z.

Freljord: The strongest of the four, Freljord offers combat tricks and Ramp spells like Skysplitter, Harsh Winds, Three Sisters, Winter's Touch, and Wild Mysticism.

Freljord has great performers like Jax Ornn, Karma Sett FR, and Fizz Yuumi.

With Elder Dragon relying on Ramp cards (Winter's Touch and Wild Mysticism), Freljord is expected to maintain its strength in the Patch 4.12 meta and remain the strongest region.

The introduction of Yadulski Snowdog to the game will also give a boost to the Freljord region. A variety of decks are taking advantage of the little doggo to get that early +1|+1 buff.

Bandle City: A support region with solid low-cost cards like Pie Toss, Conchologist, and Portal Pioneer. Jinx Bandle City carried the region, and it remains one of the best decks for the Worlds Meta. However, the expansion didn’t bring much to Bandle City, so we could see a drop in popularity.

Shadow Isles: This region has access to removal spells and the Hallowed package (Opulent Foyer, Redeemed Prodigy, etc.)

Shadow Isles is crucial for decks like Riven Gwen and Gwen Zed that use the Hallowed package as a key part of their game plan.

Decks like Heimerdinger Norra and Tryndamere Volibear take advantage of removal spells like Soul Harvest and Vengeance to keep the board in check.

However, with Volibear likely paired with Elder Dragon in the Patch 4.12 meta, the Volibear Tryndamere SI archetype is unlikely to see much play unless the meta moves away from targeting it.

Norra Heimerdinger didn’t have the best performance in the late stages of the previous meta, and with how the Worlds meta is shaping up, we might not see much of the swarm deck. Some players have also been cutting Heimerdinger for Mordekaiser in their testing.

This is a huge blow for Shadow Isles, and the region will rely on Mordekaiser and the new Shadow Isles cards to keep up with the top performers.

Piltover and Zaun: Known for damage spells and the popular Sunken Temple, decks like Karma Sett PZ and Jinx BC have been successful in tournaments and are expected to have a presence in the Worlds Meta.

Targon: While not in the top 4 regions during the LCQ, Targon received a significant boost with cards like Morgana, Ruby-Eyed Conjurer, and Black Shield. Players might consider new archetypes, like Seraphine Morgana, Akshan Morgana, Karma Morgana, or Ryze Targon.

Targon is being paired with different regions like Noxus, Freljord, P&Z, Demacia, and Shurima.

I'm betting we'll be seeing a ton of Targon action in the Worlds Meta, and it could totally give Freljord a run for its money as the top dog region.

Potential Sleeper Decks

Mordekaiser Viego

Remember when I said Mordekaiser was in a weird spot during my testing? Well, it turns out this Mordekaiser Viego combo is holding its own against the popular decks. The Camavoran Soldier + Legion Deserter set you up for a strong mid-game before dropping the Mordekaiser for the additional value.

And here's the cool part—the Deathless keyword synergizes with Viego and Legion Deserter since they get to retain their stats after reviving.

Galio Jarvan IV Garen

The Formidable deck performed well during my early testing, and I expect other competitors will catch on to its strength. The new Mageseeker Inquisitor and Magical Fettering cursing the opponent with Suppression can disrupt their game plan.

This deck puts up a good fight against Overwhelm decks and Volibear Elder Dragon.

Seraphine Targon

Dark Binding, Ruby-Eyed Conjurer, and Black Shield are solid Targon cards that aren’t bound to a Morgana deck. Competitors are experimenting with these cards to find archetypes that can take advantage of their strengths.

Seraphine Janna Targon has already proven its worth in tournaments, and with the addition of new Targon cards, including the potential inclusion of Morgana as a support champion, the Seraphine Targon archetype might become more prevalent in the Worlds Meta.

The Spell Shield from Black Shield not only provides extra protection to Seraphine but also contributes to advancing her level-up condition. Meanwhile, Dark Binding serves as an excellent stall and protection card, capable of stunning units threatening Nexus damage or attempting to kill Seraphine.

Karma Sett, Heimerdinger Jayce, and Ryze could also benefit from the new Targon cards and we might see them paired with Morgana.

Final Words

This is my Worlds meta-prediction based on the early days of testing the new expansion. The Worlds Meta will continue to evolve, and competitors might be hiding secret sauce for the Worlds Stage.

Elder Dragon seems to be the strongest champion released in Fate’s Voyage: Beyond Expansion and will play a role in how the meta will shape up.

There are a bunch of cool decks to try out, and I'm super pumped to see what other players bring to the main stage!