Creating the best Legends of Runeterra decks is all about finding synergy between cards, adding those cards to your stack, and using them appropriately in battle. It can seem a little daunting sometimes, but it is an essential part of the experience. The good news is there’s a deck out there for everyone.
For more tips and tricks to get your head around the world of card games, check out our Marvel Snap decks, Hearthstone decks, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel decks and Clash Royale decks. Or, if you prefer catching monsters to playing cards, see our Pokémon Go Community Day, Pokémon Go raids, and Pokémon Go event guides.
With that out of the way, lets get into our picks for the best Legends of Runeterra decks and abilities
Legends of Runeterra card abilities
Unless you play loads of Legends of Runeterra, chances are that a few of the phrases we use in this guide won’t make a lot of sense. To help, we’ve put together a bit of a dictionary that explains what each of these terms mean:
- Scout: lets you attack first with these units, allowing you to attack twice overall
- Challenger: when you attack, these cards can choose which enemy card blocks them
- Last Breath: this effect occurs when the card is destroyed
- Tough: damage inflicted to this unit is reduced by one per attack
- Barrier: a shield which stops a single attack
- Quick Attack: this unit attacks before its opponent
- Stun: prevents a unit from acting this turn
- Elusive: these units can only be blocked by other Elusive units
- Recall: a card is returned to the hand, and any buffs are removed
- Frostbite: reduces a unit’s power to zero for that turn
- Overwhelm: any excess damage is dealt to the enemy nexus
- Fearsome: can only be blocked by a unit with three power or more
- Lifesteal: the damage this unit inflicts directly heals your nexus
- Invoke: pick a Celestial card from among three to play in hand
- Spellshield: negates the next enemy spell that would affect me
- Fury: when I kill a unit gain +1/+1
Best Legends of Runeterra beginner decks
Draven Burn
You could describe this as one of many Legends of Runeterra slim decks, as it only includes one champion, Draven. As you might guess from the name, this deck is for those who like to get aggressive from the get-go, prioritising direct damage spells, and units that directly damage the enemy nexus.
Essential cards
- Draven x3
- Legion Saboteur x3
- Legion Vanguard x3
- Legion Grenadier x3
- Boomcrew Rookie x3
- Imperial Demolitionist x3
- Decimate x3
- Mystic Shot x3
- Get Excited x3
Playstyle
The headliner of this deck is the three Draven cards, then you should take advantage of the high aggression and power of the Noxians, especially the Legion cards like the Saboteur, the Rearguard, and the Grenadier, who all either damage the nexus with abilities, or have cheap power relative to their card cost. The Boomcrew Rookie, and the Imperial Demolitionist are also solid picks. Decimate, Mystic Shot, and Get Excited all give you cost effective damage, too. If you have spaces left, focus down the central strategy of power and direct damage.
These decks provide a safe pair of hands for those still learning the game, and are a great place to start.
Buffing Bannermen
Demacia are very good at buffing units, increasing their power and health on the battlefield. Buffing Bannermen is a fantastic deck that is not only pretty potent, but very simple to use. Neither Garen or Fiora’s abilities have a particularly great synergy, but both are basically about killing things to get strong, which is a lot easier to do when you’re buffed.
Essential cards
- Garen x3
- Fiora x3
- War Chefs x3
- Vanguard Bannerman x3
- Brightsteel Protectors x3
- Cithria the Bold x3
- Swiftwing Lancers x3
- Ranger’s Resolve x3
- Single Combat x3
- Judgement x1
Playstyle
This deck is all about buffing with cards like War Chefs, Vanguard Bannerman, Brightsteel Protectors, and Cithria the Bold. Swiftwing Lancers are also quite good, since when they die they grant you another Demacian elite in your hand. If you have spaces to fill out, you generally want cards that buff or have Tough. Your spell focus should also be either buffing, or taking advantage of your unit strength with spells like Single Combat and Judgement. Single Combat is generally a must-have if Fiora’s in your deck.
Icebreaker
Frostbite is a very strong ability, reducing a targeted enemy’s power to zero for a single turn, and also making them instantly killable to some specific units. Sejuani applying Frostbite to every card, and Ashe preventing units with Frostbite from blocking, basically makes defence impossible for an opponent.
- Ashe x3
- Sejuani x3
- Icevale Archer x3
- Rimefang Wolf x3
- Icy Yeti x3
- Trifarian Gloryseeker x3
- Trifarian Assessor x3
- The Tuskraider x1
- Starlit Seer x3
- Avarosian Hearthguard x3
- Babbling Bjerg x3
- Brittle Steel x3
- Flash Freeze x3
- Harsh Winds x3
- Reckoning x3
- Culling Strike x3
Playstyle
Your focus is on Frostbite to level up Ashe, and nexus damage for Sejuani. Icevale Archers, Rimefang Wolf, and Icy Yeti all allow you to apply Frostbite and take advantage of it. In terms of damage output, you’ll use Noxian cards like Trifarian Gloryseekers, Trifarian Assessors, and Culling Strike. The Tuskraider is also always worth bringing since its ability to double the power and health of every unit in your deck is crazy. Starlit Seers also buff everytime you use Frostbite as a spell. It can be hard to find answers to a good Frostbite deck.
Best Legends of Runettera decks
Only want the best of the best and willing to front the coin for it? These are the decks for you. You’ll absolutely demolish all of your opponents.
Scouts
The scout ability lets players attack with scout units only first, which means you can attack twice every turn phase. As you might imagine, this levels up Miss Fortune very quickly, causing her to both damage the enemy nexus, and damage units on the opposing side. The fact that most Demacian scouts also have Challenger, which allows them to lock opponents into a fight, means you can also choose your engagements.
Essential cards
- Quinn x3
- Miss Fortune x3
- Grizzled Ranger x3
- Loyal Badgerbear x3
- Fleetfeather Tracker x3
- War Chefs x3
- Brightsteel Protector x3
- Genevieve Elmheart x3
- Cithria the Bold x3
- Relentless Pursuit x3
- Ranger’s Resolve x3
Playstyle
You’ll want three of both Quinn and Miss Fortune to synergise double attacks. Then you’ll want Grizzled Rangers – and some Loyal Badgerbears – for their amazing Last Breath summon effect, some Fleetfeather Trackers for a cheap source of Challenger, War Chefs for their support buff, and Brightsteel Protectors for providing Barrier to your important units. Genevieve Elmheart and Cithria the Bold are also good to both buff your troops and give them Fearsome. The Scout deck effectively focuses around smart and relentless aggression. It also uses buffs, and Challenger, to pick off enemies, and win your chosen engagements.
Trundle and Sol ramp
Call of the Mountain brought some powerful cards to the game, and one of the decks to emerge was the Trundle and Sol ramp. This deck centres around gaining lots of mana early on, which then allows you to use Aurelion Sol and Trundle to effectively put the nail in the coffin.
Essential cards
- Aurelion Sol x3
- Trundle x3
- Wyrding Stones x3
- The Infinite Mindsplitter x3
- Kindly Tavernkeeper x3
- Faces of the Old Ones x3
- Troll Scavenger x3
- Avarosan Sentry x3
- Avalanche x3
- Catalyst of Aeons x3
- Troll Chant x3
- Hush x2
- Revitalizing Roar x2
- Starshaping x3
Playstyle
The Sol and Trundle ramp is all about gaining mana with cards like Wyrd Stones and Faces of the Old Ones, while also using cards like Troll Scavengers to benefit from the high cost cards you have in hand. Once you’ve made quick mana gain you can get a lot of units on the field quickly using Trundle and his Ice Pillar, then you can put the nail in the coffin with Aurelion Sol’s Celestials. The Infinite Mindsplitter’s stun also allows you to control the enemy to some extent. If you have to fill out this deck further, we recommend more Troll cards, or cards that synergise with Dragons or Celestials.
Pirate Aggro
The name says it all really. Using Miss Fortune’s wonderful attack synergy and Gangplank’s Powder Kegs to strengthen those offensives, your opponents don’t stand a chance.
Essential cards
- Miss Fortune x3
- Gangplank x3
- Petty Officer x3
- Zay Sprayfin x3
- Jagged Butcher x3
- Precious Pet x3
- Legion Grenadier x3
- Legion Saboteur x3
- Jack the Winner x2
- Captain Farron x1
- Imperial Demolitionist x3
- Make it Rain x3
- Decimate x3
- Noxian Fervor x3
Playstyle
Pirate Aggro is similar to most Noxian aggro decks, with the exception that you’ll be using Powder Kegs and Miss Fortune’s support to strengthen your aggression. Noxian units allow easy Nexus damage, which levels up Gangplank. When you add the strengthening affect of Powder Kegs to that Nexus damage, and Miss Fortune’s support, you can often defeat your opponent before they have time to breath. It’s an aggro rush, plain and simple.
Best budget Legends of Runeterra decks
Not interested in spending money and want to make the most of the experience for free? These are the decks for you.
Yasuo Stun
This deck focuses around the inherent synergy between Ionia and Noxus. It also only needs one champion, which makes it cheaper. Yasuo will attack any unit that is Stunned or Recalled, and if you play units that have those abilities, and that buff Yasuo, he can become pretty terrifying.
Essential cards
- Yasuo x3
- Fae Bladetwirler x3
- Shadow Assassin x3
- Herald of Spring x3
- Arachnoid Sentry x3
- Minotaur Reckoner x3
- Legion General x3
- Yone Windchaser x3
- Ravenous Flock x3
- Intimidating Roar x3
- Concussive Palm x3
- Will of Ionia x3
- Deny x3
Playstyle
For this you’ll want three Yasuo cards, three Fae Bladetwirlers, some Shadow Assassins for drawing cards, and Heralds of Spring to imbue Yasuo or Fae with Lifesteal. Your Stun is going to come mainly from Noxus, with Arachnoid Sentry, Minotaur Reckoner, Legion General, and Yone Windchaser. Spells like Ravenous Flock, Intimidating Roar, and Concussive Palm let you apply Stun and take advantage of it. For your Recall you’ll want Will of Ionia, and also Deny, as it lets you cancel enemy magic. If you have any spare spaces, fill them with Elusive, Stun, or Quick Attack units.
Death by Spiders
The spiders in Legends of Runeterra are absurdly powerful. While weak at first, they can grow in number faster than any other unit, gain buffs which multiply their power, and give them Fearsome. In the time you’ve played two units, the entire enemy side might be filled with spiders.
Essential cards
- Elise x3
- Kalista x3
- Hapless Aristocrat x3
- Arachnoid Host x3
- Arachnoid Sentry x3
- House Spider x3
- Frenzied Skitterer x3
- Brood Awakening x3
- Crawling Senstation x3
- Vile Feast x3
- Glimpse Beyond x3
Playstyle
You’ll want three Elise, some Hapless Aristocrats, some Arachnoid Hosts to buff, some Arachnoid Sentries for Stun, House Spiders to summon Spiderlings, and Frenzied Skitterers to buff you and de-buff the enemy. In terms of the remainder of your deck, Spiders have a high attrition rate, and so anything that buffs with allied deaths, like Kalista, is a good pick. Brood Awakening, Crawling Sensation, and Vile Feast give you even more spiders. It’s also a good idea to keep Ruination in your back pocket, just in case the enemy gets too strong and you want to wipe the slate clean.
If you want to play Legends of Runeterra for yourself, you can find it on Google Play and the App Store. Also be sure to check our Legends of Runeterra tier list and Legends of Runeterra news guide.
