Riftbound Meta Tier List – Best Decks for Origins (Final Update Before Spiritforged)

Except for some unannounced tournament with high stakes and lots of attendants, the Origins metagame is set, and most of the community is already looking at the Spiritforged set and its first events in China. Therefore, this might be our last Tier List for the Origins set of Riftbound.

Overall, this has been quite a fun environment to follow. China told us OGN-247 was going to steamroll everyone in its path, just like it did oversea. However, even if Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman managed to remain a tough competitor, Kai'sa biggest rival once in the Western metagame has been Annie, Dark Child. To be fair, the Dark Child probably had a shot at becoming the game's best legend if we didn't start our Riftbound experience with plenty of information, and biases, available.Indeed, while Kai'sa had a refined list and plenty of footage to learn how to play her, Annie basically started from scratch on global release. If it wasn't for the North American community, turning around what was another aggressive, midrange build using Fury units into the aggressive scoring machine we now have to plan against. Annie probably would still be with Darius, Hand of Noxus and Yasuo, Unforgiven in the "Good but not a real threat" category.The other legend who would certainly want this metagame to last a bit longer is Miss Fortune, Bounty Hunter. The Bounty Hunter finally won a big tournament, but unfortunately might not have a shot at proving it wasn't a lucky shot.

For every legends rising in the rankings, some also have to go down. Sadly, Sett, The Boss will end on a disappointing note, ranking 12th overall in Houston after several good performances early in the Western metagame. The Boss likely the victim of Annie, Dark Child's rise, and will end Origins alongside Teemo, Swift Scout and OGN-265, as a potential top cut legend but not a serious contender for the win.

For those still playing in the Origins metagame, any legend in the first three tiers has a reasonable shot of winning a local event. If your favourite is ranked in the last group, it will take a strong list for your metagame, plus learning how to beat the other nine legends.
However, almost every legend managed to win a Nexus Night already, and every legend is capable to go on a hot streak over a few games. The gap in power level becomes more obvious once we look at events with several hundred players.

Happy Tier List Everyone!

Tier 1

Kai’Sa 

The best OGN-247 in Houston was sporting a rather peculiar list. Indeed, even since OmegaZero won the National tournament in China, the best list for Kai'sa was agreed upon.
In North America however, the metagame was much faster compared to China, with Annie, Dark Child rising as a top contender.

This fast-paced environment is what led to AlanZQ bringing what we will call "Aggro Kai'sa", a list which could have won the entire event. Sadly, the point from The Arena's Greatest was missed in the top 8 match against the eventual winner, which ended Kai'sa's run in Houston.

Since that regional tournament, Kai'sa won two more large events in Orlando, taking down the Friday and Sunday Pro-Play Games Summit 5k tournaments, while it lost in the finals to Miss Fortune, Bounty Hunter in Saturday's 10k tournament.
Overall, the gap is much smaller compared to how dominant this legend has been in China, which is why I feel comfortable removing the Tier S ranking. However, Kai'sa will forever be the best legend in Riftbound first ever expansion.

Annie

Annie, Dark Child put on a show in Houston, with four players reaching the top 8, three in the top 4 and Shawn Dhaliwal winning the entire thing. In North America, there is an argument for the Dark Child to be called the best legend in the game. Yet, this lever of performance has not transferred to China or Europe, which is why Annie will have to settle for second-best worldwide.

This is the updated build from the Houston champion, who also won a Skirmish not so long after. The only change is a balance swap, with one Fight or Flight becoming Gust instead. Otherwise, this is considered the standard and dominant list for Annie in Origins.

Tier 2

Master Yi

Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman had an interesting development over the course of this first set. It went from playing Dazzling Aurora to dropping it as it was too slow, until it embraced it again, but only in Game 1, before the counter cards can be sided.

Overall, the key to a strong Master Yi deck is to find a way to leverage its ability to force the opponent into spending resources to make up for that extra might. It can be through sheer tempo early, or the raw power of Dazzling Aurora later on. In both instances, the key is to not get countered by your opponent, and forced to play from behind.

This list trying to meet both worlds is trending at the moment, and placed second in the Houston regional. However, tempo lists are the most common builds for Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman, although they have not won anything big in some time now.

Miss Fortune

Although Annie, Dark Child stole the spotlight, Miss Fortune, Bounty Hunter also developped tremendously in the North American metagame, up to finally winning a big event at the Orlando Pro-Play Games Summit Saturday 10K.
Both Ali Aintrazi and the best ranked Miss Fortune in Houston, Trinity John, were playing Dazzling Aurora lists, except they disagreed on the early cards they should run. The list featured here is closer to the one used to win in Orlando, except for Acceptable Losses plus Treasure Trove from the Houston list.

Unfortunately, there aren't many large tournaments left for the Bounty Hunter to enjoy this new status of being a serious contender. Still, those attending a local tournament in the Origins metagame at least know how to build the core of that deck. From there, it seems like the choice to run Sabotage in the main deck, have a Gear package, or run support cards for our units is still up in the air, depending on your own metagame or preferences.

Sett

In Houston, the best Sett, The Boss ranked 102nd, placing the expected top 8 or 16 performer as 12th overall among the sixteen total legends. This is a meltdown similar to what OGN-255 experienced in the Chinese national tournament. The difference is that Sett has been performing much better than Ahri heading into Houston, routinely making it into top cuts and even winning the big tournament in Atlanta on November 23rd.

Most likely, the rise of Annie has been very difficult to handle for the Boss, a showdown specialist now unable to fight as its units keep being sent back to base. Otherwise, it could also be the return of Dazzling Aurora in other Orange decks, which means opponent are also developing very large units.

If we look at the North American metagame close, we can spot Collin Kaiser's name multiple times. They won Atlanta plus topped twice in Orlando (Friday and Saturday) recently. I think it is safe to say their list is likely to be the go-to for the end of the Origins metagame.

Teemo

Always good but never great, Teemo, Swift Scout failed to win anything big in the Origins metagame. In North America, Gorica has emerged as an excellent pilot, and routinely shares their insight on YouTube. After becoming the highest ranked Teemo in Houston, they also won a couple of Skirmishes and shared what will likely become the go-to Teemo list going forward.

The build isn't so far from what we saw before Houston, especially Prismaticism's list from their win in Runes & Rift's $700 Cash Cup back in late November. Ember Monk is now a staple in the deck, while Singularity also is in the mix atop the curve.
The main difference in this updated build are more Chaos cards to control opposing units. Teemo, Swift Scout needs to have a battlefield under control to hide cards, so making sure Gust and such utility tools show up early is a must.

Tier 3

Viktor

OGN-265 is more discussed for its early performance in Spiritforged rather than what it accomplished during Origins. It must help that the new set is playing mostly Best-of-1 tournaments at the moment, as it is the kind of events the Herald of the Arcane is at its best.

Houston once again proved that theory, with the best OGN-265 reaching top 64, but the legend placing 8th overall, behind Lee Sin, Blind Monk and OGN-249.
The middle of the pack is a fair spot for this legend, especially when it comes to high stakes tournaments.

Darius

As part of the Fury Domain, OGN-265 benefits from some of the best midrange units in the game, while Baited Hook proved to be a great highroll from the Order domain, recently joined by Spectral Matron.
Unfortunately for Darius, Hand of Noxus, other legends able to use those same fantastic units managed to build a very reliable deck around them.

This issue of sometimes losing to itself, or being forced to take a gample to keep up with the top performers plagued the Hand of Noxus for this entire set. At times, a great performance would get Darius back in the competitive discussion, but it never managed to stay there for long, as the deck is both too inconsistent, and easy to target with gear removal if need be.

Yasuo

If Riftbound was a football league, Yasuo, Unforgiven would be that team which never competes for the title, but also saves itself from relegation year after year.
In Houston, Yasuo closed the year with a top 64 and a loss in the first elimination round. In true Unforgiven fashion, the legend did enough to be mentioned as a Day 2 performer, but immediately lost after that step.

Everyone foresees Chaos as a strong domain in Spiritforged, while Irelia, Blade Dancer's cards could come bolster Yasuo, Unforgiven's deck. As such, this legend could still be around in Set 2, but it will be an uphill battle with even more competition to be considered a competitive pick.

Tier 4

Lee Sin, Blind Monk, OGN-249 and OGN-255 deserve a Tier 3.5 type of ranking, but I don't want to make it too complicated. These three are capable of the occasional spark, for example in Houston for Lee Sin, Blind Monk and OGN-249, both reaching top 64.
However, they are still long shots compared to Tier 3 legends, which can be considered contenders with the right build and pilot.

Unfortunately for the last four, it is time to turn to Spiritforged in hope to get some support, which could happen for Leona, Radiant Dawn or Lux, Lady of Luminosity. Otherwise, wait for the next regional tournament, place of the next battle for Best-of cards.

Lee Sin

Volibear

Ahri

Jinx

Leona

Lux

Garen