Runeterra best decks guide
Our Runeterra best decks guide will give you the full deck lists, along with the deck codes to help you construct them with ease, and instructions for how to use them. We’ve added some of the recent top tier combinations to this guide, including revamped Burn Aggro and Heimerdinger Control decks, as well as new strategies including Scouts and an Elusive OTK deck. Bannermen and Kinkou Elusives decks are still played heavily. Use these if you want to climb the ranked ladder quickly. Shadow Isles cards aren’t as played now as they were when Runeterra first came out, but the rise of Demacia and Noxus has been rather staggering. Find out more about them in our Runeterra vault guide.
Best Runeterra decks
Burn aggro Corina control Midrange Bannermen Ezreal Karma Heimerdinger control Scouts Elusive OTK Kinkou elusives
Other good Runeterra decks
Nox Ezreal Endure Spiders Fearsome rally Ephemeral midrange Ezreal elnuks Ashe tempo Karma control Fearsome midrange Fiora deck
Budget Runeterra decks
Garen/Tryndamere budget Midrange Elise/Darius budget spiders Aggro Jinx/Darius budget Aggro Cheap Shadow Isles Control Elusive budget Midrange/Control
Importing Runeterra decks
How to import Runeterra decks
Burn aggro
Mulligan hard with this deck to get one mana cards. This is because the deck is heavily reliant on a strong early game that pressures decks that float mana. Boomcrew Rookie is also a good card to keep in your hand. Used Cask Salesman can be a good chump blocker.
Burn aggro deck code CEBQEAQDAMCAIAIECETTINQGAEBQEDAUDYSSQAIBAEBQ6AQBAECACAIBAMXQ
Corina control
This deck aims to use Corina Veraza to throw spells at enemies on the board to create board wipe opportunities. Since there are tons of spells in the deck, you’ll be slightly vulnerable in the early game, but the spells themselves can help out with blasting threats in the first few turns. It then uses Commander Ledros and other heavy hitters to close out the game.
Corina control deck code CEBQEAQEAYEAGAIEDMPTIBQBAUOSCKBSGU3AEAIBAQYAEAIFAE4ACAIBAUHQ
Midrange Bannermen
This has been a top deck in Runeterra for a while and it’s not very hard to see why. There are a ton of options to be had for reliable board presence with this midrange deck. This configuration from YouTube user and Twitch Streamer “Swimstrim” combines lots of challengers and spells to stall enemies or deal with threats. Fiora also puts in a lot of work into making this deck win games.
Bannermen deck code CEBACAIDG4FACAABBEFAWDA2DUSSWLIBAMAQAIBSGMAQCAIAGQ
Ezreal Karma
A variant on the Ezreal deck that requires you to stall out your opponent for as long as possible, or at least until Ezreal levels up. You can use Thermogenic Beam, Mystic Shot, and Statikk Shock to deal with early drops. Thermogenic Beam should be used for bigger enemies in midrange/control decks. If the game goes on for a long time, you’ll have an easier time trying to win it.
Ezreal Karma deck code CEBQEAICFE4QGAQCAMCQSBIBAQNR6JBUHIBAEAIEAETQGAICAIYTQAA
Heimerdinger control
This deck recommendation has been modified heavily from the original version from Twitch streamer “Gaara”. It uses a lot of spells to control the board, as well as a fair few Ionia cards flesh it out. Stall your opponent’s aggression before ending games with masses of turret fire if Heimerdinger survives long enough.
Heimerdinger control deck code CEBAIAIFFAVDCNQGAECBAGZHFM2DQAQCAECAMMICAECQCFACAEAQIHYBAECQ6
Scouts
The only Bilgewater deck to break into the top decks list, but my god it can be devastating. In the early game, Fleetfeather Tracker into War Chefs or Brightsteel Protector allows you to get favourable trades if you’re defending the second turn. Barrier effects shut down early game aggro. Loyal Badgerbear can be used to build up an offensive front, while Miss Fortune is good for control decks. Playing the early game is key to getting wins later on, so make sure you react to enemy plays appropriately.
Scout deck code CEBQGAQGCELDUAYCAABQMCIGAEAACCI5E4VTGAIBAEABUAQBAIAAOAIBAAJA
Elusive OTK
This deck is a lot riskier, but you’ll want to mulligan your hand for Stand Alone. It has many great targets for the deck, such as Zed and Solitary Monk. Fiora is a great target too as it can be used to either perform combat tricks or bait a reaction to expected combat tricks. Keep tabs on removal options your opponents might have so you can react as necessary. When you’re ready to pull the trigger, Relentless Pursuit can be used to end the game.
Elusive OTK deck code CECACAQABEAQEAQJAQAQAEISCUWQIAICAYEQYOICAEAQAIADAEBBMJRRAIAQCAANAEBAABY
Kinkou elusives
Ionia still has one Elusive based deck and it’s a very powerful deck that can quickly win games. There’s a few variations floating around on the internet, but this is the one that YouTube user and Twitch Streamer “Swimstrim” has recommended. It uses buffs on elusive units so that they can go straight for the enemy Nexus.
Kinkou elusives deck code CEBAEAIBAQLAWAICAIDASDARCULSQLBSHEAACAIBAIYQ
Nox Ezreal
Another deck from “Swimstrim”, this one relies on you using spells to stall the game while levelling up Ezreal. . Cycle through your deck while stalling, then drop Ezreal and a bunch of spells to win. It’s important that you do not play Ezreal until he has levelled up, as he’s too fragile otherwise.
Nox Ezreal deck code CEBAGAIDCQVS4CABAQARWHZEE4YTIOQCAEAQIHACAEBRMNYBAEAQGBA
Endure Spiders
This version of the Endure Spiders deck is a bit of a mix between playing monsters onto the board for a larger presence, as well as large board sweeps. Some cards are game ending in scope, such as They Who Endure, while the rest seem to stall the opponent more often than not. It is billed as a midrange deck, but leans a little closer towards control.
Endure Spiders deck code CEBAGAIBAMLCEBYBAUSCQKZRGI2TQAQBAEAQWAYBAUHR2NACAEAQKGIBAEASO
Fearsome rally
The aim of this deck is surprisingly simple: flood the board with Fearsome followers. It wants to hit hard and fast. Originally from Twitch user “Navi00t” but optimised by Twitch streamer and YouTube user “Swimstrim”, this deck mostly Shadow Isles cards to flood the board with Fearsome enemies, while the occasional Demacia card adds that extra bit of burst damage this deck requires to get over the enemy lines and shatter the enemy Nexus.
Fearsome rally deck code CEBACAIAGYEQCBIOCALCOKBKGE2TQAQBAEABKAYBAUBRIIQBAIAQACIP
Ephemeral midrange
This rather flexible midrange deck brings both Ionia and Shadow Isles based decks back into contention for the top tier decks. Your game plan is to play as many copies of Hecarim as possible, using certain cards to bring him out quickly. There’s also a few cards to either play defensively or go all out aggro, depending on your first few turns.
Ephemeral midrange deck code CEBAGAICAMETSBQBAUCBIFRKGAYQEAYBAUGCQOADAEBAEBQYAEAQCARR
Ezreal Elnuks
This Tier 2 deck that we are looking at has been created by YouTube user and Twitch streamer “Swimstrim” and is a popular Piltover & Zahn/Freljord deck. The aim is to control the board state long enough to bring out a whole herd of Elnuks to stomp on everything in front of them.
Ezreal Elnuks deck code CEBAKAIEDMPSINB2AYAQCAYLCENR4KQCAEAQCJACAECCOMIBAEAQIAI
Ashe tempo
As a potential answer to the rather brutal Fearsome decks might be this Ashe Tempo deck from Reddit user “Massarani”. It’s specifically designed to counter the Fearsome deck, while also keeping stronger enemies in check with Frostbite. Your main aim is to get Ashe levelled up and hurling a bunch of Frostbite effects to neutralise the enemy.
Note: I’d personally cut a Hecarim for a copy of The Rekindler so you can have a fourth Ashe. Ashe tempo deck code CEBAEAIFE4VAUAIBAEDQWEQWDYSSMKJKAEAQCBJDAIAQCBJBAEAQCJA
Karma control
This deck comes from Twitch streamer “FiVE” and aims to control the board early on with removal spells. It uses some rather unorthodox removal spells like Death Mark that simultaneously makes certain followers more of a threat and removes key enemies. Karma is key to making this deck work.
Karma control deck code CEBAIAICAMUTKOIGAECQIDYWDU3DQAQCAEBDCNQDAECQCAZXAA
Fearsome midrange
This deck comes from a few sources, but the example above came from Runeterra Twitch streamer and YouTube user “Swimstrim”. Fearsome Midrange probably the most expensive deck to make out of the full list as there are six champions, but it is one of the most efficient decks in the meta right now. It’s a surprisingly aggressive deck for the early game as it has Fearsome followers to break through enemy defences. Removal, card draw, and some fantastic finisher units like Commander Ledros and Hecarim allow you to slow down the enemy player’s progress.
Fearsome midrange deck code CEBACAICHEEQCBIOCAOSOKBKGE2TQAQBAEBDCAYBAULCEIYBAIAQKAJB
Fiora aggro/control
I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant to put in a Fiora deck since the combo required to trigger the win condition is reliant on one main source. The general idea is to protect Fiora at all costs while building up a wall of blockers. There are a lot of Challenger followers in the deck, tons of Barrier effects, and enough spells to save your units. However, this deck seems to be the most consistent version of the deck thanks to a few things.
Fiora deck code CEBAMAICCMQCKKZQG4DQCAAJDIOSAJJNGUAACAIBAADQ
Garen/Tryndamere budget midrange
This budget deck comes from Twitch user “Swimstrim” and is designed to be a budget deck that uses a lot of cards that you may already have from both Demacia and Freljord regions. It aims to control the board long enough to reach the end game, where lots of big beasts and heavy hitting people enter the battlefield to overwhelm your opponent. It also has some half-decent removal.
Garen/Tryndamere budget deck code CEBACAIAAYCACAIDA4IRWAQEAEAAWEQ5FECQCAIUCYNB4JACAIAQCJZJAUAQABYMB4MRU
Elise/Darius budget spiders aggro
Another budget deck comes from Twitch user “Swimstrim”, this time based around the spiders from both Noxus and the Shadow Isles. The main aim is to get Elise to turn into a spider as quickly as possible, while buffing the other spider cards to steamroll over the enemy’s defences. It also wants to play certain Shadow Isles card combinations, such as Ravenous Butcher and Cursed Keeper to flood the board with hard-to-kill abominations.
Elise/Darius budget spiders deck code CEBACAIDBEBQCBJAFAYAEBQBAUFR2JBLGE2QMAIDBQHROJROG4BACAIDGMBQCBJCGY4A
Jinx/Darius budget aggro
Twitch user “Swimstrim” has a talent for making some decent budget decks and this one is a fascinating combination of using mostly cards you already have from Piltover & Zahn and Noxus. It’s a incredibly aggressive deck early on that aims to get as much damage in before it uses Jinx or Darius to end the game.
Jinx/Darius budget aggro deck code CEBACAIDBQCQCBAMDQTDMNYCAQAQGDYTEY3QMAIECINSOKBNGQBACAIDBEAQCBAN
Cheap Shadow Isles control
There are no champions involved involved in this budget deck. It’s a very similar to an earlier Atrocity Control deck that was popular, but its win condition is slightly different. If you can afford a copy of Commander Ledros, a single The Ruination, and three Rhasa the Sunderers, this one shouldn’t break the bank to craft.
Cheap Shadow Isles control deck code CEBAKAIBAMDQWFBKAYAQKGRCEMUCWMIBAIAQKAJWAEBQCBIPCIQQ
Elusive budget aggro/midrange
The final deck we would like to showcase is a budget variant of the Elusive deck that’s dominating the current Runeterra meta, but there are no champions involved. Instead it just uses a lot of Elusive units, some ways to buff them and some ways to defend yourself.
Elusive budget deck code CEBAGAIAAMOSACABAIDBCFA2FAWDCOICAEAQEDQCAEAB6KIBAEAQEJQ
How to import Runeterra deck codes
Finally, you may find in various articles around the internet, including this one, that there are Runeterra deck codes. In order to use them you’ll need to perform the following steps:
Highlight the deck code and copy it to your clipboard (Ctrl + C on PC). They look like something like this - CEBAGAICEUVTCBQBAUARGKBJGE3AEAIBAI4QKAIFB4MR2IJNAEAQCBID Launch Legends of Runeterra and click Collection. Click Decks, then click “Import Deck” at the top of the screen. We’ve circled it in our image above. Paste the deck code (Ctrl + V on PC) and click “Import Deck”.
As for how to export deck codes into Legends of Runeterra, once you’ve finished creating them, simply click the Deck you wish to share, then click the “Share” button. This will generate the code to share your deck. These Legends of Runeterra decks should give you a head start when the game enters its open beta. Thanks for reading and do check out our other Legends of Runeterra guides below.
Legends of Runeterra guides links
Legends Of Runeterra guide - Find out how to get into the beta and learn some tips for expert play. How to Play Legends of Runeterra - Learn how to play the game, what cards do, and the turn order. Runeterra Expeditions - Learn Legends of Runeterra’s draft mode and see which cards are the best. Runeterra ranked mode - Explore how ranked mode works and what rewards you get for participating. Runeterra champions - Find out what each champion does and how to level up. Runeterra cards list - All of the follower and spell cards in Runeterra. Legends of Runeterra Ephemeral tutorial - Step by step instructions to complete this bothersome tutorial. Runeterra vault - Quick ways to gain XP and open better weekly vault prizes. Runeterra keywords - Definitions and unique interactions for cards explained. How Runeterra rounds work - An in-depth guide as to how rounds work. Runeterra patch notes - All the patch notes from the preview open beta patch to the present day. Runeterra player icons - Steps to change your player icon. Runeterra guardians - If you bought guardians, here’s how to change them. Runeterra boards - Those who have spent money on boards can learn how to change them here.
