LoR: 10 Best Decks to Climb - April 2025 Rotation

Legend of Runeterra's April 2025 rotation is well underway! Now, we can finally outline the best decks in the format with a bit more accuracy.

In this article, I'll show you 10 lists to climb ranks. I'll also show you how each one works, and tell you exactly why they're so strong.

Let's go!

This slower Midrange list took the ranked queue by assault. Currently, it has one of the highest win rates in the entire game: 62%.

The reason it is so strong is that it is one of the few lists in the format that can heal itself frequently. Furthermore, it creates powerful cards that can win the game by themselves in the late game, that is, Celestials.

Freljord's iconic early game package, Omen Hawk + Yadulski Snowdog, is still Standard-legal, so, it is still one of the best openers in the entire game.

All of this, combined with the Celestial package, makes this deck strong at any point of the match, so it is the number 1 deck I recommend if you want to climb the ranks.

The classic Teemo Tristana is back in Standard, and is already one of the most powerful lists around.

This deck is known for punishing rising strategies and decks that don't interact with the enemy board really well.

As a result, it is often the best deck to climb if you're starting at the lowest ranks. In these ranks, you'll often face weird archetypes or half-baked lists, and they all lose to Teemo Tristana.

This archetype hasn't changed a bit since it left Standard. The only exceptions are the 2 copies of Glare.

Another Midrange list that has started to dominate the ranked queue is Sivir Kai'Sa, now with Jarro Lightfeather.

This 1-cost unit made this deck a lot better, as it gave a powerful keyword to Kai'Sa, Spirit. Furthermore, it buffs other units in your hand, which is great when you need to control the board, particularly with your Challenger units.

Currently, this deck uses 3 copies of Sunborn Summoning to make sure you can access your champions at all times, as they're your main win conditions. It also plays 3 Golden Aegis, the main finisher.

Did you know the Fearsome archetype is still exactly the same?

Yeah. This list is also still extremely strong. It might be a bit weak in this meta because of the many Midrange lists around, but it is still one of the best decks to climb.

You'll probably start struggling with it when you get to Diamond. Other than that, I highly recommend it if you enjoy faster games.

Carrying on with the Aggros, now we have the new Overwhelm list with Neeko's kit and other cards from The Heart of the Huntress.

This deck plays Glacial Saurian, which is surprisingly consistent in this list, Gnar himself, and Apprehend, which is a great, cheap "Rally". Remember, Rallies are quite powerful in this list.

Tusk Speaker is also back in Standard, and makes this version even more powerful. Decisive Maneuver, which has been the main finisher in this archetype ever since the first version came along, is also back.

One of the few Control lists in this format is Noxus Control with Illaoi and Swain.

This list is perfect against any type of Midrange or Aggro deck. It only loses to itself.

The only problem is that it is pretty difficult to pilot and sometimes bricks.

This version uses Illaoi's package instead of Norra's Bandle City package. Tentacles are heavy removals compared to Bandle City's Pings, and spells like Tentacle Smash and Riptide Sermon are great to level up Swain.

An unusual archetype in this meta is Dragon Shyvana Pantheon. This list plays a few of the best Strike spells in the game. They, in turn, level up Pantheon, your main win condition.

This deck is extremely versatile and can control the enemy board with practically any Dragon, drawn or created. So, this list plays a few unpopular Dragons, like Stalking Broodmother (the Scout Dragon) and Seraphic Wyvern.

One of the most popular, beloved, and recycled archetypes of all time is this extremely consistent Poro list.

This Shurima list plays cards like Sunborn Summoning and Quicksand, which make its midgame more consistent.

It is one of the easiest lists to pilot, and also one of the most powerful decks in the current meta.

Not many lists in the meta play Elusives as a win condition, and this list, besides that, also plays Frostbites. This is an explosive combination that is ready to deal with Challenger units or Strike spells.

The most popular deck in this meta is this Annie Jhin with Ravenborn Tome.

This equipment might not seem that strong at first, but, in practice, if you don't remove it, it levels up these two champions quite fast, and deals a lot of damage to the enemy Nexus.

This has been, historically, the best list for a meta full of Midrange decks, and its win rate perfectly represents that: 56%, across over 1,500 matches in the last 2 days.

Just like Teemo Tristana, this deck punishes rising, off-meta lists. I highly recommend it if you're starting in the lower ranks.

Jinx returned to Standard, but her old decks still rely on cards like Lulu, Bandle City units, and Piltover & Zaun spells to work properly.

To fix that, the LoR community decided to pair her with Nilah in this slower, Discard list. It leans much more towards combo than aggro.

Instead of playing on curve and dealing damage constantly, you'll set up turns to play multiple cards at once, discard even more of them, level up your champions, and beat your opponent with the value their level 2 versions create.

It is difficult to pilot, but worth a try. I highly recommend it for veterans who enjoy a nice challenge.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun and enjoyed reading this article.

Don't forget to share.

See you next time!