Jayce holds our top spot

Aurora Jayce is our first choice for the post-ban field. The Legend’s paid gear-readying supports repeated Platewyrm Egg activations to reach Dazzling Aurora, whose end-turn trigger can deploy Elder Dragon for a sweeping finish. That engine survives both bans. We expect less consistent Kennen draws and the loss of Lux’s Ekko loop to give Jayce more room to establish it. This is a field-shift bet: surviving Kennen pressure remains a serious threat, and spending early turns on ramp still leaves a gap before Aurora produces a scorer.

LeBlanc remains a leading contender because its Deathknell-copying engine survives the bans. Karthus, Ruined Rex, and sacrifice effects can turn an established battlefield into repeated attackers and death payoffs without relying on Ekko, Recurrent. We expect that rebuilding capacity to matter as players explore slower post-ban decks. The placement is a bet on those non-Ekko builds, not a replacement for the lost rune-reset loop. LeBlanc still needs a conquest or hold, a discard, and a suitable unit; temporary copies do not automatically leave territory defended.