Atlanta Regional Qualifier Breakdown — Hextech Analytics

If you have been reading these breakdowns since Bologna, you already know the name Prismaticismism: fifth in Bologna, fifth in Vegas, fourth in Lille nine days ago, always at the table and never holding the trophy. Atlanta fixed that. In front of 1,832 players at the last Regional Qualifier of the Spiritforged season, he won the whole event on Fury/Chaos Annie, taking a game-three finals against Challenger TCG's Koko Lopez on Draven with both players sitting at eight points on Aspirant's Climb. The broadcast put it as directly as I would have: very few players could chain results like that back-to-back, and this one finally closed the loop.

1,832

Players

211

Draven registrations

Game 3

Finals went the distance

4th

Straight Top 8 for Alanzq1

Prismaticismism

Annie, Dark Child

Atlanta Regional Qualifier champion

FuryChaos

Riftbound Legend: Dark Child - Starter. At the end of your turn, ready up to 2 runes.

Riftbound Unit: Annie, Stubborn. When you play me, return a spell from your trash to your hand.

The League of Draven

The official recap called Atlanta what it was: the League of Draven, with Chaos and Fury as the domains to beat. A whopping 211 of the 1,832 players registered the Glorious Executioner, which is 11.5% of the field for a deck that lost its chosen champion, its best trick, and two of its favorite battlefields to the March 31 bans a month earlier. Lille suggested the bans had knocked Draven down a tier, and Atlanta complicated that story, because the deck was still the most popular thing in the room and put three players into the Top 8, including the finals.

The counterpoint is that the finals is exactly where the run stopped, and it stopped against Annie, the same legend that won Houston back in December. The post-ban Spiritforged format ended with two events, two different champions, and two very different lessons: Lille said the field was wide open, and Atlanta said the old guard still sets the terms even when it does not win.

The top of the standings

Three Draven players in the Top 8 of a post-ban event is the stat that keeps the League of Draven line honest, and the full table shows how the rest of the format arranged itself around them.

1st

Prismaticismism

AnnieFuryChaos

2nd

CTCG Koko Lopez

DravenFuryChaos

3rd

HaruKaze

IreliaCalmChaos

4th

CTG Alanzq

EzrealChaosMind

5th

Frosty

Kai'SaFuryMind

6th

Boulevard

DravenFuryChaos

7th

CTCG Collin K

SettBodyOrder

8th

StarDust

DravenFuryChaos

Placements and full decklists are from the official Atlanta's Top Decks article.

The storylines

Sett made his first Regional Qualifier Top 8, and the timing is not an accident. CTCG Collin K took the Body/Order brawler to seventh, and the community read on stream coverage afterward was that Colin “managed to top eight in Atlanta once Fight or Flight got banned,” with fewer Rebukes circulating in the format as a bonus. A legend that spent the whole season getting written off needed exactly one ban wave to become playable, which says as much about the bans as it does about Sett.

Managed to top eight in Atlanta once Fight or Flight got banned.
The community read on stream coverage, after Sett's first Regional Qualifier Top 8

Alanzq1 finished fourth on his Chaos/Mind Ezreal, and the streak deserves its own sentence: Houston fifth, Bologna champion, Vegas eighth, Atlanta fourth. That run now covers four Regional Qualifiers, four Top 8s, three different legends, and two formats, and nobody else in the West has anything close to that resume right now.

The cruelest line in the standings belongs to Dhawally. The Houston champion was one win from the Top 8 when he ran into Prismaticismism, the eventual champion, and got knocked out of contention. Had that match gone the other way, we might have been talking about the game's first two-time champion instead of its most persistent bridesmaid finally winning, and I suspect those two names are not done colliding.

The winning list

Set the champion's Annie next to the Draven it beat and the finals stops looking like a clash of archetypes, because the two lists are close to being cousins: the same six Fury and six Chaos runes, the same three copies each of Kai'Sa, Survivor, Noxus Hopeful, Overzealous Fan, Ferrous Forerunner, and Stacked Deck, and Zaun Warrens registered on both sides of the table. The domains that gave the League of Draven its name ended up building the deck that closed it down, which might be the most fitting ending this season could have written.

The Annie identity lives in the slots the two lists do not share. Only four names in Prismaticismism's main deck are missing from Koko Lopez's entirely, with Rengar, Pouncing and Traveling Merchant at three copies apiece and Long Sword and Ride the Wind as pairs, and the rest of the difference comes down to counts: the champion kept Flash and Rek'Sai, Breacher at three copies where the finals Draven used fewer of both, then spread the remaining slots across two copies each of Cleave, Hard Bargain, Rebuke, and Tideturner. That spread reads like a player who wanted an answer in hand for whatever the most popular deck in the room decided to do.

The slots the finals Draven did not share

Riftbound Unit: Rengar, Pouncing. [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve, including to a battlefield you control.)
[Assault 2] (+2 [S] while I'm an attacker.)
I can be played to a battlefield you're attacking.

One of only four names missing from Koko Lopez's list entirely.

Riftbound Unit: Traveling Merchant. When I move, discard 1, then draw 1.

The other card played at three copies that the finals Draven did not use.

Riftbound Gear: Long Sword. [Quick-Draw] (This has [Reaction]. When you play it, attach it to a unit you control.)
[Equip] [C] ([C]: Attach this to a unit you control.)

One of the two pairs unique to the champion's main deck.

Riftbound Spell: Ride the Wind. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Move a friendly unit and ready it.

The other pair the two finals lists do not share.

His battlefields split from the finals Draven everywhere except Zaun Warrens, with Seat of Power and The Arena's Greatest in place of Aspirant's Climb and Targon's Peak, and that detail gave the ending some extra texture: the finals finished with both players sitting at eight points on a battlefield the champion himself never registered.

1st

Winning list · Prismaticismism's Annie, Dark Child

1st place · Beat CTCG Koko Lopez's Draven in a game-three finals

Main deck (40 incl. chosen champion)

Riftbound Unit: Overzealous Fan. When I defend, you may kill me to move an attacking unit to its base. — Overzealous Fan

Riftbound Unit: Tideturner. [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].)
When you play me, you may choose a unit you control at another location. Move me to its location and it to my original location. — Tideturner

Riftbound Unit: Rek'Sai, Breacher. [Accelerate] (You may pay [1][C] as an additional cost to have me enter ready.)
[Assault] (+1 [S] while I'm an attacker.)
Friendly units played from anywhere other than a player's hand have [Accelerate]. — Rek'Sai, Breacher

Riftbound Unit: Kai'Sa, Survivor. [Accelerate] (You may pay [1][C] as an additional cost to have me enter ready.)
When I conquer, draw 1. — Kai'Sa, Survivor

Riftbound Unit: Noxus Hopeful. [Legion] — I cost [2] less. (Get the effect if you've played another card this turn.) — Noxus Hopeful

Riftbound Unit: Ferrous Forerunner. [Deathknell] — Play two 3 [S] Mech unit tokens to your base. (When I die, get the effect.) — Ferrous Forerunner

Riftbound Spell: Cleave. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Give a unit [Assault 3] this turn. (+3 [S] while it's an attacker.) — Cleave

Riftbound Spell: Stacked Deck. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Look at the top 3 cards of your Main Deck. Put 1 into your hand and recycle the rest. — Stacked Deck

Riftbound Spell: Flash. [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.)
Move up to 2 friendly units to base. — Flash

Riftbound Spell: Hard Bargain. [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.)
[Repeat] [2] (You may pay the additional cost to repeat this spell's effect.)
Counter a spell unless its controller pays [2]. — Hard Bargain

Riftbound Spell: Rebuke. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Return a unit at a battlefield to its owner's hand. — Rebuke

Runes (12)

Riftbound Rune: Chaos Rune. — Chaos Rune

Battlefields (3)

Riftbound Battlefield: Seat of Power. When you conquer here, draw 1 for each other battlefield you or allies control. — Seat of Power

Riftbound Battlefield: The Arena's Greatest. At the start of each player's first Beginning Phase, that player gains 1 point. — The Arena's Greatest

Riftbound Battlefield: Zaun Warrens. When you conquer here, discard 1, then draw 1. — Zaun Warrens

Sideboard

The published list did not include a sideboard.

Open in Deck Builder

Notable decks from the Top 8

CTCG Koko Lopez's Draven (2nd)

The finals Draven is worth comparing card for card against DZiden's third-place list from Lille, because the two independently converged: the same Fury/Chaos 6/6 rune base, the same Aspirant's Climb, Targon's Peak, and Zaun Warrens battlefields, and the same group of Kai'Sa, Survivor and Noxus Hopeful. Where Koko Lopez went his own way is in the cards chosen to answer opposing plays, moving Rebuke to a full three copies in the main deck and adding three Gem Jammers, which reads like a direct answer to a format that leaned harder into gear after the bans. One week was enough for post-ban Draven to go from an open question to a common build with a few specialized choices, and that speed is the scariest thing about the deck.

2ndCTCG Koko Lopez's Draven, Glorious ExecutionerView decklist

2nd place

Main deck (40 incl. chosen champion)

Riftbound Unit: Gem Jammer. When you play me, give a unit [Ganking] this turn. (It can move from battlefield to battlefield.) — Gem Jammer

Riftbound Unit: Darius, Trifarian. When you play your second card in a turn, give me +2 [S] this turn and ready me. — Darius, Trifarian

Riftbound Unit: Draven, Showboat. My Might is increased by your points. — Draven, Showboat

Riftbound Unit: Brynhir Thundersong. When you play me, opponents can't play cards this turn. — Brynhir Thundersong

Riftbound Unit: Beast Below. When you play me, return another friendly unit and an enemy unit to their owners' hands. — Beast Below

Riftbound Gear: Spinning Axe. [Quick-Draw] (This has [Reaction]. When you play it, attach it to a unit you control.)
[Equip] [C] ([C]: Attach this to a unit you control.)
[Temporary] (If this is unattached, kill it at the start of its controller's Beginning Phase, before scoring.) — Spinning Axe

Riftbound Spell: Blood Rush. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
[Repeat] [1] (You may pay the additional cost to repeat this spell's effect.)
Give a unit [Assault 2] this turn. (+2 [M] while it's an attacker.) — Blood Rush

Riftbound Spell: Falling Star. Deal 3 to a unit.
Deal 3 to a unit. — Falling Star

Riftbound Spell: Switcheroo. [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].)
[Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Swap the Might of two units at the same battlefield this turn. — Switcheroo

Runes (12)

Battlefields (3)

Riftbound Battlefield: Aspirant's Climb. Increase the points needed to win the game by 1. — Aspirant's Climb

Riftbound Battlefield: Targon's Peak. When you conquer here, ready up to 2 runes at the end of this turn. — Targon's Peak

Sideboard (8)

Riftbound Gear: Last Rites. [Equip] — [C], Recycle 2 cards from your trash (Pay the cost: Attach this to a unit you control.) — Last Rites

Riftbound Spell: Factory Recall. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Return a gear to its owner's hand. — Factory Recall

Riftbound Spell: Against the Odds. [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.)
Give a friendly unit at a battlefield +2 [S] this turn for each enemy unit there. — Against the Odds

Riftbound Spell: Thermo Beam. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Kill all gear. — Thermo Beam

Open in Deck Builder

CTCG Collin K's Sett (7th)

The first Sett to reach a Western Regional Qualifier Top 8 is a Body/Order list on a 7/5 rune split, and it looks nothing like the Fury builds people kept trying to force him into: three copies each of Arena Bar, Pit Rookie, First Mate, and Cithria of Cloudfield build the wide, sturdy board Sett's Legend wants to rescue, with Fiora, Victorious and Showstopper as the finishers. Call to Glory and Punch First can change which unit is favored in a fight. The battlefield set of Grove of the God-Willow, Monastery of Hirana, and Sunken Temple is as off-meta as the deck itself. The community read that credited the Fight or Flight ban with opening Sett's window gets support from the list too. The deck invests buffs and Gear in individual units, and Fight or Flight could move one of those units from a battlefield back to base. Atlanta was the first big event where that spell was no longer legal.

Fight or Flight

Banned March 31; it moves one chosen unit from a battlefield back to base.

7thCTCG Collin K's Sett, The BossView decklist

7th place

Main deck (40 incl. chosen champion)

Riftbound Unit: Cithria of Cloudfield. When you play another unit, buff me. (If I don't have a buff, I get a +1 [S] buff.) — Cithria of Cloudfield

Riftbound Unit: Pit Rookie. When you play me, buff another friendly unit. (If it doesn't have a buff, it gets a +1 [S] buff.) — Pit Rookie

Riftbound Unit: Sea Monkey. You may pay [1] as an additional cost to play me.
When you play me, if you paid the additional cost, buff me. (Give me a +1 [S] buff if I don't already have one.) — Sea Monkey

Riftbound Unit: First Mate. When you play me, ready another unit. — First Mate

Riftbound Unit: Lucian, Merciless. [Weaponmaster] (When you play me, you may [Equip] one of your Equipment to me for [A] less, even if it's already attached.)
The first time I conquer each turn, ready me. — Lucian, Merciless

Riftbound Unit: Akshan, Mischievous. [Weaponmaster]
You may pay [C][C] as an additional cost to play me.
When you play me, if you paid the additional cost, move an enemy gear to your base. You control it until I leave the board. If it's an Equipment, attach it to me. — Akshan, Mischievous

Riftbound Unit: Fiora, Victorious. While I'm [Mighty], I have [Deflect], [Ganking], and [Shield]. (I'm Mighty while I have 5+ [S].) — Fiora, Victorious

Riftbound Unit: Kinkou Monk. When you play me, buff up to two other friendly units. (Each one that doesn't have a buff gets a +1 [M] buff.) — Kinkou Monk

Riftbound Unit: Sett, Kingpin. [Tank] (I must be assigned combat damage first.)
I get +1 [S] for each buffed friendly unit at my battlefield. — Sett, Kingpin

Riftbound Unit: Fae Dragon. When you play me, buff up to four friendly units. (Give each a +1 [S] buff if it doesn't have one.)
When you spend a buff, play a Gold gear token exhausted. — Fae Dragon

Riftbound Gear: Arena Bar. [T]: Buff an exhausted friendly unit. (If it doesn't have a buff, it gets a +1 [S] buff.) — Arena Bar

Riftbound Spell: Sabotage. Choose an opponent. They reveal their hand. Choose a non-unit card from it, and recycle that card. — Sabotage

Riftbound Spell: Showstopper. Buff a friendly unit in your base, then move it to a battlefield. (If it doesn't have a buff, it gets a +1 [S] buff.) — Showstopper

Riftbound Spell: Punch First. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Give a unit +5 [S] this turn. — Punch First

Riftbound Spell: Challenge. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Choose a friendly unit and an enemy unit. They deal damage equal to their Mights to each other. — Challenge

Riftbound Spell: Hidden Blade. [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].)
[Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Kill a unit at a battlefield. Its controller draws 2. — Hidden Blade

Riftbound Spell: Call to Glory. [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.)
As you play this, you may spend a buff as an additional cost. If you do, ignore this spell's cost.
Give a unit +3 [S] this turn. — Call to Glory

Runes (12)

Riftbound Rune: Order Rune. — Order Rune

Battlefields (3)

Riftbound Battlefield: Grove of the God-Willow. When you hold here, draw 1. — Grove of the God-Willow

Riftbound Battlefield: Monastery of Hirana. When you conquer here, you may spend a buff to draw 1. — Monastery of Hirana

Riftbound Battlefield: Sunken Temple. When you conquer here with one or more [Mighty] units, you may pay [1] to draw 1. (A unit is Mighty while it has 5+ [S].) — Sunken Temple

Sideboard (8)

Riftbound Unit: Sett, Brawler. When I'm played and when I conquer, buff me. (If I don't have a buff, I get a +1 [S] buff.)
Spend my buff: Give me +4 [S] this turn. — Sett, Brawler

Riftbound Spell: Unyielding Spirit. [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.)
Prevent all spell and ability damage this turn. — Unyielding Spirit

Riftbound Spell: Facebreaker. [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].)
[Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Stun a friendly unit and an enemy unit at the same battlefield. (They don't deal combat damage this turn.) — Facebreaker

Open in Deck Builder

What we learned

Annie is the quiet constant of Western Riftbound. She won the first English Regional Qualifier in Houston, survived a ban wave that gutted her Fury/Chaos neighbors, and closed the Spiritforged era with the Atlanta trophy. The supporting cards change, the format changes, and the deck keeps ending up holding hardware.

The bans got their final grade this weekend, and it reads both ways: Draven absorbed the March 31 hits and still showed up as the most popular deck in the room with three seats in the Top 8, while Sett needed that same ban wave just to reach his first one. Both of those things can be true at once, and together they might be the fairest summary of what the ban list actually did to this format.

Looking ahead

This was also the end of an era in the literal sense: the official coverage framed Atlanta as the last Regional Qualifier before the Unleashed release, so every conclusion above comes with an expiration date. New legends, new mechanics, and a new meta arrive with the next set, and I will have a first look at what Unleashed does to all of this in the coming days.

See you on the rift,
Shadow