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Ionia · Spiritforged · Advanced

Irelia

Blade Dancer · Ready-chain tempo

Calm domainCalm
Chaos domainChaos

Irelia turns choosing friendly units into ready effects, then conquers can pay energy to ready Irelia again.

Live data · our tournament results, last 14 days

Where Irelia Stands Right Now

Tier

S

Tempo

Meta share

11.3%

638 tracked decks

Top 8s

22

across 18 events

Match record

57.6%

979W – 720L

CN / West share

10% / 11.8%

11 / 11 top 8s

Proven at regionals. 21 pilots through to day two in Sydney alone — she shows up in numbers at every qualifier and keeps converting.

The engine

What Irelia Rewards

Blade Dancer · printed ability

“When you choose a friendly unit, you may exhaust me and pay 1 Power to ready it. When you conquer, you may pay 1 Energy to ready me.”

Irelia is built around making conquers matter; the fun is turning a battlefield win into more than just the normal point.

How it plays

The Game Plan

Calm/Chaos Irelia is about choosing your own units with buffs, movement, or equipment, then paying power to ready them. Because conquering can ready Irelia, one clean battlefield win can reopen the whole ready engine.

Strengths

  • Turns targeted friendly effects into ready windows
  • Can chain pressure after conquers
  • High ceiling with movement and buffs

Watch Outs

  • Needs power timing
  • Requires careful targeting order
  • Can stumble without units worth readying

Turn by Turn

  1. 1Early: develop units that benefit from being chosen or moved rather than dumping tricks with no ready target.
  2. 2Midgame: choose a friendly unit, ready it with Irelia, then push a conquer to pay energy and ready Irelia again.
  3. 3Late: sequence buffs and movement so the same threat can defend, ready, and pressure a second battlefield.

New to this Legend? Pick Irelia if you like stack-like sequencing where a harmless-looking buff or move can become another ready unit.

Know the field

Key Matchups

How Irelia lines up against the decks that matter, based on results from our tournament database.

Tough

vs Aurora decks

Like the other tempo decks, she struggles to close before the Aurora engines come online.

Even

vs Leblanc

Leblanc pilots tend to have more reps in this matchup — Irelia adapted to the new meta later than Leblanc players practiced for her.

Proven lists · from our tournament database

What Winning Irelia Looks Like

The full list below comes straight from a recent top-performing event run, runes and battlefields included. Use it as the reference build, then adjust for your collection.

CCB.春

S3 Tianjin Regional Open · 2026-06-07 · 56 cards

Legend (1)

  • Irelia, Blade Dancer1

Units (12)

  • Scuttle Crab3
  • Stellacorn Herder3
  • Tideturner3
  • Adaptatron1
  • Fizz, Trickster1
  • Irelia, Fervent1

Spells (22)

  • Defiant Dance3
  • Defy3
  • Discipline3
  • Charm2
  • En Garde2
  • Not So Fast2
  • Ride the Wind2
  • Stacked Deck2
  • Star-Crossed2
  • Gust1

Gear (6)

  • Boots of Swiftness3
  • Guardian Angel3

Runes (12)

  • Calm Rune6
  • Chaos Rune6

Battlefields (3)

  • Abandoned Hall1
  • Sunken Temple1
  • Targon's Peak1

Also putting up results: Rosencrаntz (S3 Tianjin Regional Open, 2026-06-07) and 优极客-109-Yxx (S3 Tianjin Regional Open, 2026-06-07).

The Cards Doing the Work

Riftbound Unit: Scuttle Crab. (Units with 0 [S] can conquer and hold.) When you play me, draw 1. [Deathknell][>] Choose an opponent. They reveal their hand. You can look at their facedown cards this turn. Gain 1 XP. (When I die, get the effects.)

Card advantage · 3x

Scuttle Crab

“When you play me, draw 1. [Deathknell] → Choose an opponent. They reveal their hand. You can look at their facedown cards this turn. Gain 1 XP. (When I die, get the effects.)”

Riftbound Unit: Stellacorn Herder. When I move, draw 1.

Card advantage · 3x

Stellacorn Herder

“When I move, draw 1.”

Her draw engine. If it survives on board, Irelia digs for answers all game.

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.

Positioning · 3x

Tideturner

“[Hidden] (Hide now for 1 Power to react with later for 0 Energy.) When you play me, you may choose a unit you control at another location. Move me to its location and it to my…”

Your first build

How to Start Playing Irelia

Irelia has no preconstructed starter deck, so this is a singles build — start from the proven list above in the deck builder and trim toward the cards you own.