Kennen still sets the pace

Kennen is first because every opponent has to respect two different plans. Lightning Rush and Fizz turn the trash into a second hand. Rhasa rewards the cards left there, while Baited Hook lists can cheat a larger unit into play. Four wins and 45 Top 8s make Kennen the deck to beat.

Master Yi won five tournaments, more than any other Legend in this snapshot. Wuju Bladesman makes one defender larger for free, then Defy, Discipline, Punch First, and Zhonya's Hourglass punish anyone who overspends to break the Hold. Kennen's 45 Top 8s keep Yi second despite those wins.

Rek'Sai turns a conquest into a second wave instead of ending the turn. Void Burrower finds another play. Undertitan can add Energy and grow the board. Breacher can give off-hand units Accelerate, so they enter ready if you pay for it. Fourteen Top 8s make that follow-up a reliable tournament plan. No tournament win keeps Rek'Sai behind the top two.

Irelia makes a committed defender chase the same unit twice. Defiant Dance, Ride the Wind, and Blade Dancer can move and ready a threat after the opponent has spent resources on the first fight. Twenty-two Top 8s show how consistently that plan reaches late rounds, but Irelia has not won a tournament in this window.

Rengar makes every cheap unit count twice: once as a new body and again as +1 Might wherever the current Showdown needs it. Thrill of the Hunt can replay that unit for another trigger. Three wins and 11 Top 8s prove the pressure is repeatable, but the temporary Might and need to keep drawing units hold it just below S tier.

Ezreal makes removal replace itself. Bellows Breath can satisfy both choices for Prodigal Explorer, while Fizz can replay the best spell from the trash. One win and 10 Top 8s show the engine holds up, but Ezreal must remain ready and the deck still needs a unit left over to score.

Draven punishes opponents who treat the first combat total as final. Spinning Axe, Tideturner, and Switcheroo can change the Showdown after units are committed, then a clean combat win draws a card. One tournament win and nine Top 8s make Draven a proven contender, but a failed reaction leaves the Legend with nothing.

LeBlanc makes every conquest or Hold threaten a second unit immediately. Reflections can copy a unit with a strong ability, including one that triggers when it dies. The deck reached six Top 8s, but each copy costs a discard and lasts only for the turn. Without a tournament win, that keeps LeBlanc in A rather than S.

Azir turns an Equipment setup into a wide Sand Soldier board, then Sovereign gathers those tokens for one decisive attack. Arise! can create one Sand Soldier for each Equipment, but it readies only two of them, so the full attack still takes setup. Three wins and 11 Top 8s show that the plan can repeat across a tournament. It stays in A because broad removal can punish the whole board at once.

Diana can wait until a Showdown begins, add the Energy she needs there, and use movement or Might reduction to win on the smallest possible spend. Five wins and 11 Top 8s make her one of the strongest decks in the field. She remains in A because the deck still needs enough units on the board for those efficient reactions to matter.

Voidreaver gains XP after a combat win, but that is not the deck's only route. Hunt units earn XP when they conquer or Hold, and Mutating Horror gains 2 XP when it attacks or defends against a lone enemy. Voidreaver then spends that XP on a lasting buff or a rescue. One tournament win and three Top 8s put the deck at the bottom of A tier.

Jayce uses resource Gear and Dazzling Aurora to jump from setup to Elder Dragon, then readies Gear to keep the turn going. Six Top 8s show that payoff can reach late rounds. No wins and an engine that slows sharply when its Gear is removed leave Jayce in B tier.

Kai'Sa waits for the opponent to commit, then swings the important battlefield with Hextech Ray, Falling Star, Stupefy, or Temporal Breach. Two wins and 16 Top 8s show that plan can carry a tournament. Early pressure can still force the deck to spend expensive answers before it is ready, which keeps Kai'Sa in B.

Sivir banks Power by recycling a rune, then uses that Gold to unlock Mercenary or a larger Aurora turn later. Two Top 8s show the engine can work. No wins and the delay before Gold becomes ready leave it in B tier.

Viktor's Recruits give Cull the Weak and Shadow's Call a cheap body to trade for removal or cards. That control engine reached six Top 8s. No tournament win and the constant Energy cost of making tokens leave Viktor in B tier.

Lucian makes every attached Equipment hit harder on attack, while Relentless Pursuit can move and equip the threat after defenders commit. That line can steal a Showdown. One Top 8 and no wins are not enough to move the deck above B until its unit-and-Gear draws become more reliable.

Fiora crosses the Mighty threshold in the middle of a Showdown with Punch First or Riposte, then turns that moment into another rune or a ready threat. One win and six Top 8s show that the deck can finish. The split between Victorious and Worthy builds, plus the risk of loading one unit with too many cards, keeps Fiora in B tier.

Nasus turns the first seven-Energy unit, Gear, or activated ability into two ready runes, which can fund another play and take over a long turn. Three wins show what happens when the engine gets online. The faster field can force Nasus to spend resources before that point, so nine Top 8s leave it in B tier.

Lillia turns Sprite Fountain and Sprite Burst into ready Temporary units, then Smoke and Mirrors moves those bodies into the fight that matters. Four Top 8s show that pressure can work. No wins and Sprites that die before the next scoring step leave Lillia in B tier.

Yasuo can turn movement into protection, a surprise defender, or a Windrider scoring turn. Every Legend activation costs 2 Energy, exhausts Yasuo, and does not ready the moved unit. Pressure the other battlefield while Yasuo spends resources moving one unit, and do not overcommit to a fight he can simply leave.

Ornn's three Top 8s show what the Gear engine can do once it is assembled. His Power only pays for Gear, Patched Porobot needs three other Gear before it draws, and Gear removal can shrink Forge God before it matters. Use Gear removal before the count turns into cards and oversized units; do not wait for Forge God to arrive.

Volibear's Top 8 shows that the Dragon ramp plan can work. The first Mighty unit must be played before the Legend adds anything, and the new rune enters exhausted. Faster decks can build both battlefields before Volibear's larger turns begin. Herald of Scales and Gentle Gemdragon close that gap if they stay in play.

Hand of Noxus can produce strong two-card turns, especially when the second play readies Darius, Trifarian. It does nothing until another card has already been played, so hands without a cheap opener strand the Legion payoffs. Pressure early or make Darius spend the first card defensively; a weak opener leaves the second play much easier to answer.

Lux has two Top 8s. A resolved Progress Day, Time Warp, or Ruination can swing the game while drawing another card through the Legend. Lux does not discount those spells, and a hand clogged with expensive cards can lose the first scoring fights. Pressure both battlefields early and make Lux spend interaction before she finds a safe big-spell window.

Akali, Silent can grow multiple times while Stellacorn Herder turns repeated movement into cards, but Akali has only one Top 8 in this window. The deck needs several movement pieces and an empowered Legend before her rescue also readies the unit. Pressure both battlefields before that setup is complete.

Mel won one tournament and reached three Top 8s, so the deck can punish a field that gives it time to prepare one important Showdown. She must empower something else first, then spend her own empowerment and ready action before the Showdown begins to give a unit -2 Might. Make Mel answer more than one battlefield instead of letting her prepare the only fight that matters.

Lee Sin's permanent buffs can build one difficult-to-remove threat, especially once Centered makes that first buff worth another 2 Might. The Legend buffs only one unit per activation and every use costs Energy, so the deck develops slowly. Pressure the other battlefield or remove the chosen carrier before the investment pays off.

Vex has a Top 8, but the deck must already control and Hold a battlefield before the Legend draws a card. That makes the engine strong from ahead and weak while retaking the board. Contest the defendable lane early; once Vex draws after every Hold, trading one-for-one is no longer enough.

Wuju Master's power arrives much later than Wuju Bladesman's immediate lone-defender bonus. Hunt units must successfully conquer or Hold to earn XP, then the deck still needs Level 6 or Level 11 before its global rewards matter. Deny the early XP and the list remains a fair unit deck; let it level, and every unit becomes larger or enters ready.

Miss Fortune's Aurora build can end a game with Dazzling Aurora into Elder Dragon, then use Ganking to move the surviving threat. The problem is reaching nine Energy without losing the board, and Ganking adds no Might. Pressure both battlefields early, and bring Gear removal for Dazzling Aurora if the deck is part of your expected field.

Annie can spend aggressively on her turn and still ready two runes for interaction on the opponent's turn. The movement package often preserves units without adding enough pressure, and Annie, Stubborn needs a worthwhile spell in trash before she becomes an engine. Make Annie choose between saving a unit and keeping its battlefield.

Leona turns one stun into two advantages: the enemy deals no combat damage, and a friendly unit receives a lasting buff. The deck needs both a timely stun and an unbuffed unit worth improving; without them, the Legend contributes nothing. Play around the first stun, then force another fight after Leona has spent it.

Poppy's plan begins with a Hold, then needs three XP before the Legend turns that work into a card. An opponent who repeatedly breaks the same battlefield shuts down both the scoring plan and the XP engine. Fight hard for the first Hold; if Poppy cannot bank XP, the rest of the deck stays ordinary.

Rumble can make a wide Mech board deceptively hard to attack because every Mech gains Shield while defending. He still has to take a battlefield first, and the bonus does nothing for exhausted Mechs at base or non-Mech units. Pressure before the Mechs are in position, not after they have established a lane they can defend efficiently.

Ambessa can give the right unit another attack or activation. The deck reached one Top 8, but the line requires another card to empower first, then spends Power, Ambessa's empowerment, and her ready action. Make the deck fight on two fronts so one readied unit cannot repay the whole setup.

Zed's Shadow Clones can turn a stocked trash into sudden Might, and Rhasa gives the deck a larger follow-up. The engine also fights itself: banishing units feeds the Legend but leaves fewer cards for later Clones and Rhasa, while Zed's discard-and-draw only replaces a card. Force the deck to spend its trash before the full attack is ready.

Vi can turn an oversized conquest into a second action by readying another unit. She needs at least three excess damage and a useful target already on the board. Chasing that trigger often pulls too much Might into one battlefield and exposes the other. Make Vi overcommit to the first fight before dealing with the readied unit.

Sett can save an important buffed unit from dying, but that unit returns to base exhausted and immediately stops contesting its battlefield. The line also needs a buff, 1 Power, and a ready Legend, so it preserves cards more often than it preserves points. Force the rescue before a conquest can ready Sett again.

Renekton trades 2 Power for 2 Energy that can only pay for units or unit abilities. The deck must have the right follow-up available that turn or the trade does nothing. Keep pressure on both battlefields so that added Energy must answer the board instead of advancing Renekton's plan.

Jax, Unmatched gives every Equipment Quick-Draw, letting the deck play and attach it as a Reaction. Grandmaster at Arms can then move an attached Equipment to the unit that matters next. The Gear does nothing without a bearer, and moving it cannot save a unit after combat damage resolves. Once Jax commits the Equipment, contest the other battlefield or remove the unit carrying it.

Ivern's Brush and Friend to All give the deck two ways to build a scoring board, but both ask for setup the opponent can interrupt. Green Father must first conquer or Hold before Brush exists, and Friend to All needs all four creature tags at once. Contest the first battlefield and remove whichever tag completes the set.

Jinx wants to empty her hand, ready Jinx, Rebel through discard, and recover Super Mega Death Rocket! after a conquest. The Legend's extra card does not arrive until the next Beginning Phase, so answering the current attacker can leave Jinx with no immediate recovery. Make her spend the hand before the board is secure.

Pyke can reuse strong Play abilities while banking Gold, but both halves of the exchange are delayed. The unit leaves its battlefield immediately, and the Gold enters exhausted, so the deck gives up Might now for value later. Pressure the weakened lane before the replay turn arrives.

Renata can turn repeated Holds into Gold and eventually use those tokens for both Power and Energy near the Victory Score. The engine starts only after she already controls a battlefield, and every Gold arrives exhausted. Break the first Hold before those delayed resources can finance the closing turn.

Jhin's fourth qualifying spell produces a major resource swing, but you must actually spend at least 4 Energy to play each qualifying spell before it can be stored. That is a long setup when the leading decks begin generating value much earlier. Pressure the first three casts and do not give Jhin a quiet turn to turn the stored spells into four runes and a card.

Shen can protect a Hold by giving one defender Tank, which forces combat damage to be assigned to that defender first. Tank does not reduce the damage. Without Ki Barrier or a naturally durable unit, the chosen defender still dies and Shen has spent his ready action for nothing. Make the Tank absorb more damage than its protection can cover, then attack the exposed board.

Ahri is excellent once she owns a battlefield: Nine-Tailed Fox weakens attackers, Blue Sentinel doubles Hold effects, and cheap Reactions make the lane expensive to break. The problem is taking that first battlefield or recovering after both are lost. Pressure one lane until Ahri commits its Hidden card, then attack where the remaining defenders are weakest.

Paying Energy to hide a card changes only the cost; it does not remove board presence. Returning a Teemo from the board to hand is the part that gives up its Might there. Hidden cards still need enough units on the board to contest a battlefield. Pressure the visible board before the concealed value becomes relevant.