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.

Yi stays near the top because its lone-defender bonus, Discipline, and protection plan survive both bans. Cheap units can make territory costly to take while larger attackers contest the other battlefield. That efficient defense asks less ongoing investment than Rengar’s paid unit triggers. We expect it to remain a dependable choice while opponents rebuild, but a rise in Aurora Jayce would test that position: defending a modest board is less valuable when the opposing finish can clear it. Yi still needs proactive attacks before slower engines take over.

Rengar keeps its Ambush units, temporary Might triggers, and Faefolk pressure. Playing another unit can develop the board and improve an existing fighter in the same exchange, giving it a direct way to punish opponents spending turns rebuilding their engines. That earns it a leading place in our forecast. We place it below Yi’s cheaper sustained defense and Jayce’s projected late-game ceiling, while recognizing that its speed can challenge either. A depleted hand still reduces both development and combat flexibility.

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.

Azir retains its equipment, Soldier generation, and Arise rebuilding plan. Gear that survives a carrier’s death lets another unit reuse the investment, giving it a resilient way to contest a field whose decks are adjusting to the bans. We keep it among the leading choices rather than assuming every slower engine will overtake it. Its constraint remains assembling both gear and bodies: equipment alone cannot score, and Equip costs still matter. Jayce’s larger finish and the faster pressure above it are reasons to avoid putting resilience first.

Kennen remains a serious contender despite losing Stacked Deck. Stacked Deck’s ban reduces its access to the pieces that connect cheap threats, movement, and another attacking wave. Lightning Rush, Nocturne, Rhasa, Ride the Wind, and Last Rites still support that core plan. We expect less reliable setup, not the disappearance of its pressure. This placement could prove too low if replacement selection preserves enough consistency; Kennen’s ability to attack before Aurora comes online is also the strongest challenge to our Jayce-first forecast.

Rek’Sai remains a proactive way to challenge setup-heavy decks. A first conquest can provide another card, while Undertitan’s reveal Energy and Breacher’s Accelerate help turn battlefield success into fresh attackers when their remaining costs can be paid. Neither ban removes that core sequence. We expect this pressure to matter against players investing early turns in ramp. The ranking stops short of the leading group because the first conquest still has to happen, and a follow-up threat is not free just because the opening attack succeeded.

Irelia keeps its targeting and readying engine, but loses Stacked Deck as a cheap way to find pieces and begin a Heron sequence. Fervent can still grow through repeated interactions, and Heron can still make a later card efficient. We expect a competitive rebuilt deck with more uneven setup. That places it below Rek’Sai’s more direct pressure in this forecast. Irelia needs a worthwhile unit to ready, Power for its Legend, and enough cards to turn its engine into repeated contested attacks.

Akali’s movement engine survives the bans: Herder rewards each move with a card, and the empowered Legend can retreat and ready a unit during its own turn. That makes it a credible choice while affected decks rebuild. We temper that outlook because the expected field still contains efficient defenders and large control finishes; movement value needs a board that survives long enough to use it. Paying to empower the Legend and establish its units takes time, and its retreat ability is not an opponent-turn escape.

Fiora keeps its buff-and-ready plan. Reaching Mighty can unlock Victorious’s combat keywords and channel a rune, while First Mate or Worthy supports further pressure. We expect that combination of development and attacking potential to keep it competitive as the field changes. It sits behind the more repeatable engines above it because suitable units must reach the Mighty threshold before the extra resources arrive. The new rune enters exhausted, so the reward improves later turns rather than automatically funding the current combat.

Diana loses a cheap selection tool in Stacked Deck, but Hwei, Porobot, and Ride the Wind still support its movement turns. We expect those turns to become harder to assemble, with less cheap spell support for Ravenbloom Student and Abandoned Hall. That pushes Diana down without removing its ability to contest a field containing Rengar and other combat decks. Its temporary Might still expires, and readying retained runes does not restore recycled Power. The rebuilt list must balance another selection option against the cards that actually create pressure.

Kai’Sa retains its spell-focused resource engine and Time Warp finish. Supplying Power for spells helps preserve runes while removal and Survivor’s attacks establish the battlefield position an extra turn can exploit. We expect it to remain a viable slower choice after the bans. Its placement reflects the work required before that finish: costly spells, controlled territory, and setup still matter. A shift toward Aurora Jayce does not automatically help every late-game deck; Kai’Sa must reach its scoring turn before the opposing engine takes control.

Nasus keeps its ability to ready runes after expensive units, with Heron and an accelerated Watcher supporting powerful development turns. Neither ban removes that central plan. We place it lower in the forecast because an expected rise in Aurora Jayce makes a strong late game alone a less persuasive advantage. Nasus still has to fund its units and the setup around them before its resource recovery matters. Its best turns can pressure battlefields directly, but surviving the opening is only useful if the resulting board can withstand the opposing finish.

Ornn’s equipment engine survives both bans, leaving its card-drawing units, Pit Crew readying, and rune-preserving support available. Gear can remain after a carrier dies, giving the next unit a useful starting point. We expect that resilience to keep Ornn competitive, but do not project the same leap as Aurora Jayce. It must continually assemble carriers and upgrades, and spare equipment does not contest a battlefield. Its repeated attacks still need to become points before larger finishes or more immediate pressure outpace the rebuilding plan.

Viktor supplies expendable Recruits for card draw and reciprocal removal, allowing its control builds to trade small bodies for more valuable threats. Innovator and Leader offer different ways to replenish that material, while ready Sprites or larger units turn cleared fields into points. The limitation is the gap between generating fodder and generating pressure: ordinary Recruits arrive exhausted and remain small. Viktor can sustain resource exchanges, but it needs additional cards to convert those exchanges into a board that can reliably conquer and hold.

Lillia can put ready Sprites onto the board quickly, then use Smoke and Mirrors to exchange a spent temporary attacker for a lasting defender. Fae Fawn adds more bodies through movement, helping reduce the Legend’s cost and extend that pressure. Its limitation is turning a burst of conquests into lasting control: old Temporary units die before holding, and Fawn’s new Sprites normally enter exhausted. The deck has an efficient scoring turn when its pieces connect, but keeping those points flowing requires more than simply producing another wave of tokens.

Vex rewards an established hold with cards, while Apathetic limits newly played enemy units once it reaches a battlefield. Defensive bodies and combat tricks can make that position difficult to dislodge, allowing the extra cards to support the next defense. The engine starts after territory is secured, however, and Apathetic does not stop existing attackers or opposing spells. Vex’s strength is consolidating a position; the need to establish that position before its Legend pays back limits how independently it can drive the game. Builds using Stacked Deck must replace that selection spell under the current bans.

Lucian turns each equipment attachment into additional attacking Might, with Merciless and Relentless Pursuit enabling a successful carrier to threaten another conquest. Equipment can remain for replacement units after ordinary trades, giving the deck something to rebuild around. The strongest turns still concentrate several investments on an attacker: the body, its gear, and the movement or readying needed to reuse it. Assault contributes less when that unit is defending. Lucian’s burst pressure is credible, but holding afterward and rebuilding its attack require further resources.

Ezreal’s Pack of Wonders and Treasure Trove engine builds cards and runes for a longer control game, while replayed Bewitching Spirits turn spare Energy into repeated hand pressure. Its removal can then make modest units sufficient to contest battlefields. The catch is that Trove’s rune arrives exhausted and replaying it costs Energy; bouncing a useful unit also takes it off the board. Ezreal can accumulate substantial value, but converting that value into points takes additional time and bodies, keeping its engine below the more immediate contenders. With the bans in effect, Stacked Deck builds lose a cheap selection spell.

Draven turns combat wins into cards, with Spinning Axe and hidden units making modest fighters capable of profitable trades. Those draws help fund the next contest, and movement effects can turn a successful attacker into further pressure. The engine still needs an actual fight: taking an empty field does not trigger the Legend, while losing combat earns nothing back. That makes Draven dangerous when its tricks convert into wins, but less self-sufficient when the hand must pay for setup and interaction before the first refill. Stacked Deck’s ban also removes a cheap selection tool.

Ambessa turns cheap empowers into access to another ready, while an empowered Wolf makes Rampage a one-sided fight outside combat. That can clear a blocker without sacrificing the attacker and leave a large unit available to contest a field. The payoff requires both the unit and its empowerment investment, however, and the Legend’s readying is restricted to its own turn. Wolf’s damage immunity also does not carry into combat. Ambessa can build a commanding sequence, but its strongest pressure depends on developing and preserving an expensive centerpiece.

Kha’Zix creates isolated fights through Void Assault and Faefolk, then uses Mutating Horror’s extra Might and XP to reward those combats. Winning can fund a lasting buff or a later retreat, giving the deck useful ways to build on a favorable exchange. Those rewards do not replace the cards or Energy spent creating the fight, and the Legend’s retreat is available only during its own turn. Kha’Zix has threatening tactical sequences, but less automatic resource renewal than the engines above it. With the bans in effect, Stacked Deck builds lose a cheap selection spell.

Mel’s empowered Applied Researchers can make Shock Blast free, preserving runes while removal and growing Students contest the board. Time Warp gives that resource advantage a clear scoring payoff. Reaching the efficient state takes several investments, though: the Researchers must be played and empowered, and Mel still needs units positioned to benefit from the cleared fields or extra turn. Its best sequences combine removal, resources, and pressure effectively; the dependence on an established support engine keeps those turns from being the deck’s default pace. Stacked Deck’s ban also removes a cheap selection tool.

Wuju Master builds toward teamwide Might and eventually ready unit arrivals, with Hunt and Alpha Strike helping reach the XP thresholds. Once active, those bonuses make later development much more threatening and allow fresh units to affect scoring immediately. The limitation is the time spent earning that advantage: the early board must generate XP before the Legend provides its strongest benefits. This creates a substantial late-game payoff, but the deck needs its setup units and combat sequences to carry a stretch of play without that full support.

Shen combines Tank, protection, and rewards for surviving combat to make prepared defenses efficient. Shadow Dash can bring a fight into that setup, while Kinkou helps protect the unit whose survival matters most. The tradeoff is concentration: several bodies and protective cards may be committed to securing one battlefield, and Tank redirects combat damage rather than removing threats or stopping spells. Shen can make individual exchanges favorable, but turning that defensive investment into pressure across multiple fields asks more of the rest of the deck.

Volibear can turn Mighty unit plays into extra runes, while Herald of Scales and Gentle Gemdragon make successive Dragons easier to fund. Ready Dragons then convert that development into immediate battlefield pressure. The engine needs substantial board investment before its best chains appear: Herald is a support unit, Gemdragon is expensive, and the Legend’s rune arrives exhausted unless another effect readies it. Volibear can build an imposing board, but its resource acceleration depends on already reaching and supporting large-unit plays, limiting its early flexibility.

Sivir converts rune spending and enemy deaths into a reserve of Gold, helping fund later threats without repeatedly recycling more runes. Mercenary can turn Power spending into a larger mobile attacker, while some builds invest in Aurora finishers. The reserve takes time to become useful: newly created Gold arrives exhausted, and its Power does not pay Energy costs. Sivir can make later turns economical, but it must still establish battlefield pressure while banking resources, leaving a delay between its engine working and its engine winning points. With the bans in effect, Stacked Deck builds need another card selection tool.

Zed’s Shadow Clones turn units in the trash into substantial Assault, and Ride the Wind can carry that temporary attack strength into another battlefield. Banishing also fuels the Legend’s hand filtering, linking combat pressure with finding the next useful card. The exchange spends real material: each attack needs trash fuel, the movement costs resources, and its Assault contributes no Might while defending. Zed can produce a sharp scoring burst, but those attackers provide little lasting defense and the Legend filters cards rather than replacing the hand. Stacked Deck’s ban also removes a cheap selection tool.

Ivern turns animal-tag synergies into stronger Brush defenses, extra scoring, or Daisy’s ready finisher; Nurturer builds instead emphasize finding and buffing units. Each approach can reward a developed board with more than raw Might. The constraint is how much must already be in place: the larger tag payoffs need the appropriate spread of units, while the Legend begins changing battlefields only after a conquest or hold. Ivern can compound an established position, but its setup demands make the route to that position less direct.

Lux remains among our speculative rebuilds because Ekko, Recurrent was part of its self-recycling rune-reset sequence with Sacrifice. Removing that piece breaks the resource engine behind its pre-ban Time Warp combo. Forge of the Future and the Legend’s reward for expensive spells remain, but neither restores Ekko’s self-recycling rune reset. We place Lux among the speculative rebuilds until a different resource plan shows that it can establish scorers and sustain those costly turns. A conventional spell build could outperform this placement if it finds a different effective engine.

Vi turns a conquest with enough excess damage into a ready, while Gauntlets can add the cards needed to continue attacking. A Ganking carrier can then move that investment into another battlefield. The chain requires more than winning combat: it needs the excess-damage threshold, a surviving attacker, and a way to move between fields. Gear and temporary pumps can supply the margin, but each adds setup or cost. Vi’s payoff is strong when those conditions align, with too much depending on that complete sequence to make it broadly dependable.

Rumble’s Mechs share defensive Shield, offensive Assault, and support effects that add Might or movement. Hotheaded can also turn a conquest into another Mech from the trash, giving the deck a way to rebuild while attacking. Those benefits are distributed across several units rather than supplied by the Legend alone. The next attack often needs a separate readying or Ganking effect, and ordinary new Mechs enter exhausted. Rumble has a coherent engine, but sustaining its pressure requires several support pieces to remain connected.

Jax can move equipment between established attackers, and Unmatched lets new equipment arrive reactively with an immediate attachment. That can spread one gear investment across multiple conquests or improve a defender during a showdown. Much of the flexibility depends on the chosen Champion already being in play, however, and transferring equipment does not ready its next carrier. Jax needs both suitable bodies and the resources to establish its equipment engine. The tactical payoff is real, but less self-contained than a Legend that directly supplies pressure or resources.

Pyke can recall a field unit to generate Gold and reuse its play effect, with Ripper’s Bay adding a rune to the exchange. Bewitching Spirit makes that attractive as a repeatable source of hand pressure. The resources arrive exhausted, though, and returning the unit removes a defender before its replay has produced another scorer. The engine therefore spends current board presence and Energy for later value. Pyke has useful long-game exchanges, but keeping battlefield control while making them requires additional bodies and time. With the bans in effect, Stacked Deck builds lose a cheap selection spell.

Renekton can recycle exhausted runes to fund a timely Ambush unit or an activated unit ability, while also bringing low-rune payoffs online. That creates turns where an apparently spent board still has meaningful options. The exchange reduces future rune capacity, and its Energy cannot pay for spells or non-unit gear. Larger Might and empower sequences also need their own investments. Renekton offers substantial short-term flexibility, but the deck must turn that spending into a lasting advantage before the smaller resource base constrains its next turns.

Poppy’s available builds use Aurora and large finishers, with Paragon supplying a ready body and XP once an opponent nears victory. That can stabilize a difficult turn while the Legend converts the XP into a card. Earlier in the game, its ordinary hold-based XP requires territory before it produces that draw, and neither ability directly accelerates Aurora. The shell has a powerful destination, but Poppy contributes more to late recovery than to reaching the ramp engine, leaving its opening development dependent on the surrounding cards.

Jhin banks spells with substantial Energy payments toward a rune refill, while Meticulous Killer and ready Sprites help turn spell spending into a board. Completing that cycle can produce an excellent development turn. The problem is the investment before the refund: four qualifying spells must actually resolve, and cheap Hidden plays do not supply the same progress. The deck therefore needs to keep answering the board while funding its own engine. Its payoff is strong, but delayed enough to constrain its pace and early scoring options. The ban removes Ekko, Recurrent’s rune reset from builds using it.

Renata can turn stored Gold into a late scoring burst through Mastermind or Time Warp, with ready Sprites and Hostile Takeover providing sudden battlefield swings. Its resource engine starts with a hold, and the Legend’s extra Energy only arrives near victory. That makes the payoff depend on points and territory already earned, rather than helping establish the opening position. Renata has ways to close from a developed board, but preparing enough Gold, a scoring outlet, and control of the necessary fields creates a demanding route there. The ban removes Ekko, Recurrent’s rune reset from builds using it.

Sett can preserve buffed units through lethal damage and reset that protection after a conquest, making invested attackers harder to lose permanently. Saving a unit still consumes its buff, spends Power, and returns it exhausted to base. The card survives, but the battlefield may not remain controlled, and spending a buff for another payoff can leave the protection unavailable. Sett can conserve valuable bodies across turns; the difficulty is turning that conservation back into scoring without repeatedly paying to rebuild their position and buffs.

Leona turns stun effects into lasting buffs, letting Determined, Nami, and supporting interaction improve combat while growing the board. That can make a successful attack leave behind a better defender. Each buff needs a suitable recipient and cannot stack, though, so repeated stuns do not endlessly enlarge the same threat. Stun also suppresses combat damage without necessarily supplying enough Might to remove the enemy. Leona has useful incremental synergies, but converting them into decisive pressure requires both surviving units and additional combat support.

Annie’s two readied runes make it easier to spend on an attack and still retain a trick or Flash for the opponent’s turn. That supports a useful rhythm of proactive development followed by a small defensive reserve. The benefit adds neither units nor permanent resources, however, and one response can consume the entire refill. Annie must find its attacking strength, card renewal, and larger late-game payoff elsewhere in the deck. The Legend smooths turns without supplying a sufficiently complete engine to carry the strategy by itself. Stacked Deck’s ban also removes a cheap selection tool.

Ahri makes attacks into controlled territory less efficient, while Inquisitive can shrink enemies into Fox-Fire’s removal range. Alluring offers a stronger hold payoff in builds focused on preserving a field. Those tools protect an established position more naturally than they create a new one: the Legend does not improve attacks, and the larger defensive combinations require the right unit or spell alongside it. Ahri can make a defended battlefield awkward to contest, but extending that advantage into proactive scoring demands considerably more support.

Teemo’s cheaper Hidden setup preserves runes for later turns, while Strategist and recovered Hidden cards can make an established battlefield difficult to attack. That provides a coherent defensive resource plan. The strongest effects still depend on prior control, prepared facedown cards, or the Hidden hits in Strategist’s reveal; they do not automatically create pressure at another field. Teemo can make territory efficient to defend, but developing a reliable way to acquire and expand that territory remains the heavier demand on its units and movement cards. Stacked Deck builds must replace that selection spell under the current bans.

Miss Fortune helps established units move between battlefields, with Captain offering another readying effect to extend a turn. That supports both direct pressure and reusing larger finishers once they are available. The Legend supplies neither Energy nor an automatic ready, however, so movement alone does little to accelerate the Aurora setup used in its ramp builds. Other lists pursue tempo with smaller units. Both approaches ask the surrounding deck to create the board and resources before Miss Fortune’s mobility can turn them into additional points. With the bans in effect, Stacked Deck builds need another card selection tool.

Yasuo’s Windrider can turn movement into an extra point as well as another attack, giving the deck a finish that does not rely entirely on ordinary battlefield scoring. Ride the Wind helps connect those moves, and the Legend supplies another route through base. Reaching the third move still requires Windrider to survive and enough resources or movement cards to complete the sequence. The Legend does not ready the unit, and leaving fields can surrender future holds. Yasuo’s distinctive burst therefore needs substantial support to become sustained control. Stacked Deck builds lose that cheap selection spell under the current bans.

Lee Sin can steadily buff units, with Centered making those buffs substantially stronger for other allies at its battlefield. Protection and readying effects can then turn the developed group into a difficult position to contest. The investment is concentrated around a six-Energy Champion and multiple suitably buffed bodies in one location. Moving those bodies elsewhere loses Centered’s bonus, while spending a buff can remove its benefit until replaced. The deck can build an imposing field, but its setup and concentration limit how readily that strength spreads across the board.

Jinx can convert discards into immediate pressure through Demolitionist, Flame Chompers, and Mask Mother, while an extra draw helps rebuild a nearly empty hand. That gives discarded cards an active role in a large attacking turn. The burst also consumes resources: the discard payoffs require further payments, and temporary Might does not produce an equally strong defender afterward. Jinx can commit aggressively, but its limited refill must then support the next attack and rebuild the board, making repeated pressure harder to sustain than the initial explosion. Stacked Deck’s ban also removes a cheap selection tool.

Darius offers an Energy rebate after the first card, helping a Legion sequence develop another unit while Trifarian becomes a larger, ready attacker on the second play. That creates a useful burst from an otherwise ordinary development turn. The Legend supplies only one Energy per activation, however, and neither provides Power nor replenishes the hand. Trifarian’s extra Might expires, with no inherent movement chain to extend the attack. The payoff improves a specific sequence without giving the deck a broad resource or scoring engine for subsequent turns.