Elder Dragon continues to dominate the meta since his release in Legends of Runeterra. Elder Dragon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, with PvP updates becoming less frequent and the devs relying more on rotating cards in and out, we’re going to have to put up with it and strike back.
At the moment, Shyvana Elder Dragon is the most popular deck on the ranked ladder. Other various Elder Dragon decks are closely tailing the Shyvana version, like Norra Elder Dragon and Braum Gnar Elder Dragon.
Today’s article will mainly focus on countering the Shyvana Dragons version since it’s the most played so far.
Hecarim Ionia
CECQCAICFIAQIAQOAEDAKJQCAYBAGCIFAECQUDAVC4VAIAIBAUDQCAYFAQAQSBINAIDAKKJNAAHecarim Ionia is the second most-played deck on ranked and for a good reason! With Zed rotated out of standard, Hecarim is left alone to fend off the Elder Dragon meta. This deck can be aggressive with its use of Soul Shepherd and Ephemeral units. Shark Chariot is a key card to power up your aggressive attacks at every turn.
The Shyvana Elder Dragon can’t develop multiple units in the early game, they’re usually stuck dropping one unit per turn. Unlike you, they can’t go wide on the board which we’ll take advantage of to set up multiple attackers that’ll strike the opponent’s Nexus.
The Stagehand can be a nightmare for them, they’re already losing the board aggression war and with a 4|2 development+ Stun, they’re going to watch their Nexus crumble.
Dragon Ambush on defensive turns with Shark Chariot makes sure that the opponent doesn’t get any breathing room in the mid/late game to stabilize the game.
Braum Gnar Elder Dragon
CUDACBIKUEAQCBQBFAAQOAIQAEEAAGIBBAARQAQBAELB6BYBAYAAMAIGAESACBYCF4AQQAAGAEEACEYBBEAQUAQBAEESUAYBBABQGAIIBQHACCAHBYSometimes you have to hold hands with the devil to beat a greater evil. The Braum Gnar Elder Dragon is growing in popularity and its ability to crush the Shyvana Elder matchup means it likely could become the top-played deck soon.
This deck wants to build up the board with different subtype units, keep them alive for as long as possible, and drop Warden of the Tribes to buff the stats of the whole board. Big beefy units are a nightmare for the Shyvana deck and with the Overwhelm keyword on some of those beefy units, the Shyvana deck will struggle to defend their Nexus.
Beguiling Cobra also creates a wider board and can copy the important Overwhelm keyword from units like Beguiling Cobra or Warden of the Tribes.
The list runs combat tricks like Sky Splitter and Harsh Winds to win trades and dominate the board presence.
Jax Ornn
CUEACAQBAYAQMCRPAEDAABQBAYGAQAIHAEIACCABDABACAIWD4BAMAIEDACACBQBBMAQQAITAEEQCDACAEARUKQAJax Ornn still has its claws in the meta, proving that it’s one of the best decks in the game. This version of Jax Ornn takes the Overwhelm win condition to another level, with 3 copies of Bone Club to create an Overwhelm threat.
This deck wants to play aggressively, pushing as much damage as possible to crush the Shyvana Elder Dragon matchup before they get to stabilize the game.