Howdy! The Eternal ranked mode in Runeterra is finally available for play. Unlike Standard, the Eternal mode has no limits when it comes to cards you can play. All cards are legal and you can go wild in your deck-building journey.
This article will highlight some of the early top Eternal decks to play when climbing to Master rank.
Lissandra Trundle Voli Elder Dragon
CUCQCAIBGIAQCBJMAEBQCCQBAQAAKAQIAADBSBIBAEARIAIEAECQCBQBEQAQQAQOAIBQCBQHBAAQCAIBAEBQABABA4BBOAIIAALACCABAEAQQDAOAIBQCAYTAICACCIMWith Elder Dragon dodging a nerf yet again, players quickly took the Unstoppable champion to Eternal. There have been a lot of Elder decks on the ladder on the first day of Eternal, so I’ll try to avoid sharing all of them to give room for other archetypes.
This version uses the Freljord region for Lissandra and Trundle. Lissandra puts The Watcher in hand once she levels up, and since we have a lot of high-cost units we can fulfill his condition and play him for 0 mana. Three cards that accelerate The Watcher condition are Trundle’s Ice Pillar, Spectral Matron, and Heisho, Shell of the World.
Now Spectral Matron is the MVP of this deck, capable of cheating out high-cost units like The Water, Citheria, Lady of Clouds, and Heisho. This sets up one powerful turn that can be difficult for most decks to keep up with.
With Elder Dragon’s Boons, you’re basically gaining an edge over the opponent every time you play a 6 cost or more unit.
Nilah Twisted Fate
CICQCAQGDIAQIBQQAEEAMCACAECC2NADBACAQCISAYAQEBQJAEBAIAYBAMCAWAIIAYLQEAIEAETQECAECMKAANilah Twisted Fate is one of the strongest decks in Runeterra’s Eternal meta. This deck is heavy on card draw potential, able to keep the value going as it plays low-cost cards. With Pool Shark, Zaunit Urchin, Maryam, Sunken Temple, Slipstream, and Rummage, it’s almost impossible for this deck to run out of resources.
The card draw power doesn’t only provide value, but also benefits units like Nilah, Twisted Fate, and Ruined Rex. If Twisted Fate sticks on the board for one turn, you bet he’s leveling up and creating insane value with his Destiny cards.
Ruined Rex unleashed a Cannon Barrage, depending on the number of cards you’ve drawn on the turn he’s played. This can demolish the opponent’s board and even damage their Nexus. For burn damage, we have Mystic Shot and Get Excited to ensure we can close out the game.
Annie Jhin
CUEQCAIDFAAQEBR4AECASDIBAUAQMAIGAIBQCBQMAIAQOAYOAIBAGAYEAMDAGDAPFEAQCBQCB4BACAIEBUAQQAYDIf you’re an aggro player, then Annie Jhin is the deck for you! It’s proven that aggro decks perform the best in an early meta, mostly because players are still trying to figure out the top-performing decks. This gives you an opportunity to abuse that and speed run your climb to Master.
The Annie Jhin deck can go wide on the board, but its power lies with its stun units. Cards like Solari Sunhawk, The Stagehamd, Pirouette, and The Witness are great for preventing the opposing player from using their blockers, giving room for your attackers to connect with the Nexus.
Jhin is ping damage while in hand, slowly chipping at the Nexus. If he’s on the board, he’s threatening to Stun opponent’s units and can push 4 Nexus damage once leveled.
Poppy Ziggs
CQCQCBQKDIAQMAZJAIBAGAYEAQAQGAQMFA3QKBIKA4UXJIYBUYAQAAIBAEBRSAnother top-performing deck is Poppy Ziggs. This is an aggressive deck that can throw multiple units on the board and push tons of damage. With Poppy, you’ll boost those low-stat attackers by +1|+1, creating more pressure that can be challenging to keep up with.
Bandle City Mayor is a value card that enables that “go wide” game plan. Reducing the cost of one of your multi-region units, allows you to develop more on the board. Once you’ve dealt enough Nexus damage, it’s time for the burn! Pokey Stick, Noxian Fervor, and Decimate are burn cards to close out the game.
Morgana Elder Dragon
CUEQCAIFFQAQGAAEAECAABIBAUAAYAIGAAYACCACBYAQQCIDAIAQAEY5AMEAABQKDEAQCBQAFABACBADA4AQQDAOI know I know, another Elder Dragon deck, this is the last one, I promise! This one resembles the Freljord version, running cards like Spectral Matron, Cirthria, Lady of Clouds, and Heisho, Shell of the World as main win conditions.
The main difference is that this list runs more low-cost units for the early game and uses Mobilize to reduce the cost of units in your hand. This sets you up to play units a turn or two earlier than expected, and can even create opportunities to play two powerful units on the board.
Norra Swain
CQCQCAYDBUAQOCQJAICQUMNGAEBQEAYBA4EQIBQKB4IRKJYCAECQUDQBAYBRQAYBAUFNKAIBAYFBOAIGAMHALast but not least, Norra Swain! This is a control deck that wants to control the board and take things to the late game. Unlike the Bilgewater version, the Swain Bandle City has access to Mysterious Portals, and if you get a couple of them early on, you can shift your game plan into aggro mode.
This deck holds its own against aggressive style decks, which makes it a solid choice for the ranked ladder. Managing to set up Swain and The Leviathan on the same turn creates the stun lock plan, stunning the two strongest units at the start of each turn, making it easier for you to set up the final attack and win the game.