Regional Qualifier Houston Tournament Meta Report
Heya everyone! We just had one of the biggest competitive Riftbound tournaments in the West! Over 1100 Players from all over the world showed up in Houston to compete for a shot at taking it all. Riot Games set up a variety of prizes, with most players chasing the first-place reward of $6,000, the Miss Fortune Buccaneer promo card, and the playmat. Others were aiming for the Metal Legend Cards, running less powerful Legends but proving they can pilot them better than anyone else.
Today, we’re breaking down Day 1 and Day 2 of the Regional Qualifier, looking at how Day 1 unfolded and the top-performing decklists that made deep runs in the tournament!
Prizes
Day 1 Meta Distribution
- Kai’Sa continues to dominate the meta with 372 players bringing the Fury Mind deck, holding a massive 33% share. She’s proven to be the “strongest” deck right now and keeps evolving as players try to counter her. Still, having the highest representation doesn’t mean she’s winning every event; we’ve seen plenty of other decks sneak in and take the trophy. Kai’Sa combines early aggression with low-cost control tools, can score early points, clear threats with low-cost cards, and set up a clean win condition with cards like Thousand-Tailed Watcher and Icathian Rain.
- Right behind Kai’Sa is Master Yi Wuju Bladesman, a deck known for its reactive playstyle, wanting to lock down a battlefield and hold it forever. Yi has been Kai’Sa’s main rival throughout the Origins meta, constantly trying to surpass her. We’ve seen multiple Yi variations: some focus on early development to take and hold a battlefield, while others go for a ramp-heavy build, aiming to ramp enough Runes to drop Dazzling Aurora as early as possible. The ramp-heavy build seems to be favored among players, as it performs better against Kai’Sa decks.
- Over the past two weeks, Annie has been popping up more consistently at local tournaments and putting up strong results. The deck’s aggressive game plan, paired with a powerful finisher through Vi Destructive and Ride the Wind, makes it difficult for opponents to keep up.
- Teemo, Sett, Viktor, and Miss Fortune all sit at similar representation. Even though Sett has taken a couple of big events in the last two weeks, players seem to prefer Annie’s fast, aggressive style over building up and buffing units.
- The least represented deck was, unsurprisingly, Garen. If you’re sleeving up Garen for a major tournament, you’re most likely in it for that Metal Card prize!
Day 2 Top 64
Lee Sin and Volibear had 1 player each in the top 64!
- With Kai’Sa holding the highest meta representation, it’s no surprise she showed up all over the top cut. About 42% of the top 64 were Kai’Sa players, showing once again that the deck is both reliable and consistent for anyone looking to perform well in a long tournament.
- Annie and Master Yi tied with 11 spots each in the top 64! But it’s worth noting that there were 44 more Master Yi decks than Annie in the entire event, so Annie holding equal ground in the top cut is pretty impressive.
- Coming in next is Miss Fortune with 7 players making the top 64. Miss Fortune had a fantastic early Origins run, rivalling Kai’Sa and Master Yi. But with the deck relying heavily on Dazzling Aurora, a lot of players started teching in counters like Salvage and Thermo Beam to keep Aurora decks under control.
- Teemo has been crushing many smaller tournaments lately, so seeing him in the top 64 wasn’t shocking. I did expect him to outperform Miss Fortune here, but only 3 Teemo players made it through.
- Viktor Herald of the Arcane, Lee Sin Blind Monk, Darius Hand of Noxus, Volibear Relentless Storm, and Yasuo Unforgiven each managed to slip into the top 64 with one player each! I honestly expected more Viktor players to get in, especially since Viktor often shows up in events and tends to perform well. Volibear, Lee Sin, and Yasuo are the biggest surprises—these decks don’t usually show up in tournaments, so seeing them break into the top cut is a huge win on its own.
- What really stood out is that not a single Sett player out of the 56 who showed up managed to make the top 64. Sett had an amazing run the previous week, so seeing it fall flat here shows just how quickly the meta shifts. Even though Kai’Sa is holding the top spot, the rest of the field definitely isn’t settled.
- Ahri was another deck that underperformed this weekend. Out of 63 Ahri players, not a single one pushed into the top cut.
Top 16
| Annie | 6 |
| Master Yi | 5 |
| Kai’Sa | 4 |
| Miss Fortune | 1 |
Annie dominated the top 64, with 6 players pushing their way into the top 16! A lot of meta decks came prepared with tech cards for the aggro matchup, which ended up hurting their performance against slower-paced strategies like Dazzling Aurora. Despite teching for the matchup, Annie had an outstanding performance, beating the popular Kai’Sa decks and relying on Rebuke to deal with the Dazzling Aurora decks.
We also had 5 Master Yi players in the top 16, followed by 4 Kai’Sa players. Even though Kai’Sa’s numbers dropped a lot, the top 16 still ended up being pretty balanced across these three decks. Miss Fortune held onto a single spot, staying alive for a chance to push all the way to first place!
Top 8
Top 4
All the Kai’Sa players were knocked out of the top 8 by Annie players. Alan had some insanely close games versus Annie, and if he hadn’t missed the +1 point from The Arena's Greatest, the match could’ve easily swung in his favor.
Master Yi then took down Annie in a clean 2-0 sweep to break into the top 4, preventing Annie from completely taking over the entire top cut.
Second Place – Challenger TCG
Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman
1
0
Calm Rune
6
0
Body Rune
6
0
Aspirant's Climb
1
0
Obelisk of Power
1
0
Vilemaw's Lair
1
0
Charm
3
1
Defy
3
1
Sabotage
1
1
Challenge
1
2
Discipline
2
2
Mobilize
3
2
Rune Prison
2
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
3
2
Find Your Center
3
3
Wind Wall
1
3
Catalyst of Aeons
3
4
Master Yi, Honed
1
7
Tasty Faefolk
3
7
Deadbloom Predator
3
8
Whiteflame Protector
2
8
Dazzling Aurora
3
9
Mountain Drake
2
9
Volibear, Imposing
1
12
Clockwork Keeper
3
2
Stalwart Poro
3
2
Wind Wall
1
3
Sabotage
1
1
Master Yi ended up losing 0-2 against Annie in the final matchup, getting aggroed down before he got to drop his big bodies and stabilise the game.
This version of Master Yi relies on early ramp cards like Mobilize and Catalyst of Aeons, letting them drop Dazzling Aurora as early as possible to get access to their big bodies. Interestingly, the list has Mountain Drake, a vanilla unit, purely in this list for the high stats to help keep hold of a battlefield alongside Legend Master Yi’s +2 Might ability.
The sideboard has a couple of early units, mostly to help against the aggressive matchups, to keep up with the early turns, and to swap out the Aurora game plan.
First Place – Shawn Dhaliwal
Annie, Dark Child
1
0
Fury Rune
6
0
Chaos Rune
6
0
The Arena's Greatest
1
0
The Dreaming Tree
1
0
Zaun Warrens
1
0
Cleave
3
1
Gust
2
1
Stacked Deck
3
1
Fight or Flight
1
2
Flash
3
2
Pouty Poro
3
2
Rebuke
1
2
Ride the Wind
3
2
Scrapheap
3
2
Traveling Merchant
3
2
Vi, Destructive
3
2
Sneaky Deckhand
3
3
Void Seeker
2
3
Annie, Stubborn
1
4
Kai'Sa, Survivor
3
4
Darius, Trifarian
3
5
Draven, Showboat
2
5
Fight or Flight
2
2
Rebuke
2
2
Gust
1
1
Fading Memories
1
4
The Fury Chaos Annie Dark Child proved to be one of the strongest Legends in the game, showing that Proving Grounds Legends are definitely ones to watch out for! This deck plays aggressively, aiming to stack early points by conquering and holding a battlefield to reach 6 Points as quickly as possible. The list uses Sneaky Deckhand to help secure an early conquer and score, and with cards like Kai'Sa Survivor and Darius Trifarian, we can immediately swing in and take control of a battlefield through pure aggression.
We’re also looking to slow the opponent’s momentum with tools like Fight or Flight, Gust, and Rebuke. Rebuke has been especially strong in slower matchups where the opponent depends on big units to stabilise or win.
Annie readying 2 of our Runes at the end of each turn makes it much easier to play spells on the opponent’s turn and disrupt their plans throughout the early and mid-game.
In the late game, once we’re at 6 Points, we rely on the Vi Destructive + Ride the Wind combo — buffing Vi’s Might, using Ride the Wind to move to a battlefield, ready her, and score a point. From there, Vi’s Ganking keyword lets her attack the other battlefield, closing out the game and securing the final point.
Other Decklist Performers
Top 8 Kai’Sa – Alanzq
Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void
1
0
Fury Rune
7
0
Mind Rune
5
0
Reaver's Row
1
0
The Arena's Greatest
1
0
The Candlelit Sanctum
1
0
Cleave
3
1
Hextech Ray
3
1
Retreat
2
1
Stupefy
3
1
Falling Star
3
2
Pouty Poro
3
2
Ravenbloom Student
3
2
Smoke Screen
3
2
Watchful Sentry
3
2
Void Seeker
3
3
Kai'Sa, Survivor
1
4
Noxus Hopeful
3
4
Darius, Trifarian
3
5
Thousand-Tailed Watcher
3
7
Time Warp
1
10
Icathian Rain
1
7
Time Warp
1
10
Thermo Beam
3
5
Lecturing Yordle
3
3
All Kai’Sa decks were kicked out at the top 8 to the Annie players. This deck can have an early aggressive start with cards like Noxus Hopeful, Kai'Sa Survivor, and Darius Trifarian. We’re usually trying to score the early points, use our damage spells to keep control of the board, and have Thousand-Tailed Watcher and Time Warp as our late-game winning plays.
Top 32 Miss Fortune – Sam Martinez
Miss Fortune, Bounty Hunter
1
0
Body Rune
6
0
Chaos Rune
6
0
Aspirant's Climb
1
0
Obelisk of Power
1
0
Sigil of the Storm
1
0
Bullet Time
3
1
Gust
3
1
Sabotage
3
1
Stacked Deck
3
1
Challenge
3
2
Fight or Flight
3
2
Mobilize
3
2
Rebuke
1
2
Catalyst of Aeons
3
4
Primal Strength
3
4
Miss Fortune, Captain
1
5
Mindsplitter
3
7
Deadbloom Predator
2
8
Dazzling Aurora
3
9
Mountain Drake
3
9
Unyielding Spirit
3
1
Fading Memories
2
4
Rebuke
1
2
Miss Fortune, Buccaneer
1
4
Volibear, Imposing
1
12
Miss Fortune had an amazing performance this weekend, with 7 players managing to push to the top 64, but unfortunately, the fight ended at the top 32. This is a ramp deck that wants to gain access to additional Runes in the early stages of the game before dropping its Dazzling Aurora to start playing big bodies to overwhelm the opposing player. The Mindsplitter can be a game changer if you can discard a key late-game card in the opponent’s hand, potentially putting them out of options.
Top 64 Yasuo – Ghael Winds
Yasuo, Unforgiven
1
0
Calm Rune
6
0
Chaos Rune
6
0
Targon's Peak
1
0
Windswept Hillock
1
0
Zaun Warrens
1
0
Charm
1
1
Defy
2
1
En Garde
3
1
Gust
2
1
Stacked Deck
3
1
Clockwork Keeper
2
2
Discipline
3
2
Fight or Flight
2
2
Mask of Foresight
1
2
Ride the Wind
1
2
Scrapheap
2
2
Stalwart Poro
3
2
Tideturner
2
2
Traveling Merchant
3
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
1
2
Wielder of Water
3
3
Yasuo, Remorseful
1
6
Mindsplitter
3
7
Rhasa the Sunderer
2
10
Zhonya's Hourglass
1
2
Rebuke
2
2
Defy
1
1
Gust
1
1
Mask of Foresight
1
2
Tideturner
1
2
Ride the Wind
1
2
The Yasuo deck is all about moving units, trying to slow your opponent’s pace by bouncing their units back to base or their hand, while using your abilities to save your units or go for more aggressive plays. The list has En Garde and Discipline as low-cost combat tricks to keep key units alive and hold your battlefields, potentially shutting down your opponent’s ability to win a combat.
In the later stages of the game, we’re relying on Mindsplitter to discard a key card from the opponent’s hand while dropping a big body on the board. Rhasa the Sunderer is an interesting choice, benefiting from a trash full of cards as it’ll help reduce its cost, usually playing it for low Energy cost and using your Legend ability to move it to a battlefield.
Top 64 Lee Sin – Jeff Jones
Lee Sin, Blind Monk
1
0
Calm Rune
6
0
Body Rune
6
0
Grove of the God-Willow
1
0
Monastery of Hirana
1
0
Obelisk of Power
1
0
Charm
3
1
Defy
3
1
En Garde
2
1
Challenge
2
2
Clockwork Keeper
2
2
Discipline
3
2
Pit Rookie
3
2
Stalwart Poro
2
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
3
2
Find Your Center
3
3
Sunlit Guardian
2
3
Dragon's Rage
1
4
Qiyana, Victorious
3
4
Wizened Elder
1
4
Lee Sin, Centered
1
6
Udyr, Wildman
1
6
Tasty Faefolk
2
7
Deadbloom Predator
3
8
Rune Prison
2
2
Unyielding Spirit
2
1
Primal Strength
2
4
Sabotage
2
1
Not many players believed in Lee Sin, but we got to see it in the top 64! This deck is all about buffing units, making them stronger when they go for the attack or hold a battlefield. It’s a midrange deck, wanting to win combats and having Zhonya's Hourglass to make sure it doesn’t fall behind on the board.
We have early Stalwart Poro and Sunlit Guardian to help hold a battlefield, backing them up with En Garde and Discipline to make it harder for the opposing player to kill them.
Lee Sin Centered joins the battle and can support your buffed units, turning them into an even bigger threat and forcing the opposing player to remove Lee Sin Centered first.
Top 64 Teemo – Migan
Teemo, Swift Scout
1
0
Mind Rune
7
0
Chaos Rune
5
0
Grove of the God-Willow
1
0
The Dreaming Tree
1
0
Windswept Hillock
1
0
Gust
3
1
Retreat
3
1
Stacked Deck
3
1
Stupefy
3
1
Fight or Flight
3
2
Flash
1
2
Ravenbloom Student
3
2
Ride the Wind
3
2
Teemo, Scout
1
2
Tideturner
3
2
Sprite Call
2
3
Consult the Past
3
4
Ember Monk
3
4
Sprite Mother
1
4
Thousand-Tailed Watcher
2
7
Dr. Mundo, Expert
3
8
Lecturing Yordle
2
3
Rebuke
2
2
Mega-Mech
1
7
Smoke Screen
1
2
Sprite Mother
1
4
Convergent Mutation
1
2
Teemo is all about the mind games, hiding cards, and leaving the opponent wondering what their next move is. This deck wants to conquer a battlefield as early as possible to start hiding cards, getting value in the early to mid game, and making it exceptionally harder for the opposing player to gain control of the battlefield.
In the late-game, Dr. Mundo Expert is a massive powerhouse, gaining Might depending on the number of cards in your trash. With Ride the Wind, you can move Dr. Mundo to a battlefield on the turn he’s played, getting immediate value from his high Might. The Thousand-Tailed Watcher is another massive late-game play, giving all of your opponent’s units a Might reduction, and can go for an attack on the turn he’s played.
Top 64 Viktor – Cody Williams
Viktor, Herald of the Arcane
1
0
Mind Rune
7
0
Order Rune
5
0
Obelisk of Power
1
0
Trifarian War Camp
1
0
Vilemaw's Lair
1
0
Stupefy
3
1
Cull the Weak
3
2
Daring Poro
3
2
Hidden Blade
3
2
Ravenbloom Student
1
2
Call to Glory
3
3
Faithful Manufactor
3
3
Lecturing Yordle
1
3
Noxian Drummer
3
3
Sprite Mother
3
4
Viktor, Leader
1
4
Machine Evangel
3
5
Riptide Rex
3
6
Singularity
3
6
Vanguard Attendant
1
6
Thousand-Tailed Watcher
3
7
Cruel Patron
2
4
Imperial Decree
2
5
Salvage
2
2
Smoke Screen
1
2
Grand Strategem
1
6
We’ve been seeing a lot of Viktor decks on 3 copies of Seal of Unity, but this one opts to cut it out, as its list doesn’t run Imperial Decree and Grand Strategem in the main deck. Instead, it relies on an aggressive early start, scoring points quickly, but also having Riptide Rex and Singularity for some control power.
Top 64 Darius – Diego Barrera
Darius, Hand of Noxus
1
0
Fury Rune
6
0
Order Rune
6
0
The Arena's Greatest
1
0
Trifarian War Camp
1
0
Zaun Warrens
1
0
Seal of Unity
3
0
Cleave
2
1
Daring Poro
1
2
Falling Star
2
2
Hidden Blade
3
2
Pouty Poro
3
2
Trifarian Gloryseeker
3
2
Baited Hook
3
3
Faithful Manufactor
2
3
Vanguard Captain
3
3
Kai'Sa, Survivor
2
4
Noxus Hopeful
2
4
Spectral Matron
3
4
Vayne, Hunter
1
4
Darius, Trifarian
3
5
Draven, Showboat
3
5
Imperial Decree
1
5
Salvage
2
2
Shen, Kinkou
2
3
Vayne, Hunter
1
4
Facebreaker
1
2
Imperial Decree
1
5
Grand Strategem
1
6
Closing Words
We had some amazing and close games in the Regional Qualifier! Although we had high expectations for Annie in this tournament, not many expected her to crush the competition completely, taking 4 spots in the top 8 and kicking out all the Kai’Sa players. Sett was a major upset, with none of the players who brought the deck managing to make day 2.
Despite many believing the “meta” is solved since China had access to the cards way before everyone else, things continue to change up as players globally can test matchups, experiment with different builds, and improve their playstyle against certain decks. In the upcoming days, we’ll likely see players teching more for the aggressive Annie, trying to keep her in check while also making sure they can still go up against Kai’Sa and Master Yi decks.
You can find more tournament lists over here!
Looking forward to seeing more diverse picks the next tournaments!