Shanghai National Open Analysis – Riftbound Tournament
Heya everyone! With Riftbound cards now officially released worldwide, we’ve just seen another major tournament take place in Shanghai, China. The Chinese Riftbound competitive scene has been active for some time, giving us a strong preview of how the global meta will shape up.
Today, we’ll be breaking down the deck distribution, the current Origins meta, and the top-performing lists from the event.
Deck Distribution
The Shanghai National Open featured an impressive 1,996 players competing for the top spot! The meta was dominated by Kai'Sa Daughter of the Void and Master Yi Wuju Bladesman, two decks that have been locked in a long-standing rivalry. Players continue to refine their lists and sideboards to gain even the slightest edge in this matchup.
Kai'Sa Daughter of the Void has emerged as the community favorite, leading the field with 30% meta representation. Its flexibility and ability to adapt to a variety of matchups give it a clear advantage in the Origins meta.
Meanwhile, Viktor Herald of the Arcane, Miss Fortune Bounty Hunter, Sett The Boss, and Teemo Swift Scout remain strong tier 2 contenders. Each brings a unique playstyle to the table, but none can quite match the consistency or broad matchup strength of the top two performers.
The Miss Fortune deck has been a solid anti-meta choice, performing well against Master Yi and Kai’Sa. The deck heavily relies on ramping and dropping Dazzling Aurora as early as possible. This has forced Kai’Sa and Yi decks to run counter cards to shut down the Gear, which has helped them in the matchup significantly.
Top 128
After Day 1, only 128 players remained, and we still saw Kai'Sa Daughter of the Void and Master Yi Wuju Bladesman holding the top 2 spots. Interestingly, less popular decks like Yasuo Unforgiven, Ahri Nine-Tailed Fox, and Annie Dark Child managed to perform well on Day 1 and push their way to the top cut, proving that you can go far in the tournament with off-meta choices.
First Place Kai’Sa
Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void
1
0
Fury Rune
7
0
Mind Rune
5
0
Grove of the God-Willow
1
0
Startipped Peak
1
0
The Dreaming Tree
1
0
Cleave
3
1
Hextech Ray
3
1
Retreat
3
1
Stupefy
3
1
Falling Star
3
2
Pouty Poro
1
2
Ravenbloom Student
3
2
Watchful Sentry
3
2
Lecturing Yordle
3
3
Kai'Sa, Survivor
2
4
Noxus Hopeful
3
4
Darius, Trifarian
3
5
Icathian Rain
2
7
Thousand-Tailed Watcher
3
7
Time Warp
2
10
Smoke Screen
2
2
Thermo Beam
2
5
Progress Day
1
6
Mega-Mech
1
7
Void Seeker
2
3
The first place Kai’Sa list, running 3 copies of Noxus Hopeful for an aggressive mid-game, but also having Icathian Rain, a strong control card that shines the most against decks that can go wide with low Might units. Decks like Viktor can be completely shut off from using their Grand Strategem if you keep their side of the board in check.
Interestingly, we’re running a copy of Time Warp for that additional turn, which can set you up to win the game on the spot.
The Kai’Sa deck plays aggressively in the mid-game, having Kai'Sa Survivor and Darius Trifarian to conquer battlefields and start scoring you points. We also have access to a couple of low-cost damage cards, which will come in handy to kill units and put the opponent behind in the game.
Thousand-Tailed Watcher is the game swinger, reducing the Might of the opponent’s units to set up an explosive turn, usually securing 2 Battlefields at once.
Sideboard wise, the list has Thermo Beam as an answer for Dazzling Aurora decks. Mega-Mech is an interesting choice, which is mostly a big body to hold a battlefield, especially against Yi players.
Second Place Master Yi
Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman
1
0
Calm Rune
6
0
Body Rune
6
0
Grove of the God-Willow
1
0
Obelisk of Power
1
0
Vilemaw's Lair
1
0
Charm
3
1
Defy
3
1
En Garde
2
1
Sabotage
1
1
Clockwork Keeper
3
2
Confront
1
2
Discipline
3
2
Pit Rookie
3
2
Rune Prison
1
2
Stalwart Poro
3
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
2
2
Find Your Center
3
3
First Mate
2
3
Qiyana, Victorious
3
4
Master Yi, Honed
1
7
Tasty Faefolk
2
7
Deadbloom Predator
1
8
Whiteflame Protector
3
8
Unyielding Spirit
2
1
Sabotage
1
1
Primal Strength
1
4
Deadbloom Predator
1
8
Catalyst of Aeons
2
4
Tasty Faefolk
1
7
The Master Yi list that finished second, losing 0-2 to the Kai’Sa player! This deck wants to conquer a battlefield early in the game with one unit and have Legend Yi start aiding in holding it. Whenever your opponent attacks a battlefield you’re holding, if you have only 1 unit, that unit will gain +2 Might, making it harder for the opposing player to break through.
The list also has tons of defensive cards to keep hold of your battlefield, and with Zhonya's Hourglass, you’re keeping key units in play even when killed. Cards like Defy, En Garde, and Discipline can keep your unit alive for longer, preventing the opposing player from easily conquering a battlefield you hold.
As for the Sideboard, we have Unyielding Spirit for decks that heavily rely on low-cost spells like Kai’Sa. We’re running more copies of our high-cost win conditions, and we have 2 copies of Catalyst of Aeons to shift to a ramp strategy and speed things up.
19th Place Sett
Sett, The Boss
1
0
Body Rune
7
0
Order Rune
5
0
Monastery of Hirana
1
0
The Dreaming Tree
1
0
Windswept Hillock
1
0
Sabotage
2
1
Showstopper
3
1
Challenge
1
2
Cithria of Cloudfield
3
2
Facebreaker
2
2
Hidden Blade
3
2
Pit Rookie
3
2
Soaring Scout
3
2
Wallop
2
2
Arena Bar
1
3
Call to Glory
3
3
First Mate
1
3
Fiora, Victorious
3
4
Kinkou Monk
2
4
Sett, Kingpin
3
4
Sett, Brawler
1
5
Lee Sin, Centered
3
6
Divine Judgment
1
7
Salvage
2
2
Unyielding Spirit
2
1
Divine Judgment
2
7
Harnessed Dragon
2
8
27th Place Miss Fortune
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
Acceptable Losses
1
1
Bullet Time
3
1
Gust
3
1
Stacked Deck
3
1
Confront
3
2
Fight or Flight
3
2
Mobilize
3
2
Scrapheap
3
2
Catalyst of Aeons
3
4
Miss Fortune, Captain
1
5
The Harrowing
1
6
Mindsplitter
3
7
Deadbloom Predator
3
8
Possession
2
8
Dazzling Aurora
3
9
Volibear, Imposing
2
12
Unyielding Spirit
2
1
Sabotage
3
1
Primal Strength
2
4
Miss Fortune, Buccaneer
1
4
29th Place Shanghai Viktor
Viktor, Herald of the Arcane
1
0
Mind Rune
6
0
Order Rune
6
0
The Arena's Greatest
1
0
Trifarian War Camp
1
0
Vilemaw's Lair
1
0
Retreat
1
1
Blastcone Fae
1
2
Cull the Weak
3
2
Daring Poro
3
2
Facebreaker
1
2
Hidden Blade
3
2
Soaring Scout
3
2
Faithful Manufactor
3
3
Lecturing Yordle
2
3
Vanguard Captain
2
3
Consult the Past
1
4
Cruel Patron
2
4
Sprite Mother
2
4
Viktor, Leader
1
4
Falling Comet
1
5
Imperial Decree
2
5
Machine Evangel
1
5
Grand Strategem
2
6
Riptide Rex
1
6
Singularity
3
6
Thousand-Tailed Watcher
2
7
Vengeance
2
4
Leona, Determined
2
4
Shen, Kinkou
1
3
Sprite Mother
1
4
Machine Evangel
2
5
30th Place Teemo
Teemo, Swift Scout
1
0
Mind Rune
6
0
Chaos Rune
6
0
Aspirant's Climb
1
0
The Dreaming Tree
1
0
Zaun Warrens
1
0
Gust
3
1
Stacked Deck
3
1
Stupefy
3
1
Convergent Mutation
2
2
Fight or Flight
3
2
Flash
1
2
Ravenbloom Student
3
2
Ride the Wind
2
2
Scrapheap
3
2
Teemo, Scout
1
2
Teemo, Strategist
1
2
Tideturner
3
2
Traveling Merchant
3
2
Invert Timelines
2
3
Sprite Call
2
3
Consult the Past
2
4
Dr. Mundo, Expert
3
8
Rebuke
2
2
Flash
1
2
Invert Timelines
1
3
Convergent Mutation
1
2
Retreat
3
1
