Legends Of Runeterra (LoR) was launched this April, and it is already a huge success. The Free-To-Play friendly collection model has garnered a lot of positive reviews. To collect cards, you play the game and win as much as you can. The more XP (experience) you get, the faster you unlock Region Rewards and therefore increase your Weekly Vault level. When new players start playing, they can feel overwhelmed because of the new Champion mechanics and such. Therefore to address this, we have designed a Legends Of Runeterra Budget Decks guide that includes the best decks for beginners. These decks are budget decks, easy to build, and don’t require any champions other than the ones you already get when you start playing Legends Of Runeterra. These will surely help you climb the ranked ladder and hence, fetch you more experience to unseal more cards.
Piltover and Zaun – Noxus Burn Aggro
This deck is the cheapest deck for beginners since it does not require any champions to play. That’s true, it does not need any Champions at all. It involves damaging the enemy Nexus directly and finishing the game as soon as possible. It is a fast deck, closing off games before the enemy can even achieve their win condition on the board. In lower ELOs, this is a nightmare for new players who don’t know how to counter it and can help you climb ranks very fast.
Deck list
| Champions | Followers (Minions) | Spells |
| NIL | Legion Saboteur (x3) | Transfusion (x3) |
| Precious Pet (x3) | Mystic Shot (x3) | |
| Legion Rearguard (x3) | Get Excited (x3) | |
| Legion Grenadier (x3) | Noxian Fervor (x3) | |
| Crimson Disciple (x3) | Statikk Shock (x1) | |
| Boomcrew Rookie (x3) | Decimate (x3) | |
| Imperial Demolitionist (x3) | ||
| Used Cask Salesman (x3) |
Deck code
The decks in Runeterra have their own deck codes. You can copy them to your clipboard, and then open the game to import the decks to your deck selection screen. If you have all the cards, then only you will be able to play the deck. But if you don’t, you will have to craft them first.
Deck code for PnZ-Noxus Burn Aggro – CEBQEAQDAMCAIAIECETTINQHAEBQEDAPDYSSQLYAAEAQCBA7
Mulligan
Always try to replace any 3+ mana cards with 1 to 2 mana drops. This is because, with 1 and 2 drops, you can press the opponent early, and do some early damage to their Nexus. While they wait for their win-condition to draw, you can burn them down with low-cost followers and spells. Some ideal cards to Mulligan for are Mystic Shot, Boomcrew Rookie, Legion Saboteur, and Imperial Demolitionist.
How to play
The idea behind this deck is to finish games as fast as possible, and thus not allow the opponents to establish a vast board. Cards like Legion Saboteur and Precious Pet are the best 1 drops to play.
Used Cask Salesman is a card better utilized on defending turns to provide you additional chump blockers to win damage races. When using Noxian Fervor, players need to make sure that the enemy is out of removal cards. This is because if he removes your follower before Noxian Fervor can target it, your spell will be wasted.
Conclusion
This is one of the cheapest decks and one of the strongest too. There are not many decks that can counter this before they are burned. If you play your cards correctly and use your followers at the right time, you will finish the game before they even know how to play around your cards.
Budget Midrange Bannerman
This deck requires just one Garen, which you get in the Starter decks, so it is a cheap deck. It is a midrange deck, which means it is neither aggro nor control. This is also a budget version of the actual deck, making it easy for new players to craft. The deck mainly focuses on filling up boards and then buffing the units. Because you have Challenger in the deck, you can clear the way for your buffed heavy hitters to hit on the enemy’s face.
Deck list
| Champions | Followers | Spells |
| Garen (x1) | Fleetfeather Tracker (x3) | Ranger’s Resolve (x2) |
| War Chefs (x3) | Purify (x1) | |
| Cithria of Cloudfield (x1) | Single Combat (x3) | |
| Brightsteel Protector (x3) | Prismatic Barrier (x1) | |
| Loyal Badgerbear (x3) | Riposte (x3) | |
| Laurent Protege (x3) | ||
| Vanguard Bannerman (x3) | ||
| Grizzled Ranger (x3) | ||
| Radiant Guardian (x2) | ||
| Swiftwing Lancer (x3) | ||
| Cithria The Bold (x1) | ||
| Citrus Courier (x1) |
Deck code
- Budget Bannerman: CEBAEAQAAMEQQAIAAEEQUCY2DUSSWAQBAIAAOAIBAAHQEAICAYIQKAIABQQCOMRT
- Upgraded Version: CEBAEAQAAMEQSAIAAEEQUDA2DUVS2MYCAEAQAJYCAIAAKBYBAEAQAMQ
Mulligan
Try for 1 and 2 drops to build up your early game board. Having Fleetfeather Tracker in hand is good to get some early hits on the enemy Nexus.
How to play
This budget deck is one of the easier decks to play in Legends of Runeterra. This is because it focuses on a simple strategy of building up a big board early through mid-game and buffing the units in the late game. Fleetfeather Tracker and Birghtsteel Protector prove to be a great combo for early gameplay. Once you have a decent board online, play Vanguard Bannerman to take advantage of his ability.
Having Cithria The Bold on board in the late game will buff your units even further. So, don’t use her without a sizeable board. The same advice goes for Citrus Courier but the only difference is that instead of buffing your units, Citrus Courier allows you to attack when you don’t have the attack token. Spells like Riposte are great to use on Garen, Loyal Badgerbear, and Cithria The Bold.
Conclusion
Establish a heavy-hitting board, then use Cithria The Bold and Vanguard Bannerman to buff it. The enemy will, most of the time, have no counter to such big threats in the lower ranks. When piloted correctly, you’ll have little to no trouble climbing with this deck.
Budget Endure Spiders
The win-conditions of this deck are the “They Who Endure” cards. The idea is to fill up your board with cheap Spiders in the early game, level up your Elise, and then, when enough units have died, drop a giant They Who Endure to finish off the enemy. It also has a big advantage – it is the only deck on the list that is the closest to its upgraded version. You also get two Elises in the Noxus-Shadow Isles Starter deck, so the champion is not a problem.
Deck list
| Champions | Followers | Spells |
| Elise (x2) | Hapless Aristocrat (x3) | Absorb Soul (x1) |
| Warden’s Prey (x3) | Crawling Sensation (x1) | |
| Frenzied Skitterer (x2) | Glimpse Beyond (x3) | |
| Deadbloom Wanderer (x2) | Vile Feast (x3) | |
| Blighted Caretaker (x2) | Brood Awakening (x3) | |
| Wraithcaller (x3) | Withering Wail (x3) | |
| Neverglade Collector (x3) | Atrocity (x2) | |
| They Who Endure (x3) | ||
| Rhasa The Sunderer (x1) |
Deck code
- Budget Endure Spiders: CEBQCAQFAEAQCAJCA4AQKEA2DUUCWMJSAIBAEBIEBIBQCBIZGU4ACAYBAURSILI
- Upgraded Version: CEBQCAQFAEAQCAJCBEAQKEA2DUPCQKZRGI2QGAIBAEBQCAQFAQAQCBIZAEAQCBJD
Mulligan
Always have the cheapest units in your hand early on. Mulligan for Hapless Aristocrat and Elise. You want your units to die, hence, cheaper units like Spiders are the best choice.
How to play
Your primary objective with this deck is to buff your “They Who Endure” as much as possible. Meanwhile, your “Neverglade Collector” drains the enemy Nexus to help your “They Who Endure” in destroying the enemy Nexus a bit faster. Once you have a huge “They Who Endure” on board, you can often destroy the enemy Nexus with Overwhelm to win the game. If your opponent tries to use cards like Vengeance or Will Of Ionia as removal, you do have Atrocity as a counter.
Conclusion
By putting out lots of cheap Spiders on the board in the beginning, you feed your They Who Endure. Once a lot of units have died, put down a giant They Who Endure to finish off the enemy with Overwhelm. Be careful if you go up against Ionia decks, because they might have Will Of Ionia to recall your TWE back to your hand. Similar advice goes for other removal cards.
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