Hail champions, and welcome to the year 2021! While 2020 was undeniably a lowlight in many regards, for Legends of Runeterra it was really a remarkable series of impressive milestones:
- January marked the start of the open beta;
- April saw the game's official launch and the release of its 1st expansion, Rising Tides;
- June brought the first new game mode, Gauntlets;
- July featured the next game mode, Labs, as well as the first event, Spirit Blossom;
- August heralded Riot's new card release strategy with the 2nd expansion, Call of the Mountain;
- October delivered the next mini expansion, Monuments of Power, along with the 2nd event: K/DA All Out;
- November provided the European Masters tournament;
- December finished extra-strong with the LoR's first Seasonal tournaments and the final expansion of the year, Cosmic Creation.
To celebrate, we're compiling a list of our favorite cards and decks from last year in what is hopefully the start of a new annual tradition.
Aurelion Sol
Every champion in Runeterra feels very satisfying to level, but no one feels quite as exciting to play (or as terrifying to face) as a Level 2 Aurelion Sol. Not only is he constantly generating powerful celestial cards, but his L2 form makes them all cost 0 mana. Oh, and did we mention that his Fury makes him grow stronger every time he kills something and his SpellShield will entirely negate the first hostile spell cast on him?
Multiple decks have included this powerful champion, but in my opinion none of them quite capture his magic as well as this deck originally innovated by Chinese streamer FiVE. At a time before the release of Shyvana, this combination of Targon & Demacia was arguably the best "dragons" deck in the game. Midgame units like Whiteflame Protector, Fused Firebrand, and Screeching Dragon provided solid midgame pressure while Starshaping and (pre-nerf) Radiant Guardian gave strong healing if needed. And heaven help your opponent if they played into a Judgment on one of your dragons!
Genevieve Elmheart
Despite the nerf she received, I still feel that Genevieve Elmheart is my favorite. She's got everything I'm looking for in a card: Challenger to kill priority targets + remove defenders, Scout so she can attack twice, and a board-wide buff so I can bring the house down in a satisfying sweep attack. Plus her voice and voice lines are cool; what more do you need?
I use Genevieve in a couple archetypes, but my favorite among them is a BruisedByGod control deck from a few months ago. Daybreak units form the core of my army, providing strong presence for trades alongside Radiant Guardian. Haven't updated the deck in a while, but I might swap her out for Solari Sunforger. Finishers come in the form of Genevieve, an L2 Leona stun-chain, or the big man himself: Aurelion Sol.
I haven't played Runeterra for a while, so my pick will be from the original set and it will have to be Cithria of Cloudfield. I like that Riot made a story for this character that is represented throughout multiple cards. She begins her journey a young girl full of dreams about adventures and glory. As she is growing up into a woman, Cithria, Vanguard Squire is taking in the life lessons and eventually becoming a strong, bold hero of her people.
Chronicler of Ruin
I don't play a ton of Legends of Runeterra, but I can say that I am undoubtedly a Shadow Isle main. I love their aesthetics and their playstyle that is some unholy combination of Warlock and Priest from Hearthstone. Speaking of, Chronicler of Ruin almost identically mirrors Wretched Reclaimer from Hearthstone, which is a card that I want to enjoy but has a hard time seeing play. Chronicler has far more applications than Wretched, synergizing well with both Last Breath and Summon effects and allowing for some truly creative and interesting combinations. One of my favorite decks to use Chronicler in is a mono-SI deck that makes use of Last Breath and Summon triggers to spam Mistwraiths. I haven't played LoR in a hot minute, so I'm not sure if its any good, but I had fun running it.
That's our favorite cards and decks from the previous year -- what have been your favorites? Share with us below!
Comments
My fav champ would be Gangplank. Both in lore and gameplay this dude is amazing
My favorite card, just for pure flavor:
Probably my favorite Champion:
One of my favorite non-Champions to play:
Oh, and I HATE these jerks:
As a newly player I like a lot Cithria of Cloudfield due to its stats in early game. Knowing more about her make me fall in love with her little ingame story.
Is there any chance that we'll see she being a Champion? Or Champion are just for current champions in lol? Should be amazing seeing how she acoomplishes her dreams.
I believe Riot has stated that they'll start by only using existing LoL champions, but they will run out of them at some point. Additionally, Cithria has a lot of lore for a non-Champion on the League side too, just saying...