Legends of Runeterra's Empires of the Ascended launches later today, and we've put together all the information you're going to need to know for the release. This is the first expansion in the set which features the new Shurima region!

Empires of the Ascended Fast Facts

  • 110 new cards including 9 new champions.
  • 4 new keywords: Countdown, Predict, Slay, and Reputation.
  • New region: Shurima.
  • This expansion includes an Expansion Event that will last until March 31st.
  • Champion Mastery is now live.
  • There's a new 2v2 lab.
  • There is a new spell speed, Focus, for spells that can be cast instantly but not in response (e.g., Gems, Riven's blade fragments, etc)

New Keywords

  • Countdown: Round Start: I count down 1. At 0, destroy me and activate the Countdown effect.
    • This keyword is prominent in Taliyah, Lissandra, and "Sun Disc" decks
  • Predict: Pick a card from among 3 in your deck. Shuffle the deck and put that card on top.
    • This keyword is used by some Shurima followers
  • Slay: You get credit for slaying an ally for enemy if one of your cards kills it via damage, strike, or direct kill effect.
    • This keyword is prominent in Nasus and Kindred decks
  • Reputation: Activates if allies have struck for 5+ damage at least 4 times this game.
    • This keyword is prominent in Sivir and LeBlanc decks 

Expansion Event & Event Pass

This expansion will feature the first-ever expansion event. This event will be structured identical to last year's Spirit Blossom and K/DA All Out themed events: players will progress special event quests to earn a unique currency ("Sun Discs") which will advance a time-limited reward path. Every 10 Sun Discs will earn a special prize such as Guardians, Emotes, Card Backs, Prismatic Cards, and some of the new cards. Some of these awards will be free to all players, while others will be premium and require purchasing the Event Pass to unlock them. The Event Pass can be purchased for 975 coins (roughly $10 USD), and purchasing it towards the end of the event will retroactively unlock all the previously-earned premium awards. There is a special quest that is only given to players who purchase the Event Pass before March 16th, though.

This event will run from March 3rd through March 31st.

Out of Cards' Path to Ascension Event

To celebrate the new expansion, we're excited to announce the first every Out of Cards Runeterra event! You can earn Shuriman Securi just for participating on the Out of Cards site, and use your Securi to purchase Forum Titles, Profile Headers, and Tickets for our big giveaway. You might find yourself with a free Expansion Event Pass just for being an active member of the Out of Cards community! Visit our Path to Ascension event page for further details.

 

Free Cards

Before you craft anything, don't forget that you'll get some free copies of many of the new cards!

  • Riot has changed the reward structure -- we now get Champion Cards at Level 31, meaning if you previously had a Region Reward Road maxed you can now get a guaranteed copy of Lissandra, LeBlanc, Jarvan IV, and Kindred from the Frejlord, Noxus, Demacia, and Shadow Isles roads, respectively, for only 2,000 XP.
  • The Shurima Region Reward Road awards 3x copies of Buried Sun Disc for a measly 250 XP. 
  • Even without the pass, the Expansion Event will award some free copies of cards
  • The Shurima Region Reward will have 25 levels to start including Champion Capsules at Levels 8, 16, and 23; each will have a random Shurima Champion

Buried Sun Disc Card Image Ascended's Rise Card Image

Day 1 Decks

Make sure to check out these articles that endol133 has written for theorycraft decks!

Also, check back with us as we'll be posting some of the prominent decks we see streamers play after the expansion goes live. 

Champion Mastery

Champion Mastery is now live! Earn MP by winning games with decks that include your favorite champions and by leveling them up. Your Champion Mastery will display as a Mastery Crest visible during the "Versus" screen, when inspecting a deck, or when viewing the corresponding Champion card. All Champions will start at Level 0 and can be progressed up to Level 5. For further details, visit our Champion Mastery Guide.

Share Your Own Decks

Have a deck that is working or you're theorycrafting? You can build decks with all the new (and old) cards in our deckbuilder. Bonus points if you write a guide after saving your deck to the site so that everyone can learn from your experience.

Other than that: don't forget to stay hydrated and good luck!