Legends of Runeterra’s Patch 3.10 Brings Over 40 Balance Changes, More Than Half of Them Buffs

Legends of Runeterra's latest balance patch dropped a few days ago, and it's a massive one, with 12 nerfs and over 20 buffs, as well as a number of sidegrades that go in one direction or another. Here's everything you need to know from the patch:

Nerfs

• Scout has been removed as a generatable keywork (cards like Hex Core Upgrade, Pantheon, The Arsenal etc. can no longer generate it).
• Ezreal -> Level Up requires 8 targets (up from 6).
• Brightsteel Protector -> Is a 2/1 (down from a 3/2).
• Disintegrate -> Damage mitigation now prevents units dying from Disintegrate’s effect.
• Ferros Financier -> Has 1 Health (down from 2).
• Gleaming Lantern -> Has 2 Health (down from 3).
• Murkwolf Rager -> Has 4 Attack (down from 5).
• Petricite Broadwing -> No longer has Challenger by default, has to gain it by summoning another ally.
• Promising Future -> Costs 4 (Down from 6).
• Quicksand -> Debuffs units by 1 (down from 2).
• Sands of Time -> Instant Century is now fellting.
• Zenith Blade -> Overwhelm only lasts this round.

Sidegrades

Those are cards that were buffed in some ways, but nerfed in others.

• Kalista -> Is now a 3/4 (from a 4/3). Level 2 is a 4/5 (from a 5/4).
• Shen -> Now has Barrier. Level Up requirements increased from 4 to 5.
• Aftershock -> Costs 3 (down from 4). Can no longer target the Nexus.
• Ember Monk -> Costs 3 (down from 4). Has 2 Attack (down from 3).
• Hothead -> Is a 4/2 (from a 3/3).
• Khahiri the Returned -> Costs 5 (down from 6). Is a 3/3 (down from 4/4).
• Legion Deserter -> Overwhelmed replaced with Fearsome.
• Murkwolf Shaman -> Is a 2/4 (from a 3/3).

Buffs

• Copied spells now count as being Played (from cards like Karma, Taric, Jayce etc.)
• Ashe -> Now counts Power reduction on units that already have 0 Power.
• Bard -> Now counts units that buff their own stats.
• Hecarim -> On Level Up, he grants allies everywhere +3/+0 (this used to be an aura tied to the champion)
• Irelia -> Now has Attune.
• Avatar of the Tides -> Now has 6 Health (up from 5).
• Avarosan Hearthguard -> Now has 6 Health (up from 5).
• Babbling Bjerg -> Now has 4 Health (up from 3).
• Blighted Caretaker -> Now has 2 Attack (up from 1).
• Camavoran Dragon -> Now has 4 Health (up from 3).
• Chief Nakotak -> Is now a 2/4 (changed from a 3/3). The affected ally also gets Impact.
• Crumble -> Now costs 4 (down from 5).
• Inspiring Marshal -> Is now a 5/6 (up from a 4/5).
• Justice Rider -> Has 5 Health (up from 4).
• The Lady of Blood -> Has 3 Attack (up from 2).
• Lava Lizard -> Has Impact
• Resplendent Stellacorn -> Is a 5/6 (up from 4/5).
• Riptide Rex -> Is a 7/5 (up from 6/4). Cannon Barrage is played 7 times (up from 6).
• Squeaker -> has 2 Health (up from 1).
• The Arsenal -> Is a 9/7 (up from 8/6).
• The Prefect -> Has 2 Attack (up from 1).
• Trifarian Assessor -> Costs 4 (down from 5).
• Vanguard Firstblade -> Is a 3/3 (up from 2/2).
• Windfarer Hatchling -> Has 3 Health (up from 2).
• Yordle Contraption -> Costs 4 (down from 5).

Patch Notes

Quote From Riot Games

 

Card Updates
Here’s a look at each of the card updates coming in this patch:

Gameplay System Updates:
Scout has been removed as a generatable keyword (i.e. Hex Core Upgrade, Pantheon, The Arsenal, Acceleration Gate).
While it's important to have a mix of keywords of varying strength, Scout often outperforms as a generatable keyword, so we’re removing it from the pool.

These outliers can be frustrating gameplay experiences, so we'd like to smooth the experience out while also having achievable highs and lows of using random keyword generation.

Copied spells now count as being Played (i.e. Karma, Taric, Mirror Mage, Jayce).
Following up from our Play / Cast changes, we wanted to ensure that champions that copy spells are satisfying and exciting in the long term.

Spells that are copied will now activate targeting quests such as Ezreal & Taric, they’ll count towards making Lux Beams, and will now also activate Augment!

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Champions & Related Cards
Ashe (Level 1)
ASHE (LEVEL 1)

LEVEL-UP CONDITION: Now counts Power reduction on units that already have 0 Power.
This is part bugfix, part gameplay clarity & functionality update - now Ashe should be somewhat less sad about being unable to level off of Formidable units.

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Bard (Level 1)
BARD (LEVEL 1)

LEVEL-UP CONDITION: Now counts units that buff their own stats.
We want to open up additional deckbuilding possibilities for Bard and address confusion around what counts for his level up quest.

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Ezreal (Level 1)
EZREAL (LEVEL 1)

LEVEL-UP CONDITION: Increased to 8+ targets.
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Hecarim (Level 2)
HECARIM (LEVEL 2)

CHANGE: Ephemeral allies have +3|+0 → When I level up, grant Ephemeral allies everywhere +3|+0
We want the payoff for Ephemeral decks to be more consistent by guaranteeing Hecarim’s buff on leveling up, even if he dies in combat.

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Irelia (Level 1)
IRELIA (LEVEL 1)

KEYWORDS: Quick Attack → Quick Attack, Attune
Irelia (Level 2)
IRELIA (LEVEL 2)

KEYWORDS: Quick Attack → Quick Attack, Attune
Over the course of several archetype nerfs, Irelia has become much less satisfying. We want to strike a cleaner balance between her power level and her gameplay satisfaction.

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Kalista (Level 1)
KALISTA (LEVEL 1)

BASE STATS: 4|3 → 3|4
Swapping states here gives Kalista some more innate tankiness, and will increase her ability to engage in combat and level up.

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Shen (Level 1)
SHEN (LEVEL 1)

KEYWORD: None → Barrier

LEVEL UP REQUIREMENT: I’ve seen allies gain barrier 4+ times. → I’ve seen allies gain barrier 5+ times.
Shen (Level 2)
SHEN (LEVEL 2)

KEYWORD: None → Barrier

LEVEL UP REQUIREMENT: I’ve seen allies gain barrier 4+ times. → I’ve seen allies gain barrier 5+ times.
Shen’s play rate is among the lowest in LoR - we want to give him a bit more immediate ability to attack or block to give him some more combat control, with added potentially to level him up and realize the Shen dream.

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Followers, Spells, and Landmarks
Aftershock
AFTERSHOCK

COST: 4 → 3

CHANGE: Deal 3 to anything or destroy a Landmark. → Deal 3 to a unit or destroy a landmark.
We'd love for more landmark removal to be more viable, and identified Aftershock as a card that could help provide more widespread interactive counterplay against landmarks.

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Avatar of the Tides
AVATAR OF THE TIDES

BASE STATS: 4|5 → 4|6
Adding a bit of health to help make the mana engine a little more stable.

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Avarosan Hearthguard
AVAROSAN HEARTHGUARD

BASE STATS: 5|5 → 5|6
Returning Hearthguard to his former glory to give Freljord midgame units a boost.

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Babbling Bjerg
BABBLING BJERG

BASE STATS: 3|3 → 3|4
A slight buff to a staple Freljord midrange unit to help enable the archetype more.

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Blighted Caretaker
BLIGHTED CARETAKER

BASE STATS: 1|1 → 2|1
Reverting a previous nerf to give Slay / sacrifice archetypes a bit more power.

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Brightsteel Protector
BRIGHTSTEEL PROTECTOR

BASE STATS: 3|2 → 2|1
This change is meant to soften the strength of Demacia curving out with Brightsteel, and encouraging the utility of her Barrier.

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Camavoran Dragon
CAMAVORAN DRAGON

BASE STATS: 4|3 → 4|4
We’re adding more on-curve health to make the Camavoran Dragon more cost-effective.

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Chief Nakotak
CHIEF NAKOTAK

BASE STATS: 3|3 → 2|4

CHANGE: When an ally transforms, fully heal it and grant it +1|+1. → When an ally transforms, fully heal it, grant it +1|+1, and Impact.
Transform-based Bandle City decks have historically not seen much play, so we're buffing Chief Nakotak as a core synergistic card for new deckbuilding possibilities.

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Crumble
CRUMBLE

COST: 5 → 4
Given its high ability to disrupt and potential access through Tellstones, we've identified Crumble as a card that could use a cost decrease to see a bit more play.

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Disintegrate
DISINTEGRATE

CHANGE: Damage mitigation now prevents units dying from Disintegrate’s effect.
We want to add more healthy counterplay to Distentegrate, increase the clarity of its text and effect, and fix several buggy edge-cases (such as Disintegrate vs Barrier, Lifesteal, Tough, etc).

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Ember Monk
EMBER MONK

COST: 4 → 3

BASE STATS: 3|3 → 2|3
Ember Monk was too inefficient to function within its archetype, so we’re lowering its cost.

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Ferros Financier
FERROS FINANCIER

BASE STATS: 2|2 → 2|1
Ferros Financier was giving too much value with a decent statline for his versatility.

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Gleaming Lantern
GLEAMING LANTERN

BASE STATS: 3|3 → 3|2
We’re increasing the ability to disrupt explosive Gleaming Lantern starts, but leaving the outright power the Lantern provides for Fae decks.

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Hothead
HOTHEAD

BASE STATS: 4|2 → 3|3
Hothead could use a bit of a stat adjustment to have a higher potential to make one or more attacks.

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Inspiring Marshal
INSPIRING MARSHAL

BASE STATS: 4|5 → 5|6
Marshal has had a hard time since its previous nerfs - we'll keep it as a top end for token decks, and increase the stats to make it a bit more viable in Shuriman token decks.

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Justice Rider
JUSTICE RIDER

BASE STATS: 3|4 → 3|5
Flashbomb trap followers rarely show up in decks and haven’t been too effective, so we’re giving Justice Rider more durability to plant more bombs.

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Khahiri the Returned
KHAHIRI THE RETURNED

COST: 6 → 5

BASE STATS: 4|4 → 3|3
We’re reducing Khahiri’s cost to make him a more satisfying “build around me” card.

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The Lady of Blood
THE LADY OF BLOOD

BASE STATS: 2|4 → 3|4
Providing Lady a bit more combat viability to give slower Noxus discard decks a bit of a better curve.

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Lava Lizard
LAVA LIZARD

KEYWORDS: None → Impact
Lava Lizard deserves to spit a bit more fire.

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Legion Deserter
LEGION DESERTER

KEYWORDS: Overwhelm → Fearsome
We want to keep the gameplay dreams of scaling huge Legion Deserters, but swap out Overwhelm to Fearsome to reduce the ability to outright end your opponent’s career prematurely.

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Murkwolf Shaman
MURKWOLF SHAMAN

BASE STATS: 3|3 → 2|4
Murkwolf Rager
MURKWOLF RAGER

BASE STATS: 5|6 → 4|6
Freljord midrange units and transform should be a bit more viable to enable some of those strategies.

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Petricite Broadwing
PETRICITE BROADWING

KEYWORDS: Challenger → None

NEW EFFECT: When you summon an ally, grant me Challenger.
We're opting for a small nerf to Broadwing that will ease some of the early round tension of playing against it, while also giving more windows for potential counterplay.

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Promising Future
PROMISING FUTURE

COST: 4 → 6
We’re greatly slowing down the ability to double down on landmarks risk-free and introduce more obvious windows for counterplay.

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Quicksand
QUICKSAND

CHANGE: When targeting two units, give them -2|-0 and disable positive keywords this round. → When targeting two units, give them -1|-0 and disable their positive keywords this round.
We're happy with the increased interaction previous Quicksand changes has provided Shurima, but are pushing a small follow up to make it less of a combat blowout and reduce the overall safety it provides to more greedy decks.

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Resplendent Stellacorn
RESPLENDENT STELLACORN

BASE STATS: 4|5 → 5|6
This change should provide more on-curve power to Targon healing decks.

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Riptide Rex
RIPTIDE REX

BASE STATS:6|4 → 7|5

CHANGE: Plunder: Play Cannon Barrage 6 times on randomly-targeted enemies. → Plunder: Play Cannon Barrage 7 times on randomly-targeted enemies.
Bilgewater Control decks have slowly moved out of the metagame with time and nerfs to key cards. Returning Riptide Rex to his former glory should give some slower and midrange Bilgewater decks more viable top end cards.

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Sands of Time
SANDS OF TIME

CHANGE: Instant Century is now Fleeting
Instant Century being a 0-cost card that can be held in hand for an ideal combo timing gives Thrall decks a bit too much agency over when to advance their landmarks. We think this adjustment aligns the functionality a bit closer to our design standards for cards that are created in hand.

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Squeaker
SQUEAKER

BASE STATS: 1|1 → 1|2
We want to make Mecha-Yordle creation more cost-efficient.

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The Arsenal
THE ARSENAL

BASE STATS: 8|6 → 9|7
Scout’s removal as a generatable keyword hurts this guy quite a bit, so we’re making him a bit beefier to retain his name as The Arsenal.

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The Prefect
THE PREFECT

BASE STATS: 1|3 → 2|3
The Prefect is too undertuned to see play in dedicated Skill decks, so we’re boosting her overall strength.

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Trifarian Assessor
TRIFARIAN ASSESSOR

COST: 5 → 4
Reputation-based Noxus decks could use a revert on the Assessor’s cost to improve viability.

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Vanguard Firstblade
VANGUARD FIRSTBLADE

BASE STATS: 2|2 → 3|3
What's a patch without a random Elite Buff? Firstblade curve out should be a bit more satisfying for Demacia decks.

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Windfarer Hatchling
WINDFARER HATCHLING

BASE STATS: 4|2 → 4|3
With the release of Worldwalker, Ionia has been underrepresented overall - we’re providing Elusive decks some more power to finish out games.

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Yordle Contraption
YORDLE CONTRAPTION

COST: 5 → 4
This card hasn’t seen much play, so we’re improving the efficiency of this old contraption.

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Zenith Blade
ZENITH BLADE

CHANGE: Grant Overwhelm. → Give Overwhelm This Round.
Zenith Blade should be a solid go-to repeatable buff for decks, but its power output should be a bit more narrow considering the low amount of card resources required to grant up to 3 units Overwhelm, especially given the additional synergies and stats repeated Zenith Blades provide.

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The Path of Champions Updates
We’re smoothing out Shard acquisition in The Path of Champions by introducing Wild Fragments:

Wild Fragments can be used in place of Champion Fragments to unlock or Star Up any champion in The Path of Champions.
When you earn Champion Fragments for a champion that exceeds the amount to get that champion to 3 Stars, you’ll instead earn an amount of Wild Fragments.
Players who have already earned excess Champion Fragments will retroactively receive Wild Fragments.
When you earn duplicate Relics that are clearly not useful (e.g. a fourth copy of any Relic, or a second copy of any keyword-granting Relic) you’ll get Wild Fragments instead. This also applies retroactively!
Additionally, players can receive Wild Fragments from some Weekly and Daily Quests.
Finally, we’re opening the option to spend Coins to unlock champions instead of Champion Fragments or Wild Fragments.

Champion Skins
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Nami Tidecaller

Alternate Art & Level-Up Animation

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Bard Bard

Alternate Art & VFX, Skin added to Level-Up Animation

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Fizz Finslayer

Alternate Art & VFX, Skin added to Level-Up Animation

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Monk Lee Sin

Alternate Art

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Zilean Wisewood

Alternate Art

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Rift Master Darius

Alternate Art

Boards
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Tabletop Tavern

Place your piece and let the adventure begin.

This board has special visual effects and music.

Emotes
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Snoozefest

“Wake me up when it’s my turn.”

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Outclassed

“He’s doing his best…”

Miscellaneous

Potentially the single most exciting miscellaneous patch note ever written:

• Added a “skip” button on the Weekly Vault

Bug Fixes

• Fixed some issues causing players to crash when starting a match or reconnecting.
• Fixed a crash when Khahiri the Returned is summoned from Chronobreak.
• Fixed an audio-related crash.
• Fixed an issue causing the game to stop loading when entering a match in The Path of Champions.
• Thresh’s Challenger VFX will now only play when he is Challenging an enemy.
• Tibber’s Pyroclastic Arrival will now deal damage as intended.
• Fixed some issues preventing Bard from properly receiving level up progression when increasing the stats of allies.
• Fixed an issue causing spells that start a free attack to function incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue preventing Jhin’s Dancing Grenade from bouncing.
• Fixed an issue preventing the Emote panel from opening.
• Fixed an error when players attempt to draw Claws of the Dragon.
• Fixed some visual issues causing cards and the Nexus to be displaced.
• Fixed several VFX issues that were causing incorrect playback.