Legends of Runeterra

Major egregious problems with LoR still remain.  So much so that I honestly can't say it's any better than Hearthstone's meta at the moment.  Both games appear to be in major balance dumpster fires at the moment.

(for those unaware, Questlines in Hearthstone were just released a few weeks ago and have been creating huge game winning conditions that are almost uncounterable as early as turn 5-6 on a consistent basis).

Anyhow, my two main issues with LoR (and this patch) at the moment:

Problem 1: Ooh Shiny!

Newer champions are being pushed hard, while older champions are eschewed and forgotten.  Any competitively viability from older champions was either nerfed into the ground.  Not only that, but instead of creating creative cards that could be potentially used in multiple archetypes with clever deckbuilding and play, they create forced archetype inclusions. One such example is Caitlyn Bombs/Teemo Shrooms.  Forced inclusion archetype cards that without makes those heroes suck.  Yes, I know to some degree all champions have those.  For example Ashes needs Frostbite, but technically you could build an Ashe deck without any other cards and eventually she would level up on her own...

But when is the last time you saw Garen, Lux, or hell even Hecarim used? (and no bronze/iron does not count).  I understand not *every* champion can be competitively viable at the same time, but it says something when nearly all the old champions are eschewed for newer ones.  This isn't hearthstone.  There is no yearly rotation (yet), and Champions are supposed to be more of a build around/win condition than Hearthstone legendaries.  So why does it seem like Riot is just pushing newer champions for the last year with little to no support for older champions? The only time I can recall "older" champions making a huge comeback was when Scargrounds landmark was released it revitalized Vladimir/Braum style decks for a small period of time.  

To put problem #1 in a nutshell: I think that we are being put on the "new expansion" train where the latest and greatest is pushed (as with any card game) so that way you either use up your wildcards, or you buy more coins to build all the new shiny decks. Most decks feel like they are "on rails" being pushed with new cards, and have very low skill caps to be effective. (Which is not what drew me to the game in the first place.  If I wanted a low skill cap card game to play, I could go play Hearthstone.)

Problem 2: Ionia and beyond!

I truly believe at it's heart Ionia was created with great intentions, but very poor execution balance wise.  In addition the biggest issues with deck building in general seem to come from 3 things:  Elusive units.  Rally effects. And too much draw. (A problem I believe is also plaguing Hearthstone at the moment as well, as too much draw effects allows decision making to be trivialized because you have multiple options and answers available)

I actually saw someone else point this out on reddit today in the competitiveLoR sub, and they got downvoted to hell.  Granted, I understand gamers can be mercurial; and maybe the way they presented it wasn't the most contructive, but still...

I feel like the region identities are fine, but there's currently some very broken decks and cards out there that still haven't been touched (or if they were, the wrong thing was nerfed.)  For anyone aware, I'm mainly referring to Sivir, and their respective region cards as being markedly broken.  (Ruin Runner, Merciless hunter for Shurima as well as Ionia's usual cadre of Elusive cards and counter spells available.)

Maybe I'm looking at things wrong, but I'd love for some constructive feedback to see if I'm just drinking too much Kool-aid or of I'm on the money with my assessment of things currently. Thanks!

Frankly the numbers are super early and I don't think there's very much firm Intel to gain, but we can have some fun for sure.

https://lor.mobalytics.gg/stats/archetypes

1. Ziggs as it's being built right now is doing badly its somewhere between 40%

2. Darkness control is very good 56%

3. Fizz has a 51% winrate

4. Temo Catalyn has a 41% winrate

5. Burst meta decks are strong, Sivir, Zed, Akshan, Lu Lu, Azir Irelia

6. Draven Sion is probably worse than Draven Jinx, but they are both good

7.  Poppy and Tristana are good at 56%

8. Pirate Aggro still does aggro things 

So based on my previous predictions I was wrong there are solid control, aggro, midrange and combo lists so overall things feel healthy. 

We're never gonna have a state in this game where all champions and decks are equal, but as long as there are valid archetypes that represent each playstyle that's good enough.

So while I won't claim that these concepts are wholey unique, these champs will be played they just won't be in the brews I made.

I've always approached card games differently from most people, it isn't about finding the simplest, fastest way to build a list, it's about surprising opponents and winning games I shouldn't and climbing that way.

With that said here are the lists:

Elusive cancer but instead of going all in on burst like the old versions used to you have pranks, and board presence and something of a midrange play pattern. 

Temo Catlin is the obvious choice where you go all in on the six drop that triggers all traps in top 5 cards, but then people just start running deny and you loose.

Ezreal Catlin can take its time, it can stall, it doesn't need to rush, and it just plays good cards. Wouldn't be surprised if this is the best version long term once the meta starts adjusting.

Poppy banerman has the potential to be the king of midrange once again, which is what Demacia deserves. The exact ratioing might change but the concept is simple, value value value. 

Go Hard darkness. We have some varied control tools availible, but I think you still run Elise. Legends is a game where loosing the early game to aggro is auto conceed, and that means you can't climb in Plat 

Really looking forward to the destroy your landmark archetype and this version should be good enough to play day 1. Have fun!

Now that we've gotten a lot of reveals at this point and the direction of the set is starting to become clearer let's do a quick rundown.

Ziggy: A 3 mana 3/4 that has both a weak MF effect and serves as an agressive value engine. This guy could end up being pretty scary. Keep in mind that he's also living in the same region as a lot of vulnerable synergy so you can challenge what you want.

Xerath: 4 mana 3/3, you basically have to hold him till leveled and that's when his control effect starts getting strong. He's a slow card compared to Ziggs but if you have the stall tools he can do well, better than lux probably.

Nami: Seems like a natural friend to elusive decks, keep in mind her buffs can trigger as many times a turn as you want. I can already tell she's gonna be gross, her 2/3 body doesn't die to mystic which is good enough.

Sion: Strikes me as the card malphite wanted to be, you play for his gameplan and then you win the game, he's a better tyndamere, not much else to say except that he's got a great support package.

Tristana: 3 mana quick attackers are never not good. She gets bigger she makes your followers bigger, she's like a banner man on steroids, only thing is she has a high deck building cost but so do a lot of Champs in this set.

Senna: Same akward statline as Kindred, however unlike kindred she "cycles" and gives you a darkness right away. That's probably good enough, and if she does live obviously you'll do nutty control stuff.

Veigar: 4 mana 1/4 so like azir you just let him sit there, gives you the darkness right away which is nice, and buffs the dmg for all future spells afterwards. I want to say that Veigar is good, you're gonna need a pretty solid control list to deal with all the aggro bs.

Catalyn: Possible the strongest champ in the set, with her what if Draven and Temo had a baby approach. 3/3 quick attack for 3 and late game value to close things out. Hard to level is the balance for her, but than again if you add shroomes now it's easy.

Poppy: soo poppy looks bad when you read her as a 4 mana 4/3 with no keyword that has to swing for value. But than you realize as soon as they pass turn priority she's a 5/4, so all you need is sharp sight in hand to guarantee value, and buff your board. Second swing she's a 6/5 etc. Basically punshishes decks that don't have any hard removal and even then you still have to deal with her little things that got very big.

If I had to guess right off the bat, Xerath, Veigar and Senna will struggle the most when the set releases because A control is the worst performing archetype in Legends right now, and B control is the worst performing archetype in Legends right now 😅

Have I seen anything that suggests this will change...maybe there are enough unique and interesting followers that there are too many variables to consider, but the spells themselves aren't great and that's kind of important.

Leads me to think that burst speed combo decks of either the elusive or all in variety will be strongest, than aggro, than midrange, with us try hard controllers still doing our best to make things work out.

Now that the meta has settled down which cards do feel need adjustment? Here is my personal list.

Sivir: I don't understand why they buffed Sivir in first place she was a fine champion before, now she level very quickly and when she do she can give a whole board spellshield, double attack or elusive which is game over against any deck expect plunder. Even without a board she can push for frighting amount of damage if you have Ghost and Flurry of Fists.

Merciless Hunter: This is a card that I like quit a bit because it forces all those back row champions into combat, still it has premium stat line, one the best keywords and the ability to grant any unit vulnerable, all of that definitely makes her overturned. I do hope that they can nerf her without making her unplayable because card that force combat makes the game more interactive. 

Emperor's Dais: After so many nerfs Azir/Irelia finally went from broken BS into... tier 1, that should tell how powerful the deck was. The deck is definitely manageable now. Still turn 2 dais into turn Azir followed by any blade dance unit will usually allow them to snow ball the game before the opposition could do anything about it, so dais going to 3 would disrupt that curve and allow for more counterplay.

Twin Disciplines: Many players were asking for this card to be buffed and as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. The card allow you to push for damage, secure trad, protect your unit from removal at a very cheap price but the most frustrating part is how elusive aggro deck can abuse this card, normally in exchange for their ability to close the game quickly aggro are supposed to be vulnerable to removal and trading. both weakness are negated by twin disciplines, and let's get into how this card make something like Lee Sin and eye of dragon even more difficult to deal with.

Lee Sin and Eye of the Dragon: I decided into put them in same same spot because they are part of the same deck and have the same issue. Any time a good burst speed spell get's made you can count on these two to abuse it. As soon as turn 3 you can have two eye of the dragon on the board by playing the first and tutoring the second from the deck using Gifts From Beyond into Crescendum triggering their effect immediately allowing the player to stall indefinitely until a level up Lee Sin came in to close the show.

So what do you guys think? And more importantly what cards would like to see adjusted?

Is it random?

I've had games where I start against Sejuani at two life. She plays a one drop and wins.....

Other games I started against Viktor at 6 life..but sometimes 12..

What determines your life total?

Even when you draw the right cards, it's underwhelming. You either count on luck, or you need to support it with something like predict. But getting supported still doesn't make it great.

Or am I missing something?

Is there a glitch allowing for instant kills. In a round I attacked with an 10/10 Aurelian Sol. It was blocked by a 4/6 Dreadway, and  rather than eating it, it killed both. Later I blocked a 2/1 with a 9/5 Infinite Mindsplitter, and both died. Has anyone else had that happen?

Hey.

I'd like to start a topic on landmarks. I love landmarks (as a mechanic). I hate (most of currently existing) landmarks. Historically, I've been playing an equivalent on Shadowverse ((countdown) amulets) a lot.

One of my concern about LoR landmarks is that it shares the same issues than shadowverse ones (board management can become very tedious, the high risk of drawing the deck "upside down" (meaning here drawing very few early game landmarks and a lot of landmark based spells/allies with not enough targets), the high dependency between amulets and amulets related spells, the sluggishness, the tendency to get stomped by faster decks). But that's not really the biggest issue, that's the price to pay such a type of deck centered about future payback.

The main issues, I think, is that the average power level of landmarks in this game is bad. Some of them are abysmal by my now average experience in LoR and high in Shadowverse. And while I'm far from good at LoR for now, current meta snapshot actually demonstrates how little landmarks, including the ones incompatibles with Taliyah, are played.

Of course, some of them are good, very good even, and you do see them in meta decks. Namely, Preservarium, Emperor's dais, Blighted Ravine, Frozen Thrall, Sun Disc. There is a couple others which I deem playable even if non meta : Ancient preparations, Hibernating Rockbear, Star Spring.

About others, eh... what I think their power level is, feel free to share your own view or enlight me :

Ripper's bay - Bad/Meh. Inexpensive but take a board slot, something you do not want in an agressive deck.

Rockfall Path - Abysmal. It's sluggish, it's easy to play around, it doesn't help against aggro decks. It requires Countdown 1 to be remotely playable.

Startipped Peak - Bad. The fact it's random and doesn't give you a card immediately make it a LARGELY worse Preservarium, which you'll always play over this. Requires to provide first card immediately or cost 1 less.

Hexcore Foundry - Abysmal. 2021 and CCG designers still think anyone would play a card which will make opponent draw (especially aggro decks). Genius. Even if a mill pop this is too expensive. Requires to cost 2 less.

Inner Sanctum - Abysmal. Even Lebonk Sivir doesn't want that shit. If you pay it for its initial cost you deserve to lose. And Frozen thrall allies already had the only keyword you need. Requires to provide at least twice as much cards.

Monastery of Hirana - Abysmally abysmal. Providing bounces you can't use in combat nor as an answer to a spell (which are 99% of bounce usage in this game. Wow.

Spiral Stairs - Abysmally abysmal. Is EXPENSIVE and SLUGGISH as fuck for what it provides. The spell is slow and fleeting, making it very very ackward to use and prone to every single counterplay ever (counterspells, removals, ...). There is much better ways to use overhelm, and naturally Frozen Thrall decks won't need or play this garbage card. Requires to cost 2 less or cost 1 less and countdown 2.

The Grand Plaza - Average. It's a bit expensive but the effect is kinda good. There might be some stuff to do with that card.

The Scargrounds - Below average. In an appropriate deck it could be interesting, but it's a bit expensive for what it provides. Should cost 1 less.

The Slaughter docks - Average. Toss/Sea monsters decks doesn't seems to be favored but I suspect should a deck about it becomes okay this card will probably be added. Surely sometimes it will summon a Sea Scarab but most of the time it will pay for itself later, and it helps getting deep.

The twisted treeline - Bad. The follower isn't massive and the condition isn't exactly easy to trigger. And worse, it requires the fearsome followers to attack meaning you'll not be able to attack with Vilemaw on the same turn, making it virtually idle for this turn and next one. Requires for Vilemaw to be summoned and attacking immediately.

Salt spire - Abysmal. Way too expensive and slow for what it provides. Requires to cost 1 less and countdown 1.

The Veiled Temple - Decent/Average. I rate it this way assuming it can trigger on the turn you plays it, making it cost virtually 2 on a spell heavy deck. The +1/0 is nice to have, but the probably important effect is the discount itself, actually raising you capability to turn the table by being a disguised ramp, and more importantly, being disguised as having up to 15 mana a turn in an appropriate deck. I suspect the future may give this card a potential.

Eye of the Ra-Horak - Average/Bad. It's very expensive but it being countdown 1, it may help you to slow down the opponent. Per se it's correct. The main card issue however is its design. First issue is the Daybreak restriction, making it much weaker to seek with Imagined possibilities or Stoneweaving. Second issue is the fact the copy is countdown 2 and not 3. Meaning the copy will trigger on opponent defensive turn (because let's be honest most of the time you'll play this amulet on your offensive turn), which limited usage but a massive counterpush. So only a Malphite deck really want that. Should cost 1 less.

Noxkraya Arena - Bad. In an appropriate deck it MIGHT have some use but it's expensive as fuck.

Reavers's Row - Bad ? I'm not totally sure, maybe a 1 cost follower deck could be fun ?  Expensive as fuck for what it provides, but some meme potential.

Sandswept Tomb - Bad. It's Emperor's dais in largely worse. Very expensive. Maybe in a reputation deck, but beside that it's probably too weak for anything.

Targon's Peak - Meme. With some intellectual honesty and having played an equivalent in Shadowverse I should rate it abysmal. But I'm gonna play it regardless for the glory of the meme so I won't.

The University of Piltover - Abysmally abysmal. The design is stupid as fuck and an insult to the glory of the meme. First design flaw is that is it IMCOMPATIBLE with the discard queen, Jinx. In fact, at the beginning of the turn this will empty your hand (and therefore make Jinx gain level), but you won't get Jinx draw nether a rocket, making the combo meh as fuck. The only good part of this card is that it seems the cards always cost less or equal than your starting turn mana. Wish I didn't spend 3 of my jokers on this garbage.

Vaults of Helia - Bad. There is probably a specific deck design to do to force summoned allies, making it some kind of tutor (and use ally generating spells for more fodder). But it's expensive as fuck for what it does and it's risky (empty board at the end of any turn = you probably can ff).

The howling abyss - Average/Bad. Very expensive, so to be played exclusively on your offensive turn. Also it's random, meaning you'll sometimes get champions which does virtually nothing useful for you. The thing which makes it close to average is the fact it's Freljord, so ramp can help making this thing happens. You'll just hope not to get Teemo out of this, as well as several mechanic specific champions such as Yasuo. Wish it costed 1 less.

Your view on this?

Hey.

I'm starting this game again. Historically I played it mostly at beginning. Got a couple of (newb?) questions :

- Zoe evolution condition states that she must see you playing 10 cards with different names for her to evolve. I know that for couting she must be on board. What I'm wondering is does the counter is saved if she dies and you play another ? Or do you start all over? Should it be the later, she looks... slightly impossible to evolve...

- When you buy a card skin, you're offered a free copy of the champion. But if you craft a regular copy, does it show with the skin or you must buy the skin again ?

- What do you think is the shortest/most consistent way to get Legendary Jokers ?

I've got a now probably outdated Jinx/Draven Discard aggro, which is my serious, quest grinding deck. Now what I'll be aiming is playing dank meme decks, because I like whacky conditions. What I've been thinking to build (for the lulz, not for the winrate lol) :

- Any EDH deck (one copy only of each card)

- A deck with 3 copy of Zoe cuz I love the mechanics behind the card even if she looks... erh

- A landmark deck (coming from Shadowverse and I loved countdown amulets)

- A heavily RNG based deck (much like Hearthstone Tess Rogue) when I want to shut down teh brain.

So last question : What's your most whacky/meme deck ?

So, I've cleared the new lab with Miss Fortune and Tahm Kench. I'm in the middle of a run with Twisted Fate.

So far, I think it's a lot of fun and fairly complex. There is a lot of player agency in deciding how to approach the lab as well, and a much wider variety to the encounters.

My tips would be: for the first few clears, don't really worry about your badges for the end of the run. Focus on maximizing your equipments and powers, because Gangplank is HARD to beat. VERY hard.

In my first run, I defeated him in one try, thanks to having Evolution and some absurdly overpowered units.

In my second run, despite having 6 really good powers, including Yipp's Genius, and having Zoe in the deck, I still died once on Gangplank before I defeated him. He's insanely strong. A much more fitting end boss than Viktor for sure.

Edit - After playing a few more times, I can say for sure that getting 6 powers is not normal. There isn't even a guarantee that you'll get an epic power at all, though you WILL get a random epic power offered if you spawn the Smooth Soloist '!' node. In any case, I've cleared all three champs, with TF being the hardest for me to finish. S-tier skill and wealth on both MF and Tahm Kench. I'll be going for speed badges last.

There's a pretty strong consensus that predict sucks as a mechanic, and a deck type.

This is half right, predict doesn't function well as a self contained wincon by itself, so I'm gonna share some lists that nobody is talking about that will win games with these Champs.

Ash is very strong right now, and Zillian is essentially a self contained leveler that with enough turns is guaranteed to hit a sufficient number of bombs, or will after being replayed.

Ekko can absolutely join thr burst meta by becoming a part of it with the likes of shaped stone and absolver which pairs nicely with those 12/12 kaherees you'll be throwing down.

For vanilla Zillian Ekko I highly recommend the professor to turn all your one drops into 4/4's at burst speed. It's pretty much the only reason to be running cards like drop boarder.

I've even experimented using ekko outside of shurima and it tends to pair best with Ionia. Hell karma ez is already running a lot of the best predict cards and its pretty obvious why.

So maybe this will inspire everyone to realize that predict is a lot more flexible then people think.

So just gonna go through what I feel are the worst champions during the burst meta and you'll notice a trend pretty quickly where if they need to interact with other cards during combat to get value they tend to be pretty bad.

Champs that suck:

1. Vlad, my poor boy I love him greatly but man does he suck right now, and not in the way he's supposed to. Honestly they would need to bolster her drain to 2 per unit to make the endgame wincon of his deck easier.

2. Garen, being a vanilla 5/5 for 5 just isn't enough anymore while his level up is still powerful, leveling outside of concerted strike is near impossible. He probably needs tuff

3. Fiora, not seeing a lot of this lady around lately, because she's kind of a lot worse then the quick attack sticks being used for burst spells right now.

4. Braum, surviving strikes is just harder then it's ever been right now, honestly even just giving him 1 attack would help with trades

5. Victor, really slow and clunky to get rolling, and if your opponent somehow doesn't have a frostbite, a stun, a bounce, or silence on swing its a miracle.

6. Heimer, spawning a bunch of tokens really doesn't do what it used to anymore. Most decks can flood the board and require a lot less setup to pull off.

7. Kindred, he needs to kill strongest and he needs to be a 5/5 not much else to say

8. Yassao, so in the burst meta it's never been easier to make something survive 2 dmg and the good stun card (palm) is just run without him

9. Anivia, once again gains value on swing and thats increasingly hard to guarantee

10. Malphite, honestly the prince of Persia is soooo string that he almost makes Malphite pointless in his own deck. He also should work well with yassao but is too expensive at 7 mana. I'd say just hit his stats hard and drop him to 6 mana he won't be op

Champs that are better then people think:

1. Aphelios, apehlios tri beam is solid if you get the build right, also the fact that you can crescendo into the 2 mana dork and essentially make that spell cost 1 as you go for calibrum is solid

2. Jarven, total Chad probably my favorite champ in the game, can easily be run outside of Shen in fact shen doesn't really so much for him per say.

3. Ash, is a champ that gains value from burst speed interaction, and in the burst meta she's probably never been better.

4. Dragon girl, really good at surviving combat compared to every other demacia champ, while it's true she "gains value" on strike, you can force interaction post attack easily enough.

5. Kalista, fearsome aggro if built properly isn't bad and is better then people think at punishing burst meta decks.

6. Zillian/clock boy, don't run the mobalitics list it sucks. I have built a lot of brews that I feel are vastly superior to the 40% winrate mobalytics list, simple by understanding that these Champs need support/alt wincons

7. Thaliyah, plays really well in the burst meta where you can give her overwhelm, and have acess to hush to stop your opponent from making similar plays.

8. Lux, rated the worst champion in the game by Swim, she's not that bad, based entirely on her own merits she is but thankfully her dedicated supports cards are very strong. Like free detains are same as vengeance in this meta.

9. Vi, it used to be that it made no sense to have a 10 attack challenger because there were no high value trades to make her worth while. But thanks to all these she who wonders Champs running around vi has probably never had better targets 

10. Swain, honestly just a really flexible champ that's always gonna have a home, and always be a threat.

11. Temo/fizz/star girl cheap elusive have never been better when decks are increasingly cutting pings like vile feast. You can use them for value, or for cheap burst sticks.

12. Lulu & Shen these support Champs are probably underrated right now, while I would say that Taric is the worst of the bunch he's still very playable too.

Champs that are average

Tf feels pretty meh right now, I was just saying that 1 mana pings, and a 2 mana stun has never been worse then in this meta but amazingly just on the merit of blue card and tf chaining he can still be alright

Lisandra, none of her decks are scary right now, she looses to aggro and to combo but thats 90% of the meta right now. In a control mirror, or midrange meta she still gets to do her thing

Sejuani, is kind of being cut from all her decks, the good news is her champ spell is quite strong, she still acts as removal, and sometimes can really mess up the opponents play patterns

Champs that require 0.1% of your brain

All cheap quick attackers right now are insanely powerful. Just look at the massive deck presence of zed, sivir, prince boy, Draven, and even jinx still puts up good numbers.

Does anyone know the source that says that you cannot cast a card with the same name more than 15 times in a single round? I have tried, without success, to track down where that information was stated.

Late to the party but since I've done one of these for every event (like Dark Horizon), I shouldn't stop now. Hopefully someone will find this useful.

List of regular Runeterra daily quests can be found here.

Since Riot makes you choose sides in this event, the following quests are (possibly) only for the Sentinel side (at least the main event questline is different).

Repeatable Quests (1-5 Crests)

These quests rotate in an order I have been too lazy to figure out.

• Sentinels of Light - 4 Crests
  
  • Summon Sentinel champions (Akshan, Lucian, Riven, Diana, Irelia) (0/15)  OR
  • Win a matchmade or AI game (matchmade counts double) (0/8)
• Champion of the Light - 1 Crest
  
  • Show your devotion and spend mana on Demacia or Shurima cards (0/50)  OR
  • Win a matchmade or AI game (matchmade counts double) (0/2)
• Subduing Darkness - 3 Crests
  
  • Defeat a deck that uses Viego in a friend challenge lasting 6+ rounds (0/1)  OR
  • Win a matchmade or AI game (matchmade counts double) (0/6)
• Sands of Time - 2 Crests
  
  • Phase with the transient universe and countdown or destroy landmarks (0/35)  OR
  • Win a matchmade or AI game (matchmade counts double) (0/4)
• Lightbringer - 5 Crests
  
  • Fight back the darkness by winning with a leveled up Akshan (0/4)  OR
  • Win a matchmade or AI game (matchmade counts double) (0/10)

Sentinel Questline (6-9 Crests)

1. Sentinel's Aim - 6 Crests
   
   • Resist the mist by targeting allies (0/40)
2. Unification of the Sentinels - 6 Crests
   
   • Inspire the Sentinel resistance by activating Reforge (0/30)  OR
   • Cast spells (0/70)
3. Sentinel's Call - 6 Crests
   
   • Summon units with spells and activated effects (0/20)  OR
   • Summon units (0/95)
4. Sentinel's Bastion - 6 Crests
   
   • Fortify your defenses by blocking or getting blocked (0/100)
5. Sentinel's Charge - 7 Crests
   
   • Counterattack the Ruined and deal damage to the opponent's nexus (0/165)
6. Sentinel's Restoration - 7 Crests
   
   • Recover for the next charge by healing damaged allies (0/60)
7. Sentinel's Rally Cry - 8 Crests
   
   • Mobilize the Sentinels by summoning more than 1 unit in a round (0/40)
8. Sentinel's Aid - 8 Crests
   
   • Create an impenetrable front by supporting units (0/40)  OR
   • Have allied units survive damage (0/95)
9. Assail of the Ruined King - 9 Crests and a Ruination icon
   
   • Cast spells that cost 2 or less mana (0/65)

Champion Questlines (4, 6, or 10 Crests)

• Diana's Devotion (1 of 2) - 4 Crests
  
  • Dedicate yourself to the Lunari by activating Nightfall (0/25)  OR
  • Slay enemy units (0/75)
• Diana's Vindication (2 of 2) - 6 Crests and Sentinel Diana icon
  
  • Level up Diana and spread Lunari wisdom (0/5)  OR
  • Deal damage with champions (0/180)
• Irelia's Opposition (1 of 3) - 4 Crests
  
  • Attack with units that cost 3 or less (0/80)
• Irelia's Ancestral Dance (2 of 3) - 6 Crests
  
  • Apply relentless pressure on the enemy by starting an attack (0/70)
• Irelia's Destiny (3 of 3) - 10 Crests and Sentinel Irelia icon
  
  • Level up Irelia to prove her worth as a legendary leader (0/8)  OR
  • Level up champions (0/40)
• Karma's Attunement (1 of 3) - 4 Crests
  
  • Channel your inner spirit and play 2+ spells in the same round (0/20)
• Karma's Patience (2 of 3) - 6 Crests
  
  • Act when the time is right and win games after reaching 10 mana (0/5)
• Karma's Enlightenment (3 of 3) - 10 Crests and Ruined Karma icon
  
  • Seek equilibrium by leveling up Karma (0/8)  OR
  • Attack with champions (0/70)
• Draven's Spectacle (1 of 3) - 4 Crests
  
  • Show off your flair for the dramatic by playing created cards (0/50)  OR
  • Play cards (0/180)
• Draven's Showmanship (2 of 3) - 6 Crests
  
  • Show off by raising the power of allies in play (0/55)  OR
  • Attack with units that have 5+ power (0/85)
• Draven's Glory (3 of 3) - 10 Crests and Ruined Draven icon
  
  • Boast and brag by leveling up Draven (0/8)  OR
  • Kill enemy champions (0/20)

Hi im kinda new to LoR so maybe Im missing something. I just played a match against a Freljord/Shadow Isle deck that was running The Howling abyss card. Now my understanding is it only summons level 2 champs? Whicch would explain the Teemo and Elise. However he also put an Aurilion Sol and Nautilus on the board. I went through every card from Freljord and Shadowisle but i cant figure out how he did that.

Easy math time card fans.

If you run a deck with 3 mystic shots what are your chances of having more then one in your opening hand?

How likely is it to have more then one combat trick in hand when you run 10 of them or more?

Therefore unless you have flock the only piece.of removal that combos with your other removal attempts you will always loose 9/10 games when this line of play occurs.

Pass pass, Zed

Pass Pass, Darius

Pass, Pass, thing, sivir, ruin runner

And the reason is that no matter what you play your removal attempts will be answered by the increasing number of cheap, efficient, and powerful burst spells being printed.

So what happens? Decks just start cutting removal entirely unless it's something like grappling hook, or whirling death, or single combat.

Like I think the devs need to understand one simple thing, for every combat trick printed there must be an equal and opposite piece of removal printed.

Otherwise it's just gonna be, play 1 thing, keep that thing alive when played, burst the opponent down to 0 after two swings...yaaah fun.

There are so many cool decks in this game, so many cool mechanics, so much intricacy and champions and deck building options

All to be boiled down to Pass Pass thing, combo out burst...why even design good cards when they will never succeed in that combat trick heavy environment?

https://www.swimstrim.com/runeterra/decks-and-meta

Roughly 5 of the top decks on Swims site have 10 burst spells on average, meaning they consist of 25% of each of those decks.

You jam them on a quick attack unit, Zed, Sivir, Darius and then you just win games.

Its basically auto build decks, with auto play win cons that don't require sequencing or turn priority.

I had said that this was going to happen and we are very much seeing this all over ladder.

Like you could play Lee Sin which costs 5 mana and requires set up, and stuns, and delaying the opponent, or you can just accomplish the same thing faster and with less skill.

Burst tricks are becoming too powerful, too numerous, too cheap, and too brain dead.

I dont know what the solution is, I had guessed that it was mana reductions for removal but it might just be nerfs to burst spells.

I’ve noticed this for myself as a player, and I’m curious if anyone else feels the same way. The super-villain Syndrome once said, “With everyone super, no one will be.” It seems to me like that has almost happened here in LoR.

What I mean by this is we are currently sitting in a pretty balance meta. You can use a huge variety of decks now to laser through the rankings. 

My problem is, with no predominant decks that are the “Top Dog” to take down, there isn’t as much satisfaction in a victory. My decks don’t feel special, because nearly any deck is good right now. 

It’s a weird paradox. It sucks fighting a boss who you know you will lose too. But it also sucks when there isn’t really any boss at all. 

These are just my musing’s. I’d be curious to hear if you have noticed the same thing.

Very seldom have we seen a situation where a champion can essentially be jammed into a variety of lists and have them be statistically competitive if not amazing.

Right now on mobalytics you'll see 4 different lists of similar viability

- shadow demacia

- shadow Ionia

- shadow freijord

- momo shadow

All of which perform essentially the same, suggesting that A Viego is so strong that he doesn't need much deck support B he is so strong his support cards don't matter.

Just 3 drop plus hydra, plus glimpse, and away we go.

I really like the idea that legends is a game where cards have to be built around.

But given the fact that Viego is both a she who wanders, and a better kindred, suggests that maybe we add more support for him while narrowing down exactly what kind of card he's supposed to be.

Is he a finisher  is he a controller, or is he simple a bomb that does everything? Cuz thats what he is right now.

Not to mention the token generation makes him function similar to Elise or heckarim.

So 3 champions in one body, and the only champion who's spell functions as a better vengeance.