After 10 Years of huge success with League of Legends Riot Games is expanding the universe with Legends of Runeterra. This free-to-play, collectible card game is set in the League of Legends universe and has been designed by Paul Sottosanti. Sottosanti has worked on League of Legends where he designed both the current ranking system and the directed camera. He previously worked with for Wizards of the Coast on Magic: The Gathering.
Being a collectible card game, Legends of Runeterra includes a number of mechanics and keywords. Since we’ve spent some time with Legends of Runeterra, we’ve compiled a list of all of them.
Many of the keywords and mechanics will be familiar to CCG players, albeit with different names.
Legends of Runeterra Keywords
Elusive
Cards with Elusive are characters that can only be blocked by other characters with Elusive. Think of them as having “Flying” in MtG. Elusive doesn’t come into play on defence.
Fearsome
Characters with Fearsome can only be blocked by characters with 3 or more attack.
Quick Attack
Quick Attack is essentially First Strike. Characters with Quick Attack will deal damage to the enemy first (when attacking). If they deal lethal damage, they will complete combat unscathed.
Quick Attack doesn’t come into play when defending.
Challenger
Characters with Challenger get to choose which enemy character will block them. This comes in handy in order to keep your attacker alive or to defeat a specific enemy character.
Regen
Characters with Regen are restored to full health at the end of each turn.
Barrier
Like Hearthstone’s Divine Shield, Barrier gives characters one additional hit. In Legends of Runeterra, characters with Barrier lose it if hit and at the end of the round. Barrier isn’t permanent.
Overwhelm
Overwhelm is another mechanic similar to one in MtG; Trample. Characters with Overwhelm deal additional damage to the enemy player’s Nexus when blocked.
Ephemeral
Ephemeral cards are those that vanish at the end of the turn. Lots of characters in Legends of Runeterra create Ephemeral allies and there’s quite a good deck that can be built around these cards.
Can’t Block
Characters with this one…Can’t Block.
Tough
Characters with Tough take one less damage from all sources. A one attack character will deal 0 damage to a character with Tough.
Frostbite
Frostbite reduces a character’s attack to 0 for the duration of a turn.
Stun
A stunned character is unable to attack or block for the duration of a turn.
Lifesteal
Characters with Lifesteal absorb the damage they deal out and return it to the allied Nexus.
Recall
Recall returns a character to the players’ hand.
Fleeting
Fleeting cards are placed into the player’s hand and must be played on that turn or they vanish.
Slow
Slow spells are played as an action and can be interrupted or reacted to by the enemy player.
Fast
Fast spells are played during combat and can be blocked or reacted to.
Burst
Burst spells are instant and can’t be reacted to.
Last Breath
Characters with Last Breath will perform an action when they die. Exactly like Deathrattle in Hearthstone.
Support
Characters with Support provide buffs for the card to their right when attacking.
For more info on Legends of Runeterra, click here.
Legends of Runeterra is a very different kind of collectible card game and from the time I’ve spent playing it already it’s certainly addictive and a lot of fun. Deckbuilding is intricate and very deep, but simple enough that beginners will be able to get to grips with it.
There are some powerful synergies and strategies to be discovered and the fast-pace, back and forth of actually playing is a far cry from other games in the genre.
Riot has certainly created something unique with Legends of Runeterra and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
The first Preview Phase runs from today through October 21.
Legends of Runeterra launches in 2020 for PC and Mobile.
