Discovering Legends of Runeterra

Smart Thinking

Before the Legends of Runeterra era, the world had other ways to entertain itself with different items. For more than hundreds of years, humanity tends to use various tools to treat themselves while there’s nothing else to do. Therefore, to burn a couple of hours, social gatherings became more appealing when you have other rules to follow. Indeed, depending on the object at hand, you were also instructed to follow different instructions. It may feel complicated at first, but once you know the “flow,” you’ll understand what is going on behind those printed cards.

Furthermore, if you also add the tremendous Lore capabilities from League of Legends, you’ll surely have the potential to enrich something mundane as playing with cards. We all know that there’s a lot of stories behind the Summoner’s Rift and the Nexus battle.  Indeed, every single Champion has more than a couple of lines that increase the interest of the fans and make them likable/dislikable.

Also, mixing the current abilities in the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and the pausable turned-based game will surely make exciting game modes. Indeed, using the “ultimate” in a static “board” may create something incredibly worth experiencing in different terms. As a result, in this article, we’ll dig deep into the complex union between cards and last hitting.

Trading Card Games

There can be lots of stuff printed in the two sizes of a single card. Still, though, some moving companies have had the opportunity to create an excellent theme and set of rules to make it enjoyable. Therefore, with some numbers and oriented images, you’ll interpret their meanings and their effect in the game. As a result, even without words, you’ll have the potential to have a good time with friends.

Taking this into consideration, here you have different examples that can give you a better idea about this type of entertainment and how it evolves through the years:

Standard 52-card deck

One of the oldest models in this article and still one of the most popular in the entire world. This set of cards usually divided into four equal parts. Furthermore, even though the rules of Poker are the commonly known way to use these types of decks, there are a lot more different modes to discover.

Most importantly, there are sets of rules that can be easily understood and carried to a lot of people, regardless of their age or intelligence. Indeed, with that flexibility, everyone has the potential to have a great time at any place. For example, you could easily carry a deck of cards on a beach trip and play overnight for a while.

Mahjong

Technically this board game isn’t considered as using “cards,” by any means. Still, though, all of the rules and the images around the tiles somewhat represent the same tabletop feeling. Although even if Mahjong is a bit old, you still have a lot of players around Asia playing it and having tons of fun.

To explain it a little bit more, like the game of Poker, you have the opportunity to create pairs, three of a kind, and four of a kind as well. In contrast to the well known 52-card deck, the main goal is to exchange the titles on your hand and complete a “Hand” (like Full house). At the same time, your opponents (typically three other players) have this objective and want to get it before you do.

UNO

“Uno” of the popular games that even though it has transcended its physical form to digital is still owning the market in two separate ways. Overall, the main goal of the game is to get rid of all the seven items on your hand. Indeed, you’re in a constant race with the other players on the “table” that may try to skip your turn or decrease your odds in achieving this task.

Furthermore, the physical box contains 112 cards in the full set, but it is recommendable that you acquire at least two decks for a better experience. On the other hand, the digital form is practically endless. Therefore, when you go digital, you don’t have to worry about re-shuffling the deck in between.

Magic the Gathering

When this game became available in the market, it practically changed the whole concept of predesigned decks to the overall trading. First of all, it took ideas of a complete pack of cards with its set of rules to follow and established items to acquire. Secondly, it took the concept of collecting from sport-related cards that came randomly through “booster packs.”

Furthermore, just like collecting your favorite entire sports team, you had to rely on luck or have excellent negotiation skills. Additionally, since you have the potential to have four copies of the same card in your playing deck, suddenly collecting became four times harder.

Similarly to Uno, this TCG (Trading Card Game), jumped to its digital form, giving you a choice to play with anyone around the world. In contrast, though, you still need to unlock the cards in that format (for times as well) to get the full experience.

Yugioh

Similarly to MTG (Magic the Gathering), this game shared the spotlight with the previous example for a couple of years. Unlike its competition, Yugioh came with fewer and less complicated sets of rules to follow. Therefore, it became a total hit to a younger audience from all over the world.

From the start, it had a physical form for a long while, having success with its “anime” series at the same time. Afterward, when the hype went down, it changed to the digital form. Above all, it seems that the second form of the game has become a little more famous in different stores. Still, though, some different expansions and updates aim to keep this TCG alive for years to come.

Pokemon TCG

Following the “Magic the Gathering” trending, the same company (Wizards of the Coast), took advantage of this franchise and made their own TCG version. This time around, they made exciting gaming mechanics that surround the Pokemon’s evolutions and elements.

Indeed, in the middle of the match, you have the potential to place a starting Pokemon and let it increase its potential within turns.

Additionally, in this tabletop iteration, you cannot attack the opposite player to win the match. Instead, each player can have up to six Pokemons in their deck, and the player that defeats them wins. Therefore, you need to increase the potential of your party with “Energy” cards and throw their unique abilities in between. Also, remember that some elements have the potential to withstand some damage or take double the amount.

Hearthstone

Another revolutionary type of card game came to the gaming market with Hearthstone. This time around, they (Blizzard Entertainment), took the liberty of skipping the physical formant. In contrast to all the above examples, you can only play this game digitally.

As a result, you can only see eSports tournaments that require electronic components like personal computers (PC) or tablets to function. Indeed, to make this game appealing to the public, some cards have special effects. First of all, they may come with unique voice sounds or astonish special effects.

Since Hearthstone doesn’t have a physical form, they have a little more freedom than the others. For example, if one card somehow ends up being overpowered, they can alter some characteristics. Therefore, through patches, one item stops being the META and goes to the trash bin.

Above all, the “trading” element of these types of games is no longer available in between. You no longer have the potential to trade with your friends or “borrow” some cards across collections. On the other hand, if you have more than four cards, you have the opportunity to convert them to dust. Hence, with that “dust” currency, you have the potential to exchange it for cards that you do not own.

Gwent

This particular Card game became famous in the middle of another epic RPG (RolePlaying Game). Indeed, in the middle of doing quests with Geralt of Rivia from “The Witcher 3”, you have another interaction with NPCs (Non-Playable Characters). Most importantly, you have the potential to take a little break from killing monsters and have a “friendly” game of Gwent.

The rules (and the board) from this iteration summarize the conflict around the middle of a medieval battlefield. First of all, you have the soldiers in front of it all. Secondly, you also have some ranged units for some support. Lastly, another siege units to increase the overall damage.

Within the middle of “The Witcher 3,” you have the potential to acquire different types of cards by buying from merchants or rare random drops. As a result, when you reach the “end-game,” you’ll have a solid deck within your inventory.

Lastly, thanks to the success of the game in the gaming market, their development team Project Red made another software in between. This time around, focusing only on the game and increasing its potential with additional expansions.

Artifact (in the abysm)

In this last example, Valve took a “swing” in this gaming genre by changing a little bit in here and there from their MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) Dota. With the success of this source game, they thought that it might give them a little extra income if they add the TCG genre in between. Indeed, at first, it looks impressive when they made a representation of the three lanes on the board and their Heroes.

Furthermore, they added stuff like the creeps (minions), different items for their Heroes, and Abilities. Indeed, the last part became appealing due to the requirement of the main Hero and its powers. Still, though, both the character and their abilities are represented in different types of cards.

Most importantly, with the aid of their Steam interference, you were able to exchange elements of your collection with other players. At the same time, you have the opportunity to “sell” these items for Steam Wallet’s currency. In other words, you have the potential to trade your unused cards for another video game in the store.

Sadly, everything went downhill from the moment it became available to all of the players. First of all, it didn’t share the “Free to Play” business model from the competition (Hearthstone and Gwent). Also, almost all the gaming modes and additional cards require more money from the casual community. Therefore, little by little, people didn’t care anymore, and its player base became almost non-existing.

Announcements have been shared by Valve about a possible “reboot.” But, nothing concrete.

Digital versus Physical

Since Legends of Runeterra is exclusively made digital at the moment, let us discuss the advantages/disadvantages of this model.

First of all, like the above examples, when the development team opts to go full digital, they have unique advantages. Since there’s no physical form, they have the potential to alter any characteristic of the cards. Indeed, even after the testing phase is complete and players all over the world find possible exploits. Therefore, with a single patch in the game, they could establish control and nerf the items.

In contrast, though, the physical forms of the TCG genre have no such freedom. In their case, they just create a list of banned cards that cannot be present in any decks in a tournament or special event. Most noteworthy, if you traded potential value and see your favorite card banned afterward, your collection may now become useless.

Secondly, since you erase the barrier to use a solid surface and close gatherings, you could play with anyone. Indeed, with this positive outcome, you have the opportunity to play with any friend from around the world. Additionally, you have the chance to participate in tournaments without the need to travel through distant places.

Collecting Cards

Since the typical way of getting physical “booster packs” is almost in the past. Some other ways let you increase your collection and build one of the META Decks from any TCG. Still, though, in practically all of the digital formats, the development team tends to avoid the “trading” at any cost. Indeed, it may look like a negative outcome, but they need to keep their player base safe for any possible scam.

For example, in World of Warcraft, you always had the opportunity to trade the rarest drops at any time in the first years of the MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online). As a result, hackers were able to obtain your username and password and steal your stuff when you were offline. Therefore, some people had the misfortune to see their characters completely “naked” when they logged in.

Due to this unused potential in these types of games, the development team uses other elements to increase your collection. First of all, some daily or weekly objectives have the potential to give you in-game currency or additional cards. As a result, in Legends of Runeterra, you have the chance to gather more items just by playing the game regularly.

Another fantastic mechanic comes with the “dust” currency. When you have unwanted cards in your collection, you have the potential to turn them to dust. At the same time, you could use this special dust to “craft” any Card that you’ll like to add in your deck.

Legends of Runeterra

If you take the examples from this article about the other types of TCGs, you’ll notice that Legends of Runeterra comes with a mixture of everything. First of all, you have the typical 52-card deck and Mahjong, which established a set of rules and unique characteristics on each “card.” Secondly, you have Magic the Gathering, Yugioh, and Pokemon TCG. Indeed, these examples recognized the use of boosters packs and the need for multiple Expansions to keep their player base interested.

Furthermore, examples such as Hearthstone and Gwent that avoided their physical forms and made their game famous through digital software. Last but not least, Artifact gave some ideas on how to transcend from MOBA to the TCG we have today.

As a result, you have a board the resembles a “Lane” from the famous Summoner’s Rift. In Legends of Runeterra, you have the potential to use Champions or different Allies to attack your opponent’s Nexus. In the middle of the battlefield, you have the opportunity to use abilities from the characters of your deck, represented as Cards.

Most noteworthy, you technically depend on your luck more than anything. If things are going your way, you’ll have the potential to use “cheap” Cards in the first turns of the match. Furthermore, when you have enough mana, you’ll have the chance to use your powerful items and finish successfully.

Connection with League of Legends

Since both games share the same “universe,” currently, there are essential elements that bind them both together. First of all, you have the League of Legends Lore, which appears through different factions. All of the famous “houses” or “clans” that resurge with the remarkable stories, they become a theme in Legends of Runterra. Furthermore, each group tends to have a distinctive gaming mechanic that seems to be a uniqueness or trademark.

Additionally, the likeness and abilities in LoL become somewhat represented in this genre. For example, you have the chance to see “Carries” doing as much damage as possible and destroy everything on the board. At the same time, you’ll get to choose between Supports that heal your units and keep everything at bay. Last but not least, you’ll have “mid-lane” Champions that use their abilities to control the board and give you thrilling advantages.

Above all, they both share the same objective to win a match. Indeed, in Legends of Runeterra, you have the potential to use your cards and attack the enemy’s Nexus. If things go your way, you can obtain a victory by destroying this structure before they take yours.

Terminology

To understand this game a little more, here you have important gaming mechanics that work in the middle of any match. Therefore, if you know them well, there’s a higher chance to understand what is going on and earn some winnings.

• Regions: Each deck comes with a theme or “Region,” which gives it an exciting gaming mechanic. Indeed, if you’re learning more about Legends of Runeterra, pick one group that you like and become a master.
• Mana Crystal (1 up to 10): This is the currency that you require to play your different Allies or Champions on the board. Therefore, in the early stage of the game, you could play your weaker items. Later on, with enough Mana Crystals, you’ll have the opportunity to plan your winning Card.
• Attack Token: This item in the board represents which player is currently attacking. Therefore, if the opposite player has no current defenses, the attacker has the potential to damage the Nexus.
• Allies, Champions, and Spells: Each of these items represents a single card in your deck. Depending on your strategy, you could have a balance between them or prioritize one element.
• Blocking: To defend your Nexus of any attacks from your enemy, you can use your units to keep it safe. As a result, do whatever it takes to keep your line of defense intact.
• Damage and Health: After each encounter between units, they may suffer damage in battle. Most noteworthy, they won’t heal back by themselves.

How do you Win in Legends of Runeterra?

If you’re bored of winning with your Smurfs. You can also earn a victory in this game, by following these easy steps:

• Hand: Look carefully at your starting hand, and keep the lower costs cards in the early game. If you see something expensive, you can opt to use “Mulligan” and chance them for a better option.
• Leveling up Your Champions: If you want effectiveness on the battlefield, you’ll need to increase the potential of your characters on the board. When everything goes according to plan, your Champions will increase their stats and throw their powerful abilities.
• Destroy the Enemy’s Nexus: Use your units accordingly in the board to destroy your opponent’s defenses and attack the structure directly. After it has suffered equal or more than twenty hits, the Nexus is over.

Frequently Asked Questions about Legends of Runeterra

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