WHAT IS IT?

A generous freeto-play card game based on League of Legends

When interactions between cards get complicated, the game has a clever feature called the Oracle’s Eye, which shows you what the board will look like after a certain attack phase or spell has resolved. Not having to double-check your math or worry that a certain chain of abilities and spells plays will play out a certain way is a godsend.

Some genius twists to combat further distinguish Runeterra from the pack. Most card games, for example, punish you for not spending all your mana in a given turn. In Legends of Runeterra, however, up to three points of my unspent mana are preserved for the next round to be used exclusively on spells.

This change feels as substantial as The Elder Scrolls: Legends having two separate playing boards. Being able to play cards on a turn where it should be impossible to play them because I stored mana earlier is one obvious benefit, but I also like that I’m not as harshly punished by a bad opening hand. It keeps Legends of Runeterra feeling unpredictable and dynamic, instead of one player snowballing the match due to bad luck.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

By far the most unique part of Legends of Runeterra’s combat is the champions. Each of the initial set of 24 is modelled after a character in League of Legends, adapting their playstyle to fit inside the rules of a card game. Braum, for example, regenerates health and gets to choose which enemy unit blocks him, making him a great tank.

Each one also levels up after meeting certain conditions, often gaining more power and new abilities that make them formidable.

When Zed attacks, for example, he creates a shadow clone of himself with the same attack and health that is also attacking. If he or his clone manage to directly hit an opponent twice, Zed levels up so that his shadow clone now also shares any of Zed’s special