Legends of Runeterra is a deck building card game, based in the same universe as League of Legends, that anyone can get into, not just fans of League of Legends. Deck building card games consist of you earning cards and using them to build a deck that can be used against both human and AI opponents that you come across. There are different types of cards that can be used with multiple play styles. There are three different types of cards and six different regions within Legends of Runeterra that you can get cards from, depending on what region the cards are from will affect how you play them.
You have Champion cards, unit cards and spells cards. The regions in the game all come with there own play style,
Demacia cards use Tough, Barrier and allegiance. These cards are all about playing cards together and defending.
Freljord cards mainly use Freeze, mana gain and poro’s These cards are all about stopping your enemy in their tracks and using spells to enhance cards.
Ionia cards are Elusive and ephemeral meaning these cards are hard to block but some also have a time limit on there use.
Noxus cards are all about dealing damage and overwhelming your opponent.
Piltover & Zaun cards focus on drawing cards, discarding cards and using spells this regions cards work best by using spell cards with other cards that are activated by spells.
Shadow Isles use fearsome cards, last breath cards and ephemeral cards, these cards work best with being destroyed as they have triggers that activate upon death.
Every card has its own value which is based around its rarity (common, rare, epic and Champion). Champion cards are actual characters from League of Legends and they come with some pretty cool quirks. You can tell if it is a champion card from its golden border and there are currently 148 Champion cards to collect. I have a weakness for deck building games and have played games such as hearthstones and slay the spire, this one by far is the best. There is something about finally playing your hand when your enemy thinks they have you on the rocks and knocking them for six.
While there is no story in Legends of Runeterra like in slay the spire I do not thing it takes away from the gameplay, there are little conversations that happen when you play certain cards together but nothing in the case of lore as such. And the game play is smooth there is a tutorial at the beginning of the game that shows you how cards work with and against each other and you are rewarded for completing them with boxes that contain new cards. It doesn’t force you to complete the tutorial, which I like, there is also the fact that if you do you learn more about how the cards work the more of the tutorial you do.
As for game play its smooth everything is pretty much all laid out for you to understand there are a few nags I do have. If you, or your opponent, do not have any move it will automatically end your round for you and if neither you or the other person don’t have any moves for a few rounds you can lose track of who’s turn it is. My one only other issue is the placement of the surrender button. If loss is imminent, it’s better to surrender but this button is hidden in the menu and isn’t really pointed out, I mean to surrender is brave and you have to be sure you want to you may have a chance to win and I guess that’s why they put it out of the way, that and so you don’t press it accidental.
Legends of Runeterra is a great game for any one who love deck building game 8/10
