When I first saw Legends of Runeterra, I wasn’t sold on the League of Legends themed Magic the Gathering rip-off. But after playing it for the last two days (early access to the beta), I am thoroughly convinced that this is one of the best digital card games out there. Let me list off a few really good reasons why I think the game is great, unique and has room to grow and progress a lot. There are many things to go over, and I could on and on about each of these things because there are so good and interesting, but I’ll keep it brief.
The first thing to notice is the way that turns work. Rounds consist of one player being attacked, and the other player is the defender. Both players start with a full mana pool and the attacker plays, then the defender can play and then the attacker. Then it goes back to the defender and back and forth with summoning, battling and playing spells until all the mana is used or each player passes their turn. This acting and reacting is a very unique and dynamic way to play a digital card game. I find myself far more engaged and each move feels more important because of the immediate reactions that my opponent could make.
The next big thing in the game are Champion Cards. These are the rarest cards in the game and most powerful at a base level. The campions coming directly from League of Legends are very special cards. They actually level up when certain requirements are fulfilled that are explained on the card. These requirements are very unique and tie in well with the characters and their play style in LoL. From filling your board with spiders to killing a certain number of enemies or emptying your hand, each champion is powerful, special and add a lot to the playstayles and builds of decks.
Along with these new features are the reward systems. Instead of getting loads of in game coins and spending them on random packs with a dismantling and crafting system, Legends of Runeterra streamlines the way to obtain and craft cards. As players play games of any kind, they gain experience and go up levels. As they level up, they will receive card packs, crafting material and “wild cards.” The wild cards are directly linked to specific rarities. So if you have a rare wild card, you can make any rare card in the game. Players can buy more wild cards or a starter pack with real money, but this is a conversation for another time. Just know that players will receive a healthy number of champions to start and get more champion and other wild cards pretty quickly and the FREE rewards will just keep coming for a long time through leveling up.
Going back to the actual gameplay, the mana system has another very interesting and strong, new feature. When a round ends and a player did not use any of their mana, it is then stored in a small mana bank. The mana bank can only hold three mana and can only be used for spells, but this really allows for more flexibility, planning and dynamic plays. It is a simple idea, but wonderfully effective and rewarding to use.
Lastly, I want to mention the actually cards and their abilities. When picking up a new card game, one of the hardest things is knowing how to make a deck, what cards synergize and so forth. So far, I have seen some good synergies, but I am impressed with how good each card is on its own and how well they play well together. Yes, if you have a spider deck and you consistently fill up your board with other minions, it won’t work, but with good indications on the card about what key features they have and only having deck with two class types, it is pretty easy to make a fine working deck with little planning or effort.
There are places to improve for sure. The card descriptions could be more clear, better organization of the deck builder and some balancing changes will inevitably need to happen, but overall, for being the second day of the open beta, things are really looking up for Legends of Runeterra and it’s future. Between Hearthstone, Gwent, Shadowverse, Elder Scrolls Legends, Artifact and many others, it is hard to justify the existence of another digital card game on the market. But Legends of Runeterra does so many things very well from the start, it is hard to ignore.
Check it out for yourself here and download the beta. Let us know what you think!