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Would like to see Spellshield have a persistent form. Bastion only has it for 'this turn' and for 3 mana, seems expensive. Would be great to give or see a unit with Spellshield until the effect is removed/consumed.
This is already looking dire for Lee Sin who, I feel is already rather underwhelming... Maybe he needs a rework.
Glad spoilers are on the way though!
This is already looking dire for Lee Sin who, I feel is already rather underwhelming... Maybe he needs a rework.
Glad spoilers are on the way though!
You can always hold up Bastion though and Spellshield isn't really the type of effect you'd want to use preemptively even if it stuck around. Your opponent would just get to handle it more effectively (eg. Mystic Shot the shield and Thermo Beam the unit) or ignore the unit altogether.
I was likening it to Aegis from Eternal. https://eternalcardgame.fandom.com/wiki/Aegis
I could see you preemptively using Bastion when facing against Freeze Decks. It's situational for sure. A lasting or built/costed into a card Spellshield effect, forcing a 2 for 1 situation is the point though. Makes for more sticky minions.
It would be stronger as a permanent effect, but outside of Frostbite you'd still want to cast it in response to the targeting spell almost always. That's why I don't see the duration as a big deal.
I really like Bastion, solid card that fits a similar niche to Deny while not being quite as powerful and with a high skill ceiling. That it can preempt Burst makes it super interesting.
The other cards are just midrange whatever, it'll depend on what other tools the Support archetype gets, looks like Demacia might have a new partner at least, but they'll need some really good cards to make space in the deck with Bannerman around.
Just played the most fun game, was playing against Tempo Endure with Elusives and I was on 1 health and instead of tapping down for lethal I held onto six mana every turn for five turns just in case they had Atrocity and boy was it satisfying when it turned out they did and I was ready for it.
The other cards are just midrange whatever, it'll depend on what other tools the Support archetype gets, looks like Demacia might have a new partner at least, but they'll need some really good cards to make space in the deck with Bannerman around.
Just played the most fun game, was playing against Tempo Endure with Elusives and I was on 1 health and instead of tapping down for lethal I held onto six mana every turn for five turns just in case they had Atrocity and boy was it satisfying when it turned out they did and I was ready for it.
As expected Taric is a Support build around. The Taric champion spell is pretty good too, it's a Fury of the North at 5 mana but permanent instead of temporary. Even as non leveled up, Taric is fairly strong and rewards you for playing buffs on Taric himself.
Seems like an obvious Taric + Shen synergy in play here.
There are various other cards revealed as well, looking through them now though at work so will take a while.
Seems like an obvious Taric + Shen synergy in play here.
There are various other cards revealed as well, looking through them now though at work so will take a while.
Gems are weird as fuck, not sure what's going on there
I think these support cards are good and fun and also probably completely unviable. They're strong effects that are limited to every second turn and extremely disruptable if you don't open attack. War Chefs works because not only is his support effect synergistic with the 1 drops he's also got a very respectable body. The main saving grace with Targon's stuff is that it's permanent buffs so you've still got stats on off turns, but honestly I think it doesn't matter that much. Fury of the North really only needs one turn to make or break.
basically it'll be like Scouts, pretty bad as an all in strategy but probably a few cards you can cherry pick because they support an Aggro or midrange archetype (like War Chefs)
I think these support cards are good and fun and also probably completely unviable. They're strong effects that are limited to every second turn and extremely disruptable if you don't open attack. War Chefs works because not only is his support effect synergistic with the 1 drops he's also got a very respectable body. The main saving grace with Targon's stuff is that it's permanent buffs so you've still got stats on off turns, but honestly I think it doesn't matter that much. Fury of the North really only needs one turn to make or break.
basically it'll be like Scouts, pretty bad as an all in strategy but probably a few cards you can cherry pick because they support an Aggro or midrange archetype (like War Chefs)
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This is obviously a very snowball type of archetype. The generation of the Gem tokens could result in some interesting spell synergies though like with Vi, Lee Sin etc. These new cards also makes Arbiter of the Peak quite a bit more appealing.
Right now aside from Arbiter of the Peak, this archetype is lacking in a finisher. Taric by himself won't close out games similar to Shen. But so far I am more up on this archetype than before.
Hard to see when I'd ever want to spend 1m on a permanent +1/+(0,1) that I have to pre-cast. Aggro doesn't want 1 dmg for 1m, so it'd be for trading, but then you can't use it in reponse to blockers. So.... Fizz lol?
I look at the support archetype and think they're really gonna struggle for a finisher better than Cithria or Genevieve
like Mountain Sojourner costs 5 and buffs more and permanently but still reads as much worse to me?
but yeah they generally want health so you can't remove them so gems seem weak there
The Shards of the Mountains giving you up to 10 very cheap spells might have some weird combo interactions
like Mountain Sojourner costs 5 and buffs more and permanently but still reads as much worse to me?
you know swim will try and make it degenerate with elusives
but yeah they generally want health so you can't remove them so gems seem weak there
The Shards of the Mountains giving you up to 10 very cheap spells might have some weird combo interactions
You can't use it in combat so it's not really that good on Fizz either lol. I am almost certain they did this specifically because of Fizz.
It's because the stats on Mountain herself are fairly weak in comparison.
Vanilla 2/5 versus a 6/6 or a 5/5 with Scout + Challenger. So the floor is much lower even if the ceiling might be higher. You are mainly using Mountains for the Support synergy + Taric/Peaker level up conditions.
Because if you have 10 in your hand from Shards it would be very annoying for your opponent to have to respond after each one
that's it
You'd precast to give him Elusive lol. I mean, it's not GREAT especially since you lose Elixir of Iron, but until they reveal more cards, idk. In general, probably only Quick Attack and Elusive units would want permanent atk buffs that don't give health.
It's burst because giving up initiative to cast this would make it turbo garbo tier lol.
Most of the time I am fine passing turn to my opponent by playing a cheap 1 mana spell/minion to keep mana banked. Being the one responding is usually better though for this particular deck that might not be the case as it is almost assuredly going to be a midrange style deck.
Overwhelms get good value form attack buffs too. Arbiter of the Peak looking better by the minute!
Also we are forgetting that generation of these gem tokens is a big buff to Ezrael as well. There might easily be some type of Targon + P&Z deck that uses the gem to either mow down with Ezrael or cycle with Rummage/Urchin.
Overwhelms get good value form attack buffs too. Arbiter of the Peak looking better by the minute!
Also we are forgetting that generation of these gem tokens is a big buff to Ezrael as well. There might easily be some type of Targon + P&Z deck that uses the gem to either mow down with Ezrael or cycle with Rummage/Urchin.
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Yeah, it doesn't seem like the deck that would want to use this wants to be responsive.
Thinking about it from an aggro context, no one plays Brother's Bond which is 2m for 4dmg, will people want to play 1m for 1dmg? The difference is that gems are "free" cards, but I gotta play all these vanilla followers to generate free cards. So maybe the most obvious answer is the right one. You spam them for Taric levelup/Arbiter of the Peak. 1m to make Arbiter 1m cheaper seems ok.
On the bright side, I feel like Mentor of the Stones is actually just plain good. Turn your t2 2/3 into a 4/5 and get 3 gems. Honestly, first thought was some Arena Bookie deck lol. Turbo cycling with Draven axes and gems.
Inb4 Support: Rally at the start of next round.
I'm curious if they'll print some unit that really gets value from being targeted/spells cast. Like a Jae Medarda or Starlit Seer type to be used with Gems. Someone come up with a Cloud Drinker combo. Free gems for days.
I'm curious if they'll print some unit that really gets value from being targeted/spells cast. Like a Jae Medarda or Starlit Seer type to be used with Gems. Someone come up with a Cloud Drinker combo. Free gems for days.
Mentor is actually an insane card just standalone. Almost pre-nerf Grizzled Ranger level. Pretty much no way to trade up with it. You can toss it in a Braum deck and just snowball with it.
Taric seems much worse now to me because the level up condition is "If I see" which means Taric has to be on board and THEN you have to play 7 buffs. That is very hard to achieve, harder than getting Arbiter to be sub 2-3 mana. Taric himself isn't that bad as a pre level body but requires another unit and another buff spell to be decent.
The 1 mana 1/2 give a gem is also pretty good standalone. Not many competitive 1 drops in the game and this one is just good on its own and flexible.
The 4 mana fill your hand with Gems seems kinda awkward but I am always reminded that stuff like Ezrael exists in the game...
Taric seems much worse now to me because the level up condition is "If I see" which means Taric has to be on board and THEN you have to play 7 buffs. That is very hard to achieve, harder than getting Arbiter to be sub 2-3 mana. Taric himself isn't that bad as a pre level body but requires another unit and another buff spell to be decent.
The 1 mana 1/2 give a gem is also pretty good standalone. Not many competitive 1 drops in the game and this one is just good on its own and flexible.
The 4 mana fill your hand with Gems seems kinda awkward but I am always reminded that stuff like Ezrael exists in the game...
I want to live in a world where people tech the 1m Katarina ping spell to counter the Spellshield meta.
I'm so glad Arbiter of the Peak has great artwork with all these new reveals, gonna feel really good to play. With all the gems and a single Taric attack reducing it's cost by three it feels really strong.
And yeah Mentor of the Stones is crazy powerful, already a super solid value card even if it dies before it attacks. If it attacks and dies? Nuts. The only way to deny it value is to keep it alive with no support targets.
And yeah Mentor of the Stones is crazy powerful, already a super solid value card even if it dies before it attacks. If it attacks and dies? Nuts. The only way to deny it value is to keep it alive with no support targets.
The more I think about Taric the more I think it's Quinn 2.0. An okay card that sees some play for the spell doubling but never plays to level up. Just like with Quinn it feels like asking for two turns with the attack token is too much (although being a four drop might make the difference). Mogwai thinks he's very good but Swim is more in tier 2/3 category for the archetype. To me Arbiter of the Peak is a better payoff for targeting/support and doesn't need to 'see' anything and that always tends to be more powerful and reliable.
anyway new reveal in five minutes!
anyway new reveal in five minutes!
Low power Elusive support is a great idea. Smart to not have this one grant health. Faefolk is very, very playable unless Ionia turns into a hyper-focused spell region. Fuzzy Caretaker can be... quite powerful I think. If the 2m 1/1 sticks around, you'll be attacking with a 1/1, 4/6 quick attack, and whatever your 3 drop was with +3 hp. More cards *supporting* a midrange approach to support.
They mentioned in their blog about how Rising Tides and Call of the Mountain were developed together with the core set and it shows here more than it did for RT. A handful of cards that never felt like they belonged anywhere might start finding places to fit.
Swim: Let me have my completely uninteractable decks
Alanzq: Let me stall the game out so long I'm passing at 13 mana
Alanzq: Let me stall the game out so long I'm passing at 13 mana
Agreed, I despise the strategies both of them produce it just doesn't seem like a fun way to play the game in my opinion.
Especially the drawn out games since some matches can take 15-20 minutes to play out only for you to literally get grinded out to a slow burn and have every minion you play just get countered.
I personally find LoR is best played out in a mid-range kind of way. When you veer off too far that middle ground I have less and less fun. The game seems designed around that concept too.
Whimsy is Burst!? Looks fucking insane. That follower isn't surviving the turn. I guess that's the difference between this and Will. I think they're both fighting for a similar slot, meta dependent.
Lulu looks like a faithful adaptation but the artwork is awful lol
Lulu looks like a faithful adaptation but the artwork is awful lol
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Fae Guide art reminds me of the Ice Age movies; looks like one of character that shows up in the movie with the dinosaurs.
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This reminds me, I hope they add Poppy soon. She was one of the champs I liked.
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This reminds me, I hope they add Poppy soon. She was one of the champs I liked.
Seems like they are pushing the Pixie Support archetype in Ionia. Play a bunch kf small minions then buff them up. Whimsy is very strong, its a much better and more flexible Purify. Another tool for Karma Ez to play around. Sadly not all that great for Yasuo.
Are these all of the Ionia cards? Seems like it to me. Bilgewater gave 10 cards per region and we seem to be past that with Ionia already.
Are these all of the Ionia cards? Seems like it to me. Bilgewater gave 10 cards per region and we seem to be past that with Ionia already.
Man the pros have such wild variance in their opinion of Whimsy. Rating from gutter trash to broke OP and in need of nerf. Someone is definitely going to be on blast when the expansion launches lol.
I think the Follower only tag hurts this more than people think. Almost none of the follower only cards see regular high level play (cards like Possession). This is far more versatile than Purify and Purify is like on the cusp so I think this will definitely see some play especially in tournaments where you can play more polarizing cards to target line ups.
I also think some players are vastly overestimating its ability to win combat trades. Its not that hard to make a 1/1 minion survive a combat phase through stuff like Barrier or Frostbite or removal of its battling minion through other means. Sure more often than not it will result in removal/kill on a follower but its not a 100% guarantee thing.
I think the Follower only tag hurts this more than people think. Almost none of the follower only cards see regular high level play (cards like Possession). This is far more versatile than Purify and Purify is like on the cusp so I think this will definitely see some play especially in tournaments where you can play more polarizing cards to target line ups.
I also think some players are vastly overestimating its ability to win combat trades. Its not that hard to make a 1/1 minion survive a combat phase through stuff like Barrier or Frostbite or removal of its battling minion through other means. Sure more often than not it will result in removal/kill on a follower but its not a 100% guarantee thing.
I like this last batch of cards, curious about the hero.
I know nothing about LoL lore, don't these trolls warrant a tribe? I love tribe decks and wouldn't mind a new one. We got Sea Monsters before, hoping for a new one every set.
I know nothing about LoL lore, don't these trolls warrant a tribe? I love tribe decks and wouldn't mind a new one. We got Sea Monsters before, hoping for a new one every set.
Call of the Wild is amazing in tribal decks. You can draw up to 4 cards for 3 mana! Unless I'm understanding the card wrong, If you have 4 poros in the top of the deck you draw them all I assume.
I mean yeah but we don't have enough of those tribal cards to make a full deck around. So the chance of hitting 4 of a specific type is not as high as it should be.
And yeah I assumed these new cards would have a Troll tribe tag but they don't.