Awesome card game. This game has some of my favorite mechanics and TCG game design ever. They nailed how to translate League characters to (digital) cardboard so well.
The gameplay is an interesting flip on the (clearly inspired) Hearthstone system that's just flat out better. The way combat works forces a lot of thought. There were some great decks in each archetype. From Lee Sin one shot combo to Freljord control to Bilgewater aggro, it had all you could want.
Path of Champions was an excellent inclusion and it's obvious why that ended up being mega popular, and ultimately leading Riot to shift LoR into a PvE focused experience. They really hit it out the park with that mode.
LoR also boasts(ed) THE best monetization for digital card games. Well, I guess it wasn't he best for business reasons. However for the PLAYERS??? It was unmatched. F2P was completely viable and you never felt like you HAD to drop tons of money like Hearthstone or MTG Arena (if you didn't start those games super early in their life).
However, I never got COMPLETELY into the game. I remember hearing someone call the gameplay of Legends of Runeterra "modern without the sideboard" and that stuck with me. Everything was powerful (and that's a positive) but sometimes games really felt like a race to just do your thing without much interaction. There were also some frustrating (what felt like) 8-2 or 9-1 matchups that made queuing up a chore.
Sadly, LoR is deprioritizing PvP. The game will definitely stick around, but the game I'm reviewing is slowly going to stop existing. Wonderful TCG and I love Riot taking the risk of releasing one. Way better than Hearthstone I can tell you that.
The gameplay is an interesting flip on the (clearly inspired) Hearthstone system that's just flat out better. The way combat works forces a lot of thought. There were some great decks in each archetype. From Lee Sin one shot combo to Freljord control to Bilgewater aggro, it had all you could want.
Path of Champions was an excellent inclusion and it's obvious why that ended up being mega popular, and ultimately leading Riot to shift LoR into a PvE focused experience. They really hit it out the park with that mode.
LoR also boasts(ed) THE best monetization for digital card games. Well, I guess it wasn't he best for business reasons. However for the PLAYERS??? It was unmatched. F2P was completely viable and you never felt like you HAD to drop tons of money like Hearthstone or MTG Arena (if you didn't start those games super early in their life).
However, I never got COMPLETELY into the game. I remember hearing someone call the gameplay of Legends of Runeterra "modern without the sideboard" and that stuck with me. Everything was powerful (and that's a positive) but sometimes games really felt like a race to just do your thing without much interaction. There were also some frustrating (what felt like) 8-2 or 9-1 matchups that made queuing up a chore.
Sadly, LoR is deprioritizing PvP. The game will definitely stick around, but the game I'm reviewing is slowly going to stop existing. Wonderful TCG and I love Riot taking the risk of releasing one. Way better than Hearthstone I can tell you that.