Riot's take on the online card game genre, breadth of card game titles and melds them into one seamlessly. Providing one of the most addicting, rewarding, and most importantly, relatively free-to-play titles the genre has seen in recent years. With a cast of champions, followers, elites, spells, and plenty other League of Legends features to provide an endearing and deep selection of creatures and gear. Corresponding with its source material, the game is simply a solid card game, with a deep but engaging rule set that opens the possibility for big combos, a variety of playstyle, and intense white-knuckle games. Legends of Runeterra is one of the best games to emerge from the genre in recent years.
For a new player approaching Legends of Runeterra, there will certainly be a lot to learn and adjust to. From the simple back and forth rules of the game to the variety of card names, factions, and other factors. Runeterra is incredibly fun when you master all of the rules and systems but it can be incredibly confusing for new players. One such confusing element of the rising card game title is the Keyword system. Think of Keywords as a Champion's or Follower's ability and each one has a very different or drastic impact on the course of a match. Legends of Runeterra contain a variety of different keyword all of which have a plethora of different effects and utility. The sheer amount of keywords in the game may be overwhelming for a new player. This guide will explain every Keyword in the game to ease the learning curve for new players.
Explaining the Keywords of Legends of Runeterra
Each keyword impacts a deck's playstyle, deck building, synergy, and overall utility greatly. With a bounty of different effects, understanding what the different keywords of Legends of Runeterra mean and how they impact a game is a piece of crucial information. Mastering your deck's different keywords or understanding your opponent's keywords may be the difference between victory and defeat. Here are all the keywords currently in the game explained.
- Allegiance- Cards with the Allegiance keyword gain a buff if the top card of your deck is from the same region as they are.
- Attune- Cards with Attunement fill your excess mana bar when played.
- Barrier- Cards with Barrier simply can take one hit of combat damage without losing life.
- Burst- Spells that cannot be interrupted by your opponent, they resolve instantly. Preventing your opponent from responding to their effects.
- Can't Block- These cards cannot be used to block attacks.
- Capture- A Captured unit is removed from the field and is connected to its "capturing" unit. When their capturing unit is defeated the Captured unit returns.
- Challenger- Challenger units can choose which defender blocks their attack.
- Deep- Units gain a powerful buff when a player's decks reach below 15 cards.
- Double Attack- Attacks before and at the same time as a defending unit.
- Drain- These cards will remove health from an enemy and replenish the player's nexus who cast this particular card.
- Elusive- Elusive cards can only be blocked by other Elusive units.
- Enlightened- When their master has 10 Mana these cards gain a powerful buff.
- Ephemeral- Ephemeral units die the turn they were summoned and attack.
- Fast- Spells that can be played at any time, but the opponent responds afterward.
- Fearsome- Units with Fearsome have to be blocked by units with 3 or more attack.
- Fleeting- Fleeting cards will discard, if not played, at the end of a round.
- Frostbite- Lowers a unit's attack to 0 and prevents them from attacking.
- Immobile- Immobile units cannot be played for Attack or to Block.
- Last Breath- Units with Last Breath have a powerful effect when they die.
- Lifesteal- Lifesteal units replenish their master's nexus when they deal damage to the enemy player.
- Nexus Strike- After a unit with this keyword attacks an enemy's nexus an effect will trigger.
- Obliterate- Completely removes a unit from the game. Any Last Breath effects will not trigger.
- Overwhelm- An Overwhelm unit's attack will do damage if a blocking unit's defense is lower than the Overwhelm unit's attack.
- Plunder- After an enemy has direct damage done to their nexus, a Plunder unit's effect will trigger when its played.
- Quick Attack- Quick Attack allows a unit to strike before their blocker.
- Recall- Returns a unit back to its owner's hand.
- Regeneration- Any damage this unit has received will be healed at the end of the round.
- Scout- Scout units, when they attack first, will allow their allies to attack again. So when a Scout unit attacks before their allies that player will be allowed to attack a second time.
- Slow- Slow spells cannot be cast during combat. They must be played during a moment when a player could play a unit instead. The opponent can play something afterward in response.
- Strike- When a unit does damage with its power an effect will trigger.
- Stun- Similar to Frostbite. However, it does not reduce a unit's power to 0 but it prevents them from attacking or blocking.
- - units provide powerful effects for their allies during attacks. However, the ing unit must be played to the left of their ed unit. So to activate a unit's ability, an ally must be played to their right during an attack.
- Toss- Toss spells or unit effects will remove a set number of cards from that player's deck.
- Tough- Tough units take one less damage than they normally would. So 4 attack would be reduced to 3.
- Trap- Traps attach to a unit and when its associate card is drawn it will trigger the effect.
- Vulnerable- Vulnerable is an effect similar to challenger, however, when a unit is stuck with the vulnerable effect they can be singled out either attacking units.
Legends of Runeterra is available now on PC, by ing the app on the Riot Store.
