The best Runeterra Legends cards released in 2021

Riot Games’ digital collectible card game Legend of Runeterra hit the ground running in 2021 with the release of multiple expansion packs and the well-received alternative game mode, Path of Champions.

Through two sets and six expansions of the year, the pool has been replenished with 88 different champions and a new region, Bandle City. This brought dual zone cards into the game.

The year brings some of the game’s most powerful cards to a built-in field that changes dramatically with each expansion released. This is the best LoR cards from 2021.

Aphelios

The Nightfall Champion Has Joined LoR at the tail end of The call of the mountain the set. In the first half of 2021, Aphelios dominates the rankings when paired with Twisted Fate. The Bilgewater and Targon Decks fire multiple spells each turn to control the board and quickly level up both champions.

Aphelios’ design allows for a great toolbox style game plan with his five moon weapons. Each card helps at different stages of the game and creates an interesting loop of playing and cycling through moon weapons similar to League of Legends partner.

Even so, the moon weapons have been heavily nerfed when turning them into a three-price tag. The difference between the two initial costs and the extra energy eliminated much of the gameplay that was difficult to interact with. Since his nerf, Aphelios has ceased to be part of the meta, but his design is still a high point for LoR.

Nami

Nami debuted in the last episode of the year, Beyond the Bandlewood, and immediately took over the meta. The card’s design is interesting and captures the energy of Attune and the bank. The initial leveling up condition to gain seven magic energy was too strong. Nami can level up on the third turn and start giving +2/+1 units for each spell cast.

Raising her leveling condition to eight magic mana was enough to balance her out. Now, she’s in a good position as a useful support, not the dominant force she debuted.

Shaped stone

This Shurima spell from Empires of the Ascended is one of the last cards of this deck. This single-price Burst spell is solid on its own and gets better in a landmark deck. Initial card for one unit + 3 / + 1 if you played Landmark in that game. It’s an extremely effective spell, almost guaranteed to force trade-offs.

Reducing boost stats to +2 / + 1 helps balance cards while remaining competitive in Shurima decks. When looking back Empires of the Ascended and beyond as the Pantheon deck grows, the Shaped Stone will be one of the key cards released in 2021.

Poppy

The Poppy release date is a monstrous card. When released, this card grants itself and other allies equal or less power +1 / + 1 when attacked. With a base strength of four at level one, Poppy takes down on turn four and activates a massive attack. At the card’s peak in the weeks following its release Go beyond Bandlewood, Poppy is by far the most played champion in the game.

Poppy is nerfed and ability adjusted to only give allies +1 / + 1 bonus. This made the best card in the game a solid contributor to the two-area compilation.

Irelia

Aggro deck in Runeterra are split between quick attack decks and burning decks that use a combination of units and spells. Irelia levels up when 14 allies attack. This can be easily achieved when combined with Azir. The combination of Azir and Irelia makes for one of the fastest decks in the game.

What makes Irelia one of the best cards of the year is her versatility. Ionia is a region with many important archetypes, and Irelia is one of the better Ionian champions for aggressive decks.

Conserve

Not every card in your deck is a threat. Each list should have a key card number that smooths the draws and helps trigger your core game plan. The Preservarium is a sturdy glue stick that ties together various Shurima listings.

The Preservarium draws one card then two turns then draws you another card. This card has a lot of effects on the Shurima deck. The countdown activates the landmark skill on champions like Ziggs and Taliyah. Draw the card to find the finisher or the answer to the opponent’s threat.

The fugitive

Ruin Runner is one of the best players in the game in the summer of 2021. On release, 6 followers | This 4 entered the field with Spellshield and Overwhelm. It was a hard-to-kill threat that laughed at rogue blockers and emptied the first elimination spell used on it. Ruin Runner packs champion-level impact into a five-cost tracker.

Finally, the card has its health reduced to three, which makes it more vulnerable to kills in teamfights and vulnerable to a range of discard spells.