Legends of Runeterra in comparison
Exploring Riot Games new collectible card game by comparing it to its main competitors
Whenever the creators of League of Legends announce a new game, it is always going to make a big splash. Moving into the field of collectible card games is a bold move for Riot Games, as it’s a field already dominated by successful games.
What has Legends of Runeterra done to help it stand out from the crowd?
To explore this I’ve chosen to compare the game against the two most popular CCG games right now, Hearthstone and Magic the Gathering Arena (the latest video game version of the hugely popular physical TCG).
Legends of Runeterra (LoR) can be seen as a hybrid of the two games, borrowing some of the best ideas from both to create a distinct experience.
Here are some of the aspects in which this games are similar and different.
Mana
The mana system in LoR is almost identical to the system in Hearthstone. Each player has a set amount of mana that increases, one per turn, up to a maximum of ten. This ensures that the increase in mana is steady and consistent in each game. There is no coloured mana, or land cards that have to be drawn to increase your mana pool, as in Magic.
LoR does have one additional feature that allows players to use their mana more efficiently. Excess mana from a turn (up to a maximum of three) is retained in a separate mana pool that can only be spent on spells. This mechanic means that there is less pressure to use all of your mana in one turn in order to play efficiently, as it can be beneficial to save mana in order to cast powerful spells earlier
Limited number of minions
LoR, just like Hearthstone, has a limit on the number of minions that can be played at any one time, 6 in LoR vs 7 in Hearthstone. This means that it can be a good strategy to sacrifice your minions in losing attacks to make space for more powerful ones.
Another reason for this limit is making the games mobile friendly. Hearthstone is available on iOS and Android devices, and LoR has announced that it will be coming to both these platforms. Both games are designed to work well with the smaller screen size and touch controls, and keeping number of minions in play low helps to simplify the experience for a better mobile gaming experience.
Magic has no such limit. Games can involve 20 plus minions with attached equipment, as well as Planeswalker characters and active spell effect cards also in play at the same time. As it was originally created as a physical card game, there was no consideration for how the game could be played on a smartphone, mostly because smartphones did not exist in 1993. It is probably for this reason that there is not yet a mobile version of Magic, despite the game being out for PC for over a year. The experience is not one that can be easily adapted to mobile.
Attacking and defending
The process of attacking your opponent in LoR plays like a streamlined version of Magic’s attacks. In both you attack by declaring your attacking cards. It is then up to your opponent to decide whether to block each attacker, or allow the attack to pass and reduce their life points directly.
The key difference is that in LoR only one minion can block each attacker. In Magic you can block with multiple minions and combine their attack power to overwhelm an attacker. In LoR if you do not have a minion with enough attack power, then you will not be able to kill the attacker this turn without additional spells or effect.
In contrast in Hearthstone each minion (or a hero with attack power) can direct their attack at any enemy minion or the enemy hero. The only way the opponent can control who blocks is by playing minions with the Taunt keyword, that prevents any other target being attacked until all Taunt minions are killed first. There is no equivalent keyword in Magic or LoR, because most minions can be used to block attacks.
Minion health
The way Legends of Runeterra handles minion’s health along with the attacking system, is where the hybrid nature of the game is most clearly seen. As we have seen attacking is done similarly to Magic, however unlike Magic, and more like Hearthstone, damage done to minions is permanent.
At the end of each turn in Magic, minions that were damaged but not killed fully recover. In order to kill a minion you have to inflict a lethal amount of damage in one turn.
Whereas in LoR you can block with one minion one turn, weaken the enemy minion, and then block again in order to kill them. Or damage the minion enough that it can’t be used to block without dying. There is a lot of strategic potential in choosing when and how to inflict damage that is not present in Magic, which is an interesting new aspect of LoR.
Classes
In all the games we are looking at, cards are divided into classes that contain cards that synergise well together and enable specific strategies.
The classes in Legends of Runeterra (called Regions) work similarly to Colors in Magic, in that you can combine multiple classes (limited to 2 in LoR)in your decks. Hearthstone decks are limited to one class per deck.
This means there are a total of 21 possible broad deck types that can be made just by combining the 6 regions in LoR (including single region decks). In comparison, there are nine class type decks in Hearthstone, although there are many more in Magic, because in Magic it is possible to create decks using three or even four different colors.
Turn order and counter play
This is the one aspect in which Legends of Runeterra really distinguishes itself from the competition. Its approach to when and how you can counter your opponent’s moves is truly unique.
The game is broken down into short turns in which each player can play a card and/or declare and attack. Turns are grouped into rounds, and actions that would normally take place each turn, drawing a card and refreshing and increasing your mana pool, only happen at the end of a round. One player attacks and one defends each round alternately.
What this means is that almost every time you make a move, your opponent has the opportunity to counter it. Compare this with Magic, where only Instant cards can be played outside your turn, and Hearthstone where Secrets are your only means of countering on your opponent’s turn. This creates the feel of a game which is a constant push and pull, play and counter play, where the aim is not just to execute your strategy, but to act at the right moment so as not to be countered.
This results in a game where strategy and how you play is equally important, or even more so, than the cards you choose or how large your collection is. Being pay to win is a criticism that has been levelled at Hearthstone before, it is refreshing to see a CCG whereyou are not so disadvantaged by not being willing to spend money on a free game.
Familiar but its own beast
While Legends of Runeterra is clearly inspired by the games that came before it, and borrows many of their key mechanics, Hearthstone’s simplified mana pool and Magic’s attack model, it goes beyond these. Modifying and building on the existing ideas of what a CCG should be in order to create an experience that is familiar, but distinct enough in key areas to feel like a new and intriguing experience. Players of both Hearthstone and Magic, and likely other similar games, will find a lot they recognise in this new game, but hopefully also enough that feels new and different too.