Once the beta ends, when a card set is released, three balance patches will be rolled out throughout the months. The first and third will be medium tweaks, while the second’s goal is to offer significant updates to underutilized cards and champions. Also, upcoming patches will make deck building in-game animations smoother than they currently are.
Here are the card changes for the first major Legends of Runeterra beta patch:
Legends of Runeterra 0.9.0 Patch Notes
Champions
Lux (Level 1) Power: 3 → 4 Health: 4 → 5
Lux (Level 2) Power: 4 → 5 Health: 5 → 6
Yasuo (Level 1) Level up: You Stun or Recall 6+ units → You Stun or Recall 5+ units
Spells and Followers
Back to Back Cost: 5 → 6
Arena Battlecaster Health: 1 → 2
Crimson Curator Health: 2 → 3
Deny Cost: 3 → 4
Inspiring Mentor Health: 1 → 2 Old text: Play: Grant an ally in hand + 1|1 New text: Play: Grant an ally in hand + 1|0
Jewelled Protector Power: 3 → 4 Health: 3 → 4
Kinkou Lifeblade Health: 3 → 2
Commander Ledros Cost: 8 → 9 Power: 8 → 9 Old text: Play: Cut the enemy Nexus Health in half. New text: Play: Cut the enemy Nexus Health in half, rounded up.
Rhasa, the Sunderer Cost: 7 → 8
Scuttlegeist Keywords: None → [Fearsome]
Tortured Prodigy Power: 3 → 4
Wraithcaller Keywords: [Fearsome] → None
For Legends of Runeterra players, this patch brings some much-needed additions to the developing card game. Shadow Isles and Ionia received a majority of these nerfs, which makes sense because those two factions are seeing the most play. Deny getting a mana cost upgrade so it can’t just be played with leftover Spell mana makes the card less broken, while still maintaining its viability. Inspiring Mentor no longer buffs health, making turn-two minions or Knikou Lifeblade less sticky and obnoxious compete against. Now you’ll actually stand a chance if you don’t curve out in the first few turns.
The changes to Shadow Isles minions like Ledros and Rhasa needed to happen. Seeing a Commander Ledros on turn eight cut through half your Nexus health rounded down was very discouraging and ruins control decks. Increasing the mana cost and forcing the card to round up makes him a little less frustrating to play against. Similar comments can be made about Rhasa the Sunderer, who now take an extra turn before killing two minions.
Demacia got the shortest end of the stick in these patch notes, with their best spell, Back to Back, getting a higher mana cost. As someone who’s lost multiple minions to buffed up weaklings, this nerf is extremely welcome.
The changes to Yasuo and Lux are unlikely to turn them into viable picks, but, now if you are stuck with them in Expedition, it shouldn’t be as difficult to play.
This patch should be hitting live servers sometime this week.
