Legends of Runeterra (LoR) is a digital collectible card game created and published by Riot Games in 2020. The game was inspired by Magic: The Gathering, a similar card game. Riot Games aimed to make a game in the same category that is easier for new players to enjoy. Since its release in April 2020, the game has been free to play. It earns money by selling cosmetic items, such as character designs and card art. The game is available on computers running Microsoft Windows and on mobile devices using iOS and Android operating systems.
Like other collectible card games, players compete one-on-one to reduce their opponent’s health to zero. Cards have different types and belong to one of ten regions—groups of cards that share similar gameplay styles. A unique feature of the game is its combat speed. Unlike many other card games, players take turns alternating between attacking and defending each round.
Many characters from League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena game made by Riot Games, appear in Legends of Runeterra. The fictional world of Runeterra, introduced through short stories, comic books, and an animated series, adds background and themes to the game’s cards.
Legends of Runeterra has received positive reviews from critics. They praise the game’s fair progression system, easy-to-learn rules, and high-quality graphics. The game has also won multiple awards in the gaming industry.
Gameplay
Legends of Runeterra is a video game where players collect and use cards to compete against each other one-on-one. At the start of each match, both players have a Nexus with 20 health points. The player whose Nexus reaches zero health first loses the game. Each player begins with four cards in their hand. They can choose to trade these cards for a new random card from their deck. Every round, both players draw one card from their deck.
To play cards, players use mana, which is a type of magic energy. Players start with zero mana and gain one additional mana crystal each round, up to a maximum of ten. At the end of each round, any unused mana up to three points is saved as spell mana. This stored mana can be used to cast spells in future rounds but cannot be used to summon unit cards.
A unique feature of the game is how attacks are managed. Each round, an "attack token" determines which player can attack and which must defend. This is shown on the game board with a sword icon for attack and a shield icon for defense. Some cards allow players to attack even if they do not have the attack token.
Each card in the game belongs to a region. In standard play, a deck can include cards from up to two regions. Regions have different styles of play and are connected to the League of Legends universe. There are no neutral cards that can be used in any deck. When the game first launched, there were three types of cards: champions, followers, and spells. Champion cards are characters from League of Legends. These cards can level up, which makes them stronger and changes all copies of the card in the player’s deck.
Unit cards, which include champions and followers, have attack and health values. Attack shows how much damage a unit can deal, while health shows how much damage a unit can take before being removed. Spell cards have a "speed" that determines when they can be played and how opponents can respond. At launch, spells had three speeds: slow, fast, and burst. Slow-speed spells cannot be used during combat and can be countered by fast or burst spells. Fast spells can be played during combat and cannot be countered. Burst spells resolve immediately without allowing a response. A fourth speed, called Focus, resolves instantly and can only be used outside of combat. Unit cards do not have a speed but end a player’s turn when played.
A new card type called landmarks was added in the Monuments of Power expansion. Landmarks are played using regular mana and take up space on the player’s board. They cannot attack or block. Some landmarks have a "countdown" mechanic, which triggers a specific effect after a set number of rounds.
Development and release
Riot Games employees thought about making a card game early in the company's history. The company has many fans who enjoy collectible card games. Legends of Runeterra's balancing director, Steve Rubin, mentioned Jeff Jew, the game's executive producer and an early Riot employee, and Andrew Yip, who are big fans of Magic: The Gathering. The game had several ideas, but Legends of Runeterra was mainly developed over three years starting in 2017. Riot hired professional Magic players to test the game early; Steve Rubin later joined the design team permanently. Rubin said the release of Artifact made the developers consider speeding up the game's launch, but they chose to improve it and aim for a larger audience instead.
A major challenge was deciding how players would get cards. An early version where players unlocked region combinations was not well received because players missed the fun of collecting all cards. Accessibility was important, so developers avoided forcing players to buy booster packs, which are random card bundles common in collectible card games. They limited how many cards players could buy with real money each week. Instead, players received random cards weekly based on how often they played, and a feature called Wild Cards allowed players to directly create desired cards. Jeff Jew said easy card collection helps developers balance the game better because players would not be upset if a deck they spent up to US$100 building became weaker.
In 2023, an update called the Emporium was added, letting players buy cards and cosmetic items with real money. The Emporium faced criticism for its prices and technical problems. Director Dave Guskin admitted these issues. The Emporium allowed players to buy chests with random cards, which went against the original plan to avoid booster packs. Card acquisition rules also changed, reducing free Wild Cards. This was later explained as a mistake where intended behavior was wrongly identified as a bug.
Legends of Runeterra was announced at Riot Games' 10th anniversary celebration of League of Legends on October 15, 2019. Applications for the closed beta began after the event. Eurogamer noted the unusual timing, considering the recent failure of Valve's Artifact and declining interest in Blizzard's Hearthstone. The first closed beta ended in October 2019. A second beta added a mode called Expeditions from November 14–19, 2019. The open beta, available to all players, started on January 24, 2020. Unlike the closed beta, items bought in the open beta carried over to the game's release.
The game launched on April 29, 2020. Although the beta was only for Windows users, the game was released on mobile platforms (iOS and Android) at launch. During beta, the game had six regions, four champion cards per region, and 294 total cards. The official launch added a new set called Rising Tides, introducing 120 new cards and a new region—Bilgewater. Sets include new mechanics and updates to existing ones. Every region received an extra champion, with Bilgewater having six.
With the second set, Call of the Mountain, Riot changed the release schedule, with each set spanning three "expansions." Call of the Mountain introduced the region of Mount Targon and was released for PC and mobile on August 26, 2020. The region of Shurima was added with the Empires of the Ascended set on March 3, 2021. The final region, Bandle City, was released on August 25, 2021, with four expansions instead of the usual three. Between region expansions, Event or Champion Expansions were added, including Aphelios for Call of the Mountain, Viego & Akshan for Empires of the Ascended, and Path of Champions for Beyond the Bandlewood. These belong to the Event Set. After Bandle City's full release in 2022, Legends of Runeterra began releasing stand-alone expansions, covering both PvP and PvE game modes. The first stand-alone expansion, Worldwalker, was released on May 25, 2022, introducing Runeterran champions.
In January 2024, Riot Games reduced the development team for Legends of Runeterra as part of a company-wide layoff affecting 530 employees. The decision was linked to the game's poor performance. After the changes, the team focused more on the PvE mode Path of Champions instead of PvP.
Reception
Legends of Runeterra received positive feedback from critics. According to Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, the game has an average score of 87 out of 100.
Many reviewers noted that the game is easy for new players to learn while still offering complex strategies. IGN’s Cam Shea gave the game a score of 9 out of 10, saying it kept its challenging features but made some parts of the game simpler, similar to how other card games like Magic: The Gathering work. Jason Coles of NME wrote that the game might be the easiest card game to play for beginners.
The game’s free-to-play model was also praised. Steven Messner of PC Gamer gave it a score of 85 out of 100 and pointed out that the game does not require players to buy booster packs, which are sets of cards sold with real money. Instead, the game uses a battle pass system that gives players many free cards and materials every week. Messner also said it is easy for players to reach the highest level in the battle pass each week.
Legends of Runeterra was nominated for Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2020. It was named iPad Game of the Year for 2020 by Apple. The game also won Mobile Game of the Year at the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, given by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.