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Legends of Runeterra: Empires of the Ascended expansion - everything you need to know

 Legends of Runeterra: Empires of the Ascended expansion - everything you need to know

For all of us League of Legends fans, learning and discovering new features from the world of Runeterra is always an exciting experience. And really, who hasn't been excited since April 2020 when we got to dive into the world of Legends of Runeterra firsthand?

Today we're going to hype that even more, by giving you some in-depth details about the latest expansion announced for Legends of Runeterra, which is called Empires of the Ascended. With this expansion, a plethora of new features, cards, characters and customizations will be released into the game, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

I won't beat around the bush anymore, because I am sure you're as excited as I am to check out all of these new features and start planning for your next few decks. So, let's take a look at everything that Empires of the Ascended will bring to LoR!

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A new (major) region will be available in the game: Shurima

Shurima is one of the biggest, most important regions in the world of Runeterra, alongside Demacia, Noxus, Freljord and Ionia. Of course, there are other regions too (Piltover, Zaun, Bilgewater, Shadow Isles, Mount Targon), but these 5 are some of the largest in terms of land and population. At least, the living population, hence why I didn't mention Shadow Isles.

From Shurima we will learn more about the game, as well as what this region means in terms of symbolism, ethic, and the cards' core mechanics. In Shurima the key elements we will encounter throughout the cards is time, the Glory of the Ascended (and how important actually is for the lives of Shurimans), as well as how harsh life in the desert can be.

New card mechanics

Countdown
- Round Start: I count down 1. At 0, destroy me and activate the Countdown effect. (i.e. Buried Sand Disk, Salt Spire, Stasis Statue)

Countdown is a mechanic that is meant to explain what time really means for Shurima, which is power. The more time passes, the stronger cards get, and that will transition exceptionally well the longer a game wears on.

legends of runeterra expansion

Predict
- Pick a card from among 3 in your deck. Shuffle the deck and put that card on top. (i.e. Aspiring Chronomancer, Khahiri the Returned, Ancient Preparations)

Predict is the mechanic that expresses the inevitability of time, translating it (or rather, almost manipulating it) into the cards. It basically lets you choose between 3 cards from your deck, shuffling said deck and placing the chosen card on top so it will be picked next.

Reputation
- Activates if allies have struck for 5+ damage at least 4 times this game. (i.e. Sivir's Ricochet, Inner Sanctum, Callous Bonecrusher)

Reputation symbolizes the strength and glory of Shurimans and it's translated into the game by dealing consistent damage to the enemy. It basically lets you play certain Reputation-trait cards for cheaper if you've dealt 5+ damage to the opponent, at least 4 times.

110 new Cards have been added

Not to give you a heart attack, but if you thought you had it all figured out in terms of decks, I'm here to put a nail in that plan. With the Empires of the Ascended expansion, 110 new cards have been added into the game! That's a lot of new mechanics and traits to look out for. 

You can check the list of all the new cards on Mobalytics

Empires of the Ascended

9 new Champions have been added

Azir

Azir, the emperor of Shurima finally makes an appearance in the game. If you build a Shurima deck, I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed! Just like in League of Legends, Azir needs to scale. However, when he does (once Azir reaches level 3), he's going to absolutely obliterate the enemy's deck no matter how powerful it is (trust me, I've tried it).

Nasus

The stacks God himself, Nasus, is another champion that will join Legends of Runeterra. He takes time to scale, but once he reaches level 3, he will wither the entire enemy board, rendering all opponents basically useless.

Renekton

The angry brother of Nasus, Renekton, was bound to be the next on the list of champions released with Empires of the Ascended. He's a strong Shuriman champion rocking a mean Overwhelm that will really start to pop off once he's leveled up.

Sivir

A powerful and durable unit that can share her keywords with her allies can really make any deck interesting, to say the least.

Taliyah

Her power supports landmarks, making her a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to her core ability to manipulate sand, stone, and everything earth, Taliyah will duplicate landmarks on the board while dealing plenty of damage.

Kindred

Although not a shuriman pair, Lamb and Wolf (also known as Kindred) will unite into the land of Runeterra to deliver swift death to enemies.

Lissandra

The Ice Witch herself is another champion joining Legends of Runeterra. She can create crazy-powerful frozen Watchers who are actually just as strong as you might fear.

Jarvan IV

Jarvan IV is a really powerful Demacian unit that will complement any deck that benefits from defensive buffs - not to say that offensive ones will fall short.

LeBlanc

This powerful mage is as threatening in LoR as she is on the rift - she can mimic spells and that should be enough said to get an idea of just how strong and versatile this card can be.

new game mode

New Game Mode

If you've played LoR for a while, then chances are you've taken part in the occasional battle in the Lab. Well, if you thought 1v1 was as crazy as it could get, you were dead wrong.

United Front PvP is a 2v2 PvP tag-team battle that is as fun as it can be threatening. Team up with a friend (or a random player) and devastate the enemies with unique card combinations and tilt-worthy plays!

Empires of the Ascended Event Pass

The Empires of the Ascended Event Pass will be fairly similar to the previous event passes (K/DA, Spirit Blossom). By playing games you will be earning Sun Discs that you can then exchange for various rewards, including Shurima-themed Guardian variants (Cosmo is the best hands-down), Card Backs, Prismatic Cards, and a lot more.

If you purchase the Event Pass before March 16th, you will get an exclusive quest that rewards you with 10 Sun Discs and a Rare Prismatic Chest.

Event period: March 3rd - March 31st

Shuriman-themed cosmetic additions

  • New Emotes featuring Azir, Renekton, Nasus, and LeBlanc
  • New Shurima-themed Ascended Oasis Board
  • New Card Backs featuring Azir, Renekton, Nasus, and Taliyah

Other Features

  • Region Road has been increased by 4 levels for Demacia, Noxus, Freljord and Shadow Isles
  • Added Shurima Region Road, which features 25 levels
  • Champion Mastery has been added - it works in a similar way to the one in League of Legends. When playing a certain champion over and over again, you will gain mastery points with them - the more you play them, the better!
  • New challenges, new quests, new Expeditions archetypes
  • Last but not least, the maximum deck slots has been increased! Now you can have up to 50 decks instead of 30, which is definitely one of my favourite parts about this expansion!
Want more Legends of Runeterra news and guides? Check out LoR hub! 
Cristina Mesesan
Cristina Mesesan
Cristina is a lifelong gamer who also loves digital art, she's worked as an animator and tried some game level designing in Unity. Her biggest passion is pixel games (Stardew, To the Moon), and she adores writing and sharing her knowledge about games.