The 12 Best Cards in the New Legends of Runeterra Expansion

Gather round for this rundown of the 12 best new cards to add to your deck in the latest Legends of Runeterra expansion! Called Call of the Mountain, it brings a whole host of mysterious creatures, celestial beings and powerful warriors from the Targon region, and these are the strongest of the bunch.

The 12 Best Cards in the New Legends of Runeterra Expansion Cover

There are hundreds of different cards you can use in Riot Game’s League of Legends-based online card game, Legends of Runeterra. A brand new set called Call of the Mountain was recently added to the game, and there’s a lot of fresh strategies and powerful units to try out. It’s based on the mountain of Targon, which is one of the regions in the world of League of Legends. I’ve been playing it a lot, and so I thought I’d put together a list of the 12 cards I think are the strongest cards in the set. Before we get started, let me preface this list by saying these are just one person’s opinions based on a week or so of game time. There are lots of new cards to experiment with in the new Legends of Runeterra expansion but these are the ones that truly stick out to me.

1. Aurelion Sol

This guy is the ultimate late-game powerhouse in the new Legends of Runeterra expansion. He’s the first 10 mana champion in the game, which is the maximum a champion can cost. And who else could claim that title but the forger of stars himself, Aurelion Sol. He creates random celestials every round, and when he levels up he allows you to play them for free, which pretty much ends the game instantly in most situations. He’s tough to get on the board since you can’t play him until much later in the game. However, with the amount of healing cards in the game now it’s easier to get to late-game than ever before. He’s the reason why people are trying to play more aggressive decks, and he’s really hard to remove due to his free spell shield.

Aurelion Sol, the Star Forger

Aurelion Sol, the Star Forger

2. Hush

Hush was a terrifying concept when it was first revealed, and in practice it’s a game-changing spell that can totally shut down an otherwise game-winning attack. It’s a temporary silence that creates a fleeting copy of itself, meaning you can silence up to 4 units in a single turn. This is a great card because many strategies rely on building up for a big attack. Hush ensures that the opponent’s strongest units are nerfed in combat, and you can use it defensively too. It’s burst speed so there’s nothing your opponent can do. It might not be super useful at all stages of the game due to its temporary nature, but Hush can be devastating when played at the right time.

3. Lulu

Lulu is one of the strongest champions added in Call of the Mountain. Not because of her stat line, which is a modest 2/3 for 3 mana, but because of her ability to boost allies to 4/4. This pairs amazingly well with early-game challengers like Fleetfeather Tracker, allowing you to pick off enemies with ease. She’s easy to level up too, and when she does you get a free barrier every turn which means she synergises super well with Shen. If you’ve got a well-developed board and a solid curve, Lulu can help you end games incredibly quickly. This is especially true if you’re against late-game oriented decks like Aurelion Sol/Trundle. Overall she’s my favourite new champion to play with and a super dangerous one, too.

Lulu, the terrifying new champion from Ionia

Lulu, the terrifying new champion from Ionia

4. Leona

Leona is a simple champion, but she’s very powerful, too. When she levels up she basically just stuns the strongest enemy whenever you activate Daybreak. This is a great way of shutting down your opponent’s board. This gets even crazier when you combine her with Rahvun who lets you play Daybreak cards at any time. She can level up extremely quickly too – she’s one of the easiest champions to level up in the game. She’s 4 mana but if you have a good curve and play 3 Daybreak units before turn 4 you can level her up instantly. This makes her a massive threat and one of the best champions in Targon.

5. Solari Priestess

A measly 3 mana 1/2 might not seem like a great card on its own, but Solari Priestess is the best Invoke card in the game in my opinion. Unlike any of the other Invoke cards, this one limits your Celestial choices to 4, 5 or 6 mana cards. That means the pool is a lot smaller and you’re far more likely to pick up a great card. One of the best choices is Golden Sister, which generates two units with some amazing keywords. You can also choose to obliterate one of your opponent’s cards, which can put a huge dent in their board. If all else fails you can grab The Traveler, which let’s you invoke again and get another free card. Consistency is the important trait that this card has over other Invoke cards. You’re not rolling the dice as much because you know you’re going to have great options every time.

Solari Priestess is one of the best new followers in the expansion

Solari Priestess is one of the best new followers in the expansion

6. Solari Shieldbearer

Unlike most of the cards on this list, Solari Shieldbearer isn’t a card that’s gonna change the course of the game by itself. What it is instead is a giant blocker for anyone hoping to attack in the early game. Playing this pretty much means your opponent can’t trade into it for that turn. The immense 4 health it gains on the round it’s played is enough to stop almost anything. It’s 2 mana, so it’s incredibly cheap and allows you to easily stall out against early aggression. Sure, the health gain isn’t permanent, but often just having this card on the board will completely prevent an opponent’s attack. It has a respectable 3 damage too, so it can kill most of the early units it’ll be blocking. This includes champions like Draven or Jinx who usually get huge early pressure with Quick Attack. It’s an essential card for Daybreak decks and one of the strongest 2 mana followers in the game.

7. Mentor of the Stones

At first I didn’t think Mentor of the Stones was very good. It has a terrible 1/1 statline so it’s only going to last for 1 turn. In practice though, it’s actually really good. It grants 2/2 permanently to an ally when it supports them, and when it dies it creates 3 gems. This is a much stronger effect than I initially realised. Gems help champions like Taric or Lee Sin a lot by accelerating their level-ups. This actually makes your opponent reconsider blocking this guy sometimes if they don’t want their opponent to level-up. For a 3-mana card this support unit offers some pretty crazy value. You can start boosting allies from as early as turn 3, which puts you ahead of the curve pretty handily.

Mentor of the Stones can boost your allies to new heights

Mentor of the Stones can boost your allies to new heights

8. Pale Cascade

Pale Cascade is an amazing combat trick that lets you boost someone’s stats and draw a card at the same time. This is super powerful, but it’s balanced by having Nightfall. This means you only get both effects if you played another card earlier in the turn. Despite this, the spell is super nice to have in almost any Targon deck. There aren’t many decks out there that don’t benefit from simultaneous card draw and stat boosts. It’s burst speed so your opponent can’t react, and it synergises well with cards like Taric too.

9. Young Witch

Another 1/1 unit that turns out to be a huge game-changer is the Young Witch. She’s a support card that gives her ally +1 damage and Quick Attack. This is powerful, but she’s even better because she’s elusive, meaning she can’t be blocked by most cards. She pairs well with early-game challengers and works spectacularly with Lulu. I even used her in a Swole Squirrel deck, which turns a meme card into a genuine threat. She’s basically a much better Legion Drummer because that card can be easily blocked, unlike this mischievous witch. Even though she’s easily killed off by damaging spells, Young Witch is a surprisingly versatile support card and a really fun follower to play around with.

Young Witch is one of the best support cards in the expansion

Young Witch is one of the best support cards in the expansion

10. Troll Chant

Troll Chant is basically Elixir of Iron on steroids. Not only does it give one of your cards +2 health, but it also takes 2 damage away from an opposing card. This means you can potentially win two trades at once for just 2 mana. It’s burst speed too, so it’s completely safe. This card is honestly insane. Frankly, this was the card I was most worried about before release. It seemed to be pretty absurd in theory, and in practice, it’s not too far off. Only time will tell whether this card proves to be too strong, but personally I’d include it in almost any Freljord deck by default. Maybe I’m overrating it, but Troll Chant is one of the best spells in Call of the Mountain.

11. The Infinite Mindsplitter

What seems like a slightly stronger Yone at first actually turns out to be a devastating game-ender that’s incredibly difficult to remove. This cosmic horror-esque dragon allows you to permanently stun two enemies as long as it’s on the board. This is absolutely terrifying to see if you’re relying on certain units to win. This card also has Fury, which gives it 1/1 every time it kills something. That might not seem too crazy on a big bulky late-game card like Mindsplitter but it gives it some extra longevity and makes it even tougher to deal with. The main reason it’s here is just because of that incredibly powerful effect, though. It may not be as immediate as Yone, but in the long run, you can essentially perma-stun your opponents’ strongest units if you play it right.

The Infinite Mindsplitter is a pretty mindblowing new addition to the game

The Infinite Mindsplitter is a pretty mindblowing new addition to the game

12. Lunari Shadestalker

Lastly, the Lunari Shadestalker is one of the best cheap followers you can add to your deck in the new expansion. She becomes elusive if you play her after another card in the turn, which is really nice to have early on. She won’t be blocked in combat most of the time, so you’re free to go for direct nexus damage. With 3 health she becomes difficult to remove and her damage really adds up overtime – especially if you get multiple copies of her on the board. She’s a strong card for sure, and she’s essential in Nightfall decks.

Conclusion

And that’s pretty much it for this list. Some honourable mentions would include Starshaping, Rahvun, Trundle and Lunari Duskbringer, and I’m sure there will be a few cards I’m underrating, too. There are lots of strong cards in the Targon expansion and it’s still quite new to players, so no doubt we’ll see some more cards rising up in the future. Do you agree with these choices? If not, which cards would you add to the list?

The Legends of Runeterra expansion is available to play now for free on PC or on mobile. And if you’d like to check some more information about the Targon expansion for Legends of Runeterra, here’s a handy video that breaks down everything new to the game.

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