Why MtG players should play Legends of Runeterra

Legends of Runeterra represents Riot Games’ innovative approach to the digital card game genre, set within the expansive League of Legends universe. For Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts seeking a more rewarding online experience, this game offers compelling reasons to make the switch.

While Magic: The Gathering maintains its position as the world’s premier collectible card game with millions of dedicated players globally, its digital implementations face significant challenges that impact player satisfaction.

From Magic Online’s antiquated interface to Magic: The Gathering Arena’s sluggish progression systems, if you share the frustration many MtG veterans feel about subpar online experiences, Legends of Runeterra delivers a refreshing alternative worth exploring.

Admit it: there’s no good way to play MtG online

Magic: The Gathering has encountered substantial challenges in its physical format over recent years. The accelerated release schedule combined with continuous special edition treatments, Secret Lair exclusives, and supplementary product lines have placed Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro under increased scrutiny from the community.

Simultaneously, digital adaptations of Magic present their own distinct issues. The original online version, Magic Online (also known as MODO), features an interface that appears decades outdated, reminiscent of early 2000s software design. Conversely, Magic: The Gathering Arena provides a visually polished and engaging presentation of MtG, yet struggles with inadequate player reward structures and limited card availability.

The undeniable reality remains that neither MODO nor M:tG Arena deliver particularly satisfying online card game experiences by contemporary standards, creating ongoing dissatisfaction among the Magic player base. MODO remains relevant primarily because it serves as the sole official digital platform for practicing Eternal formats including Modern, Legacy, and Vintage.

Arena maintains its position primarily due to being the more contemporary and visually appealing digital Magic option, but it substantially underdelivers on value for time investment. With these persistent problems affecting Magic’s digital presence, where should dedicated card game enthusiasts direct their attention?

What’s different between LoR and MtG?

Magic: The Gathering originated as a physical tabletop game, with Richard Garfield designing its core mechanics for face-to-face play in casual or competitive settings. This foundational design creates certain incompatibilities with purely digital implementation. Legends of Runeterra avoids these complications entirely, having been meticulously crafted from inception for exclusive online operation.

Several crucial modifications implemented by LoR position it advantageously for digital play. Instead of categorizing cards by colors as in Magic, Legends of Runeterra organizes cards by region—distinct geographical areas within the Runeterra world. Decks may incorporate cards from a maximum of two different regions.

Legends of Runeterra introduces two distinctive interpretations of standard card game mechanics. The first involves its approach to turn sequencing and round structure. The game divides rounds between defensive and offensive phases, operating similarly to turns in Magic: The Gathering.

By standard configuration, the attack token rotates between players turn by turn, although methods exist to obtain an attack token during typically defensive positions. Unlike competing titles, your mana replenishes between turns, enabling card play during both your own and your opponent’s turns.

Similar to other digital-exclusive card games, Legends of Runeterra employs a consistent mana system where both participants gain mana at identical rates. Unlike Hearthstone, for instance, players receive mana each turn rather than each complete round.

Champion Cards

Analogous to Commander cards in Magic: The Gathering, Legends of Runeterra centers around Champion cards—powerful representations of League of Legends’ playable characters. Decks may contain up to six champion cards total, with no more than three copies of any specific champion.

Each champion possesses two distinct forms—their base version and an enhanced leveled state. Achieving champion level advancement requires fulfilling unique progression conditions. Certain champions only advance while active on the battlefield or held in hand, whereas others can level up directly from within your deck. Upon leveling completion, champions transform into more potent versions, typically representing strictly superior iterations of their original forms.

Spell Mana

Concurrently, LoR incorporates a specialized system termed spell mana. When players retain unused mana at turn conclusion, up to three mana converts into spell mana reserves. Spell mana cannot deploy unit cards but remains available for spell card utilization. Maximum spell mana storage capacity never exceeds three units. This represents an ingenious solution permitting control-oriented decks to accelerate toward high-cost spells without penalizing them for limited early-game interaction.

Combining this feature with turn-by-turn mana regeneration, plus the capability to cast spells and deploy units during opponent turns ensures minimal downtime. This system prevents resource starvation or color-screw situations, facilitating more consistent interaction compared to MtG.

This framework grants players enhanced deck construction flexibility. High-cost spells become playable earlier by decks sacrificing initial board presence without forfeiting mana efficiency. Passing turns one and two enables players to unleash six total mana for significant spells by the third game turn. Magic players accustomed to slower-developing mana systems will discover this maintains engaging, rapid-paced gameplay from the outset.

LoR rewards you for your time, MtG doesn’t

Magic: The Gathering’s digital platforms share a common characteristic—their advancement and complimentary reward mechanisms progress at frustratingly slow rates. Legends of Runeterra, conversely, features one of the most generous and well-structured player compensation systems in the digital card game landscape.

Legends of Runeterra implements two distinct reward progression tracks. The first involves region-specific advancement that provides randomized cards from your chosen territory, while the second comprises weekly rewards scaling with your gameplay frequency.

Magic players disillusioned by Arena’s underwhelming Mastery progression or sluggish pack acquisition will discover Legends of Runeterra’s reward framework exceptionally revitalizing. MtG Arena’s Wildcard acquisition proceeds gradually, and MODO’s reward structure appears even more antiquated with minimal value return. Constructing the necessary units, spells, and crucially, Champion cards required for competitive deck construction occurs substantially faster.

Pro Tip: Focus your initial region progression on territories aligning with your preferred playstyle. This strategic approach accelerates your collection development toward functional competitive decks rather than random accumulation.

A whole new world and a Path of Champions

While Magic: The Gathering Arena has significantly improved match graphics and visual effects, it still trails Legends of Runeterra significantly. Legends of Runeterra not only provides voice acting for every card and numerous unique interactive elements, but also leads worldbuilding efforts for Runeterra in anticipation of League of Legends’ upcoming MMORPG currently under development.

YouTuber Necrit presents compelling arguments in his video “The World of Riot’s MMO is Already Done” explaining how Legends of Runeterra contributes to establishing Runeterra’s world foundation for future larger-scale projects.

Legends of Runeterra additionally offers Path of Champions, a player-versus-environment mode featuring extensive replay value that emulates single-player experiences similar to Slay The Spire. Participants continue receiving substantial rewards during extensive Path of Champions sessions, enabling simultaneous enjoyment of solo play and accumulation of resources for multiplayer deck construction.

The game includes a package-drafting format called Expeditions catering to Magic players who appreciate Limited formats. Drafting requires payment exclusively through in-game currency, Expedition Tokens, twice weekly, with all subsequent expeditions completely free.

For drafting enthusiasts, few superior alternatives exist compared to Legends of Runeterra. With multiple gameplay formats and abundant rewards across all modes, LoR possesses considerable advantages over digital Magic implementations.

The advantage of living in LoL’s shadow

Essentially, Legends of Runeterra doesn’t require designation as Riot Games’ most profitable product, whereas MtG Arena and MODO both represent crucial components of Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering monetization strategy. This permits implementation of more player-friendly reward structures, dynamic gameplay patterns engineered for digital exclusivity, and an evolving world foundation supporting forthcoming major gaming initiatives.

This represents a welcome variation for Magic players, who should allocate time to experience Legends of Runeterra on computer or mobile platforms.

Play-to-play, not pay-to-win

Because Legends of Runeterra incorporates Region reward tracking, players receive active encouragement to advance different territories after exhausting premium rewards from completed tracks. This represents an excellent methodology enabling players to discover regions complementing their preferred strategies and concentrate on specific archetypes.

You’ll obtain rewards from Expeditions, Path of Champions, and multiplayer matches, so reaching the stage where you can field competitive multiplayer decks requires significantly less time investment than MODO or Arena. While constructing a top-tier competitive deck within your initial week might prove challenging, consistent gameplay rapidly unlocks necessary competitive tools.

Legends of Runeterra stands as a meticulously crafted card game featuring numerous quality-of-life enhancements clearly designed by experienced card game veterans. Magic players should dedicate time to experience it, since ultimately, the game remains completely free to play.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don’t spread your resources too thinly across multiple regions simultaneously. Focus on mastering 2-3 complementary regions to build cohesive, synergistic decks rather than collecting random cards from everywhere.

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