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Empires of the Ascended Guide - Mechanics, Cards, Shurima, Champions

March 3rd, 2021 | Hades4u
The Empires of the Ascended update is finally here with 110 new cards including 9 new champions, new mechanics and keywords, plus a new region, Shurima! Let's briefly go through and learn what's new! :)

You can find all the new Legends of Runeterra Empires of the Ascended cards in our Card Database!


Shurima Champions


Coming from the greatest empire ever known in Runeterra, the champions of Shurima are joining the battle with new keywords and unique cards!

Nasus



Nasus is able to level up twice and brings a new keyword called Slay. He starts at 2/2 and gains +1/+1 for each unit you've slain. Once he reaches 10+ damage in a single strike, he levels up, moving him to a 3/3 while maintaining his +1/+1 buff for each enemy slain, also giving all enemies -1/0. Restoring the Sun Disc levels him up, turning him into a 10/10 unit who keeps his +1/+1 for each slain enemy, as well as now granting all enemies -3/0. Good luck stopping that!

Slay - You get credit for slaying an ally or enemy if one of your cards kills it via damage, strike, or direct kill effect.

Renekton



Renekton can also level up twice, just like his brother, and brings a new keyword called Cooldown. Once Renekton deals 12+ total damage, he levels up to a 5/5 who gets an additional +3/+3 while attacking. If you can restore the Sun Disc, he levels up again to become a 10/10 who deals 2 damage to all enemies and the enemy Nexus every time he attacks or blocks. Painful!


Cooldown - Round Start: I count down 1. At 0, destroy me and activate the Countdown effect.

Taliyah



Taliyah gets to summon landmarks when she is played. Once 5 landmarks have been summoned, she levels up. When leveled, Taliyah deals 2 damage to the enemy blocker or Nexus, and if there are any landmarks, she deals that extra damage an additional two times. She brings a new keyword called Predict.

Predict - Pick a card from among 3 in your deck. Shuffle the deck and put that card on top.

Sivir



Sivir is a 5/3 with Spellshield and Quick Attack. Sivir doesn't level up until you've dealt a cumulative 35+ damage throughout the game. Once you do manage to level her up, she becomes a 6/4 and grants all attacking allies her keywords while attacking. She maintains quick attack and Spellshield as well, so if you can get a few extra keywords on her, there's no telling what your board might look like! Joining her is a new keyword called Reputation!

Reputation - Activates if allies have struck for 5+ damage at least 4 times this game.

Azir



Azir is a 1/5 that summons Sand Soldiers whenever allies attack. Once 10 Sand Soldiers have been summoned, he levels up to 2/6 and buffs any ally that is summoned and himself with +1 damage that round. To level up once again, the Sun Disc must be restored. At the next level, Azir becomes 6/6 and your deck is replaced with the Emperor's deck. Instead of summoning Sand Soldiers, Sandstone Chargers will be summoned instead.


Shurima Decks


If you want to find decks for Shurima champions look no further! We have deck lists dedicated to each Shurima champion:


Other Champions


On top of the champions for the new region Shurima, Riot has added several more champions to join your decks!

Lissandra - Freljord



When Lissandra is summoned, she summons a Frozen Thrall, a landmark with the new Countdown keyword. Once the countdown reaches 0, the Frozen Thrall landmark becomes a Frostguard Thrall, an 8-cost, 8/8 unit with Overwhelm. Lissandra levels up once you've summoned 2+ allies that cost 8+, and when she levels she not only gains +1/+1 and a fleeting 0-cost Ice Shard in hand at the start of each round, she also grants your Nexus tough and adds a Watcher in hand. One of the most unique win-conditions in the game!

Jarvan IV - Demacia



Jarvan IV is a 5/3 with Barrier whom you can force to challenge the strongest enemy by re-paying his cost when attacking. He levels up when allies survive 4+ strikes from blockers, and that grants him a new round start ability. Jarvan IV creates a fleeting Jarvan IV's Cataclysm in hand, which gives one ally a free attack with Challenging. Jarvan IV also regains his barrier whenever he challenges once leveled!

LeBlanc - Noxus



LeBlanc is a 5/2 with Quick Attack, who levels up once you deal 15+ damage. Upon doing so, she becomes a 6/3 with Quick Attack, and each time she sees you deal 15+ damage, she grants you a Mirror Image in hand (or reduces the cost of any in hand by 1, if you already have one).

Kindred - Shadow Isles



Kindred is a 4/4 with Quick Attack, the first time you slay an enemy in a round, the weakest enemy is then marked. At the end of the round, any marked enemies are killed. When Kindred sees you slay 2 enemies with her mark, she levels up to a 5/5 and is now also granted +2/+2 the first time you slay an enemy each round, in addition to maintaining her unleveled marking ability.


New Champion Decks


Once again if you'd like to try out some decks for the new champions in Empires of the Ascended take a look at their deck lists:


Empires of the Ascended Mechanics and Keywords Recap


LoR Empires of the Ascended comes with an array of new mechanics and keywords. We've already covered some of them above, but let's quickly recap!

Slay



Slay text reads "You get credit for slaying an ally or enemy if one of your cards kills it via damage, strike, or direct kill effect". This is going to greatly help enable and level up champions that are reliant on kills, such as Nasus.

Countdown



Countdown text reads "Round Start: I count down 1. At 0, destroy me and activate the Countdown effect". Strong effects that you have to plan ahead for, since they take some time to activate. The longer the cooldown, the stronger the effect the keyword is going to have!

Predict



Predict text reads "Pick a card from among 3 in your deck. Shuffle the deck and put that card on top". Waiting for that special card to get your strategy going? This new keyword will definitely help when you're really missing a card to make strong moves. There are even cards that receive bonuses if they've been predicted!

Reputation



Reputation text reads "Activates if allies have struck for 5+ damage at least 4 times this game.". More allies and more damage means even more damage for cards with Reputation! Snowball your damage output and keep the damage coming and going!




That's it for our Legends of Runeterra Empires of the Ascended rundown! We're really curious to see what new decks you guys come up with and what you think of this new set! Remember you can make your own Empires of the Ascended deck using our Deck Builder. Let us know in the comments. :)

Remember you can find Runeterra Empires of the Ascended Cards and Runeterra Empires of the Ascended Decks right here on RuneterraFire!
(Last Updated: March 29th, 2021)

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