Wishlist: Cards that Absolutely need to be changed in Patch 4.4.0

On 26/04, Patch 4.4.0 will come with new balance changes to Legends of Runeterra, and the whole community is making their own wish lists. I wanted to get in on the fun and bring my own list, so here are the changes I want, and the ones I think will come to Legends of Runeterra in the next patch.

Keep in mind, this is my personal list of changes I consider to be interesting for the metagame. Let's go!

Coins

Desired Change — burst speed — to: Focus.

I believe the Karma Sett deck, though quite strong, isn't problematic. But, the Coin mechanic is a bit too strong and very annoying to play against. Being able to answer a fast or slow spell with a Coin, for me, doesn't seem to be a healthy interaction for the game.

This card transforms the Karma deck into a time bomb which explodes on turn 10 without any margin for answer in most matchups. Changing Coin's spell speed would help slower decks focused on removal when competing during Karma's end game value. This way, you won't be forced to only play aggressive lists to be able to hit this Ionia Piltover archetype head on.

Leona

Desired Change — you've activated Daybreak 4+ times — to: you've activated Daybreak 5+ times.

Leona is responsible for a great portion of the competitive metagame currently. The Leona Noxus deck is useful as an aggressive alternative to deal with slower lists, but this champion being able to be levelled on curve is an interaction that prevents other Midrange decks from hitting head on the fast-paced gameplan that this Targon deck proposes.

By increasing the prerequisite for Leona to level up, lists that suffer against stuns will no longer have such a hard time.

I believe this change wouldn't affect the win rates of Leona lists against Karma Sett, but would increase the win rates of other Midrange decks in the meta against Leona herself significantly. This way, players will no longer feel forced to bring this champion in a competitive lineup just because.

Sun Guardian

Desired Change — 2/3 — to: 2/2.

Don't think we are done with the Daybreak archetype. I believe Sun Guardian is a problematic card, as it is too much of a safe investment for the Leona list if you find this card on curve. With 1 less health, Sun Guardian will be weaker against removals, forcing the Daybreak player to be more careful when developing.

This change wouldn't affect much the interactions the Daybreak list has against other Midrange decks, as this deck doesn't usually like trading with the enemy board without having at least 2 or 3 stat stacks on Sun Guardian.

This way, direct removal decks will be more equipped to deal with the threat Sun Guardian declares in the first few rounds.

Avarosan Hearthguard

Desired Change — 5/6 — to: 5/5.

The goal with Avarosan Hearthguard is to be a unit with no keywords which offers you an effect that will only be useful after a few turns. But, the investment this card brings on turn 5 is too safe.

That happens because 6 health points are too much for the current meta. Very few followers have 6 attack, and very few spells deal 6 damage or more. And as a result, dropping an Avarosan Hearthguard on turn 5 almost 100% of the time is the best play possible for the Ashe LeBlanc deck.

This change would make Ashe LeBlanc think twice about playing Hearthguard on 5, as it would be maybe too weak an investment for the current board state in the match, in exchange for an effect that can only be useful in the following round.

From the experience we're all having currently on ranked ladder, we know the Hearthguard's effect is quite impactful for the game in general. That is why I think this change would be very fair to the current meta, and wouldn't kill the card or the archetype.

Bloody Business

Desired Change — mana cost: 4 — to: mana cost: 5.

This card, before rotation, only needed a small push to become too strong. And now it is taking over the competitive meta, and that is why I propose adding one more cost for this spell. Being able to strike an enemy one-sided is a very strong mechanic, even more so in a deck focused on trades and a slower game rhythm, in the Midrange archetype.

I believe this change would make the cost reduction effect a prerequisite for this card to be indeed effective. For 4 mana, I still believe it is still a mana cost which is too low for what it intends to do. Bloody Business costing 5 forces the Ashe LeBlanc player to make decisions that force them to activate the Reputation effect as soon as possible so that they have access to the spell costing 2 mana.

All Out

Desired Change — Mana Cost: 1 — to: Mana Cost: 2.

Maybe this is the most hated card in the game after rotation. The effect +2/+2 for such a cheap cost is way too frustrating to play against, even more in a region that never had such a good health buff for units before.

Costing one mana more, this card can still be extremely strong if you have banked spell mana, considering you can still activate its plunder effect easily by using the 1 cost spells that Samira herself creates.

With this card costing 1 more, it isn't as strong if used without the Plunder effect. In situations in which you'd like to use it without the effect, in case you have a Fleet Admiral Shelly on board and want to share stats, for instance: you'll be discouraged from using this card first, and will only use it as a defensive resource, in case it is necessary.

Opulent Foyer

Desired Change — When I am summoned, or when you gain the attack token, summon a Ghastly Band — to: At the first time each turn when you gain the attack token: Summon a Ghastly Band.

The interaction between Opulent Foyer with the keyword Scout is currently very frustrating to play against. This landmark already was the best tool in the game to hoard Hallowed stacks. Abusing this interaction with Scout has been the reason why Gwen Demacia lists have been appearing as impactful as they have in the meta.

This change would make the Hallowed archetype's attack turns, which are already extremely strong, not be as explosive. Scout units already carry one of the strongest keywords in the game. And being able to attack twice while hoarding Hallowed is already quite strong, in my opinion.

This way, removing a Hallowed attacker for each time you attack more than once in a turn won't hurt this archetype as much, and seems to be a very fair change to the game.

Mischievous Marai

Desired Change — 3/4 — to: 3/3

Currently, Bibi is responsible for carrying entire Bilgewater PnZ removal archetypes. But, this card is too safe an investment for its current actual cost. Reducing one health point from this unit makes it more vulnerable to removals and followers with the keyword Challenger.

Mischievous Marai can already deal pretty well with threats on board, because you can benefit from her effect by using fast speed removals. So, even if a challenger follower with 3 attack is hovering over her to remove her, Bibi can still use spells to get out of that range. But, we can agree 3/3 are much more vulnerable stats to removal for overall units in this meta.

Kayn, for instance, would be able to remove Mischievous Marai easier. Petricite Broadwing too.

This nerf would also make mirror matches more interesting, as now this unit would go into the range of the spell Aftershock, besides Mystic Shot + Keg.

We are all very anxious to see the Patch Notes. I hope the changes are healthy for the game.

Lately, Riot hasn't missed when balancing, and has always brought quite precise views on how to manage the meta. When the Patch Notes are out, you can be sure I'll be here commenting on all the changes.

If you liked this article, don't forget to comment which changes you'd like to see for Patch 4.4.0.

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