LoR: After all, what is making Piltover & Zaun unbalanced?

We're going into the competitive season of the Eternal format. And, as we all know, decks in that format are extremely crazy, full of incredibly strong interactions and even stronger cards. That brings up a discussion which is becoming recurrent in the competitive community: "After all, what is making Piltover & Zaun unbalanced?".

This region is the main character of competitive lists, and also brings support to many others. We're talking about Samira Seraphine, the best Eternal format deck, Aphelios Viktor Slow Burn, a winning list for the last Eternal Runeterra Open, "Timelines" decks, Control lists, shroom combo lists, Discard Aggro and many others.

Notice that this region explores all archetypes, and converses well with many game strategies. We've all been feeling like there's something wrong with the region, and that is why I come bring you a bit about my experience in game design to bring up some questions, besides giving my opinion on some changes which could be beneficial. I want to make the experience of everyone who plays with and against Piltover & Zaun better.

We'll also analyze how Riot itself sees the region, and compare their view with what we currently have in game.

Before everything, we must make clear that the term "unbalanced", in this article, refers to the uncommon frequency with which this region is required in competitive metas when compared to other regions. It is a fact that Piltover & Zaun is the region which most covers different decks, but is that a problem?

According to Riot itself, "Piltover and Zaun excels at many different forms of hand manipulation. Be it drawing cards, creating cards, card selection, and predict, Piltover & Zaun has it all.” This type of quality for this region is very welcome, once innovation and adaptation are traits which other regions struggle with - making Piltover & Zaun a wildcard region, which means, cards in this region match many strategies, as the region's identity is to be broad.

So, I think Piltover & Zaun being present in many decks isn't a problem, as that is intentional.

The problem is that many of these cards, said to be broad, don't match the ideals which Riot intended to have for the region, mischaracterizing much of what Piltover & Zaun should be, and unbalancing it.

These are supposedly the weaknesses this region should have, according to Riot:

Now, let's see cards which escape these intended ideals, and don't represent the region's identity.

The first card which mischaracterizes the region and brings an unbalanced air is Aloof Travelers. This card is by far one of the most hated cards in the whole game.

As Riot itself stated, Piltover & Zaun needs spells to interact with their opponent, and this card interacts very abusively with the opponent's hand as a unit. Knowing that this isn't something the region was supposed to do, we all soon realized there's something wrong with this card, and it was adequately nerfed and rotated.

The problem is that, now, in the Eternal format competitive season, this card is an autoinclude in all slow decks which bring Piltover & Zaun, and it alone kills many strategies focused on playing high-cost cards, or even decks with main cards as their most expensive cards, such as Karma Sett.

Afterward, we have cards with "premium" stats, which is something this region shouldn't have. There, we go into somewhat of a taboo subject: what are premium stats. And, in my opinion, that is when a card delivers a strong or common effect, and still has stats of a card with a weak effect, or no effect.

A good example of that is comparing the cards Nyandroid and Sump Dredger. Nyandroid costs the same as Dredger, but it has 3 attack points less as it has a strong effect, which is Elusive. As for Sump Dredger, it has premium stats, as it delivers you a strong effect in a unit with attack and health points which can be compared to other units of that same cost, and in other regions.

That is why, I think Sump Dredger is a card which mischaracterizes Piltover & Zaun, as it has "premium" stats.

Cards with Augment don't go into this unbalanced category, as they are dependent on other cards to grow. Just like I think Plaza Guardian also doesn't fit that aspect, as you need to play spells to lower its cost.

Piltovan Castaway can be classified as premium, but I believe that, most times, this unit goes on board with 1 health point, and that definitely isn't premium.

If we follow that logic, I believe all the cards below are units with premium effects which mischaracterize Piltover & Zaun:

And, lastly, we have the trait that Piltover & Zaun shouldn't "protect its Nexus nor its units". That brings us to the card which started this whole debate, the newest addition to the Heart of the Huntress set: Sump Monument.

This card shouldn't exist if Piltover & Zaun shouldn't protect its Nexus.

Protecting its Nexus and units brings up another debate about the region, which is: "The random spells created by Piltover & Zaun cards which are from other regions can protect their units and Nexus, and that can also bring an air of unbalancedness to the region.

RNG in Piltover & Zaun is something that goes in direct conflict with the vision that the devs created for the region, which is that Piltover & Zaun should innovate and adapt. But, what about when these innovations go in conflict with the vision that this region shouldn't defend their units, is that unbalanced?

The answer is yes, but this is something we can't do anything about. This is a very delicate subject, as cards such as Seraphine, and Back Alley Bar, create random cards from other regions, and these random cards can bring the game to directions which really diverge from the goal Piltover & Zaun brings.

All of a sudden, you create, from your Back Alley Bar, a unit with Challenger, and can now control the opponent's board without depending on spells, or you can create a Twin Disciplines from your Seraphine and you can now protect your units. And we aren't even talking about Timelines.

We can't do anything about RNG, as this type of effect is a way to adapt which Piltover & Zaun has, and it is a mechanic which, in digital card games, brings fun to casual players. RNG makes the game fresh if you're new or inexperienced in the game, and don't have access to all cards.

Competitive players are part of a very small bubble, but which is very affected by this type of mechanic in the game. Many times changes to these cards are to its mana and stat costs, and aim at making them slower and less abusive. But that isn't preventing them from being played in competitive lists.

RNG is something that brings a lot of discord, but one thing is certain: RNG is something that Riot wants for Piltover & Zaun. It's up to you to judge whether that is or not unbalanced to the region.

If you've read this far, you must be interested in game design like me! I would really like to know your thoughts in the comment section, if you agree with the points I talked about in the article, and if you think the RNG on the cards quoted above is unbalanced.

Don't forget to share and comment on this article on social media. See you!