The impact of Patch 3.10 - The most incredible and gamechanging patch in LoR

Let’s revise what happened in this very potent update, coming right after a beautiful expansion.

If LoR was already good, everything points that it will get even better. We’ll go through the changes and analyze how those impact the meta.

Generatable Keyword

Pantheon, Viktor, and The Arsenal are units which can get random keywords.

There was a very annoying game pattern, in which they received “Scout” as a keyword and could finish the match easily, when coupled with “Elusive” or “Overwhelm”.

That being said, Riot removed “Scout” from the random keywords they could get.

It isn’t the end for those cards, but they won’t be able to “steal” matches as they did before.

Copied Spells count as Played Spells

This is where, as we say in Portuguese, "the son cries and the mother doesn't see". There are already some powerful decks which don’t abuse copied spells, and those now will be able to make insane plays.

What does it mean when a copied spell is counted as played? It means that, if a Jayce or Karma duplicates a 6 cost spell, a Lux present on board will create two Final Sparks.

A deck that is in Riot’s radar, who at the same time wants it to see play but is afraid of it flying too high and breaking the game, is Ezreal/Karma. It is so much so that our boy Ezreal already came with a nerf in this patch.

In my opinion, lists that already existed with Jayce with duplicated spells, will remain strong, but nothing broken.

Usually when the Jayce on board duplicated the spell with Lux on board too, the game was already VERY BAD for the other player, and it won’t be one more Final Spark that will break the game, and the same goes for Jayce and Heimer with Shadow Isles.

Look closely at this example and tell me, how is it possible to lose the game here? An extra Final Spark is just one sparkle more on what’s already pretty.

Ashe

This one wants to see play. Now, when you reduce to 0 the power of a unit which already has zero attack, it will count for this champion’s level up.

We’ll talk more later about the buffs that her archetype got, because even though she is from Freljord, she is probably the one who came in hotter in this patch.

Bard

This came more as a text coherence update. Yes, this champion was already strong, but now he will get even more problematic.

When any unit has a “Self-Buff” effect, it will count for this champion’s level up.

Ezreal

This one was collateral damage, as the new rule might make his deck with Karma break the game. But honestly, I found it very incoherent.

In Karma’s deck is where Ezreal plays and is slower, more reactive. Consequently, it is where he most targets enemies, and that means, all other decks will be worse, and Karma’s will remain the same.

Maybe I’m not seeing a powerful Ezreal/Jayce deck which would break the meta and I’m nitpicking unnecessarily. We’ll see.

Hecarim

The beta nightmare is back. Extreme aggro ephemerals might be the new trend this season. Now Hecarim only needs to level up to grant all ephemerals for the rest of the game +3 power.

In the past, the new horsey played in Ionia for protections which usually came alongside Deny, now in Shurima times, besides having Rite of Negation, it has a lot more ephemerals to play with, and it will get complicated.

Irelia

It looks like Riot is flirting with danger. Irelia ended up paying for Azir’s sins and got a nerf in her archetype before.

As her Flawless Duet became 2 mana, nothing fairer than having her drop on board with attune. This way, she creates more room to play at least her first blade.

I don’t believe it is enough to make the list work, but now we can work with a list around her for sure.

Kalista

Shadow Isles Badgebear, next!

Now, let’s be serious. Kalista suffers a lot, for the same problem as Lucian: she wants to see allies dying, but she is always the first to leave the party. Now, being a bit beefier, she might see more play.

Shen

They gave a barrier to our Ninja, but now he needs to see one more shield to level up, which in that case becomes his own shield.

Jarvan IV and Shen have been strong in the past, and, with this bunch of new cards, alongside this new Shen, it is possible that he might be in a forceful deck.

Here we got a bit of everything, lots of number adjustments, but also many relevant changes.

Sincerely, this is where the magic happens.

Aftershock

This spell no longer can hit the Nexus, but costs only 3 mana.

Though it makes the Piltovan Tellstones a lot better, we can bring plain Aftershock in our lists too. Besides killing most 3 cost threats, such as Miss Fortune and Aphelios, the main thing is it remaining useful while dealing with landmarks quite well.

Avatar of the Tides

Not much to say here, its purpose is to be a Nami follower, to combo with a lot of damage, but she never needed it. I don’t think it will be this 1 health that will bring it into the game.

Ashe’s Archetype

Avarosan Hearthguard and Babbling Bjerg will get 1 health and Trifarian Assessor will cost 1 less.

These are cards which carry the essence of the deck. They are very tough to remove units, especially after the buffs, and this Trifarian Assessor at 4 cost helps a lot in keeping a good mana curve.

This Ashe/Sejuani list (which in the past didn’t have LeBlanc as she didn’t exist yet) dominated the meta in the past, and I believe that it will return to haunting the game.

It’s a good reminder that many good cards were added to this archetype such as Incisive Tactician, Revna, the Lorekeeper and Bloody Business.

Blighted Caretaker

Just 1 power, but we need to remember that in every Shadow Isles aggro deck, this card dominated in past metas.

I believe that Nasus might easily come back with this new addition.

Brightsteel Protector

After the War Chefs nerf, Protector dominated as the 2 cost in every Demacia deck.

With the arrival of Bard, this card came to dark standards even to Riot, in which she was easily summoned with +1+1 and made it basically impossible to come back into the game as the opponent.

All her decks will feel this nerf. At least Durand Sculptor came to be the newest 2 cost unit. Welcome.

Camavoran Dragon

Another card which there isn’t much to say. It was supposed to be Viego’s friend, you could bring it alongside Shyvana too. Unfortunately it never saw play, and as dragons are all about having numbers, it is possible that now it does see play.

Chief Nakotak

Gnar’s archetype is the biggest joke in Runeterra. It came out all wonky, and even then Gnar was played in many decks and molded the meta.

This transformation archetype doesn’t look much promising, as its units are weaker than a normal unit, being necessary to deal 1 damage to the enemy Nexus, so that next round they transform into decent units or really strong ones. The problem comes in the dealing damage plan and making your units survive to be able to transform.

Honestly, I think this will need a lot of work, so that this list eventually becomes successful.

Crumble

It’s the same case as Aftershock, which had its cost reduced in 1, making the card really good and also making the Shadow Isles Tellstones better.

Besides being a godlike removal that can take down Landmarks, it strengthens archetypes that want allies to die, such as Thresh, Kalista, Kindred and Nasus decks.

Paying only 4 mana to kill an enemy unit is wonderful.

Disintegrate

As the Rioters themselves had said, Disintegrate was intended to be a great removal, the biggest problem is that there weren’t many answers to protect units from it.

So to have a healthier reaction from the community, Riot decided to put in a more cohesive text.

I, honestly, felt this was to calm down cries of “unfairness”, because I liked this card a lot the way it was. But this nerf won’t impact it negatively and the decks that brought it, will remain shining with it!

Ember Monk

The Recall archetype is quite powerful, and sees a lot of play still. Unfortunately, our friend Ember Monk was out of the party list.

Now costing 3, he can be even more annoying, but far from being relevant. He is at a level close to Fae Bladetwirler, he can get huge and strike for a million, but at the end of the day they are blocked by a 1/1 spider and the game carries on.

Ferros Financier

The card generated a lot of value and had a nice body on board.

You can’t have it all; Conchologist was good with these numbers, Ferros Financier will be too.

Gleaming Lantern

An extremely problematic card since its launch. Remember, Faes have the infinite value generation gameplay and, then, all of the sudden they release a card which accelerates tempo.

It can’t be strong in value and tempo simultaneously. This way, they make Gleaming Lantern have vulnerable health, and any region can deal 2 damage to a unit easily.

So if you leave it alive, it’s your fault!

Hothead

Less attack, more health, probably used in lists such as Taliyah/Ziggs.

The problem is we already have Endless Devout, which is an INSANE 3 drop for the deck.

So we’ll need to think of some place else for him. Keywords and combat is not my thing, so I’ll leave this one for you guys!

Inspiring Marshall

A problematic card since Azir/Irelia’s prime, currently, it having 6 health isn’t that much problematic, as we have A LOT of new powerful removals to use in these situations.

Keep an eye on it, as Irelia got some buffs too, and it is possible that the deck will make a comeback.

Justice Rider

Getting 1 more health isn’t usually that relevant, but here it is.

When we play FlashBomb Traps, especially with Justice Rider, we want to go into the late game and it is very important that she hangs on for longer on board.

I’ve worked on a Caitlyn/Teemo Control list recently, and this buff will do wonders for that list.

Khahiri The Returned

I don’t know exactly what Riot wanted here. Do I feel strong vibes of a Bard/Khahiri The Returned deck?

He can come on board earlier, without punishing the mana curve that much. Keep an eye on it, as we will be able to build a lineup with TRIPLE HUGE BUFFED BODIES: Viego, Khahiri, and lastly Illaoi.

The Lady of Blood

An amazing card for Sion/Rumble decks, not necessarily together.

The ability of discarding a unit and getting a fleeting copy of it in hand so that it can be discarded again is quite powerful.

Having 3 power is quite relevant, as she fights better on board, as 4 mana is a lot of mana for the aggressive lists that we might face.

It is possible that some lunatic (probably me) will build a more control focused list with her, in which it would be possible to draw value from discarding units which create something in hand. Only time will tell.

Lava Lizard

With the Impact keyword added to Lava Lizard, it is possible that this will be the biggest transform activator for Gnar’s archetype.

We need to keep an eye on these small units, because they are the basis of any deck.

Legion Deserter

This nerf impacts the velocity in which his deck wins.

If you like the Legion Deserter deck and you’re feeling like it died, relax. This deck’s Late game is insane.

You don’t have the power to finish the game with a big combat turn and tons of damage going through thanks to overwhelm, but now the deck is a lot more similar to a Viego list, with big creatures, who don’t stop getting bigger, and eventually your opponent won’t be able to handle that offensive and will become deceased.

Murkwolf Shaman

Gnar/Udyr’s archetype follower and, honestly, this one is good, huh?! Being a 2/4, it is quite harder to remove it.

His effect was always relevant, besides being quite big for his cost, and on top of it, buying a unit.

A unit to keep an eye out, for sure, especially since Runeterra’s speed seems to be slowing down.

Petricite Broadwing

This nerf increases the complexity of playing this card.

Powerful turns are usually the first ones, in which you can kill an Annie without hurting any of your units, and now without challenger, it just becomes a powerful unit.

For more advanced rounds, he remains the engine it always was.

Promising Future

Here Riot cut down Frozen Thrall mercilessly.

This card created very silly game patterns, in which in turn 6 it was common for you to have 4 Frozen Thrall on board and, honestly, it isn’t normal for the opponent to have a fast speed Ruination to deal with them. Regardless of that, the deck remains annoying, and has a lot more tools to work with.

Landmarks will probably go down in popularity and less landmark removals will show up on the ranked queue after some days.

Maybe it’s time for you to give the list a break, and then go hard into it in a couple weeks.

Quicksand

It’s now literally rewarding the player who chooses only 1 target.

Resplendent Stellacorn

It was released for Soraka’s archetype and even there, there wasn’t much space for it.

It’s probably a buff for Tri-beam Improbulator decks.

Riptide Rex

This is, by far, my favorite finisher.

Now, practically all Bilgewater nerfs are out. I’ve tested out many lists in the past and had great results in masters, such as: Ezreal/Twisted Fate; Gangplank/Thresh.

The new thing with Riptide Rex is his new ally, Jhin. With 7 shots and 2 Jhin’s passive skill, you fill out the skill/spell stack, leaving no room for answers. So, never again Rite of Negation can deal with Riptide Rex if you’re playing this combo.

Sands of Time

Besides increasing complexity, this nerf prevents Akshan’s infinite combo deck from getting out of hand so easily.

Whoever plays landmarks now will have to be fast in the way they use Sands of Time.

Squeaker

Rumble’s and Mecha’s archetype is quite fast and powerful. However, its first few turns are terrible.

Squeaker getting 1 health is quite relevant, as he can bring out a Mecha to the game fast and, everytime you play a mecha or a Sion unit (as most are created), he will get 1 power with its “Augment”.

Quickly he will become a dangerous unit on board and your opponent won’t have the option to kill him with a Pokey Stick anymore.

The Arsenal

This is not that relevant, because a unit so big and full of keywords already finished games really well.

Now he is a bit harder to remove and strikes for a bit more.

The Prefect

I thought this was a nice buff for the path of champions.

She needs a lot of units on board activating their skills when attacking to be able to be relevant, and if not, you better swap her for an Iron Ballista.

Vanguard Firstblade

A very powerful card when Expeditions were a thing, in ranked it never did much and probably won’t.

Probably this is the random Elite buff for this patch. Someone at Riot must really like this archetype.

Windfarer Hatchling

A buff for elusive archetypes always scares me.

Basically it got 1 more health to be more consistent and survive silly removals.

Yordle Contraption

I’d call it a cursed landmark removal, as the other side of this spell is to create random multi-region units and we’ve seen how problematic this can be.

I don’t think this will be enough to make it see play, but I thought the card was interesting for Faes, for instance.

Imagine this with Bandle Tellstones: Heroic Refrain buffing two faes; Yordle Contraption destroying a landmark (Ravine to protect the board) or giving you more options in hand for late game; Keeper’s Verdict to remove something very big and dangerous, such as Feel the Rush.

Zenith Blade

A card with an interesting design, ends up being cut down by the sins of other decks. This nerf is quite harsh and makes the rhythm of who played it a lot slower.

As it was used in a proactive way, you can’t use it now on a defensive turn, making the “Fated” decks very compromised.

Skins

Nami Level 1

Nami Levell 2

The skins are breathtaking, I loved Nami’s new level up representing the priestess of the group.

Check it out:

This DnD theme matched it perfectly and, honestly, gave me a new tavern meeting perspective.

Bard and Fizz got a Level Up change in case you’re using their skins. Quite subtle, but I hope more of this comes up in the future.

Bard came to represent the bard of the team, while Fizz is the rogue.

Bard Level 1

Bard Level 2

Fizz Level 1

Fizz Level 2

Darius, Lee Sin and Zilean only got card art updates, but you can’t look down on them, as the new arts are fantastic.

Lee sin as a monk, Zilean as a druid and Darius as the adventure’s villain.

Darius Level 1

Darius Level 2

Lee sin Level 1

Lee sin Level 2

Zilean Level 1

Zilean Level 2

My favorites were Nami, Fizz and Darius.

The Board

In case you want to hear the music, just press play:

The Board is wonderful and comes with a couple secrets, such as the Tellstones and the Mecha vs Minions games scattered across the scenery.

Emotes

Bard’s didn’t excite me much.

But Zilean’s is now in the emote meta, I’m very fast and I hate facing slow players, and there we have the perfect emote to use in these situations.

I feel as if the game will return to having that first seasons’ feel: Less landmarks, less chaotic card creation.

A fair game with good units and good removals.

The aggressive decks must want to finish the game early and bring some BURN options to win.

The midrange decks must have a slower rhythm, making it more and more uncomfortable for the opponent, such as Khahiri and Viego, which keep growing more and more.

We must see some copied spells focused lists with Karma or Jayce.

Probably a midrange Ashe/LeBlanc list and an aggressive Hecarim list are probably two lists that will show up, and become VERY STRONG.

I thank you all for your attention! If you want to know more about my work, I’m live every morning on Twitch.