Legends of Runeterra - Patch 4.10 Review (October 11th)

Fates Voyage: Onward's new set is here, patch 4.10. As usual, I'll review each buff, nerf and adjustment revealed in this patch notes.

My review is fully based on my 3-year experience casting and competing in Runeterra tournaments, but you are welcome to leave a comment down below if you disagree or agree with anything I have said here.

Before we begin, we need to comment on what we expected from this patch, and which game changes the community wanted the most.

As we've just had our first Runeterra Open in this set, it is common for players to feel a bit tired of the cards and archetypes that were dominant in the tournament. Lists which are performing well in the ranked queue will also be the target of these changes.

The decks we're referring to are Warden of the Tribes decks, besides Burn Wildfire decks, which are the most "problematic" ones nowadays. Then we had many lists which were floating around players' radars, such as Heimerdinger Jayce, and Cosmic Call decks.

However, the community was in much more need of buffs to archetypes and champions which are not currently seeing play and are a bit forgotten - such as Jack, Kai'Sa and others.

Let's see if this patch brought players what they wanted.

Nerfs

Balen the Benevolent - Now Balen no longer buffs itself. This change forces the Formidable player to have a much sharper game curve, once Balen isn't self-sufficient anymore.

This is a great loss for the whole Formidable archetype, which was already going through some bad times as it was being swapped for Warden of the Tribes lists by many players.

Now, Formidables will have to fight for the board in different ways early on, which can force this archetype into taking on a more aggressive approach for its build.

Innovative Blacksmith - Blacksmith lost one attack, as it ended up becoming an autoinclude unit in several different archetypes. This really distorted her main purpose, which was to be a support unit for Jax.

With more defensive stats, this unit is no longer as impactful when she is summoned on curve. This allows other decks to compete more consistently when it comes to stats against Innovative Blacksmith. Blacksmith will continue to see play as her effect is strong, but lists which bring this unit will probably start bringing only two copies.

Warden of the Tribes - Warden is currently responsible for a good portion of meta lists, both in the competitive scene and on the ranked queue. This unit alone revived Freljord, possibly transforming it into the best region in the game, but Warden of the Tribes was too strong and deserved a change.

+1 more mana is a fair nerf. Even if it is a nerf that really harms this deck's curve, it doesn't make it unplayable. Now, Warden of the Tribes lists will only be a bit slower.

Considering this deck's unit base already works well without Warden, this nerf won't kill this archetype. Another card that can start appearing more in these lists to compensate for this nerf is Champions' Strength, which, actually, was already included in most competitive decks in the meta.

Samira - Samira truly needed to be nerfed, as this champion has been a necessary inclusion in meta decks for a long time. But maybe this nerf was a bit too harsh.

Now that Flair costs 2, this card can no longer be frequently used as a Burn element. And lists which benefit from playing spells, such as Seraphine decks in Eternal, will also struggle to play Flair with ease.

It is no longer possible to play Samira and grant her Flair on turn 2. Now you can only do it if you have 4 total mana available, which means, only after turn 3. However, this champion now has an additional effect of reducing Flair's cost by 1 when she is summoned or when she strikes, which encourages us to build decks with this champion which will keep her on board and protect her, such as Samira Akshan.

Wildfire - This spell was destroying the ranked queue with its Burn deck. The problem is that Wildfire's burn list is maybe one of the least interactive decks of all time. These lists are based on tutoring Wildfire in many ways, and just playing this card until you win the game. Your opponent only watches you play and can’t do anything about it.

To be fair, it is possible to deny a Wildfire, or control the board by healing or just blocking this deck’s unit, but there are just a few decks that can do this currently.

This nerf is a bit too fair, even, because I think it will still be possible to play with this card even if it costs 2 mana. Anyway, the pure Wildfire deck might disappear, once it is 100% focused on just playing this card - but it is still possible, particularly in Eternal, to abuse this card and use it as a second win condition.

Exalted Cloudwinder - This unit is a big engine in Janna archetypes, and it is already strong enough just because of its effect. Even nerfed, this unit will still see a lot of play - considering Janna lists aren’t all that focused on their units’ offensive stats, once this deck is an expert at removing blockers with their spells without much issue.

This archetype’s attacking units are only an extra bonus for this deck, and 3-attack Cloudwinder was definitely too strong.

Sting Officer - This unit was popping up in full Elusive Aggro lists, just because it was a 2-attack unit at a low cost. With this nerf, Officer will have a better role in trap Flashbomb Trap decks as a more defensive unit, focused on activating its effect.

Epic Scraptraption - This unit carried on its back the format's Jayce decks. As Heimerdinger Jayce lists are in the meta for maybe more than a year, people are a bit tired of this archetype.

Even if the deck isn’t that strong, it still shows up in tournaments and on the ranked queue, just because it is consistent. As it has been in the meta for a long time, Riot wanted to clip its wings a bit. This nerf was quite on mark, once this card really stood out from Jayce’s entire archetype, and was even seeing play in other lists in the format. This unit also slightly escapes Piltover & Zaun’s region identity, considering it isn’t a region that is supposed to have good-bodied stats with strong keywords.

Hextech Handler - Handler is also one of Jayce’s archetype cards which was carrying this list’s Midrange identity. Now Heimerdinger’s “techs” will no longer gain huge defensive stats, which will really make it easier for decks which already struggled against this list.

Swindle - This card is a spell that gives a lot of information and value for those who bring it in their Bilgewater list. Swindle even starred in Siren Song decks in a few tournaments early in the Heart of the Huntress expansion.

However, I don’t see a clear reason to nerf this spell, even if I agree it is quite strong. Maybe developers think the buffs to Bilgewater, which we’ll see soon, will be strong enough to make this card broken - but I don’t believe so.

Anyway, it will still be, certainly, a spell used in value decks that use this region.

Valley of Imitation - This landmark was seriously annoying some players in the ranked queue as it was a card that potentially brings an unstoppable snowball if you don’t have any answers. As not everyone plays landmark removal in their decks, the player who has Valley on curve will always be very ahead in the match. This way, nerfing it to 4 mana reasonably delays decks that abuse this landmark.

I believe this nerf is enough to retire this landmark for a bit, even more so because Nidalee lists which bring this card already have a few plays which are too expensive for the current meta.

Beguiling Cobra - Now Cobra only activates its effect of copying units for the first unit played from hand, on your turn. This will certainly kill this unit.

Cobra, just like Valley of Imitation, was responsible for unstoppable combos which are very hard to answer. Decks that bring Beguiling Cobra have a low win rate, but the victories it manages to get come from this very uninteractive combo.

Players who lose to this list get extremely upset, and when they play the deck, they lose miserably. Cobra only makes Runeterra a sadder place, so this was a well-deserved nerf.

Watchful Idol - This unit carries several Swain decks on its back besides some of the format’s Illaoi lists too. This nerf is quite heavy, because now you can only get a 2/2 Tentacle from Idol, instead of 3/3. For Swain lists, the champion no longer gets 6 points to his level up quest for free with only 1 Idol. With this nerf, Swain only gets 4 points, which reasonably delays this champion’s decks.

Pyke - I honestly thought this nerf was unnecessary, even more so because Lurk is a very popular list, and is beloved by many new and casual players. Even if this deck was performing well at a high-level too, there were several other ways to nerf this list besides just increasing Pyke’s cost.

Maybe Riot was too focused on stopping the interaction of getting hit with a Death from Below out of nowhere, which was a bit “tilting”. But, even then, I believe removing a few health or attack points from other units in this list, such as Xerxa’Reth, The Undertitan, was already enough for this archetype.

Buffs

Omen Hawk - Now Hawk can block Elusive units. Out of all changes in this patch, this is the most surprising, as this card was already quite strong, and already sees play in many meta decks.

Now there’s no reason not to bring 3 copies of this unit in all your Midrange lists. Warden of the Tribes’ archetype got two nerfs, but with this buff, the deck can still carry on as it has strong early game options at its disposal.

Wings of the Cryophoenix - Now this spell deals damage only to your opponent’s board if you’re Enlightened. This change reinforces Freljord’s region identity as a region that has spells that clear the board.

I still don’t think this card will be played, as it is very expensive and slow.

The Tuskraider - This is a now a Titanic unit. This change does basically nothing besides increasing the range of cards you can summon from the spell Clash of Giants. This buff is only the first one in a series of other buffs in this patch focused just on making a few units Titanic.

Wrath of the Freljord - This unit got the effect of Frostbiting a unit when it is played on board, which, despite what it seems, is quite strong. Wrath of the Freljord might show up as a finisher in a few Standard Midrange lists.

This card is already one of the best 8-cost units in the game you can create randomly, and now, with a Play effect, it might just start to be included in Freljord lists for good.

Berserker Ursine - This unit promised a lot when it was revealed in this expansion, but it never showed up in any meta decks in the end. Maybe now, with better stats, it can see some play. However, it is possible this still isn’t enough, considering a great portion of Volibear lists don’t really benefit from this unit due to the slower nature of these decks. Even then, I think it’s valid that Riot pushed this unit a bit, so it can maybe be a part of the competitive scene.

Flamecaller Caprine - This unit was also a very promising unit which ended up doing very little in this set. Unlike Berserker Ursine, the “buff” to this unit does absolutely nothing, and it will still see no play.

Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin - This unit, despite being quite scary, has never seen play. Maybe now, with this Play effect, summoning an additional unit on board, it can show up in meta lists. The biggest issue is that this effect of bringing back the strongest dead ally doesn’t really match anything Noxus wants to do.

It isn’t that clear how we’re going to build a list that supports Atakhan, and, if it indeed sees some play in the meta, it will be only a few weeks after this patch.

Savage Reckoner - This unit is now Titanic, which makes no difference except for increasing the range of units Clash of Giants can bring.

Noble Rebel - This unit now has Challenger, which is quite odd. Maybe this buff is enough to revive Noxus Big Discard’s archetype.

As this archetype is currently weak, this card will also be weak by default. Perhaps in the future, with more buffs to this deck, this card can see some play in a few lists.

Lord Eldred, Mageseeker Leader - This was one of the blandest units in all of Demacia, and now, with this buff, Lord Eldred might finally be playable. One thing is certain: it will indeed be playable in Eternal in Vladimir decks. In Standard, it will be a bit harder to make it work.

This unit was already a great answer against Burn and Elusive metas. With this effect, it will be a unit that will also give you a lot of value against other matchups in which your Nexus doesn’t need to be Tough.

The Clock Hand - This unit is now Titanic. This changes absolutely nothing in the game, besides increasing the range of cards that can be summoned with Clash of Giants.

Exhaust - This buff is incredible. With this spell at burst speed, you’ll be able to “debuff” 2 less attack during a block, if necessary. It will be another Shurima control tool that will make it easier for Midrange decks in this region to see some play.

Maybe this buff will even give us an excuse to play a bit more Renekton in this patch.

Singular Will - Even though this 1-mana discount is very welcome for this card, it is very difficult to make it work consistently.

Maybe with the changes to the Recall archetype we’ll see next, it will be possible for Singular Will to become a competitive card. But, unfortunately, this card really depends on its archetype being strong to work well.

Ahri - This champion was striving to be one of the weakest champions in all of Standard, and she was winning the race. This is also a welcome change, just like Singular Will, but I don’t believe it is enough to make her archetype a strong strategy.

Maybe the buffs to resources that deal with Elusive units were too strong in this patch, and this can make it harder for those who want to play Ahri - even if she was buffed in this patch. Anyhow, this champion will be tested, and we’ll see if she’ll indeed work well after this change. But I wouldn’t place my bets on an Ahri deck right now.

Children of the Forest - Even though this card got a very cool change, and it can now be played for 2 mana to return an allied unit, I still don’t see why you’d bring this spell in your deck.

Unfortunately, Elusive lists with Recall effects are extremely toxic to Runeterra, and any misplaced buff can sometimes ruin the game. For that reason, Riot bets on these mediocre buffs which at the end of the day don’t really make that much of a difference.

A solution for this archetype would be a complete rework, but that seems hard to happen.

The Zaun Diva - This is also a unit which got a buff to go into the range of Titanic units that can now be summoned by Clash of Giants. Out of all units that can be summoned through this spell, The Zaun Diva might be the worst one.

Consult the Heavens - This spell now applies its effect to your whole board. This buff is fascinating, and there should be several ways of making this card work in Eternal with Soraka. In Standard, this card will probably not see play as it doesn't have enough support to make this combo work.

Generous Gemcrafter - This buff to Generous Gemcrafter is quite generous: 3 attack points for a 3/3 unit which carries an aura effect is great. This unit alone might revive "handbuff" archetypes in Targon which were a bit dormant in the meta currently.

Brash Gambler - Using Riot’s own words, “this unit now has Brash, because it can”. It is that simple.

This change will hardly do anything.

Megatusk - Megatusk got one extra health point, which will make this card simply unstoppable. This unit already carried Deep deck’s early game on its back, and it will be even more important now.

Deep was already an archetype which was starting to crawl back into the meta as it is a great answer for Midrange lists, and other slower decks which were popping up. With this buff, this archetype can stabilize more strongly.

The King’s Court - To everyone’s delight, Jack’s boat now draws him. This change is somewhat relevant, even though Jack is still going through a rough patch.

The lists that bring him struggle with finishing matches, and The King’s Court is now a viable card for them, which, besides drawing this champion, will also provide them with their main win condition.

Mad Ol’ Babs - Now Babs is a unit that goes on board already giving herself +1 attack as it has Attune. This is quite interesting, and it can be an interaction which is cool for Midrange Bilgewater lists, but it might not be enough to make this card see play.

Mako & Bull - These two units have finally swapped keywords, after a long time. Ever since Nukkle was released in Runeterra, players have been asking for these two units to have their keywords swapped, and finally this day has come. Thank you, Riot.

It makes much more sense for the combo’s finishing unit to have Overwhelm instead of Brash.

Liminal Guardian - Now this unit has one extra attack point, which will reinforce Ionia’s aggressive lists’ identity in this patch.

The card that summons this Guardian, Nine Lives, was already a spell that occasionally popped up in aggressive lists to declare burst speed attackers. With this buff, I’m sure this card will start popping up a lot more in the competitive scene.

Yordle Explorer - Even though this buff is quite strong, I don’t think this card will see play. Its effect, as incredible as it sounds, is quite particular, and Yordles aren’t that strong in Standard.

In Eternal, this card might be one of the stars in Poppy’s Midrange lists.

Shark Trainer - This unit is quite interesting. With this buff, it can finally come in as a finisher in aggressive decks that bring Bilgewater.

This card was already one of the best options to create from random card creation effects in these decks, and, with this buff, it can finally be maindecked.

Haunted Tomb - This is a card that has never seen play. With this buff, it can be an interesting tool for you to include in aggressive lists in Shadow Isles. The problem is that aggressive Shadow Isles lists don’t exist in Standard, which makes me believe this card won’t see competitive play - even if its buff was quite strong.

Harrowing Return - This card, just like Haunted Tomb, is a spell that boosts aggressive strategies immensely, however, as we don’t have aggressive Shadow Isles lists in Standard currently, this change will hardly make a difference for decks in this region.

Teemo - Now level 2 Teemo will always plant at least 5 shrooms in the enemy deck. That means if your opponent has 0 shrooms, and you somehow have a level 2 Teemo on board, he will no longer be useless, and will plant 5 shrooms anyway in your opponent’s deck, if he strikes the Nexus.

As this new effect says it’s at least 5, the interaction works in the following way if your opponent has just a few shrooms:

1 shroom in the deck - instead of doubling to 2, he will plant 5 more, resulting in 6 shrooms in the deck.

2 shrooms in the deck - instead of doubling to 4, he will plant 5 more, resulting in 7 shrooms in the deck. And so on and so forth.

From 5 shrooms in the deck onward, there’s no change to Teemo’s effect, and he will indeed start doubling shrooms in the deck. But, remember: these situations are extremely hard to happen, because to have a level 2 Teemo with no shrooms in your opponent’s deck, you’ll have to get him randomly from cards that create level 2 champions, such as The Howling Abyss and Secret Keeper.

Kayn’s Shadowstep - This spell lost 1 mana cost and that is incredibly strong for Kayn, considering Runeterra champion spells are extremely hard to play against.

Currently, Kayn has been having better results in Warden of the Tribes lists than in Aatrox lists, as it is a closed and consistent archetype. But, out of all Warden lists, this isn’t the best.

Considering Warden lists will be nerfed, it is possible Aatrox Kayn comes back into the meta, answering Midrange decks which will take over Warden of the Tribes’ place.

Eclectic Collection - This change is quite interesting, once Bandlecity is currently struggling to find a deck. As the region’s most popular lists are focusing a lot on Norra’s portals, this buff reinforces the region identity this set has focused on.

This card can come back up again now that we have more support for this game style with the unit Mister Thrift.

Adjustments

Portal Pioneer - This unit being a Yordle helps Warden lists immensely, but as this archetype was nerfed, and as Warden lists with Bandlecity weren’t that strong, it is possible that this change makes no difference in the game.

Called Shot - This change is being described as an adjustment, but it is quite clearly a buff, and a big one at that. Now we have another Piltover & Zaun card draw which has burst speed (focus, actually). This card enables countless combos, and promotes the creation of new lists as it is much easier to make this spell work at a high level of skill.

I believe that, out of all changes, this is the most promising one, and it is likely we’ll see this card a lot in the next few days.

If you’ve read this far, now you’re ready to win many games in the new patch.

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