In the build-up to the new Legends of Runeterra expansion, Riot Games has revealed another champion part of the upcoming card set. This time the honor goes to the Shadow Isles, who see Maokai join their lineup.

Maokai supports a unique playstyle not yet explored in Legends of Runeterra: 'milling' the opponent. The idea behind 'mill decks' is simple: you force your opponent to run through their deck quickly, running them out of resources well before you do. Of course, when in Legends of Runeterra your deck has no cards left, you automatically lose the game. And that's exactly what Maokai hopes your opponent will do.

The new keyword introduced by Maokai is "Toss", which deletes the specified of non-champion cards from your own deck. It's a sacrifice necessary to make, as it plays into Maokai's level-up condition: once a total of 25 of your cards have died or have been Tossed, Maokai blooms into his upgraded form. Immediately after leveling up, Maokai grind through the opponent's deck, leaving nothing but four non-champion cards in their resource pile. The race against the clock begins.

Alongside Maokai, three new Shadow Isles units were revealed. Thorny Toad and Deadbloom Wanderer both directly support the playstyle Maokai aims for; they each boast the Toss mechanic as well. Overgrown Snapvine, however, is a more flexible unit. While expensive, the reward pays off quickly if you build your deck around summoning tons of tiny critters, also known as "Token decks". Overgrown Snapvine turns them all into copies of itself, upgrading small units to a solid four attack and three health stat line.