There are many cards in Legends of Runeterra, and each have their own stats and effects to make them unique. It can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the card game genre, to learn all these effects. That’s why we’re dissecting all the keywords in a series of guides. In this one we’re taking a look at Ephemeral.

Ephemeral units are a temporary entity on the board. Once played from hand they last at most until the very end of the round: Ephemeral units die after attacking in the combat phase, or when the round is over and you and your opponent switch the attack/defend roles. This means that you cannot recall an Ephemeral unit after it has attacked and then play it again later on.

It’s important to make the distinction between Ephemeral and Fleeting clear. Fleeting cards are always generated by another card, are added to your hand, and disappear from your hand if they’re not used in the same round they’re generated. Ephemeral cards won’t disappear from your hand if you don’t use them. Most Ephemeral units are created by other cards, but there are a couple of them that you can add to your deck. Below you can find a few examples of them.

Images via Riot Games.