The next Legends of Runeterra patch buffs Lux and Yasuo while Deny, Elusives and Shadow Isles get toned down

Feb 17, 2020

As Riot Games promised, this week we'll see a far more impactful patch to Legends of Runeterra. After the previous one, which went live two weeks ago, addressed mostly bugs and other client-side issues, this one is aimed at keeping the meta balanced and fresh. In other words: card nerfs and buffs.

Only two champions are seeing their effects change. Lux's overall power goes up by 1/1 for both her levels, turning her into a 4/5 at level one, and a 5/6 at level two. The developers note: "Lux’s weaker statline made it a little too difficult to utilize her as a linchpin, “build-around-me” card. Buffing her stats will help her ability to both stick around as an engine and act as a meaningful threat on her own."

Yasuo is the second champion being tweaked, and he too receives a buff. Instead of needing six units to be stunned or recalled to level up, he will need just five as soon as the patch hits. The buff isn't implemented because Yasuo alone was underperforming, but rather because other cards from Ionia are being nerfed. To compensate, the tornado-slinging swordsman needed a little buff.

On the flip side of the coin, some cards were nerfed. Deny, one of the most powerful cards in the game, sees its cost increase to four mana. "When testing this change internally, we found that play patterns involving Deny tended to feel more fair. Holding up Deny now always costs at least one mana per turn that you’d otherwise use to develop your board, a cost that makes for more involved decision making than when Deny was fully castable with spell mana," the developers say.

Of the followers targeted in the patch, the most notable ones are probably Kinkou Lifeblade (whose health is reduced from two to three), Commander Ledros (whose cost and power are increased to nine), and Rhasa the Sunderer (whose cost is increased to eight mana). When it comes to balance, two things have been put on a 'to-watch' list: the fearsome mechanic and control style decks. Though for them to be targeted with balance adjustments, we'll probably have to wait another four weeks.