Legends of Runeterra is Riot Games’ collectible card game, set in the same universe as League of Legends. A large part of the champions found in League of Legends have been split across six factions in Legends of Runeterra, namely: Demacia, Freljord, Ionia, Noxus, Piltover and Zaun, Shadow Isles, and Bilgewater. In this article we’ll take a look at the four champions from Freljord, their second level, their Champion Spells, and any other cards related to them.
Riot’s official description of Freljord reads: “The Freljord is a harsh and unforgiving land, where demi-gods walk the earth and the people are born warriors. While there are many individual tribes, the three greatest are the Avarosans, the Winter’s Claw, and the Frostguard, each uniquely shaped by their will to survive. It is also the only place on Runeterra where True Ice can be found.”
Braum stays true to his “The best offense is a good defense” motto in Legends of Runeterra. The moustached shieldbearer has not a single attack point, but instead has five health. Quite a lot, considering Braum costs only three mana. To top it off, Braum has both the Challenger and Regeneration keywords, meaning he chooses who will block him, and after the round has ended, he restores to full health. Braum is the perfect champion to counter an aggressive strategy.
You may wonder why Braum boasts the Challenger keyword when he has no attack at all. Well, when Braum has survived—not blocked—ten damage in total, he levels up to a 0/7 champion. He keeps the Challenger and Regeneration keywords, but gains an additional effect: he generates a Mighty Poro when he survives damage, and puts it in play. While fending off incoming damage, Braum generates outgoing damage, scaling in the late game.
If you already have a Braum in play, and draw another one from your deck, he turns into a powerful buff. His Champion Spell, Take Heart, does require an ally to be damaged, but if it is, it can immediately apply a sizeable buff without giving the opponent a chance to respond. Perfect to further enhance your Braum and turn him into an impenetrable wall that also can dish out damage.
Where there’s Ice, there’s Ashe. The northern queen appears in Legends of Runeterra as an average sized champion, but one who brings many effects with her. At five attack and three health, she does kill many opponents, but dies almost equally as easily. To help her survive, Ashe’s attacks Frostbite the Strongest enemies, meaning she reduces the highest-attack opponent to zero attack.
Once you have Frostbitten five or more enemies, either through Ashe’s ability or through other cards, Ashe levels up by gaining the usual +1/+1. She keeps her ability to Frostbite enemies when she attacks, but from then on also prevents any enemy with zero attack from blocking. Additionally, at the start of the next round, she creates a Crystal Arrow: an incredibly powerful two mana spell. It targets an enemy to Frostbite, and then Frostbites all other enemies with three or less health. As if that’s not powerful enough, Crystal Arrow also draws you a card.
Leveling Ashe up is difficult. As said earlier, she’s easily killed, so only relying on her attack ability won’t get you there. Ashe’s Champion spell is Flash Freeze, a three mana Burst spell with a relatively simple effect: Frostbite an enemy. It’s not a particularly flashy spell, especially compared to Crystal Arrow, but it gets the job done and helps Ashe push even more damage.
Sejuani is a bruiser champion, preying on unassuming enemies. Her stat line for her mana cost could be better, but her abilities make more than up for it. Upon being played, she gives an enemy Frostbite, reducing its attack power to zero. Additionally, she makes the same target Vulnerable, allowing that particular card to be Challenged by your allies. With her Overwhelm trait, Sejuani chips away at the enemy Nexus at the same time too.
If you've managed to damage the enemy Nexus in five different rounds, your Sejuani is upgraded to her second level. Aside from the usual +1/+1 stat buff she receives, her Frostbite ability is significantly empowered. Whenever you damage the enemy Nexus Sejuani immediately Frostbites all enemies in play. The ability resets every round, meaning you could permanently nullify the enemy if you plan it well.
Sejuani's champion spell, Fury of the North, further helps her with her Overwhelm ability. It's a simple but big buff to any ally, at a reasonable cost. Given that it's a burst spell, opponents won't have time to try and deny the effect before it triggers, making it even more powerful.
Anivia’s raw stats are quite terrible for her cost. With six mana and only two attack and four health, she often won’t be directly effective against most enemy units on board when she’s played. But Anivia’s value is hidden in her flavorful abilities. At first, when she attacks she deals one damage to all enemies. A reasonable Area of Effect (AoE) ability, which could already eliminate some threats.
Unlocking Anivia’s full potential requires protecting or saving her. Upon dying, level one Anivia turns into Eggnivia, a 0/2 unit. If your opponent does not have a card that can deal two damage, the egg hatches when you reach 10 mana, and en levelled up Anivia spawns at the start of the next round. With three attack and five health she’s still very squishy, but her AoE damage is doubled. Moreover, if your opponent happens to have no way of dealing with Eggnivia, you’ll have an infinitely respawning Anivia.
With an such a potent champion, it’s only natural that Anivia’s Champion Spell tones it down a little bit. Harsh Winds’ effect is powerful; it targets two enemies and sets their attack to zero before your opponent has a chance to respond as it's a Burst spell. However, for seven mana there are quite a few alternatives with a more direct impact on the board.
If you’re looking for a late game powerhouse, you need to look no further than Tryndamere. The warrior has by and large the highest attack value of all champions. There are only three units in the game he won’t take out with a single blow: Battering Ram, Brightsteel Formation and She Who Wanders. Given that Overwhelm allows Tryndamere to deal excess damage directly to the enemy Nexus, he’ll almost always be hitting on two fronts.
Tryndamere doesn’t have much health, but that plays right into his next level. Upon dying, level one Tryndamere is upgraded to level two. And it’s not just a measly +1/+1 bonus he gets like most other champions do. Tryndamere straight up turns into a 9/9 champion on board. In addition to Overwhelm he gains the keywords Fearsome (units with less than three attack cannot block him). Tryndamere turns into a full berserker, and dominates the board.
The Champion Spell of Tryndamere basically stacks a Tryndamere on top of an ally, except for the Overwhelm effect. Giving a unit +8/+4 is a major buff and guarantees the elimination of almost any opposing unit. If your unit has Overwhelm or Elusive, Battle Fury is the perfect spell for a final push to victory.
Images via Riot Games.
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