Hey guys! Yesterday was an exciting day for Runeterra fans because as of now the game is officially released. Actually, new content came a couple of days earlier but you get the point. Not only that but we also got new content. Daily login rewards, extended region roads, card backs, new guardians, a new board, and even new emotes. But most importantly, a new set of cards called The Rising Tides with over 120 cards including additional region, Bilgewater! The game is now also available on iOS and Android which is a great option to have available.
All regions got some new cards but today I'll focus only on new keywords and Bilgewater region. Also, it's important to mention that we got a minor mechanical change and it's pretty simple. If you have a full board of units, you are now able to play another unit but then you need to choose which of the existing ones you want to remove from the board. Unit removed is Obliterated which basically means it doesn't die and Last Breath effects won't trigger.
New Keywords
Deep
Units with this keyword get +3/+3 when your deck has 15 cards or less, meaning that you want to go through your deck as fast as possible to trigger this ability. This can be done with a lot of drawing and/or with the help of another new keyword, Toss. This keyword comes with a lot of risk and reward because once you reach its requirement you have limited time to take advantage of it until you run out of cards in your deck. This isn't such a big issue since every Deep unit you have will be huge and overwhelming your opponent won't take too much time. There is one big counter to this strategy that you need to be aware of. It is primarily Teemo and other mushroom generating cards because the smaller your deck is the bigger is the chance to draw into them and take additional damage.
Toss
Toss is pretty simple, you Oblitare non-Champion cards from the bottom of your deck. As I said, a good mechanic to get rid of a lot of cards in your deck and reach the trigger of Deep keyword. Not much to say about it really but also note that Tossing your cards out of the deck doesn't get rid of mushrooms because they aren't actually attached to your cards but get pulled randomly depending on the number of cards you have left.
Scout
This enables units with Scout keyword to attack once without using up your attack token. It is sort of a "soft Rally" as you can attack with only those units with Scout and then again with all of your units combined. Units with this keyword go especially well with temporary buffs as they are able to use them twice and they are quite effective if you have them on the board at the start of your turn because you can attack immediately before your opponent has a chance to develop their board to sneak in some extra damage.
Vulnerable
Vulnerable enable you to give a unit a debuff that lets you "challenge" it with any unit you got. As Challenger, this keyword is sort of removal with the help of your units but the difference is, that it lets you choose which unit you want to use so in that regard it offers more flexibility although once you give someone Vulnerable you can't change the target later. Another thing you can do is use your smaller units to redirect the attention of your opponent's important defender to create lethal opportunities. Nice addition to the mechanics of the game, I think it will enable many high-level plays.
Attune
When you summon a unit with Attune you get 1 spell mana which gives you a little bit of tempo advantage. While developing your board you can still fill up your reserve and use it on the same turn to help out with the attack/defense. That's pretty much it.
Plunder
Plunder is much like Play effects but it requires you to damage the enemy Nexus in the same round before you play the card with this keyword. Works best with non-combat damage so you don't have to use your attack beforehand and depend on the opponent not being able to block all of your attacks. Still, it can work well with Overwhelm units but it isn't 100% a guarantee to work. Plunder effects can be really rewarding so sometimes forcing a bit worse outcomes just to damage their Nexus can be the right play.
Champions
Fizz
You might've guessed it, Fizz is supporting that annoying evasive style of play. Almost impossible to remove with a spell and if your opponent doesn't play Elusive units they are going to have trouble dealing with him. It is fairly easy to level him up with the introduction of Attune units that not only give you spell mana but also generate/draw cheap spells. Really an aggressive card best fitted with Noxus for extra damage and faster games or P&Z or cheap spells and draw for more poking style of play.
Miss Fortune
She is more of a support champion for board control rather than full-on aggression, at least until the level up. Her effect is a good anti-aggro tool because it enables you free damage against small units or just free trades if your opponent decides to block. Her effect also damages Nexus so she offers an easy Plunder proc for extra value, goes extremely well with Citrus Courier that gives you Rally with his Plunder effect for potentially absurd damage. Demacia is the best choice for the second region because it offers even more Rally effects and even a lot of Scouts so that you can proc effects like that of Miss Fortune more than once per turn, which can be really hard to defend against it.
Twisted Fate
Twisted Fate has a pretty weak stat line for a 4-drop but his Play ability gives him a lot of flexibility so playing him can often be worth his cost. Leveling him up is a bit harder as you need to draw at least 8 cards while he is on the board but once this is achieved the value from his ability stacks really fast. If you want to have a chance of doing just that P&Z is probably the best choice as it offers the best drawing options and with the addition of VI that scales faster if you play more cards per turn which you will be naturally doing with all the extra draws.
Gangplank
Gangplank offers and interesting playstyle by buffing your spells and skills with Powder Kegs. Kegs go nicely with spells/skills that can damage multiple enemies at once. This gives him a strong synergy with Miss Fortune and because of that, Bilgewater only deck works great. Another good option would be Noxus with Swain dealing non-combat damage and also damaging Nexus goes towards leveling both champions even before you draw/play them. Also, the synergy is great as it speeds up Swain's style of continual poke on the enemy Nexus.
Nautilus
This is a late-game monster. 13/13 is definitely something and because the level up requirement is to go Deep, that means that all of your Sea Monsters are going to be buffed at that point. This means, that once in play, you can literally unload your hand on the next turn, almost no matter how many Sea Monster you have. As already mentioned, Deep goes extremely well with Toss so a good region combination is Shadow Isles. Not only does Shadow Isles offer you extra Toss effects but a lot of sustain to get you into late-game more safely. Another thing why this combination is so great is Maokai. His level up gets rid of your opponent's deck so that you can eliminate the weakness of going Deep too fast and running out of cards because your opponent will be in an even worse position.
That's it for today's review. Even just by looking at Bilgewater cards, there are a lot of different new styles of play not to mention crazy combinations with other regions that also got new champions as well. It's amazing how this game develops seemingly easy, and diversity is something that really doesn't lack. I encourage everyone that already didn't give this game a shot and try it out. I guarantee that if you are a card games person you will fall in love with this one immediately. I know I said this game won't get in the way of Gods Unchained content but I'm still waiting for something new to write about, I hope the expansion hits soon. Also, I've been working on some new custom card ideas, can't wait to show you.
If you need help with some deck ideas I suggest you looking up some list over here:
https://www.runeterrafire.com/decks
Thank you for reading!
,z3ll