Riot Games has started revealing cards and mechanics for their next update. In this article, we’ll concentrate on cards from Targon, as well as explain any new keywords like the ‘Spellshield’ keyword in Legends of Runeterra. Targon will release in the new expansion Call of the Mountain, set for August 26!
Legends of Runeterra new keyword: Spellshield
Spellshield nullifies the next enemy spell or skill that would affect a unit. Currently, only two cards in the game outright cancel spells. The first is Deny, which we have had since the launch of the game. The other is the champion Fizz, who was added in the Rising Tides expansion.
This keyword is sure to shake things up, especially since you can apply it to units who don’t inherently have it.
Targon cards in Legends of Runeterra
Now let’s take a look at the Targon cards those were revealed.
Tyari
Tyari the Traveler is the first card revealed. He is similar to War Chefs, though instead of a +1/+1, he gives a +0/+2. His stats are also not as strong as War Chefs. However, you will soon see that there are cards (presumably more as well) that have synergy with Support units like Tyari the Traveler.
Mountain Sojourners
This is an interesting card! We haven’t really seen much in the way of Support unit synergy, so it’s cool that we are getting some (Shen is getting some love). As for Mountain Sojourners, it is a high synergy card with some serious potential. I’m worried about her cost, though. 5 mana for 2/5 in stats isn’t very good, plus she requires two other units (with one having to be another Support unit) in order to achieve her full potential.
Bastion
Now everyone’s Fizz! Jokes aside, this is a very interesting card. We don’t have much in the way of direct spell disruption. As I had mentioned before, Deny and Fizz are the only cards that outright stop spells from casting (except burst spells, of course). If more spell disruption joins the game, it’s sure to shake up the meta. Especially with all these Ezreal decks running around.
Arbiter of the peak
And here we have our Support unit synergy card. But it doesn’t just go well with Support units. It also goes well with buff cards or just cards that target allies. As for the card itself, it reminds me of Plaza Guardian, and Plaza Guardian, unfortunately, doesn’t see much play. I’m a little worried this card might have the same fate. It will all depend on how strong this ”support archetype” will be.
Taric
Taric is the first champion from Targon to be revealed. He is also the second champion in the game with a Support ability. And his Support ability is no joke. Not only does he give Tough to both him and his supported ally, but it also applies the last spell you cast on him (like Fury of the North, for example) onto his supported ally. There is a lot of synergy here for permanent buffs.
Taric’s level 2 form is even scarier. He essentially casts the Unyielding Spirit on himself and his supported ally. Now don’t get too scared, because the Unyielding Spirit like effect is not permanent.
Gem
The first thing to note is that this card can’t be placed in your deck, as it is a non-collectible card. The best way to know when a card is non-collectible is when it has no rarity gem.
As for Gem itself, it is a rather uninteresting card. It heals an ally 1 and grants it +1/+0. Strangely, while the spell is burst speed, it has the weaknesses of being a slow spell, as the text points out that it can’t be cast in combat or to respond to a spell. But because it’s burst, it can’t be reacted to, either.
Gift Giver
And here’s the first card that creates a Gem. Gift Giver seems pretty good. A 1 mana 1/2 that creates a neat card in hand is definitely fine on its own already. Not much else to say about this one.
Mountain Goat
Cool art, but I’m not sure this card will be very good. 2 mana for 3/1 in stats isn’t too bad, but it does leave it vulnerable to a large amount of cards like Make it Rain, Vile Feast, Twisted Fate’s Red Card, among others. But there seem to be a good number of permanent buff givers, so perhaps that is how this card is intended to be used.
Mentor of the Stones
Now this is a peculiar card. 3 mana 1/1 is terrible though. It does provide good value by providing permanent buffs and creating three cards in hand, but I can see this card dying many times before it even gets to attack.
Shard of the Mountain
A value card that fills your hand with Gems. Could certainly be helpful, especially against control versus control matchups. But even then, this card does not look very powerful.
Taric’s Blessing of Targon
First thing to note is that they revealed this card as Taric’s signature spell. However, we can safely assume that this will be it’s own spell. Currently, it reminds us of Stand Alone, except this card does not have a condition and costs one more. Stand Alone disappeared almost completely from the metagame when it got nerfed to 4 mana.
So can this card stand a chance? Honestly, it’s very possible. Not having a condition and being able to target whichever unit you want is a definite plus over current Stand Alone. We’ll have to see, but I have high hopes for this card.
Startled Stomper
An adorable, well-statted elephant. The card doesn’t seem all that great at first glance, but it’s a card that benefits greatly from support effects and buffs. And on its own, a 2 mana 2/3 with Overwhelm isn’t really bad, just kind of mediocre.
Resplendent Stellacorn
Not much to say about this card, honestly. It’s slightly weaker than Kindly Tavernkeeper. But if healing becomes an archetype, this will be a definite consideration.
Broadbacked Protector
A very bizarre card that almost single-handedly confirms that there will be an archetype that revolves around healing your units and nexus. Unfortunately, we have no cards that really benefit from healing just yet, so this card looks like an average anti-aggro card. If we do get cards that benefit from healing, then this would be a terrific support card. Not only does it heal, but it damages itself which allows you to heal it.
New keyword: Daybreak
Daybreak works like the opposite of Nightfall (which makes sense). The card gets a bonus if it’s the first card you play that round.
New Targon champion: Leona
The latest addition to the Targon cards in Legends of Runeterra is Targon champion Leona. She shares the same statline as Shen, which isn’t bad at all. She has the potential to be both an offensive card and a defensive card. And, unsurprisingly, she levels up after you activate Daybreak a handful of times.
Leona is looking to be a powerful card in the upcoming expansion as she is pretty powerful in her own right.
Morning Light
This spell looks to be the main way to close out games with Leona. Have a leveled up Leona on board with at least 2-3 other Daybreak followers and use this spell. It will activate all Daybreaks, stunning most enemies (if not all enemies) on board before you go for a powerful last attack.
Zenith Blade
This is a pretty cool card. It grants a permanent buff and if you activate its Daybreak you draw another one from you deck. Unfortunately, its slow speed hinders its viability by a sizable amount. It can still be used, as it does grant Overwhelm as well, so it has a chance.
Sunburst
Now this is a surprise. Could this be the first card to be able to silence a champion? The wording mentions ”unit” which implies it can. If so, this card is very powerful. The silence may be for only one round but a silence is strong nonetheless.
Guiding Touch
Not particularly strong. We’ll have to see what healing synergies will be available as they will determine if this card is good or not.
Solari Soldier
It’s a better Cithria. Will definitely see play in Daybreak decks and probably other archetypes too.
Solari Shieldbearer
It’s similar to Brightsteel Protector in the sense that it’s a good deterrent for your opponent’s attack. Not as good as Brightsteel Protector, but definitely not bad.
Sun Guardian
A tricky card to evaluate. It combos well with Morning Light and is a big threat on the board the turn you play it. Not a good blocker, though.
Rahvun, Daylight’s Spear
Unlike most of the Daybreak cards, this one definitely needs to be played in a Daybreak deck. You could argue that it doesn’t because it generates value, but you’d be wasting some of its potential if you don’t run it with other Daybreak cards to take advantage of its effect.
It combos particularly well with level 2 Leona, as you could chain stuns. Strong card for this archetype.
New Champion: Diana
As most expected, the next champion released among Targon cards in Legends of Runeterra is Diana. She, very fittingly, is like an assassin. If you activate her Nightfall she gains Challenger and combining Challenger with her base Quick Attack more often than not results in an opponent’s unit dying.
Once again, like Nocturne, the Nightfall archetype seems to be a strange fast midrange style of play. We would have to get our hands on the new cards to really figure out how the archetype works. But right now Diana is looking like a solid card.
A lot of people might see the 2/2 body and think that’s too weak. We disagree. While 2/2 is certainly weak, her Quick Attack makes it difficult for her to die in combat. And her level up is very easy as you don’t require her to be on the field. Lastly, if your opponent were to Mystic Shot her (the best way to beat her) it would be an even trade in terms of mana. Mystic Shot won’t even work if you use Shroud of Darkness beforehand.
Pale Cascade
A great cycle card! In fact, it’s a pretty decent card even without the Nightfall effect. Not much else to say here.
Hush
This card is insane if it can target champions. It’s still good even if it can’t, though. It would just be a lot more niche. It’s similar to Noxian Guillotine, as it creates Fleeting copies of it in hand. Because it’s burst you can use as many as you want without giving over action to your opponent. Good card, will definitely see play.
Cygnus the Moonstalker
This is a weird one. It has three flaws: it’s 6 mana, requires you to Nightfall, and has only 2 health. On the other hand, it gains Elusive and gives another unit Elusive. As crazy as it might sound, we think this unit has potential. Never underestimate the power of the Elusive keyword. This card could be used for sneaky finishes.
Lunari Duskbringer and Duskpetal Dust
We decided to review these two together because they are packaged together. Duskpetal Dust is an incredible Nightfall enabler. Needless to say, if you build a Nightfall centered deck, this is a must have.
Lunari Shadestalker
A 2/3 that gains permanent Elusive if you activate her Nightfall. A nice card. Could help Nocturne level up as he requires Nightfall units to attack. She will also deal consistent chip damage each turn and her 3 health makes her difficult to remove.
Crescent Guardian
It’s basically a Mighty Poro that could become better with the Nightfall. Pretty aggressive card. Might see play in aggro Nightfall decks.
New Keyword: Invoke
Invoke let’s you choose between 3 Celestial cards. What are Celestial cards you ask? We’ll go over them later below. First let’s look at some of the Invoke cards.
Spacey Sketcher
It seems Targon is getting a little bit of discard synergy. But this card is great outside of it. Celestial cards are all somewhat good, so getting one for cheap isn’t bad, even if it’s one that costs 3 or less.
Lunari Priestess
3 mana 2/1s have been historically bad in Legends of Runeterra. And this card also has the Nightfall limitation. That being said, the Invoke is free of limitation so you could get a high costing Celestial card out of it.
Solari Priestess
Fittingly, this card is an opposite of Lunari Priestess. However, Solari Priestess is more consistent in the Celestial cards you will be offered. You could argue this is a better choice.
Mountain Scryer
We finally get to see the Allegiance card for Targon and it’s great! It lowers the cost of Celestial cards (all of which are pretty good) and if you proc Allegiance, you’ll Invoke. Solid option, even though the stats are bad.
Moondreamer
Bad stats for the mana cost. Will probably only see play in Invoke decks and control decks. Unless Celestial cards prove to be so good you’d run them in anything.
Behold the Infinite
Much like Moondreamer, this card will only see play in Invoke decks or if Celestial cards are so good you’d bring them in anything.
All Celestial Cards
Celestial cards for Targon in Legends of Runeterra are very powerful but a lot of them are slow to play as well. You need to use an Invoke card, most of which have bad stats for the mana cost so you’ll lose out on tempo. After that, you play your Celestial card. So it’s almost guaranteed to take two turns depending on which Invoke card you used.
As for the Celestial cards. They seem to have a mix of a lot of different things. They have some ramp-like Moonlight and Written in Stars. They have removal like ”Comets” and Supernova. And they have powerful units that could close out the game like The Great Beyond and The Immortal Fire.
Celestial cards have a ton of variety and I can’t see how they wouldn’t see some play and be competitive.
New Keyword: Fury
Fury is a simple keyword to understand. Every time a unit with Fury kills another unit, they gain a permanent +1/+1.
New Champion: Aurelion Sol
They saved the biggest addition to the Targon champion cards in Legends of Runeterra for the last! Aurelion Sol, despite being a Dragon, mostly has synergy with Celestial cards. That being said, he is incredibly powerful, as he should for being a 10 mana card. He has Fury and Spellshield along with 10/10 in stats.
And his leveled up form makes the already powerful Celestial cards cost 0. So he has huge stats, has defense against spells (at least the first spell), and generates value over time. He does have one weakness though. He costs 10 mana. That can be a problem, as most games are closing at around the 10 mana mark. There are ways to get him out early with Celestial cards, Thresh, and even Freljord’s ramp package.
Since Targon has access to good healing, I find it unlikely that this card will have a hard time coming down. It’ll take a very aggressive deck to get through Targon’s defences.
The Infinite Mindsplitter
This card seems to be a strange variation of Yone. You pick two enemies and they get stunned every Round Start pretty much forever unless your opponent removes The Infinite Mindsplitter. It’s an 8/8 with Fury that can potentially lock two big threats. Imagine using this against Sejuani and Ashe?
We can see this card being used. It can even be combined with Freljord’s Behold package.
Inviolus Vox
Same stats as Sejuani, but unlike Sejuani, this card doesn’t provide instant value. It does promise value over time. We don’t see this card making much of an impact currently. Perhaps later when we receive more Dragon synergy.
Starshaping
Very expensive card… It does let you choose from one of the better Celestial cards. It even provides some healing. You might run a single copy of this if your strategy revolves around Celestial cards, specifically the late-game units.
The Skies Descend
This card is going to throw everyone into a panic. But it shouldn’t. This card is even more expensive than Warmother’s Call. And it requires you to have a board of specific units to lower its cost. You would probably only play this (if you even play it) if you have a second Aurelion Sol in hand.
Messenger’s Sigil
In case you missed it, The Messenger is a 2 mana 2/2 Celestial unit that draws you a card when you summon it. It looks kind of like a meme card. You could potentially run this in an aggro burn deck, as those tend to run out of steam and this would provide you with 2/2 units that cycle your deck.
Dragon’s Clutch
3 mana to draw two is pretty good. Alternatively, you could use it as a worse Poro Snax… Yeah, you’ll probably only use this to draw.
Herald of Dragons
Bad stats but the effect is very nice. You could even use it to try and get Aurelion Sol out earlier. Not a bad card at all.
Whiteflame Protector
A simple 4 mana 4/4 Dragon with Fury. Good in Dragon decks and okay outside of them.
Fused Firebrand
A 5 mana 5/5 with Fury and Spellshield. That’s pretty scary. This card could see play in midrange decks. Not bad at all.
Star Shepherd
More synergy cards for a healing archetype and a pretty good addition indeed. However, the healing archetype doesn’t have a payoff right now. We’ll have to wait for the next expansion, or the one after.
Fledgling Stellacorn
Incredible buff target! A tricky card to play with since its stats are terrible for the mana cost, but a very powerful unit if you manage to buff it.
Giddy Sparkleologist
Just when you thought the Celestial archetype couldn’t get any stronger… This card is horrifying and we can see it being put in every Celestial deck.
Grandfather Rumul
Not bad. It has Overwhelm which is good because it has 8 power. It has Spellshield, so your opponent would need two spells to take it out. And it grants +4 health to an ally. This card isn’t as bad as it looks. Though we understand how clunky 8+ mana cards can be.
Porofly
At long last, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! They’ve saved the best for last – Targon’s Poro! A 1/1 with Spellshield – literally overpowered! Okay, memes and jokes aside, this card could actually be pretty crazy with Heart of the Fluft. But that’s about it.
We’ll continue to update this article with further Targon cards in Legends of Runeterra as they are revealed, so stay tuned!
What are your thoughts about the Spellshield keyword and Targon cards in Legends of Runeterra? Let us know in the comment section below!
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