Legends of Runeterra Card Impressions: Jayce

LoR x Arcane Jayce Spoilers (Path of Champions Update)

Arcane is coming to Runeterra in all its glory.

You’ve seen the first set of episodes, now come see the cards.

My name is Jordan “WhatAmI” Abronson and today I’ll be going over the Arcane Mini-Set and trying to figure out what homes these new mechanics have.

Let’s check them out.

Here are the cards from Jayce’s reveal package (all from Piltover/Zaun):

• Jayce/Ascension Gate
• Shockblast/ Jayce’s Shockblast
• Feros Financier
• Forge Chief
• Assembly Line/Forge Worker
• The Forge of Tomorrow
• Hextech Anomaly
• Albus Ferros
• Ferros Sky Cruiser
• Hextech Handler

Jayce/Ascension Gate

• Jayce (level 1)
  • 4 mana 4|4 champion
  • Text – Play: Grant me Quick Attack or Challenger.
  • Level up – You’ve cast two 6+ cost spells. When I level up, create an Acceleration Gate in hand.

• Jayce (level 2)
  • 4 mana 5|5 champion
  • Text – Play: Grant me Quick Attack or Challenger. Each round, the first time you cast a 6+ cost spell, cast it again on the same targets.

• Acceleration Gate
  • 6 mana Slow spell
  • Text – Give your allies +2|+0 and Quick Attack this round. If they already have it or Double Attack, give them a random keyword instead.

Wow, is there a lot going on here. I think my favorite thing though is the base. Jayce as a 4 mana 4/4 Quick Attack will provide a quite reasonable amount of pressure. In Challenger mode, he is a solid removal spell that will leave a body behind, kind of like a mini Vi.

That right there I think would be enough to make him see some splash play in a bunch of different archetypes. However, we get to add that if you can level him up he actually becomes quite a reasonable win condition.

Ascension Gate with a wide board will let Jayce do a pretty credible leveled Sivir impression, giving all your units +4/+0 and some random keywords to help them out as well.

And that’s ignoring the silliness that ensues if you add something like our next card or Winter’s Breath to the equation.

We’ll have to see how often this champion gets to level, as two 6+ spells is an awful lot to ask. However, I think leveled or otherwise, there will be quite a few nifty homes for him.

And let’s not forget that Thermogenic Beam is in his region and quite happy to help out with his ascension.

Shockblast/Jayce’s Shockblast

• Shock Blast (Jayce’s champion spell)
  • 6 mana Slow spell
  • Text – Deal 3 to an enemy or the enemy Nexus, and 3 to another.
  • Jayce’s Shock Blast also creates a Jayce in your deck.

This card being slow instead of fast is going to severely hamper its main-deckability. It has some interesting synergy with a couple of champions, Jayce, Heimerdinger, and Ezreal off the top of my head, and it is a two for one, but six mana slow is a tough ask.

That said this will cause some serious blowouts, and probably also some game-closing burn scenarios when it comes as the second Jayce in your hand.

If there is a deck that is actively trying to level our newest champion then this will also probably feature prominently.

Ferros Financier

• Ferros Financier
  • 2 mana 2|2 follower
  • Text – Play: Manifest a 6+ cost spell from your regions.

This little buddy reminds me an awful lot of Conchologist. And anyone who has played with that card knows exactly how busted it is. A 2 mana 2/2 with a value-based upside is very, very good.

This upside is a little bit harder to access than Conchologist because it will take an awful lot more mana investment, but sometimes the payoffs will be huge as well.

The first time someone is playing Freljord and pulls a Feel The Rush with this it’ll definitely be an epic moment.

Forge Chief

• Forge Chief 
  • 1 mana 2|1 follower
  • Text – Strike: Refill 1 spell mana.

This buff gal is going to get underestimate a whole lot. She’s not doing anything earthshaking, but she is setting up a no-lose scenario come turn one. What exactly do I mean by that?

If she gets in a free hit, you’re happy and might be up mana. If she trades with an aggressive one drop, you’re happy because you’re not dying.

If she eats a spell, then your opponent spent a spell on your one drop.

Assuming there is a 6+ spell archetype then I think she will be one of the important pieces that holds the early game together.

Assembly Line/Forge Worker

• Assembly Line
  • 6 mana slow spell
  • Text – Summon 2 Forge Workers

• Forge Worker
  • 3 mana 3|3 follower

This card feels an awful lot like remembrance, but there are some key differences here. Namely that this will shut down a lot of early aggressive draws hard. Two 3/3s for six mana isn’t that impressive, except when it happens on turn three or four.

Developing into a potential Double Trouble from a Nami player was always scary.

Trying to develop into this hiding in your Jayce opponent’s hand as an aggressive deck is going to be downright terrifying.

The Forge of Tomorrow

• The Forge of Tomorrow
  • 3 mana landmark
  • Text – When I am summoned, summon a Forge Worker. When you cast a 6+ cost spell, destroy me and refill your spell mana.

Ooooh boy this one scares me. It’s a solid enough control or midrange tool, banking your mana for later and fighting for early board presence. But this kind of effect is what combo decks live for.

Getting an extra three mana on a specific turn that you control when it goes off is a very powerful effect.

We’ll have to see if something comes along that is capable of abusing this properly, but the potential is most definitely there.

Hextech Anomaly

• Hextech Anomaly
  • 6 mana focus spell
  • Text – When you draw or create me in hand or each Round Start: while I’m in your hand, transform me into a random 6+ cost spell.

I’m not even quite sure how to evaluate this it is so ridiculously random.

I think it will see exactly 0 non-meme main deck play, but you will get it off of Feros Financier and it will cause some epic and terrible moments.

I honestly can’t say if I am more hyped or worried about them, but it’s gonna be huge when it happens.

Albus Ferros

• Albus Ferros 
  • 7 mana 6|5
  • Quick Attack
  • Text – Whem I’m summoned, draw Jayce. Attack: Deal 1 to the enemy Nexus. For each 6+ cost spell you’ve cast this game, increase it by 1.

Jayce boat here is interesting. I think on his own his burnout trigger is probably not a sufficient win condition, but if there is a dedicated Jayce deck he will probably get to see play as a one or two of.

Dreadway this is not, but there’s a long way between not-Dreadway and unplayable. I’m reserving judgement here.

Ferros Sky Cruiser

• Ferros Skycruiser
  • 4 mana 2|4 follower
  • Elusive
  • Text – Grant me +2|+2 once you’ve cast a 6+ cost spell this game.

Alright this one has some serious potential. There are an awful lot of different playable ways for this to come down as a 4/4 elusive on turn four.

And that is a scary, hard-to-answer clock, that can block most other units hanging out at that stage in the game if it needs to.

This is a quintessential midrange card and I cannot wait to brew with it.

Hextech Handler

• Hextech Handler
  • 3 mana 3|2
  • Quick Attack
  • Text – Grant Tech allies everywhere +1|+1 once you’ve cast a 6+ cost spell this game.

This is one of first true archetype power up effects, commonly called lords, that we have seen in this game. It’s even aggressively stated as well, becoming a 4/3 Quick Attack on trigger if it affects itself.

I don’t know if this will be enough to make Heimerdinger a deck again, but if it’s the start of some new tech cards to come then I would not be surprised to see it performing powerfully someday.

Bonus Deck: JayceFolk

Deck code: CMBQCBAEA4BQKCQEFC6ACAYFAQLBQGIEAEBAIAICAECBWNACAUCBWHADAUFACMNGAEBACAYEBUBAKBAVDI

[See Jaycefolk deck details]

I figured that the best shell for Jayce is likely to be some kind of midrange good stuff deck. And if we’re looking for Shells we might as well ask the folk, am I right?

This deck is bursting with value and removal tools. As far as winning the game goes we’re mostly looking to slam some elusives, but if Shellfolk gives us our opponent’s win conditions we aren’t going to complain, right?

All in all a solid place to start brewing.

To explore all the new cards, head to our spoiler page. If you’re ready to create a deck, head to our Deck Builder!