The Top 10 Awakening Cards to Watch

Awakening – Top 10 Cards to Watch

Hey, it’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today I’m bringing you my top 10 list of cards that are worth watching from the new expansion; Awakening!

Before we begin, let me drop the usual few disclaimers.

• These cards are in no particular order.
• No Champions, as they are the obvious place to start with when deck building.
• This list isn’t solely based on power and playability. Some of these cards will be notable meta players, such as the new removal spells. Others are more theoretical, as these cards have huge potential if the right pieces are put together.

We’ve got a ton of decks to explore this time around, so don’t be too shocked if some of your favorites don’t make the list. It was tough choosing only ten cards.. So this time we’ll be starting with a few honorable mentions!

Honorable Mentions

Hexbliterator

One of PnZ’s common weaknesses is its inability to deal with larger units. While it may have efficient damage removal, it often relies on help from regions like Noxus or Shadow Isles to deal with threats outside of its reach.

Hexbliterator is a step toward filling in that gap. It’s a little on the weak side as five damage won’t always get the job done.. But the Obliterate can be a nice bonus.

It’s not quite top 10 material, but hey, it’s a great card to pick off of Ferros Financier!

Celestial Impact

Piggybacking off of Hexbliterator, Celestial Impact is a solid option for a lot of the same reasons. It fills that gap of being a top-end removal in a region that lacks reliable options.

Seven mana is a lot, but it’s definitely a nice catch-all answer to a single major threat. And once again, it’s a great Ferros Financier target!

Tempting Prospect

We haven’t really seen this type of effect in Runeterra, at least not at this type of cost. What’s even more interesting is that it’s in Demacia?

Tempting Prospect helps us find the right follower or equipment for the situation. If there’s ever a specific piece we need for a combo, this can almost be a way to tutor it. It’s sort of like a Time Trick, but better. The only caveat being we can potentially whiff and hit nothing..

I’m not sure whether the average midrange Demacia deck will want a card like this, as they can’t always afford to spare any mana.. But cheap cantrip spells are almost always effective in some way, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before it finds a home.

Heavy Metal

If you’ve read my articles before, you know I’m all for two mana deal twos. Even at slow speed, you can’t really go wrong.

What makes this even better is the region it’s in. Bilgewater has a knack for having garbage tier spells and minimal removal options, but Heavy Metal doesn’t fall into that camp.

This allows Bilgewater a bit more freedom to utilize its Keg and spell synergies without solely relying on its second region. And if equipment ever defines the meta, it only gets better!

Wuju Style

If there was an 11th card on my list, it would be Wuju Style. But unfortunately, there’s another more efficient Ionia spell that’s taken its place. (Spoilers, sorry!)

Regardless, Wuju Style is a fantastic spell that perfectly fits Ionia’s double-spell archetype. The attack half is great alongside Quick Attackers to allow even more bluffs that the opponent must consider. Then on the backside, we get a two mana Elixir of Iron for protection.

In a way, this can sort of function like a Troll Chant effect as we’re able to cast each spell on different targets. Three mana isn’t an outrageous cost, so this will definitely win some exchanges.

All that said, the card does still have some situational uses. It’s a bit too costly to rely on solely as a protection spell, and there won’t always be a perfect target for both halves. Regardless, it provides excellent value for one card and will definitely be worth considering in multiple lists.

Top 10 Awakening Cards

1. Momentous Choice

Starting off our top 10 we have the spell that beat out Wuju Style… Momentous Choice. This card is a nutty combat trick. While it does have a bit of a deck building cost, the payoff is a mini Twin Disciplines for ONE MANA!

I know, two health is very different from three. But Elixir of Iron is already a solid card, and we also have the ability to flex it into an attack buff.

Assuming equipment becomes a mainstay, I suspect Momentous Choice will be a staple piece of interaction for a long time.

2. Forsaken Baccai

I was absolutely floored when they spoiled this card. What in the world IS this!?

Released as a one mana 2|1 with Predict and I’d already be sold. Ekko Zilean is going to have a field day with this one. But no… This card can actually turn into a 3|2!? Excuse me!?

The Cultist tag also makes this a Kayn staple, though that’s probably the least of our worries.

This is a ridiculous 1-drop. It may even be enough to bring back the old Noxus Shurima burn decks. If there’s a way to efficiently build equipment into the list, the deck will have six 3|2’s with this and Legion Rearguard.

3. Quietus

We got Hate Spike at one mana, and now we get this? Shadow Isles is getting some really efficient removal spells, and it’s going to be needed to help halt the increasing aggression.

Quietus is essentially a miniature Culling Strike at slow speed. One mana makes this a premium choice, and there’s no clause preventing it from killing champions.

This will kill a good number of things, but we’ll still have to be careful of it fizzling to buffs. At the very least, it’s a good tech card against equipment.

Gotta love the buff to Burblefish!

4. Gift of the Hearthblood

This is a strange card to evaluate, but what really intrigues me is the cost we’re paying for the effect. At first glance, we may compare this to Avarosan Hearthguard. Instead of getting a 5|6 body, we heal four and draw a card (plus equipment buff).

However, a key difference is the spell mana. We can theoretically play this as early as turn three if we want to; which bolsters every unit and equipment draw from that point forward.

That’s a pretty interesting consideration. While I don’t suggest taking a huge tempo loss on the first three turns, this could actually be a realistic play pattern in more controlling matchups.

Outside of that, Gift of the Hearthblood offers a nice mid to late-game value tool. It’s basically the Freljord Starshaping, and that’s pretty good as is!

5. Fireth, Reaper of the Sands

This unit may look like a Sand Soldier that can’t block. But it’s so much more than that! On average, it’s a Reborn Grenadier that draws us an equipment. Ephemeral disincentivizes the opponent from blocking, and beyond pushing damage, we gain permanent value!

Fireth is a powerful aggressive tool. Its only real drawback is it doesn’t function defensively, and will force us to re-equip our Improvised card to retain value. I imagine it’ll be the frontrunner for aggro, but perhaps take a back seat to the other equipment options in slower decks.

6. Ionian Hookmaster

At a quick glance, Ionian Hookmaster looks a lot worse than Fireth.. But I think it’s actually the opposite. Ionian Hookmaster is the only 2-drop other than Jax that can immediately gain equipment without paying an additional cost. And what makes this better than Fireth is that it stays on the board!

On average it’s a 3/2 with a keyword. Even as a 3|1 it will still trade well and give us the equipment when it dies. I see it as a pre-nerfed Boom Baboon in terms of being a valuable 2-drop. This card is very good!

I’m pretty confident this falls into the staple 2-drop category. Improvise is just so powerful because you don’t have to pay the initial equip-cost, but still, retain the value after the unit dies!

Unless equipment ends up being garbage, be prepared to see a lot of this card.

7. Combat Cook

I usually like to alternate between similar effects, but I think it’s interesting to see how the Improvise cards compare. Combat Cook is another great contender.

With the Forge ability, Combat Cook will be a 5|4 (with keyword) on average. Then when it dies, drops the Forged version of the equipment. There’s really nothing not to be liked; it’s an excellent 4-drop.

I mentioned this the other day in my reveal article, but the only real downside is its cost. There’s a lot of competition in the four-slot, so that does limit its usability depending on how decks are built.

Either way, it’ll definitely see play in the equipment archetypes, and still, potentially find a home outside of them as well.

8. Heedless Resurrection

This.. Is a scary card.. Even without the cost reduction, paying five spell mana to summon the strongest dead champion is super powerful! Shurima is already the region with some of the hardest champs to kill.. And look how easy it is to bring them back! It’s basically a Mist’s Call without timing restrictions or the chance of whiffing.

It also allows for more possibilities of duplicating champions. Rekindler was the most common way before, but having access to this for three mana unlocks some broken combinations!

Coming back down to reality, we can’t forget that this card literally does nothing when none of our champions have died. That is a massive downside, and quite likely writes this card off as not being the problematic nightmare it appears to be.

However, the combo potential and ceiling is high, so it definitely had to make the list as a card to watch!

9. Seal in Steel

Seal in Steel offers a really unique effect. It falls into the Glimpse Beyond/Noxian Fervor category, being a very good counterspell to opposing interaction.

When used on a large unit, we get to save all of those stats onto the equipment that can be used repeatedly. This could very easily give us a three mana, grant +5|+5.. or even better!

It’s a great way to save those built-up Fated stats and reuse them later. The one thing to note is it Obliterates the ally, so we can’t take advantage of any death or slay triggers. This makes sense given its name, and overall won’t matter in most cases.

10. Junk Construct

I raved about this card in my reveal article, and frankly, I’m surprised there hasn’t been much talk about it.

I think Junk Construct is quite possibly the most unfair 2-drop in the entire game. We’re paying only two mana for a 2-drop, PLUS a second 2-drop, OR 3-drop, a few turns later. That’s an entire unit of free stats at no cost! As a 2/2 this already trades with most things, but then you’ll end up a whole card ahead within a few turns later.

On offense, this will help aggressive decks swarm the board even faster for cards like Sneezy Biggledust. On defense, it’ll be an aggro player’s nightmare when you get a second unit to halt their attack.

Piloted Shredder has come to Runeterra and I’m scared. Junk Construct is one heck of a card. Do not sleep on this 2-drop!

Conclusion

You may be wondering why I didn’t include any equipment on the list, and to be honest, they’re tough to evaluate. As a whole, I definitely expect they’ll make an impact in the game. Though I’m not certain how many will be directly playable. I believe the Improvise cards are likely the strongest, as they all come attached to the unit.

Well, that wraps up my top 10 list! If you want to reach out and discuss more, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @Shugo_LoR!

Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day

We all have a long list of things we’d love to spend time on, and I’m not talking about a bucket list.

Take a moment to consider all of our possessions, hobbies, and commitments. I imagine it’s a pretty long list, and in some ways, it can be a bit intimidating.

I like to think of this as our own personal backlog. Us gamers are very familiar with this term, but what if we extend this thought to everything else in life?

Before I take on anything else, I like to look at my personal backlog, because in most cases it already includes a much greater priority than the newly considered endeavor.

How often do we select something new and overlook what’s already right there in front of us?