The Top 10 World Ender Cards to Watch

World Ender – Top 10 Cards to Watch

Hey all, it’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung and I’m back with the latest Top 10 Cards to Watch list for the new expansion; World Ender!

Before we get started, allow me to remind you of a 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, as I try to keep an open mind to a card’s future potential.

To explore the rest of the new cards, head to our all-in-one reveal page.

If you’d dive right into creating a new deck, head to our Deck Builder.

Crimson Pigeon

This may be the most real card we’ve ever seen for the classic Tier 3 self-damage archetype. It meets the bar as a one mana 2|2, but has the potential to grow continuously. Yup, you read the card correctly… Those stats are granted permanently!

While dealing self-damage is a cost, if utilized properly we’ll either proc additional effects or mitigate the drawback entirely. Additionally, as a support trigger, this offers flexibility by allowing us to choose whether we want to activate it. There’s really nothing to dislike here, it’s all upside.

I can’t say whether this is enough to push Scargrounds toward being competitive, but it definitely got a major buff with Crimson Pigeon.

Celestial Blessing

It may look to be a straightforward spell at first glance, but Celestial Blessing is no joke. Targon absolutely loves efficient combat tricks to proc Fated or progress champion level-ups, and this does all that and more!

While a +1|+1 buff to the board is rather underwhelming, being able to add it to a unit in hand is incredible. Just look at Teemo Zoe. When those Elusives get extra stats via Byrd or Lodestone it makes a massive difference. Byrd can be somewhat random, and Lodestone can often be prevented. Celestial Blessing is 100% guaranteed.

It’s +2|+2 worth of stats for two mana, a rate we haven’t really seen since pre-nerf Sharpsight. Plus, the stats are permanent! I expect this to be a Targon staple going forward. Good luck trying to match them on-curve when their units come down +1|+1 stronger than they should be!

Trusty Ramhound

It’s really cool to see Riot push some additional support for older underpowered archetypes. As we all know, Elites have struggled to function since the beginning.

They’re supposed to play for the board and have above-rate stats at the cost of a linear game plan. Unfortunately, all they had was a linear game plan and middling stats.

For a strategy that’s meant to hit the ground running, it only had a single 1-drop that’s just a vanilla 2|2? It’s even worse than it sounds. But it’s about to get a bit better now that Trusty Ramhound is here!

This is the first one mana 3|3 the game has seen and that’s a real way to get a jump on the opponent. While it can’t swing in for three on turn one, what’s truly important is just the stats it contributes to the board.

Elites don’t want to trade one for one, they want to survive long enough to be bolstered by Bannerman or Garen. Trusty Ramhound is a big step in that direction.

Elites will undoubtedly need more support than this in order to compete, but there is one more new goodie that could potentially be a big help. More on that later…

Puzzling Signposts

Alas, Runeterra has its third Deny, this time in Bandle City, and they’re gonna love it! While Puzzling Signposts isn’t a straight-up counterspell, it does the job well enough to halt the enemy and ensure success, while also replacing itself to maintain card advantage. This card will look very familiar to card game veterans. 😉

Think back to the days of Fizz Riven or Papercraft Renekton. These types of combo decks thrive when they can pull off their game plan securely. One of the biggest assets in the Renekton deck was its access to Rite of Negation, as it was the best insurance policy to have when moving in for the kill.

Now that Bandle City has Puzzling Signposts, this opens up a whole bunch of region combinations that gain access to their own Deny. Go and have a look at some older Bandle control decks and imagine them with Deny..

Darkness…

Redeemed Prodigy

Redeemed Prodigy is a big buff to Hallowed decks as now we have another 2-drop that can build up death triggers. While this technically doesn’t have Hallowed itself, it will very often be able to create at least one stack, provided it isn’t removed pre-combat.

This really helps fill in the gap and add more consistency to the archetype. In some games, we’d find many Hallowed units early on while at other times we can’t find any at all. Those games would be night and day different. Now we’re able to invest heavier into the keyword without needing to play the bad cards, and I think that’ll lead to a much more enjoyable experience.

Champions’ Strength

I didn’t think much of this card initially, but after some careful thought, I think there’s some potential here. It has all the signs of an unplayable card. It’s expensive, a slow spell, and it’s epic rarity. That may as well be the equation to a bad card. But honestly, Champions’ Strength could be a real finisher, perhaps for Elites!?

A board-wide +4|+4 buff is no joke, especially when combined with Scout. If you think about it, this is essentially pre-nerf Yordles in Arms + Rally in one card. The problem with most big board buffs is that it’s too easy for the opponent to block and survive the attack, unless backed by a Rally. Champions’ Strength does just that.

It’s also nice having the flexibility to Rally on the opponent’s turn, as there can still be times where a single swing is enough to win.

Elites really lacked the closing power to end games, so this could be just what they always needed. It’s still likely a big mountain to climb, but regardless, Champions’ Strength is a powerful game ender and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it find a home in the future.

Wily Newtfish

While the stats are unimpressive, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this card is a repeatable draw engine. It’s true that it has to hit the nexus, but being elusive is often enough to get the job done. Having three health is also nice as it’s pretty resilient to most removal.

The ceiling is pretty high, especially when you factor in draw-synergy with Twisted Fate. Even standalone, it’s still card-advantage.

All that aside, Wily Newtfish probably isn’t good enough to be competitive. It gets eaten alive by challengers, and is pretty slow compared to the high power threats we see today. But despite that, it’s still got potential, and it’s too adorable not to make this list. 🙂

Acoustician

PnZ gets its own version of Rivershaper, except this one, has three health! That is a huge deal, as Rivershaper is always vulnerable to the plethora of Mystic Shots that exist today. Acoustician doesn’t have this problem.

While you could argue that drawing a spell from your deck is better than creating a random new two-cost spell, Acoustician provides more support for Seraphine, and we all know how ridiculously good she already is.

We may not be in the ideal region for protecting Acoustician, but simply having a 2|3 that can block early and provide value is just what these decks want. Watch out, the random spells aren’t going away anytime soon!

Poro Stories

Wow, this is quite the card. In terms of value, this is a two-mana draw three. Obviously, that’s an overstatement, but still, three cards for one is absurd.

Poro Stories can serve as free discard fodder or provide cheap blockers when needed. If we ever get more Rummage-like effects in the future, this card would be absolutely broken.

If you’ve ever played other TCGs/CCGs, you may be familiar with effects that discard your entire hand to draw the same number of cards. If we ever see something similar come to LoR, be prepared to see some crazy combos with this card.

Xolaani the Bloodweaver

I always knew The Darkin Bloodletters was the best weapon. I mean, it has to be right? Its Darkin form became its own card!

This iteration of Xolaani is an even bigger Overwhelm threat than before. Targon already spends the majority of the game buffing its units that it almost seems inevitable that Xolaani the Bloodweaver will grow to absurd lengths. And if it happens, the Empowered transform will most certainly end the game.

Honestly, it’s just a big Overwhelm finisher, with the added potential to be an over-the-top finisher. But that could very well be good enough to warrant including a couple copies as the top end of a list.

Targon already plays enough threats that are hard to deal with that eventually something has to stick, and Xolaani’s here to make sure if it happens, the game ends!

Conclusion

That’s a wrap. What’d you think of my list this time around? Do you agree with my takes? Are there any cards you think I missed? Feel free to hit me up and discuss on Twitter @Shugo_LoR.

Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day

Accepting structure into our life helps set us on the right path.

Accepting flexibility helps us continue that path when we make a turn in the wrong direction.

To explore the rest of the new cards, head to our all-in-one reveal page. If you’d dive right into creating a new deck, head to our Deck Builder.