Two of Legends of Runeterra’s most overpowered spells are being nerfed—finally.
Deny and Back to Back are being nerfed in Patch 0.9.0, which specifically targets their mana costs. The two spells are difficult to counter and can easily disrupt a strategy that you’ve been waiting all game to deploy.
Deny, the Ionian card that counters an opponents’ fast spell, slow spell, or skill, will now take four mana to cast (up from three). The spell finds itself in almost every Ionian deck, controlling the tempo of a game and instilling fear in the hearts of opponents. Your adversary must constantly think twice before casting a pivotal spell due to the possibility of a Deny counter.
The increase in mana will add more “involved decision making,” according to Riot, since Deny can no longer be fully castable with leftover spell mana. LoR devs hope Deny will no longer be “disruptive to the metagame” by “restricting viable card options.”
In a similar fashion, Back to Back is an oppressive Burst spell that increases two allies’ power and health by three for the round. Riot has decided to also increase its mana cost by one, jumping it up to six.
“Back to Back can be a huge blowout Burst-speed trick that often leaves opponents without profitable avenues for playing around it,” according to the patch notes. “We like this kind of effect, but such a swingy card ultimately warrants a higher cost.”
It’s unclear if the increase in mana cost will affect the prevalence and power of the two spells. Riot will monitor them while it continues to balance the meta.
