Legends of Runeterra: Call of the Mountain has officially released its first set of three. As part of this first set, 89 new cards are now available for players to collect. With these new cards, every player is looking to find which ones will be the next defining meta breaker.
Here are the 10 best Call of the Mountain cards that will make an impact on the upcoming ranked meta in LoR.
10) Troll Chant
With the Fury of the North nerf coming with Call of the Mountain’s release, Freljord players are looking for new combat tricks that can potentially take its place. Even though Fury of the North still has a high chance of being effective, Troll Chant changes the dynamic of combat tricks by being able to affect multiple units at a cheap cost.
9) Solari Priestess
When she was first revealed, it was unknown how strong the Solari Priestess could be since the strength of Celestial cards was unclear at the time. Now that we know the power level of every Celestial card (and more specifically, the exact ones the Priestess can discover), Solari Priestess can be accurately judged. While the initial investment of tempo loss is huge for playing Solari Priestess, since her stats are so low, she makes up for this by providing powerful Celestial cards that you can fit into your curve.
While Solari Priestess most likely doesn’t fit into a conventional Daybreak deck that aims to get onto the board and be aggressive, she more suited to a slower Invoke style that can outvalue the opponent.
8) Lunari Shadestalker
Elusive has been a contentious keyword since LoR launched. While most Elusive minions either have poor stats for their cost or have been nerfed, Lunari Shadestalker gives players an alternate way to get a strong unit with the keyword. While you’re unlikely to activate her Nightfall on turn two outside of Duskpetal Dust or zero-mana cards, being able to gain Elusive on turns beyond that can’t be overlooked.
The strength of Nocturne and Diana depends on the viability of Nightfall cards as a whole, but Lunari Shadestalker looks to help push the archetype forward.
7) Zenith Blade
While a three-mana Overwhelm and +1/+2 permanent stat buff are a little lackluster, Zenith Blade’s ability to replace itself with another copy when cast as Daybreak is unparalleled. While there’s a little bit of luck dependency to get the maximum value out of it (by not drawing into every copy), the chance of drawing into two or three copies before casting one is unlikely.
Zenith Blade also plays into the power curve of leveling up Leona to level two the turn you play her. This is achieved with the next two cards on the list.
6) Solari Soldier and Solari Shieldbearer
While putting two cards on the same spot on the list may feel cheap, their effects are so similar that having them in separate spots would feel redundant. Both of these cards fulfill the same purpose. They’re aggressive cards that you want to play in the early turns of the game. Besides having multiple bonus stats, they also give you credit toward leveling up Leona, which is entirely possible when you play her on turn four.
When they’re played with Daybreak on the same turns as their mana cost, these units are unmatched. Due to this, Solari Soldier and Solari Shieldbearer make up a powerful shell that any aggressive deck would appreciate. While aggro and midrange will immediately come to any player’s mind, they also have potency in slower decks as proactive drops that can hold the board until you reach your later turns.
5) Fused Firebrand
With the current cycle of collectible Dragons, each of them incorporates a new keyword with Fury. Fused Firebrand is a simple take on this with just vanilla stats and simple keywords. But the other keyword it has, Spellshield, combines well with its identity and play patterns. As a 5/5 unit for five mana, it’s already fair on stats. With these two keywords combined, it becomes a threatening powerhouse that can either clear your opposing units or deal five damage each turn.
Due to its Spellshield, opponents will need to sink a lot of resources into it to effectively deal with it, allowing this card to get you a two for one in most cases.
4) Lunari Duskbringer
The strength of Nightfall cards comes from the ability to play multiple cards within a turn, while juggling card advantage. When you invest too many cards into activating your combos, you run the risk of running out of cards. But Lunari Duskbringer circumvents this. By creating Duskpetal Dust, she allows you to use this created card to achieve your Nightfall bonuses without using other cards preemptively.
Lunari Duskbring is also a cheap card herself, so she can effectively serve as a Nightfall trigger on her own, with her Duskpetal serving as another trigger for a future turn. Another benefit to Duskpetal Dust is that it allows you to spend your stored spell mana on playing units. Sometimes this benefit allows you to play those Duskfall cards a turn sooner than usual.
3) Tyari the Traveler
With the release of Taric and Lulu, a plethora of support cards was added to push the archetype forward—and Tyari the Traveler is the best among them. Their power to give durability to your early units means you can quickly snowball early boards in your favor. If you’re going second and you play a unit on turn one and Tyari on turn two, your opponent will need an answer or risk having to come back from an insurmountable board starting on turn two.
The main downside to Tyari is that their natural bulk is two health, which isn’t ideal in combat or against removal spells. But if your opponent is unable to answer Tyari, then the value that they can provide you in permanent health stats is immense.
2) Leona
As a top result on the best champions list, Leona deserves a spot and a mention here as well. Leona encompasses the strength of Daybreak cards: the ability to be played and get free bonus effects that will overpower an opponent when played one after another. In a deck with three copies each of Solari Soldiers, Solari Shieldbearers, and Zenith Blades, it’s realistic to have Leona level up when you play her on turn four.
Leona and her Daybreak package slot into any deck, such as aggressive decks looking to win quickly, slower decks looking to stall the game out, and even Nightfall needing Daybreak to lead the way.
1) Pale Cascade
A similar theme that the Targon region has been pushing as a whole is cards that can replace themselves. With Invoking cards being able to get Celestials, units granting Gems, or the previously mentioned Zenith Blade, Pale Cascade continues that identity.
A two-mana +2/+1 buff isn’t the greatest for two mana, but it’s serviceable. But when cast with Nightfall, being able to draw into another card from your deck provides great value. When tackling against Targon, noting when a card has been played will allow you to play around Daybreak and Nightfall cards. But since Pale Cascade is a burst spell, you’ll always have to respect its potential if your opponent has the spell mana for it and a Nightfall activator.
You can try out these cards for yourself now since Legends of Runeterra: Call of the Mountain is live.
