Riven is officially coming to Legends of Runeterra in the Cosmic Creation expansion, Riot Games announced today.
Riot revealed Riven, a new keyword called Reforge, and three other collectible cards during the Monuments of Power tournament yesterday: Blade Squire, Runeweaver, and Weapon Hilt.
Reforge is an ability that creates a random Blade Fragment out of three different pieces. You can’t obtain duplicate pieces before getting each piece at least once. The three different fragments are Glinting Blade Fragment, Keen Blade Fragment, and Heavy Blade Fragment, with each one being a one-mana burst spell that buffs a unit for the turn and has the same casting restriction as Gems. Glinting Blade Fragment gives an allied unit +2/+0, Keen Blade Fragment gives an allied unit Quick Attack, and Heavy Blade Fragment gives an allied unit Overwhelm.
Once you’ve cast the three pieces, you obtain Riven’s weapon: the Blade of the Exile. Blade of the Exile is a three-mana slow spell that permanently gives a friendly unit +2/+0, Quick Attack, and Overwhelm.
Riven is a three-mana champion unit with 3/4 combat stats and Reforges whenever you gain an attack token. She reaches her leveled form once she sees you have the Blade of the Exile in your hand.
When Riven reaches level two, she gains +1/+1 in combat stats, retains her Reforge ability, and a new power scaling ability. Whenever her power is increased for the first time each round, the amount it’s increased is doubled instead.
Blade Squire is a common one-mana 1/2 unit with a Last Breath effect that Reforges. Runeweaver is a common two-mana 3/1 unit that Reforges when you summon her. Weapon Hilt is a common two-mana burst that gives an ally +2/+0 for the round and also Reforges.
Each card with Reforge—except for Riven—has less-than-stellar stats for their cost. But the ability to increase the combat potential of your units in a pinch while getting closer to leveling up Riven will be key to finding success. Due to how Riven’s Reforging mechanic works, there are multiple partner regions you can consider to pair her up with.
In Ionia, due to the multi-spellcasting identity, you can pair her up with Lee Sin and “of the Dragon” cycle cards that require two spells to be cast each turn to activate their effects. Since Reforge cards create an abundance of spells, there’s also potential for Riven to find synergy with Viktor, who needs a massive amount of cards created to attain his leveled-up form.
In addition, due to the varying amount of keywords, Riven and other Reforge-based cards can synergize with Taric, allowing you to get a notable edge in combat.
With Riven’s teaser, every champion has been revealed and the Call of the Mountain set will now be complete once Cosmic Creation is officially dropped. You can try out Riven when she joins the champion roster once LoR: Cosmic Creation is released on Dec. 16.
