The first of three champions to join Legends of Runeterra in the next expansion, Guardians of the Ancient, has been revealed today.
Riot Games, in collaboration with Mobalytics, has introduced Zilean—and he’ll bring his Time Bomb ability from League of Legends to LoR.
Zilean is a two-mana 1/4 champion unit with a Play ability that creates four Time Bombs in your deck. Afterward, you Predict. Zilean reaches his level two form once he’s seen you destroy two allied Time Bombs.
Time Bombs are unique uncollectible Landmarks that cost two mana to play. They advance your other Time Bombs forward by one and draw you a card. After counting down for one turn, the Time Bomb detonates, dealing one damage to all enemy units in addition to their Nexus.
Once he levels up, Zilean gains +1/+1 in combat stats and keeps his Time Bomb-creating Play ability. In addition, he gains a new ability that generates immense value. At the start of each round, Zilean creates Fleeting copies of non-Fleeting cards that he saw you play last turn.
Zilean pairs well with board control-focused and combo decks due to his defensive stat line and his ability to sunder the enemy’s board with Time Bombs. But leveling up Zilean may be an arduous task due to the fact that he needs to be on the board and see the Time Bomb’s conclusion to obtain level-up credit.
Once Zilean levels up, the ability to play multiple copies of the same card can overwhelm the opponents with value, especially if you copy multiple Time Bombs or units that your opponent keeps trying to remove.
If you’re aiming to find a Time Bomb as quick as possible and don’t find it in your predictions, you can always press “Skip” on your Predict to not put one of the three cards on top of your deck.
Aside from Zilean, three other cards were revealed today: Chronoshift, Scrying Sands, and Soothsayer.
Chronoshift is a Rare seven-mana Burst spell that gives an allied champion a temporary buff that lasts for one round and prevents its death and grants it a permanent +3/+3 instead. While it may be difficult to find consistent use of this card in an actual deck, Chronoshift is Zilean’s Champion Spell, so there’s a good chance it can find fringe use when you already have a Zilean on the board.
Scrying Sands is a Rare one-mana Burst spell that Predicts and gives an enemy unit -2/-0 for the round. As far as combat tricks go, Scrying Sands is a serviceable way to turn any combat in your favor. But its utility of being able to filter through your draws thanks to Predict is the main feature of the card.
Soothsayer is a Common two-mana unit with 1/4 combat stats and a summon ability that grants your allied champions and Landmarks Spellshield. Her ability of granting Landmarks protection through Spellshield is unique to the game and the defense provided makes them even more difficult to destroy than they already are.
Zilean will join the Shurima champion roster when LoR: Guardians of the Ancient is released on May 5.
