While there are many different cards that you can collect in Legends of Runeterra, it’s not enough to simply acquire them without considering your strategy. Sure, you could simply farm them without a care in the world, but then you would end up with a mish-mash of cards that don’t synergize well, and you would’ve just wasted your time since you’re better off using the standard starter decks you were given at the beginning.

In order to create good decks with positive synergies, it’s necessary to learn about the different Regions in Legends of Runeterra. Just like the colors in Magic: The Gathering, the cards in this game fall into different categories, which determine their general gameplay. At the moment of writing, there are seven different Regions in Runeterra.

Up to two regions can be combined in any one deck and, since these Regions have such contrasting differences, they can be matched in a way that they supplement each other and create unstoppable combinations. However, while the list of Regions is relatively small in relation to the total number of cards in the game, each of these have defining features that shed some light on their strengths and weaknesses. This is exactly what we’re going to explore in this guide.

In this article, we will go over the seven different Regions in Legends of Runeterra and will give our personal impressions on each, as well as share some interesting cards to keep an eye out for.

1. Demacia

This region is all about military might, focusing on summoning plenty of weaker units and supporting them via a series of buffs and spells. Demacia is quite balanced in most aspects, and while it doesn’t have much in the way of varied spells, they have plenty of cards that can protect and bolster their units. Whether through barries or buffs, this Region is all about overwhelming enemies through strategizing setups that get stronger with time.

Garen is the flagship hero of Demacia, which happens to be one of the strongest champions in the game thanks to how easy it is to level him up. His regeneration trait also makes him a tough unit to beat as he heals completely at the beginning of every round.

However, Demacia’s might and support style of gameplay shines brightest with Fiora, a champion that, after killing 4 enemies, automatically grants you a victory, regardless of anything else. You could be losing, but as long as this champion defeats 4 enemies, you win the match. And since Demacia has lots of units and cards that can grant barrier, this is actually quite achievable.

2. Noxus

Those who value brute strength and mercilessly snagging victories from their opponent’s grasp in just a handful (see what we did there?) of turns will lean heavily towards Noxus decks. In fact, two of the Region’s champions, Draven and Katarina, thrive due to their low summoning costs and level up conditions that are easily achieved. Moreover, their powerhouse champ, Darius, only costs a measly 6 mana to summon, which is around the midgame of any match but offers the power of an endgame hero of any other region.

The spell cards available to this Region favor dealing damage, either to the battling units or directly to the enemy’s nexus, as well as increasing the attack of allied units. Truly, Noxus is all about sheer strength.

3. Ionia

It’s no surprise that the land of ninjas produces only the most elusive and evasive cards in Legends of Runeterra. This deck is all about dodging enemy attacks and dealing damage straight to the enemy Nexus, and has a heavy focus on elusive-type units, which can only be blocked by other elusive characters.

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Ionia has a strong emphasis on stunning enemies and recalling both their own units and those of the opponent’s team. In fact, one of their strongest champions, Yasuo, only levels up once you stun or recall 6 enemies, and can even deal damage to enemies that you recall by the effects of another card.

4. Piltover & Zaun

This region is all about digging deep into your deck and quickly drawing the most powerful cards to your hand. They have plenty of skills that tap into the card draw mechanic, which allows you to cycle through your deck much faster than with other Regions. Furthermore, they have a strong emphasis on efficiently using a wide variety of spells thanks to their cards that can recharge your Spell Mana.

In this regard, P&Z is all about drawing and using numerous cards in a short span of time, which can overwhelm all but the most prepared of enemies. For this reason, this Region pairs well with most others, as any can benefit from the fast card cycling that it can provide.

5. Freljord

With a strong emphasis on few yet powerful units and other characters that can help to increase your mana accrual per round, Freljord is similar to Noxus in the fact that, in the right hands, matches can end very quickly. The Wyrding Stones card is of particular note here since its effects causes you to receive an additional mana point per round, allowing you to summon far stronger units from much earlier in the match.

Those who go up against a Freljord deck must be methodical in ending the match quickly as matches against them can easily snowball (another pun; we’re on fire!) out of control, especially due to the Tryndamere champion who, instead of dying once his HP reaches 0, he actually levels up. Moreover, his “overwhelm” trait makes it so that any excess damage done to an enemy is dealt to the Nexus instead.

6. Shadow Isles

The dark land of the Shadow Isles Region thrives on sacrifice and on sucking the life essence of their enemies to sustain its units. This is a quirky deck to use as it relies on the efficient sacrificing of your units in order to get the most out of it, which is counterintuitive in relation to other Regions. Nevertheless, if you can get past this initial constraint, you’re left with a Region that can not only overwhelm its enemies with a multitude of boosts, but they can also deal damage directly to the nexus without even engaging in combat.

It’s worth noting the importance of the Phantom Prankster card as a unit that can slowly whittle the enemy’s health. Whenever an ally dies, this unit deals 1 point of damage to the enemy’s Nexus. And considering the multitude of weaker enemies you can summon using this Region, this is quite a valid strategy for many players.

7. Bilgewater

This region was implemented recently and relies heavily on using the “Plunder” trait to activate certain skills. The cards with this trait can activate their effects only when they deal direct damage to the Nexus. Furthermore, Bilgewater depends on the Vulnerability debuff and on being able to effectively predict the enemy’s movements in order to set up traps and ambushes.

This is the region of choice for those who like to predict their enemies, or those who like to take controlled risks with the opportunity of enjoying massive rewards.

And there you have it; these are the seven Regions available in Legends of Runeterra as of April 2020. Regardless of our suggestions, we recommend giving each Region a try in order to find your preferred play style. Remember that you can mix and match up to two of these Regions per deck, through which you may create potent configurations to defeat your foes in many different and creative ways.

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