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LoR:The Howling Abyss
The Howling Abyss is a landmark in Legends of Runeterra.
Lore[edit | edit source]
"The bridge of the Howling Abyss can lay untouched for years, seemingly forgotten, buried in snow amidst other indistinguishable landscape in the north... But then something strange awakens in its frozen runic forms, calling out to those who yearn to prove themselves in battle."
"Where the summons originate, few can say, but those that dare to cross the treacherous bridges speak of strange shadows in the ice far below. It's difficult to discern their size and shape, but they loom impressively in the depths, as if eagerly anticipating a certain outcome..."[1]
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Internally, this card is just called Howling Abyss.
- This card is based on the Howling Abyss. Its effect of generating random champions is a reference to the ARAM game mode that the Howling Abyss is used for.
Change Log[edit | edit source]
| The Howling Abyss | |
|---|---|
| V2.11 |
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| V1.12 |
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RegionEvery card in Legends of Runeterra is sorted into a region based off a canon region of 
Runeterra. Cards within a region tend to share mechanics such as certain keywords and tend to synergise well with each other, and combining cards from different regions can lead to unique synergies and playstyles, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Game Modes and deckbuilding rules have specific restrictions on the number of regions that can be in a deck.
ManaMana is the primary resource used to play cards in Legends of Runeterra.
Landmarks
Legends of Runeterra that take up a space on the board, like 
units, but can't interact with the same mechanics as units - for example they can't 
Attack or 
Block (See also: 
Immobile), don't have 
Health or 
Power, and can't 
strike.Text that can affect Landmarks will explicitly refer to them.
Effect triggers 
when the round starts.
Collectible cards always have a Rarity gem at the bottom. Most effects which activate 
Random can only create Collectible cards.
The Darkin Saga (Subset 6)
- New mechanics:
Equipment, Flow, Forge, Improvise, New, Empowered, Assimilate - New subtypes: Darkin, Cultist, Weaponmaster, World Rune
Beyond the Bandlewood (Set 5)
- New region:
Bandle City - New mechanics:
Impact, 
1 Prank, Manifest, Multi-region, 
Fated, 
Attach, 
Formidable
Rising Tides (Set 2)
New region: 
Bilgewater
New mechanics: Attune, Deep, Plunder, Scout, Vulnerable, Nab, Toss and Stack
Foundations (Set 1)
New 
regions: 
Demacia, 
Freljord, 
Ionia, 
Noxus, 
Piltover & Zaun and 
Shadow Isles.
Bandle City
Runeterra region: 
Bandle City
Bilgewater
Runeterra region: 
Bilgewater, Serpent Isles
Freljord
Runeterra region: 
Freljord, likely 
The Arctic
Shadow Isles
Runeterra regions: 
Shadow Isles, 
Blessed Isles
Shurima
summoning and to facilitate slaying units for swift aggression, whittling and weathering down the opponent with large numbers of units, de-buffing effects and board-wide effects, while using mechanics such as Predict and Countdown to set up and guarantee wins, and to have the right cards just when you need them.
Targon region with a focus on powerful, slow, and permanent effects, calling upon powerful Celestial beings, and having large amounts of healing and effect nullification, with unparalleled access to SpellShields and Silences.
Runeterra region: 
Targon, Celestial Realm
RuneterraUnlike other regions, Runeterra cards have unique deckbuilding rules, dictated by the origins of the cards in it, with only one card from Runeterra able to be put into the deck.
Champions Unit.
A champion is able to 
Level Up to transform it and every other allied copy of it in the game that could ever exist into a new card instantly, keeping all effects applied to it and damage taken, which has its own interactions as well. While there is an allied champion alive, any copies of it in hand are instead a Champion Spell.
FollowersFollowers are a type of unit card in Legends of Runeterra, with numerous cards that only interact with them.
Spells
speed of a spell dictates when it can be played, and whether the opponent can respond.
The Spell Stack: Once one or more Fast or Slow spells have been played, it can be responded / reacted to by the opponent with one or more Fast or Burst spells. Fast spells played are added to the stack, where the most recent one placed is the first to resolve. Once the response is confirmed by pressing the Button, the opponent has a chance to react, and this continues until both players pass. Only 10 spells can be on the stack at once, and the 10th spell may only be Burst.
Skill
spell-like card that can be committed by a unit. Goes on the Spell Stack like a Fast or Slow spell.
Skills are committed to enact a unit's card text in a way that can be reacted to. If card text creates a Skill, there will usually be an 
icon before the text to indicate this.
The text of skills is usually written as if it's on the unit itself, but they count as their own card. In particular, damage dealt by a skill is not dealt by the generating unit.
Equipment Legends of Runeterra that equip to a unit (called Bearer) as a separate entity. While equipped, it shares the stats buffs also its positive keywords to its Bearer. (This sharing cannot be interacted with).
Equipment can be played by 
Spell Mana.
Collectable cards from 
Runeterra have a specified unique Origin card (or 'Origin') associated with them. Each distinct card in the deck with an Origin counts as one of the deck's regions. The Origin of these cards allows specific cards to be added to the deck regardless of their region.
Origins can also have an effect that is active from the start of the game and throughout, if there is a card with them in the deck at the start of the game
NexusThe Nexus represents the player's health. Apart from mode-specific exceptions, it has a maximum of 20 Health points, which it starts the game at. It cannot go above its maximum health. But maximum health can be increased, by cards like 
9 Gorlith the Unscalable, capped at 99.
It is destroyed when its health is depleted or the player otherwise loses the game (eg. 
4Fiora or decking out)—at which point the game ends and its player suffers a loss.
Spell Mana Spell and Equipment cards along with 
Mana. These cards prioritise using Spell Mana before they use regular Mana.Unlike regular Mana, Spell Mana doesn't completely refresh each round, instead up to 3 remaining Mana from the end of the previous round is converted into Spell Mana. Spell Mana is conserved between rounds, and a player can have a maximum of 3.
PowerDictates the damage a unit does in combat, whether attacking or defending. This value can be changed through various cards temporarily or permanently, but each card has a default Power that it returns to if effects are removed.
Level UpLevel Up is a keyword that causes a 
champion card, and all copies of them, to transform into an upgraded version of itself instantly, playing an animation, keeping all effects applied to it and damage taken and counting as the same unit. The vast majority of Champions gain improved stats (most often, an increase of 1 in both Power and Health) when they Level Up, in addition to new/improved effects and keywords.
