Champion Predictions for the Bandle City expansion in Legends of Runeterra

The Riot card game revealed that the final region being added to the mix would be Bandle City. The home of the Yordles, a magical race of small furry creatures, is an interesting choice to add. Fans ran the spectrum from excited to puzzled to disappointed at this prospect. On one hand, it’s a new way to explore the mystical city that doesn’t have as much lore behind it when compared to the others, but on the other, there are already Yordles in the game who are from Bandle City but are placed in other regions. Teemo is in Piltover & Zaun, Lulu is in Ionia, etc. Furthermore, this meant excluding The Void and Ixtal as regions, but the developers have assured us that champions from these regions will make their way into the game, albeit placed somewhere else.

With all that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t throw my two cents into the pile of who I think we’ll get from Bandle City, and the other regions in this coming expansion. I will also give an idea as to what I think the champion may do in the game.

Note: This is my opinion as a fan and I may be wrong. I am also aware that Senna is going to become a champion, but I’m not including her in this article.

Bandle City

Corki: I think he’ll definitely have an ability which ties to his LoL ultimate. Dealing damage 7 times to level up and then dealing additional damage to attacks, making him an interesting companion for Noxus Burn or P/Z Burn decks.

Rumble: I think a lot of synergy with Viktor’s augmentation playstyle makes logical sense, with his level up being conditional on receiving augments, and his spells having a reduced cost if they are played after his level up.

Tristana: I think her ability would revolve around detonating bombs on champions to kill them. So place a bomb on a champion, attack it a certain amount of times, the champion dies regardless of health, levelling up when she kills one this way. This could potentially lend itself to decks where they are able to attack multiple times, such as Irelia or Scouts.

Veigar: I believe Veigar will gain stats when spells are cast. This would help him synergise well with champions like Ezreal or Teemo who create spells for low costs, levelling up once so many have been cast.

Yuumi: The most hated champion in LoL will almost certainly make an appearance. Her ability would revolve around supporting allies, but I think there will be an option to choose what to give. Yuumi in League offers a shield, a heal, and a speed boost, so I think it would be interesting if she offered her supported units the option of Spellshield, a Heal, and Quick Attack, and when her level up is met, offer all 3. This would make her a versatile pick for a multitude of decks from Noxus Overwhelm to Star Spring.

Bilgewater

Illaoi: I think the kraken priestess has fantastic ways to be implemented in the game, with her summoning tentacles when she attacks (and having spells that also do that), so making her level up based on tentacle strikes makes a lot of sense. I think making the tentacles Ephemeral would also lend synergy to Hecarim or Lucian Decks.

Demacia

Sylas: Sylas is a great choice to counter all of the pro-Demacia champions in the game. I think he would copy spells used by the opponent, and would level up when he has copied a certain number. After that, he could also copy card abilities i.e. Blade of Ledros. This would make him a great ally of Karma or Lee Sin, as both centre around spells.

Freljord

Ornn: The elder sibling of Volibear and Anivia would create random buffs from different regions and would level up when you’ve used a certain amount of them. This makes him a great option for Viktor or Aphelios decks.

Ionia

Ivern: Another supportive champion who would grant Barrier to his supported allies, but I think the protective nature would translate well into being a 1-cost buff champion, akin to Professor Von Yipp, which would land the green father in a niche spot for a variety of decks, synergising especially well with 1-cost champions like Teemo or Zoe.

Noxus

Kled: Kled would be an interesting one to plan for, as I think he’d be a low cost unit himself, and would level up when you summon Skaarl, who would cost more. However, if the Kled/Skaarl combined unit would die, it would only remove Skaarl and leave Kled with lower health but higher attack, until Skaarl is summoned again at least.

Piltover & Zaun

Twitch: I think Twitch would be a low-cost Elusive unit that introduced a new mechanic called “Plague”. So each Round End, the afflicted unit would lose health, and Twitch would level up once an amount has died to the Plague effect. This mechanic could work on future champion inclusions such as Singed, Cassiopeia, or Malzahar.

Shadow Isles

Evelynn: Though the demon of desire isn’t strictly from the Shadow Isles, it is where she seems to fit best, and also where her K/DA card is tied to. I think another new mechanic would come from Evelynn called “Charmed”, which would make the Charmed unit block the appropriate attacker but deal no damage. This would also translate well to future champions like Rakan, and Ahri.

Shurima

Xerath: The instrumental cause behind the fall of the Shuriman empire would definitely amplify spell damage, and would level up once a player has reached Enlightened. His spells would also reduce in cost once he is levelled up, meaning perfect synergy with burn decks.

Targon

Kayle: The descendant of the Aspect of Justice is featured all over in Demacia’s iconography, and I think she’d be the first non-Shuriman champion to gain the second level-up, matching her passive in LoL. She would synergise well with Kindred as slaying enemies would be her level up condition, meaning she’s a force to be reckoned with late-game.

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