Legends of Runeterra is split up into six different regions, each with its unique champions, spells, units, and abilities. When building a deck, you can use cards from a single one, or blend two together. As such, it helps to know how each one operates and what playstyles they offer.
Rather than going into specific decks (we'll save that for other guides) this breakdown will cover the specific themes present in each region and explore how they work on a larger scale. We also don't dive into Champion or Keywords, but you can check out their full details in our
Keywords Guide and
Champions Guide.
Demacia
Elites
Every strong deck in Runeterra benefits from blending two different regions together. However, Demacia has the option to stand on its own. That is because of the Elite mechanic, which rewards you for playing specific Demacia units with each other.
Many cards within the region, including
Vanguard Redeemer,
Vanguard Sergeant,
Silverwing Vanguard, and the champion
Garen, all have the "Elite" tag. While the tag does nothing on its own, it synergizes with other faction cards like
Swiftwing Lancer,
Vanguard Squire, and
Battlesmith. Elites feed off of each other. The more you have, the stronger your board becomes.
Buffs and Barrier
Another hallmark of Demacia is the ability to protect their units. The region loves to swarm the board and end games quickly. That plan only works if your units can stick around for a few turns. To achieve that, there are many ways Demacia can make its cheap units just a little bit stronger. It does that by giving their units extra stats or barrier.
Most of Demacia's spells, including
Stand Alone,
Riposte,
Back to Back,
Redoubled Valor, and
For Demacia!, focus on keeping their units alive. Barrier is incredibly handy, especially in a deck that wants to attack, while persistent buffs make even the smallest knight a true powerhouse.
It should also be noted that there are several powerful units that provide buffs or barriers as well.
Cithria the Bold is a universal +1/+1 on a stick, while
Laurent Bladekeeper and
Vanguard Bannerman both help shore up your weak early game units as you move into the middle turns.
Brightsteel Protector offers great early game potential and
Brightsteel Formation protects all units you've had stick around until turn nine.
This side of the region operates in a simple way. Play a lot of units early and then make them so big that your opponent cannot properly answer them.
Challenger
Battle is tactical, which is why Demacia cares so much about controlling combat. This region has a large Challenger subtheme, which gives them a lot of agency over who attacks what. Buffing units is great, but it gets even better when you can make your 4/4 attack a 3/3 instead of into a 5/5.
Challenger is all about tempo, which is why it fits into this region so well. You can either run out early minions like
Fleetfeather Tracker or [[Laurent Prot
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