Shadow Isles & Ionia - the best deck in the Legends of Runeterra Legends of Runeterra guide, tips

Last update: 10 March 2020

Below are the proposed decks containing cards from the two Legends of Runeterra regions - Shadow Isles and Ionia. Here you will find mostly control and midrange decks, which allow you to control the course of the match in Legends of Runeterra. The description of each deck has been enriched with a special code - just paste it in Legends of Runeterra, and the game will choose the appropriate cards.

Shadow Islands & Ionia deck in Legends of Runeterra

The deck below consists of cards of the Shadow Islands and Ionia regions. The deck falls into the midrange category, which combines the advantages of aggressive and control decks. The presented deck has many cards with the Last Breath keyword, as well as several Champions: Elise, Zed, and Hecarim. The deck consists of low mana cost minions and is complemented by extremely useful spells.

Champion Cards	Shadow Isles Cards	Ionia Cards
(2)Elise x2 (3)Zed x1 (6)Hecarim x3	(0)Ravenous Butcher x3 (1)Mark of the Isles x1 (1)Warden's Prey x3 (2)Black Spear x3 (2)Cursed Keeper x3 (2)Glimpse Beyond x3 (3)The Undying x2 (4)Chronicler of Ruin x3 (9)The Ruination x2	(3)Deny x2 (3)Shadow Assassin x3 (4)Kinkou Lifeblade x3 (4)Will of Ionia x3

• Elise - how to use this Champion?
• Zed - how to use this Champion?
• Hecarim - how to use this Champion?
• Mulligan - the appropriate selection of cards
• Defense
• Offensive

Elise - how to use this Champion?

Elise is one of the Champions fighting on the side of the Shadow Isles Region. Due to the low Mana cost and the useful keyword, as well as the additional special ability, Elise is an extremely useful unit - especially at the very beginning of the duel.

1. Special Ability - during an attack, Elise summons a spider with 1/1 stats, which immediately appears in the line of attacking units. Please note that you can have a maximum of 6 units in the line. Be careful not to overfill the units' line if you want to use an additional spider.
2. Fearsome - a unit with this keyword can only be blocked by enemies that have 3 attack points or more. Elise can be a difficult opponent to kill, especially in the initial phase of a duel.
3. Level Up - Elise advances to higher level when you have at least 3 spiders at the beginning of the round. After advancing to a higher level, Elise gains additional statistics, a Challenger keyword, and adds the Fearsome and Challenger keywords to all spiders.

Zed - how to use this Champion?

Zed is one of the Champions fighting on the side of the Ionia region. Due to the low Mana cost and the useful keyword, as well as the extra special ability, Zed is an extremely useful minion - especially at the very beginning of the duel.

1. Special Ability - during an attack, Zed summons his shadow (which has the same stats) that immediately appears in the line of attacking units. Please note that you can have a maximum of 6 units in the line. After the attack, the shadow disappears.
2. Quick Attack - a keyword that allows Zed to deal damage before the enemy is going to strike. For example, if an opponent's blocker has 3/3 stats, then Zed should theoretically die when making an attack. But because of the Quick Attack, Zed will deal damage before the enemy makes any action and therefore kill enemy minion. Zed can be a difficult opponent to kill, especially in the initial phase of a duel.
3. Level Up - Zed gains a new level when both he and his shadow hit opponent's Nexus twice. When he advances to a higher level, Zed gains additional statistics +1/+1.

Hecarim - how to use this Champion?

Hecarim is one of the Champions fighting on the side of the Shadow Isles Region. The very fact that this Champion is included in your deck gives your opponent a signal that he/she is dealing with a very aggressive deck. Hecarim has an Overwhelm keyword and an additional special ability.

1. Special Ability - during an attack, Hecarim summons two units with 3/2 stats, which immediately appear in the line of attacking units. The summoned riders have an Ephemeral keyword - they disappear immediately after the attack. Please note that you can have a maximum of 6 units in the line. Be careful not to overfill the line with units if you want to use additional minions generated by Hecarim.
2. Overwhelm - a keyword that causes excessive damage to be transferred directly to enemy Nexus. In practice, if an opponent's blocker has 3 health points and Hecarim has 4 attack points, 1 point of damage will be inflicted to the opponent's Nexus.
3. Level Up - Hecarim advances to a higher level when you attack with at least 8 units equipped with Ephemeral keyword.

Mulligan - the appropriate selection of cards

Each match begins with a so-called Mulligan phase where players select their cards. You have to decide which cards to leave in your hand and which can be discarded to redraw new ones. Shuffling always involves some risk, but sometimes you have to take it to get a chance to win.

1. High priority - Elise, Cursed Keeper, The Undying, and Ravenous Butcher, or a spell that activates the Last Breath keyword. Your goal is to put pressure on your opponent from round 1.
2. Medium priority - Consider leaving the Black Spear spell if you are playing against a deck with Champions like Fiora, Zed, and Draven.

Defense

Defense isn't the strongest point of the presented strategy, so you often have to use supporting spells, which makes it easier for you to perform a mutually beneficial exchange with an opponent's minion, or even send a troublesome opponent into the hands of the Player (Will of Ionia). In a critical situation, you can always use The Ruination spell, which will destroy all participants on the board - including your own.

In addition to strong spells, the deck consisting of cards of the Shadow Islands and Ionia regions also has several useful units, such as Kinkou Lifeblade. In addition to the Elusive keyword, Kinkou has Lifesteal, so it can heal your Nexus.

Offensive

Offensive is the strongest aspect of this deck. Low-mana cost units allow you to quickly fill up the board and constantly harass your opponent in the attack round. During an attack, it is useful to remember to use spells and keywords such as Fearsome, Elusive, and Overwhelm.

1. Fearsome - a unit with this keyword can only be blocked by enemies that have 3 attack points or more. Elise is an example of such a unit.
2. Overwhelm - a keyword that causes excessive damage to be transferred directly to enemy Nexus. Hecarim has the Overwhelm keyword.
3. Elusive - a unit with this keyword can only be blocked by another unit with Elusive keyword.
4. Last Breath - a keyword that activates upon a unit's death. The Undying doesn't have impressive statistics at the beginning of the game, but the opponent should think carefully about whether they want to block this unit. After each death, The Undying returns to the playing field with +1/+1 bonus.