Ionia is Runeterra’s land of magic, as the land is quite literally alive with it. This region is home to the likes of wind-wielding swordsmen, ninjas, Vastaya, and more. But there are only nine Ionian champions to choose from in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Legends of Runeterra, all of whom are currently perfectly viable with a range of play styꩲles.
The Ionian champions synergize well with the likes of Recalls, Stuns, and spells in general, and while they’re generally on the lower mana-costing side, they all still provide t𝓰heir own degree of value in a deck. So, let’s see what these low costing champions are made of and which are the best of the bunch.
Generally speaking, all the champions in Legends of Runeterra are win conditions in their 🐈own right. As such, almost any one of them can single-handedly win a gameဣ if they’re left unchecked by your opponent.
With that in mind, the following ranking system does not take this into consideration, but rather, considers everything else about the card, such as mana cost-to-stats ratio, its effect, its evolution conditions, how easy it is for anꦫ opponent to deal wit🥀h said card, and more.
Updated November 15th, 2022 by Shane Martin: Legends of Runeterra’s past two expansions, Awakening and Domination, saw the addition of many new units, spells, and even keywords to the game. The Awakening expansion specifically brought Flow to the game (in name but not necessarily in concept), as well as the first champion to have a Flow effect, Master Yi. The Domination expansion also brought new cards to the growing collection, and while it shook up the meta just as much as Awakening, it didn’t add any new Ionian champions. As such, this article was updated to include Master Yi in the list of Ionian champions, and update Karma too, who got a slight buff. Otherwise, the order largely remains the same.
10 Zed
Zed is at the bottom of this list for a couple of reasons. First off, his mana cost-to-stats ratio leaves a little 🔜bit to be desired. Three mana for three-attack, two-health is not the best, and he needs to be leveled up in play and attacking, making his two-health-self even more vulnerable.
There are quite a few cards that can deal two damage for only two to three mana, so Zed really needs to be played only wꦰhen defensive spells are in hand to better ensure his survival.
9 Irelia
Irelia is next up on the list for the same reason as Zed, as her mana cost-to-stats ratio is equivalent to his. The only reason she’s higher up than him is that she can level up without being in🐼 play, allowing her to be played🧜 as a four-attack, three-health unit for three mana instead, which has much better value than the alternative.
Beyond that, she has Attune, which is a nice plus, as it giv𓃲es you one extra spell mana to work with in ca♎se you need to play a defensive spell on the turn you play her.
8 Kennen
Kennen’s mana cost-🌱to-stats ratio is standard, being one mana for two-attack, one-health. Yes, literally any spell that deals damage can kill him since he has one health, but the fact that he only costs one mana to play makes it alright.
There are plenty of Recall cards these days, and replaไying a champion that costs one mana (especially considering that’s what you’re trying to do to level him up) is perfectly fine. Just be careful playing him on turn one or two unless the enemy already spent their mana, because chances are they have one damage in hand.
7 Karma
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Being five mana for four-attack, four💃-health, Karma’s mana cost-to-stats ratio is not great, to say the least, as by turn five, dealing four damage is not too hard (though she is safe from your three-damage spells, at least). You lose a lot of momentum playing her as well, as you’re not going to want to use her to bl𒈔ock or attack.
Karma is best played on turn ten, so she has the extra health (and attack), and you have more mana to work with to be both offensive and defensive. Playing her before then is a loss of tempo and larger risk. The only reason she’s listed�ℱ� higher up than the other champions is because of how much value she can give on turn ten, but even then, playing her can still feel clunky.
6 Ahri
Ahri (one of your staple 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Guardians, who has yet to get the skin in LoR) marks a specific point in this list: the rest of the cha💖mpions on this list, including her, have balanced or high-value mana cost-to-stats ratios (though already listed, Kennen is included in this category too). With that in mind, Ahri is ranked as low as she is due to her stats themselves. There’s nothing wrong with two mana for two-attack, two-health stats, especially with how freely she can attack and trade with enemy blockers. But, at the end of the day, she only has two health and is consequently super easy to remove from play.
Additionally, though she can be𓂃 leveled up without being in play, much like the case with Kennen, there’s no feasible way you can actually level her up fully by turn two. So if you want to curve her out♊, you’ll be doing so with her base stats.
5 Shen
Shen’s mana cost-to-stats ratio is standard value: three-attack, five-health is a dif♈ficult body to remove early in the game. That said, not only must he be in play to level up, but his support effect only gives his supported ally Barrierꦿ, not himself, making him vulnerable when attacking.
The Barrier he has when he’s played definitely helps him out, but chances are, while only at turn four🐈, you’re not leveling him up. You’ll need him to stay alive for a few more turns to get five Barriers out, which can be tough if you’re attacking with him.
4 Lulu
Lulu offers a great deal of value, that&r♓squo;s for certain. Three mana for three-attack, three-health is a balanced value. And she can level up without being in play, making her four-attack, four-health for three mana, which exceeds standard value. Her level-up condition is something that can be completed on the earlier side, but either way, three to four health is a nice number early on in the game.
Lulu’s biggest fault, howevᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚer, is exactly like Shen’s: in order to proc her support effect, you need to attack with her. That leaves her vulnerable to enemy blockers, which is why she’s not higher on the list.
3 Yasuo
Yasuo’s mana cost-to-stats ratio is the same as Lulu’s, just increased by one on all fronts, making him a great card to curve out on tu꧃rn four. Also like Lulu, he can level🌼 up while out of play, which grants him even greater value. But, unlike her, he has Quick Attack, making it safer to attack with him.
Best of all is his passive effect, which grants immense ဣvalue to your Stun effects across the board. Plus, cards with four or five health that cost four or five mana can gene🐟rally stick around on the board for a while because they usually require the opponent to use at least two spells to remove them.
2 Master Yi
Master Yi takes the second-best spot in Ionia mainly due to his round start effect. His mana cost-to-stats ratio is below average, but his base attack power doesn’t matter because he can buff his attack through his Flow effect. That said, three health f🐼or three mana isn’t bad, but he remains a very vulnerab👍le unit in need of defensive spells when he’s played.
All that aside, hi𒉰s ability to reduce the cost of any spell in your hand by one mana every single round start is invaluable for mid-range and control decks alike (especially control decks). It’s perfectly reasonable to have Master Yi in your deck just for that effect, without even trying to evolve him and make him your win condition. Mana cost reduction is often underrated, but there’s nothing better than surprising your enemy with a four or five mana Vengeance or two or three mana Deny when they think they’re safe.
1 Lee Sin
Lee Sin is the best Ionian champion for a multitude of 🌺reasons. While his mana cost-to-stats ratio is not incredible at level one, he can be leveled up without being on the board, making his evolved version have a great mana cost-to-stats ratio. Five mana for four-attack, six-health is balanced. An🌱d make no mistake, six health is difficult to get rid of.
But, the true reasons he’s n🌼umber one are the following: once leveled up, he can attack safely with his Dragon’s Rage effect. Even without being leveled up, he can both choose which enemy he wants to attack with Challenger and grant himself Barrier every turn, provided you have the spells in hand to proc those keywords. Having a Barrier every single turn allows for incredible defensive capacity. Add that to six health upon evolution, Lee Sin is hard to remove from the board and will likely force your opponent to use more resources than they want to in order to remove him from play.