The Poro King
is the third Legends of Runeterra exclusive champion to join the game! There have been a lot of rumors and theories about the inclusion of the Poro King in Runeterra, particularly after a hidden icon of The Poro King was discovered in-game. But now, all doubts can be laid to rest as The Poro King joins the Runeterra roster!
Prepare for the arrival of the King of the Poros, who will unite the Poro forces from every region to assemble the strongest Poro army ever witnessed.
I'll go through all the new cards and give my rating and opinion on them.
Here’s my rating scale:
- 5.0: Meta-defining card, should prove itself as a staple in multiple top-tier archetypes.
- 4.0: Archetype staple, or auto-include in multiple archetypes.
- 3.0: A solid playable, could serve as a staple for some archetypes.
- 2.0: Could be used for specific synergies, or to counter some decks.
- 1.0: Unlikely to find its place in the meta.
The Poro King
Rate: 3.5
The Poro King is the centerpiece of the Poro archetype, offering a rewarding late-game win condition with your Poro units.
Although The Poro King has a modest stat line of 4|4 for a cost of 5 mana, Poro Snax
allows you to easily boost its stats before it hits the board. This makes it challenging for your opponent to eliminate the king.
If left unchecked, The Poro King generates additional Poro Snax, further strengthening all your Poros and eventually taking over the board.
Leveling up The Poro King is relatively easy since he doesn't need to be on the board to progress. Playing six different Poros shouldn't be difficult in an archetype that can access Poros from various regions. Moreover, Lonely Poro
offers 2 level-up advancements for a mere 2 mana.
The objective of The Poro King deck is to prolong the game, gradually accumulating powerful Poros and overpowering your opponent.
The Poro King's Council Call can be a useful resource generator in the late game. The Poros you'll draw will have a lot of stats and will present a threat once played.
Once The Poro King levels up, things really take off. The champion starts generating random Special Snax in your hand. There are four types of Special Poros, each costing 2 mana:
All the Snax grant your Poros everywhere +1|+1. Espresso Snax seems to be the strongest of the four, allowing you to give two of your Poros the challenger keyword. This enables you to start using powerful Poros to challenge and kill key units on the opponent's side of the board. Another strong Special Snax is the Frosted Snax, giving you a combat trick that lets you win trades. It is limited to units with 3 or less health, so think of it as a Brittle Steel
with a +1|+1 to all Poros for the additional 1-mana cost. As for Pepper Snax, it is useful if you aim to inflict burn damage through the Impact keyword, the more Poros are on the board the more Nexus damage.
Finally, the value of Colorful Snax depends on the champion you pair with The Poro King and how much the additional stats and keywords benefit your strategy. It does seem to be the least impressive compared to the other three Snax.
Although it would have been interesting to have a Poro Snax give the Overwhelm or Elusive keywords to at least one Poro, it's uncertain how broken it would be considering the potential damage output from all the buff stats.
Dragon Prince Ginzo
Rate: 2.5
Dragon Prince Grinzo is most effective in decks that include 1-mana cost units. This allows you to establish a board presence while utilizing the additional mana to play other cards. Archetypes with numerous low-cost units may deplete your resources quickly, so it's important to include value cards in your deck to compensate for this. The new landmark The Swindler's Den
should fit well with Dragon Prince Grinzo decks.
For example, Poro decks can benefit from Dragon Prince Grinzo, as the extra mana can prove crucial for playing Poro Snax. Another example is turbo leveling Nami
with an early Dragon Prince Grinzo on the board.
Chemtec Catermobile
Rate: 3.0
The more 1-cost allies you summon, the more Power Chemtech Catermobile gains! Also, Chemtech Catermobile has the Quick Attack keyword and 4 health, making it extremely difficult to kill in the early stages of the game.
By reaching at least +3 Power, Chemtech Catermobile becomes a nuisance for your opponent to deal with in the early and mid-game.
Notably, Chemtec Catermobile doesn't need to be on the board to gain additional Power. As a result, it immediately becomes a threat as soon as you play it in the mid and late-game.
Temple to True Ice
Rate: 3.0
Temple to True Ice is a Freljord landmark that grows the health of your units equal to that of their power. This landmark requires units that synergize with its effect, such as Senna, Sentinel of Light
, Thorn of the Rose
, LeBlanc
, and Ruin Runner
. These units gain additional health, making it challenging for your opponent to kill them.
This could end up becoming an inclusion in decks like Ashe
LeBlanc, which runs a lot of units with low health but high Power.
Snowy Razorclaw
Rate: 2.5
Snowy Razorclaw is a late-game Overwhelm card with an incredibly powerful Plunder effect. By activating Plunder, you can grow the stats of a low-cost unit, potentially turning it into a 7|7 threat. This effect is particularly potent if the unit has Overwhelm or Elusive keyword. Units like Tusk Speaker
or Zap Sprayfin
can become a win condition if Snowy Razorclaw's play effect is used on them.
This can be a great addition in decks like Gangplank
Sejuani
that can easily activate the Plunder effect with spells like Warning Shot
, Parrrley
, and Make it Rain
.
It's a bit underwhelming without the Plunder effect, so you'll have to make sure you're able to ping the opponent's Nexus and create a threat immediately.
Ingvar the Younger
Rate: 3.5
Ingvar the Younger is a versatile card that proves useful in various scenarios. The +1|+1 stat buff can be powerful when you include many cards with a specific subtype. Moreover, manifesting a follower generates additional value, especially if the card being manifested has a play effect.
Ingvar the Younger has a 2|1 stat line, enabling it to trade with units early in the game. However, it can be easily eliminated by ping spells.
Glacial Surian
Rate: 2.0
Powerful value card, providing stat buff and card draw. It does have a requirement that needs to be met to get that additional card draw, but seeing the many new subtype cards we got, it shouldn't be too difficult to activate its full effect.
Closing Words
The Poro King has undoubtedly amassed a significant number of fans, and it's intriguing to see which champions players will choose to pair it with. It opens up a lot of possibilities for new Poro archetypes with different regions.