Meta Snapshot: Riven wins Sacramento and Paris to take the top spot in Radiance

Riven's Legend makes units played to a battlefield its player controls enter ready, so each new unit there can act or pay a cost the turn it arrives. Bedeviling Stranger can come down there from face down and be exhausted to attach Blade of the Exile, which adds +3 Might and Ganking, and Reckless Innovator can make a Gold when exhausted that way. Riven seems to edge Kennen because its Legend helps any unit played to a held battlefield, while Kennen must first play cards from outside its hand, and Riven's Calm cards, like Defy and Zhonya's Hourglass, add protection Kennen can't play.

Kennen turns card selection into cheap plays: Lightning Rush and Trifarian Captain look at the top of the deck, and a Nocturne, Horrifying seen there can be banished and played for one Power, which empowers the Legend to give a unit Assault 2. Cards that Lightning Rush skips go to the trash and make Rhasa the Sunderer cheaper. Kennen trails Riven because its Legend needs those plays from outside the hand first, but it stays ahead of Rengar because its card selection doesn't depend on a surviving unit or an existing board the way Nidalee, Cat Form and Kinkou Initiate do.

Rengar's Legend gives a unit +1 Might each time its player plays a unit, and Ambush units like Inferna and Grim Apothecary let it add bodies mid-fight. Thrill of the Hunt banishes a friendly unit and replays it to any battlefield without paying its cost, which triggers the Legend and that unit's own play effect again. Rengar sits behind Kennen because its extra cards mostly need a unit to survive a fight or a board already in place, but it stays above Kai'Sa because it pressures battlefields from the first turns, while Kai'Sa's biggest threats cost six or more.

Kai'Sa's Legend adds a Power of any domain for spells, which helps it pay for cheap removal like Hextech Ray and Falling Star while still reaching Time Warp. Bilgewater Tracker deals 1 to each of up to two units when played, and Temporal Breach can banish and replay it to do that again, which can clear several 1-Might units. Kai'Sa trails Rengar because its own board develops later and leans on expensive threats, but it stays above LeBlanc because its removal is cheap and comes straight from hand, while LeBlanc's cheap removal mostly waits on a friendly unit dying or gives the opponent two cards.

LeBlanc gets its value from friendly units dying: Karthus, Eternal makes each Deathknell trigger twice, and Sacrifice, Deathgrip and Baited Hook let its player choose when those deaths happen. With Karthus out, a Ruined Rex that dies deals 4 to an enemy unit twice. LeBlanc trails Kai'Sa because its cheap removal mostly waits on a friendly unit dying or, like Hidden Blade, gives the opponent two cards, while Harnessed Dragon costs eight Energy, but it stays above Diana because its big Deathknell units leave value behind when they die, while most of Diana's units have five Might or less.

Diana's Legend adds an Energy that can only be spent during showdowns, and most of its spells can be played there, including Stupefy, Gust and Moonfall, which pulls an enemy unit to a battlefield where Diana has units and gives enemies there -2 Might. Diana, Lunari can dig for a spell when a showdown starts at her battlefield. Diana trails LeBlanc because its smaller units need those spells to come out ahead in combat, but it might sit above Viktor because its cheap spells work inside showdowns with the Legend's Energy, while Viktor's main sweep costs six Energy across two cards.

Viktor is a removal deck that profits when units die: the Legend makes 1-Might Recruits, Cull the Weak lets Viktor give up a token while the opponent must kill one of theirs, and once Viktor, Leader is out, each other non-Recruit friendly unit that dies leaves a Recruit. Bellows Breath after Imperial Decree can clear several units at one battlefield. Viktor might sit just ahead of Azir because its Legend makes a Recruit on any of its own turns, while Azir's Legend needs an Equipment played first, but it trails Diana, whose cheap spells can be played in showdowns with her Legend's Energy.

Azir turns cheap Equipment into a board: once Doran's Shield or another Equipment is played, the Legend can make a 2-Might Sand Soldier, and Weaponmaster lets that Soldier take an Equipment for free as it enters. Arise! then makes a Soldier for each Equipment Azir controls. Azir trails Viktor because a turn without an Equipment means no Sand Soldier from its Legend, while Viktor's Legend makes a Recruit on any of its own turns. Azir might edge Akali because Arise! can put several Soldiers on the board in one turn, while Akali mostly adds one unit per card.

Akali turns movement into damage and cards: Akali, Deadly Weapon can damage a unit where it moves to or from, plus one at Void Gate, Shuriken Flip deals 2 then moves a unit, and Stellacorn Herder draws whenever it moves. The Legend's escape from a showdown also counts as a move, so pulling Akali or Stellacorn Herder out of a bad fight still pays off. Akali sits ahead of Vex because it gets those rewards on its own turn without first holding a battlefield, and just behind Azir, whose Arise! can make several Sand Soldiers in one turn while Akali's rewards come one move at a time.

Vex is a holding deck: the Legend draws when Vex holds, Startipped Peak channels a rune on a hold there, and Bandle Scouts' Academy pays a Gold for each card hidden there, which suits a list full of Hidden cards like Bedeviling Stranger, Back Off and Switcheroo. Those facedown answers can make attacking into Vex costly early, which seems to keep it ahead of Ornn, whose main decks carry few answers beyond Defy and Charm. Vex trails Akali because its Legend only draws after a hold, while Akali's Stellacorn Herder draws whenever it moves and Akali, Deadly Weapon can damage a unit at a battlefield it moves to or from.

Ornn's cheap pieces replace themselves: Poro Snax draws when played, Patched Porobot draws when played with three other gear out, and Sprite Fountain makes a second Sprite when it dies, while the Legend adds a Power each turn toward Sterak's Gage and the rest of the gear. That help starts on the first turns, which seems to keep Ornn ahead of Wuju Master, whose Legend does nothing before six XP. Ornn trails Vex because its interaction is mostly Defy and Charm and its board takes several gear plays, while Vex hides answers ahead of time and plays them from face down for no Energy.

Wuju Master gathers XP and then pays it back across the board: Hunt units such as Gemhand Hunter and Voracious Gromp earn XP when they conquer or hold, Gardens of Becoming lets units there exhaust for more, and at six XP the Legend gives every friendly unit +1 Might while Master Yi, Unstoppable drops from twelve Energy to eight. Yi's units stay and keep that bonus, which might put Yi ahead of Lillia, whose Sprites die as her next turn begins. Yi trails Ornn because its Legend does nothing before six XP, while Ornn's Legend helps pay for gear from the first turn.

Lillia makes ready 3-Might Sprites on each of its turns: the Legend makes one without spending a card and costs one less for each Temporary unit already out, Sprite Fountain and Sprite Burst add more, and Smoke and Mirrors swaps a Sprite with another unit. Unchecked Power fits, because the Sprites it sweeps away were going to die anyway. Lillia might edge Ivern because its Legend makes a ready body on any of its own turns, while Ivern's Legend waits for a conquer or hold. Lillia trails Wuju Master because its Sprites die as Lillia's next turn begins, while Yi's units stay and gain +1 Might at six XP.

Ivern goes wide with cheap units like Mutated Mouser and Trusty Ramhound, adds Deflect Bird tokens through Ultrasoft Poro, and spends Iridescent Avian's buffs to play Call to Glory for free. Raucous Anthem then readies Ivern's units with +3 Might, so units already exhausted that turn can be used again. Mordekaiser's main decks have nothing that readies the whole board, and Realm of Death fights one enemy at a time, which seems to keep Ivern ahead. Ivern trails Lillia because its Legend first needs a conquer or hold, while Lillia's Legend makes a ready Sprite on any of its own turns.

Mordekaiser plays a broad Fury and Order midrange game, with Realm of Death giving one of its units +2 Might and an enemy -2 before they deal damage to each other, and Kai'Sa, Survivor drawing a card whenever it conquers. The Legend banishes a unit or gear from the trash to add one Power for units or gear, which helps pay for Mordekaiser, Dominating. That Legend covers only Power, not Energy, and needs a unit or gear in the trash first, so the early turns play like a fair midrange deck and its biggest threats still arrive late.

Leona turns stuns into lasting buffs: Back Off, Zenith Blade and Vi, Peacekeeper can all stun an enemy unit, the Legend then gives an unbuffed friendly unit a +1 buff, and Riven, Broken Blade can spend its own buff to stun again when it becomes exhausted. Spare buffs also make Call to Glory free. Leona trails Ivern because each stun adds at most one +1 buff, while Ivern can ready its whole board with Raucous Anthem, and a stun only stops a unit's combat damage for one turn.

Ekko empowers its Legend on one turn and disempowers it on the next to cut two Energy and one Power off a unit, which lets Thousand-Tailed Watcher arrive early and give enemy units -3 Might for a big attack. That unit is set to die at end of turn, so the deck leans on Ekko, Ingenious, Retreat or Temporal Breach to return or replay it before then. The discount comes at most every other turn and saving the unit costs another card, so Ekko gets strong single turns rather than a steady edge over a game.

Master Yi tends to defend a battlefield with a single unit, where the Legend's +2 Might stacks with Reaction pumps like En Garde and Discipline, and Defy can counter a cheap spell aimed at breaking that fight. Rengar, Trophy Hunter adds a six-Might Ambush that can even land on a battlefield where only enemy units stand. Because so much of the deck waits to answer the opponent, it often holds Energy back instead of adding to the board, and its small units need pump spells to attack well, so Yi protects a lead better than it builds one.

Jayce spends its early turns ramping with Platewyrm Egg, Catalyst of Aeons and Mobilize, using the Legend to ready an Egg so it can add Energy again, while Flurry of Blades and Bellows Breath clear small units. The payoff is Elder Dragon, and since it is the only unit in most of these main decks, Dazzling Aurora's end-of-turn reveal can find a Dragon to play for free. With so few units, though, Jayce holds very little ground before then, so it can fall behind on points while it builds toward a twelve-Energy threat.

Rek'Sai fills the board with cheap Fury and Order units and pump spells like Blood Rush, and a conquest lets the Legend exhaust to reveal the top two cards of the deck and play one of them. Rek'Sai, Breacher gives a unit played that way Accelerate, so it can pay to enter ready, and a revealed Undertitan adds two Energy toward its own cost. Those extra cards only arrive after a conquest, though, and its small units might struggle to take fights from behind, so the engine seems to stall once Rek'Sai loses the board.

Kha'Zix builds its own fights by moving units: Void Assault moves a friendly unit and then an enemy one, and Irresistible Faefolk pulls an enemy unit along when it moves, which can leave an enemy alone against Kha'Zix, Mutating Horror for +2 Might and two XP. Fizz, Trickster can even play Void Assault again from the trash for just its Power. Each favorable fight still costs a card or two to arrange, though, and the Legend only turns that XP into a buff or a retreat to base, so the deck spends a lot to take single combats.

Nasus spends its early turns on cheap answers and card draw like Defy, Bellows Breath and Find Your Center, then turns the corner with plays costing seven or more. Thousand-Tailed Watcher, The Empyrean and Nasus, Ascended all trigger the Legend, which readies up to two runes so the same turn can still hold up a counter or a trick. Not much happens before the deck reaches those costs, though, and early bodies like Scuttle Crab and Lonely Poro hold battlefields poorly, so Nasus might give up too many points before its big turns arrive.

Evelynn hides cards like Pyke, Returned, Gutter Guardian and Switcheroo at its battlefields, often at Bandle Scouts' Academy so each hide there leaves a Gold behind, and its Legend draws once each turn when one of them is played from face down. That keeps cards flowing, although a draw on the opponent's turn also costs a discard. The units it flips are mostly three or four Might, so it leans on Punch First and Rengar, Trophy Hunter for bigger fights, and since a battlefield usually holds only one facedown card, the engine seems to build too slowly to push Evelynn higher.

Most Poppy lists play a Body and Order combat deck that collects XP from Grim Resolve, Shepherd's Heirloom, Gardens of Becoming and Master Yi, Tempered, while the Legend adds XP whenever Poppy holds and can spend three XP to draw a card. Every use pulls from the same pool, though: the Legend's draws, Heirloom equips and Enthralling Protector's buffs all spend XP, while Master Yi, Tempered only keeps Deflect and Ganking with six or more banked. Much of that XP depends on conquering or holding battlefields with mostly small units, which seems to hold Poppy here.

Pyke's Legend returns one of its units from a battlefield to hand for one Energy and makes a Gold token, and most lists add Ripper's Bay, where that return can also pay one Energy to channel a rune. That turns Hidden units like Tornado Warrior into repeatable plays, and in some lists Tornado Warrior can empower Tail-Cloaked Matriarch from face down to bring a cheap unit back from the trash. Every return still pulls a body off the battlefield and replaying it costs resources again, so Pyke converts board presence into resources and scores slowly.

Sett plays cheap units and gear that hand out buffs, such as Pit Rookie and Pillaged Armory, and then spends those buffs as a resource. Call to Glory costs nothing when a buff is spent on it, and the Legend can pay one Power and spend a buffed unit's buff to save it from dying by recalling it to base, while Sett, Kingpin grows for each buffed unit at its battlefield. A unit only carries one buff at a time, though, so the deck keeps choosing between hitting harder and staying alive, and a saved unit leaves the fight it was in.

Jhin's Legend banks each spell it spends four or more Energy on, and once four are banked it puts them in the trash, channels four runes and draws a card. Curtain Call, Deadly Flourish, Consult the Past and Sprite Burst all qualify when played for full cost, and Jhin, Meticulous Killer can follow any of them for a single Mind rune. The deck still needs several turns of expensive spells before that payoff, while its Sprite tokens die before they can score a hold, so Jhin tends to control games without closing them quickly.

Vi wants one oversized attacker. Hextech Gauntlets adds three Might and costs less to equip on a bigger unit, and when an attack conquers with at least three excess damage, the Legend readies a unit so a Ganking threat like Jhin, Murderous Artist can move and attack the other battlefield. That second attack is the deck's best turn, but it needs a defender to overpower and a Ganking unit in play, and it happens only once per turn, so on other turns Vi seems to be a fair set of attackers carrying equipment.

Jarvan IV plays cheap Deploy gear like Pillaged Armory, Concert Poster and Demacian Standard, and its Legend pays a Power to move a friendly unit to the battlefield where that gear lands. With Jarvan IV, Martial Paragon giving those gear Action, the deck can add a gear and a unit to a fight in a showdown. Each move costs a gear from hand and the Legend's exhaust, the gear die when an opponent holds their battlefield, and the units it moves are mostly mid-sized, so Jarvan IV still needs Punch First or Rampage to come out ahead in its fights.

Fiora rewards units that reach 5 Might, since the Legend channels an extra rune when one becomes Mighty and Sacrifice can then trade that unit for two cards and another rune. In the bigger builds, sacrificing Rift Herald also lets its Deathknell put Elder Dragon into play while paying only the Dragon's Power. The Legend adds at most one exhausted rune a turn, though, and it usually needs Punch First or a large unit before it does anything, so Fiora's ramp comes slowly and depends on finding the right pieces together.

Orianna is built around The Ball. At the start of its player's Main Phase the Legend can pay one Energy to make it a 5-Might unit with Ganking. Each time The Ball moves it draws a card or deals 2 to enemy units there, and Veiled Temple can ready it after a conquest to move again. The Ball has to survive a turn as gear before the Legend can wake it up, and it dies if an opponent holds its battlefield, so losing it leaves the Legend animating gear like Mask of Foresight, which lacks The Ball's Ganking and move trigger.

Rumble's Legend gives every Mech Shield, and Rumble, Hotheaded gives them Assault while it is on the board, so each Mech gains a point of Might on either side of a fight. Incorrigible Construct, new in Radiance, enters ready when it shows off another Mech, and Ferrous Forerunner leaves two Mech tokens behind when it dies. Those bonuses are only one Might per Mech, though, so Rumble seems to play like a fair midrange deck.

Mel plays a Mind and Chaos spell deck that answers threats with Stupefy and Rebuttal and filters its hand through Traveling Merchant and Hwei, Brooding Painter. The Legend gives a unit -2 Might, but only after the deck empowers something else, so Mel first spends Energy or a discarded spell on Applied Researchers or its Mel champion, and using the Legend disempowers it again. Most of its units are small and Time Warp is often the way it pulls ahead, which seems to leave Mel reacting for several turns before it can take over a game.

Renekton's Legend turns two Power into two Energy for units, and most lists pair it with Coalesced Energy, which recycles every rune at the end of the turn and channels four back. Since the runes reset anyway, recycling them for Power costs little, and dropping to four or fewer runes also turns on Renekton, Rage Fueled's attack damage. The board is still cheap units like Noxus Hopeful and Kai'Sa, Survivor backed by Punch First, though, and a small rune pool keeps the top end low, so Renekton might run out of cards once those early units are answered.

Volibear ramps toward very large units, using Mobilize and Platewyrm Egg early, and the Legend can channel an extra rune when the deck plays a unit with five or more Might. Elder Dragon, Kadregrin the Infernal and Gentle Gemdragon give that ramp a top end, and Sky Splitter gets cheaper once a big unit is on the board. The start is the problem: the Legend does nothing until the first Mighty unit lands, and the cheap cards are mostly ramp and small spells like Flurry of Blades, so the deck might fall behind on points while it builds.

Ambessa empowers cheap units like Legion Marauder and Kayle, Justified, often on Risen Altar to lower that cost, and each of those empowers also empowers the Legend so it can later pay a Power to ready a unit. Guttural Roar gives an empowered unit four Might, and Public Execution kills an enemy unit smaller than one of its own. Readying uses up the Legend's empowered state, though, so every reuse needs another empower first, and the board is mostly small units leaning on Punch First and Rampage, which leaves Ambessa spending much of each turn on setup for modest pressure.

Ezreal is a Mind and Chaos control deck built from cheap targeted spells like Stupefy, Gust, Wages of Pain and Deadly Flourish, and once it has chosen enemy units twice in a turn the Legend draws a card. Most lists also use Pack of Wonders to return Treasure Trove to hand each turn, drawing a card and channeling a rune before replaying it. Even so, the Legend draws just one card each time it exhausts, and apart from Thousand-Tailed Watcher its units like Vex, Apathetic and Fizz, Trickster are small, so Ezreal can control a board without closing quickly.

Teemo is built around Hidden cards such as Tideturner, Windsinger, Sprite Call and Switcheroo, hidden at Bandle Scouts' Academy or Bandle Tree, and the Legend lets it pay one Energy instead of a Power to hide each of them. That saves Power for spells, but the board stays small: Teemo, Strategist has 2 Might, and Sprite Call's 3-Might Sprite has Temporary, so it dies before it can score by holding a battlefield. Holding battlefields then depends on bouncing threats with Gust or Star-Crossed, which seems to leave the deck short of ways to close games.

Draven leans on Chaos, using Vex, Apathetic, Tideturner and Rebuke to set up fights the deck can take, with Spinning Axe adding three Might as a Reaction so a combat goes its way and the Legend draws a card. Every draw from its Legend depends on winning a combat, though, and most of its units have two to four Might while Draven, Showboat only grows as the deck scores points, so one bigger blocker or a removal spell can stall the card flow before it adds up to much.

Seraphine's Legend can exhaust itself and three friendly units to make a spell cost two Energy less, and Encore and Concert Poster supply the Recruit tokens to pay for it. With Seraphine, Inspiring on the board, that exhaust can also draw a card once each turn, and the discount makes it cheaper to pair Imperial Decree with Bellows Breath to kill several units at one location. Those units must be ready to pay, though, so they cannot make a standard move that turn unless Raucous Anthem readies them, and many are 1 Might tokens, so Seraphine might struggle to turn a wide board into conquests.

Shen's lists share a Calm core of Defy, Discipline and Charm, and the Legend can exhaust to give a friendly unit Tank, which decides which unit takes combat damage first. Kinkou Temple gives units with Tank +1 Might, so that choice can swing a close fight there. The Legend never draws a card, readies a rune or scores a point, though, and its bigger units change from list to list, so the deck can answer threats but seems to lack a consistent plan of its own for turning those answers into points.

Zed's Legend empowers whenever its player banishes one of their own cards, then trades that charge for a discard and a draw. Runeblade Anvil banishes the top card of the deck when it enters and again when it leaves, so Pack of Wonders returning it to hand or Detonate killing it can recharge the Legend, while the Legend's discards help fill the trash for Rhasa the Sunderer in some builds. The Legend's payoff only swaps one card for another, though, so Zed seems to spend Energy and cards on setup that doesn't put more Might on a battlefield by itself.

Ziggs's Legend pays one Energy and one Power to put a Bomb on a battlefield, and Amateur Demolitionist and Ziggs, Explosive make more. Detonate, Shimmering Swimmer and Acceptable Losses all let Ziggs kill its own Bomb, which deals 2 to an enemy there and sets off its other Bombs at that battlefield, and Detonate also draws two. Void Gate adds one damage to each blast there. Every Bomb only hits units at its own battlefield, though, and the damage doesn't conquer anything, so Ziggs might spend its turns clearing units while its small bodies still have to score.

Irelia's Legend can exhaust and pay one Power to ready a friendly unit its player chooses, so Discipline on a Stellacorn Herder that has already moved draws a card and lets the Legend ready the Herder to move again for another draw. Ride the Wind and Tideturner add more movement around that engine. Each ready still costs Power, the Legend only readies itself again after a conquer and one more Energy, and most of the units are small, so Irelia might need several pump spells like Defiant Dance to take a single fight.

Lucian's Legend gives each Equipment Assault, so a unit holding Long Sword or Doran's Blade attacks for three more Might, and Lucian, Merciless can pick up an Equipment as it enters and ready itself after its first conquer each turn. Relentless Pursuit can also move a unit and attach an Equipment to it in one play. Each Equipment still costs a card and Energy before it adds any Might, though, and the Assault only counts while attacking, so the deck might not have enough left over to hold a battlefield once it is pushed onto defense.

K'Sante's Legend pays one Energy and exhausts to give a friendly unit Assault equal to its Shield, which turns defensive bodies into attackers. A Mutated Mouser wearing Nazuman Ntofo has Shield 4, so the Legend lets it attack for 5 Might, and Ntofo Strikes would add Shield 2 and then deal 6 to an enemy unit, equal to that Mouser's Shield. The Legend only helps one unit each turn, though, and without it Stalwart Poro and Mutated Mouser attack as 2 and 1 Might bodies, so K'Sante might struggle to pressure a battlefield as well as it defends one.