|d1= To add a card to a deck that doesn't help the overarching theme of the deck, but because the card itself is good.
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|d2= A term used to describe a deck. Used to describe a secondary region when the deck is mostly a single region but has a small amount of supporting cards from a secondary.
There are Legends of Runeterra terms that are used in and outside the game, with some terms being used to simplify and facilitate rapid communication. This is a list of these terms and their definitions.
Please contribute to the page by adding more terms and definitions alphabetically.
These terms are mostly used in the English language.
An archetype of decks. Aggro decks have many small units to try and rush down the opponents Nexus as quickly as possible. These decks excel at early game, but fail later in the match.
Allegiance
When you summon this, it gets its bonus if the top card of your deck matches its region. See Allegiance.
Ally
Allies
Any object that has health and is on the same team as the referencing card. Includes our Nexus, but can not target our Nexus if it would outright destroy it, as in Template:Lor.
Anything
Any ally or enemy.
Attack
When a player with an Attack Token moves allied unit cards from the backline to the battlefield and commits to the action by pressing the button.
Effect triggers in combat when the unit is attacking, but not defending. See Attack.
EditThe player that has the Attack Token can (manually) declare and commit an attack. Commiting the attack consumes the token. Through the use of cards' effects, such as Rally, both players can have a Token. The player with the Play Order Token each round gets an Attack Token for free.
Autopass
An option in the settings that allows the game to end a players turn if they can not play any cards or take any action.
B
Backline
Bench
Area of the field where units are played to, and are moved from to the battlefield when they attack or defend.
Barrier
Negates the next damage the unit would take. Lasts one round. See Barrier.
Battlefield
Area of the field where units are moved to attack or defend.
Battling
A state units are in when they are either attacking or defending.
A unique effect that only relates to Template:Lor, a bonded unit will gain power and be resummoned to the battlefield when a Level 2 Kalista attacks.
Burn
An archetype of decks. Burn decks can either revolve around forcing the opponent to run out of cards in their deck either by forcing the enemy to draw cards or by Obliterating them, or the deck can focus on destroying the enemy nexus via direct damage sources from units like Template:Lor or spells like Template:Lor.
Another term for the keyword Obliterate, particularly when forcing the enemy to do it.
Direct damage to the Nexus, not dealt through combat.
Burst
Burst spells resolve instantly. The enemy can't act before it finishes. See Burst.
Button
The Button
The large green or blue circle on the right side of the board that players can press to commit to actions such as attacking, defending, and playing spells. Context sensitive to what is currently happening.
C
Cantrip
Colloquial card game term. Refers to cards that draw exactly one card, along with another positive effect to the allied team. These types of cards have a net gain and essentially cost 0 cards to play. Some examples of cards like this in Legends of Runeterra are Template:Lor and Template:Lor, both these cards provide a unit while drawing a card, making them very safe to put in any deck.
Can't Block
An effect that prevents a unit from blocking. See Can't Block.
Capture
A Captured card is removed from the game. It returns when the Capturing unit leaves play. See Capture.
Challenger
Can choose which enemy unit blocks. See Challenger.
Copies of champion cards in hand that match an allied champion on the field are transformed into their Champion Spell Card. Each champion has a unique spell card that usually works well with their effects and playstyle. All champion spell cards add a copy of the champion to the deck, and can be used to avoid losing via not being able to draw. All champion spell cards turn back into the champion when the champion is removed from the field.
Commit
Committed
Committing
EditAn action is committed when it is 'confirmed', usually by pressing The Button. It cannot be reversed, without extra card effects. Committing an action ends your turn (except in the case of Burst spells, or non-manual commitments such as Skills).
Casting BurstSpells and Playing a unit are notable actions that are committed as soon as they're declared.
Control
An archetype of decks. Control decks ignore the opponents Nexus and focus on withering the opponents field and hand down to nothing. They Control the game by preventing everything the enemy tries to do, and once they completely remove all opposition, they will destroy the Nexus without any fear of retaliation.
Copy
Makes a duplicate of the base card, with no other effects on it that were created by other cards. See Exact Copy
Crimson
Not an official group, but often considered a group. Crimson units have "crimson" in their name and revolve around damaging allies to gain positive effects. Crimson units are closely related to Template:Lor and the Crimson Circle faction from lore.
D
Dead
When a unit's health is reduced to 0, or otherwise killed through a card effect, it becomes dead and is sent to the "graveyard". Units are permanently considered Dead after dying, nothing will remove them from the "graveyard", even if Revived. See Death.
Declare
EditAn action is declared when it is 'done' but not commited.
Examples of this are when a unit is dragged into the Attack or Block position, or when a spell is dragged onto the board.
When a spell is declared, then undeclared, it's placed in the rightmost position in the hand.
When an attack or block is declared, then undeclared, the unit(s) are placed in the rightmost position on the board.
While attacking, it strikes both before AND at the same time as its blocker. See Double Attack.
Drain
Heal our Nexus for the amount of damage dealt. See Drain.
E
Elite
A unit card group, Elites belong to the Demacia region. See Elites.
An Elite is a highly trained soldier from Demacia.
Elnuk
A unit card group, Elnuks belong to the Freljord region. See Elnuks.
Elnuks are large shaggy buffalo like quadrupedal mammalian herbivores. Unique to the lands of the Freljord. They are domesticated animals that are used for their meat and fur, they are also used as a form of currency in Freljord and sometimes even used for riding.
Elusive
Can only be blocked by an Elusive unit. See Elusive.
Enemy
Enemies
Any object that has health and is on the opposing team of the referencing card. Includes the Nexus.
End of Round
Happens when both players have passed, the round ends. The Play Order Token swaps sides, the players swap from being on attack and on defense.
Card effect that activates the moment directly after the second player presses the button, but before the play order token swaps sides and the new player on attack receives an attack token.
Enlightened
You're Enlightened when you have 10 max mana. See Enlightened.
Ephemeral
This unit dies when it strikes or when the round ends. See Ephemeral.
EVERYWHERE
EditSomething that applies everywhere applies to all instances of the specified card that exist or could ever exist that game, living, dead, in hand, in deck, in play, not yet created, in discard. No matter what, this effect applies to them. Although, the effect will only apply once to every card, and can be removed through normal effects that remove other card effects, like Capturing units, Silencing units or units Dying.
Exact Copy
Makes a duplicate of the card, including all other effects on it that were created by other cards. See Copy
Experience
A value gained through playing games, completing quests, or completing an expedition. Experience unlocks rewards that result in earnable cards, chests, and capsules. See Experience (Legends of Runeterra)
F
Face
To attack the Nexus directly. Usually used when targeting the Nexus is chosen over a more efficient play.
Fast
Fast spells can be played at any time, but allow the opponent to respond. See Fast.
Fearsome
Can only be blocked by enemies with 3 or more Attack. See Fearsome.
Field
Area of the board where units exist, includes the battlefield and the backline.
Fleeting
Fleeting cards discard from hand when the round ends. See Fleeting.
Set a unit's Power to 0 this round (it can be changed after). See Frostbite.
G
Game
Match
The period between load in and the victory or defeat screen.
Give
Target gains whatever the referencing card says for only this round, all effects will be removed at the end of the round the target gained the effect.
Global Level Up Condition
Usually in relation to a champion's Level Up condition, Global Level Up Condition relates to the player themself, and the champion will level up immediately when it enters the field it the respective player has completed their level up condition at some point during the game. Uses a psuedo-keyword of You've, these can be checked by clicking on the respective player's deck.
Grant
Target gains whatever the referencing card says permanently, and will only lose the effects if it is killed, recalled, or if another card specifically removes the effects, like Template:Lor.
Graveyard
Colloquial term for the list of units that have died this game. Effects that Revive units pulls from this list. Reviving a unit does not remove it from the Graveyard. A unit that has died multiple times gets added to the graveyard multiple times, increasing the chance that it can be "randomly" revived.
Group
A group is a subtype of unit cards that relate them to other unit cards with the same group. Some cards effect groups and makes all units of that group stronger. Having a group allows players to create powerful synergies using cards like Template:Lor. See Groups.
Dictates the amount of damage that can be taken by a unit. If a unit reaches 0 health, it dies.
Health cannot go below 0.
Effects that affect Health values are 32 bit signed integers. If they reach 2,147,483,647, they overflow or underflow to -2,147,483,647, and vice versa.
This means that health multiplying effects can kill a unit in extreme circumstances.
A unit has a default max health value, a max health value, and a current health value. If a unit is damaged, its current health decreases. Effects that grant a unit health increase its maximum and current values. Effects that Heal a unit only increase its current health, capped by its maximum health.
If a unit loses a maximum health increase and its current health is more than the maximum health it would have after, its value is set to it's maximum health.
The current health value is shown on the bottom right of a card. When a unit's current health is equal to its default maximum, it is white.
When the current value drops below the maximum, it is red. When it is at the maximum and it has been increased above the default, it is green.
I
I
I've
Usually in relation to a champion's Level Up condition, I've or I relates to the champion themself, and the champion will level up when they see their level up condition completed. See See
Imbue
These abilities trigger when you resolve a spell. See Imbue.
J
K
L
Last Breath
These abilities take effect when the unit dies. See Last Breath.
Level Up
A level up happens when a champion completes their level up condition. The respective champion gains stats and sometimes even new or stronger effects. After a champion levels up, all copies of that champion on the field, in the allied deck, and in the allied hand will change into their level two form. See Level Up.
Lifesteal
Damage this unit deals heals its Nexus that amount. See Lifesteal.
EditMana is the primary resource used to play cards in Legends of Runeterra.
Mana Curve
Mana Curve relates to the overall mana cost of all cards in a deck. A low mana curve has a lot of cards with low mana cost, while similarly, a high mana curve has a lot of high cost cards. An appropriate mana curve is vital to a deck being effective.
Mulligan
An event that happens at the start of a game where players can replace cards in their opening hand by drawing a new card for each one they want to replace and then shuffling the replaced cards back into the deck.
N
Nexus
Each player has a Nexus, they start at 20 health and when they reach 0 the respective player loses. See Nexus.
Nexus Strike
An effect occurs when a unit Strikes the enemy Nexus. See Nexus Strike.
O
Obliterate
Completely removed from the game. Doesn’t cause Last Breath and can’t be revived. See Obliterate.
The player that does not have the Play Order Token, and plays second in the round.
Overwhelm
Excess damage I deal to my blocker is dealt to the enemy Nexus. See Overwhelm.
P
Player
A person participating in the game.
Play
Played
When Played
An effect that occurs when a card is played from the hand. See Play.
Play Order Token
EditThe player with the "Play Order Token" (unofficial) at the start of each round takes the first action. They get the Attack Token for free at the start of the round too.
At the start of the game a random player gets the Play Order Token. Every round the token goes to the other player.
Poro
A unit card group, Poros mainly belong to the Freljord region, but every region has at least 1 poro that costs 1 mana to play. See Poros.
Poros are cute tiny round fluffs of fur, that are canonically made of love.
Power
EditDictates the damage a unit does in combat, whether attacking or defending. This value can be changed through various cards temporarily or permanently, but each card has a default Power that it returns to if effects are removed.
When a unit's Power is at its default, it is white. When the value drops below the default, it is red. When it has been increased above the default, it is green.
Q
Quest
A random daily task given to players to complete for experience.
Quick Attack
While attacking, strikes before its blocker. See Quick Attack.
R
Rarity
All cards in game have a rarity to indicate how common each card is. The indicator of rarity is located at the bottom center of the card, and can be any one of four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Champion. Follows the basic video game color coding for rarity of: Green, Blue, Pink, Orange. Finally, Each rarity is also indicated by a shape, gaining a vertex as rarity increases: Triangle, Diamond, Pentagon, Hexagon.
Recall
Return a unit to hand and remove all effects applied to it. See Recall.
Regeneration
Heals fully at the start of each round. See Regeneration.
S
See
Seen
A unit with the "I have Seen" condition must be on the field while the action it must see is happening. See See
Set
An effect that sets a unit's health or power to specific number. The stat can be affected after it is set to a specific value. Most notably, Frostbite uses this mechanic.
Silence
Removal of text and keywords from a unit. See Silence.
Skills
A spell-like effect created and cast by unit. See Skill.
Slow
Slow spells can be cast outside of combat and other casting. The enemy can respond. See Slow.
Spell Mana
EditSpell Mana is a resource used to play Spell and Equipment cards along with Mana. These cards prioritise using Spell Mana before they use regular Mana.
Unlike regular Mana, Spell Mana doesn't completely refresh each round, instead up to 3 remaining Mana from the end of the previous round is converted into Spell Mana. Spell Mana is conserved between rounds, and a player can have a maximum of 3.
Like real life spiders, LoR spiders are 8-legged insects that may or may not be small, with most being the Template:Lor and some being Template:Lor. Template:Lor has a close connection to spiders.
Spell
EditSpells are non-unit cards that can be played to trigger an effect. The speed of a spell dictates when it can be played, and whether the opponent can respond.
The Spell Stack: Once one or more Fast or Slow spells have been played, it can be responded / reacted to by the opponent with one or more Fast or Burst spells. Fast spells played are added to the stack, where the most recent one placed is the first to resolve. Once the response is confirmed by pressing the Button, the opponent has a chance to react, and this continues until both players pass. Only 10 spells can be on the stack at once, and the 10th spell may only be Burst.
Splash
To add a card to a deck that doesn't help the overarching theme of the deck, but because the card itself is good.
A term used to describe a deck. Used to describe a secondary region when the deck is mostly a single region but has a small amount of supporting cards from a secondary.
Start of Round
The point after both players have drawn their card but before the player on attack can play any card.
Stun
Remove a unit from combat. It can't attack or block for the rest of the round. See Stun.
Strike
Struck
An effect that occurs when a unit deals damage with their Power. See Strike.
Strongest
Highest Power, with ties broken by highest Health then highest Cost. See Strongest.
Summoned
Summon
When Summoned
When a unit first enters the field.
Support
Gives an effect to the unit positioned to the right of this unit if this unit is attacking. See Support.
Survive
To take damage but not die.
T
Tech
A unit card group, currently all Tech come from Template:Lor. See Tech.
Tech units are all mechanical creations from the mind of Heimerdinger.
Tempo
An archetype of decks. Tempo decks focus on hyper efficient plays to get ahead by a slight amount that eventually ends up in a huge lead. Decks of this type make good use of Cantrips, and getting the most value out of every card.
Playing a card optimally to a high degree, and getting a lot of value from the play. E.G. playing Template:Lor when the opponent has 6 high value units while there are 0 allied units on the field.
Attaches to another card, trapping it. When the trapped card is drawn, perform the effect. See Trap.
U
Unit
Unit Card
EditA unit is one of the main card types and can be either a Champion or a Follower card. A unit card can be played by spending Mana equal to its cost, and fulfilling any additional conditions in the card text, which summons it. A unit has a Cost, Power and Health. A unit can also have additional card text that has its own effects, usually only when the unit is alive.
Ally in card text refers to an allied unit. Enemy in card text refers to one of your opponent's units.
V
Vanish
Fizzle
When a card can't be added to the respective location because the location has max occupancy. If this happens the card is simply Obliterated.
W
Weakest
Lowest Power, with ties broken by lowest Health then lowest Cost. See Weakest.
Wildcard
A token that can be traded for any card of the same rarity. Wildcards come in all four rarities, Common, Rare, Epic, Champion.
X
Y
Yeti
A unit card group, Yetis belong to the Freljord region. See Yetis.
A sentient large humanoid creature with white fur that lives in the cold regions of Runeterra.
You've
Usually in relation to a champion's Level Up condition, You've relates to the player themself, and the champion will level up immediately when it enters the field it the respective player has completed their level up condition at some point during the game. Also considered as a "Global Level Up Condition", these can be checked by clicking on the respective player's deck.
Allegiance.
Attack Token moves allied unit cards from the backline to the battlefield and commits to the action by pressing the button.
Attack.
Champion or 
