Riot Games has announced errata (edits) to 31 cards in Origins, the first set of League of Legends’ trading card game, Riftbound. These errata arrive ahead of set 2 in order to clarify the wording of the cards. None of these are balance changes; these are only aimed at making the writing more consistent with the rules.
Here are the changes on each of the 31 cards.
| Card name | New text | Old text |
|---|---|---|
| Ava Achiever | When I attack, you may pay [C] to play a card with [Hidden] from your hand, ignoring its cost. If it’s a unit, play it here. | When I attack, you may pay [C] to play a card with [Hidden] from your hand here, ignoring its cost. |
| Baited Hook | [1][C], [E]: Kill a friendly unit. Look at the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. You may banish a unit from among them that has Might up to 1 more than the killed unit and play it, ignoring its cost. Then recycle the rest. | [1][C], [E]: Kill a friendly unit. Look at the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. You may play a unit from among them that has Might up to 1 more than the killed unit, ignoring its cost. Then recycle the rest. |
| Blind Fury | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Each opponent reveals the top card of their Main Deck. Choose one and banish it, then play it, ignoring its cost. Then recycle the rest. | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Each opponent reveals the top card of their Main Deck. Choose one and play it, ignoring its cost. Then recycle the rest. |
| Clockwork Keeper | You may pay [C] as an additional cost to play me. When you play me, if you paid the additional cost, draw 1. | As you play me, you may pay [C] as an additional cost. If you do, draw 1. |
| Convergent Mutation | [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.) Choose a friendly unit. This turn, increase its Might to the Might of another friendly unit. | [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.) Choose a friendly unit. Increase its Might until it equals the Might of another friendly unit. |
| Dark Child, Starter | At the end of your turn, ready up to 2 runes. | At the end of your turn, ready 2 runes. |
| Dazzling Aurora | At the end of your turn, reveal cards from the top of your Main Deck until you reveal a unit and banish it. Play it, ignoring its cost, and recycle the rest. | At the end of your turn, reveal cards from the top of your Main Deck until you reveal a unit. Play it, ignoring its cost, and recycle the rest. |
| Disintegrate | Action (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Deal 3 to a unit at a battlefield. If this kills it, do this: draw 1. | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Deal 3 to a unit at a battlefield. If this kills it, draw 1. |
| Dragon’s Rage | Move an enemy unit. Then do this: Choose another enemy unit at its destination. They deal damage equal to their Mights to each other. | Move an enemy unit. Then choose another enemy unit at its destination. They deal damage equal to their Mights to each other. |
| Dune Drake | When I attack, give me +2 [M] this turn if there is a ready enemy unit here. | When I attack, give me +2 [M] if there is a ready enemy unit here. |
| Highlander | [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.) Choose a friendly unit. The next time it would die this turn, heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) | [Reaction] (Play any time, even before spells and abilities resolve.) Choose a friendly unit. The next time it dies this turn, recall it exhausted instead. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) |
| Karma, Channeler | [Vision] (When you play me, look at the top card of your Main Deck. You may recycle it.) When you recycle one or more cards to your Main Deck, buff a friendly unit. (If it doesn’t have a buff, it gets a +1 [M] buff. Runes aren’t cards.) | [Vision] (When you play me, look at the top card of your Main Deck. You may recycle it.) When you recycle one or more cards, buff a friendly unit. (If it doesn’t have a buff, it gets a +1 [M] buff. Runes aren’t cards.) |
| Kinkou Monk | When you play me, buff up to two other friendly units. (Each one that doesn’t have a buff gets a +1 [M] buff.) | When you play me, buff two other friendly units. (Each one that doesn’t have a buff gets a +1 [M] buff.) |
| Nocturne, Horrifying | [Ganking] (I can move from battlefield to battlefield.) As you look at or reveal me from the top of your deck, you may banish me. If you do, you may play me for [A]. | [Ganking] (I can move from battlefield to battlefield.) When you look at cards from the top of your deck (and don’t draw them) and see me, you may play me for [A]. |
| Pack of Wonders | [E]: Return another friendly gear, unit, or facedown card to its owner’s hand. | [E]: Return another friendly gear, unit, or [Hidden] card to its owner’s hand. |
| Portal Rescue | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Banish a friendly unit, then its owner plays it to their base, ignoring its cost. | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) Banish a friendly unit, then play it to base, ignoring its cost. |
| Promising Future | Each player looks at the top 5 cards of their Main Deck, banishes one of them, then recycles the rest. Starting with the next player, each player plays those cards, ignoring Energy costs. (They must still pay Power costs.) | Each player looks at the top 5 cards of their Main Deck, chooses one, then recycles the rest. Starting with the next player, each player plays those cards, ignoring Energy costs. (They must still pay Power costs.) |
| Ravenborn Tome | [E]: The next spell you play this turn deals 1 Bonus Damage. (Each instance of damage the spell deals is increased by 1.) | [E]: The next spell you play deals 1 Bonus Damage. (Each instance of damage the spell deals is increased by 1.) |
| Salvage | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) You may kill up to one gear. Draw 1. | [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.) You may kill a gear. Draw 1. |
| Sigil of the Storm | When you conquer here, you must recycle one of your runes. (This doesn’t choose anything.) | When you conquer here, recycle one of your runes. |
| Sona, Harmonious | At the end of your turn, if I’m at a battlefield, ready up to 4 friendly runes. | While I’m at a battlefield, ready 4 friendly runes at the end of your turn. |
| Targon’s Peak | When you conquer here, ready up to 2 runes at the end of this turn. | When you conquer here, ready 2 runes at the end of this turn. |
| Teemo, Strategist | [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) When I defend, choose an enemy unit here and reveal the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. Deal 1 to that unit for each card with [Hidden] revealed this way, then recycle the revealed cards. | [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) When I defend or I’m played from [Hidden], reveal the top 5 cards of your Main Deck. Deal 1 to an enemy unit here for each card with [Hidden], then recycle them. |
| The Boss | If a buffed unit you control would die, you may pay [C], exhaust me, and spend its buff to heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) When you conquer, ready me. | When a buffed unit you control would die, you may pay [C] and exhaust me to spend its buff and recall it exhausted instead. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) When you conquer, ready me. |
| The Dreaming Tree | When a player chooses a friendly unit here with a spell for the first time each turn, they draw 1. | The first time you choose a friendly unit with a spell here each turn, draw 1. |
| The Syren | [1], [E]: Move a friendly unit at a battlefield to its base. | [1], [E]: Move a friendly unit at a battlefield to your base. |
| Tideturner | [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) When you play me, you may choose a unit you control at another location. Move me to its location and it to my original location. | [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) When you play me, you may choose a friendly unit. Move me to its location and it to my original location. |
| Unforgiven | [2], [E]: Move a friendly unit to or from its base. | [2], [E]: Move a friendly unit to or from your base. |
| Unlicensed Armory | Discard 1, [E]: Choose a friendly unit. The next time it would die this turn, you may pay [C] to heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) | Discard 1, [E]: Choose a friendly unit. The next time it dies this turn, you may pay [C] to recall it exhausted instead. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) |
| Void Gate | Spells and abilities deal 1 Bonus Damage to units here. (Each instance of damage the spell deals to a unit here is increased by 1.) | Zhonya’s Hourglass |
| Zhonya’s Hourglass | [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) | [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) The next time a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Recall that unit exhausted. (Send it to base. This isn’t a move.) |
These errata aren’t balance changes – physical card games try to avoid that at all costs. Balance has to be meticulously handled before printing.
The changes are about making the wording clearer in relation to the rules. Some cards from Origins looked like they were written to function, but not to be future-proof. The changes better explain the steps of what they do, so that players can tell how they will interact with other cards.
For example, the new version of Blind Fury. “Each opponent reveals the top card of their Main Deck. Choose one and banish it then play it, ignoring its cost.” This sets the precedent that cards from the deck are banished, then played from that area. This gives the ability to banish and end up unable to play the card, and it has to remain there. It also explains where the card goes, thus what it interacts with.
Many other changes are about specifying something that wasn’t clarified. For instance, Convergent Mutation clarifies that the buffs are until the end of the turn.
There are still some rare functional changes in the mix, adding “up to” to certain cards. Sona, Harmonious now readies up to 4 friendly runes. While technically a buff, this is more of a quality-of-life change.
Image Source: Riot Games
Errata in trading card games also have consequences for the secondary market. Rarity is a factor when reselling cards, as collectors seek rare cards. An erratum means that the original version of the card will no longer be printed, so its copies will become limited.
However, all of that only applies if there’s demand. Fortunately, all cards will remain legal for tournament play, even those with outdated wording.
For most cards, this will not matter, as there will be more than enough supply of old and new versions alike. The old version of the rarer cards might see their prices go up, though, as they become more scarce than their more recent counterparts.
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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