Viktor Joins the Legends of Runeterra Roster

Viktor has officially joined the ever-growing Legends of Runeterra champion roster! And, as expected, he’s quite a peculiar addition! So, let’s go over his biggest strengths and weaknesses to better understand what he’ll bring to the table upon release! Viktor, simply put, is the perfect exemplar of the Augment keyword and playstyle. He doesn’t bring anything particularly new or earth-shattering to the game, but boy will he pack a punch!

If you’re a fan of Piltover & Zaun, then you definitely have a reason to celebrate! So, with that out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty!

An Augmented Style of Play

“Viktor” is a 4 mana champion with 2 | 4. So, he’s not exactly a formidable unit power-wise but he’s still far from a pushover. His Augment keyword, however, can make him into an absolute behemoth if your opponent doesn’t react in time. At the start of each round, you’ll get a “Hex Core Upgrade” in your hand. Finally, to level him up, you’ll need to create at least eight cards, regardless if he’s on the board or not.

Once leveled up, Viktor improves to a slightly more impressive 3 | 5. He’ll retain the same round start effect but your created cards will cost 1 less mana. Seeing how most of them cost just 1 or 2 mana crystals, this means you’ll be able to spam them willy-nilly come late game. Overall, Viktor is quite an interesting champion. By himself, he’s nothing particularly special. But once you factor in the slew of support cards that Riot just announced, he becomes a whole lot more dangerous.

“Hex Core Upgrade” is 1 mana Slow Spell that’s Ethereal. Once activated, it’ll grant Viktor a random keyword. You don’t have to be a genius to notice the immense amount of potential here. This one card has more than enough power to turn Viktor into an absolute nuisance.

“Iterative Improvement” is a 2 mana Burst spell. Once played, you’ll get to pick an allied unit and then create a copy of it in hand with +1 | +1. Overall, this is quite a simple card by design but far from an insignificant one. Most of these upcoming P&Z units are relatively underpowered. This spell, therefore, has a two-fold effect. It’ll empower (augment, rather) all of your existing units while also providing you with another copy so that you can swarm the board a lot sooner. What’s not to like?

“Viktor’s Death Ray – MK 1” is a 1 mana Fast spell that deals 1 damage to a unit. It’ll then create a “Death Ray – MK 2” in the top three cards of your deck and shuffle in a Viktor, too. Again, this card shares many similarities with “Iterative Improvement.” It’ll help clear your opponent’s side of the board while also augmenting any units you might have. Win-win!

“Death Ray – MK 2” is exactly the same as the one preceding it, with the only difference being its cost (2 mana instead of 1) and the amount of damage it does. It’ll also create a “Death Ray – MK 3” in the top three cards of your deck.

“Death Ray – MK 3” is a 3 mana Fast spell that’ll deal 3 damage to a unit.

The great part about these Death Ray cards is the fact that they’re perfect for ramping things up, empowering your units in quick succession, and overwhelming your opponents before they can react. By the time they have something to respond with, you’ll potentially have a full board with augmented units! It won’t be as easy as it sounds, but the potential is certainly there.

You can see all of these cards in action down below:

Closing Remarks

Overall, this whole new Augment style of play is quite interesting. Again, it’s nothing complicated or particularly nuanced, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have its perks. It’s fairly simple, quick, and easy to understand. It’s also the perfect mechanic for a champion like Viktor.

Three days of reveals are already behind us, which means there’s still a lot more coming our way. Riven and Zoe are all but officially confirmed, so expect a bunch of new Noxus and Targon cards over the coming days. As always, we’ll bring you more coverage from the moment things hit the web!