Legends of Runeterra Patch 1.5 nerfs Pilfered Goods and Solitary Monk

As expected, Legends of Runeterra’s 1.5 patch will contain some off-cycle balance changes in addition to the usual updates. While it’s only a couple of changes, Riot said that they “saw an opportunity to quickly turn around a few key changes and get them in your hands, and in the process develop more flexibility around when and how we update cards.” Because Riot will soon be releasing new cards every couple of months, they have begun to rethink the way they handle balance updates over time.

The highly contentious Pilfered Goods is again being adjusted, and this time, Riot is unequivocally nerfing the card. Last time, the card was changed so that it stole cards from the bottom of the opponent’s deck instead of the top. Many felt this wasn’t that much of a nerf at all, so Riot went back to the drawing board.

This time, the card’s mana cost is being increased from two to three, with Riot explaining, “our goal is to retain Pilfered Goods’ potential in dedicated archetypes like draw synergy, Plunder, and Allegiance, while making it less generically and widely powerful.” The studio also explained that the card was simply seeing too much play, and it would make for a healthier meta if the Nab mechanic were less competitive for Bilgewater.

Solitary Monk will now have three power instead of four. Although the card is sometimes unplayable depending on the situation, Riot determined that its base stats were simply too strong. “We’ve seen this raw power used too effectively in too many different styles of decks, so we’re choosing to adjust her damage output (rather than utility) to focus her on more dedicated strategies,” Riot said.

Riot also gave a sneak peek of what card changes will be coming in patch 1.6. Heimerdinger’s bots will be adjusted, discard units will be retooled in order to “increase their satisfaction and usability,” and cheap Noxus units will see their direct Nexus damage adjusted.

In addition to these changes, Patch 1.5 contains bug fixes, Expedition Archetype changes, and a new mode called “Labs.” Full patch notes can be found here.