Following the release of Rising Tides in Legends of Runeterra, players are exploiting Unyielding Spirit for quick wins and utter dominance.
Riot Games released the Rising Tides expansion with the official launch of LoR via PC and mobile on April 28. The new set introduced an eight-cost Burst spell in the Demacian region called Unyielding Spirit, which has amazing potential and even fewer answers to deal with it.
Unyielding Spirit says that an ally can’t take damage and can’t die. The only answers to this potentially busted spell so far in LoR are Purify, when the ally isn’t a champion, Recall via Will of Ionia or Dragons Rage, and Obliterate from Devourer of the Depths. In other words, if your opponent isn’t playing either Demacia, Deep in Bilgewater, or Ionia, it’s typically game over once Unyielding Spirit comes into play.
At Burst speed, it’s impossible for an opponent to answer Unyielding Spirit directly. The best option is to place it on a champion to remove Purify as an answer to it. Most champions can essentially end a match once they become indestructible. But Unyielding Spirit is extremely broken on champs like Lux since the spell also triggers her Level Up. It’s also detrimental when placed on champions like Lee Sin, Fizz, Fiora, and Darius.
In comparison to other eight-cost spells in LoR, only Progress Day has Burst. There’s also a valid argument in saying Warmother’s Call has about the same effect on ending a game as Unyielding Spirit—and it has a cost of 12 mana at Slow speed.
The Rising Tides meta is still new and can change almost instantaneously. Players are already constructing builds in response to the three best LoR decks that are dominating the meta right now—and Unyielding Spirit might be the key.
Update May 8 12pm CT: Added Obliterate from Devourer of the Depths from the Bilgewater region as an answer to Unyielding Spirit.
