Legends of Runeterra: Rising Tides expansion released not too long ago and featured the new lore region Bilgewater. Rising Tides revolves around attacking your opponent’s Nexus, and introduces several new keywords and abilities accordingly. With that said, with every new set, some cards are going to perform better than others in Constructed.
After taking the time to review each card, here are my thoughts on the best Rising Tides cards for Constructed play!
The Best Rising Tides Cards for Constructed
5) Gangplank
Gangplank isn’t overpowered, but he packs a punch. I’m a big fan of the flexibility Powder Kegs provide. They can be used aggressively against your opponent’s Nexus, while also being useful for dealing with their creatures. Although creating one Powder Keg isn’t anything busted, being able to create one at the beginning of every turn really ramps up.
However, the best thing about Powder Keg is that it works perfectly with Gangplank’s attack trigger when he levels up. Since the Powder Keg is made at the beginning of every round, Gangplank is guaranteed to deal at least 2 damage on his attack trigger. That combined with his solid stats and Overwhelm makes Gangplank an extremely self-sufficient threat.
Note, that his level up requirements aren’t difficult either. In an aggressive build, you can consistently get Gangplank leveled up by turn 5 or 6.
Overall, Gangplank is a solid card. Many players have already created strong aggressive strategies around him. However, using his Powder Kegs as a control tool is also another viable path if your looking for a slower deck with him.
4) Fizz
The iconic League of Legends mid-lane trickster has plenty of new tricks with his Legends of Runeterra counterpart. Fizz becomes Elusive and un-targetable by spells every time you cast spells. Therefore, Fizz is a great target for buff spells. Buff spells will allow Fizz to sneak in some damage on your opponent while also helping him level up.
Once he levels up, he can keep creating Chum the Waters over and over. However, although the potential on Fizz is extremely high, he hasn’t found a home in a top tier deck yet. This may be because Fizz offers a put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket payoff. It’s worth it – but only if you build around him.
At the moment, I believe that going aggro is the best strategy for Fizz. However, regardless of what build Fizz finds himself in, I’m sure he’ll eventually be a powerhouse card.
3) Twisted Fate
A lot is going on with Twisted Fate. From a glance, he can look like an easy to remove target with minimal value. However, once you play against Twisted Fate, you will understand the absurd amount of value his Destiny Cards provide.
The Destiny Cards don’t do much by themselves, but their effects will compound over time. For example, let’s say you play a card and it triggers the Blue Card. The Blue Card drew you into another card that you can play, allowing you to trigger yet another Destiny Card. Do this every turn and your opponent’s going to severely fall behind.
All in all, Twisted Fate is a mediocre creature in combat, but an amazing combat engine. Because of this, I think most of the time I’d try to protect Twisted Fate then attack with him.
2) Nautilus
Nautilus is the best card to abuse Rising Tide’s newest keyword, Deep. Currently, there isn’t one Deep deck that wouldn’t want to include Nautilus.
When you’re still trying to Deep, Nautilus isn’t going to do much except defend you. However, his payoff is worth it. Once Nautilus levels up, he brings all your 4+ threats back into your deck, while making them extremely cheap. Nautilus’s late game is extremely scary if he makes it there, and there are not many ways to beat him once he gets there.
Overall, Nautilus provided a new way for players to play large creatures in Legends of Runeterra. He is a staple pick for Deep decks. In those decks, you’ll want to focus on getting Deep as fast as possible, while also dealing with your opponent’s aggression. Even though Deep creatures are mediocre without Deep, Natilus make it okay to trade them early because he can just bring them back later.
1) Miss Fortune
Miss Fortune is amazing. Unlike other champions, Miss Fortune doesn’t need to level up to perform. She’s great in aggressive decks, and her ability does a good job shutting down opposing aggressive strategies.
Also, since she doesn’t need to be attacking herself to trigger her ability, Miss Fortune has become a useful inclusion in the Scout deck. Triggering her ability twice in one turn is incredible, and makes blocking against her tricky.
There isn’t much more to say about Miss Fortune, except that several aggressive strategies will happily include her. For example, Miss Fortune is great for triggering Plunder since she does direct damage to the Nexus regardless of blocks.
It’s shouldn’t surprising that all the best cards in Rising Tides are champions. Legends of Runeterra promote decks to include champions into every deck, so it’s expected that Riot would put a lot of effort into making them look exciting. With that said, several non-champion cards are very powerful. Riptide Rex, Petty Officer, and Dreadway Deckhand are all cards that have found success in some decks.
Overall, Rising Tides was a great expansion to Legends of Runeterra. It opened up several new archetypes while creating interesting variations to the old ones.
Stay tuned to SQUAD for more Legends of Runeterra content and guides.
