Glory in Navori Reveals: Day 1 – Coin + Ionia Package
Hey all, it’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and I’m back with some card reveals for the upcoming expansion, Glory in Navori!
It’s an exciting time for LoR players, as we’re about to see the biggest shake up in the game’s history.
Rotation is near, and while we’re going to have to say goodbye to some of our old favorites, there’s gonna be a ton of new goodies to explore.
Let’s dive into day one!
Stay tuned for more reveal articles! To build your own deck, head to our Deck Builder.
Coin
First up we’re introduced to a brand new mechanic with Coins. Upon first glance we can already see this as the perfect way to freely set up Flow turns, and also proc effects that trigger off of casting spells. But there’s two more key points on this card text.. These Coins STACK. They are essentially treated as a Powder Keg in your hand, meaning that we can actually net a large amount of mana if we continue to save them up. That means it’s possible to bank multiple of these to set up a future combo turn that exceeds beyond the 13 mana limit, and all while reserving our precious hand space.
Lastly, the final relevant text is that it refills REGULAR mana. All the refill effects we’re familiar with only apply to spell mana, which certainly has its constraints. Coins are a really interesting as they can effectively turn spell mana into regular mana, allowing for a plethora of new one turn sequences involving more units and/or landmarks. Though of course, spells are still a great option.
The combo potential with Coins is craaaaazy, and I’m super excited to start brewing once we know what the card pool looks like post-Rotation. It’s looking to be a great time for Ionia players!
Attentive Accountant
So we’ve got Bandle Commando for Coins, seems reasonable enough. The ceiling is obviously high with this one, but at the end of the day, it’s still a 2-drop that dies to Mystic Shot. One point in its favor is that Ionia has access to great protection spells. However, the caveat is we don’t know which ones will remain in the format.
Assuming there aren’t a ton of early elusive blockers, Attentive Accountant looks pretty solid in a format where Twin Disciplines is still legal. But that could be a pretty big if. Regardless, it’s definitely a card that’ll be slotted into Coin decks on release day. Though we’ll have to see how reliable it is moving forward.
Tag Out
This is a really cool modal spell. Both Recall and Will of Ionia have seen a decent amount of play in the past, and Tag Out essentially provides both in one card. However, this of course comes at a cost of +1 mana. Self-Recall effects have always been situational, but can be very effective in a lot of scenarios. Retreat is occasionally cast without even playing its Return half, and paying one extra isn’t the worst. The +1 mana definitely hurts the Will of Ionia side of this card, as that’s where we get into the more expensive spell territory. But that being said, I think the flexibility makes this incredibly good. It’s sort of like an Ionian Three Sisters.
What’s even better is this creates a Coin no matter which way you cast it. Assuming you’re playing a deck that can reliably generate more than a couple of Coins, this effectively equates to a one mana refund. Even without the Coin, I think Tag Out is a great flexible utility spell, but factoring that in, this card is excellent. I’m pretty certain we’ll be seeing a lot of this card, even in archetypes that aren’t invested in Coins.
Bout Security
Bout Security definitely has some good flavor. The more Coins you have, the more you can pay to “hire” additional security. Good job Riot, I see you. However, as far as competitive viability goes, I’m pretty sure Bout Security is one for the meme category. We’re not happy playing it on three. A 3/3 for three is passable, but definitely below rate.
Assuming we are able to chain some Coin shenanigans together, there’s always going to be much more powerful things we could be doing.
Do note that the grant effect is NOT an “everywhere” buff. This will only apply to the previously played units, and not affect anything in hand or deck.
The one merit to this card is you can essentially fill a board with decently-sized units using only one card. Nine mana would net you a 3/3, 4/4, and a 5/5 with quick attack. If we end up getting that new draft or limited format, Bout Security could be a pretty solid card there. But otherwise, come on, this is way too fair for Ionia’s standards. 😉
Smooth Mixologist
This looks like a really solid card for any decks built around setting up a combo with Coins. While slightly below rate, four mana 3/4’s are respectable enough to fit the curve, provided their effect is good enough (Babbling Bjerg, Stilted Robemaker, etc.). Having a heal on demand is also really nice. Combo decks can often be weak to aggro. However, including heals to combat aggro matchups can be a detriment against other slower matchups. Smooth Mixologist lets us meet in the middle and fill whichever role we need. A solid include.
Master Bingwen, the Sieve
It’s five mana, it’s epic rarity, you know where this is going. Meme decks rejoice, cause this is definitely a wild one. I’m sure there’s some silly combos involving Master Bingwen and a hand full of Coins. Since the unit’s Ephemeral, we’d definitely be moving in for the kill that turn. What are we doing, double Tryndamere? Double Celestial units? Crazy right? Well, not quite.
Whatever combo we look to put together is going to have to revolve around something big, cause why pay five mana if we aren’t doubling something greater. Plus we’re gonna need a ton of Coins to make this all possible. Even when the stars align, the opponent could always block or have removal..
Perhaps we’ll see some crazy new summon effects that are absolutely broken with this card. It’s still too early to write it off completely, but don’t get your hopes up too much!
Pit Professional
Our final card is another bread and butter follower for the Coin archetype. As a three mana 3/3, it’ll at least trade well enough, while providing for our future turns. I do think Smooth Mixologist is a better card overall because of its additional utility, but it will really come down to what the curve of these decks looks like.
The three and four slots can be pretty competitive, so we’ll have to see whether there’s room alongside the unknown champions and other units.
Stay tuned for more reveal articles! To build your own deck, head to our Deck Builder.
