Patch 3.16.0 Notes

With Daybreak getting a new look, we wanted to make sure Leona was still the bright star at the center of the deck. With more ability to control combat, Leona should be able to lead the Solari into the fray and leave your opponents in mourning.

We wanted to take a new look at Daybreak and see if there was a way to bring the archetype back into the light. The old cards focused very heavily on temporary stats, making it hard for Daybreak to build a real advantage once each unit's time in the sun was finished. By giving Daybreak a little more permanent power and some cards they don't mind playing outside of Day, we hope the deck can really shine.

Deckbuilding with Nocturne has been a bit spooky without more in-region ways to level him up. By expanding his circle to include Fearsome units, we think he can scare up a few new decklists.

Alongside Nocturne's Fearsome new look, we're hoping some upgrades to Vilemaw and his home in the Treeline will be enough to scare up some new deckbuilding angles for Nightfall and let all of us washed up summoners remember the glory days.

Finding Tahm Kench late in the game could leave you with an awful taste in your mouth, since he wouldn't come to the table hungry. We're hoping this change makes him a little more palatable, without turning his decks into the current flavor of the month.

Yi has had some trouble getting into the Flow since coming to Runeterra, but we think that letting his wisdom persist between turns may take him to a higher plane of winrate. The Wuju swordsman's play pattern can be a bit oppressive, so we're taking a cautious approach to buffing him without letting him cut apart the meta.

While nerfing Fiora's health did succeed in knocking her off the podium, she's had trouble even making it into the competition ever since. We're hoping that moving her to a higher cost makes her less overbearing early, especially in strategies that try to go all-in on her win condition.

Swain's tactics have been outmatched by a faster environment, and this change is aimed at letting his strategy actually close out a game once he's leveled up.

We knew we wanted to release some of Illaoi's stranglehold on the meta, but the nerfs to her and Bard nudged her down a little further than we'd like. With Riptide Sermon getting toned down this patch, we're pretty sure Illaoi needs to buff up again to be viable.

Ornn's level up condition is always on the border of being too late - if you're hitting for 10, your game is generally going fine even without the Lava Elementals. By reducing that number a bit, we think Ornn can help turn games around more often and maybe hammer out a few more wins.

While both of these cards recently received buffs, they've also resulted in a number of decks skyrocketing to a dominant share of the metagame, crowding out new potential strategies. We want to disrupt the meta with our live patches and take big swings, but sometimes that means the healthiest overall choice is to revert a buff that may have shifted things too far in one direction.

Sainen found his way into about a thousand Ionian decks as both a huge value engine and a major board presence. By cutting back some of his tail-end, we think fighting the fox will be a fair bit more feasible.

While it's great to see all these pirates spreading the Good Word of Nagakabouros, it's probably a bit too in-your-face to be healthy in the long run.

The Noxian burn package of strong one drops and solid face damage has been overperforming for a while now, in large part due to the redundancy of good options for reducing the enemy Nexus to 0. We don't want to axe Decimate entirely, just cut back its hold on the current meta.

Gwen's Camavoran party has been going strong for a while now, and the Harrowing has been a big part of making sure the dance never ends. We want the Harrowing to stay as a big splashy finisher, but we're adding another step into the routine before you reach the finale.

Free Calling can be a frustrating experience to play against, letting decks access their champions consistently with limited drawbacks. Hopefully this puts some of Shurima's mono-champion strategies on hold for a little longer while they wait for an extra mana.

While Peak gameplay hasn't been dominating, we're worried about a deck with this much variance holding a notable share of the meta. With an extra mana on the Peak, you'll have a little more time to execute your gameplan before the opponent reaches the mountaintop.

With the introduction of Weaponmasters, Timelines have split off into a meta defining group of decks. While we think the play pattern of this card is interesting, we want you to have to spend a little more tempo in order to open up an alternate reality of crazy value.

Iula's potent buff was limited by its temporary nature, so we wanted to let her be a little more proactive at the cost of having to choose between her gifts.

Even with the arrival of equipment, the Papertree just wasn't making the cut in most decks. By buffing the attachment rather than the bearer, we think the Papertree can fold into some more strategies that like to use a lot of different attachments.

With spiders mostly squashed down by other aggressive strategies, we think Shrieking Spinner can weave itself into a finisher for the 8-legged menace.

Ritual of Renewal is in a unique space as a Slow, Big Heal, but it's a space that not many decks are interested in. By moving it down the curve, we think it can be a tech choice for when your opponents are trying to end the game too fast.

Ripper's Bay has always wanted to let you invite some finless friends to your Lurker deck, but losing out on your cards kind of bites. Now the Bay can let everyone put on their shark costumes and get in on the fun!

Swain's Boat has been in the harbor for a while now because of how slow it is. Moving it down the curve should get the Leviathan into open waters more often, at the cost of some of its firepower

Some of Norra’s supporting cards have looked a little lost since her release, so we wanted to open up a few more options for the portal decks, especially for more boon-centric strategies

These bears haven't been rocking, so we're knocking their health up a bit.

Funsmith has always been a bit of a bummer when it comes to combat, so we're giving her a little more reason to enjoy being in the attack row

Mammoth Shaman has been practically extinct since the day he arrived, so he's getting a bit BIGGER.

Windsinger never quite hit the right notes as an expensive tempo unit, so we're shifting her to more of a finisher role that harmonizes with the Recall strategy.