Legends of Runeterra: A complete guide to Noxus champions

This is a Legends of Runeterra guide explaining the mana costs, power, health, spells, and level up conditions of all five Noxus champions.

Legends of Runeterra is Riot Games’ digital card game that shares the same universe as League of Legends, which means you’ll see some familiar faces from the seven regions of Runeterra during your LoR journey. This is a breakdown of the basics of the five Noxus champions and how they function in game.

In short, Noxians are the ‘bad guys’ in Runeterra. Their desire for rapid expansion, unmatched strength, and absolute control almost always come at the expense of anyone who dares stand in their way. Unlike their Demacian counterparts, anyone can rise to power in Noxus, provided they have the necessary strength, wealth, or backing to do so.

Noxus champions utilize basic but thematic mechanics in Legends of Runeterra, with the unstoppable force of Darius posing a constant Nexus threat with Overwhelm, while the Grand General Swain strikes Fear into his enemies when summoned to the board.

These are the five Noxus champions available in Legends of Runeterra:

Darius

Darius
New players will already be accustomed to Darius’ strengths and weaknesses after facing him during the tutorial phase of Legends of Runeterra, but may not be quite in tune with the intricacies of his card.

At level 1 the Hand of Noxus boasts 6 power and 5 health for the reasonable price of 6 mana. Not only that, but Darius also has Overwhelm meaning any excess damage when his attack is blocked carries over to the enemy Nexus. 6 power and Overwhelm is a surefire way to deal significant damage to the enemy Nexus and whittle down your opponent’s HP.

Level Up
However, if you truly want to destroy your opponent’s Nexus with Darius, it would be advisable to reach level 2 as early as possible in order to reap the benefits of a +4|+0 stat boost. To do this, the enemy Nexus simply has to have 10 or less health, which should come easily if you utilize the base Darius correctly.

With 10 power and Overwhelm, it’s only a matter of time before you deal the killing blow to the enemy Nexus.

Darius’ Decimate
Darius’ champion spell is Decimate, a slow spell that deals 4 damage to the enemy Nexus. This card synergizes well with base Darius as it could be key in reducing the opponent’s Nexus HP to below 10 in order to level up your champion.

Draven

Draven
Draven is one of the most deadly early game champions in Legends of Runeterra; his low mana cost, Quick Attack, and Spinning Axe mechanic make it a simple task to clear out the board during the opening rounds.

Level Up
To reach level 2, Draven must strike with Spinning Axe twice at which point he will receive a +1|+1 stats boost and will grab 2 Spinning Axes whenever he’s played or strikes. Level 2 Draven also gains Overwhelm, making him a potentially lethal card if allowed to stay on the board for long enough.

Draven’s Whirling Death
Draven’s champion spell is Whirling Death, a fast spell that forces a battling ally to strike a battling enemy. Use this to your advantage after setting up your attack in order to remove a troublesome attacker from the board and keep your important units alive.

Spinning Axe
Spinning Axe is a burst spell that gives an ally +1|+0 stats after discarding 1 card from your hand. Combining this with a Quick Attack (Draven) or Regeneration unit during the early game could be an easy route to victory.

Katarina

Katarina
Noxus’ second 3 mana cost champion is Katarina, the Sinister Blade. At 3 power and 2 health, Katarina isn’t as powerful as Draven in terms of raw stats but offers more in terms of mechanics and her level up condition.

Katarina, like Draven, boasts Quick Attack making her an excellent early game unit and creates a Blade’s Edge in hand whenever she’s played, allowing the player to swiftly clear the board of any 1 health opponent, provided they have the mana.

Level Up
Reaching level 2 with Katarina is incredibly simple, she just has to strike an opponent once. Although she is recalled back to your hand when she levels up, the +1|+1 stat boost and TWO new mechanics are worth it.

After levelling up, Katarina will rally her teammates whenever she is played, allowing for a second attack token, potentially catching your opponent off-guard. Not only that, but she is also recalled to your hand whenever she strikes, making the champion virtually unkillable without spell usage.

Katarina’s Death Lotus
If you thought Blade’s Edge was powerful for clearing the board of low-health units, just wait until a Death Lotus arrives in your hand. Katarina’s champion spell will deal 1 damage to all battling units for just 2 mana and could result in huge Nexus damage if used in the right scenario.

Ultimately, this fast spell should be reserved for keeping your key, Quick Attack units alive by reducing their blockers stats.

Blade’s Edge
This fast spell is a mini-Death Lotus, dealing 1 damage to a single enemy, Nexus, or ally unit for just 1 mana. Blade’s Edge could be key in removing a troublesome unit from the board that keeps escaping with 1 health remaining.

Swain

Swain
Swain is the only Noxus champion with greater health than power (3|6) and costs 5 mana to summon. The Noxian Grand General can only be blocked by units with 3 or more power and will deal 3 extra damage to the enemy Nexus when striking it, adding up to a potential total of 6 damage.

Level Up
Base Swain will level up after dealing 12 non-combat damage meaning this unit is very spell-reliant in order to reach level 2. However, upon levelling up Swain will gain +1|+1 stats and a new passive which stuns the strongest enemy whenever you deal non-combat damage to the Nexus.

On top of that, Swain will also deal 3 damage to all enemies and the enemy Nexus after a Nexus strike which could wipe the board in an instant if the difficult conditions are met.

Swain’s Ravenous Flock
Swain’s champion spell, Ravenous Flock, is one of the most powerful fast spells in Legends of Runeterra as it can destroy a relatively high health unit in an instant, provided it is stunned or damaged. Combine this with level 2 Swain’s stun mechanic to remove all of your opponent’s strong cards from the board.

Vladimir

Vladimir
It’s all the 5s for Vladimir, 5 mana cost, 5 power, and 5 health which all combine to make a 5-star champion to add to your deck. The Crimson Reaper has one of the most difficult to navigate mechanics in Legends of Runeterra but is deadly if utilized correctly.

Whenever Vladimir attacks, he deals 1 damage to every attacking ally and damage to the enemy Nexus equal to the number of attacking allies. This may seem like a useless passive but it is key for levelling the champion up.

Level Up
Level 2 Vladimir arrives after 6 of your allies have survived damage, a condition that is met almost immediately thanks to base Vladimir’s passive. Level 2 Vladimir gains +1|+1 stats and Regeneration, but his passive remains the same.

Vladimir’s Transfusion
Vlad’s champion spell is Transfusion which deals 1 damage to an ally – synergizing with the champion’s passive – and gives another ally +2|+2 in that round for 2 mana. +2|+2 isn’t a crazy stats boost but could be an important improvement during the early rounds for removing troublesome, high health units from the board.

Crimson Pact
Crimson Pact is Vladimir’s passive and one of the most lethal spells in the game in the right hands and combined with the right deck.

Which of the five Noxus champions do you think is strongest? Will you be building a Noxus based Legends of Runeterra deck?