While constructed game modes will always be the meat and potatoes of any card game, additional game modes are almost always included as a side offering. MTG Arena has Sealed and Draft, Hearthstone and Gwent have Arena, and Legends of Runeterra has Expeditions. In this Runeterra Expeditions guide we’ll run down everything there is to know about expeditions. From strategies and rewards to tips and tricks, let’s dig in!
Legends of Runeterra Expedition Costs
There are three different ways to start an Expedition currently:
- Use an Expedition Token for free entry.
- 2000 Shards (Gained from Chests and Capsules)
- 200 Gold (Roughly $2)
What are Expeditions? – Drafting, Trades, & More
Expeditions is the limited format for Legends of Runeterra. After paying the entrance fee you’ll be given a chance to draft your deck. Through 15 different selections you’ll choose champions, units, and spells. The cards come in buckets though, you’ll never draft one card alone. Sometimes you’ll need to weigh whether two average cards are better than one good card and one bad card. For the most part, picks alternate between Synergy and Wild offerings. The former takes your current deck into account, offering cards that work well with what you have. Wild picks are a bit more randomized and are a chance to pivot your deck or fill in some gaps.
Unlike constructed, Expeditions do away with the typical deck rules. There’s no limit on how many copies of a single card you can have and you can utilize up to three different regions.
After completing your draft, Runeterra will give you the opportunity to trade three of your cards. You can only choose one, however, so make it count! You can also decline to trade should your current cards be better than the offerings.
The good news is that Runeterra is incredibly forgiving compared to other games. You can keep playing your Trial until you lose two games. Should you suffer a loss, win the next match and you’re back on track with the two game buffer. Once you achieve six wins and are ready to finish things off you get one final try. The seventh and final match is winner-take-all. Lose and you’re done. No more second chances.
Each Expedition consists of two Trials. Once your first run has finished, Riot gives you another chance to achieve a high win count. You’ll need to go through the entire process again including drafting a deck. Once both runs are completed, the better of the two results is taken and rewards are given out based on that.
More Legends of Runeterra:
- The Best Decks in Legends of Runeterra – February 2020 Meta
- Legends of Runeterra Weekly Vault Guide – Ranks, Rewards, Upgrade Chance
- Legends of Runeterra Tips Guide – 7 Things the Game Doesn’t Tell You
Legends of Runeterra Expedition Rewards
You get some decent rewards for Expeditions, but veteran players will always seek to hit seven wins. Doing so fully refunds the cost of the Expedition and then some.
- 0 Win: Epic Capsule + 50 XP
- 1 Wins: Epic Capsule, 100 Shards, 150 XP
- 2 Wins: Epic Capsule, 200 Shards, 250 XP
- 3 Wins: Epic Capsule, Common Wildcard, 200 Shards, 400 XP
- 4 Wins: Epic Capsule, 2 Common Wildcards, 300 Shards, 600 XP
- 5 Wins: Epic Capsule, Rare Wildcard, Common Wildcard, 500 Shards, 800 XP
- 6 Wins: Epic Capsule, Rare Wildcard, Common Wildcard, 1000 Shards, 1000 XP
- 7 Wins: Epic Capsule, 2 Rare Wildcards, 2000 Shards, 1500 XP
- An Epic Capsule contains one epic card, two rare cards, and two common cards.
Legends of Runeterra Expedition Tips
You Can Only Play Three Real Expeditions Each Week
Before we go any further, keep in mind that only your first three Expeditions in any given week will give rewards. After that, further Expeditions become free and you will no longer earn any rewards aside from match completion XP and quest XP. If you manage to play that many runs in the time span, use the free Expeditions as a testing ground and for practice. The more you play, the better you’ll be!
Draft Strong Units, Removal Spells, and Card Draw
Because everyone is drafting cards and not controlling every single selection in their deck, you want to draft a few specific things. Big, beefy units will always be strong because they can trade for multiple of your opponent’s units. Dropping something like Alpha Wildclaw might not seem great, but it’s a big threat that demands attention. Which is why you also want to draft hard removal spells. Spells that damage or outright kill units are at a premium. They’re basically a get out of free card for any troublesome units your opponent plays.
All this back and forth will eventually leave you with very few cards in your hand so you want to grab some card draw as well. Late in the game it oftentimes becomes a battle of whomever can draw the better card first. Being able to restock your hand is invaluable in these situations.
Play for Board Control
Going off of everything we just said, play for board control. Having units on the board is at a premium. Even a few small units can do a ton of damage over time. Expeditions and all draft modes are all about getting more value out of your cards than your opponents.
Don’t Overcommit, Always Have More Ammo When Possible
Be careful about how many units you have in play at once. Even if you have a big lead all it takes is a single Ruination and your entire board is gone. If you have no units in your hand that may very well be the end of your game.
Choose Simple, Immediate Effect Champions
Don’t get too cheeky with your champion selections. You don’t want to pick Ezreal and then not draft the cards that he needs. Since Ezreal requires you target enemy units 8+ times to level up, you’re going to need to keep him in mind as you draft. Others like Thresh simply need to see units die. This is much easier to accomplish and doesn’t affect your drafting phase. When in doubt, pick simple champions that don’t require hard to complete tasks.
