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A couple of weeks ago, MegaM0gwai had some trouble with the order of Round Start effects in Legends of Runeterra. I took it upon myself to try and understand what happens because LoR doesn't have a rulebook like MTG.
What happened to MegaM0gwai?
He was playing a [[Slotbot]] deck against a Freljord deck. His Slotbot just happened to have only 1 life. The opponent had just played [[Ember Maiden]] before their round ended. When MegaM0gwai's round subsequently started, the opponent's Ember Maiden triggered before his Slotbot rerolled its stats, killing the Slotbot and making MegaM0gwai upset about the distinct lack of clarity of how Round Start effects interact with each other.
https://clips.twitch.tv/FurtiveChillyVampireBIRB
Therefore, I tried every single combination to decipher the underlying patterns. After a lot of tests, I have come to the following conclusions: (I couldn't find any explanations regarding this on any of the usual LoR websites. In case this is duplicate information, sorry everybody!)
At the start of the round, the game separates two things:
- Delayed effects
- Board effects
Delayed effects will be triggered first. Examples of delayed effects are:
- [[Pool Shark]]
- [[Pick a Card]]
- [[Sapling Toss]]
- [[Warmother's Call]]
All triggers happen for Player 1 in the order the spells and units were played. After all delayed effects from Player 1 are resolved, the delayed effects from Player 2 start to resolve.
When all delayed effects have been resolved, board effects are next. Some examples are:
- [[Eye of the Dragon]]
- [[Ember Maiden]]
- [[Slotbot]]
- [[Minotaur Reckoner]]
- All other minions with Round Start effects such as level 2 [[Garen]], level 2 [[Maokai]], and so on
The board effects of Player 1 happen in the order of the board/bench. So having Ember Maiden on the far left side, will make her trigger first. Only then level 2 Maokai on the right side will summon a [[Sapling]]. (Pretty relevant because board positions can be reordered when declaring attackers and blockers.) After all board effects of Player 1 have been resolved, the game does the same for Player 2.
But how are P1 and P2 determined for the round?
This is a little bit more complicated. So, sorry if the explanation is a little messy.
Legends of Runeterra tracks the "last player to initiate an action in the previous round" and I can only name it like that.
Example A: It's round 3, with nolagold having the attack token. He plays Slotbot. His opponent, freshlobster, responds with Ember Maiden. In this case, freshlobster was the "last player to initiate an action" should both players now pass and hence ending round 3. As a result, at the start of round 4, freshlobster's effects are going to resolve first. Ember Maiden deals 1 damage to all. After that nolagold's Slotbot rerolls its stats. (freshlobster is Player 1 in round 4.)
Example B: However, if after freshlobster played his Ember Maiden during round 3 of example A, nolagold decided to attack with his Slotbot, the game will see nolagold as being "the last player to initiate an action." Therefore, at the beginning of round 4, nolagold's effects will happen first: Slotbot rerolls its stats and after that freshlobster's Ember Maiden will trigger, dealing 1 damage to all. (nolagold is Player 1 in round 4.)
Well, this part is pretty hard to explain because some interactions are quite unintuitive.
Going back to example B: Assuming while nolagold was attacking freshlobster, freshlobster decides to play a fast or burst spell such as [[Make it Rain]]. In this case, the game will not recognize freshlobster as "the last player to initiate an action" because the complete combat phase counts as one action that will not resolve until the combat phase itself is fully resolved. Therefore, it's like the Make it Rain spell just happened to be on the stack during combat but it was not the original cause which initiated an action, in this case the combat phase. Thus, even with freshlobster's Make it Rain resolving during the combat phase, nolagold will still be the "last player to initiate an action in the previous round" and hence his round start effects will resolve first at the beginning of round 4 just like in example B.
However, if instead combat resolves with Slotbot attacking and whatever else was going on, priority subsequently goes back to freshlobster. Should freshlobster decide to play Make it Rain now, he will be considered to have "initiated an action" and at the beginning of round 4, freshlobster's round start effects will resolve before those of nolagold.
In summary, playing spells while other actions did not yet fully resolve (such as unit skills, fast or slow spells, or even combat) is irrelevant when determining who will be Player 1 or Player 2 in the next round.
"So Divinity, wouldn't better nomenclature be 'the owner of the last spell resolving or the last attacking player?'" Well, I really would like to name it like that but I can't because denying or fizzling a spell doesn't make the player who initiated the action not be Player 1 in the next round.
In a very simple manner, the player to press "End Round" instead of "Pass" will be the "last player to initiate an action in the previous round."
What happens if no player initiated an action in the previous round?
If neither player initiated an action in the previous round, Player 1 will be the player who starts the round with the attack token.
Any other weird interactions?
Despite the rather complex resolution logic, the Round Start effect order has a deterministic pattern. The unfortunate truth about this lack of clarity is that the order in which Round Start effects resolve can affect the game a LOT. But one thing is pretty weird: the card [[The Undying]] ALWAYS resolves as the last step of the board effects. Hence, if you have Eye of the Dragon as well as 5 other units on the board, played 2+ spells this round, and a [[The Undying]] of yours just died, well, I have some bad news for you.
TL;DR?
- P1 delayed effects in the order they were cast
- P2 delayed effects in the order they were cast
- P1 board effects in the order of the board/bench
- P2 board effects in the order of the board/bench
- P1 will be the player who pressed "End Round" instead of "Pass" in the previous round
- P1 and P2 are assigned via tracking the "last player to initiate an action in the previous round."
- If neither player initiated an action during the last round, P1 will be the player who starts the round with the attack token
- The Undying is always the last board effect to resolve
I hope you guys enjoy all the research and have a lovely night.
Thanks u/Lareyt for reviewing the english and editing.
Additional thoughts:
-Regeneration is not a "Round Start" effect, actually it happens before everything (in board order) and then "Round Start" triggers in Delayed-Board order;
-In comparison with Regeneration and "Round Start Effect", people asked about Ephemeral and Round Ends. The "Round End" effects happens and then Ephemeral dies, doesn't matter how is placed.