League of Legends released another digital card game, and it’s completely different from Legends of Runeterra. As part of the ongoing Noxus-themed season, Riot Games decided to expand on Mordekaiser and Atakhan’s lore with a cool mini-game called The Demon’s Hand, which can be accessed in League of Legends‘ client.
Digital deck-building games have grown in popularity over the last year or so, with the likes of Pokemon TCG Pocket and Yu Gi Oh: Master Duel making competitive card games accessible to many players. When it comes to unique experiences, Balatro and, now, The Demon’s Hand are delivering roguelike gameplay with playing cards as the players’ weapon of choice.
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League of Legends May Have Another Mini-Game Hit With Demon’s Hand
League of Legends is known for releasing limited-time mini-games related to its events. Its most popular were PvE modes to promote specific skin lines, such as Swarm, which was reminiscent of Vampire Survivors. The game mode was received positively by many fans, especially those who wanted to play something different from the usual MOBA matches. When the second season of Arcane premiered late last year, League of Legends came out with Jinx Fixes Everything, which also filled in some gaps in the series.
In its latest update, League of Legends shadow-dropped The Demon’s Hand, a roguelike card game where players use cards and Sigils to slay enemy beasts. The Story Mode follows Atakhan, a warrior-turned-demon, as he plays the game to fight various enemies across Runeterra, with the goal of overcoming battles without dying. If his HP goes down to zero at any point in the game, he loses all of his progress and Sigils, and his journey starts over. Fortunately, the rounds and the story, which is narrated over conversations with a mysterious man, continue even if Atakhan dies.
How to Play The Demon’s Hand
- Draw 8 cards from a deck of 52 to assemble different types of attacks, using up to 5 cards to deplete opponents’ HP. Players deal damage based on various attack values, depending on the card combinations they formed.
- After defeating a beast, players are awarded currency that they can use to purchase Sigils that will power up their plays.
Because of its roguelike elements and the card combinations that can be used in battle, many gamers compared The Demon‘s Hand to Balatro. Although the latter doesn’t have beasts to kill, it still has a similar mechanic of playing card combinations and choosing power-up augments to accomplish a goal, which is to meet a score requirement. But because The Demon’s Hand has an opponent in every round, it’s definitely more competitive than Balatro. Both games can also be pretty addictive though, because of avid players’ determination to win matches and get the best score possible.
What’s also interesting about The Demon’s Hand is that the Story Mode continues LeBlanc’s story from the “Welcome to Noxus” cinematic. At the end, it’s revealed that the sorceress disguised herself as the mysterious man to speak with Atakhan and convinces him to tell her the location of a powerful Darkin weapon. As the leader of the Black Rose, she’s on a mission to recruit powerful beings and find weapons they can use to stop Mordekaiser from ravaging the physical world.
Playing Beyond The Demon’s Hand’s Story Mode Has a Catch
Apart from Story Mode, The Demon’s Hand also has a Hard Mode and Demon Mode, so fans can continue playing the mini-game with new Sigils. However, these modes can only be unlocked by playing League of Legends‘ Arena mode and completing the event missions. This isn’t a problem for longtime players who regularly grind the MOBA, but casual players might not be keen to go through the effort.
On the other hand, League of Legends players still have enough time to play a number of Arena matches to unlock The Demon’s Hand‘s other modes. The mini-game will be available until April 28, 11:59PM PT, which gives players ample time to accomplish missions and enjoy several card game rounds in between League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics matches.
- Released
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October 27, 2009
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco