New League of Legends roguelike card mini-game released, and it’s not Runeterra

League of Legends has managed to stay relevant for more than 15 years now thanks, in part, to creator Riot Games’ constant work to spin off characters and concepts from the MOBA into new game genres and other media. These have included comics, the animated Arcane TV series, and, of course, games like Ruined King, Teamfight Tactics, Bandle Tale, Song of Nunu, and Legends of Runeterra. And now, in a surprise announcement, League of Legends’ client will include a non-Runeterra card battling mini-game in the vein of Inscryption or Balatro called The Demon’s Hand.

The new League of Legends spin-off brings card games to the MOBA’s client, allowing players to take part in roguelike battles against monsters. As shown in an Instagram teaser posted today, The Demon’s Hand will see players exploring a map, powering up cards, and resting between fights against monsters that are won or lost based on the numerical value of their hand of cards. There’s bound to be more to the game than its surface appearance lets on, though, given the teaser’s description of The Demon’s Hand as “a totally normal game of cards” and visuals that appear to tie into the upcoming LeBlanc rework set to be detailed on Wednesday April 2.

According to a recent teaser and information unearthed from an recent datamines, earlier references to The Demon’s Hand were associated with a LoL event featuring LeBlanc that would provide a new emote and mini-game, which is likely the new card battler debuted today, as well as narrative elements centered on Noxian history. While all of this is exciting enough, The Demon’s Hand’s launch makes it seem like a return to Legends of Runeterra is further off than ever.

If you’d rather stick to traditional League of Legends, be sure to check out our looks at League of Legends skins and our current LoL tier list to get the most out of your time with the game.

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