I would loved to have been in the WotC offices Monday when the news dropped of a new entrant into the digital CCG arena.

All of a sudden what they thought was a two horse race between themselves with MtG:Arena and the 800lb gorilla Hearthstone by Blizzard, looks like becoming a three horse race with the addition of Riot Games and Legend of Runeterra.

I suspect WotC were hoping in the current climate that they would be picking up a shed load of new players as those disenfranchised with Blizzard and Hearthstone look for a viable alternative.

Although I would imagine that the number of engaged players would drop drastically once the new arrivals realised they can only play on their PC, and not on their mobile device of choice. Although to be fair to WotC, Mac owners will be getting Arena hopefully sometime before the New Year.

However that was before the sign up for early access to new kid on the block Legends of Runeterra (LoR) was opened up on Monday. Like Arena LoR is only available on PC. However the button is already on the website for the Apple App Store. Which would imply that they plan to release LoR sooner than later on mobile.

The scary thing for WotC with Riot Games entering the fray is that Riot Games know this arena. All those years of experience developing the online behemoth that is League of Legends. All the experience that this has got them in the e-sport arena. The customer base they have to market to. A customer base that trusts them, and is highly engaged with them, and is more at easy using a digital product.

WotC are not generous with their in game economy in Arena. It stinks, and is the major reason why I won’t play the game. Close second is it’s not on iOS/iPadOS.

If Riot Games get the game play correct, and they get the in game economy correct, then they will have a hit on their hands. As soon as I get my invite to play (yes I did sign up for early access) and had sometime with the game I’ll post my thoughts.

In the meantime it will be interesting to see just how WotC and Blizzard react to the new guy on the block.