The Lore Inside the Cards: New Legends of Runeterra Champions Miss Fortune and Twisted Fate

Bilgewater is finally here and with the introduction of a new region, we can now explore the lore of a place like no other. So let’s delve into the world of unscrupulous pirates, man eating leviathans and daring bounty hunters. And who would be a better introduction to this city, filled with outlaws and the disgusting smell of fish, than the bounty hunter Miss Fortune and the daring gambler Twisted Fate.

There is no criminal in Bilgewater with a prize on his head, who fears any bounty hunter more than the legendary Miss Fortune. It’s easy to disregard her as a threat because of her flirty, not-a-care-in-the-world attitude and the abscence of huge muscles. But her targets quickly learn that she has deadly precision with her guns and zero empathy for the people in front of the barrel. If you have a bounty, Miss Fortune will kill you in a second with zero hesitation, without even a twitch in her beautiful face. However, below all these superficial layers of fun and flirtations hides a relentless need for vengeance. Ultimately, she only cares about one mark, Gangplank, who destroyed everything she cared for.

THE ORIGINS OF MISS FORTUNE, THE BOUNTY HUNTER:

A long time ago, Miss Fortune was known as Sarah. She was the daughter of a famous gunsmith, who made masterfully crafted weapons in her workshop on a isolated island. There Sarah grew up and helped her mother out in the workshop, creating firearms for wealthy customers from all over Bilgewater. Guns with a legendary prowess don’t just attracts noble cliental however. These weapons are also highly sought after by those who have less than good intentions. One of these was a up and coming captain called Gangplank. He payed Sarah’s island a visit, demanding one of her mother’s mastercrafted guns. She wasn’t comfortable with selling such a dangerous man one of her weapons, but she feared what he would do if she said no. Gangplank was always deadly serious about his demands, so they struck a deal. In a years time, Gangplank could pick up a gun specifically crafted for him at her workshop.

Over the course of a year, Sarah’s mother put all her efforts into what would eventually become Miss Fortune’s signature weapon. A pair of pistols, who were on the one hand beautiful and gracile, but also capable of pinpoint accuracy and a staggering rate of fire. Gangplank returned on the agreed upon date but had no intention of paying for the guns. A red mask covered his face, ready to take the things he desired by force, as he always does. Within the year Gangplank had accumulated a terrifying reputation, rising rapidly in the ranks of the Bilgewater gangs. Sarah’s mother decided that these elegant guns didn’t belong in the hands of a violent brute and refused to give the guns to Gangplank. Enraged, he gunned down the gunsmith, her husband and even the young Sarah. Then he burned down the workshop and threw the pistols on the ground, out of pure spite.

Later, Sarah woke up to the smell of burning wood and flesh. She miraculously survived the two shots into her chest, both bullets stuck in her heart but not stopping it from pumping. Legends say that this was the day Sarah gained her crimson hair and became Miss Fortune, with the red coloration coming from the blood of her mother that splattered on her hair. She picked up the twin guns and vowed that she would do to Gangplank what he did to her. She would hunt down the men with the red mask and burn down everything he cared about, even if it was the last thing Sarah would do.

Sarah got on a boat and sailed for Bilgewater. Once she arrived it didn’t even take a minute until she killed the first person in her life, a drunk pirate with a bounty on his head. She dragged the corpse to the collection office and picked up even more warrants. Over the next years she carefully constructed the persona of Miss Fortune. Just another bounty hunter who flirts with everything that has a beating heart and only hunts pirates for fun. Sarah created this personality in order to escape the notice of Gangplank, who by then had become the most powerful person in Bilgewater. Over the next few years she stole her ship, the Syren, from a captain who couldn’t keep his hands to himself and continued to amass a following of allies and lovers. All of it was part of a complex plot to destroy the monster who took everything from her and eventually the day of reckoning finally came.

Gangplank had become the boss of Bilgewater and Sarah was ready to dethrone him. A fiery explosion ripped apart the Dead Pool, Gangplank’s ship, and burned everything within it to ash. All man on deck were killed by the explosion and suddenly, Gangplank found himself without a crew or a ship. The pirate king was declared dead and thanks to the glorious explosion, every denizen of Bilgewater was a witness to his downfall. Various gangs tried to fill the power vacuum caused by Gangplank’s “death”, but Sarah was able to kill all the pretenders and gained control of Bilgewater. Gangplank however survived and Miss Fortune, continous her hunt until either one of them is dead.

THE LORE INSIDE THE CARDS, MISS FORTUNE:

Like her counterpart in League of Legends, Miss Fortune will fill the air with lead. Everytime you attack, she will unleash a hail of bullets from her pistols and damage all enemies and the nexus by 1. When you level her up, the ratio of air to lead increases even more in the latters favor and she will damage everything the opponent holds dear by 1 three times.

Through Miss Fortune’s lore we got a glimpse at the seedy underside of Bilgewater, which actually encompasses most of the city and is clear as day to everyone. It is run by various gangs, who divide the city among them. From the slaughterhouses where sea monsters are gutted for their parts, the seagull shit covered wharfs till the more luxurious villas at the top of the city, everything is owned by some crime lord. The constant murdering, hustling and stealing seems to have physically manifested itself through the ever present smell of rotting fish in the air. On the other hand, it’s a good place to acquire outlawed hextech and serves as a refuge for those who are persecuted.

The gangs are for now are mostly represented through Gangplank’s crew in Legends of Runeterra, which is made up of members from several Bilgewater gangs. One of them are the Jagged Hooks, represented through the Jagged Butcher follower, who hunt sea monster. There are many more gangs to discover and especially after Gangplank lost control of the city, many more captains have thrown their hat into the ring in order to carve their own piece out of Bilgewater. It’s true that Miss Fortune claimed leadership over Bilgewater, after she annihilated a alliance of crime lords which emerged after Gangplank’s apparent death. But vermin always returns as long as the filth isn’t cleaned away and Bilgewater still has plenty of that, so new pirates will emerge and challenge Miss Fortune. In the future, we might get more cards which represent the violent gangs of Bilgewater and their leaders.

Of course the unique charm of Bilgewater doesn’t just manifest through murder and plundering, there is also a lot of swindling and hustling in seedy establishments. No champion better represents this kind of crime as Twisted Fate, the master of cheating at card games. He gambled his way halfway across the world, usually leaving every casino with more money then he entered by using his unique card based magic. This of course also made him the enemy of many but he keeps slipping out of everyone’s grasps, no matter if crime boss or law enforcement.

THE ORIGINS OF TWISTED FATE, THE CARD MASTER:

His origins are a stark mirror to his current lifestyle, as Twisted Fate was born as one of the humble River-Folk of the Serpentine river. These are a tribe who still practice the ancient ways of the old Serpent Isles natives, before Bilgewater was founded and tainted the isles somewhat with its presence. The River-Folk were treated with suspicion by the more recent inhabitants of the Serpent Isles but were tolerated for their exotic trade wares. Twisted Fate learned from a young age how to use magic with cards from the elders but his connection to his tribe was cut tragically early.

One day, disgruntled customers, who had lost a lot of money in of the gambling tens of the River-Folk, appeared, seeking revenge. They brandished their weapons at Twisted Fate’s family, which caused him to intervene. He used his magic to turn their weapons against them, driving the attackers of. Even so Twisted Fate might have prevented a massacre, his tribe shunned him for his actions because passivity and non-resistance was priced above all else in their way of life. Twisted Fate was exiled for breaking this doctrine. Suddenly, he was all alone.

Twisted Fate managed to survive without the support of his tribe, by traveling from casino to casino, swindling at every game of chance. Through this he learned how to effectively cheat without arousing suspicion, using magic to manipulate his hand in card games but not winning too much to arouse suspicion. He also learned to use his cards offensively in times when mobsters would corner him after a casino boss decided he won too much. It was in one of these casinos where he met Graves, the shotgun wielding champion from Bilgewater, and they quickly became partners in crime.

Together they perfected their trade, pulling of ever more daring but also profitable crimes. Twisted Fate and Graves attempted a big heist one day but it went terribly wrong. The details of what happened this night are a mystery, but it resulted in Graves getting captured and Twisted Fate still walking as a free man. Whatever unfolded between the two men, it caused a fall out between them so severe, they would even attempt to kill each other in a fiery battle. Luckily, none of them were able to deal a killing blow to their former friend but Bilgewater suffered a lot of collateral damage. Over the course of their battle they destroyed Gangplank’s warehouse, a accident that wouldn’t go unpunished. So they fled Bilgewater together, having put their differences aside to pair up once more.

Twisted Fate continued on his path of high stake gambling, which obviously caused him to accumulate considerable wealth. However, no matter how much he wins, retiring seems to be no option for him and so he continues to empty the vaults of casinos and blasting angry victims of his swindles away with his magical playing cards.

THE LORE INSIDE THE CARDS, TWISTED FATE:

Twisted Fate will aid you in battle by utilizing one of his three magical playing cards. The blue card gives 1 spell mana and lets you draw a card, gold stuns the strongest enemy and damages it by 2, red damages all enemies and the nexus by 1. This perfectly mirrors his League of Legends playstyle, where also uses the three cards as part of his kit. When Twisted Fate levels up, he will use one of his three cards for the first three cards you play in a round. By saving up lots of cheap burst spells you can unleash a hail of playing cards on the enemy, dealing tons of damage while also drawing a card at the same time.

Through Twisted Fate’s backstory we learned that various native human tribes were the original inhabitants of the Serpent Isles, before Bilgewater was founded and cast this tropical paradise in a darker light. So far, the Island Navigator seems to be the only representative of the ancient natives. These days the natives mostly exist at the fringes of Bilgewater, usually shunned by the non-natives for their strange culture and religion. Another interesting fact is that the original inhabitants of the isles prey to various lovecraftian gods. Eldritch beings that call the deepest abysses of the ocean their home. One of them is Nagakabouros, a deity of which the champion Illaoi is the high priestess of.

Another League of Legends champion, who deserves to be mentioned here, is Graves. He is Twisted Fate’s best friend and together they pulled of many crimes. Graves however is a much less subtle or elegant man than Twisted Fate, preffering to just jump into battle blast everything away without a plan. He always carries a oversized shotgun and chain smokes cigars, which only complements his overall rough and tough personality. Graves is a fan favourite from Bilgewater and we would love to see him blast the enemy nexus with oversized guns.

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