Riftbound has stormed onto the TCG scene featuring new gameplay mechanics and fan-favorites from the popular MOBA, League of Legends. Here you will find a complete beginner's guide to Riftbound and how to start playing in 2025!
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What is Riftbound?
Riftbound is a collectable trading card game from Riot Games based on their wildly popular multiplayer online battle arena game: League of Legends (LoL). Following in the same vein as LoL, players select a Champion Legend to design their deck around that will shape their playstyle. Runes are used to summon units and cast spells as players try to conquer and hold battlefields to score points. Fans of both LoL and strategy games will find something to love in Riftbound.
What Makes it Special?
Over the years League of Legends has painted a rich tapestry of lore for its over 170 Champions. Such a deep history provides a trove of possibilities for card design and mechanics. Legends can have multiple different Champion cards in their name so fans will always find new ways to play them. This variety also rewards players who strive to break the meta and find the strongest combination of cards to win. Deckbuilding allows for a large number of possible combinations of units, spells, and battlefields for each Legend.
There are six different rune colors (domains) in Riftbound: Fury (Red), Calm (Green), Mind (Blue), Body (Orange), Chaos (Purple), and Order (Yellow). Each one boasts different strengths and weaknesses, such as Calm cards being strong defensively but generally have a harder time attacking to overtake defended battlefields. Good deckbuilding will reward players who find ways to shore up their domains’ weaknesses with the right cards.
Deckbuilding
The most important step in deckbuilding is choosing a Champion Legend. Your Legend determines which domains you have access to. You must also choose at least 1 Champion unit that matches your Legend. Only three Signature cards are allowed in your deck, and they must match the Champion tag (name) of your Champion Legend. Then you may fill the rest of your deck with any combination of units, spells, and gear in your two colors. Only three copies of each card are allowed. You can also have a sideboard of 8 cards exactly to swap out between games of each match in best of 3.
There is also a Rune Deck consisting of 12 rune cards in whatever ratio you think is best based on how your cards will use them. And finally, choose three different battlefields to bring along with your decks to the game. They don’t have any domain requirements so they can be used with any champion legend.
In summary, to play Riftbound you will need:
1 Champion Legend
40 Card Main Deck (with at least one Champion unit matching your Legend)
0 or 8 Card Sideboard
12 Card Rune Deck
3 Different Battlefield Cards
How the Game Works
Beginning the Game
For a typical 1v1 game players begin with their Champion Legend and Chosen Champion cards set aside, and shuffle their Main Deck and Rune Deck separately. Each player randomly selects one of their battlefields and places them face up on the playing field. After determining who goes first randomly, players draw four cards from their main deck and can mulligan if they choose (up to two cards go to the bottom of their deck and they redraw that many). Then the first player begins their turn.
Turn Phases
Awaken Phase: Ready all cards that can (turn them upright).
Beginning Phase: Battlefields currently held by the active player will each score 1 point.
Channel Phase: Place (channel) 2 runes from your Rune Deck face up in front of you (the player going second gets to channel 3 runes on their first turn).
Draw Phase: Draw a card
Action Phase: This is when cards are played, abilities are activated, units are moved, and combat is initiated.
End of Turn Phase: End “this turn” effects, heal units, pass turn to the next player.
Playing Cards
Cards are played by tapping runes of any color to pay the energy cost marked in the top left corner of the cards. If they have a rune symbol underneath their cost, then that is an additional power cost that must be paid by returning a rune of that color to the bottom of the rune deck OR paying it through another card, like a Seal. Units come in to play exhausted (tapped) and can be placed in any area you control, (base or battlefield).
Moving Units and Showdowns
Ready units can be exhausted to move as an action. They can be moved from your base to a battlefield or a battlefield to your base. Moving units to a battlefield that is uncontrolled OR currently controlled by another player leads to a Showdown where spells can be cast. Afterwards, Combat occurs if there are still attacking and defending units. Might is compared and distributed between attacking and defending units and if units are dealt damage equal to their might they go to the trash. If the attacker was successful and no defending units remain, they have conquered the battlefield and will score a point.
Winning
Players score points through four different ways:
Conquer a Battlefield
Hold a Battlefield
Opponent needs to draw from an empty deck
Card effects
Players win the game by scoring 8 points. However, the final point cannot be won through conquest unless you also scored the other battlefields in play that same turn. If you score a point through conquest but it doesn’t count for the final point you draw a card instead.
Card Types and Rarities Explained
Legends
The focal point of any deck, the Champion Legend determines who your Chosen Champion can be and the domains you can play in your deck. They begin the game “in play” and remain in effect throughout the game. Legend cards are not shuffled into any deck and therefore have a black back.
Battlefields
Battlefields are universal and can be chosen for any Legend. You will bring three to each match. They can have broad effects like changing how many runes players channel on their first turn or how many points it takes to win the game. Battlefield cards are not shuffled into any deck and therefore have a black back.
Champions
Champion Unit cards are the unit versions of Legends. You must choose one that shares the same Champion Tag as your deck’s Legend. This is your Chosen Champion that begins the game next to your Legend to be played when ready. Champion cards can move, activate abilities, engage in combat and conquer battlefields. Champion cards go in the Main Deck and therefore have a blue back.
Signatures
Signature cards in your deck must match the Champion Tag of your Legend. They can be units, but are not Champion units, so they cannot be your Chosen Champion. Your deck can only have three total signature cards in your deck. Signature cards go in the Main Deck and therefore have a blue back.
Units
Unit cards can move, activate abilities, engage in combat and conquer battlefields. Unit cards go in the Main Deck and therefore have a blue back.
Spells
Spell cards affect the game instantly, but their keywords determine when they can be cast. After resolution they go to the trash. With the right planning they can change the outcome of combat and ultimately the game. Spell cards go in the Main Deck and therefore have a blue back.
Gear
Gear cards enter play ready, not exhausted like units, so you can use them that turn. Gear cards go in the Main Deck and therefore have a blue back.
Runes
Runes are how you generate the energy needed to play cards. Choosing the right ratio of your two colors is crucial to playing your cards on time. Rune cards go in the Rune Deck and therefore have a white back.
How to Start Playing
Join a Community
Riftbound is quickly building a large community as it rises in popularity aided by its massive LoL fanbase. Check your local game stores and social media for Discords you can join to read about cards and ask questions. Seeing others talk about interesting decks might help you decide who to start with.
Watch Riftbound Videos
There are dozens of videos on YouTube showcasing tournament and casual level gameplay to help familiarize you with how the game works. Seeing the game in action can help clear up some initial confusion about showdowns or chains.
Find Product
Riftbound is early into its English release and finding new product can be difficult. You may have to buy starter decks online or you can try to piece together a deck yourself by buying individual cards from card shops and trading with other players.
