How to Play

Rules Access // First Match

The 30-Second Version

You and your opponent both bring decks. Each turn, you get resources, draw a card, and play units onto battlefields. When you move your units into a battlefield where the enemy already has units, you fight. If only your attacking units remain after combat, you conquer the battlefield and score a point.

8points wins

Setting Up

Before you play, each player lays out their side of the table.

Put your battlefields in the Battlefield Zone

For a 1v1 game, each player has a selected battlefield for the game. Those battlefields sit in the shared Battlefield Zone.

Place your Legend and Chosen Champion face-up

Your Champion Legend starts in the Legend Zone. Your Chosen Champion is a matching champion unit that starts face-up in the Champion Zone.

Shuffle your remaining Main Deck

Your Chosen Champion comes out of the 40-card Main Deck before the game, so shuffle the remaining 39 Main Deck cards.

Shuffle your Rune Deck separately

Your 12 Runes are a separate deck. You channel from this pile during the game.

Leave space for Base, Runes, and Trash

Your Base holds units that are not at battlefields. Your Runes enter play from the Rune Deck, and your Trash holds discarded or killed cards.

Battlefield Zone

Your selected Battlefield

Opponent selected Battlefield

Legend Zone

Champion Legend face-up

Champion Zone

Chosen Champion face-up

Base

Open space for units that are not at battlefields.

Main Deck

Shuffle the remaining 39 cards

Rune Deck

Shuffle separately

Trash

Discarded and killed cards

Runes channel from the Rune Deck into open play space during turns.

Anatomy of a Card

Cards can show Energy, Power, Might, type, domain, and rules text. The example below is pulled from the local card snapshot.

Riftbound Unit: Annie, Fiery. Your spells and abilities deal 1 Bonus Damage. (Each instance of damage the spell deals is increased by 1.) — Annie, Fiery

Energy cost

Power cost

Might

Card type

Unit

Card text

Your spells and abilities deal 1 Bonus Damage. (Each instance of damage the spell deals is increased by 1.)

What a Turn Looks Like

Every turn follows the same rhythm. The Action Phase is where you play cards, move units, and pick fights.

Awaken

Ready exhausted cards.

Beginning

Start-of-turn abilities and Holding points.

Channel

Put the top 2 Runes from your Rune Deck onto the board.

Draw

Draw 1 card from your Main Deck.

Action

Play cards, move units, and start Showdowns.

End

End-of-turn abilities, then the next player starts.

Paying for Things (Runes)

Your 12 Runes live in a separate deck, and you channel 2 every turn. Cards can have Energy costs and Power costs, and Runes pay for both.

Energy

Exhaust a Rune to get 1 Energy. This pays for the number in the top-left corner of a card. The Rune stays on the table and readies next turn.

Power

Recycle a Rune to get 1 Power of that Rune's domain. This pays for colored domain symbols on cards.

Last Player Gets a Bonus

The player who goes last channels an extra Rune on their first turn, so 3 Runes instead of 2.

Playing Cards

During your Action Phase, you can play cards from your hand or your Chosen Champion from its zone. Main Deck cards include Units, Spells, and Gear.

Units

Units are fighters. Units enter exhausted, so they cannot move or attack the turn you play them.

Riftbound Spell: Disintegrate. [Action] (Play on your turn or in showdowns.)
Deal 3 to a unit at a battlefield. If this kills it, do this: draw 1. — Disintegrate

Spells

Spells are one-time effects. After they resolve, they go to the Trash.

Gear

Gear cards are persistent cards that sit in your Base and have abilities that affect the game.

Fighting (Showdowns)

If you move a unit to a battlefield where the enemy already has units, a Showdown starts. Players resolve triggers, may use legal cards and abilities, then remaining units fight.

Move In

A unit moves to a battlefield with enemy units.

Triggers

Defend and attack triggers resolve in order.

Priority

Players may use Reactions and legal combat cards.

Damage

Units deal simultaneous damage by Might.

Your Units Survive, Theirs Don't

You conquer the battlefield and score 1 point. Your units stay put.

Defenders Remain After Combat

If any defending units remain after combat, no conquer occurs, and surviving attackers are sent back to Base.

Scoring Points

Two ways to score, both worth 1 point.

8Win

Conquer +1

Win a Showdown and take the battlefield.

Hold +1/turn

Score for battlefields you already control at the start of your turn.

The winning point: when you need just 1 more point to win, your final point has to come from Holding a battlefield, or you have to score every battlefield in that turn. If you would score the winning point but do not meet either condition, you draw a card instead of getting the point.