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Riftbound TCG // Everything Before Your First Game

Leona, the Radiant Dawn, bathed in golden sunlight with her sunburst shield

Part 01

The Game

The 30-second version

What is Riftbound?

A fast physical trading card game about taking and holding battlefields (cards that sit in the middle of the table). You and your opponent both bring decks. Each turn, you get resources, draw a card, and play units. Send your units into a battlefield where the enemy has units, and you fight. If only your attackers remain, you conquer it and score. First to 8 points wins. Games are usually one-on-one (teams are supported too) and most finish in 10 to 20 minutes.

Riftbound Legend: Dark Child - Starter. At the end of your turn, ready up to 2 runes.
Riftbound Unit: Annie, Fiery. Your spells and abilities deal 1 Bonus Damage. (Each instance of damage the spell deals is increased by 1.)
Riftbound Battlefield: Void Gate. Spells and abilities deal 1 Bonus Damage to units here. (Each instance of damage the spell deals to a unit here is increased by 1.)

The color system

The Six Domains

There are six domains: Fury, Calm, Mind, Body, Chaos, and Order. Almost every card belongs to exactly one (a handful of cards span two). Every Legend has two domains, and those two set your deck's identity: every card you include must fit inside them. So you only ever need to learn your Legend's slice of the wheel.
Fury domainFuryAggressive

Aggressive pressure

Riftbound Legend: Hand of Noxus. [T]: [Reaction], [Legion] — [Add] [1]. (Abilities that add resources can't be reacted to. Get the effect if you've played a card this turn.)

Darius, Hand of Noxus

Calm domainCalmSustain

Sustain and setup

Riftbound Legend: Nine-Tailed Fox. When an enemy unit attacks a battlefield you control, give it -1 [S] this turn, to a minimum of 1 [S].

Ahri, Nine-Tailed Fox

Mind domainMindDisruption

Disruption and draw

Riftbound Legend: Herald of the Arcane. [1], [T]: Play a 1 [S] Recruit unit token.

Viktor, Herald of the Arcane

Body domainBodyStats

Large units

Riftbound Legend: The Boss. If a buffed unit you control would die, you may pay [C], exhaust me, and spend its buff to heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.) When you conquer, ready me.

Sett, The Boss

Chaos domainChaosVolatile

Volatile effects

Riftbound Legend: Loose Cannon. At start of your Beginning Phase, draw 1 if you have one or fewer cards in your hand.

Jinx, Loose Cannon

Order domainOrderTeamwork

Board teamwork

Riftbound Legend: Radiant Dawn. When you stun one or more enemy units, buff a friendly unit. (If it doesn't have a buff, it gets a +1 [S] buff.)

Leona, Radiant Dawn

Annie and Tibbers clashing with Darius in a burst of fire

Part 02

Playing the Game

Vocabulary

Five Words You Need to Know

Everything below uses these five terms. Learn them once and the rest of the page reads like plain English.

Exhaust

Turn a card sideways to use it. Exhausted cards can't act again until they ready.

Ready

Stand your exhausted cards back up. Happens automatically at the start of your turn.

Channel

Bring a Rune from your Rune Deck into play. You channel 2 every turn.

Recycle

Put a card on the bottom of its deck. Recycling a Rune is how you produce Power of its domain.

Might

A unit's one combat number: how much damage it deals, and how much it takes to kill it.

Before you play

Setting Up

Each player lays out their side of the table. Six steps and you're ready.
1

Put your battlefields in the Battlefield Zone

Each player has 3 battlefields in their deck and randomly selects 1 for the game (in best-of-3 you choose instead). Both selected battlefields sit in the shared zone, and neither belongs to anyone once play starts.

2

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.

3

Shuffle your remaining Main Deck

Your Main Deck is at least 40 cards counting your Chosen Champion, and 40 is the standard. Your Chosen Champion already sits face-up in its Champion Zone (step 2), so shuffle the other 39.

4

Shuffle your Rune Deck separately

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

5

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.

6

Randomly pick who goes first, then draw 4

Each player draws a 4-card opening hand. Not feeling it? Once per game, set aside up to 2 cards, draw that many, then the set-aside cards go to the bottom of your Main Deck.

Your side of the playmat (as it comes in Champion Deck boxes)

876543210
1

Battlefield Zone

Shared — both players' picks

2

Legend Zone

Champion Zone

5

Base: Units + Gear

Units not at battlefields wait here

3

Main Deck

39 cards

4

Rune Deck

12 Runes

Base: Runes

Runes channel into this strip

Trash

Killed & used cards

Track your score 0–8 along the edge · first to 8 wins

The rhythm

What a Turn Looks Like

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

01

Awaken

Ready exhausted cards.

02

Beginning

Start-of-turn abilities and Holding points.

03

Channel

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

04

Draw

Draw 1 card from your Main Deck.

05

Main

Play cards, move units, and start Showdowns.

06

Ending

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

The core loop

Cards Cost Runes

Here is the engine of the whole game: every card has a price in its top-left corner, and spending your Runes is the only way to pay it. You channel 2 Runes each turn and they pile up (2, then 4, then 6...), so every turn you can afford a little more than the last.

Step 1: Read the Price Tag

The number is the Energy cost. Colored domain symbols under it are the Power cost. Everything else on the card tells you what you get once it is paid for.

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

5 energy

5

Power cost

Fury rune

1

Might

Might

4

Card type

Unit

Card text

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

Step 2: Spend Runes to Pay It

Energy pays the number

3 energy

Exhaust any Rune (turn it sideways) and it produces 1 Energy. The Rune is spent for the turn but stays on the table and readies next turn.

Power pays the symbols

Fury rune

Recycle a Rune of the matching domain (bottom of your Rune Deck) and it produces 1 Power. That Rune actually leaves the table, so Power is the premium price.

A full purchase, start to finish: say a card costs 3 Energy and 1 Fury Power. You exhaust any 3 Runes for the Energy, then recycle a Fury Rune for the Power. Four Runes spent, one card played. If you cannot cover the full price, you cannot play the card. That is why you channel 2 fresh Runes every single turn.

Step 3: Get What You Paid For

During your Main Phase you can play cards from your hand or your Chosen Champion from its zone. Three things your Runes can buy:

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

Units

Units are fighters. You play them to your Base (or to a battlefield you already control), and they arrive exhausted. Moving exhausts a unit too: Base to battlefield, or battlefield back to Base.

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.

Riftbound Gear: Zhonya's Hourglass. [Hidden] (Hide now for [A] to react with later for [0].) If a friendly unit would die, kill this instead. Heal that unit, exhaust it, and recall it. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.)

Zhonya's Hourglass

Gear

Gear cards sit in your Base and grant abilities. Unlike units, Gear enters play ready, so it works right away.

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

Put it together

Your First Turn, Move by Move

Here is what all of that looks like in practice, in the official phase order. Players remember the start of every turn as A-B-C-D: Awaken, Beginning, Channel, Draw. Then the Main Phase is where the action happens.
  1. A

    Awaken

    Ready your exhausted cards. On turn one there's nothing to ready yet, so this takes a second.

  2. B

    Beginning

    Start-of-turn triggers happen now — including Hold points for battlefields you already control. Turn one: nothing yet.

  3. C

    Channel

    Channel 2 Runes from your Rune Deck into play. (Going second? You channel 3 on your first turn.)

  4. D

    Draw

    Draw a card. Your hand is everything you can threaten this turn — and your opponent can't see it.

  5. →

    Main: play your hand

    Exhaust Runes for Energy (or recycle for Power) and pay costs. Units land in your Base exhausted — no moving or fighting yet. Gear arrives ready. Spells resolve, then go to the Trash. (Units can also be played straight to a battlefield you already control.)

  6. ✓

    Ending: pass

    That's a real first turn. Next turn your unit readies and can move to a battlefield. If it's empty, you conquer it and score a point.

Combat

Fighting (Showdowns)

Move a unit into an empty battlefield and, once both players pass on responses, you conquer it: no combat, 1 point. But if the enemy already has units there, a fight starts. Here is how it plays out.

Step 1: Start the Fight

Combat happens on the board: a unit leaves your Base, lands on a contested battlefield, and the fight resolves where it stands.

Battlefield

2
↑ move (exhausts the unit)

Your Base

3

01

Move In

Exhaust a ready unit in your Base to move it to a battlefield where the enemy has units. The battlefield is now contested.

Battlefield

3vs2
Actions & Reactions, both players

Your Base

—

02

The Window

Attack and defend triggers fire, then both players can respond with Actions and Reactions: buffs, removal, tricks. Fights are won and stolen here.

Battlefield

33 →   ← 22
damage is simultaneous

Your Base

—

03

Simultaneous Damage

Each side totals its Might and assigns it across the other side's units. All damage lands at once, so both sides can lose units in the same fight.

Battlefield

32conquer +1
survivors heal · you hold the battlefield

Your Base

—

04

Resolution

Only your units left standing? You conquer: +1 point, and your units hold the battlefield. If any defenders survive, no conquer, and your attackers retreat to Base.

The rule every new player misses: moving exhausts the unit

Riftbound Unit: Darius, Trifarian. When you play your second card in a turn, give me +2 [S] this turn and ready me.

READY · UPRIGHT

Can move and fight

moves to or from
a battlefield →
Riftbound Unit: Darius, Trifarian. When you play your second card in a turn, give me +2 [S] this turn and ready me.

EXHAUSTED · SIDEWAYS

Spent until your next Awaken

The move itself is the cost, in either direction: marching to a battlefield or retreating back to your Base both exhaust the unit. The moment it moves, turn the card sideways. It cannot move again or be exhausted for abilities until it readies at the start of your next turn. It still fights at full Might, though, exhausted units defend just fine. (Retreating is a real play: far fewer cards can touch a unit sitting in your Base.)

Step 2: Trade Damage — Who Wins?

Might is the whole fight: it is the damage a unit deals AND how much it takes to kill it. Compare the numbers and you know the outcome before the dice... except there are no dice. Two real fights:

The attacker wins

Riftbound Unit: Darius, Trifarian. When you play your second card in a turn, give me +2 [S] this turn and ready me.

Darius, Trifarian

ATTACKER · 5 MIGHT

⚔
Riftbound Unit: Legion Rearguard. [Accelerate] (You may pay [1][C] as an additional cost to have me enter ready.)

Legion Rearguard

DEFENDER · 2 MIGHT

  • ›Darius deals 5. Legion Rearguard has 2 Might, so 5 is lethal: it dies.
  • ›Legion Rearguard deals 2 back. Darius has 5 Might, so he survives.

Result: conquer. Only Darius is left standing: conquer, +1 point, and he holds the battlefield. His 2 damage heals.

The defender holds

Riftbound Unit: Noxus Hopeful. [Legion] — I cost [2] less. (Get the effect if you've played another card this turn.)

Noxus Hopeful

ATTACKER · 4 MIGHT

⚔
Riftbound Unit: Darius, Trifarian. When you play your second card in a turn, give me +2 [S] this turn and ready me.

Darius, Trifarian

DEFENDER · 5 MIGHT

  • ›Noxus Hopeful deals 4. Darius has 5 Might, so he survives the hit.
  • ›Darius deals 5 back. Noxus Hopeful has 4 Might: that is lethal.

Result: repelled. A defender is still standing: no conquer, no point. Darius heals up and keeps the battlefield.

Equal Might? Both units deal lethal damage to each other, so both die. Nobody is left standing, the battlefield empties out, and nobody scores.

Step 3: The Fine Print

With multiple units per side, each side totals its Might and assigns the damage across the enemy units — in lethal chunks. You finish off one unit before splashing the next, and no overkill until every unit is covered. All damage lands simultaneously, so both sides can lose units in the same fight. And damage never lingers: survivors heal once the fight ends.

Winning

Scoring Points

There are two normal ways to score. Each one is worth 1 point, but they ask you to control the battlefield in different ways. Either way, each battlefield can only pay you once per turn.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Track your score 0–8 along the playmat edge · first to 8 wins

Conquer · +1

Take control of a battlefield: win the fight there, or walk into it empty. Pays out at most once per battlefield per turn.

Hold · +1 per battlefield, every turn

Start your turn still controlling a battlefield you took earlier and it pays again. Holding is the engine that actually wins games.

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. You also have to be ahead: hitting 8 while tied with your opponent does not end the game.

Advanced timing

Timing: Actions, Reactions, Hidden

Some cards have timing keywords that change when you can play them.
Actions

Cards with Action work like normal cards on your turn, and can also be played during any Showdown - including fights on your opponent's turn.

Reactions

Reactions are your answer cards. You can play them in response to a spell or ability, including during a Showdown.

Hidden

Pay 1 Power to stash a Hidden card face-down at a battlefield you control. From your next turn on, it can be sprung as a Reaction - and you play it for free.

The current set

New in Unleashed: XP, Hunt & Level

The current set adds a progression system, so you will see these keywords on cards in every new pack and starter deck.

XP

A resource you build up during the game. Spells and abilities grant it, and some cards let you spend it the way you spend Energy.

Hunt

When a unit with Hunt conquers or holds a battlefield, you gain XP. A higher Hunt value means more XP.

Level

Abilities marked [Level N] are switched off until you have N XP. Hit the number and the ability turns on.

Ambush

Ambush units can be played straight to a battlefield where you control units — even mid-fight, like a Reaction.

Skip the growing pains

Four Mistakes Every New Player Makes

Dodge these in your first games and you will look like you have played for weeks.
1

Mixing up Conquer and Hold points

Conquering pays +1 immediately, the moment you take the battlefield. Holding pays +1 more at the start of each of YOUR turns while you still control it. A battlefield you take and keep pays on a drumbeat: +1 now, +1 next turn, +1 the turn after.

2

Over-committing to one battlefield

Winning a huge fight feels great, but a 1v1 game has two battlefields. While your whole army piles onto one, your opponent walks into the other and scores for free. Always know what's happening at the battlefield you're not fighting over.

3

Burning Runes without a plan

Recycling a Rune for Power sends it to the bottom of your Rune Deck. It comes back eventually, but it left the table today — a Rune making Power now can't make Energy next turn, so your bigger plays slip back a turn. Spend Power when it buys you something.

4

Playing Reactions too late

A Reaction answers a spell or ability BEFORE it resolves. Once your opponent's spell has resolved and the board has changed, the window is closed. If you want to respond, say so while the card is still on the table doing its thing.

Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox, conjuring a sphere of spirit energy under a full moon

Part 03

Building Your Deck

Deckbuilding

Anatomy of a Deck

A Riftbound deck uses a Legend, a Chosen Champion, a Rune Deck, Battlefields, and a Main Deck. Tournament play can also include a sideboard.
Deck limits

Your Main Deck can have a maximum of 3 copies of any card. Your Rune Deck needs exactly 12 Runes in any combination of your Legend's domains.

Main Deck shape

The Main Deck is at least 40 cards counting your Chosen Champion - and 40 is what everyone plays. The Chosen Champion begins the game face-up in its Champion Zone, not in the deck, so 39 get shuffled.

Battlefields

Your deck includes 3 Battlefields. One is randomly selected each game (in best-of-3 you choose), so a 1v1 board always has 2 in play.

1 Legend

Face-up leader

1 Chosen Champion

Begins face-up in its Champion Zone

12 Runes

Separate Rune Deck

3 Battlefields

Locations to fight over

39 Main Deck

Units, Spells, Gear

0 or 8 Sideboard

Optional

A standard constructed deck starts with five required pieces: your Legend, your Chosen Champion, 12 Runes, 3 Battlefields, and 39 cards in the shuffled Main Deck. Add the optional 8-card sideboard when you are playing best-of-three.

Cheat sheet

Every Number That Matters

The whole rules skeleton in six numbers. Screenshot this.
8
Points to win
40
Main Deck cards (minimum)
12
Runes
3
Copies max per card
3
Battlefields (1 used)
2
Runes channeled per turn

The shopping list

What You Need to Start

Riftbound: League of Legends TCG Unleashed Champion Deck: Vex product box

Starter Deck

A Champion Deck is the cleanest way to play your first games. One box is everything a single player needs: the full deck, Runes, Battlefields, Legend, and a paper playmat. Learning with a friend? Grab one each.

Riftbound: League of Legends TCG Unleashed booster display with booster packs

Booster Packs

Booster packs are for expanding once you know what you enjoy playing. Use them to find upgrades, test new domains, and build toward the Legend you actually want.