Updated for Vendetta

Lux

Lady of Luminosity

Mind

OrderBeginner

Lux rewards expensive spells with more cards. This build uses Ekko and Sacrifice to refresh spent runes, then turns that second round of resources into Time Warp and another chance to score.

Should you play Lux?

Pick Lux if you enjoy planning a large spell turn that refills your hand and creates the next scoring opportunity. Think twice if you want early pressure or a payoff that works without resource setup.

Best for: Combo and control players who track Energy and Power separately, and know when developing resources must give way to defending the next point.
Think twice if: You want the Legend to supply an early board, or dislike committing several pieces while keeping a permanent unit alive to score afterward.

Key Cards

Lady of Luminosity adds a draw after a spell with a printed Energy cost of five or more. Ekko and Sacrifice make it possible to spend heavily on that draw and still fund the next spell: Sacrifice kills the five-Might Ekko as a cost, then his Deathknell can ready the runes you just used. Crownguard and Seal of Insight support the payment, but they do different jobs. Crownguard makes two Energy for spells; Seal makes Mind Power. Ekko readies neither of them.

Lux’s Field Guide

Lux gets paid for resolving the spells other decks struggle to afford. Lady of Luminosity draws a card after you play a spell with a printed Energy cost of at least five, so an expensive draw spell can refill most of the hand and a large removal spell can replace itself. Crownguard helps pay those Energy costs once she is ready, but her two-Might body needs care and her resources cannot pay for units. Lux builds can lean harder on removal or on a large combo turn. Either way, the early question is the same: which resources can you develop without giving up the points that make the late game irrelevant? Drawing another five cards is not a recovery plan if the opponent already has the winning attack.

How Lux wins

Use the cheap cards to survive and develop enough resources for the large spells to start paying you back. Scout can trade into an exhausted rune, Forge provides a Recruit, and Retreat can save a unit while adding another exhausted rune. A bigger hand then gives you more choices about removal, development, and the timing of a committed turn. In Ekko builds, his death refreshes spent runes so that one turn can contain both a large draw spell and the payoff it finds. Time Warp turns a stable battlefield into another Hold and readies the remaining resources for the following Main Phase. The board still has to supply the points. Leave a permanent unit where the next Hold matters, and spend on an answer when that is what keeps the game alive.

Key interactions

Know what actually triggers the extra draw

Lady of Luminosity · Clairvoyance · Progress Day

Clairvoyance costs seven Energy, Predicts five, and draws two; the Legend then draws another card. Progress Day costs six Energy and one Mind Power and draws four, followed by the Legend's fifth card. That threshold uses the spell's printed Energy cost. Paying Repeat on Downstage Dramatics does not make it an eligible expensive spell, and Ekko is a unit even though his printed Energy cost is five. Clairvoyance can be played as a Reaction; Progress Day requires your ordinary action window. Choose between keeping that flexibility and taking the larger refill on your turn.

Spend the runes before sacrificing Ekko

Ekko, Recurrent · Sacrifice · Clairvoyance

Sacrifice costs one Energy and kills a friendly unit with at least five Might as an additional cost. Ekko naturally qualifies. His Deathknell recycles him when that trigger is finalized, then readies your existing runes when it resolves. Because his death paid for Sacrifice, that refresh happens before Sacrifice's draw and exhausted rune arrive, unless the sequence is interrupted. The new rune does not get readied by the earlier refresh. Spend Energy on the useful draw first so Ekko has exhausted runes to restore. Scout and Crownguard are too small for Sacrifice without another Might effect, and returning Ekko with Retreat does not trigger his death ability.

Make the extra turn worth the payment

Time Warp · Seal of Insight · Sprite Burst

Warp needs ten Energy and four Mind Power. Seals help cover the Power without recycling as many actual runes, while Crownguard can supply two of the Energy. The extra turn readies the resources you still control and gives you another normal scoring step, but it does not put a unit onto a battlefield for you. A surviving Scout or Recruit can preserve control; a Sprite from Burst dies to Temporary before the next Hold. A resolved Warp also banishes itself. Forge cannot recycle it from there, and Ekko goes to the bottom of the deck rather than back to hand. Continuing the sequence needs more cards, more payments, and a board that still scores.

Strengths

Large draw spells gain an additional card, giving the deck enough material to develop and still find its next payoff.
Ekko lets exhausted runes contribute again during a committed turn, while Seals cover part of the heavy Mind-Power requirement.
Time Warp rewards even a modest permanent board with another Hold and a fresh turn's resources before the opponent's next normal turn.

Weaknesses

The early bodies are small, and this combo build has little main-deck removal. Resource development alone does not stop a fast point lead.
Energy and Power are separate constraints. Recycling too many Mind runes or spending every Seal can leave an otherwise large turn short of Warp's payment.
The deck needs a surviving holder and legal access to each next piece. Temporary units, disrupted spells, and an Ekko still on the bottom of the deck can all end the sequence.

Shadow's Pick

Lux tournament list by jаsoniltg

31st place · Riftbound Regional Qualifier - Barcelona - Final Standings, 2026-08-23

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Deck total $276.73

Legend (1)

1x$5.37 ea.

Runes (12)

7x$0.16 ea.
5x$0.10 ea.

Battlefields (3)

1x$0.12 ea.
1x$0.17 ea.
1x$0.10 ea.

Spells (26)

3x$1.70 ea.
Energy
1
3x$58.52 ea.
Power
4
Energy
10
3x$0.15 ea.
Energy
7
2x$1.34 ea.
Power
1
Energy
6
1x$1.53 ea.
Power
1
Energy
5
3x$0.23 ea.
Energy
1
3x$0.15 ea.
Energy
2
3x$0.38 ea.
Energy
2
2x$0.68 ea.
Energy
1
1x$0.15 ea.
Energy
3
1x$0.08 ea.
Energy
5
1x$0.05 ea.
Energy
2

Gear (7)

3x$13.70 ea.
Power
1
Energy
0
3x$0.08 ea.
Energy
2
1x$0.10 ea.
Energy
2

Units (7)

1xChosen$3.75 ea.
Might
2
Energy
4
3x$1.24 ea.
Might
5
Power
1
Energy
5
3x$0.14 ea.
Might
1
Energy
2

Sideboard (10)

2x$0.15 ea.
Energy
3
2x$2.42 ea.
Might
4
Power
1
Energy
4
1x$1.00 ea.
Might
4
Power
1
Energy
5
1x$22.25 ea.
Power
3
Energy
9
1x$0.11 ea.
Energy
5
1x$0.89 ea.
Power
2
Energy
6
1x$0.05 ea.
Might
3
Energy
3
1x$1.34 ea.
Power
1
Energy
6

Shadow's take

This is my Lux pick for the Ekko and Time Warp plan. The three Clairvoyances matter because they give the deck a large draw spell that can be held as a Reaction and does not demand Mind Power. That leaves the Seals and runes available for the actual payoff. I like the small amount of board support around it: Scout can trade into resources, Forge leaves a permanent Recruit, and the single Burst can create an attack when drawing cards is no longer enough. I would not play this as though the main deck were full of removal. There is one Wages of Pain, and the larger answers are in the sideboard. Use the cheap bodies and the battlefields to buy the time the hand needs, then be willing to commit when a permanent unit can turn Warp into a point. Promising Future is the card I would treat most carefully. It can waive a huge Energy payment, but the opponent gets to play their selected card first, and neither player gets to ignore Power. A turn that already works without offering that opportunity usually does not need the gamble.

The Game Plan

Early gameLook for Scout or Forge, inexpensive draw, and a path to the first useful expensive spell. Scout is a reasonable trade because its death channels a rune exhausted. Shadow's Call on a permanent Scout draws two now and makes it die at your next Beginning Phase, where its Deathknell can add another exhausted rune. Do not use it on the only unit you needed to Hold with. Retreat also channels a rune, but returning the Scout is not a death and replaying it still costs two Energy. Crownguard costs four Energy and normally enters exhausted, so protect the investment until she can supply spell Energy. A Seal enters ready and can produce Mind Power immediately; it does not produce Energy. I would send back redundant Warps when the rest of the hand cannot reach a productive draw turn.
MidgameCount the whole payment before killing Ekko. With eight ready runes, an existing Ekko, a ready Crownguard and Seal, you can spend seven rune Energy on Clairvoyance and the eighth on Sacrifice. If the sequence resolves, Clairvoyance draws three including the Legend, Ekko refreshes the eight runes, and Sacrifice draws two and channels another rune exhausted. The refreshed eight Energy plus Crownguard's two can pay Warp's Energy cost; Seal and three recycled Mind runes can pay its four Mind Power. That assumes the required cards and prior board setup already exist, enough Mind runes are present, and a rune remains to channel. It does not use the new exhausted rune as ready Energy. Keep a permanent holder out of the sacrifice if the extra turn is supposed to score. Against interaction, you may need to spend on protection or an answer instead of forcing every part through at once.
Late gameTake the point the extra turn makes available, then reassess the remaining deck and resources. Each resolved Warp banishes itself, each recycled rune reduces the current board, and Ekko has to be found and played again. Forge can reload eligible cards from the trash, but not retrieve a banished Warp. Clairvoyance helps select from the next five cards rather than guaranteeing access to a particular recycled card. Burst's ready Sprites can conquer an open field now, but they will die before the next Hold even if that next turn is yours immediately. Use Wages to remove a small battlefield unit when that opens the actual scoring route; its Gold arrives exhausted and later supplies Power, not Energy. If the opposing board cannot be beaten or raced with the available cards, another draw spell alone has not solved it.

Battlefields

Blind

Forgotten Monument · Soaring Scout · Lux, Crownguard

Monument stops players scoring here until their third turn. That can give Scout and Crownguard time to develop without immediately conceding the first point at this field. It does not stop scoring elsewhere or remove a unit the opponent has already placed here. I would start with this option when the hand needs setup and cannot defend an immediate scoring race. Plan what will contest the field once the restriction ends rather than treat the delay as permanent safety.

Going First

The Papertree · Forge of the Future · Time Warp

Papertree rewards keeping an early permanent body here, but its Hold channels an exhausted rune for each player. Scout or Forge's Recruit can preserve control while the expensive spell turn is prepared. Warp can supply another Hold and therefore another channel if the unit remains. The opponent gets that resource too. Choose the field because your hand can use the extra development well, not because it is one-sided ramp or immediately ready Energy.

Going Second

Sigil of the Storm · Seal of Insight · Time Warp

Sigil makes the conquering player recycle a rune. That can put a cost on an opponent repeatedly taking the field, but you pay it as well when recovering control. The battlefield's forced recycle gives no Power; it is not the rune's normal resource ability. Preserve enough Mind for the intended Warp turn, and prefer keeping a holder here over repeatedly losing and retaking it when the rune loss is becoming expensive.

Sideboard

Give the committed turn a safer opening

Mel, Newly Awakened · Ashe, Focused · Promising Future

The two Mels and one Ashe are the options when a key opposing answer is what stops the turn. Mel costs four Energy and one Mind Power, draws on play, and needs a separate three-Energy Empower before your spells and abilities cannot be countered. The opponent can still remove her. Ashe reveals the hand and banishes a card until that opponent Holds, even if Ashe leaves the board. I would start by trimming Promising Future and the least useful slower draw or utility slots. Keep enough cheap access to find the engine; adding protection does not help if the remaining hand cannot pay for it and the payoff.

Put real removal into the defensive turns

Wages of Pain · Falling Comet · Singularity · The Ruination

The two extra Wages help against small battlefield units. Comet deals six at a battlefield for five Energy and triggers Lux's extra draw; it is an Action, not a Reaction from hand. Singularity deals six to each of up to two units, including units at base, for six Energy and two Mind Power. Use those before committing nine Energy and three Order Power to Ruination. Ruination kills your units too, including Crownguard and the holder needed for the next Warp. I would trade the least relevant draw and speculative utility for the removal the board actually requires, while retaining Scout and enough other bodies to rebuild.

Replace a Gear engine or improve the refill

Zaun Punk · Sumpworks Map · Forge of the Future · Progress Day

Zaun Punk needs you to kill a friendly Gear as an additional cost before its play effect can kill a Gear. An expiring Map or a Forge that has already supplied its Recruit can fund that trade. You cannot also use the same Forge's kill ability, and sacrificing a Seal can cost the Mind Power the next turn needed. Add Punk when the opposing Gear is worth that exchange. The extra Progress Day is for games with time to take a larger normal-action refill; compare it with the draw slot that is least useful in that matchup instead of automatically increasing an already expensive hand.