When Riot introduced that its mysterious Challenge Ok was, in reality, a League of Legends card sport referred to as Riftbound, I approached it with, to borrow sport designer Jonathan Moormann’s phrases, “some trepidation.” I have been fairly open about my complicated relationship with LoL: it is the sport I’ve sunk essentially the most hours into and completely the one I like essentially the most, however from round mid-2024 into 2025, it feels, in some ways, unrecognizable. Its characters and gameplay are the identical, however having blitzed by a couple of video games in a post-Worlds spree, it would not fairly elicit the identical feelings that it used to. In some ways, we have grown aside (it is not you, it is me), and I hoped that Riftbound would reignite that spark.
For these of you who have not had an opportunity to play but, Riftbound is paying homage to TCGs like Magic: The Gathering. You choose your Champion Legend (or commander), Chosen Champion (a second card that needs to be the identical character as your Champion Legend, however grants totally different buffs), after which your Battlefield, which has its personal distinctive traits. So in the event you’re operating the Grasp Yi deck from Proving Grounds, for instance, you might have Grasp Yi, Wuju Bladesman as your Champion Legend, then one among Grasp Yi, Meditative, or Grasp Yi, Honed as your Chosen Champion. You rating factors by conquering and holding battlefields, which is achieved by inserting items on them and profitable skirmishes (referred to as ‘Showdowns’). First to eight takes the win. Straightforward, proper?
Don’t fret, I snorted, too. Whereas Riftbound is marketed as “straightforward to study,” having performed Magic for years, I would not use the phrase ‘straightforward.’ Whereas Riot has succeeded in making it less complicated than League of Legends’ CCG sibling Legends of Runeterra, there’s lots to get your head round. Proving Grounds consists of 4 decks – Annie, Garen, Lux, and Grasp Yi – who every embody totally different, sophisticated deck sorts. For those who’re utterly new to card video games, then Annie and Lux are your finest name, however Garen and Grasp Yi each felt fairly intimidating, even to somebody who’s performed plenty of TCGs.
However what I’ll say is that Riot actually nails the distinctive feeling of every champion. Lux depends on burst spells (Demacciaaaa!), which inserts completely together with her in-game id, whereas Garen, properly, tanks – do not assume I would like to elucidate that any additional. Annie needs to deal injury quick whereas remaining cell, whereas Grasp Yi slips and slides across the battlefield whereas offering buffs to solo defenders and attackers (everyone knows Grasp Yi gamers trip solo).
The demo decks that I performed (Jinx, Viktor, Volibear, and Yasuo) had been comparable: Jinx performs laborious, quick, and recklessly, whereas Viktor machinates and builds up armies of robots. Volibear begins off gradual however turns into a monster by the late-game, whereas Yasuo’s slipping and sliding from base to battlefield and again is paying homage to the character’s reliance on mobility, and can most likely result in a number of 0/10 powerspikes.
All of this provides Riftbound’s decks a singular really feel. Whereas Magic decks are sometimes constructed round particular mechanics, they’ll generally really feel like a set of disparate, min-maxed elements greater than entities in themselves. I am positive that, as Riftbound evolves, we’ll see much more deck variation, however I am impressed with how properly the preliminary units embody their characters.
It’s value noting, nonetheless, that some decks really feel a lot stronger than others. Within the Proving Grounds equipment, Lux’s potential to casually drop additional Runes (assume lands in MTG) to spell-based talents means which you could fireplace off top-level powers in a short time, oftentimes with fairly low recycle prices. Utilizing the demo decks, Jinx initially feels very robust, however gasses out laborious into the late sport, which is a straightforward stomp for Volibear and Viktor. Moormann does be aware that the demo decks had been designed to present gamers “a cross-section of what Riftbound may be,” stating that the workforce “tuned the Jinx [demo] deck to be quicker with out fairly as a lot of a late sport” for showcase functions. Count on the complete deck to have slightly extra endurance, then, however I am nonetheless not sure how viable it will be.
I additionally discovered that video games generally go fairly lengthy, particularly as you add extra gamers. A single sport with my companion ran for round half-hour, however one other with three additional buddies ran nearer to an hour (one other mate’s sport ran nearer to 2). Clearly, that is nice in the event you’ve obtained a late-game deck, however in the event you’re a quick, aggro participant, that is going to get actual tiresome actual quick. “They’re positively not meant to go on that lengthy,” Moormann laughs, noting that the eight-point cap ought to assist preserve issues comparatively neat. I am but to play as a four-stack once more, however I did really feel sorry for the individuals who’d booked the desk we had been taking part in on.
All in all, Riftbound achieves what it units out to do. It is a enjoyable, League of Legends-themed TCG that has spectacular complexity (verging on an excessive amount of) and a singular really feel. However it’s getting into a saturated market – one which Magic: The Gathering lords over. I do not see it being an ‘MTG’ killer in any approach, and reckon it will most likely float round with the extra area of interest card video games like One Piece, Star Wars: Limitless, and Sq. Enix’s Remaining Fantasy TCG. That, after all, results in questions of longevity – whereas decks are promoting rapidly now, how does that look a 12 months down the road, particularly when there’s been frustrations over lack of product and lacking uncommon playing cards? If Riftbound’s launch had been comparatively seamless, maybe I would have slightly extra hope, however for now I nonetheless method with “trepidation.”
Riftbound Set 1, Origins, is out now, however is presently bought out each on-line and in most native sport shops. Whereas there are numerous playing cards accessible by way of the second-hand market, I would all the time advise ready some time earlier than splashing your entire money – you may get a Kai’Sa someday.
