How to Play Riftbound: A Beginner's Guide

Riftbound is a physical trading card game based on the world of League of Legends.

It is designed for 2-4 players, with players choosing a Champion and building a deck around that Champion's strategy. If you have played League of Legends, many of the characters and locations will already be familiar.

Champions such as Jinx, Yasuo and other League characters appear throughout the game, but you do not need any previous League of Legends knowledge to play Riftbound.

From a gameplay perspective, Riftbound combines several familiar TCG concepts:

• Resource management
• Units
• Spells
• Deck building
• Tactical combat
• Board control

However, its Battlefield system gives the game its own identity.

Instead of simply attacking an opponent until they run out of life, players fight over locations on the board.

The standard objective is to become the first player to reach 8 points. You primarily earn points through Battlefields.

There are two important concepts: Conquering a Battlefield and Holding a Battlefield.

When you successfully take control of a Battlefield, you can score a point.

If you still control that Battlefield when the appropriate scoring step occurs on a later turn, you can score again for holding it.

This creates an important difference compared with many other TCGs.

Winning a fight is only part of the game.

You also need to decide where your Units should be positioned and whether you can maintain control after capturing a Battlefield.

A constructed Riftbound deck is made from several components.

For current official constructed tournament play, you bring:

• 1 Champion Legend
• 40 Main Deck cards, including your Chosen Champion
• 12 Runes
• 3 different Battlefields
• An optional sideboard where the format permits one

The current tournament rules require the Main Deck to contain exactly 40 cards, including the Chosen Champion. This is important because Riftbound does not simply use one shuffled pile of cards.

Your Main Deck and Rune Deck are separate.

Your Legend and Chosen Champion also have specific roles outside the normally shuffled portion of your Main Deck.

Your Champion Legend is the foundation of your deck.

Think of it as the character and strategy your deck is built around.

Your Legend determines important aspects of deck construction, including your deck's Domain Identity. Different Legends encourage different playstyles.

One might favour aggressive attacks and fast Battlefield pressure.

Another might reward building a large board.

Another could focus on a smaller number of powerful Units or a particular type of interaction.

Choosing a Legend is therefore one of the first decisions you make when building a Riftbound deck.

In addition to your Champion Legend, your deck has a Chosen Champion.

This is a Champion Unit associated with your Legend.

Your Chosen Champion begins the game face-up in its designated Champion Zone rather than being shuffled into the rest of your Main Deck.

However, it still counts as one of the cards in your Main Deck for deck-building purposes.

So in a 40-card constructed deck: 1 card is your Chosen Champion and 39 cards are shuffled into your Main Deck.

Your Chosen Champion must also have the appropriate Champion tag matching your Legend.

Riftbound cards are organised into Domains.

Domains are comparable to colour systems found in other trading card games.

Your Champion Legend determines which Domains your deck can use.

This is referred to as your Domain Identity.

Your deck's cards and Runes must comply with that identity. Domains are important because they affect both: which cards you can include and which resources you need to play them.

When building your first deck, it is therefore better to start by choosing a Legend rather than simply picking individual cards you like.

Your Legend establishes the framework for everything else.

Runes are Riftbound's primary resource system.

Unlike games where resource cards are shuffled into the same deck as your other cards, Riftbound keeps its Runes in a separate Rune Deck.

A constructed deck uses 12 Runes. During the game, you channel Runes from this separate deck.

Normally, you channel two Runes each turn. This design means you are not relying on randomly drawing resource cards from your Main Deck.

Instead, your Rune development occurs separately from drawing Units, Spells and Gear.

Runes can be used to pay the costs of your cards.

However, Riftbound distinguishes between different ways resources can be used.

At the beginner level, the important distinction is that Runes can be exhausted to help pay normal costs, while some more demanding costs require Rune resources to be used more permanently by returning them to the Rune Deck.

The official beginner explanation describes this as temporarily using Runes by turning them sideways versus returning them to the Rune Deck to pay more powerful costs. This creates an interesting resource decision.

A powerful card may be playable now, but using your resources for it could reduce what you are capable of doing immediately afterward.

Resource management is therefore a major part of Riftbound strategy.

Cards in Riftbound can be ready or exhausted.

A ready card is normally positioned upright.

When a card is exhausted, it is turned sideways to show that it has been used.

This concept applies frequently to Runes and Units.

At the beginning of your turn, applicable game objects you control are readied again during the Awaken Phase. If you have played other TCGs, this may feel similar to tapping and untapping cards.

Units are the characters and forces you deploy during a game.

They can move to Battlefields, fight opposing Units and help you establish control of important locations.

Champion Units are also Units, but represent League of Legends Champions.

Units have Might, which is central to combat.

Your board state is therefore not simply about having the largest number of Units.

Where those Units are located and how much Might you can commit to a Battlefield can determine whether you control it.

Spells represent actions and effects that can influence the game.

Depending on the card, a Spell might:

• Strengthen your Units
• Interfere with opposing Units
• Change combat
• Generate resources or cards
• Move Units
• Create other tactical effects

Some Spells can dramatically alter the outcome of a fight.

This means you should not automatically assume that the player with more visible Might will win an engagement.

Available resources and cards can matter just as much as the Units already on the Battlefield.

Gear is another important card type in Riftbound.

Gear can provide ongoing advantages and help strengthen your strategy or your forces.

Unlike a Spell that may produce an immediate effect and then be finished, Gear can remain relevant on the board.

Exactly how a particular Gear card works depends on its card text.

As with most TCGs, carefully reading the card is essential.

Battlefields are one of Riftbound's defining mechanics.

They represent locations that players fight to control.

Rather than having your Units simply attack the opposing player, you send them to these locations and contest them.

Each player brings Battlefields as part of their deck configuration, but once the game begins, those Battlefields become objectives that can be fought over.

As the official Riftbound explanation puts it, the Battlefields are effectively up for grabs once the game begins. This makes positioning extremely important.

Because Battlefields are your primary route to victory.

You need 8 points to win.

Capturing and maintaining control of Battlefields generates those points.

This creates two related strategic goals: Take Battlefields and prevent your opponent from taking them back.

Sometimes aggressively capturing a Battlefield is correct.

At other times, protecting one you already control may be more valuable.

You constantly have to evaluate where your Units will create the greatest advantage.

A standard game begins by preparing your different deck components.

Your Legend begins face-up in its designated area.

Your Chosen Champion also begins face-up in its Champion Zone.

Your Rune Deck remains separate from your Main Deck.

The remaining portion of your Main Deck is shuffled.

Players then establish the Battlefields according to the mode being played.

For a standard constructed deck with exactly 40 Main Deck cards, removing the Chosen Champion means 39 cards remain to be shuffled. Players then draw their opening hands.

Players begin with an opening hand of four cards. This is smaller than the opening hands used in several other major TCGs.

However, remember that Riftbound separates Runes from your Main Deck.

You therefore do not need to fill your opening hand with resource cards in the same way you might in a game where resources and playable cards are shuffled together.

After drawing your opening hand, you have an opportunity to improve it.

Riftbound allows you to recycle up to two cards from your opening hand and replace them.

This gives you an opportunity to correct an awkward opening hand without completely replacing everything.

When deciding what to keep, consider whether your hand gives you useful early actions and supports your deck's initial game plan.

A Riftbound turn is divided into several phases.

Among the important early phases are:

• Awaken Phase
• Beginning Phase
• Channel Phase
• Draw Phase

Those are followed by the parts of the turn where players take actions and progress the board.

The exact rules contain more technical timing detail, but a beginner can think about the start of a turn as: Ready your cards → score what you hold → gain Runes → draw → take actions.

This basic sequence helps make the game's rhythm much easier to understand.

During the Awaken Phase, applicable cards and game objects you control become ready again. This prepares your resources and Units for the new turn.

Cards that were exhausted during the previous turn may now become available again.

The beginning of your turn is particularly important because Riftbound checks your Battlefield control.

During the Scoring Step, you hold Battlefields you control and can score accordingly. This is why simply capturing a Battlefield is not the entire objective.

Keeping it under your control into later turns can continue generating value.

A Battlefield you successfully defend may therefore contribute multiple points toward your 8-point victory target.

During the Channel Phase, you normally channel two Runes from your Rune Deck. These expand the resources available to you.

Because your Rune supply develops over time, the kinds of plays you can make also become increasingly powerful as the game progresses.

During the Draw Phase, you normally draw one card from your Main Deck. Your Main Deck contains your playable Units, Spells, Gear and other eligible cards rather than your Rune resources.

This separation helps keep the game's resource development relatively predictable while your card draws determine your tactical options.

Once the turn progresses into its action-oriented gameplay, you can begin executing your strategy.

Depending on the board state and cards available, this can involve things such as:

• Playing Units
• Playing Gear
• Casting Spells
• Using abilities
• Moving Units
• Contesting Battlefields
• Reinforcing positions
• Preparing for your opponent's next turn

You do not simply ask what is the strongest card I can play.

You should also ask where do I need my resources and Units to be.

That distinction is central to Riftbound.

To capture a Battlefield, you need to establish control over it.

If nobody is defending the Battlefield, this can be relatively straightforward.

If an opponent already has Units there, however, the Battlefield becomes contested and a fight can occur.

Units use their Might in these battles.

If you emerge as the only player with Units standing after the fight, you can win the battle and take control of the Battlefield. Successfully taking control can score you a point.

Combat in Riftbound is closely connected to Battlefield control.

When opposing forces contest a location, Units fight.

Might represents the combat strength Units contribute.

The details of combat can be influenced by:

• Unit abilities
• Spells
• Gear
• Battlefield effects
• Triggered abilities
• Other card effects

This means combat is not always as simple as comparing two printed numbers.

The cards and resources available to both players can change the outcome.

Might represents a Unit's combat strength.

When Units fight, Might is used to determine the damage they can deal to opposing forces.

The official beginner rules describe Units using their Might to deal damage to opposing Units during Battlefield fights. A Unit with greater Might can therefore represent a significant threat, but raw Might is not the only factor.

Abilities and card interactions can allow smaller forces to defeat apparently stronger ones.

This distinction is extremely important for beginners.

The first player to reach 8 points wins in standard play. This creates a very visible race.

For example:

• You: 6 points
• Opponent: 5 points

If you control two Battlefields approaching your scoring step, your opponent may be forced to challenge at least one of them.

Otherwise, you could potentially reach 8 and end the game.

The closer either player gets to 8 points, the more important Battlefield positioning becomes.

Riftbound is not only about which cards you control.

It is also about where they are.

Imagine you have three strong Units.

Putting all three on one Battlefield may make that location extremely difficult to capture.

But doing so might leave another Battlefield completely undefended.

Splitting them creates broader coverage but makes each individual position weaker.

These are the kinds of decisions that make Riftbound strategically interesting.

You constantly balance: Concentration of strength against Battlefield coverage.

A common beginner mistake in objective-based games is assuming every contested location must be defended.

That is not always true.

Suppose your opponent commits several powerful cards and resources to capturing one Battlefield.

You may decide that defending it would cost too much.

Instead, you could allow them to take it while using your resources to capture another Battlefield or strengthen a more valuable position.

The important question is not can I win this fight, it is does winning this fight help me win the game.

That is a much more useful way to think about Riftbound.

Because Runes power your cards and abilities, using your resources efficiently is extremely important.

Playing your most expensive card simply because you can afford it may not always be the best move.

Sometimes keeping resources available gives you more flexibility.

You may need to:

• Respond to an opponent
• Reinforce a Battlefield
• Play multiple smaller cards
• Set up a future turn
• Protect an important Unit

The best play is often the one that gives you the strongest overall position rather than the biggest immediate effect.

Your deck begins with your Champion Legend.

From there, your Legend determines your Domain Identity.

For current constructed tournament play, your configuration includes:

• 1 Champion Legend
• 40 Main Deck cards, including your Chosen Champion
• 12 Runes
• 3 uniquely named Battlefields

The Main Deck has a maximum of three copies of a card with the same name, and your Chosen Champion counts toward that copy limit.

For example, if one copy of a particular Champion card is your Chosen Champion, you could generally include only two additional copies of that exact named card under the three-copy rule.

Riftbound also includes Signature cards connected to Champions.

These have additional deck-building restrictions.

A deck can contain a maximum of three Signature cards in total, and those Signature cards must have the Champion tag corresponding to your Champion Legend. Importantly, that is three Signature cards in total, rather than three copies of every different Signature card.

That distinction is easy for new deck builders to miss.

Your Rune Deck contains exactly 12 Runes.

Those Runes need to comply with your Champion Legend's Domain Identity. The correct Rune distribution depends on the cards in your deck.

If your deck relies more heavily on one Domain's resource requirements, you may want more Runes supporting that side of your strategy.

This is similar to balancing coloured resources in other TCGs, except Riftbound places those resources into their own dedicated deck.

Your Battlefields are not simply decorative locations.

They can influence how your deck plays.

Current constructed rules require you to register three Battlefields with unique names. When choosing them, consider whether their effects complement your deck's strategy.

A Battlefield that works particularly well with your Units or game plan can create an advantage.

But remember: Once a Battlefield is in play, your opponent can fight for it too.

You are not guaranteed permanent control simply because you brought it.

When building your first Riftbound deck, begin with a clear strategy.

Ask yourself:

• How does my Legend want to play?
• Which Units help me capture Battlefields?
• Which cards help me defend them?
• Do my Rune choices support my costs?
• Do I have useful plays early in the game?
• Am I relying on too many expensive cards?
• Can I recover if I lose a Battlefield?
• Which Battlefields work best with my strategy?

Avoid building a deck simply from your favourite League of Legends characters.

A thematic deck can be fun, but a consistent deck needs cards that work together mechanically.

For many beginners, the easiest way to build a deck is: Champion → strategy → cards rather than: Cards → cards → cards → somehow choose a Champion.

Your Legend defines your Domains and establishes the overall direction of your deck.

Once you understand what that Legend is trying to accomplish, choosing Units, Spells, Gear and Battlefields becomes much easier.

Imagine you begin your turn controlling one Battlefield.

There are several mistakes new Riftbound players are likely to make.

The basic objective is relatively straightforward: Control Battlefields and reach 8 points.

The complexity comes from learning:

• Card interactions
• Resource management
• Combat
• Positioning
• Timing
• Champion strategies
• Battlefield selection

If you already play other TCGs, concepts such as Units, Spells, resources and deck construction will feel familiar.

The main adjustment is learning to think about the board spatially.

You are not merely building a stronger board than your opponent.

You are fighting over specific objectives.

For your first games, using a preconstructed Champion Deck is one of the easiest ways to learn.

It removes the complexity of deck building and allows you to concentrate on the game's mechanics.

Focus first on:

• Understanding your Legend
• Learning how Runes work
• Playing Units
• Moving to Battlefields
• Understanding Might and combat
• Learning how conquering works
• Learning when you score
• Watching the race to 8 points

Once those mechanics feel natural, start experimenting with deck building.

The official Riftbound site also provides a dedicated Learn to Play section and current Rules Hub.

Like other TCGs, Riftbound can appeal both to competitive players and collectors.

Some players will primarily look for cards that strengthen their decks.

Others may collect:

• Favourite League of Legends Champions
• Alternate artwork
• Rare cards
• Foil versions
• Promotional cards
• Complete sets
• Sealed products
• Professionally graded cards

League of Legends has a huge established universe of Champions and characters, which also gives Riftbound strong appeal as a collectible card game beyond competitive play.

A collector might chase a particular Jinx card because of the artwork or rarity even if they never intend to play a Jinx deck.

Likewise, a competitive player may care much more about obtaining three playable copies of an important card than owning its rarest version.

Sleevd allows players and collectors to discover Riftbound cards from marketplace sellers alongside other major trading card games.

Whether you are building your first Champion deck, searching for specific cards to complete a competitive list or collecting your favourite League of Legends Champions, buying individual cards can help you obtain exactly what you need without relying entirely on booster packs.

When buying Riftbound cards, pay attention to the exact:

• Card name
• Champion
• Set
• Card number
• Rarity
• Language
• Printing or treatment
• Condition

Different versions of the same character can have very different gameplay functions and collector values.

If you are buying raw cards, see our Trading Card Condition Guide for an explanation of how card condition can affect value.

If you are deciding whether to collect raw or professionally graded Riftbound cards, see our Raw vs Graded Trading Cards guide.

On Sleevd today there are 91 different Riftbound cards on sale, 301 copies between them, at a median of AED 1. 77 of those cards are AED 10 or less, which is where most of a deck comes from.

Riftbound takes familiar trading card game concepts and builds them around a Battlefield-control system that makes positioning and objective management central to the game.

The fundamental gameplay loop is: Channel Runes → play Units and cards → move to Battlefields → fight for control → score points → reach 8 points.

For beginners, the most important thing to understand is that destroying your opponent's cards is not the objective.

Battlefields are the objective.

Every Unit you play, every Rune you spend and every fight you choose should ultimately help you capture, hold or contest those Battlefields.

Once you begin thinking in terms of control and points rather than simply combat, Riftbound becomes much easier to understand.

Start with a Champion you like, learn what its Legend wants to accomplish, and play a few games with a preconstructed deck.

The deeper strategy - Rune management, timing, positioning, deck construction and Battlefield selection - will come naturally as you play.