The Riftbound Showdown Deck is for the situation most new players actually find themselves in: you want to try Riftbound with a friend, and you want to play tonight. Not next week after you have both researched decks separately, figured out which ones work against each other, and placed two orders. Tonight. One box fixes all of that. Two complete decks, two booster packs, everything needed to play, and both players sorted in a single purchase.
Page last updated: August 2026. The Vendetta Showdown Deck is live. The Radiance Showdown Deck (Seraphine vs Evelynn) launches October 23 2026.
Quick answer: The Showdown Deck is a two-player starter set built for 1v1 play. The Vendetta version features Zed facing off against Shen at $34.99. Everything in the box is playable straight away, and nothing inside is exclusive to the product.
What Is a Riftbound Showdown Deck?
A Showdown Deck is a boxed two-player starter product that comes with everything needed for a full 1v1 game of Riftbound. Two complete preconstructed decks, two booster packs, playmats, and a rulebook. You open it, read the rules, pick a side, and play.
The decks are built around rival champions, so the flavour of the match is built in from the start. You are not grabbing two random decks and hoping they balance out against each other. The Showdown Deck is designed as a head-to-head product, which means your first games are far more likely to feel fair and fun than if you had both bought whatever caught your eye separately.
One thing worth knowing early: nothing in the Showdown Deck is exclusive to the product. Every card inside can also be found in standard booster packs. So if you later decide to build your own decks, you are not chasing cards that only exist in this box.
What Is in the Box?
Here is exactly what comes in a Riftbound Vendetta Showdown Deck:
| Component | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Preconstructed 56-card decks | 2 | One per player: Zed deck and Shen deck |
| Cards per deck breakdown | 40 cards + 12 runes | Plus 1 Champion Legend and 3 battlefields per deck |
| Vendetta booster packs | 2 | One per player |
| Full-size paper playmats | 2 | One per player |
| Foldable paper deck boxes | 2 | One per player. Fine for getting started. See upgrade note below. |
| Rulebook and deck-building guide | 1 | Included for new players |
The MSRP is $34.99. That puts it below the cost of two Champion Decks bought separately, and you get two booster packs, two playmats, two paper deck boxes, and a rulebook on top. More on that comparison below.
Note on deck size: Each deck is 56 cards in total: 40 play cards, 12 runes, 1 Champion Legend, and 3 battlefields. This is the standard Riftbound deck structure. Both players are starting with properly built, legal decks from game one.
A note on the paper deck boxes: they are fine for getting started, but they are not built to last. Once you know you are playing regularly, a proper deck box for each player is worth picking up.
What Cards Come in Each Prebuilt Deck?
Both decks are legal for standard Riftbound play straight out of the box. Here is the full card list for each.
Zed Prebuilt Deck
| Card | Copies | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Zed, Master of Shadows | 1 | Legend |
| Zed, From the Shadows | 1 | Champion |
| Zed, Without a Sound | 2 | Champion |
| Death Mark | 1 | Card |
| Mel, Defiant Soul | 1 | Card |
| Wind and Ghosts | 1 | Card |
| Twilight Step | 2 | Card |
| Ravenbloom Prefect | 1 | Card |
| Gust Monk | 2 | Card |
| Shadow Order Disciple | 3 | Card |
| Kinkou Lifeblade | 3 | Card |
| Twilight Reveler | 1 | Card |
| Morgana, Vindictive | 1 | Card |
| Shadow Fiend | 2 | Card |
| Shadow Assassin | 3 | Card |
| Perfect Execution | 2 | Card |
| Ruthless Strike | 3 | Card |
| Punching Poro | 3 | Card |
| Blade Twirler | 3 | Card |
| Traveling Merchant | 2 | Card |
| Threshold of the Gray | 1 | Card |
| Shadow Temple | 1 | Card |
| Zaun Warrens | 1 | Battlefield |
| Fury Rune | 6 | Rune |
| Chaos Rune | 6 | Rune |
Shen Prebuilt Deck
| Card | Copies | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Shen, Eye of Twilight | 1 | Legend |
| Shen, Kinkou | 1 | Champion |
| Shen, Scourge of Shadows | 2 | Champion |
| Shen, Leader of the Kinkou Order | 1 | Champion |
| Steel Paws | 1 | Card |
| Shadow Dash | 1 | Card |
| Kennen, Keeper of Balance | 1 | Card |
| Sacred Protector | 2 | Card |
| Noxian Emissary | 2 | Card |
| Lacerate | 1 | Card |
| Ki Barrier | 1 | Card |
| Soulspinner | 2 | Card |
| Keeper of Law | 2 | Card |
| Disciple of Shen | 3 | Card |
| Dragon Form | 1 | Card |
| Resonating Strike | 1 | Card |
| Pakaa Protector | 2 | Card |
| Twilight Shroud | 1 | Card |
| Serene Ascetic | 2 | Card |
| Mournful Witness | 3 | Card |
| Hand Hammer | 2 | Card |
| Field Musicians | 2 | Card |
| Loyal Poro | 2 | Card |
| Charm | 2 | Card |
| Discipline | 2 | Card |
| Kinkou Temple | 1 | Battlefield |
| Grove of the God-Willow | 1 | Battlefield |
| Calm Rune | 6 | Rune |
| Order Rune | 6 | Rune |
Who Is the Showdown Deck For?
Two friends starting together. This is who the Showdown Deck is built for. If you and a friend both want to play Riftbound, this solves the whole setup problem in one purchase. No coordination required, no hoping the decks you each bought happen to work against each other. One box, both players ready, first game happening tonight.
Gift buyers. A self-contained two-player game at $34.99 is a genuinely strong gift. The Zed vs Shen rivalry is immediately recognisable to anyone who has played League of Legends, and the everything-in-the-box nature makes it a safe choice for someone who wants to give a complete experience rather than a partial one.
Solo players who want to teach someone the game. If you already play Riftbound and want to bring someone new in, the Showdown Deck gives you a complete teaching kit. Both decks are built to be balanced against each other, the rulebook is included, and you are not asking your new player to figure out a deck on their own for their first session.
Who it is probably not for: if you have already played for a while and want to upgrade into Vendetta with a specific champion in mind, you are better off with a dedicated Champion Deck. The Showdown Deck is a starter product and is priced and designed accordingly.
The Rivalry: Zed vs Shen
Riot’s official framing for this pairing: raised as brothers in the Kinkou Order and driven apart by betrayal, Shen leads their old school while Zed is their greatest opponent. They both dedicate their lives to the blade, but their playstyles are worlds apart.
Shen, Eye of Twilight plays in the Calm and Order domain pairing. His identity as the current leader of the Kinkou Order translates to a playstyle built around structure, resilience, and holding ground. Methodical, disciplined, patient. If you want to outlast your opponent rather than overwhelm them, this is the deck.
Zed, Master of Shadows plays Chaos and Fury. His lore as the Kinkou’s greatest enemy gives him an aggressive, disruptive identity. Fast, unpredictable, attacking from angles the opponent did not prepare for.
Neither deck has been confirmed as competitively dominant. The upgrade sections below cover what the deepest-running versions of each deck at RQ Barcelona were running, which is the best current data for how to improve each prebuilt.
Showdown Deck vs Buying Two Champion Decks
The most common question. Here is a direct comparison:
| Showdown Deck | Two Champion Decks | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $34.99 | ~$39.98 ($19.99 x 2) |
| Number of decks | 2 | 2 |
| Booster packs included | 2 | 0 |
| Playmats included | 2 full-size paper playmats | 0 |
| Deck boxes included | 2 paper deck boxes | 0 |
| Rulebook included | Yes | No |
| Decks designed to play each other | Yes | Not guaranteed |
| Champion choice | Fixed (Zed + Shen for Vendetta) | Any two available champions |
| Exclusive cards | None | None |
The Showdown Deck costs around $5 less than two Champion Decks bought separately, and includes two booster packs, two playmats, two paper deck boxes, and a rulebook that you would not get otherwise. The trade-off is fixed champion choice. If neither of you particularly wants to play Zed or Shen, buying the specific Champion Decks you want makes more sense. But if the matchup appeals, the Showdown Deck is the better value by a clear margin.
If you want to compare the full range of available options, the Which Riftbound Deck Should I Buy First guide covers every current choice.
Showdown Deck vs Proving Grounds
If you have read anything about getting started in Riftbound, you have probably come across Proving Grounds, the original multiplayer starter set. The two products are not really competing with each other because they are built for different situations.
Proving Grounds is designed for groups. The recommended format is 3v3, and the box is built around getting a larger number of players into the game at once. The Showdown Deck is built for exactly two players, one on each side, playing 1v1. That is the format used in Summoner Skirmish competitive events and ranked play, so if learning the core competitive experience is the goal, the Showdown Deck gets you there faster.
Which should you buy? Two players only: Showdown Deck. Four or more players: Proving Grounds. Both are valid starting points for their intended situation.
The Radiance Showdown Deck: Seraphine vs Evelynn
The second Showdown Deck arrives with Riftbound: Radiance on October 23 2026. The champions are Seraphine and Evelynn: Seraphine, the pop star whose music carries genuine magic, and Evelynn, the demon who hides behind a human face and feeds on the pain she causes. It is a sharp thematic pairing.
Specific deck contents for the Radiance Showdown Deck have not been announced yet. Expect the same format: two 56-card precon decks, two Radiance booster packs, playmats, and a rulebook.
How to Upgrade Your Zed Deck
Zed is a Chaos/Fury legend built on aggression, tempo, and disruption. He rewards attacking early and forcing the opponent to react rather than play their own game. At RQ Barcelona he had 25 Day 1 players and one Day 2 conversion, which is worth being honest about: Zed is not a top competitive legend right now. At a Nexus Night or local Summoner Skirmish, where the meta is more open and fewer people are on fully optimised lists, an upgraded Zed deck can hold its own. The upgrades below are sourced from the deepest-running Zed list at Barcelona and focus on making the deck more consistent at local play, not turning it into an RQ contender.
Zed Priority 1 Upgrades
| Card | Copies | Why It Helps | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death Mark | Add 2 | The prebuilt ships with 1. The competitive list runs 3. Death Mark is Zed’s primary removal tool and the card that closes out games when the opponent cannot answer the board fast enough. Getting to 3 copies is the single most impactful change you can make. | $1.60 |
| Kharox | Add 3 | Not in the prebuilt at all. The competitive list runs it at full copies, which signals it is a core piece of the Zed gameplan rather than a flex card. Fills the gap left when you cut the prebuilt’s weaker 3x units. | $5.50 |
| Tornado Warrior | Add 3 | Also absent from the prebuilt and run at full copies in the competitive list. A 3x unit at this priority level is doing consistent work in the Chaos/Fury curve. | $0.10 |
| Noxus Hopeful | Add 3 | Not in the prebuilt. Run at 3 copies in the competitive list. The early-game unit that gets Zed’s pressure going from turn one, replacing the prebuilt’s low-impact filler in the same cost range. | $0.35 |
Zed Priority 2 Upgrades
| Card | Copies | Why It Helps | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boots of Swiftness | Add 3 | Not in the prebuilt. Run at full copies in the competitive list. Pushes the aggression ceiling higher each turn. | $0.50 |
| Traveling Merchant | Add 1 | The prebuilt has 2. The competitive list runs 3. One additional copy is a low-cost consistency improvement. | $0.10 |
| Edge of Night | Add 2 | Not in the prebuilt. Appears at 2 copies in the competitive list. Adds disruption or protection for Zed at a critical point in the game. | $0.30 |
What to Cut from the Zed Prebuilt
| Card | Copies | Why Cut It |
|---|---|---|
| Blade Twirler | Cut all 3 | Not in the competitive list. Frees three deck slots immediately for higher-impact units. |
| Punching Poro | Cut all 3 | Not in the competitive list. Classic prebuilt filler. Poros are useful for learning the game but not where a Chaos/Fury aggro deck wants its unit slots. |
| Ruthless Strike | Cut all 3 | Not in the competitive list. Death Mark is the removal spell the competitive list uses instead. Ruthless Strike is a weaker version of the same role. |
| Kinkou Lifeblade | Cut all 3 | Not in the competitive list. Worth noting: the Kinkou are Shen’s organisation, not Zed’s. Running 3 Kinkou-affiliated units in a deck built around rejecting the Kinkou Order is a bit like wearing the opposition’s jersey. These slots are needed for the Chaos/Fury units above. |
| Shadow Assassin | Cut all 3 | Not in the competitive list. Once the priority upgrades are in, this is the next block of slots to reclaim. |
After these upgrades, a Zed player at a Nexus Night should expect to win games through early pressure before the opponent establishes their board. The deck punishes slow starts. Against control builds that stabilise quickly, games will be harder. Zed rewards experience with the deck more than most legends.
For the full breakdown of Zed’s abilities and playstyle, see the Zed Champion Deck Guide. For how local events are structured, the Summoner Skirmish guide covers the format.
How to Upgrade Your Shen Deck
Shen is a Calm/Order legend built on patience and board control. He does not try to end the game quickly. He makes the board harder and harder to deal with until the opponent runs out of answers. At RQ Barcelona he had 14 Day 1 players and zero Day 2 conversions, which makes him the weakest Vendetta legend in current competitive data. At local events that gap matters less than knowing your deck well. The upgrades below from the deepest-running Shen list at Barcelona make the deck meaningfully more consistent than the prebuilt.
Shen Priority 1 Upgrades
| Card | Copies | Why It Helps | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sona, Harmonious | Add 3 | Not in the prebuilt at all. The competitive list runs 3. If you only buy one thing for this deck, this is it. Sona is the card that makes the Calm domain package consistent and gives the deck a reliable value engine alongside Shen’s protection gameplan. | $3.00 |
| Scuttle Crab | Add 3 | Not in the prebuilt. Run at full copies in the competitive list. A unit that can conquer and hold battlefields without needing combat strength is exactly what a control deck wants in the early game. | $3.30 |
| Defy | Add 3 | Not in the prebuilt. Full copies in the competitive list. At 3x in a Calm/Order shell this is a core spell, whether as a response, a protection tool, or a tempo play. | $4.70 |
Shen Priority 2 Upgrades
| Card | Copies | Why It Helps | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discipline | Add 1 | The prebuilt has 2. The competitive list runs 3. One additional copy improves the consistency of the deck’s protective spell package. | $2.00 |
| Shadow Dash | Add 1 | The prebuilt has 1. The competitive list runs 2. A second copy makes this more reliably available in the mid-game when it matters most. | $0.80 |
| Ki Barrier | Add 1 | The prebuilt has 1. The competitive list runs 2. Adds defensive depth to the protection shell. | $0.15 |
| Dragon Form | Add 1 | The prebuilt has 1. The competitive list runs 2. A second copy improves access to whatever Dragon Form is contributing to the Shen gameplan. | $0.01 |
What to Cut from the Shen Prebuilt
| Card | Copies | Why Cut It |
|---|---|---|
| Mournful Witness | Cut all 3 | Not in the competitive list. The biggest block of free slots in the Shen prebuilt. Cut these first. |
| Shen, Scourge of Shadows | Cut both 2 | A Shen champion unit the competitive player chose not to run. The best-of list uses Shen, Leader of the Kinkou Order as the champion unit instead. Removing both copies frees slots for the upgrades above. |
| Field Musicians | Cut both 2 | Not in the competitive list. Does not contribute to the control gameplan the upgraded deck is trying to execute. |
| Loyal Poro | Cut both 2 | Not in the competitive list. Useful at the prebuilt stage but not where the upgraded deck wants its unit slots. |
| Noxian Emissary | Cut both 2 | Not in the competitive list. Noxus is the opposing faction in the Zed vs Shen rivalry, so a Noxus unit in the Shen prebuilt is an odd inclusion. Its slot is better used by the Sona and Scuttle Crab package. |
After these upgrades, a Shen player at a Nexus Night can expect to go roughly even against other upgraded prebuilt decks and win games against players who have not yet learned how to deal with a control gameplan. He will struggle against fully optimised Tier 1 lists, but at local level the Calm/Order package is coherent and consistent enough to be genuinely competitive.
For the full breakdown of Shen’s abilities and playstyle, see the Shen Champion Deck Guide. For how organised play works at both local and regional level, the Summoner Skirmish guide and RC qualifying guide cover both.
Final Verdict
If you want to start Riftbound with one other person and want everything sorted in a single purchase, the Showdown Deck is the right product. It is complete, it is balanced, and it costs less than buying two Champion Decks separately while including more in the box. There is no setup puzzle to solve and no risk of buying decks that do not work against each other.
If you are buying as a gift and the recipient has any connection to League of Legends, Zed vs Shen is an immediately recognisable matchup that makes the purchase feel considered rather than generic.
The only reason to look elsewhere is if you or your friend specifically want to play a champion that is not in the box. In that case, the starter deck comparison guide will help you find the right match.
Where to Buy the Riftbound Vendetta Showdown Deck
Available now. TCGPlayer is the best place to track pricing with multiple sellers competing. Amazon is a solid backup, especially for Prime shipping.
Already playing? If you want to explore the competitive side of Riftbound, the Summoner Skirmish organised play guide covers how 1v1 tournament events are structured.
Also Worth Reading
Planning your Riftbound collection around the Vendetta set? The hub page covers all confirmed products and the full champion lineup.