Riftbound Cards Explained
Understanding Riftbound Cards Every card in Riftbound has several key pieces of information on it. Once you understand what each part means, reading any card becomes straightforward.
A complete guide to every Riftbound card type, rarity, and what the numbers on a card mean.
Card Types
Legends are your Champion cards, always kept in the Legend Zone. Each Legend represents a famous League of Legends champion such as Jinx, Viktor, Lee Sin or Lux. Legends have special abilities that can change the entire game and are the centrepiece of most decks. A Legend card cannot be sent to the Trash or returned to your hand. It always remains in the Legend Zone.
See our Champion Deck comparison if you can’t decide which to start with.
Each deck also includes a Chosen Champion, which is a Unit card that shares a name or tag with your Legend. For example, Jinx Loose Cannon can be paired with the Jinx Legend. Your Chosen Champion is always available to play from the Champion Zone whenever you have enough Runes to pay for it. If it is destroyed it goes to the Trash like any other card.
Units are your fighters. You play them to your Base to attack, defend and control Battlefields. Most of your deck will be made up of Unit cards.
Spells are one-time effects. You play a Spell, it does something immediately, and then it goes to the Trash. Spells can deal damage, draw cards, boost your units or disrupt your opponent. Spells are never on the board, even if they affect things that are on the board.
Gear cards are played ready to your Base and give your units ongoing abilities. They do not move or attack, but have abilities that affect the game. Equipment is a type of Gear introduced in Spiritforged. Equipment starts unattached in your Base, but you can pay a cost to attach it to one of your units. Once attached, Equipment can grant Might bonuses and additional abilities to that unit.
Tokens are units and gear created during play by certain card effects. They are treated like any other card in the game except that they stop existing as soon as they leave the board. You can use anything handy to represent a token as long as it is clear where it is and whether it is ready or exhausted.
Battlefields are location cards representing areas of the map. Controlling Battlefields is how you score points and win the game. Each Battlefield card also has an ability that triggers while you hold it or when you conquer it, giving you an ongoing advantage during the game.
Runes are your resource cards. You build a separate 12-card Rune deck made up of the two Rune types matching your Legend’s Domains, and draw from it each turn to pay for the cards you play.
Not sure which Domains suit your playstyle? Read our Domains Explained guide.
Tags Many cards have Tags shown in their header bar, such as Champion Unit, Master Yi or Ionia. Tags tell you more about the card’s identity and are used by certain abilities that specifically reference them. For example, a card with the Legion keyword triggers an effect if you have already played another Main Deck card that turn, rewarding you for playing cards in sequence.
What do the numbers on a card mean?
Unit and Legend cards show a Might value in the top right corner. Might represents both the damage a unit deals in combat and the amount of damage it can take before being destroyed. There is only one number because attack and health are the same value.
Cards have two types of cost shown in the top left corner. The Energy cost is a number representing how many Runes you must exhaust (turn sideways) to play the card. The Power cost appears as a coloured Domain symbol below the Energy cost, and requires you to recycle a Rune of that specific Domain colour by placing it on the bottom of your Rune deck. A useful tip: you can exhaust a Rune to pay the Energy cost first, then recycle that same Rune to also cover the Power cost in one go.
Card Rarities Every card in Riftbound has a rarity level that tells you how hard it is to find in packs. You can identify rarity by the gem shape on the card.
Common cards have a round gem and are the most frequently found in packs. They form the backbone of most decks.
Uncommon cards have a triangular gem and appear less frequently. They often have more interesting abilities.
Rare cards have a square gem and are harder to find. All Champion Legend cards are Rare.
Epic cards have a pentagonal gem and are the rarest standard cards. They are often the most impactful in the game.
Special Card Variants
Foil cards have a shiny finish. In booster packs, all Rare and Epic cards are foil by default. Common and Uncommon cards can also appear as foils.
Signature cards are special versions of a champion’s iconic card with alternate artwork. They are among the most sought after cards in the game.
Overnumber cards sit outside the standard set numbering and are extremely rare collector versions of Champion Legends with exclusive artwork.
Alternate Art cards feature different artwork and are identified by a hexagonal gem. Players typically find around two per booster box.
How many copies can I use? You can include up to 3 copies of any individual card in your deck, including your Chosen Champion. You can also include up to 3 Signature cards that match your Champion Legend’s tag. Your deck must contain exactly 40 cards in total, plus your separate 12-card Rune deck.
Riftbound Sets
Set 1, Origins was released in October 2025 and contains 298 base cards plus Overnumber variants.
Set 2, Spiritforged was released in February 2026 and adds 221 new cards including 12 new champions.
Set 3, Unleashed, releases May 8, 2026. See our Unleashed preview hub for confirmed champions and products.
Set 4: Vendetta releases July 31 2026.
Set 5: Radiance releases October 23 2026.
The Origins set is available in the Proving Grounds product, which bundles both champion decks. See our Proving Grounds Buying Guide for a full breakdown.
Spiritforged also brought a reprinted version of Proving Grounds. See what changed in the reprint.