If you are trying to figure out how to play Riftbound, you are in the right place. Riftbound is a trading card game from Riot Games where two players go head-to-head using decks built around a champion from League of Legends. Each player picks a champion, builds a deck around them, and then uses units, spells, and gear cards to fight for control of battlefields on the table. The goal is to either take all the battlefields or reduce your opponent’s champion to zero health.
Page last updated: March 2026.
I put this page together as an overview for people who are completely new to Riftbound and just want to understand how everything fits together before diving deeper. Each section below covers one part of the game, with a link to a dedicated page if you want the full explanation. If you are ready to start playing but are not sure what to buy first, jump to the bottom of this page where I cover your first purchase options.
The Basic Structure of a Game
A game of Riftbound is played between two players, each with their own deck. You start by placing your champion legend card in front of you. This is the character your whole deck is built around, things like Jinx, Viktor, or Lee Sin. Your champion legend never actually enters the battlefield during play; it sits in its own zone and its two domains (colours) determine which cards you are allowed to include in your deck.
Each turn, you draw a card, generate resources called Power by playing rune cards from a separate rune deck, and then use those resources to play units, gear, and spells onto the board. Units can move to battlefields in the middle of the table to contest them. Whoever holds more battlefields at the right moment, or wipes out their opponent’s forces, gains the advantage.
The game flows through distinct phases each turn: a start phase where you draw and generate power, an action phase where most of the decisions happen, and an end phase to clean things up. Once you understand that rhythm, the rest starts to click into place. For a proper breakdown of turns and phases, head over to the Riftbound Basics page.
What Is in a Riftbound Deck?
Your deck in Riftbound has two parts: a main deck of at least 40 cards and a rune deck of exactly 12 rune cards. The main deck contains your units (the characters who fight), your gear (equipment that attaches to units to make them stronger), and your spells (one-use effects that do something and then go to the trash). You also have a chosen champion card set aside at the start of the game, which is a specific unit card that represents your champion on the board.
The rune deck works differently from the main deck. You do not draw from it in the normal sense; instead, you channel runes during your turn to generate the power you need to play cards. Think of it a bit like a mana system from other card games, but with its own deck. You get to choose which runes go in this deck, which means you have some control over how much power you generate each game.
One rule that trips up a lot of new players is the domain identity rule. Your champion legend has two domains (shown as coloured symbols), and your entire deck can only include cards from those two domains. So if you are playing Jinx, who is Fury (red) and Chaos (purple), every card in your deck needs to be Fury, Chaos, or both. This is the reason you cannot just throw whatever looks cool into any deck. For a full guide to how cards work and what each type does, visit the Riftbound Cards page.
Keywords: What the Action Words Actually Mean
Riftbound cards are covered in keywords, short words printed on the card that each stand in for a longer rule. You will see things like Shield, Accelerate, Deflect, and Ganking printed on units before you even know what they mean. I found this a bit overwhelming at first, but the good news is that most games only involve a handful of keywords at a time, and they are designed to be readable once you know the basics.
If what is confusing you is not the words but the actual symbols on the cards, those are a separate thing. The domain symbols, the Might symbol, and the cost symbols in the top corner of each card are covered at RiftboundSymbols.com, which is a visual reference I put together specifically for that.
Some keywords affect how units fight, like Shield (which absorbs damage before Might takes a hit) and Deflect (which redirects some incoming damage). Others affect movement, like Ganking, which lets a unit move directly from one battlefield to another instead of having to return to base first. Once you get a few games in, most keywords start to feel intuitive.
Rather than trying to memorise them all upfront, I would suggest learning the keywords on the cards in your starting deck and picking up the rest as you play. For a complete reference with plain-English explanations of every keyword in the game, the Riftbound Keywords page has them all listed.
Domains: Why Your Champion Determines Your Cards
Domains are the six colour identities in Riftbound: Fury (red), Calm (green), Mind (blue), Body (orange), Chaos (purple), and Order (yellow). Every card belongs to one or two domains, and your champion legend’s domains determine which cards you are allowed to use. This is one of the most important rules in the game for beginners to understand early, because it affects every deck-building decision you make.
Each domain has a general playstyle associated with it. Fury tends toward aggressive units and direct damage. Calm leans toward resource generation and resilience. Mind is often about drawing cards and manipulating the board. Body is physical and durable. Chaos is unpredictable and can disrupt opponents. Order is about control and structure. Champions with two domains blend these approaches, which is why two Fury/Chaos champions play differently from two Fury/Body ones.
Understanding domains also helps you make sense of why certain champion decks feel the way they do, and what you might want to add if you upgrade one later. For a detailed look at all six domains and how they shape playstyle, take a look at the Riftbound Domains Explained page.
How Combat Works
Combat in Riftbound happens when units from both players are at the same battlefield. Unlike some card games where attacking and blocking are separate declared actions, Riftbound combat is resolved by comparing the Might values of the units present. Might is the combat stat printed on each unit card, shown as a number next to a sword and shield symbol. When a Showdown happens at a battlefield, all the units there deal damage equal to their Might simultaneously.
A unit is killed when the damage it has taken equals or exceeds its Might. Surviving units stay on the battlefield. Damage clears at the end of each player’s turn and after each Showdown, so a unit that survives a fight does not carry that damage into the next turn. This means positioning and timing matter a lot: sending in a weak unit alone usually just gets it killed.
Conquering a battlefield (taking control of it from your opponent) requires having units there when no opposing units are present, which means combat is often about clearing the way rather than just dealing damage. There is a lot more to it once gear, keywords, and spells start interacting, so when you are ready to go deeper, the How Combat Works page covers the full Showdown process step by step.
Building Your First Deck
If you are starting from scratch, the easiest entry point is a pre-built Champion Deck. These are sold as ready-to-play 40-card decks built around a specific champion, and they are a legitimate way to learn the game without having to know anything about deck construction yet. The five pre-built Champion Decks available right now are Jinx, Viktor, Lee Sin, Fiora, and Rumble. Each one plays differently because each champion has different domains and a different strategy. I have a guide that compares all five at the bottom of this page if you are not sure which one to start with.
When you do start thinking about building or upgrading a deck yourself, the main things to consider are your champion’s domain identity (which limits which cards you can include), your curve (how much power you spend each turn across the game), and how your units, gear, and spells support each other. Most beginner mistakes come down to including cards that individually look powerful but do not do anything cohesive together.
Deck building is its own topic and it does get deeper once you have a few games behind you. For practical tips on building your first deck, including what to prioritise and what common mistakes to avoid, the Deck Building Tips page is the best place to start.
Ready to Start Playing? Here Is What to Buy First
If this page has given you enough of an overview that you want to actually get your hands on the cards, the Starter Deck Guide is the most useful next read. It covers what is available, what is worth buying for a complete beginner, and what you can skip for now.
Where to Start
There are five pre-built Champion Decks available right now: Jinx, Viktor, Lee Sin, Fiora, and Rumble. Each one is ready to play out of the box and comes with everything you need except an opponent.
If you already know which champion you want to play and prefer to start with a solo deck, the Champion Decks are a good alternative. The comparison guide below breaks down which deck suits which playstyle.
Compare Champion Decks
Not sure which champion deck to start with? The comparison guide covers Jinx, Viktor, Lee Sin, Fiora, and Rumble side by side, with honest notes on who each deck suits best.
Read the Champion Deck comparison
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