Editor’s Note: A version of the following coverage originally ran in the May 17, 2025, edition of the AIPT Newsletter.
Riot Games’ new physical trading card game is here! Riftbound has officially launched in English in North America, Latin America, EMEA and Oceania. Back in May, I attended PAX East 2025, where I was also lucky enough to be invited to get my hands on Riftbound early.
If you haven’t heard, Riftbound is based on the immensely popular League of Legends universe, which is a massive cultural blindspot for me. But when I walked into the room to demo the TCG with Game Director Dave Guskin, I was quickly assured that this game would be accessible for a novice like myself.
Guskin told me that these early sets of cards, especially the first one, Origins, would be a little lighter on story and lore. “These are your building blocks. This is what you need to make a token deck, this is what you need to make a deck that’s all about fighting,” Guskin said. “We want to really make the champions feel like the champions players know and love from Arcane and the League MOBA.”
This was evident in the mechanics I used in the Jinx-themed deck. We played two 1v1 rounds of Riftbound against one another, with Guskin walking me through what makes this game stand out among a growing field of TCGs. Jinx is sort of a chaotic character, as I would come to learn. She looks like Harley Quinn with a rocket launcher. And her cards embody that. At one point, Guskin was able to summon a huge creature to the field, only for me to bounce said creature back to his hand and effectively delaying whatever he had planned for me.
The most radical departure from other TCGs is how Riftbound treats its energy system. These cards are relegated to a side deck, and at the beginning of your turn, you are able to bring two energy into your pool. From there, you can tap the cards to spend them on a summon, a spell, equipment, etc. Additionally, you can recycle energy and put it at the bottom of that side deck.
It’s an interesting and intricate twist on tried and true TCG mechanics. I’ll admit, I struggled to wrap my head around it. It felt like unlearning a bad habit. Though I’m sure it will lead to interesting gameplay results as Riftbound grows and evolves.
In a post-game conversation with Guskin, I asked what it was like to pitch a paid, physical game to the Riot leadership. Riot’s games are often free-to-play, and clients can just be downloaded from their site or your phone’s app store. Guskin reminded me that fans of the League are “Very social. They get together to play the game, they go to esports events.” And with the team’s experience in the digital TCG space with Legends of Runeterra, Guskin’s team was able to spin up and prototype a physical game very quickly.
Final thoughts on Riftbound
I was surprised by how much fun I had with Riftbound. I’m not a fan of League, but I sure do love TCGs, and this is shaping up to be a very competitive one of those!
Riftbound’s first set, Origins, launched on October 31, 2025 and can be purchased at your local game store or from the Riot Games Merch Store. The set features over 300 cards in the form of booster packs, themed Champion Decks, and an all-in-one, accessible teaching tool called Proving Grounds.
Beyond that, Riot has big plans for the TCG with competitive play. The first English Regional Qualifier will be held in Houston, Texas, from December 5-7. Then, the second set, Spiritforged, will be available on February 13, 2026.
To learn how to play Riftbound, or just keep up on the latest announcements, you can visit the official website or follow the game on socials.
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