Riftbound: First Impressions Post-Release in Brazil

Amidst higher-than-expected hype and controversies involving a change in release date, inflated prices, and product shortages, Riftbound was officially released in Brazil this past weekend, between November 20th and 22nd. The card game, created by Riot and distributed by UVS Games, is the company's second attempt to bring the League of Legends universe into the world of TCGs—and this one is proving to be a success.

It's no coincidence that the companies responsible have trouble meeting demand when it expands to levels that few, if any, other card games have achieved at launch—not that this serves as justification for irresponsibility—and the hype surrounding the game is, to a certain extent, justified: recently, we've been extensively testing and playing Riftbound while discussing with others the Metagame, price expectations, decks, possible formats for accessibility, and other points that should be discussed by both the Brazilian community and the rest of the world, and one message is clear to anyone who has experienced the new TCG— despite the launch flaws, Riftbound is one of the best card games we've ever played.

The expectation for Riftbound was something I've had since it was announced as Project K. Despite my complete lack of appreciation for League of Legends — my only consumption of the brand comes from the Arcane series and the game The Ruined King, which, by the way, is an excellent turn-based RPG — the potential of a League of Legends card game in all aspects of my work is undeniable: content creation, competitive visibility, and, obviously, enjoyment as a hobby and the use of card games as a social tool.

In theory, if everything aligned as expected, Riftbound would arrive as a titan of the market due to its name, and as new information came out and, later, the game was released in China, it became clearer that it had a lot of potential.

However, perhaps no one anticipated that the Western release would be the game's biggest controversy due to topics we've already discussed, and it's not all roses either: errata are a problem in such a young title, and the localization and translation of the cards are occasionally ambiguous to the point that even those studying the game to be judges can't yet have that much clarity on how certain interactions should work.

These minor interpretation issues formed the central theme of the first Release Event: my deck choice was Jinx, an Aggro deck focused on discarding resources and generating card advantage with the champion every turn through extra draws, blending a bit of early-game aggression with high-risk, high-reward plays if the game dragged on, but the archetype's role was clear: if it lasted too long, other decks would dominate the match.

Most of the problems in this first event were caused by poor explanations of some rule concepts, which, honestly, are confusing and difficult to interpret if you already have linguistic and mechanical habits from other card games, and perhaps even more difficult if you don't play TCGs.

As witnessed at some points during the last SCGCon, there are still many players who try to play Riftbound with Magic's eyes and other well-known card games, as there is a lack of clearer explanations about the rules or texts. A clear example was the repeated times I saw players use Viktor's ability to create a unit on their opponent's turn, as if the fact that the card didn't specify that the ability could only be used on their turn meant it had instant speed, like in Magic.

It was also common to play and observe people playing as if there was only one "combat phase," which was even left as the last step of the turn, in the style of Pokémon. Other frequent errors involved spell speed due to a lack of more in-depth understanding of how the priority of a Showdown (the equivalent of a combat phase in the game) works, leading many to consider the speed of action, reaction, and priorities between them to be equivalent to the timing of Reactions in Flesh and Blood or Instants in Magic: The Gathering.

Confusing is the word that best defines the experience of this first event, and I'm sure we weren't the only ones who felt that way, but it was also evident that the game was incredible, that the gameplay was good, and that the way the matches unfolded, despite the slowness of the first experience and the interpretation mistakes, was competitive, interesting, and, above all, fun to play.

The second day of the event, at another store, was a very different experience: most of the audience already knew Riftbound and had played the TCG in some way through proxies, simulators, and other options, which meant that everyone there had a relatively good understanding of the rules.

My deck of choice this time was Viktor, which, for lack of a better word, I categorize as a "Midrange with one foot in Control": you want to extend the game, create an army of tokens while holding the game with removals and combat trades, because each passing turn means one extra power on the board during the damage math or a potent finisher with Grand Stratagem.

In some ways, my prior knowledge of other card games flowed better with Viktor: the deck seemed more natural to pilot, less convoluted, and less dependent on micro-interactions. The games, in fact, were remarkably balanced, and the fact that each round featured an experienced player meant that I understood, through their explanations, how to proceed in each play, even if some interactions still seemed confusing at the end of this second day.

That same day was when I decided to build my first deck: essentially, my gaming group has been discussing the possibility of Riftpobre, where only the legend and the champion are rare while the rest of the deck is composed of commons and uncommons — with the massive purchase of singles through the trade of epic cards I opened during the release, I opened a playmat and started building a "budget" version of Kai'sa, Daughter of the Void and testing it with some upgrades from the precons, and it became clear that, once you understand the fundamentals of what makes that Legend good, it's intuitive to build a list around that and work on the pros and cons of each one.

By the end of that day, it was clear that Riftbound had hooked me in a way that no other card game had since Flesh and Blood. Its creative potential is absurd, and while competitive options are currently limited due to a clear Tier 0, it's likely that the range will expand as Spiritforged is released—and for the store environment, you don't always need the best possible option; you can create social contracts and alternative options to make the game attractive to everyone.

The story above demonstrates how my individual experience with Riftbound was quite divided and, at the end of the second day, how I concluded that it is a good game, but much of its appeal also comes from the blend of League of Legends identity with its own schemes and mechanics that put it ahead of one of the biggest titans of the card game and a game I extensively cover at Cards Realm — Magic: The Gathering.

Riftbound takes many of Magic's concepts and refines them under its own set of rules. It's far from the first to address the inherent problems of the mana system and basically borrows the same resource theme used in Bandai's card games, but transforms its resource management into a contest between long-term planning vs. immediate value, forcing you to make meticulous decisions about how to optimize your Runes.

Think of a very common card at the moment, which was a small part of a controversy in a recent major tournament: Hextech Ray. The card deals three damage to a unit in exchange for playing a rune back into your deck, meaning it can deal with a small enemy unit in the early turns and put us ahead in showdowns, but what if losing that rune for the next turn means missing out on a higher-cost card that could have a greater impact two turns later on? What other options do I have to continue optimizing resources turn after turn? And what concessions do I have to make to ensure my opponent doesn't get ahead in the game?

Decision-making like this is part of what creates an environment where Riftbound can become a highly skill-intensive, calculating, and planning-intensive game as new expansions are released, especially since a wider range of interactions during showdowns and other mechanics that work with new zones of the game can be established in future releases.

Another common element that Riftbound inherited from Magic was the "limitations of a Commander" and many aspects of the format: Riot's TCG is made with multiplayer in mind from the get-go, where matches are played almost with gameplay styles reminiscent of board games like Seven Wonders, providing hours of enjoyment with a fresh experience, where the cards and rules were created from the beginning with this focus in mind instead of being adapted.

The Champion Unit—a unit that sits outside the deck—is closer to the function of a Commander in this case: a card that you can play at any time and that generally has an impact. Relevant to the match if used appropriately, but whose single copy in this specific slot is only available once unless a card says otherwise.

The art direction is another notable detail that captivates both the card game audience—the foil treatment and texturing of some cards is enviable in any game—and the League of Legends audience. The game does, in fact, reuse many illustrations from the old Legends of Runeterra, but having some of the cards in hand and the illustrations, specifically of the Champions and Signature Spells, are some of the most well-crafted and beautiful I have ever seen, and a clear upgrade compared to the game's initial design during the testing phase.

However, there are points that still need improvement: there is indeed a problem with the quality of cutting in some boosters, while the translation and localization of some cards deviates a bit too much from common sense and creates interpretation issues that can cost games in local stores or even at large events, not to mention that a clearer explanation of the rules would make it easier for the public to get into the game without so many doubts regarding how certain cards or rulings work.

Another challenge concerns the community: the majority of Riftbound's active consumers are currently card game players, and they already carry all the vices that this niche brings, especially the harmful behavior of fear of missing out in the early stages where everyone who wants to compete is, in theory, looking for the same staples—this generates some discomfort while talking about the game, annoyances when trying to purchase or sell cards, and various other attitudes that should be avoided by civilized human beings in a gaming environment, even if this space is shared with commerce.

In addition to these, other controversies and problems have already been discussed in previous texts, especially the current scarcity of printed products, the colossal failure of Proving Grounds as an introductory set, and the need for better distribution partnerships. Regardless of how incredible Riftbound is as a game, these are some elements that must be improved in the coming months if Riot and UVS expect their product to succeed during the next year.

In the end, the bitter reception of a troubled launch will mark Riftbound's history and serve as negative publicity for the next few months, but once the availability of cards expands, players can give the TCG a proper chance and discover that the more than thirty years of learning that other card games have brought, combined with Riot's mastery of games, has given rise to one of the best gameplay systems ever created in the niche — inheriting many elements from other titles, yes, but seeking to improve them within its own language.