Riftbound is the League of Legends trading card game. Its first-birthday conversations are a timely invitation to learn how a match works. If you already have access to a deck, this checklist helps turn a crowded table into a readable match.
How we chose these rules: these are ten distinct decisions a beginner faces, ordered from setup to winning, not a ranking of card strength. The scope is a two-player duel. We checked the October 9, 2026 core rules and the update effective October 16; multiplayer variants and unusual card interactions need their own checks. This is a learning companion, not a complete rulebook or a claim of hands-on testing.
1. Your Legend defines your deck’s identity
The Champion Legend determines your deck’s domains and eligible Chosen Champion. It is not simply another fighting unit. Units, spells and gear have different jobs around that foundation. Before shuffling, point out which card is your Legend and which is the champion you can play. That small distinction makes the rest of the table easier to discuss. Official introduction
2. Count the Chosen Champion inside the main deck
The main deck requires at least 40 cards, including the Chosen Champion; the separate rune deck has exactly 12. The usual limit is three copies of a name, counting the Chosen Champion. Avoid treating that face-up champion as a free extra copy when checking your list. Core rules, section 103
3. Runes pay two different kinds of cost
A basic rune can exhaust for energy and recycle for power. Exhausting turns it sideways; recycling puts it on the bottom of the rune deck. You can exhaust a rune for energy, then recycle that same rune for power. Read the number and the domain symbols separately before playing a card, rather than asking only whether you have “enough runes.” Official introduction, quick-start booklet
4. A newly played unit normally enters exhausted
Do not automatically send a fresh unit charging across the table. Units enter exhausted unless an effect changes that, such as Accelerate. Ready and exhausted describe a card’s state, not whether it is alive. For your first match, use visibly different orientations instead of trying to remember which units have been used. Quick-start booklet
5. Standard movement is not free movement everywhere
A standard move exhausts the unit and normally connects base and battlefield. Ganking adds battlefield-to-battlefield movement. Standard moves require your Main Phase, outside showdowns and combat, with nothing awaiting resolution on the chain. Say the origin and destination aloud; it is easier to catch an illegal route before rearranging several cards. Core rules, section 144
6. Action and Reaction are different timing permissions
Action allows play in showdowns; Reaction also permits responses while the chain, the queue of unresolved cards and abilities, is occupied. You still need the appropriate opportunity to act. Neither keyword means you can interrupt literally anything. Before putting down a response, ask whether you are starting a play or answering one already waiting. Core rules, sections 308–313, 806 and 813
7. Assigning combat damage does not make it happen early
Combat damage is assigned, then dealt simultaneously. Allocate lethal damage before moving to another enemy, respecting effects such as Tank. Being the attacker does not let you remove a defender before its damage happens. Keep both sides’ totals visible until the whole exchange is resolved. Quick-start booklet
8. Damage does not reduce Might
Damage marked on a unit does not lower its Might. Surviving units heal during combat cleanup and at turn end. This matters when you picture what a wounded unit can still do: do not subtract damage from its combat contribution as though it were a shrinking attack statistic. Quick-start booklet
9. Conquering and holding are different scoring moments
Taking control of a battlefield and maintaining control into your turn are distinct routes to points. A battlefield is not just a place to fight: it can be something worth defending. You can score each battlefield only once per turn. Official introduction, core rules, sections 471–472
10. The last point has an extra condition
At seven points in a duel, conquering grants the final point only if you have scored every battlefield that turn; otherwise you draw a card. This restriction does not apply to points gained without conquering, including holding. Check the scoring route before announcing victory, rather than checking only the total. Core rules, sections 473–474
Keep the current rules beside the table
Treat your first game as a shared learning session. When a card appears to contradict the checklist, stop and check its wording rather than improvising a permanent house rule. The publisher’s Rules Hub links the current documents; its October update also explains how newer core rules supersede conflicting older rulings.
For a screen-based game night with friends, see our couch co-op Nintendo Switch games.