Riftbound divides its cards into more types than most games in this section, and the division is not cosmetic: each type has a place it goes and a job it does. Knowing which type a card is tells you where it will be during a game and how long it stays there.
Quick answer
A Legend leads the deck and sets its domains. A Champion is a named character central to the deck’s plan. A Unit is played to a battlefield and fought over. A Spell is a one-shot effect. A Gear stays in play and works on its own. A Rune provides the resource needed to play cards. A Battlefield is a zone you score at the end of the turn.
Legend and Champion
The Legend is the card the deck is built around; it decides which two domains the deck may use. A Champion is one of the named League of Legends characters and sits at the centre of a deck’s plan, whether as the Legend itself or as a card the deck is built to use. Between them they are what makes one Riftbound deck different from another before a single unit is played.
Unit — the bodies on the battlefields
Units are played to battlefields and are what contests them. Because the game is scored by holding ground rather than by reducing an opponent, units are the scoring pieces: a deck’s units are chosen for where they can stand and for how long, not only for what they can attack.
Spell and Gear
A Spell resolves once and is done, which makes it the type that answers a specific situation. A Gear stays in play and works on its own, so it is an investment rather than a response. The two sit at opposite ends of the same idea: one is spent to change a moment, the other is paid for to change every moment after it.
Rune and Battlefield
Runes are the resource: they are what you need in play before the more expensive cards can be played, which makes them the least glamorous and most necessary type in the game. A Battlefield is a zone rather than a card you play from hand, and it is the thing the game is scored on. Between them they are the two types that a new player learns last and the game depends on most.
Frequently asked questions
What are the card types in Riftbound?
Legend, Champion, Unit, Spell, Gear, Rune and Battlefield. Each has a fixed role, from leading the deck to scoring the points.
What is the difference between a Unit and a Champion?
A Champion is a named League of Legends character central to the deck; a Unit is any card played to a battlefield. A Champion can be the deck’s Legend as well.
What do Runes do?
They provide the resource needed to play cards, so they are what lets the rest of the deck function.
Do Spells stay in play?
No. A Spell resolves once and is done; a Gear stays on the board and keeps working.
What is a Battlefield card?
A zone that is contested during the game and scored at the end of a turn, rather than a card played from hand like a unit.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- Riot Games — the official Riftbound rules hub, for the card types, the domains and the release schedule.
- Riot Games — the official Riftbound how-to-play pages, which set out the role of the Legend, the battlefields and the points needed to win.
- CardSpicy — the Riftbound card index, which lists the Riftbound sets and domains we track and links to the rest of the Riftbound guides.
Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.
Where to go next
- The CardSpicy card index — every card we track, with its PSA 10 population and market history (195 cards).
- The illustrator index — every artist behind those cards, card by card (110 artists).
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