Radiance is the fifth Riftbound set and the first one to arrive after the game turned a year old. Riot publishes an overview article for each set and updates it as the preview season runs, which makes this set unusually well documented in advance: the mechanics, the pack contents and even the appearance rate of the set’s top rarity are stated by the publisher before release.
This page collects what the publisher has confirmed, and marks the places where it has confirmed nothing yet. That second half matters as much as the first: the overview states explicitly that some details are still to be revealed, and a page that filled those gaps would be inventing rather than reporting.
Quick answer
Radiance releases on 23 October 2026 in English, French and Chinese. It adds three mechanics — Deploy, Show Off and Disarm — a new kind of Unit, a new token, and the game’s second Ultimate Rare, which Riot states is significantly harder to find than the first. The Riftbound card index covers the game’s card types and domains; this page covers the set.
The dates, as published
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Preview season begins | 25 September 2026 |
| Preview season ends | 9 October 2026 |
| Pre-Rift events (early play) | 16 to 22 October 2026 |
| Release | 23 October 2026 |
| Languages released | English, French and Chinese |
Two of those dates are worth separating. The preview season is when the cards become public, and the Pre-Rift window is when they become playable in shops, a week before general sale. Riot states that the overview article itself will be updated a further time during the preview season, which is why a detail not present on this page may still be published later.
The three new mechanics
Each set in this game has tended to introduce a small number of keywords rather than a new rule set, and Radiance follows that pattern. The three below are quoted from the publisher’s own descriptions.
| Mechanic | What the publisher says it does |
|---|---|
| Deploy | Plays a Gear card to a Battlefield rather than to the usual place, where it grants benefits while it is there. If an opponent takes that Battlefield, the Gear is killed |
| Show Off | Reveals a qualifying card from hand or from the board in order to unlock an additional effect of the card being played |
| Disarm | Reduces the Might of an enemy Unit as you attack. The publisher describes it as similar to Assault, with each instance making the reduction stronger |
The common thread is that all three reward a player for having something already in play or in hand. Deploy makes a Battlefield worth holding for its own sake rather than only for what it scores, Show Off makes a second card part of the first card’s effect, and Disarm makes the order of an attack matter. None of them changes how a game is won, which remains control of Battlefields.
New card types and tokens
Radiance also adds to the game’s vocabulary of card types, in a way the publisher says builds on an earlier set rather than starting from nothing.
- Equipment Units. Gear Units first appeared in Vendetta with a single card, and Radiance extends the idea: with the set’s Orianna Legend effect, equipment can become a Unit. The publisher notes the consequence plainly — when an Equipment becomes a Unit it is automatically unequipped.
- Bomb tokens. A new token type, described by the publisher as small gifts to leave an opponent, which grow in effect the more of them are played.
- Alternate art Runes. The set includes Runes with new art, which is a cosmetic addition rather than a mechanical one, since Runes remain a separate deck.
The deck itself is unchanged in shape. A deck is still built around a Legend, still uses a separate Rune deck, and is still won by holding Battlefields, and Legends, Units, Spells, Gear and Runes sets that out.
What is in a Radiance pack
The publisher states the exact slot structure of a Radiance pack, which is worth having in one place because it is the clearest statement of how rarity is distributed in this game.
| Slot | What it can hold |
|---|---|
| Seven common slots | Common |
| Three uncommon slots | Uncommon |
| One foil slot | Common, Uncommon, Rare or Epic |
| One rare slot | Rare or Epic |
| One premium slot | Rare, Epic, alternate art, Special alternate art, Overnumbered or Ultimate Rare |
| One rune slot | A token, a Rune or an alternate art Rune |
| One informational insert | Not a playable card |
Fourteen cards in total, and the structure is worth reading as a statement about where chase cards sit: everything above Rare is concentrated into a single premium slot, which means the same slot can produce a modest premium card or the set’s top rarity. What is in a Riftbound pack covers how the slots compare across sets.
The Ultimate Rare
Radiance carries the game’s second Ultimate Rare, and the publisher has been unusually specific about it, including about having got the first one wrong.
| Detail | As published |
|---|---|
| Which set introduced Ultimate Rare | Unleashed, the third set |
| How many Radiance carries | One, the game’s second |
| How the publisher describes its rarity | Significantly harder to find than the one in Unleashed |
| Published appearance rate | About 0.025% of booster packs, averaged across the whole print run |
| Per-pack limit | At most one Ultimate Rare in a pack |
Two sentences in the publisher’s own text carry the weight here. The first is that finding the Unleashed Ultimate Rare, while exciting, was not as rare as the publisher wanted it to be, which is why this one is being made harder. The second is that no pack, box or case is stated to contain one, and that the stated rate is an average across the print run rather than a promise about any particular product. Radiance’s Ultimate Rare is also the game’s first showcase Battlefield rather than a Unit or a Champion.
Overnumbers and signatures
The set’s second tier of premium treatment is the Overnumbered card, whose card number runs past the total number of cards in the set. Radiance applies it more broadly than has been usual.
| Treatment | What the publisher says about it |
|---|---|
| Overnumbered Legends | All nine new Legends in the set have Overnumbered variants |
| Signature variants | Some of those Overnumbered cards also carry an artist’s signature |
| Heartsteel Overnumbers | A themed group of Overnumbered cards for the set |
| Special cards | A themed group of Special cards, as introduced in Vendetta |
| Special alternate art frequency | Stated to appear at roughly the same frequency as ordinary alternate art cards |
The signature variant is the detail worth pausing on. A signatures card is not a different rarity step but a different finish on top of one, which means two copies of the same Overnumbered card can be different objects. That is the same distinction that runs through every card game on this site, and it is the reason the Riftbound sets so far tracks treatments rather than only sets.
The products around the set
Radiance is released with the products the line has carried since the first set, and the publisher has named the contents of several of them.
- Showdown Decks. Two preconstructed decks released with the set, built around Seraphine and Evelynn, and pitched against each other as a contrast in style rather than as a mirror match.
- Pre-Rift Kits. Boxes containing five Radiance boosters and a seeded Pre-Rift pack for each of the nine new Legends in the set.
- The Vault. Returns with a storage box, six Radiance booster packs, foil tokens and a set of thirty-six Runes.
- Pre-Rift promo. A promo card given out at Pre-Rift events while supplies last, which the publisher names as Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor.
What this page does not claim
No prices. The publisher has not yet revealed everything about this set, and the gaps are left as gaps here rather than filled: the full decklists for both Showdown Decks, the Champion Options, the Battlefields and the Rune pools are all stated by Riot to be revealed on 16 October, and the list of Nexus Night promo cards is stated to follow. The publisher says the overview article will be updated again during the preview season, so a reader should check it before relying on a detail here. Where the publisher has not stated something, this page says nothing about it rather than estimating it.
Frequently asked questions
When does Riftbound Radiance release?
23 October 2026, in English, French and Chinese. The preview season runs from 25 September to 9 October, and Pre-Rift events where the set can be played early run from 16 to 22 October.
What are the new mechanics in Radiance?
Deploy, Show Off and Disarm. Deploy plays a Gear card to a Battlefield where it grants benefits; Show Off reveals a qualifying card to unlock an extra effect; Disarm reduces the Might of an enemy Unit as you attack.
What is the Ultimate Rare in Radiance?
The game’s second Ultimate Rare, and Riot states it is significantly harder to find than the one introduced in Unleashed. It is also the game’s first showcase Battlefield to carry that rarity.
How rare is an Ultimate Rare?
Riot states that across the entire Radiance print run one appears in approximately 0.025% of booster packs, that a pack can hold at most one, and that no pack, box or case is stated to contain one. The stated rate is an average across the print run rather than a promise.
What is an Overnumbered card?
A card whose number runs past the total number of cards in the set. In Radiance all nine new Legends have Overnumbered variants, some of which also carry an artist’s signature, making the signature a finish on top of a treatment rather than a rarity step of its own.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- Riot Games — the official Riftbound announcement “The Radiance Overview”, last updated 5 October 2026: the key dates, the three new mechanics, the Equipment Unit and Bomb token, the booster pack slot structure, the Ultimate Rare details and appearance rate, the Showcase and Overnumbered treatments, and the product round-up reproduced on this page.
- Riot Games — the official Riftbound product pages, which state the contents of a booster pack and a booster box and the language releases.
- Riot Games — the official Riftbound rules pages, which define the Legends, the Rune deck and the Battlefields referred to above.
- This page was compiled 2026-10-06. The publisher states that its overview article will be updated again during the preview season, and that details still to be revealed include the Showdown Deck decklists, the Champion Options and the Nexus Night promo list.
Related reading
- The Riftbound card index on this site
- Riftbound’s sets, from Origins to Radiance
- What is in a Riftbound pack
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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