April Merch Store Updates

Exciting updates about what’s coming with Unleashed’s Merch Store drawings.
Announcements

Next Monday the first drawing for Unleashed opens for the Riot Merch Store. Let’s dive in!

TL;DR:

What’s new for Unleashed:

  • Expanded security. Continuing our efforts to thwart and identify bots and scalpers.
  • Registering is all on one page. Updating the sign-up experience for multiple items as checkboxes on a single page rather than requiring players to visit multiple pages.
  • Two drawings for Booster sets. Starting with Unleashed, there will be two drawings for each Riftbound booster set. One prior to the set’s release, and one afterwards.

And new for the second Unleashed drawing:

  • Riftbound Catch-Up Moment. We’re making this second drawing window a ‘Catch-Up’ moment for players by adding Origins Boosters, Spiritforged Boosters, and Proving Grounds to the drawing.
  • Testing the Catch-Up Drawing System. We’re trying a modified drawing system that helps get cards into the hands of players who haven’t been selected for a drawing.

Unleashed’s Drawing Details

As noted above, starting with Unleashed there will be two Merch store drawing windows per set, with one preorder window before the set’s launch and one after. Players will need to enter both drawings, entering the first drawing does not automatically register you for the second drawing window.

First Drawing

  • Mon. April 13 at 9:00 AM Pacific - Drawing opens
  • Wed. April 15 at 9:00 AM Pacific - Drawing closes
  • Mon. April 20 - Emails begin going out

The first drawing will only be for Unleashed products: Boosters, Champion Decks, and the Unleashed Vault.

Second Drawing

  • Mon. May 18 at 9:00 AM Pacific - Drawing opens
  • Wed. May 20 at 9:00 AM Pacific - Drawing closes
  • Tue. May 26 - Emails begin going out (Monday is Memorial Day in the US.)

For the second drawing we’re making it a ‘Catch-Up’ moment for players by including more than just Unleashed boosters. This drawing will also have booster boxes for Origins and Spiritforged, as well as Proving Grounds, though these will not be at the same quantities as Unleashed. All purchased items will be bundled and shipped together to minimize shipping costs to players.

Introducing our 'Catch-Up' Drawing Structure

TL;DR: This new experimental drawing structure uses two pools of products, one for everyone, and a smaller secondary pool for players who meet specific criteria. Players who are eligible for the smaller ‘Catch-Up’ pool are still able to be drawn from the main pool of products as well.

Unleashed’s ‘Catch-Up’ moment for players is a great opportunity for us to experiment with a new drawing system that divides the drawing into two pools of product: the primary pool that everyone is eligible for and the ‘Catch-Up’ pool which is a secondary smaller pool that is meant to get cards into the hands of players who have not yet been selected in a drawing.

The changes for this are largely on our side and not the player’s. Players still only enter the drawing once with the only change they’ll see being a new checkbox confirming they understand the terms of the drawing. On our side, after players register and are verified by our security checks, we identify all players who satisfy the ‘Catch-Up’ pool’s eligibility criteria. 

To be eligible for this 'Catch-Up' pool of products, all of the following must be true for your Riot ID:

  1. You entered the Spiritforged drawing.
  2. You entered the Lunar Revel Bundle drawing.
  3. You entered the first Unleashed drawing (the one opening next week).
  4. You were not selected in any of these drawings.

If all of the above are true for you, then you’ll be eligible to be drawn from the 'Catch-Up' pool as well as the main pool of product. If one or more of the above are not true for you, you are only eligible to be drawn from the main pool. Of note, a player cannot be drawn for the same item from both pools of product.

If a player missed entering one of the above drawings, or if they were selected for one (whether the player opted to purchase or not), then that player is only eligible for products drawn from the main pool.

And remember, players cannot modify their shopping cart from what they’ve been drawn for. If a player enters the second Unleashed drawing and registers for Unleashed, Spiritforged, Origins, and Proving Grounds, and they are subsequently selected for Unleashed, Spiritforged, and Origins, then they would have to purchase all of the products they were drawn for.

As noted, this ‘Catch-Up’ drawing system is an experiment. We will see how it goes, evaluate changes or ways to improve for the future, and decide on the official name for this system. Stay tuned for future Merch Store updates!

About LGSs and the Riot Merch Store

We’ve talked a fair bit about the Riot Merch Store and we wanted to take a moment to discuss our thoughts about the Riftbound Gaming Network and our philosophy on the role the Merch Store plays.

Local game stores in the Riftbound Gaming Network are integral to Riftbound. We’ve been amazed seeing more stores join the Riftbound Gaming Network each week. We’ve already registered more than 6,000 stores in the RGN worldwide with more still awaiting review. We love seeing players around the world playing in Nexus Nights and Summoner Skirmish events.

Our vision for the Riot Merch Store as a tool in aiding the accessibility of the game for the community, providing Riftbound products to players as part of our efforts to combat scalpers and expand the availability of the game including to those who may not have a store near them. Additionally, we intend the Merch store to be a place for us to offer players non-set products such as we did earlier this year with the Lunar Revel Bundle and we’re exploring how we could provide some of these products to LGSs to sell as well.

In Closing

As we have been at every step along Riftbound’s journey, we’ll see how the Unleashed drawings go, listen to player feedback, and evaluate what improvements to make next time.

We hope today’s news has you even more excited for Riftbound’s upcoming Unleashed drawings!