How to Play Riftbound: Core Rules and Gameplay Guide

Welcome to Riftbound, the League of Legends trading card game! In this article, we’ll introduce the Riftbound Core Rules (CR), the rules that govern Riftbound play at all levels. They make up one component of the Official Rules Documents (ORD).

If you’re just learning to play Riftbound, you probably don’t need these rules just yet. We recommend starting with our How to Play article instead. If you’re already comfortable with the basic rules and want to become your local Riftbound rules expert, then read on!

Introducing the Core Rules

The Core Rules provide the precise logical underpinnings of Riftbound gameplay. This includes deckbuilding rules, timing and resolution of cards and abilities, layering of effects, and all the other fine-grained rules that define the flow of a Riftbound game in all possible configurations. These rules are always in effect at every level of play, but you should be able to play casual games of Riftbound without ever needing to consult them.

You can think of the Core Rules as the engine that drives a Riftbound game. Most people who drive a car never need to know the engine’s inner workings, but learning about them can be fun and fruitful.

The Core Rules will be updated frequently. At minimum, we’ll update them with every set release to ensure that all the new cards and their abilities function as intended. And we may update them more frequently than that, especially early on, as we work to make them ever more complete and correct.

[Download Core Rules]

Still to Come: Riftbound Tournament Rules

Our Core Rules are extensive, but not entirely comprehensive. The other major component of the Official Rules Documents is the Tournament Rules (TR), which will be released soon.

The Tournament Rules will outline event-specific modifications and additions to play procedure, including deckbuilding standards for various play formats, start-of-match procedures, and changing your deck in between games in a match using sideboards. You’ll be free to use these guidelines in casual games if you want, but they aren’t a core part of the Riftbound play experience, so they don’t appear in the Core Rules.

The Tournament Rules will also provide additional guidance for running tournaments and adjudicating issues that arise during play. We’ll share those with you when we share more about our plans for Organized Play.