Lux with heart, not with the loop: Emmie at her first Regional in Utrecht

At her very first competitive event, Emmie showed up at the Utrecht Regional Qualifier with her Lady of Luminosity: a Lux built her own way, the so-called «blue Jhin Lux», and not the infinite-loop version that, in those very days, was becoming the terror of the format. A choice made with the heart, against the grain. And despite everything, a choice that carried her all the way to Day 2.

The choiceLux, and nothing else

For Emmie, Lux isn't just any deck: she's her favorite League of Legends champion. Ever since the Unleashed set dropped, she's played her non-stop, with the declared goal of going for the tournament's «best of Lux» — the best finish among everyone fielding the Lady of Luminosity. The catch is that, in the meantime, a new version of the deck built around an infinite loop had exploded in popularity, making things harder for anyone who, like her, was attached to their own «honest» blue Jhin-style list.

It was also her first time in a competitive TCG: in the past, just a few casual games of Pokémon TCG, for fun. Even so, she decided to take the plunge and head to Utrecht as a competitor, with her heart's card in hand.

Day 1From table 12 to a dream

The start didn't look all that encouraging: assigned to table 12, with all the nerves of a debut. Then, though, things took an unexpected turn. Her first opponent didn't show up, and from there Emmie strung together a run that took her all the way to 5-0.

At that point she was about to step into the spotlight: her match against a LeBlanc player was in the running for the streamed feature match. In the end the production picked another table — that LeBlanc had already been on stream shortly before — and for Emmie it was almost a stroke of luck, since the series ended 2-0 against her. But the moment that earned Day 2 came right after: to qualify she needed one last win, and on the other side of the table sat Talion, a top-level competitor. Drawing well and finding the answer to nearly every one of his plays, Emmie won the series 2-1 and punched her ticket to the second day.

Day 2The wall is named Yi

The second day, as happens to many newcomers, was tougher. The matchup against Yi proved to be the real obstacle: every time she ran into it, the game slipped away from her. Emmie finished the tournament with a record of 7 wins, 6 losses and 273rd place overall — and, above all, as the fourth-best Lux of the entire event. For a first Regional, played moreover with the least «optimized» build among those near the top, it's anything but a trivial result.

The prizeHome with the Metal Lux

If the bracket didn't hand over the trophy, the prize wall still delivered to Emmie the most fitting reward for her: a Metal Lux, the foil/metal version of the Lady of Luminosity, taken home thanks to her boyfriend. A perfectly on-theme ending for someone who had come all this way precisely for Lux.

In her thanks, Emmie wanted to mention her boyfriend — «for all the encouragement and for making sure I always had water and snacks» — and all the opponents she crossed paths with over the weekend, described as «lovely» people. The right spirit in which to live a first Regional.

The listEmmie's blue Jhin Lux

For anyone who wants to study (or try) the «loopless» version, here's the full decklist fielded in Utrecht: Lady of Luminosity as the Legend, with the control and value package that defines blue Jhin Lux.

Want to rebuild it and test it? Open our Deck Builder and put together your own Lady of Luminosity. You'll also find the 39 lists from the Utrecht Top 32 already imported, plus the full picture of the format in the meta Tier List.

What now?Next stop, Barcelona

The RQ Utrecht — the one won by Squirtle, back-to-back champion and European repeat winner — confirmed just how varied and alive Riftbound's competitive scene is. Stories like Emmie's are the best part of it: people who play for passion, with their favorite champion, and still come away with great satisfaction. The one question she left her followers with is just this: «Should I do it all over again in Barcelona?». As far as it's concerned, the Riftbound Zone community certainly hopes so.

Source: TikTok profile of Emmie (@nexusemmie) — «Riftbound Regionals Utrecht» carousel (#RQutrech). Decklist via piltoverarchive.com. Photos and account published with the player's consent. Editing and adaptation by the Riftbound Zone editorial team.