Riftbound Game Setup and Deck Building: The Complete Starter Guide

by Riftbound Zone23 June 20265 views

A game of Riftbound is won or lost long before the opening hand: it starts at the deckbuilding table. Knowing how many cards you need, how they split across the different decks, and how to set up the board is the first step toward playing with intent instead of improvising.

This guide breaks down the deck structure, the role of the Legend and the Chosen Champion, and the correct table setup at the start of a match. If this is your very first time, start with the big picture in how to play Riftbound and then come back here.

The decks that make up your forces

Unlike many other card games, in Riftbound you don't bring a single deck to the table but a small set of separate components, each with a specific job.

• Main Deck: the primary deck of 40 cards, made up of Units, Spells and Gear. This is the one you draw from during the game.
• Rune Deck: a separate 12-card deck that fuels your economy. It is never shuffled into the Main Deck: it lives face-down in its own zone. To learn how to use it, read the rune, energy and power system.
• Battlefields: a set of 3 cards representing the locations you fight over. They are the terrain where you score points.
• Sideboard: 8 optional cards used between games of a match to tune your list against the opponent (more in the side deck).

Legend and Chosen Champion: the deck's identity

Two cards define who you are and what you can play, and they are worth not confusing.

The Legend

The Legend is a card that stays outside the Main Deck and remains face-up for the entire game, visible to both players. It is the identity core of the deck: it sets your color and imposes a fundamental constraint. You may only include in your Main Deck cards that match your Legend's color. This restriction is what shapes the whole list, as explained in deck identity.

The Chosen Champion

The Chosen Champion, by contrast, is a card included among the 40 cards of the Main Deck and must share the same name as your Legend. In practice the Legend and the Chosen Champion are two faces of the same character: the Legend fixes the identity at the edge of the board, while the Chosen Champion is the version you can actually deploy in play.

Table layout and initial setup

Once the deck is legal, the setup phase follows an ordered sequence that both players carry out in parallel.

• Place the Rune Deck face-down in its dedicated zone.
• Put the Legend face-up and the Chosen Champion face-up in their respective spots.
• Each player picks 1 Battlefield and places it face-down in the center; the two Battlefields are revealed only after both players have chosen, so neither can copy the other. The logic behind the choice is covered in choosing your battlefield.
• Shuffle the remaining 39 cards of the Main Deck face-down; your opponent may cut the deck.

To decide who plays first, just use a coin flip, a die, or a simple agreement between players.

The opening hand and the mulligan

At this point each player draws 4 cards. If the hand isn't convincing, you get a mulligan: you may put up to 2 cards on the bottom of the Main Deck (recycle) and draw that many fresh ones. It isn't a full reshuffle, so use it thoughtfully: you'll find the criteria for when to keep and when to swap in the mulligan guide.

Summary

To play you need a 40-card Main Deck (with the Chosen Champion inside it), a separate 12-card Rune Deck, 3 Battlefields, a face-up Legend that fixes your color and identity, and an optional 8-card Sideboard. Lay out runes, Legend and champion, choose your battlefield face-down, shuffle the remaining 39 cards, draw 4 and consider the mulligan. Continue with the structure of the turn to see how a game actually unfolds, or review the whole picture in how to play Riftbound.

Next stepCombat and Showdown in Riftbound: How It Works (Full Guide)→