Giorgia Falci reveals Iridescent Avian, the Radiance owl that hands out buffs

by Riccardo Emanuele Eustor·Riftbound Zone

Second reveal in two days for Giorgia Falci: at 13:40 today the Rome-based streamer posted Iridescent Avian on Instagram, card 027/167 of Radiance. It is a unit costing 3 energy with 3 might, tagged Ixtal and Bird, with a single ability: exhaust it to buff a unit; if that unit is already buffed, it gets +2 might until end of turn instead. An authorised preview with the official image, art by Envar Studio. Giorgia calls it “the new little owl in the family” and suggests five interactions with cards already on sale: I go through them one by one below, in plain words.

The cardWhat Iridescent Avian does

The full text: “Exhaust: buff a unit. If it’s already buffed, give it +2 might this turn instead. (To buff a unit, give it a +1 might buff if it doesn’t have one.)” The flavour line is “Sweet dreams”.

Two things to get right. First: the owl does not attack to hand out the buff, it turns sideways, like a rune when you pay with it, and stays exhausted until your next turn. Second: a buff is a permanent thing, a +1 token the unit keeps until it spends it or dies, while the +2 is temporary and only lasts the current turn. So the owl does two different jobs depending on its target: a “bare” unit gets the token, an already-buffed unit gets the immediate push to win that turn’s fight.

The combosUdyr, Sett and Lee Sin: three ways to use the owl

Udyr. Udyr, Wildman is a 6-cost Origins champion that lives on buffs: he spends them to pick one of four effects, each once per turn. Deal 2 to a unit at a battlefield, stun a unit, ready Udyr, or give him Ganking for the turn. Udyr’s problem has always been finding buffs. With the owl in play you get one every turn: exhaust the Avian, Udyr takes the token, Udyr spends it. That is exactly where Giorgia starts.

Sett. Sett, Brawler (the post shows the Vendetta alternate art, same text) buffs himself when you play him or when he conquers, then spends the buff for +4 might until end of turn. The owl gives him the token back on turns when he conquers nothing, that is when Sett is sitting on defence: a 5-might Sett that becomes 9 the moment your opponent attacks.

Lee Sin. Lee Sin, Ascetic is where the owl shows its second face. Lee Sin buffs himself by exhausting and, rarely for a unit, can hold any number of buffs. If he is already buffed, the Avian does not add another token but gives +2 might right away, on top of the tokens he has stacked. Five base, plus the buffs, plus two: Giorgia says it “looks great” with Lee Sin, and the maths agrees.

The LegendLeona and the buff game

The last example is Leona, Radiant Dawn, the Origins Legend that buffs a friendly unit whenever you stun one or more enemy units. In a Leona deck buffs already flow on their own; the owl adds one on demand, and with Udyr it closes the loop: the owl buffs Udyr, Udyr spends the buff to stun, the stun triggers Leona, who buffs again. Giorgia says the Avian “can easily combo with the Legend’s mechanic”, and in my view that is the deck where this card makes the most sense today.

The verdictA card to read slowly

Giorgia is honest in the post: “I couldn’t frame this card right away; it will probably find nicer combos within Radiance.” I read it the same way. A 3-for-3 that exhausts to give someone else +1 does not win games on its own; it gets interesting when the deck has cards that spend buffs (Udyr, Sett) or stack them (Lee Sin), and Radiance, from what we have seen so far, leans hard on that axis. The “Sweet dreams” line and the Bird tag hint at a family of Ixtal birds in the set, and Giorgia, who has made owls her trademark, got both of hers entrusted to her.

One detail I repeat from Hunters’ Circle: the card is not on the official Riftbound site yet. The image is the official one, with collector number, studio and copyright printed on it, but until Riot publishes it on its own channels it stays marked as unconfirmed in our spoiler grid, like every preview that comes from creators and the community.

Source: Giorgia Falci on Instagram (@giorgia.falci), post of October 2, 2026. Images: Riot Games; game examples by Giorgia Falci.