Riftbound
How to Build a Riftbound Deck
A Riftbound deck has four parts: 1 Legend, a main deck of at least 40 cards, 12 runes and 3 battlefields. This guide sets out Riot's construction rules as of September 2026, gives a build order for a first deck, and shows what TurnZero HQ's Deck Lab checks.
Riftbound deck construction rules
A legal Riftbound deck has 1 Legend, a main deck of at least 40 cards including your Chosen Champion, a rune deck of exactly 12 and 3 battlefields. These are Riot's Core Rules as of September 2026; at an event, the Tournament Rules make the main deck exactly 40. Which cards are legal depends on the format, so check it with the organizer before an event.
Riot also bans cards from time to time. The Deck Lab checks against a ban list TurnZero HQ maintains, so a banned card shows up as something to fix. If a ban lands the same week as a tournament, trust Riot's announcement first. The current Riftbound ban list →
What each part does
The Legend decides what else can go in the deck. It sits apart from the other cards, shows two domain symbols in its top left corner, and names a champion in its tag. Domains work like colors in Magic: there are six (Fury, Calm, Mind, Body, Chaos and Order), and every card with a domain has to match your Legend's. Colorless cards carry no domain.
Jinx, Loose Cannon
OGN-251/298
The Legend: Fury and Chaos, with the Jinx tag.
Jinx, Demolitionist
OGN-030/298
A Fury champion unit with the Jinx tag, so it can be this deck's Chosen Champion.
Mystic Poro
OGN-171/298
A Chaos unit, which matches the Legend's other domain.
The main deck is the 40 or more cards you draw from: units, spells and gear, plus your Chosen Champion, which starts the game set aside so it's available from your first turn. The rune deck is separate, and you channel 2 runes from it each turn to pay for cards. The battlefields are where points come from, though a 1v1 game puts only one of yours on the table. If scoring is new to you, see how to play Riftbound and the score tracker page.
A card's domain, costs and type are all printed on its face. If you can't yet read them at a glance, start with how to read a Riftbound card.
How to build a Riftbound deck, step by step
For a first deck, start with the Legend, because it limits every other choice.
1. Pick a Legend
The Legend decides which two domains you can play and which champion your deck is built around. Read its ability first, because the rest of the deck should give it something to do.
2. Choose your Chosen Champion
Pick a champion unit whose tag matches your Legend. It starts the game in its own zone, so you can play it without drawing it, and it counts toward your 40.
3. Fill the main deck toward 40
Add units, spells and gear from your Legend's domains. Take 3 copies of the cards your plan depends on and 1 or 2 of the rest. Remember that extra copies of your Chosen Champion count toward its limit of 3.
4. Check the cost spread
You channel 2 runes a turn, so count how many cards you can play on your first two or three turns and how many need a big board of runes. A deck full of expensive cards does nothing early, and a deck of only cheap ones can run out of cards to play.
5. Choose 12 runes
Your 12 runes all come from your Legend's two domains. Split them roughly in proportion to the Power costs in your main deck, because Power in a domain normally comes from recycling a rune of that domain.
6. Pick 3 battlefields
Choose three with different names. In a casual 1v1 game one of them is picked at random, so each should be one you're happy to play on. Battlefields carry their own effects, such as Targon's Peak, which readies up to 2 runes at the end of the turn for whoever conquers it, so pick ones that help your plan more than your opponent's.
Stay close to 40 main deck cards. Each card past the minimum makes you a little less likely to draw the ones your plan needs, so add a 41st only when you have a specific reason for it.
Building it in the Riftbound Deck Lab
The Deck Lab is where TurnZero HQ builds and checks a Riftbound deck. Start a new deck, name it, and either begin empty or paste a decklist. The deck is laid out in the same parts as the rules: Legend, Chosen Champion, main, runes and battlefields. Search for a card and add it, and the Lab files it in the right section. Your edits stay in a draft until you save.
Add your champion units to the main deck, and the Chosen Champion section lists the ones that match your Legend. Tap Choose on the one that starts in your Champion Zone. A copy moves out of the main deck into the section, so your card count doesn't change, and Change puts it back if you want a different one. Two printings of the same champion share a name, so each choice also shows its printed code, such as OGN-030/298. A decklist pasted with a Champion: heading fills the section for you.
The Chosen Champion counts toward your 40 cards, its copy limit of 3, the template and the curve, but not the opening hand, since it starts the game set aside. It's also your deck's picture: on your deck list, and behind your score when you play the deck with the score tracker.
The header carries the verdict on every screen: how many cards you have of the deck size, whether the rules say Legal or Not legal, and the chance of a good opening hand. Tap any of them to see the reason. Under Worth fixing you get the plain list of what to change, such as a missing champion unit, a fourth copy of a card, or a card outside your Legend's domains.
Deck advice and suggestions are Magic only today. The Riftbound Lab checks and measures your deck, but it doesn't suggest cards or rate the deck.
Getting a deck tournament ready in the Deck Lab
The top of a Riftbound deck in the Lab is a Legal or Not legal badge, checked against the format you pick: Standard, 2v2, Sealed or Draft. Standard and 2v2 use the constructed rules on this page and their own ban lists. Sealed and Draft lift the copy limit, because you build from a pool, and the Lab checks both against a main deck of at least 20 cards. That is Riot's Draft minimum; Riot's Sealed minimum is 25, so count a Sealed deck yourself. Under the badge, the Lab lists every rule the deck breaks and how many of its cards you don't own yet.
Copy tournament list puts the saved deck on your clipboard as text, in the order Legend, Champion, Main Deck, Sideboard, Runes and Battlefields, ready for an event's registration form. It only works once the deck is legal, so you can't hand in a list the Lab already knows is wrong.
The sideboard
Every Riftbound deck has a Sideboard section after the main deck, counted against its limit of 10. To side moves one copy of a main deck card there, and To main brings one back, so you can try a swap without retyping either card. The copy limit counts the main deck, your Chosen Champion and the sideboard together, and a sideboard card still has to fit your Legend's domains.
Rune odds by turn
Under the Curve tab, Rune odds works out the chance that you have channeled at least 1, 2 or 3 runes of each domain by each of your first six turns, going first or going second. Going first you channel 2 runes a turn; going second you channel 3 on your first turn. Below the table, every card with a Power cost gets the chance its Power is there on the turn that matches its Energy cost, and anything under 50% is flagged. It counts only the runes in your rune deck, so cards that channel extra runes and Legend abilities aren't part of the figure.
The opening hand and mulligan
The Opening hand tab shows the chance a hand of 4 has a cheap unit and a spell, then deals a sample hand you can play out with Riftbound's own mulligan: tap up to 2 cards to set aside, draw that many, and the set-aside cards go to the bottom of the deck. Your Chosen Champion is never in the draw, because it starts in the Champion Zone.
Matchup notes
The Matchups tab holds your own plan for the deck, and only you see it. The battlefield plan has a going-first and a going-second note. Then add an opposing Legend and write what to bring in from the sideboard, what to take out of the main deck, and anything else you want to remember for that matchup. The Lab warns you when the numbers in and out don't match.
These are notes, not results. To see how the deck has actually done, track or log your games and open your Riftbound stats.
What the Lab checks and measures
The templates are starting points you can change. Balanced is the recommended one, and you can retune any target or pick Custom. A card mix outside a band shows as a warning in Worth fixing, and it never makes a deck illegal.
Bringing your cards and publishing
The collection reading uses your Riftbound collection in TurnZero HQ, so a deck shows what you already own. If your cards aren't in yet, the Riftbound collection tracker covers scanning, typed lookup and CSV import, and the import and export page covers moving lists in and out. In the Add panel, Owned only narrows a card search to what you hold.
To bring a deck you built elsewhere, start a new deck and paste it. The Lab reads a text list with Legend, Champion, Main Deck, Sideboard, Runes and Battlefields headings and lines like 3 Card Name or a printed code such as OGN-030, and it reads a Piltover Archive deck code pasted whole.
Publishing is opt-in. From the deck's menu you can publish it to the Riftbound deck gallery, which is its own listing, separate from Magic decks. You can also copy the decklist as text. When you play it, the Riftbound score tracker keeps each player's points. How to use TurnZero HQ for Riftbound →
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards are in a Riftbound deck?
The main deck is at least 40 cards, and your Chosen Champion counts toward them. Alongside it you bring 1 Legend, a rune deck of exactly 12, and 3 battlefields.
How many copies of a card can you play in Riftbound?
Up to 3 copies of a card by name, including your Chosen Champion, and no more than 3 Signature cards in total. Printings of the same card count together, so an alternate art and a regular copy share the limit.
What is a Legend in Riftbound?
The Legend sits outside the main deck and sets your deck's domains and champion. Every card with a domain has to fit it: a card with one domain needs that domain on your Legend, and a card with two needs both. Runes follow the same rule.
Do I need a champion unit in my Riftbound deck?
Yes. Your Chosen Champion is a champion unit whose tag matches your Legend's, and it counts as part of the main deck. It starts the game in its own zone rather than in your deck. The Deck Lab flags a deck without one under Worth fixing, and if your deck has a matching champion unit but you haven't said which one starts in the Champion Zone, it asks you to pick.
Is there a free Riftbound deck builder?
Yes. The Riftbound Deck Lab in TurnZero HQ is free with an account on iPhone, Android and the web. It checks a deck against the rules on this page, shows how it is built, and lets you publish it to the Riftbound deck gallery.
Can I import a Riftbound decklist into TurnZero HQ?
Yes. In the new-deck form, paste a list of lines like 3 Card Name under Legend, Champion, Main Deck, Sideboard, Runes and Battlefields headings. Printed card codes such as OGN-030 work too, and so does a Piltover Archive deck code pasted whole.
How do I check if my Riftbound deck is tournament legal?
Open it in the Deck Lab. A Legal or Not legal badge sits at the top, checked against the format you pick (Standard, 2v2, Sealed or Draft), with every problem listed under it. Copy tournament list works once the saved deck is legal and gives you the list in section order, sideboard included. Riot's ban list for the event's date is the final word, so check it if a ban was just announced.
Does the Deck Lab have a sideboard for Riftbound?
Yes. Every Riftbound deck has a sideboard section of up to 10 cards. To side and To main move one copy at a time between it and the main deck, and the copy limit counts both together.
Does TurnZero HQ suggest cards for a Riftbound deck?
No. Deck advice and suggestions are Magic only today. For Riftbound the Deck Lab checks the rules and measures the deck, and the choices stay yours.
Build your Riftbound deck in TurnZero HQ
The Deck Lab checks your deck against Riot's construction rules, keeps a sideboard, works out your rune odds and can copy the tournament list. Free to start.
Create Free AccountTurnZero was created under Riot Games' "Legal Jibber Jabber" policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project. Card data comes from Riot Games' official Riftbound card gallery, and prices from TCGplayer via TCGCSV.