Riftbound
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.
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. 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 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.
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.
For a first deck, start with the Legend, because it limits every other choice.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 four sections as the rules: Legend, 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.
The header carries the verdict on every screen: how many cards you have of the deck size, whether the rules say Legal or N to fix, 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.
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.
The sample hand deals an opening hand from your main deck so you can see how it feels, with Draw, Mulligan and New hand. Mulligan rules differ by game, so use it to get a feel for the deck rather than to replay Riot's mulligan exactly.
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.
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. Riftbound on TurnZero HQ →
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes. In the new-deck form, paste a list of lines like 3 Card Name under Legend, Main Deck, Runes and Battlefields headings. Printed card codes work too.
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.
The Deck Lab checks your deck against Riot's construction rules, measures its curve and domains, and can publish it to the gallery. Free to start.
Create Free AccountTurnZero HQ 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.