Riftbound
What Is a Riftbound Pre-Rift? How to Get Ready
A Pre-Rift is Riftbound's prerelease, and the Radiance Pre-Rifts run October 16 to 22, 2026. Here is what's in the kit, the Sealed rules, how to build a deck in the time you get, and what to bring, from Riot's own rules and Pre-Rift guide as of October 15, 2026.
What a Pre-Rift is
A Pre-Rift is Riftbound's prerelease. Local game stores run it the week before a new set comes out, and everyone plays the new cards before they're on sale. You get a kit of the new set, build a Sealed deck from it at the store, and play a few rounds against other players doing the same thing. Nobody brings a deck, so a bigger collection gives no one an advantage.
The Radiance Pre-Rifts start Friday, October 16, 2026 and run through October 22. Radiance itself releases October 23. Each store picks its own days and times within that week, so find yours on Riot's event search at playriftbound.com/events and filter by event type. Riot classes Pre-Rifts as casual events, which makes them a good first event if you're new to the game.
What's in the Radiance Pre-Rift kit
Each kit has five Radiance booster packs and one champion pack. The champion pack is built around one of the set's nine new Legends: Riot says it holds that Legend, a Rare Champion, a battlefield and support cards for that champion. UVS Games' retailer guide describes it as a 15-card mini-preconstructed deck.
| Legend | Domains | What Riot says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ekko | Fury and Mind | Time manipulation: cheating out strong units early |
| Evelynn | Body and Chaos | Hidden cards that ambush your opponent |
| Jarvan IV | Body and Order | Deploy: getting units into fights, even from an empty base |
| K'Sante | Calm and Body | Defense that turns into offense |
| Mordekaiser | Fury and Order | Banishing your own gear and units to play more for less |
| Orianna | Calm and Mind | Turning gear into units |
| Riven | Calm and Chaos | Fast movement, with units that enter ready |
| Seraphine | Mind and Order | Exhausting followers to cast expensive spells |
| Ziggs | Fury and Chaos | Board control and making attacks costly |
Signing up for a store's Pre-Rift also earns Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor while supplies last. That promo can't go in your Sealed deck. If you open a regular Heimerdinger in one of your packs, that copy is part of your pool and you can play it.
Riven, The Exile
RAD-149/167
Riven, The Exile: one of the nine Pre-Rift Legends. Units you play to battlefields you control enter ready.
Jarvan IV, Exemplar of Demacia
RAD-155/167
Jarvan IV, Exemplar of Demacia: the Legend Riot ties to Deploy.
Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor
RAD-132/167
Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor: the sign-up promo isn't playable, but this copy from a pack is.
Everything you open is yours to keep. For the rest of the set, see the Radiance set guide.
How a Pre-Rift runs
You register for the event on playriftbound.com with your Riot ID, check in at the store, and get your kit. Riot's Tournament Rules recommend 30 minutes to build a Sealed deck and allow up to 45 at a Pre-Rift, where everyone is seeing the cards for the first time. Then come the rounds, paired on the site, with pairings and results on your phone. Riot recommends 60 minutes for a Swiss round.
The rest is up to the store: the entry fee, how many rounds, whether a round is one game or best of three, and any prizes for winning. Riot publishes none of these, so read the event listing. Because a Pre-Rift is a casual event, you don't have to register your deck, and you can change it between games and between rounds.
The Sealed deck rules
Sealed changes the deck-building rules you know from Constructed. The main deck drops to 25 cards, the copy limit goes away, and the Legend becomes optional. Everything else in the normal deck-building rules still applies. This is the Sealed section of Riot's Tournament Rules, last updated October 9, 2026.
| Rule | Sealed | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Main deck | At least 25 cards | No maximum. Constructed asks for 40 |
| Domains | Any three | Or any one plus your Legend's two. Runes and cards must fit them |
| Legend | Optional | Play one only if both its domains are in your three |
| Chosen Champion | Optional, any Champion Unit in your domains | It doesn't have to match your Legend |
| No Legend or Champion | Draw 1 extra card | At the start of your first Beginning Phase, each game. Missing both still draws only 1 |
| Copies | No limit | Play every copy you opened. Unique doesn't apply |
| Signature spells | Allowed if both domains are yours | Even without that champion in the deck |
| Rune Deck | Exactly 12 | Basic runes from any source, in your domains. The store supplies them |
| Battlefields | Opened ones or blanks | A facedown card works as a blank battlefield with no text |
| Sideboard | Everything else in your pool | At a Pre-Rift you can change the deck between games |
Only cards from your kit count. You can't add cards from your collection, and a card banned in Constructed is still legal in Sealed. The one exception to "only your kit" is runes: the store supplies basic runes, and you can use any you need as long as they match your domains.
The domain rule is the one to read twice. If you play your Legend, its two domains are two of your three, so you get one more domain of your choice. If you skip the Legend, you can pick any three. A two-domain signature spell needs both of its domains in your three. Riot's rules hub →
How to build your Sealed deck
Start with your champion pack. Its Legend, Rare Champion and support cards were picked to work together, so its two domains are the natural core of the deck. Then sort the five boosters by domain and see which third domain gives you the most playable units. If the champion pack's domains are thin in your boosters, you can drop the Legend and build from any three domains; you draw one extra card each game to make up for it.
Riot's own advice for the Radiance Pre-Rift is about units. Play at least 15, because units are how you take and hold battlefields, and battlefields are how you score. Around five of them should cost 2 Energy so you have plays early, with the rest spread across higher costs. Add gear and spells that give Might, and keep every spell that removes an opposing unit.
Watch your Power costs against your runes. Your 12 runes are split across your domains, so the more domains and the more Power-hungry cards you play, the more often you'll recycle runes to pay for them. Two domains with a light third is easier to cast than an even three-way split.
Learn Radiance's three new keywords before you sit down. Deploy cards can only be played to a battlefield, and if an opponent holds that battlefield, the Deploy card dies. Disarm gives an enemy unit at the same battlefield -1 Might for the turn when your unit attacks. Show Off lets you reveal a card from your hand or pick another friendly card as you play the unit. Riot's guide to the Radiance Pre-Rift →
What to bring to a Pre-Rift
The kit supplies the cards and the store supplies runes, so the list is short.
Your phone, signed in to playriftbound.com with your Riot ID. You register, see pairings and report results there. A League of Legends account works, with no account linking.
Sleeves, if you play with them. Bring enough for your deck plus a few sideboard swaps, and one spare to hold a blank battlefield.
Something to mark tokens. Riot says tokens can be anything handy: dice, coins or spare cards.
A way to keep score. A pen and paper works, or a score tracker on your phone.
The entry fee. Each store sets its own, so check the listing.
Before you go
If you've never played, learn the turn structure first. How to play Riftbound covers a turn from start to finish, and how scoring works explains conquering and holding battlefields. Pre-Rifts are friendly places to learn, but knowing the basics leaves your deck-building time for the new cards.
If you have played, read Radiance's cards ahead of time in the Radiance set guide, especially the nine Legends, so you can judge your champion pack quickly when you open it.
At the table, TurnZero HQ's Riftbound score tracker keeps both players' points by battlefield, and the match log groups your rounds under one Pre-Rift event with Sealed as the format, so you have a record of how the deck did. Both come with a free account.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Pre-Rift in Riftbound?
A Pre-Rift is Riftbound's prerelease: a casual Sealed event at local game stores the week before a new set comes out. Every player gets a kit of the new set, builds a deck from it on the spot and plays a few rounds. Radiance Pre-Rifts run October 16 to 22, 2026, before the set releases October 23.
What is in a Radiance Pre-Rift kit?
Five Radiance booster packs and a champion pack built around one of the set's nine new Legends, with that Legend, a Rare Champion, a battlefield and support cards. UVS Games' retailer guide describes the champion pack as a 15-card mini deck. Signing up also earns a Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor promo while supplies last.
How many cards is a Riftbound Sealed deck?
At least 25 cards in the main deck, with no maximum, plus a Rune Deck of exactly 12 runes. You can use up to three domains, any number of copies of a card you opened, and a Legend and Chosen Champion only if you want them.
Can I play the Heimerdinger promo in my Pre-Rift deck?
No. Riot says the Heimerdinger, Academy Instructor promo from signing up can't go in your Sealed deck. A Heimerdinger you open in one of your Radiance packs is part of your pool and can be played.
Do I need to bring runes to a Pre-Rift?
No. Riot says the organizer supplies runes, and the rules let you use basic runes from any source, so you aren't limited to the ones in your packs. Bringing your own set of basic runes does no harm if you have them.
Do I keep the cards from a Pre-Rift?
Yes. The packs you open at a Pre-Rift are yours to keep, and so is the sign-up promo. Prizes for winning rounds, if the store gives any, are up to the store.
Keep your Pre-Rift record.
Score every round at the table and log your Sealed deck's results on TurnZero HQ. 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.