If you’re looking to get into a new TCG (Trading Card Game) and are a fan of League of Legends, then Riftbound might be for you. The game has been out for roughly four months, and since then, it’s had two major releases. The first was Origins, released alongside the game in October 2024. Now, players have Spiritforged, which was released on February 13. MonsterVine was supplied with booster packs and the Fiora and Rumble Precon Decks, and after playing around with them for a little bit, we have some thoughts on Spiritforged as a whole.
As you may have expected, the latest expansion comes with a few new keywords that change how the game can be played, but are easy to understand. For starters, there’s Repeat, as the name suggests, which allows you to repeat whatever ability is on the card. Then there’s Quick-Draw, which allows you to play the card as a Reaction; if you do, it’ll automatically attach to a unit you control. Then there’s Equip that lets you attach something to a unit, Unique, which limits you to having one copy of this in your deck, and Weaponmaster. When this is played, you can pick an equipment and attach it to a unit by reducing its cost.
Keywords aside, that’s not the only new thing that Spiritforged introduces. You may have noticed that some of these keywords imply that you can buff certain cards. This only makes sense when you realize that Spiritforged introduces three new mechanics to the game: Equipment, Gold, and Repeat.
Equipment is really straightforward. These are items you can give units to make them stronger, as long as you have the Energy to pay for them. What’s especially nice about this is that if the unit with the Equipment dies, the Equipment will stay on the field and be placed on another card. Gold is a bit different because this card lets you generate any color resource you want, letting you spend more than you would have originally. Lastly, there’s Repeat. Even though we more or less covered this, it lets you perform the same action twice as long as you repay the card’s price. Although it’s worth noting that this can only be done once, so make sure you use it wisely.
Spiritforged introduces over 200 new cards for players to mix and match with, but going over all of them would require a lot of time. But some that do definitely deserve a quick shoutout are the Fiora and Rumble Precon Decks. You may be asking yourself, ‘What are Precon Decks?’ In short, these are pre-constructed decks that are good to use right out of the box. They don’t require much thinking, and if you’re looking to just jump straight into the game, these are the ones for you.
With all of these new keywords and mechanics introduced, it only makes sense for Spiritforged to have cards that are centered around just that. The majority of the cards that I pulled appeared to be some kind of Equipment or one of the other mechanics mentioned that I can use with my deck to buff it. This was something that I enjoyed a lot. Like in other card games, I’m a huge fan of building up my units and having them stay on the battlefield longer than they should be.
With a little bit of creativity, you can do just that and have a low-end deck easily punch above its weight. Or on the flip side, you can make a card that was already stronger even more of a threat. The Gold mechanic introduced makes it a bit easier to spend those resources to buff your units. With cards like Jayce, Man of Progress, and Ornn Forge God, the gears are already turning to see what I can make.
If you missed out on Riftbound’s first set, Origins, now is a great time to jump into the hobby. Because Spiritforged’s mechanics work well with the last, it adds more layers for players to enjoy. Even if you’re not a fan of the game itself, the art alone on these cards is well worth the purchase. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve already pulled some that I fully intend to keep in my collection until the end of time. Riftbound was a game that I was already looking forward to getting into, and Spiritforged proved to be a great gateway for me to do just that, and I’m confident it’ll do the same for others who are curious about the game.
