From Vi to Jinx: The Best Riftbound Champions for Every Type of Player

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Just like in other collectible card games, each Champion in Riftbound has unique strengths, weaknesses, and ways to play – assuming you get a good hand! Riot Games intentionally created League of Legends’ card game to offer a variety of Champions that appeal to different players, skill levels, and how much unpredictability they enjoy. Some Champions are designed to help you learn the game, while others are more complex and challenging – aiming to outsmart your opponent, even if it’s a bit chaotic.

After playing Riftbound at PAX East 2026 and talking with Senior Game Designer Jon Moormann, we’ve put together a guide to the best Champions for all playstyles. Whether you’re new to the game because you enjoy Arcane, or a competitive player aiming for the top of the Summoner Skirmish rankings, we’ve got recommendations for you.

The Beginner Pick: Jinx

This game is perfect for beginners, people who love League of Legends but are new to trading card games, or anyone who simply wants a fun and easy card game experience.

If you want to introduce someone to the card game Riftbound, Jinx is a great choice. Since the game’s first set, she’s been the most recommended champion because her main ability is easy to understand and really fun to use – it creates a satisfying chain of events that players enjoy.

Jinx helps you draw extra cards if you have a small hand – specifically, one card or less. It’s a very straightforward ability. The main strategy with Jinx is to play all the cards in your hand as quickly as possible. This deck encourages active play and doesn’t leave you wondering what to do next; the best move is usually to keep playing cards.

As you become more familiar with Jinx, you’ll discover that a key part of her strategy revolves around discarding cards. Many of her supporting cards let you discard from your hand to create powerful effects, such as stronger spells and units that enter the battlefield with advantages. The game actually encourages you to empty your hand, and there are several interesting ways to do so with the cards built around her.

“It goes very fast,” Moormann told me. “And she’s a very good way to learn how Riftbound works.”

Shop More Riftbound TCG on Amazon and Start building out your own deck!

The Competitive Entry Point: Vi

This game is ideal for players who enjoy strategic thinking and dramatic, impactful plays. It’s also a great fit for those familiar with card games like Hearthstone or the Pokémon Trading Card Game and want a more challenging experience.

Vi is where Riftbound really gets exciting. I got to try her deck in the Unleashed demo, and it focuses on making your units incredibly strong and easily defeating enemies. While winning fights is satisfying, the real fun of playing Vi comes from winning so convincingly that your abilities combine for a spectacular, game-ending turn.

The Unleashed expansion gives Vi players powerful new abilities. The Arena Kingpin enters the battlefield immediately ready to use, and boosts the power of other units by +3. Combining this with a strong unit can let you quickly defeat enemies that seemed secure just the turn before. The Trapping Grounds battlefield also works well with Vi’s strategy, creating Bird tokens whenever you deal a lot of extra damage – something Vi is designed to do.

Vi is a champion who gets easier to play as you learn the right timing. Success with Vi means knowing when to strike, when to defend and strengthen your position, and predicting your opponent’s energy levels before acting. She requires constant awareness of the game state, but rewards players who plan a step or two ahead. While reckless play won’t work well with Vi, even losses can be valuable learning experiences for your next game.

The Puzzle Box: Vex

This strategy is ideal for players who like to be in control, disrupt their opponent’s plans, and generally make it difficult for them to play effectively.

Playing Vex felt surprisingly complex – I almost needed a guide to keep track of everything! It’s a control-focused deck where you disable your opponent’s creatures to prevent attacks, defend your own base, and slowly accumulate points while they’re left confused and unable to respond.

Her most iconic ability, “Shadow,” calls upon her only friend as a powerful ally that instantly stuns an enemy. Her other skills work similarly: “Existential Dread” stuns a unit without costing any resources, and “Skyward Strike” can be used to both reposition an enemy and stun multiple targets, causing widespread chaos. During our game at PAX East, Moormann cleverly split the effects of “Skyward Strike” to start two battles at once, completely overwhelming me on both sides.

The real reward of playing Vex is disrupting your opponent’s strategy with well-timed stuns – I even lost a game to Moormann because of it, when I was just one turn from winning! It does require careful planning and tracking of many elements, like spell timings and when your stuns will be effective. Vex isn’t easy to pick up, but she’s incredibly rewarding once you get the hang of her.

The Set-Defining Newcomer: Ivern (Unleashed)

Okay, let me tell you who’s going to love this. If you’re the kind of player who prioritizes a really satisfying gameplay experience and building a deck around a cool concept, this is definitely for you. And if you’re a League of Legends player, especially if you usually play support or jungle, you’ll feel right at home – it really captures that feel!

Ivern is essentially the unofficial mascot of the Unleashed set, and it’s all thanks to Moormann. He’s a dedicated Ivern player, and when the team decided on a jungle theme for Set 3, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to feature his favorite champion. He believed this was Ivern’s moment to shine.

Designing a deck for Ivern was tricky, honestly. In League of Legends, he’s all about being peaceful and avoiding fights, which doesn’t really mesh with a card game where you’re supposed to battle! So the team took a different approach and asked who Ivern is as a person. He’s this big, friendly guy who’s friends with every animal in the forest, and that became the whole idea behind his Riftbound deck. Instead of fighting directly, my deck is all about collecting a whole bunch of cute pets – dogs, cats, birds, even little burrowing creatures – and getting them to work together. It’s super cozy, really fits his personality, and from what I’ve heard, it’s a blast to play!

Ivern might not be the strongest champion, but if you enjoy winning by summoning a whole team of forest critters, he’s the perfect choice for you.

The Jungles of Runeterra Are Calling

Riftbound is a really well-designed game that’s both challenging for experienced players and welcoming to newcomers. Jinx is a great introduction, with Vi and Vex offering more depth. Ivern shows that sometimes the best part of a card game is simply enjoying the cards themselves. With a diverse range of options, Riftbound: Unleashed is an excellent choice for anyone, especially those new to trading card games.

Riftbound: Unleashed will be released on May 8, 2026. Players can participate in Summoner Skirmish tournaments starting May 25th and again on June 22nd, 2026.

No matter if you’re just starting to collect cards or competing for high scores, there’s a champion within reach.

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2026-05-05 23:18