Rift Academy
New to Riftbound?

Learn to Play

A course from your very first point to a whole game. Each chapter is a few short lessons: a quick read with real cards, a question or two, then drills on the same table the trials use. When you're done, pick a Legend and take on its trials.

Glossary: every word the course teaches

  1. Chapter 1

    The Table

    What you're looking at: the goal, how to read a card, card types, zones, and your Legend.

    1. 1The GoalFirst to 8 points. Your Legend, your Chosen Champion, your base and the battlefields.Start
    2. 2Reading a CardCost, Power, Domain, Might, type line, tags and rules text: what every part of a card tells you.Start
    3. 3Card TypesUnits, champions, spells, gear, tokens, runes, battlefields and Legends: what each is and where it goes.Start
    4. 4ZonesWhere cards live: base, battlefields, hand, decks, trash, banishment and the Champion Zone, and who can see them.Start
    5. 5Your Legend and Chosen ChampionYour Legend sets your Domains and has an ability. Your Chosen Champion waits in the Champion Zone.Start
    6. CheckpointRead the BoardEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  2. Chapter 2

    Runes and Paying for Cards

    Channel runes, tap them for Energy, recycle them for Power.

    1. 1RunesChannel runes each turn. Tap them for Energy, recycle them for Power, and pay for your cards.Start
    2. 2Power and DomainsPower has a colour. Match the Domain, and learn what the rainbow symbol pays.Start
    3. 3The Pool EmptiesUnspent Energy and Power are lost. Spend your runes each turn.Start
    4. 4Spending a Whole TurnCount your runes against your cards, then play the order that wins.Start
    5. 5Extra ResourcesCards that add Energy or Power, cards that cost less, and costs on top of the cost.Start
    6. CheckpointDig In at BEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  3. Chapter 3

    Units and Moving

    Play units, ready them, and send them where the points are.

    1. 1Playing UnitsPlay units to your base or a battlefield you control. They arrive exhausted.Start
    2. 2MovingSend Ready units to a battlefield or back home. Moving exhausts them.Start
    3. 3Battlefield to Battlefield[Ganking] units cross from one battlefield straight to the other.Start
    4. 4Fast UnitsPay a little more to play a unit Ready, so it can move this turn.Start
    5. 5Holding GroundKeep a unit at a battlefield to control it, and play units straight onto it.Start
    6. CheckpointThree AbreastEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  4. Chapter 4

    Combat

    Showdowns, damage, and who's left standing.

    1. 1ShowdownsContest a battlefield and a Showdown starts. Focus, passing, and how it ends.Start
    2. 2DamageEach side deals its total Might. You choose where yours lands, and a unit needs its full Might in damage to die.Start
    3. 3Combat Keywords[Assault], [Shield], [Tank] and [Deflect]: the keywords that change a fight.Start
    4. 4Ties, Wipes and LeftoversWho has the battlefield after a fight: a tie, a wipe, or only one side left.Start
    5. 5Stun, Kill, BuffsStun a unit to silence it in a fight. Buffs add Might that stays. Some changes last only this turn.Start
    6. CheckpointThrough the Wall, Then the RestEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  5. Chapter 5

    Scoring and Winning

    Conquer and Hold, once per turn, and the catch on the winning point.

    1. 1Conquer and HoldThe two ways a battlefield scores you a point: Conquer and Hold.Start
    2. 2Once per Battlefield per TurnA battlefield scores you at most once each turn, however you get it.Start
    3. 3The Final PointOne point from winning, a Conquer wins only if you've scored every battlefield this turn.Start
    4. 4Burn OutWhat happens when your deck runs out, and why it hands your opponent a point.Start
    5. 5Counting to 8Read both scores, plan two turns ahead, and take away their Hold.Start
    6. CheckpointSix to EightEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  6. Chapter 6

    Timing

    The order of a turn, and which cards you can play when.

    1. 1The TurnAwaken, Beginning, Channel, Draw, then your Main Phase, then the End. Everything in order.Start
    2. 2The ChainSpells wait before they happen, and the newest one happens first.Start
    3. 3ActionsWhat [Action] means: cards you can play during Showdowns, on either player's turn.Start
    4. 4ReactionsWhat [Reaction] means: answer a spell before it resolves. Priority and passing.Start
    5. 5Responding on Their TurnSave your unit, counter their spell, ambush their move.Start
    6. 6HiddenHide a card for 1 Power. Play it later for free, even on their turn.Start
    7. 7TriggersAbilities that happen by themselves when something happens.Start
    8. CheckpointTwo Answers, Two ThreatsEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  7. Chapter 7

    Abilities, Gear and Keywords

    Gear, abilities, tokens and every keyword, one at a time.

    1. 1Gear and [Equip]Gear stays in your base until you attach it; [Equip] attaches it, and it goes where its unit goes. [Deploy] gear goes straight to a battlefield.Start
    2. 2Activated Abilities"Cost: effect", used when you choose. Exhausting is a cost, and an exhausted unit can't move.Start
    3. 3TokensUnits and gear made by an effect: real on the board, gone for good when they leave.Start
    4. 4Show OffRadiance's new keyword: reveal or point to the right card as you play, and get a bonus.Start
    5. 5Keyword ReferenceEvery keyword on the cards in one place: its rule, a card that shows it, and a one-move drill.Start
    6. CheckpointArm the Right HandEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  8. Chapter 8

    Thinking Like a Player

    From a legal move to a good one: tempo, card advantage, reading the board.

    1. 1Tempo vs ValueSpend it now, or keep it for later?Start
    2. 2Card AdvantageMake one card cost them two.Start
    3. 3Reading Open RunesCount their ready runes: what could they still pay for?Start
    4. 4When to Fight, When to HoldCount the wall, guard what they can reach, and know when not to attack.Start
    5. 5SequencingSame cards, different order: play first, move first, or let them go first.Start
    6. 6RacingWhen you get there first, ignore their board and score.Start
    7. 7Reading Your OpponentPut them on a hand: what could they have, and can they pay for it?Start
    8. CheckpointPut Him on Punch FirstEverything in this chapter, on one board.Play
  9. Chapter 9

    Your First Game

    Build a deck, set up, and play a whole game against the AI.

    1. 1Deckbuilding basicsWhat a legal deck is made of, and how to spot an illegal one.Start
    2. 2Setting upHow a game starts: Battlefields, who goes first, your 4 cards and the Mulligan.Start
    3. 3Your first turnsWhat to play on turns 1 to 3 with a starter deck.Start
    4. 4Coached gameA whole game against the AI, with a coach who points out clear mistakes.Start
    5. 5GraduationOne more game: no coach, no undo.Start