Which game modes does Riftbound have?

Riftbound: the League of Legends trading card game is made for two to four players at one table. The Core Rules call each way of playing a mode of play, and they list five sanctioned modes in rules 487 to 491. Each mode sets how many people play and whether they play in teams, the Victory Score, the number of battlefields and games, and how the first turn is evened out.

Every mode uses the same kind of deck: a Champion Legend, a Main Deck of at least 40 cards, a Rune Deck of 12 runes and three battlefields with different names. A deck built for one mode works in all of them, apart from a few limits on teammates and their decks in Magma Chamber.

What are the five modes of play?

The five modes are the Duel and the Match for two players, Skirmish for three players, War for four players and Magma Chamber for two teams of two. The table puts their numbers side by side.

How do the Duel and the Match differ?

The Duel and the Match play the same game, and they differ in the number of games and in how the battlefields are picked. A Duel is a single game to 8 points. Each player picks one of their three battlefields at random, so two battlefields stand between the players, and the player who goes second channels an extra rune in their first Channel Phase.

A Match is the best of three games, and it is the way most tournament matches are played. Before each game, each player chooses one of their three battlefields instead of picking one at random. After a game that someone won, the two battlefields used are out for the rest of the Match, so the next game is played on new ground. After a drawn game, the same battlefields may be used again.

How do Skirmish and War work?

Skirmish and War are free-for-all games for three and four players, in which each player plays for themselves and races to 8 points. Both have three battlefields in play. In Skirmish each player picks one of their three battlefields at random. In War the player who goes first puts none of their battlefields in play, and the other three players each pick one at random.

Both modes change the first turn in two ways. The player who goes first does not draw a card in their first Draw Phase, and the player who goes last channels an extra rune in their first Channel Phase. The players in between start as normal.

A fight still involves only two players. Combat can only happen between the units of exactly two players, so a battlefield where a combat is about to start or is under way is closed to everyone else: other players cannot move units there unless they already have units at that battlefield, and they cannot play units there.

Cards that count your opponents grow stronger with more of them at the table. Card Sharp gives you an extra Gold gear token for each opponent who plays one, and Party Favors draws you a card or channels you a rune for each other player, whichever that player chooses. Blind Fury reveals the top card of every opponent's Main Deck and lets you play one of them without paying its cost. A card that gives a point away becomes a choice: when Draven, Audacious dies in combat, you pick which opponent scores the point.

What changes when two teams of two play?

Magma Chamber is the team mode: four players in two teams of two, with one shared score per team and a Victory Score of 11. Teammates win and lose together, so when one of them concedes, the whole team loses. Turns alternate between the teams: the first player, then an opponent, then the first player's teammate, then the other opponent. The battlefields and the first turn work as in War, with three battlefields and none from the player who goes first.

Teammates help each other, but they do not share control of their cards. These are the rules that matter most.

• Points are shared, and each battlefield can be scored only once per team per turn.
• Your teammate's units count as friendly, so a card that buffs or readies a friendly unit may choose one of theirs.
• Your units cannot move to a battlefield where your teammate has units, you cannot hide cards at a battlefield your teammate controls, and you cannot make a standard move with your teammate's units.
• On your teammate's turn you can play spells and use abilities when they invite you to, even spells without Action or Reaction.
• You may show your hand to your teammate at any time. XP is not shared, and two teammates may not play the same Legend or bring the same battlefields.

The higher Victory Score changes some cards. Find Your Center costs 2 less once an opponent's score is within 3 points of the Victory Score, which means from 5 points in a Duel but from 8 points in Magma Chamber. Cards that reach allies come into their own here. Two gear cards from Radiance, with its release on 23 October 2026, are examples: Bushwhack Trap lets you or an ally who controls its battlefield hide an extra card there, and Pillaged Armory can give its buff to one of your teammate's units. The Legend Wuju Bladesman of Master Yi gives +2 Might to a friendly unit that defends alone, and that can be a unit of your teammate.

Riot keeps a separate banned list for 2v2 Constructed on its Rules Hub. It holds every card banned in Constructed and, since 24 July 2026, Wuju Bladesman as well. Riot explained that because the bonus covers both teammates, the Legend gave a team far more Might from the start of the game than was healthy.

Which modes are played at events?

Most organized play is one on one. The Tournament Rules say that most matches of Riftbound are the best of three games, as in a Match, and some events play single games instead. A 2v2 competition can be Constructed or Sealed, and in Sealed 2v2 each team shares a pool of 8 booster packs. Some stores also run their weekly Nexus Night as a 2v2 night.

Constructed, Sealed and Draft are formats rather than modes of play. A format says how the decks are built, from your own collection or from packs opened at the event, while the mode says who plays against whom.

Which mode should you start with?

Start with the Duel. The Proving Grounds booklet calls it the default of its rules, and everything you learn in a Duel carries over to the other modes. Once you know your deck, try a Match, since that is how most tournaments are played.

The modes for three and four players suit a games night, though they take longer than a Duel. In a free-for-all it usually pays to slow down whoever is closest to 8 points. Magma Chamber is a friendly way to teach a new player, because teammates may show each other their hands and talk each turn through. The Proving Grounds starter box holds four ready-made decks, each with one battlefield of its own, and the booklet sets up its games with that one battlefield per player, so one box is enough for a game of War or Magma Chamber.

The battlefields page lists every battlefield a deck can bring to any mode, the deck builder checks a deck against the deck rules while you build it, and the event finder shows the events near you.