Every Riftbound starter deck ranked, from Vex at the top to Garen at the bottom
Fifteen decks come ready to play in a Riftbound box: seven Champion Decks, four Showdown decks and four Proving Grounds decks. Four of them win most of their games as they come, with no card changed, and four lose most of theirs. This article puts all fifteen in order, by strength and then by what that strength costs today.
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Ten boxes hold the fifteen starter decks
The short answer for a new player: the Vex deck is the strongest starter deck in Riftbound, the Rumble deck is the easiest of the strong ones, and the Evelynn deck gives the most strength for the money on TCGplayer today.
Four decks are strong out of the box: Vex, Rumble, Viktor and Fiora. Three decks are solid: Evelynn, Lee Sin and Annie. Four decks are uneven: Zed, Seraphine, Vi and Lux. Four decks are weak out of the box: Shen, Master Yi, Jinx and Garen.
The ranking by strength reads each list against the others as it comes in the box, with no card changed, so a deck higher up wins most of its games against the decks below it. The ranking by value weighs that strength against what the deck sells for sealed, a deck sold in a box with others counting for its share of the box. Strength counts for more than price, so a cheap deck that loses most of its games does not come out on top.
Tier 1: Strong out of the box
These four Riftbound starter decks beat most of the other starter decks as they come, with no card changed.
Vex stuns the units of the other player and wins by holding battlefields. Her Legend draws a card each time you hold one.
Back Off, Existential Dread and Vex, Apathetic, who stuns every unit an opponent plays at her battlefield, leave the other starter decks few safe attacks. Vex is also one of the strongest Legends in tournaments, so the deck has a future once you start to improve it.
The Vex Champion Deck sells for $21.41 on TCGplayer.
Rumble builds an army of Mech tokens and draws cards while he does it. The plan is simple: make Mechs, attack with them and make more.
No other Champion Deck has as much removal and card draw, with three Void Seeker, two Wages of Pain, Singularity and three Production Surge. Rumble is rarely seen in tournaments, but against the other starter decks his deck is very hard to beat.
The Rumble Champion Deck sells for $26.78 on TCGplayer.
Viktor's Legend makes a 1 Might Recruit token every turn, and the deck turns those tokens into cards, points and bigger units.
The steady stream of Recruits means Cull the Weak and Cruel Patron cost Viktor almost nothing while they hurt the other player. Hidden Blade and Smoke Screen deal with the big units the other starter decks lean on.
The Viktor Champion Deck sells for $62.83 on TCGplayer, well above its launch price of $19.99 at Riot.
Fiora arms her units with gear until they are Mighty, with 5 Might or more, and wins fights one on one.
Vengeance kills any unit and Strike Down turns an armed unit into removal, so the Fiora deck answers threats well. The deck asks for careful timing, which makes it a harder first deck than its strength suggests.
The Fiora Champion Deck sells for $34.72 on TCGplayer, well above its launch price of $19.99 at Riot.
Tier 2: Solid
These three starter decks win their share of games and lose mainly to the decks of tier 1.
Evelynn hides cards face down at battlefields and springs them on the other player. Her Legend draws a card when you play one of them.
The Evelynn deck has fifteen cards that can be hidden, two Wind and Ghosts to clear blockers and Pitiless Stalker to stun a unit every turn. It is clearly stronger than the Shen deck, though its many small units struggle to attack into big defenders.
The Evelynn deck comes with the Seraphine deck in Radiance Showdown Decks: Seraphine vs Evelynn, which sells for $18.79 on TCGplayer. That makes $9.40 for each deck.
Annie burns enemy units with spells, and her Legend readies two runes at the end of each turn so she can still cast them on the other player's turn.
With Incinerate, Disintegrate, Firestorm and Tibbers, the Annie deck has as much removal as any starter deck. It was made for games of four players, so its units are small, but its spells keep the board clear in a duel.
The Annie deck comes with the Garen, Lux and Master Yi decks in Proving Grounds, which sells for $50.19 on TCGplayer. That makes $12.55 for each deck.
Tier 3: Uneven
These four starter decks have a clear plan but a gap the stronger decks find: too little removal or too many expensive cards.
Seraphine fills the board with Recruit tokens and turns them into one big attack with Raucous Anthem.
The Seraphine deck goes wide well, but seven of its cards cost 7 or more and its best removal, Supernova, costs 9. Faster starter decks can score many points before it gets going.
The Seraphine deck comes with the Evelynn deck in Radiance Showdown Decks: Seraphine vs Evelynn, which sells for $18.79 on TCGplayer. That makes $9.40 for each deck.
Vi attacks from the first turn with units that hit hard, and her Legend readies a unit when an attack wins by a wide margin.
The Vi deck is straightforward and fun to play, but Soul Harvest is its only removal spell. Against decks that stun or block well, it runs out of steam.
The Vi Champion Deck sells for $15.04 on TCGplayer.
The Lux deck comes with the Annie, Garen and Master Yi decks in Proving Grounds, which sells for $50.19 on TCGplayer. That makes $12.55 for each deck.
Tier 4: Weak out of the box
These four starter decks lose most games against the others. They are still fine for learning the rules, and each one needs new cards before it can keep up.
Shen defends battlefields with tough units and scores an extra point when he holds one with exactly one other unit.
The Shen deck has almost no way to remove a unit, one Lacerate for small ones, so it relies on blocking. Many of its best cards need exactly two of your units at a battlefield, and decks that move units around break that easily.
The Shen deck comes with the Zed deck in Vendetta Showdown Decks: Zed vs Shen, which sells for $14.98 on TCGplayer. That makes $7.49 for each deck.
Master Yi gives a unit that defends alone 2 more Might and grows into big units later in the game.
The Master Yi deck was made for casual games of four players, and most of its cards are plain units. Master Yi is a strong Legend in tournaments, but almost none of this deck's cards are in those decks.
The Master Yi deck comes with the Annie, Garen and Lux decks in Proving Grounds, which sells for $50.19 on TCGplayer. That makes $12.55 for each deck.
Jinx discards cards to power fast attackers and draws again when her hand runs low.
Throwing cards away costs the Jinx deck more than it gains, and its attackers are no bigger than those of the other starter decks. It is the weakest of the Champion Decks.
The Jinx Champion Deck sells for $31.54 on TCGplayer, well above its launch price of $19.99 at Riot.
Garen floods battlefields with units and Recruit tokens and makes them all stronger together.
The Garen deck has no way to remove a unit, and most of its units have no ability at all. It is a fine deck for a first game and the weakest starter deck in a duel.
The Garen deck comes with the Annie, Lux and Master Yi decks in Proving Grounds, which sells for $50.19 on TCGplayer. That makes $12.55 for each deck.
Which starter deck is the best value
Prices in
The Evelynn deck comes with the Seraphine deck in Radiance Showdown Decks: Seraphine vs Evelynn, which sells for $18.79 on TCGplayer. That makes $9.40 for each deck. For strength it ranks 5th of 15, and no other starter deck gives as much for its price on TCGplayer, which makes it the best buy there today.
The cards of the Rumble, Fiora, Viktor, Lee Sin and Jinx decks cost less than half their sealed price bought one by one, so a player who wants the cards rather than the box does better with singles.
The Fiora, Viktor, Lee Sin and Jinx decks sell for half again their launch price or more, so their strength costs more than the ranking by strength alone suggests.
The Garen deck is the poorest value on TCGplayer. It ranks 15th of 15 for strength and costs $12.55 as its share of the box, which buys a stronger deck elsewhere in the list.
Value
Deck
Per deck
Cards one by one
Strength
Verdict
1
EvelynnRadiance Showdown Decks: Seraphine vs Evelynn
The decks in the order of value on TCGplayer. A deck sold in a box with others counts for its share of the box price, and strength is its place in the ranking above.
Picking a first starter deck
A new Riftbound player who wants one deck to learn with does best with an easy deck from the top two tiers. The Rumble deck is the easiest of the strong ones, and the Vex deck is worth the little extra effort it asks for.
Two players who learn together can share one box. A set of Showdown decks holds two decks made to play against each other, and Proving Grounds holds four decks that suit games of two, three or four players.
A player who plans to go to tournaments later should pick a deck whose Legend does well there. Vex and Fiora are the strongest of those Legends today, and their decks are a good base to improve card by card.
Every starter deck needs new cards before it can win at a tournament. The starter decks are made to teach the game and to play against each other, and the decks that win events are built from single cards.
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