League of Legends’ own TCG is still going strong with the fourth set now close on the horizon. Riftbound Vendetta arrives July 31, with the set’s preview season now underway. Spotlighting some of Runeterra’s most bitter rivalries, it will include the likes of Shen and Zed, alongside Mel and Ambessa from Arcane.
And with that, Riot Games has given us the privilege of sharing a new upcoming card from Riftbound Vendetta: Death Mark, Zed’s Signature Spell. The card also features two of the new mechanics coming in Vendetta. When played, the assassin’s Burn sacrifices 3 cards from your main deck, placing them into your trash. Players then cast a 0 attack power Shadow Clone unit token. When it attacks, you can banish a unit from your trash to give it 4 attack power. The card also features Flow, allowing the card to be cast from your trash for a separate cost.
Zed’s Signature Spell will definitely come in handy when looking to shore up a battlefield’s defences, with the banish ability providing a decent buff. Shadow Clone is also a new type of Unit-Gear which can count as a Unit or a piece of gear.
Riftbound Vendetta Details
I’m really excited to see Mel joining the game; her storyline in Arcane was one of my favourites that motivated me to look into the lore of Runeterra more!
Vendetta will also feature some new mechanics built around the rivalries theme, including a new sub-type of spell that specifically targets it’s opposing domain colour.
- Flow – Allowing you to play cards from your trash instead of from your hand, Flow enables the reuse of abilities. It was inspired by League Champs who use Energy, and captures the faster recovery of that style of play.
- Burn – Functioning as a “mill” style ability, Burn sends cards from a Main Deck to the Trash. Some cards burn your own deck to fuel synergies, while others attack your opponent’s deck directly.
- Empower – Cards with Empower on them have the potential to gain new abilities once they’re in play, often after paying a cost. This allows you to get a card on the board one turn, then amplify its might or effect on another turn.
- Decree – While not a new type of spell, decrees are a cycle of spells that are designed with Domain rivalries in mind. Each Domain has a decree that strikes hard against cards of its opposite domain color.
In preparation, Dave Guskin, Game Director and Design Director of Riftbound, has shared a heads-up on a ban relating to an infinite combo now that Chaos and Order builds are possible now.
The Riftbound Vendetta set features the new Showdown Decks, a new two-player pack with decks ready to play. The Vault and Pre-Rift kits will also be available alongside standard boosters. I’m really eager to see the Showdown Decks in action, having really enjoyed learning the game through Riftbound’s preconstructed decks.
Riftbound Vendetta is out July 31 in English with Pre-Rift beginning July 24 at LGS Stores.
