Riftbound: Unleashed – New Mechanics, Tokens & Release Dates

Riot Games is set to launch a major expansion for its League of Legends trading card game, Riftbound, titled “Unleashed” on May 8th, introducing new champions, mechanics, and a new rarity level for cards.

The expansion will feature four Champion Legends: Kha’Zix, Lillia, Diana, and Ivern, each designed to alter existing deck strategies, according to Riot Games. Kha’Zix, in particular, introduces an “XP” mechanic, while Ivern features a battlefield replacement effect.

The core of “Unleashed” lies in three new mechanics: Ambush, XP, and Hunt. Ambush allows players to react to opponent deployments, while XP functions as a resource that influences card levels and creates a risk-reward system. Hunt rewards players for battlefield control, encouraging aggressive gameplay. The XP mechanic allows players to accrue experience points, which can then be spent to buff units or move exhausted friendly units back to their base. Cards benefit from XP accrual, gaining new abilities at specific XP levels. For example, Master Yi, Unstoppable gains benefits at XP levels 3, 6, 11, and 16, including reduced energy and power costs, and immunity to enemy spells at the highest level.

Beyond the new champions and mechanics, “Unleashed” introduces a variety of new tokens, including Baron Pit, Birds, Reflections, Sprites, and Brush – which is used in conjunction with the champion Ivern to replace battlefields. The expansion also includes an XP Tracker to help players manage their accrued experience.

Riot Games is also introducing “Ultimate” rarity cards with “Unleashed,” starting with an individually numbered Baron Nashor card. These cards will be exceptionally rare and not featured in every Riftbound set. Booster packs will contain a mix of common, uncommon, rare, epic, and ultimate cards, along with tokens, and runes.

The launch of “Unleashed” will be staggered, beginning in China on April 10th, followed by the English language release on May 8th. A pre-release period will begin on May 1st for the English version. Summoner Skirmish tournaments are scheduled for May 25th and June 22nd. A new product, “The Vault,” will also be released alongside “Unleashed,” offering booster packs, runes, tokens, and storage for cards.

Previews of the cards will continue through March 26th, and a merchandise store drawing for booster displays and preconstructed decks is planned, with dates to be announced.