Riftbound, the digital trading card game based on Riot Games' League of Legends universe, underwent significant design changes after players reacted negatively to an early resource system inspired by Magic: The Gathering. Dave Guskin, Riftbound's game director and a former Magic: The Gathering designer, revealed in a recent interview that the team initially explored a resource system that required players to include resource cards within their main deck, a concept familiar to Magic players.
"I was a big fan of Magic's mana system," Guskin stated, explaining the initial design direction. "I actually thought, 'Okay, we're going to start with the resources in the deck. That's the appropriate amount of variance for game variety.' We tried it with players and they completely rejected it. They were like, 'This is horrible. I don't want to not play this game.'"
Following this player feedback, Guskin admits he felt ill-equipped to develop an alternative. He enlisted two designers, Dave and Jon, to create a new system. After experimenting with numerous approaches, they presented a concept Guskin initially disliked: the Rune system, which is central to Riftbound's gameplay today. This system requires players to "get rid of their own resources" to pay card costs. "I was like, 'I hate it,'" Guskin recalled. "They're like, 'No, no, you've got to play it.' And as you saw, when you actually play it, you're like, 'Wow, this is actually pretty cool.' So that was all them—they were amazing at making that system. And now it's one of the things that TCG players of other games say they like the most about Riftbound."
In Riftbound, Runes function similarly to Magic's lands, being tapped to pay costs. However, Riftbound cards typically feature two costs: Power and Energy. The Energy cost is a flat value, while the Power cost is tied to one of Riftbound's six thematic Domains, akin to Magic's color system. To pay a Power cost, players must recycle a Rune of the corresponding Domain, placing it at the bottom of their 12-card Rune deck. This mechanic directly implements the "get rid of your own resources" principle that Guskin's designers pitched. Riftbound is approaching its one-year anniversary since its English release. The game recently launched its fourth expansion, Vendetta, and is also undergoing its biannual State of the Game updates, which cover organized play, upcoming products, and the roadmap for the following year.