Riot Games is set to introduce Protective Sands, a new battlefield card for its League of Legends trading card game, Riftbound, with the upcoming Vendetta expansion. This battlefield is designed to reward players who maintain a low number of runes in play, offering a consistent draw engine for specific deck archetypes.
Protective Sands allows a player to pay one energy to draw a card after conquering the battlefield, provided they control four or fewer runes. This mechanic encourages a cyclical resource strategy, where players regularly convert runes into power rather than hoarding them. By successfully conquering this battlefield, players can replenish their hand with additional cards at a low energy cost, aiding in resource recovery and hand management.
The card art for Protective Sands appears to be a reimagining of a piece originally created for Legends of Runeterra, depicting a Clockling automaton in the sandy deserts of Shurima, a region historically guarded by such constructs to protect the time mage Zilean's tower. The lore connects these constructs to millennia of survival in harsh environments.
Protective Sands is one of several new additions in the Vendetta expansion, which aims to expand Riftbound's strategic depth with three new mechanics: Flow, allowing cards to be cast from the trash; Burn, which mills cards for synergistic effects or to damage opponent decks; and Empower, which grants cards additional abilities after entering play. The set also introduces Unit-Gear cards that function as both units and equipment, and a cycle of Decrees, spells designed to counter cards from opposing domains.
The Vendetta expansion is scheduled to launch on July 31 and focuses on thematic rivalries, exploring conflicts between former allies, long-standing enemies, and familial disputes. Protective Sands serves as another venue where these iconic clashes can unfold within the game.