Riot Games is looking ahead to a bright future with the Riftbound 2027 lineup. As part of a several-day State of the Game update, Riot not only outlines what’s to come in the next sets but also some huge changes to booster packs and even how the cards themselves read. While the first year of Riftbound has been very exciting, what’s next promises to blow it out of the water.
Before the calendar transitions to Riftbound 2027, there are still some releases coming for 2026. The previously announced Riftbound x T1 2025 Worlds Champion Collection is now confirmed for an October release, and Riot warns that a drawing system will be used for the opportunity to purchase it. Sign-ups for the drawing will begin August 14th and run to the 17th.
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A separate special bundle, Secret Garden, features alternate art cards for three cards from Unleashed: Ivern, Green Warden, Lillia, Bashful Bloom, and Ultrasoft Poro. These treatments will also come with related tokens, sleeves, two postcards, and three boosters of Unleashed. Secret Garden is a convention-exclusive that will be available at all upcoming Riftbound Regional Qualifiers, PAX West, and other events to be announced later.
Riftbound: Radiance is the 5th set in Riot’s physical TCG.
Finally, 2026 also has one more full set. While Riot doesn’t want to give too much away about Set 5, called Radiance, quite yet, the theme of the set is “performing like a master.”
That aligns with Seraphine joining the game with this set, along with other new Legends Evelynn (who faces off against Seraphine in the set’s Showdown Decks), Ziggs, and Ekko, who Riot lifted the lid on with this update. Nice to see one of Vendetta‘s great mechanics already making a comeback. Riftbound Radiance releases October 23, 2026.
Ekko, Boy Who Shattered Time | Fury, Mind
Legend | Ekko
Empower – 1 Rune, Exhaust (Use only if not Empowered.)
Disempower me, Exhaust: Reduce the cost of the next unit you play this turn by 2 Runes and 1 Recycle and give it “Kill me at end of turn.”
To celebrate a successful first year, Gift of the Rift is a huge box designed to drag players’ friends to the table. Including 16 booster packs (three of each of the first 5 sets), 36 foil Rune cards, 100 sleeves, an alternate art of Akali, Rogue Assassin, and the box itself able to hold 2000 cards, this is a huge shot in the arm of many collections. Intended to be a great holiday gift for players and soon-to-be players, Gift of the Rift releases on December 4, 2026.
As cool as these products are, the set that kicks off Riftbound‘s 2027 is the real exciting stuff. Set 6 is Legacy, aligning with the recently revealed League of Legends Classic. Iconic champions get Legends in the set, including new Legends for less-played characters like Lux and Garen. Legacy isn’t just looking back, though. In fact, the set will bring the game’s most radical evolution yet.
Legacy is bringing a draft focus to Riftbound 2027.
Beginning with Legacy, Riftbound booster packs will have a slot dedicated to Legends and Battlefields. This does mean packs will have one less common in them, but a dedicated slot – a 50/50 split between the two – for cards necessary for play not in duplicate is a nice shift. Players will no longer find themselves disappointed to pull duplicate Legend cards or a pack with two Legends in it, and it’s great to see that feedback applied.
Having a specific slot for these card types also helps with drafting, which Legacy will be the first Riftbound set designed with limited in mind. Players can play sealed and draft with Riftbound now, but designing the set with that in mind will help create a more cohesive experience.
With such a shift, cards will play much better together, and enough Legends will be opened in the draft to ensure all players get something to work with. Limited-card gameplay like this is also great for new players to try the game.
Speaking of new players, Riftbound has struggled in the past to explain how it works to new players. With Legacy, Riot is hoping to address some of this pain with an update to card templating. It may sound perfunctory, but this is probably the most exciting reveal of them all. The future state of card templates looks very promising, with arrows walking players from trigger to trigger and a grey box around what is being targeted by effects.
The term “play,” which Riot has used pretty liberally up to this point, is also being cleared up. Once Legacy hits, “play a token” and “When you play me” effects will see clarification. Playing a token will change to “Create a token,” with the details of the token’s stats in the text.
“When you play” will evolve to “When I enter” to designate that the unit is checking for when it comes into play. Notably, “When you play a card/spell” is not changing, but will look at finalization of the play action. With these changes, Riftbound play should ideally become far clearer.
Riftbound Legacy releases January 29, 2027. A new edition of the Training Grounds four-player product will release on February 19, 2027, in alignment with Legacy, but will be made up of unique card designs.
Riftbound: The Reckoning slides in as the 7th set.
Riot had much less to share about The Reckoning, the game’s seventh set, including its theme. However, they did tease that some of League‘s “biggest” Champions will feature. That aligns with the teased monster movie poster variant featuring Cho’Gath. More will come in the first State of the Game of 2027, and Riftbound: The Reckoning releases April 30, 2027.
Sets 8 and 9 are so far out that Riot hasn’t even decided what they will be called. There are some hints of what the later half of 2027 will hold, though. Bandle City, home of the Yordles, will be a key location in Set 8.
Meanwhile, Set 9 is somewhat shrouded in mystery, suggesting an exploration of Runeterra’s Shadow Isles. Set 8 will be released sometime in Q3 2027, with Set 9 following in Q4.
With revised templating, an evolving product line tuning to players’ needs, the rise of draft, and more, it’s hard not to be excited for what Riftbound‘s 2027 is going to bring. Waiting will be the hard part, but maybe Ekko’s time travel powers come with his Legend card.
Riftbound 2027’s Release Schedule:
- Set 6: Legacy releases January 29, 2027
- Set 7: The Reckoning releases April 30, 2027
- Set 8: Third Quarter of 2027
- Set 9: Fourth Quarter of 2027
