Riftbound has more types of boxes on the shelf than you’d expect, and it isn’t immediately clear which one is right for your first purchase. This article tells you what to get as the very first thing, how the individual products differ, how much they cost and where to find them. The game’s rules are covered in a separate article, Riftbound rules step by step. This one is purely about buying.
First, get clear on what each box actually is
Riftbound sells four basic types of products, and each serves a different purpose. Proving Grounds is a starter box with four ready-made decks. Buy it once and you immediately have decks for yourself and three other people. Champion Deck and Showdown Deck are also ready-made, preconstructed decks, but focused on one or two specific champions. They make sense once you know who you want to play. Booster Pack and Booster Box, on the other hand, are a gamble in a box: random cards from which you gradually build your own deck according to the rules described in the Riftbound rules.
The difference matters mainly in one respect: ready-made decks (Proving Grounds, Champion Deck, Showdown Deck) give you a playable game right out of the box. Boosters only give you raw material. If you buy just a booster pack and nothing else, you have nothing to build a legal 40-card deck from and no legend to start with either.
Proving Grounds: the best first purchase
If you’re only going to buy one thing, make it Proving Grounds. Inside are four ready-made decks built around Annie, Master Yi, Lux and Garen, plus battlefield cards, acrylic champion figures and a guide. You open the box and within minutes you’re playing your first game, without building or buying anything extra. The official price is $29.99; in Czech shops it comes to roughly CZK 800.
The advantage of Proving Grounds isn’t just the price. It also solves the biggest problem when you’re starting out: you need opponents. The box contains four decks, so you can split the cost with a friend, or bring it to a game night and hand out decks to four people at once. None of you has to build anything or know the cards in advance.
Champion Deck and Showdown Deck: once you know who you want to play
Once you’ve tried Riftbound (with Proving Grounds or at a friend’s place) and want to keep playing the same champion, go for a Champion Deck. It’s a ready-made 40-card deck built around one legend, such as Jinx, Viktor or Lee Sin, so again you just unbox it and play. In Czechia it costs CZK 500 to 600 depending on the set it comes from.
Showdown Deck is the version for two players at once. You buy one box and get two opposing decks designed to work well against each other, for example Shen versus Zed. It costs CZK 800 to 850, but it covers a game for two people with a single payment, so it works out about the same as two separate Champion Decks.
Both options are a good choice if you’re more interested in playing a specific style than in collecting cards. Champion Decks and Showdown Decks don’t vary by chance; you know exactly what you’re getting.
Booster Pack and Booster Box: once you want to build your own deck
The booster is the basic unit of the collectible side of the game: one Booster Pack contains 14 cards (7 common, 3 uncommon, 2 rare and more) and costs around CZK 140. The cards are random, so you don’t know in advance what’s inside, just like with Pokémon or Magic.
A Booster Box contains 24 boosters, meaning 336 cards at once, and in Czech shops it costs CZK 2,800 to 3,000. For a newcomer, it usually isn’t a good first purchase. Without knowing the rules and without a legend to form the backbone of a deck, it’s not easy to put together a playable deck from a pile of random cards. A booster box only makes sense once you want to build your own decks across domains, collect specific cards or prepare for a tournament where you’ll need more copies of strong cards. You’ll find the deckbuilding rules and copy limits in the Riftbound rules.
If you’re interested in boosters mainly to collect specific cards or characters, also consider buying single cards directly. Many online shops sell them individually, which is cheaper than pulling them from boosters if you know exactly what you’re looking for.
Accessories worth having
Besides the cards themselves, it’s worth budgeting for a few small extras. Sleeves (protective covers, packs of 100) protect your cards during regular play and cost around CZK 349. A play mat makes it easier to keep track of the table, with zones for the legend, main deck, rune deck and battlefields. It costs CZK 549 to 649, but you don’t need one at all for your first games. Bulk Runes, a pack of spare runes, come in handy later, when you’re building more of your own decks and don’t want to move runes from one deck to another. The price is around CZK 375.
How much it costs in total
| Product | What you get | Approximate price in Czechia |
|---|---|---|
| Proving Grounds | 4 ready-made decks, battlefields, figures, guide | ~CZK 800 |
| Champion Deck | ready-made 40-card deck built around one legend | CZK 500–600 |
| Showdown Deck | two opposing decks | CZK 800–850 |
| Booster Pack | 14 random cards | ~CZK 140 |
| Booster Box | 24 boosters, 336 cards | CZK 2,800–3,000 |
| Sleeves (100 pcs) | protective card covers | ~CZK 349 |
| Play mat | play mat | CZK 549–649 |
| Bulk Runes | pack of spare runes | ~CZK 375 |
A realistic entry into the game comes down to one of these amounts: either around CZK 800 (officially $29.99) for Proving Grounds, if you want a game for several people right away, or around CZK 500 to 850 for a Champion or Showdown Deck, if you want to play a specific champion straight away. Prices vary from set to set and shop to shop, though, so treat them as a guide and check them in the store before you buy.
Where to buy and play Riftbound
Riftbound is sold by regular TCG shops. That’s where you’ll find boosters, ready-made decks and single cards.
If you’re in Czechia or Slovakia, look for it at Blacklotus.cz, Xzone.cz, Cardstore.cz, HranaNetu.cz, Tolarie.cz, Rifty.cz and Najada.games, or at Xzone.sk, PGS.sk, Nekonecno.sk, Smarty.sk and Hernysvet.sk.
Besides buying it, you can also play Riftbound in person. Some TCG stores run open play and tournaments; in Czechia, for example, Xzone has a TCG hub in Prague with open play every Tuesday and another in Brno where tournaments are held regularly on top of open play. Stores post the exact calendar of prerelease events and tournaments on their own Facebook pages, so check it before you head out.
What to avoid when buying
The biggest newcomer mistake is buying a Booster Box as the very first thing. Without a legend and without knowing the rules, it’s not easy to build a playable deck from it, and you also risk an unbalanced pull: lots of duplicates of one rarity and too few of the cards you need. Save the Booster Box for when you already know what you want to build.
The second thing to watch is language. In Czechia and Slovakia, Riftbound is sold in English, and neither Czech nor Slovak is among the supported languages. If English cards are a problem for you, factor that in beforehand: no Czech or Slovak version exists yet.
The third is buying individual rare cards at inflated prices from scalpers shortly after a new set comes out. Single card prices usually settle a few weeks after a set’s release, so unless you’re in a hurry for a specific tournament, it pays to wait.
And finally: don’t buy cards as an investment. Riftbound is a new game (it came out in October 2025) and has no track record showing how well collectible pieces hold their value over time. Buy what you actually want to play.
FAQ
Proving Grounds, a starter box with four ready-made decks, battlefields and a guide. You get a playable game for several people right out of the box, without having to build anything.
No, or at least not comfortably. A Booster Box gives you 336 random cards, but no legend and no ready-made strategy. Without knowing the rules and without choosing cards deliberately, it’s not easy to build a playable 40-card deck from it. Proving Grounds or a Champion Deck is a better first purchase.
A Champion Deck is one ready-made deck built around one legend. A Showdown Deck is two opposing decks in one box, designed to work against each other, so you’re buying a game for two.
Proving Grounds officially costs $29.99 (around CZK 800 in Czech shops) for a game with several people, or CZK 500 to 850 for a Champion or Showdown Deck if you want to play a specific champion. Prices vary by set and shop.
In TCG shops, which carry boosters, ready-made decks and single cards. In Czechia, for example, Blacklotus.cz, Xzone.cz, Cardstore.cz, HranaNetu.cz, Tolarie.cz, Rifty.cz or Najada.games.
At Xzone.sk, PGS.sk, Nekonecno.sk, Smarty.sk or Hernysvet.sk.
In Czechia and Slovakia, Riftbound is sold in English. Neither Czech nor Slovak is among the supported languages.
Not necessarily, if you go for a ready-made deck: Proving Grounds, Champion Deck or Showdown Deck walk you through the rules with their guide. You’ll find the rules in depth in the separate article u003ca href=u0022/riftbound-pravidla/u0022u003eRiftbound rules step by stepu003c/au003e.
Information verified as of 12 August 2026. Riftbound is a new game and both the product range and prices will keep changing, so check them directly in the store before you buy. What Riftbound is and how a game plays out is described in the introductory article Riftbound: what it is and how to play. You’ll find the step-by-step rules in the article Riftbound rules, a breakdown of cards and mechanics in cards, mechanics and deckbuilding in Riftbound and a comparison with other games in Riftbound vs. other card games. All League of Legends articles are in the League of Legends hub.