The Right Card at the Wrong Time...
Most players autopilot their hand. They see a card, they play it.
But Riftbound isn’t about what you can cast — it’s about what you should cast.
Every card has a job, every matchup changes that job, and the order you play them decides if the card wins you tempo or wastes it.
Playing cards with intention, is how the best win with weaker draws.
2. What Can I Cast?
The score tells you what needs to happen this turn. The next step is deciding how to make it happen. That starts with looking at your hand and asking: What can I cast?
But it’s not enough to just list options. To play well, you need to categorise your cards. I break mine into four buckets:
- Fast units — Accelerate/Ready have immediate impact.
- Slow units — Development investments that pay off later.
- Spells — Fast, have immediate impact but require being combined with units.
- Key cards — Massive blow out potential, strong against specific opponent etc.
These buckets give me clarity. On their own, they’re just labels — but combined with the score, they give me direction. The score tells me what needs to happen this turn. The buckets tell me what tools I have to get there.
If I’m behind on points, I know I need immediate tempo — so I look straight to my fast units or pressure spells. If I’m ahead, maybe my slow unit or base investment is safer.
And it’s not just about picking the right card for the role — it’s about how to deploy it.
✅ Actionable Steps
- Categorise your hand — fast unit, slow unit, spell, key card.
- Check score context — figure out what the game demands we play.
- What are we left with — think about what we will have for the next turn.
- Set a job for each card — ask: "In this matchup, what is this card's purpose?"
- Re-evalutate every turn — Re-sort your hand each turn as the score, board and match evolve
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That’s the second question: What can I cast?
Don’t just play what’s in your hand — know its job, match it to the score, and deploy it in the right order.
Master this skill before moving on, because once you do, every card in your deck becomes a weapon instead of just a play.
