Riftbound's Design Flaw

Units, spells, power costs — they all follow rules that fall apart the moment you look closely.

If you assume the system is balanced, you’ll keep losing. If you understand how it actually works, you’ll know which cards to trust and which to leave in the binder.

The Formula (in theory):

1 mana ≈ 1 might + 1 ability.

But here’s the catch: not all abilities are equal. A weak passive isn’t the same as a snowball effect. The devs sometimes adjust by shaving might off stronger units, but it’s inconsistent — which is why some cards are blatantly above rate.

Power Costs (in theory):

additional: +1 might and +1 ability.

Again, not always true. Sometimes units come in “under” on might, with the expectation that abilities will pay it back. When they don’t, you’ve got a dud. When they do (or overshoot), you’ve got a powerhouse.

👉 Takeaway: If a unit breaks the formula by giving you more might or better abilities than the cost suggests, it’s almost always strong.

Spells are where things get messy. The designers seem to follow a point system:

• 1 mana ≈ 4 points.
• Action = 1 point.
• Reaction = 2 points.
• ±1 might = 1 point.
• Draw 1 card = 1 point.

On paper, that looks fine. In practice, it’s broken. Treating +1 might as equal to a card draw makes no sense, and many spells land below rate with no compensation — literally unplayable in competitive play.

Power-costed spells are even worse.

Unlike units, where power usually means a predictable buff, spells with power costs just do “whatever the designers wanted.” Some are fairly priced (Smoke Screen, Primal Strength). Others (Falling Star) highlight how the system doesn’t account for targeting flexibility or board-wide effects.

1. Memorise the unit baseline → 1 mana ≈ 1 might + 1 ability. Use this to flag over/understatted cards.
2. Check power costs carefully → units usually gain +1 might + 1 ability, but spells are wild. Treat power-costed spells as case-by-case.
3. Use the spell rubric → 1 mana ≈ 4 points. Weigh actions, reactions, draw, and might changes. Spot “below rate” traps.
4. Look for over-performers → units or spells that clearly give more than they should are often staples.
5. Avoid underperformers → below-rate spells and inconsistent units are dead weight in competitive play.

Riftbound’s design philosophy looks structured, but it isn’t. The formulas are loose, inconsistently applied, and often undervalue abilities.

That might sound scary, but it’s your edge: if you can learn to recognise what’s above or below rate, you’ll stop wasting slots on weak cards and start building lists around the ones that are secretly broken.